Political History of the Stars & Stripes
by Andrew Burt

The history of the American flag is the story of a nation struggling to find its identity, Woden Teachout argues in her new book, Capture the Flag: A Political History of American Patriotism. Teachout, a professor of graduate studies in history and culture at the online Union Institute and University, recently spoke about the evolving meaning of the flag in American culture.

CD Review: Sam Bush - Circles Around Me
Sam Bush, along with his trademark mandolin style and champion fiddle playing, has inspired jamgrass acts like Yonder Mountain String Band and Leftover Salmon, to more mainstream bluegrass acts like Allison Krauss and the Union Station.  His latest release, Circles Around Me, demonstrates the extraordinary musical talents of Sam Bush and his touring band returning full circle to his bluegrass roots.

CD Review: Admiral Browning - Magic Elixir
So much stoner and doom rock tends to be an exercise in heaviness alone. While that certainly has its place, few people can take the steady bludgeoning that it offers even as it fills that need in all who really love heavy metal for the mind-numbing weight of slow, trudging riffs that take Tony Iommi to the extreme. Sometimes, however, a band offers such crushing power in a more dynamic form that respects the song as well as pushing the limits of the heavy in metal.

Show Review: Cymbals Eat Guitars, Holly Miranda, Delorean - Le Poisson Rouge, NYC 10/23/09
It is safe to say that this year’s lineup for the annual CMJ festival was the most underwhelming in years, maybe ever.  Usually there are 10-20 established acts, and a handful of showcases packed with up and coming contenders that everyone is clamoring to get into, not so for ’09. 

Strangers Almanac: Volume 33: Annie Stela
“Give it up, or lose it completely,” sings Annie Stela on “Clean It Up,” my favorite track off Hard City, one of two EPs that Stela is releasing this year.  For most of Stela’s career as a musician, she’s chosen to give up plenty of things, but not what she was born to do: write songs. It’s this Annie Stela that makes me smile—the independent champion who refuses to quit.

Gallery: Railroad Earth - Paradise, Boston, MA 10.23-24.09
Railroad Earth performing at The Paradise in Boston, Ma October 23rd and 24th, 2009.  All photos by Richard Gastwirt

Sights & Sounds: Marco Benevento & Friends: Live in NYC - Trailer [YouTube]

Sights & Sounds: Them Crooked Vultures -"Mind Eraser (No Chaser)"

Show Review: The Mars Volta - Sonar, Baltimore, MD 10/20/09
The Mars Volta is a band of mystery.  They're detached, they're impersonal...they're brilliant.  It's commonly accepted that a concert should involve some connection between band and audience.  By conventional thinking, this is often accomplished with a bit of friendly banter between songs or sing-along parts that blur the lines between performer and audience.  But the Mars Volta is anything but a conventional band.  They do things differently.

Show Review: The Wood Brothers - Flynn Center, Burlington, VT 10/7/09
Opening for Bruce Hornsby at the FlynnCenter October 7th, The Wood Brothers won over the headliner's audience. Chris and Oliver's sly humor and understated country blues made an almost immediate connection and remained effective for the duration of an unfortunately abbreviated forty-minute set.

Gallery: Jay Z - 1st Mariner Arena Baltimore, MD 10.27.09
Jay Z performing at the 1st Mariner Arena in Baltimore, MD on October 27th, 2009.  All photos by Kenny Pusey

Sights & Sounds: Here We Go Magic - Black Cab LIVE Session

Sights & Sounds: Phish - Festival 8 'Loving Cup'

Gallery: Queensryche - Fillmore, Charlotte, NC 10.20.09
Queensryche performing at the Fillmore in Charlotte, NC on October 20th, 2009.  All photos by Vikas Nambiar

Show Review: Cymbals Eat Guitars / Holly Miranda / Delorean - Le Poisson Rouge, NY, NY 10.23.09
On the Friday night Cymbals Eat Guitars, Holly Miranda, and Delorean played the Self-Titled Magazine/Pop Mart Media Showcase in the Village at Le Poisson Rogue.

Sights & Sounds: Brandi Carlile - "Dreams" (YouTube)

Jackson's father seeks allowance
Joe Jackson asks for an allowance from the estate of his late son Michael, saying the star supported him before he died.

Sadler's Wells role for Phillips
Former Strictly Come Dancing judge Arlene Phillips is to become a director of Sadler's Wells dance theatre.

