The New York Times Magazine: The Day the Music Burned. “It was the biggest disaster in the history of the music business — and almost nobody knew. This is the story of the 2008 Universal fire.”
endangered culture
LiveMint: Archiving the sound of music
LiveMint: Archiving the sound of music. “The noise of NH48 gets left behind as soon as you enter the institutional area in Sector 32, Gurugram. On either side of leafy avenues are tall glass-panelled towers. Amidst these high-rise buildings a compact, pristine structure stands out—exposed bricks, green domes and terracotta sculptures scattered on the front lawn. This structure is home to the American Institute of Indian Studies, which has two centres — the Centre for Art and Archeology, and the Archives and Research Centre for Ethnomusicology (Arce). I am here to visit the latter.”
Financial Times: The keen collectors battling to preserve Arab music
Financial Times (often FT articles are paywalled, but I found this one was not): The keen collectors battling to preserve Arab music . “Egypt and the Levant have a rich and varied musical heritage that has been preserved in recorded form since the 1890s. Yet the sound that dominates airwaves and memories today — what to many is ‘classical Arab music’ — represents only a narrow part of this spectrum: mid-20th-century singers such as Egypt’s Umm Kulthum, who, backed by stirring orchestras, soundtracked a golden age of cultural confidence, political independence and pan-Arab nationalism. While undeniably rousing, this music has tended to eclipse the region’s other traditions.”
Google Blog: On World Heritage Day, explore historic sites in 3D
Google Blog: On World Heritage Day, explore historic sites in 3D. “In addition to bringing new heritage locations and their stories to Google Arts & Culture, this year Historic Environment Scotland and the University of South Florida—organizations with a shared commitment to opening their 3D datasets to the world—have also joined the Open Heritage project. Together, we’re launching Open Heritage 3D, a dedicated portal for sharing 3D cultural heritage data and its results with everyone.”
AP: Chimps varied ‘culture’ matters for conservation, study says
AP: Chimps varied ‘culture’ matters for conservation, study says. “As researchers learn more about Homo sapiens’ closest living genetic relatives, they are also discovering more about the diversity of behaviors within chimpanzee groups — activities learned, at least in part socially, and passed from generation to generation. These patterns are referred to as ‘traditions’ — or even animal ‘culture.’ In a new study , scientists argue that this diversity of behaviors should be protected as species themselves are safeguarded, and that they are now under threat from human disturbance.”
Archaeological Institute of America: Launch of New Website for Cultural Property Protection Groups
Archaeological Institute of America: Launch of New Website for Cultural Property Protection Groups . “The new website of the Cultural Heritage by Archaeology and the Military Panel (CHAMP) is now active! CHAMP’s sister organization, Military Cultural Heritage Advisory Group (MilCHAG), is now sharing the website. MilCHAG has the same overall goal of protecting endangered cultural heritage, but the group focuses on directly helping military personnel plan, train, and operate to protect cultural property in areas in conflict.”
‘Flying blind’: Researchers call for national database of Indigenous sites (SBS News Australia)
SBS News (Australia): ‘Flying blind’: Researchers call for national database of Indigenous sites. “Researchers have called for the development of a national database of historical and culturally significant Indigenous sites after findings that the lack of an up-to-date, national record has led to issues with the management of sites, including an inability to engage with threats such as climate change.”
