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U.S. Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death has thrown an unbearably fraught political year into further disarray, a fact that has sadly overshadowed memorialization of her inspiring life and career. Ginsburg was a personal hero for millions of activists and students—from grade school to law school; an icon casually identified by her initials by […] Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Favorite Opera Recordings (and Her...

Bird-watching is having a moment, thanks to the pandemic. As non-essential workers adjusted to spending more time at home, their ears adjusted to the increasingly non-foreign sound of birdsong outside their windows. Those sweet tweets are no doubt largely responsible for the record breaking turnout at this year’s Global Big Day, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's annual […] Hear the Sound Of Endangered Birds Get Turned...

The current moment has forced the original cast and crew of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s massive hit musical Hamilton to revisit and reevaluate the story it tells about America’s founding. As Miranda himself told The Root’s Tonja Renée Stidhum, “All of these guys are complicit in the brutal practice of slavery, slavery is the third line of […] Lin-Manuel Miranda Breaks Down How He Wrote <i>Hamilton</i>‘s...

Deservedly or not, British care homes have acquired a reputation as especially dreary places, from Victorian novels to dystopian fiction to the flat affect of BBC documentaries. Martin Parr gave the world an especially moving example of the care home documentary in his 1972 photo series on Prestwich Asylum, outside Manchester. The compelling portraits humanize […] Nursing Home Residents Replace Famous Rock Stars on...

Watch the video for their new song, “State of the Union (STFU),” above. Read the lyrics below. via Boing Boing Public Enemy Releases a Fiery Anti-Trump Protest Song is a post from: Open Culture. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Google Plus, or get our Daily Email. And don't miss our big collections of Free Online Courses, Free Online Movies, Free eBooks, Free Audio Books,...

“I, Dancing Bear,” a song by an obscure folk artist who goes by the name Birdengine, begins thus: There are some things that I just do not care to know It’s a lovely little tune, if maudlin and macabre are your thing, a song one might almost call anti-political. It is the art of solipsism, […] Tom Morello Responds to Angry Fans Who Suddenly...

Consider the influence of television, even in the digital age. Consider the power that networks like Fox and CNN continue to wield over that nebulous thing called public opinion; the continued dominance of NBC and CBS. These giants don’t really inform so much as sell packaged ideological content paid for and approved by corporate sponsors. […] Gil Scott-Heron Spells Out Why “The Revolution Will...

According to DEVO's co-principle songwriter and bassist Gerald Casale, the experimental art band turned early MTV pop-punk darlings were “pro-information, anti stupid conformity and knew that the struggle for freedom against tyranny is never-ending.” Their singular performance garb also set them apart, and none more so than the bright red plastic Energy Dome helmets they donned 40 years ago […] DEVO Is Now Selling COVID-19 Personal Protective Equipment:...

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, how many of us sought solace from the turbulent 21st century in cultural artifacts of bygone eras? Our favorite records by the likes of the Beatles, Queen, David Bowie; our favorite novels by the likes of Raymond Chandler, Ian Fleming, Philip K. Dick: all of them now possess a solidity […] Classic Songs Re-Imagined as Vintage Book Covers During...

It has taken a viral pandemic, and a mountain of tragic folly and more to come, but the internet has finally delivered the quality content we deserve, at least when it comes to celebrities stuck at home. Nightly bedtime stories read by Dolly Parton? Intimate streamed performances from Neil Young, Ben Gibbard, and many, many […] “It’s the End of the World as We...

I love ya, and I think maybe if we sing together, well, we’d just feel a little bit better. Give it a try, okay? —Neil Diamond Thus quoth singer-songwriter Neil Diamond on March 23, before launching into his surprisingly sturdy monster hit, "Sweet Caroline," having reworked its lyrics to promote hand-washing and social distancing to help control the spread […] Join Choir! Choir! Choir! for a Community Singalong...

Robbie Robertson’s “The Weight,” the Band’s most beloved song, has the quality of Dylan’s impressionistic narratives. Elliptical vignettes that seem to make very little sense at first listen, with a chorus that cuts right to the heart of the human predicament. “Robertson admits in his autobiography,” notes Patrick Doyle at Rolling Stone, “that he struggled […] Good Medicine: The Band’s Classic Song, “The Weight,”...

Austin City Limits--an PBS music program recorded live in Austin, Texas--has decided to open its archives "as a gift to music fans during the current live music moratorium." They write: "Starting March 23, the perennial television series will make fan-favorite episodes from the recently broadcast Season 45 available for streaming, in addition to the entire slate […] Free: Austin City Limits Opens Up Video Archives...

From the point of view of political philosophy, both liberals and conservatives should see boycotts as a clear-cut issue. While in practice millions have had to fight for their economic rights, in theory individual citizens should be able to spend, or withhold, their money where they see fit. The politics of boycotts are far more […] Watch <i>I Signed the Petition</i>, a Philosophical Meditation...