In her sprawling work, Papyrus, Spanish historian and philologist Irene Vallejo takes us on a journey of how books have shaped the ancient world and ours. She engages with the physicality of books, as well as the imaginative and intellectual journey a reader embarks on when they open up a volume. She starts with the great library of Alexandria, a vanity project dreamed up by Alexander the Great, and then moves on to Constantin Cavafy, a bureaucrat of Greek origin in the early 20th century, and Lawrence Durrell in the Alexandria Quartet. Read full article here
Oddities
Why Do Modern Pop Songs Have So Many Credited Writers?
The music industry has changed dramatically over the last few decades – with the number of songwriters credited on number one hits more than doubling. This is due to a combination of factors, including money, the computer and a changing definition of what songwriting is. For example, if The Beatles’ classic “I Feel Fine” was released today, it would likely have four writers credited instead of two, due to the influence of producers, samples and interpolations. With the rise of lawsuits, artists now preemptively add songwriter credits to their songs, even if the similarities between their song and the source material are coincidental. It all goes to show that the music industry is becoming more complex and competitive. Read full article here
Merv
March 29, 2023