Street star questioned over crash
Police quiz Coronation Street actor Ryan Thomas over a car crash which took place in Manchester city centre.

Aretha to perform at Motown gala
Aretha Franklin and Stevie Wonder are among the musicians set to perform at a special concert for the US record label.

Beatles tracks pulled off US site
EMI wins an injunction against a US website which it claims was selling Beatles songs without permission.

Sick Sir Elton is out of hospital
Singer Sir Elton John is released from a London hospital after being treated for flu and E. coli, a spokesman for the star says.

Ant and Dec sign new ITV contract
Presenting team Ant and Dec say they are "delighted" and "excited" after signing up for two more years at ITV.

Beyonce in MTV Europe hat-trick
Singer Beyonce has landed a trio of trophies, including best female and best song, at the MTV Europe Music Awards in Berlin.

Golden Girl star has heart bypass
Golden Girls actress Rue McClanahan is recovering in a New York hospital following heart bypass surgery, her manager says.

Oldest museum reopens to public
The UK's oldest public museum, the Ashmolean, reopens after a £61m redevelopment.

Artist's gift of war veteran portraits
Final drawings of two of Britain's last World War I veterans are gifted to the nation for future generations.

Public art boosted by tax scheme
Works of art by Titian and David Hockney are among almost £20m worth of cultural objects accepted in lieu of tax this year, it is revealed.

Bridgend to premiere suicide play
A play based around teenage suicide in the Welsh county of Bridgend is announced by the National Theatre Wales.

Who failed to give a towering performance in Strictly?
Coronation Street star Craig Kelly has become the latest celebrity to be voted off BBC One's Strictly Come Dancing.

Lock of Elvis's hair under hammer
A strand of hair saved by Elvis Presley's personal barber is expected to fetch about £250 at auction in Devizes.

Bunnymen cancel US tour over tax
Echo and the Bunnymen cancel their US tour 10 days before it was due to begin over a tax dispute.

Morrissey is 'best musical poet'
A Scottish academic writes a book arguing that singer Morrissey is the greatest lyricist in the history of British popular music.

Rihanna warning over assault
Singer Rihanna talks on US television about being assaulted by ex-boyfriend Chris Brown, warning that "it could happen to anybody".

Eminem 'wins 3D horror film role'
Rap star Eminem is to appear in a 3D hip-hop horror movie called Shady Talez, according to trade paper Screen International.

De Niro gets top LA Bafta award
Veteran actor Robert De Niro receives the Stanley Kubrick award for excellence in film at the Bafta Awards in Los Angeles.

Freeman settles car crash lawsuit
Hollywood star Morgan Freeman reaches an out-of-court settlement with a woman who was his passenger in a car crash.

Boyle 'to make mountaineer epic'
Slumdog Millionaire director is to film the story of a climber who was forced to amputate his own arm, US media reports.

STV to go it alone with Taggart
STV is to make a new series of its police drama Taggart next year, even if ITV refuse to re-commission it.

Wogan stays at Children In Need
Broadcaster Sir Terry Wogan plans to carry on presenting the BBC's Children In Need show "until hell freezes over", he reveals.

Royle Family actress collects OBE
Veteran actress Sue Johnston, best known for her role in the Royle Family, collects her OBE from the Queen at Buckingham Palace.

TV debut for Streep daughter
The daughter of Oscar-winning actress Meryl Streep is to make her screen debut in a TV series as the child of a celebrity couple.

Ladies' night in Berlin
Host Katy Perry may have an album called One of the Boys - but it was the girls who shone at the MTV Europe Music Awards

Obama inspired
Jon Bon Jovi says his lyrics are framed in the White House

Inside Ashmolean
Discover the museum's delights

Dreamscape
Tracey Emin unveils her latest exhibition in New York

The Grouch
Why did Britain fall out of love with Sesame St?

Making Dr Who
Bye to the man behind the biggest doctors

Vampire weekend
One hotel. Five actors. And 800 Twilight fans...

Video Game Review | Uncharted 2: Among Thieves: A Game That Takes Aim at Bigger Screens
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, for the PlayStation 3 console, is perhaps the best-looking game on any system and provides a cinematic entertainment experience.

Music Review | New York City Opera: City Opera Returns in Its Newly Inviting Home
The company opened its 2009-10 season on Thursday night with a celebratory program, “American Voices,” and for once at an opening-night gala, there really was a great deal to celebrate.

