Amy Winehouse and Duffy Don't Quite Cut It

Very good paragraph from Carrie Bronstein over at Monitor Mix.
"So, I think what irks me about the new British "soul" singers is that they feel like a gimmick. Maybe enough time has passed so that few people know or remember the style in its earlier form. Maybe the oldies need a face lift. But does each generation need their own, updated and made-over version of the late greats? Shouldn't the late greats be met with the new greats? Personally, I'd argue for the latter."

I agree. Whatever happened to novelty? Whatever happened to truly great music that's informed by tradition but also dares to innovate and engender novelty.
Yes, Amy, Duffy et al., if I feel like listening to true soul, I'll turn to my Dusty Springfield and Cilla Black. Don't get me wrong. I'm not against new artists relying on older art forms, Heck, I like punk rock which by definition lies on a bed of tradition. What I am also saying is that some measure of complete innovation needs to be provided as well. The audience is not gullible and truly great music is ingrained in our respective DNA. We do know what the oldies gave us. We just hope to see highly qualitative music from the new artists as well.
So, while Starbucks stores keep selling new ' British soul' CD's, I'll take a small measure of pride in the fact that other music lovers out there have not forgotten the genius of the oldies but goodies.
graph per monitormix

Yes, Berlin Is This Great!

"Berlin is the new New York," someone said to me a while back. The statement carried the effect of a very familiar echo. I had, indeed, uttered the same thing to other people a couple of years ago. Indeed, I concurred.
I have long believed that one needs to look at the art that a city has to offer before creating any opinion about that particular place. The reason why I think Seattle and Portland, OR are great urban centers is mostly because of SAM and PAM, respectively.
And the reason why I continue to stay true to my old observation regarding the avant-guard, artistic nature of Berlin is because of how much one can do there in the realm of arts.
Reading this feature today on the Times was a good treat, indeed. A snippet:
"Facts: You could go to art galleries in Berlin for a solid week and find yourself not halfway through a master list. You could spend two weeks wandering Museum Island and still miss a few Romantics; you could spend a career within the Bode Museum."

And by way of a P.S., those of you particularly keen on art galleries, don't forget to check out the Arndt & Partner gallery.
graphs per ny times