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Conservatives often lampoon the most egregious examples of Leftist social constructivism, yet they are not immune to indulging in blank-slatist fantasies when it suits them. The conservative civic nationalist project of subsuming disparate racial groups under one flag is a form of social engineering premised on blank slate ideology. (more…)
Paul Revere’s engraved frontispiece for Billings’ The New England Psalm Singer, 1770.
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The Yankee tunesmiths were a group of composers active in New England in the late 18th century. Most of them were self-taught and made a living as craftsmen or farmers. Many also fought in the Revolutionary War. Their music draws on their British heritage, namely the tradition of English psalmody, but it is also uniquely American. (more…)
Phil Eiger Newmann, Beethoven, 2020.
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Today is the 250th anniversary of the christening of Ludwig van Beethoven, a titan of classical music and one of the greatest composers of all time. Beethoven transformed every genre in which he wrote and singlehandedly changed the trajectory of classical music. Rooted in the Classical idiom of Mozart and Haydn, he paved the way for the Romantic era and influenced composers such as Brahms, Liszt, and Wagner. His works remain cornerstones of the classical repertoire. (more…)
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Fox News’ coverage of the 2020 election alienated much of their viewership. The network was the first to call Arizona for Biden, refused to call Florida for Trump even when 90% of the votes had been counted, and declared Biden the winner of the election. Fox News’ ratings have since declined, and many white Trump supporters (more…)
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Today is the 125th anniversary of the birth of Walter Gieseking, one of the greatest pianists of the 20th century. Known for his extensive repertoire, nuanced playing, and powerful memory, he was a formidable musician of rare gifts. In his later years, he attracted controversy on account of his association with National Socialism (more…)
Hollósy Simon, Zrínyi’s Charge on the Turks from the Fortress of Szigetvár, 1896.
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Nikola Šubić Zrinski is an opera written in 1876 by Croatian composer Ivan Zajc that retells the Siege of Szigetvár. It is Zajc’s most accomplished work and is considered the national opera of Croatia. An excellent recording of the opera was released in late July featuring the Rijeka Symphony Orchestra (more…)
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Two days ago, 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse was charged with murder in the deaths of two people shot during the Tuesday night riot in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Mainstream media outlets jumped on the story and denounced Rittenhouse, an upstanding young white man who clearly acted in self-defense, as a homicidal “white supremacist” (more…)
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For the past several years, fans of H. P. Lovecraft have agonized over the question of how to reconcile their love for the Cthulhu mythos with Lovecraft’s views on race. Lovecraft Country, a TV adaptation of Matt Ruff’s novel of the same name, proposes a solution to this dilemma: to apply Lovecraft’s characterization of eldritch horror to white people. The show, whose producers include J. J. Abrams and Get Out director Jordan Peele, premiered on August 16th. As one would expect, it is awful, (more…)
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Earlier this year, the Marian Consort, a vocal ensemble known for performing Renaissance music, released an album of Catholic sacred music by English composer William Byrd. The album, entitled Singing in Secret: The Clandestine Catholic Music of William Byrd, is one of the finest sacred music releases in recent memory. (more…)
Gareth Jones
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In any age, people with the capacity to truly think for themselves are rare. Rarer still are those courageous enough to defy the established order and express heretical views. Most people are too unwilling to part with the security that conformity affords. The heretic values truth and justice above all else, even his own life.
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A Vice article published on Tuesday has reignited the debate over whether racism (or “pathological bias,” to use the clinical term proposed by psychiatrists) should be considered a mental illness and included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. In turn, I would like to raise the question of whether pathological xenophilia should be considered a mental illness. (more…)
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The shooting of Ahmaud Arbery on February 23, 2020, made national headlines after a video of the incident surfaced last week. Arbery, a 25-year-old black man, was “jogging” near Brunswick, Georgia, when he was confronted by two white men, Gregory McMichael and his son, Travis McMichael, who were arrested on May 7. The incident has, unsurprisingly, received extensive coverage, (more…)