‘Joker’ fans flock to Bronx stairway – and New Yorkers aren’t happy with new tourism
New York’s newest tourist attraction isn’t a museum, park, or art installation. It’s a stairway. Sandwiched between apartment buildings in the Bronx, it’s been dubbed by moviegoers the “Joker Stairs,” earning its name and fame after being featured prominently in “Joker.” Since the film’s release, fans have flocked to the stairs, where they’ve been posing […]
Marijuana is on the ballot in four states, but legalization may soon stall, researchers say
The midterm elections could loosen marijuana restrictions in the United States as four states put ballot initiatives on legalization to a vote. Voters in Utah and Missouri will choose whether patients should gain access to medical marijuana. In Michigan and North Dakota, where medical marijuana is already legal, residents will decide whether to allow it […]
The ghost of Roy Orbison tours U.S. as hologram, stopping in Pennsylvania on Nov. 9
On Oct. 1, the U.S. leg of the Roy Orbison hologram tour kicked off in Oakland. At each stop, a computer-generated hologram of Orbison will be performing alongside an orchestra and band. [The tour comes to the Count Basie Center for the Arts in Red Bank, New Jersey on Nov. 2, the Xcite Center at […]
Hip-hop turns 45 – rap music’s path from pariah to Pulitzer
Kendrick Lamar’s Pulitzer Prize win is a major milestone for hip-hop, a genre that celebrates its 45th birthday this month. It’s also a triumph that many, a mere decade ago, would have never predicted. As someone who teaches and studies the politics of hip-hop and rap, I was pleasantly surprised myself. I thought of hip-hop’s […]
The album at 70 years old: a format in decline?
The album – or at least, the 33rpm vinyl record that spawned the format – turns 70 years old this year. But it isn’t ageing gracefully. Even five years ago, Bob Lefsetz declared that “the album is dying in front of our very eyes” – and given how comprehensively streaming services are decimating record sales, […]
