Yeah Right

Can Jazz Ever Be Cool Again?

I think this is pretty cool...I decided to check my Twitter feed, where I stumbled on an hour-long Twitter conversation between Terry Teachout, cultural critic extraordinaire, and his followers, on how to revive jazz as an art form.  You can see the whole thing here, including the Tweets that Teachout re-tweeted and responded to.  It's a very civilized and well-informed discussion, which you might expect from a bunch of jazz lovers.

And that, to paraphrase Teachout's argument, is the problem.  His basic thesis is that jazz, which was a popular and mass art form from the 20s until the early 50s at least, has morphed into 'high art.'  It's fans are the same ones who go to opera, the symphony and non-musical plays.  They trend towards the upper income, college or better educated and - gasp - old.  Jazz is about as cool as polka to the average 20-something - not even something your parents like (that's probably classic rock).  Grandpa, maybe.

File Under: Awesome

Best. Dress code. Ever.

A Headline American Idol Winners Hope they Never See

Anything that includes the words "State Fair."  A tour with Cheap Trick can't be far behind (and for the record, I like Cheap Trick).

Mark Your Calendars

The dates for the 2010 U.S. Air Guitar Championships are out.

Bottom 100 Under the Age of 100

There are too many lists of the powerful and important, the up and comers, the ones to watch.  What we need are most lists like this one , which counts down the 100 least powerful people under the age of 100.  So many inspired choices, like the head of Bolivia's navy, Rosie O'Donnell, and the ex-sportscaster turned MSNBC commentator.  I really hope #87 is wrong, though, since I just intentionally bought a Palm Pre instead of an iPhone.       

Bustin a Move on Valentine's Day

Consistent with this week's FSF pick, this sounds like something John Cleese might have said in an old Monty Python routine

"Being a more confident dancer can help you catch the eye of prospective dates and add a little sparkle to an evening out so we are calling on men throughout the nation to rid themselves of their dancing fears this Valentine's Day and hit the dancefloor."

In reality, that was Georgina Harper, Creative Director of Britain's "dance event" MOVE IT.  I never realized dance-phobia was so common among men.  And while it's obvious that women like guys who know their way around a dance floor, MOVE IT has commissioned a study that finds "women would be more likely to continue dating a bad kisser who could dance, than a bad dancer who could kiss and that more women rated being able to dance well above being able to kiss well when asked about the skills they most rated in a prospective partner."  Maybe it's a British thing....that doesn't ring true for me.  In any event, this article is worth reading for the strange phrase-ology that is used (e.g. "the role of dancing in the dating scenario"), as well as the research findings (women prefer dinner and dancing to bowling - who knew?).  Happy Valentine's Day all! 

 

Would The Dude Abide This Strange New Sport?

Ever heard of "Brazilian Boutique Bowling"?  Evidently it's huge in, er, Brazil, and also a hit in other parts of the globe.  Until a few weeks, ago, however, Brazilian Boutique Bowling enthusiasts were out of luck in the States.

That has now changed, with the opening of Segredo (or "secret," in the land where BBB was born) in my adopted hometown.  Segredo is one part bowling alley, one part lounge, and one part sports bar and Wii parlor.  If that seems like a strange mix, maybe it is...no one really knows whether this thing is going to work.  I'm personally rooting for it - I can see the Choclatini crowd rolling a few lanes before heading off to more happening clubs - even though The Dude, Walter and Donny would no doubt see it as heresy (especially Walter). 

I wonder, though, if BBB has a prayer on the far more trendy coasts, or whether it would be seen as hopelessly dorky.  Obviously, a lot depends on the details, and whether atmosphere could ever make bowling cool.  So just curious...would YR readers give a club like this a try?  

File Under: Brilliant

Unhappy hipsters

What's new for news?

America has already fallen in love with the likes of Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert and their spoof on traditional newscasts.  [Does anyone under the age of 70 watch traditional network newscasts anymore?!]

And traditional TV news pieces have become increasingly cliche as this hilarious BBC spoof demonstrates:  

So my question is, what's next?  Is cable news the only video news formatting alternative to these hackneyed pieces?

The Hip Gap

If Rep. McCotter was aware of the super-hip Yeah Right Nation, he'd no doubt be more encouraged than he is about the future of the pro-freedom revolution... but yeah, his pop culture test over at Big Hollywood is pretty funny.