"The Scream" and "Madonna" Recovered!

The good news is here.

Although Norwegian authorities have declined to say how the two Munch masterpieces were found, initial speculations that the theft of the two works may be connected to an earlier bank heist still seem plausible. The paintings were found to be in very good condition and are expected to on display again in the near future.

"Little rooster crowin', there must be something on his mind"

Apologies for the unannounced hiatus. I'm glad to report that new posts will increase in frequency at Elective Affinities!

I have a few things I could kick off the new season of posts with but I particularly enjoyed this one which was reported today by Reuters: "Bob Dylan says modern music is worthless." The article is short and features a few quotes from Dylan who sounds off on, well, sound. His critique is basically that modern music is filled with extraneous sounds and recording effects that dilute the actual music. He notes that even his soon-to-be-released album Modern Times, is not entirely immune to the overproduction that occurs in recording and editing studios which pump out today's music. The subtext of Dylan's harsh words against the current music industry is this: Go to concerts. This is something that Dylan has promoted throughout his career. If you want to understand music and experience it the way the artist truly intended, you need to see it and hear it played live. For your convenience, here is the schedule for the remainder of his latest tour. It's well worth the money.