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Posts published by “David Yearsley”

The Light Brothers

Born October 19th, 1862 Auguste Lumière—the elder of the two brothers, who later became the world’s first filmmakers—would have celebrated his 150th birthday last week. If one defines the cinema as the projecting of a…

A Debate In Search Of A Soundtrack

The importance of music can only be truly gauged by its absence. A bride walking down the aisle in silence is an act that thunders more loudly than a hundred trumpets and timpani. Likewise, watching…

Der Super-Porno

Spotting an acquaintance in an airport can be unsettling. Should you say hello or disappear wordlessly down the concourse? It’s especially awkward when you spot that friend lurking among the smut section in a bookstore/giftshop…

Obama’s Opening Campaign Video

Berlin — Just as wallpaper sometimes tells you almost everything you need to know about the people who live in the house it decorates, so too can even the most banal soundtrack to a political…

A Depressing Lesson

It’s not only dangerous to have the headphones on or the earbuds in when on the bike; I want to hear what’s going on, whether it’s the blackbirds whistling in the chestnut trees or the metrobus bearing down on my back tire.

The Sound Of Shellac

The man credited with convincing the global consumers that it is worth the effort and money and environmental degradation to condense their music libraries onto a matchbook-sized (or somewhat larger) gadget has announced his retirement.…

The Lost Glories Of The Great Castrati

There is no such thing as old music. Regardless of when a piece was composed, it comes to life only at the moment when someone plays or sings it. Music only exists as sound, even…

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