By Polar Levine, The new movie version of HAIRSPRAY makes this a good time to take another look at this piece I originally wrote back in 2003. It calls up the event that inspired Waters to create the original Hairspray film. Buddy Dean died on July 16 2003. Probably not too many people besides Baltimore-bred baby boomers noticed. John Waters and Danny Schechter did.

by Mark Kirby, Electronica and the rise of machines in music, like machines everywhere, are moving to include, eclipse, and displace people and the human touch. iPods replace DJ's in clubs. A buddy of mine pointed out that from Broadway to Las Vegas, living musicians are being replaced by synthesizers and drum machines. Karaoke is now considered an art form and folks who pay $50 to $500 to see a "live show" see a "band" playing computer music. And if there is a live band, as in the case of, say, Beyonce's ongoing tour, the musicians interface with and are subservient to, the almighty machine in the form of click tracks, videos and other special effects.

 
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