It’s here! The 2022 33 1/3 open call for proposals starts… NOW! If you’re a 33 1/3 fan, music writer, or music lover now is your chance to submit to the series. All guidelines can be found here. The deadline for proposals is October 20th at 11:59 PM EST. We can’t wait to see what you’ve got!
Category: Article
Articles written by authors, guests and the 33 1/3 team.
MISSED OPPORTUNITIES: GEORGE MICHAEL AND FREEDOM UNCUT
Guest Post by Matthew Horton It’s a big month in the George Michael Expanded Universe, as not only has my 33 1/3 book on Faith been released in the US (it’s coming your way on 8 September, Europe), but 22 June also sees the global theatrical release of George Michael: Freedom Uncut, the George Michael documentary feature that – according to the official press material – ‘serves as his final work’. ‘Final work’ revisited, that is, because it first appeared in 2017. Back then, it was just called George Michael:…
Duet with the Dead
“When AI does the labor that had traditionally been performed by a living artist, it is not limited to the body. There is no reason, for example, why any AI must be restricted to reproducing the affect of one particular artist. The possibility for the ultimate transmogrification is endless.”
A guest post by Ginger Dellenbaugh.
The Track not Taken: “Mercè, dilette amiche”
“In a live concert program, an aria like “Mercè, dilette amiche” is appropriate as an encore—a sprightly digestif for the ears as reward for a round of enthusiastic applause. On an album it seems superfluous after the vocal labors of a behemoth like The Bell Song.”
A guest post by Ginger Dellenbaugh
Strike a Pose
“One hand, clenched in a fist, in the middle of a puffed chest and the other outstretched as if the voice were launched like a frisbee. If one could distill a genre to a gesture, this would be the posture that portrays opera.”
A guest post by Ginger Dellenbaugh.
The Music of Sports and the Sports of Music: Get Your Sporty Groove On!
“I’m often amused when people roar about something they don’t like—as if said roaring attests to some value or characteristic they wish to have—when what it is they’re roaring about actually has a lot in common with what they’re more than happy to tell you they’re into.”
A guest post by Colin Fleming.
Track 3: Ondas (Na Óhlos de Petronila)
“I came to hear the wordless, cinematic Track 3 “Ondas (Na Óhlos de Petronila)” as a devastating protest of 1979 Brazil from afar.”
A guest post by Dan Sharp.
Naná’s time illuminates everything around it
“Naná Vasconcelos’s superb time surfaced several times when I talked to the producers, engineers, and musicians that knew him best … Naná could easily work without a click track, or dance around the pulse of a click track, producing parts that don’t feel pinned down by its tyranny.”
A guest post by Dan B. Sharp
Naná, Arto, and Pat
“Again and again, Naná Vasconcelos paid no mind to feuds between fans, crossing between musical genres and playing with musicians on both sides of entrenched divides.”
A guest post by Dan Sharp
A lost recording of Naná Vasconcelos
“Of the over 300 recordings that Afro-Brazilian percussionist Naná Vasconcelos made over five decades, there is one in particular that best offers a glimpse into his life, his artistic vision, and his priorities… My hope is that this post might lead to finding it.”
A guest post by Dan Sharp