Long-Delayed Opening for History of, and by, Joseph Papp
If Joseph Papp had had his way, “Free for All,” Kenneth Turan’s newly published oral history of Papp and the Public Theater he helped found, would never have seen the light of day.

Exhibition Review | 'A Woman’s Wit: Jane Austen’s Life and Legacy': At the Morgan, the Jane Austen Her Family Knew
“A Woman’s Wit: Jane Austen’s Life and Legacy,” a new exhibition at the Morgan Library & Museum, includes many personal letters and early manuscripts by the author.

Wanda Sykes Has a Show (or So They Tell Her)
“The Wanda Sykes Show,” a new weekly late-night talk show that mixes stand-up material, taped segments and panel discussions, begins on Saturday on Fox.

Dance Review | Cave New York Butoh Festival: From Tokyo, a Stripped-Down Movement Style
“Furnace,” an ensemble piece, opened the Cave New York Butoh Festival on Thursday night at Dixon Place.

Theater Review | 'The Lily’s Revenge': The Bridegroom Wore Eye Shadow, Petals and Lime Fishnet
“The Lily’s Revenge,” a scrappy spectacle written by and starring the drag artist Taylor Mac, splashes across the stage at Here Arts Center in a tide of lime green fishnet and sequins.

‘Spider-Man’ Is Given a New Lead Producer
A rock concert promoter said on Friday that he was taking over production of the coming Broadway musical “Spider-Man, Turn Off the Dark,” and that the troubled show would open in 2010.

Television: Same Street, Different World: ‘Sesame’ Turns 40
Over the years, “Sesame Street” has replaced the graffiti and gritty smudges of city life with green spaces, tofu and yoga.

Dance Review | Nancy Garcia and Chase Granoff: Looking Back, and Taking It Forward
Nancy Garcia and Chase Granoff take historical references seriously in two new works being performed at the Kitchen.

Music Review | New York Philharmonic: Swirling Sonorities, With Asian Poems Translated Into German
Neeme Jarvi conducted the New York Philharmonic in Alexander Zemlinsky’s “Lyric Symphony” on Thursday at Avery Fisher Hall.

Dance Review | 92nd Street Y: Following Many Famous Footsteps Through the 92nd Street Y
On Thursday evening the 92nd Street Y celebrated 75 years of dance programming with a gala sampler in its Kaufmann Concert Hall.

Stacy Rowles, Jazz Musician, Is Dead at 54
The jazz trumpeter, fluegelhorn player and singer had been active on the Los Angeles jazz scene since the 1980s.

Nien Cheng, Memoirist, Is Dead at 94
Ms. Cheng’s memoir, “Life and Death in Shanghai,” offered a harrowing account of the Cultural Revolution in China.

Bridge: Wondering What to Lead? Listen Closely to the Bidding
The North American Open Pairs title is decided at the Spring North American Championships, which will be in Reno, Nev., in March.

A Rally Marked by Bold Strokes
As sales of Modern and Impressionist art at Christie’s and Soethby’s in New York show, buyers in troubled financial times favor the instant aesthetic hit.

Reassessing Artworks of Ancient Rome
The exhibition "Rome: The Painting of an Empire," at the Scuderie del Quirinale through Jan. 17, offers a panoramic view of unusual broadness and depth of Roman painting.

With Top Quality Offerings, Sotheby's Nets $181 Million
At Wednesday's sale of Impressionist and Modern art at Sotheby's New York, 56 works brought in just over $181 million, leaving no doubt that the art market is vigorous despite financially tough times.

Christie's Amasses $65.67 Million in a Sparse Impressionist Sale
Christie's scored beyond all hope on Tuesday night in a sale of Impressionist and Modern art that was alarmingly thin. Of the 40 paintings and sculptures offered, 28 realized an aggregate $65.67 million.

On the London Stage: Bedroom Distress, and Tragedy in Art and Life
Alan Ayckbourn’s “Bedroom Farce” takes viewers on a delicious tour of upheaval; in “Prick Up Your Ears,” drama strangely mirrors real-life tragedy.

Opera Review: Domingo Excels as Boccanegra
Plácido Domingo gives a sterling performance in Verdi's "Simon Boccanegra" in Berlin. In Stuttgart, Stefan Herheim's production of "Der Rosenkavalier" imagines the opera as an erotic fantasy.