Autumn Harvest: A Bumper Crop of Views and Reviews
Film note: An affectionate portrait of composer Philip Glass by Jay Gabler, TC Daily Planet • In Scott Hicks’s documentary Glass: A Portrait of Philip in 12 Parts—receiving its local premiere on September 19 at the Walker Art Center—the composer is seen laughing at his negative press. “I have a very strong, solid hate faction,” he says, “and I find that reassuring.” The film suggests that this unshakable confidence is the foundation of Glass’s life and work.
VOICES | When First Ave was an underage hipster farm club by Almostred, Rift Magazine • The “Hard Rock Bad / First Avenue Good” mantra seems tired but resonates loudly in a downtown eagerly re-developed with little sense of community or connection between venues and the people they serve. The closest I can find today is maybe the Triple Rock or the ubiquitous NE drunk bars that have replaced their meat raffles with punk karaoke. Franchising is anti-community. It’s about uniformity, about removing the mystery and apprehension from encountering new places. First Avenue makes Minneapolis unique. The Hard Rock makes Minneapolis Pittsburgh.
GOING GREEN | Xcel Energy to disclose emissions details by Maria Surma Manka, Maria Energia • In an agreement with New York’s attorney general, Xcel Energy – one of the nation’s largest electric utilities and my own – will now give investors details about how global warming could effect business. (Full disclosure: I’m an Xcel shareholder)
FROM THE SOAPBOX | The business of America is not business by Ronald P. Salzberger • A decent life requires that our social institutions be run on the basis of care for others, not just self- and corporate-interest.
Comment