Monthly Archives: September 2013

Fifteen Seconds of Internet Fame

Last week, on his 66th birthday, mr. Loaf started a two-month engagement in Las Vegas. The Guardian wrote about it on their website, and heck, they even mentioned me: To capture the true beauty of the Steinloaf collaboration, you have to visit the corners of the internet where intense musical nerds dwell. And so, their… Read more »

Seen Live: Groots en meeslepend wil ik leven

Groots en meeslepend wil ik leven opens with Steven de Jong confessing his love for operetta. From there, he easily moves the story along to his audition for Franz Lehar’s Der Zarewitsch in Vienna, where he meets Rudolf—Empress Sissi’s son—falls in love with him, and solves two murders in the process. De Jong sings, plays… Read more »

First Lines: Rijden door de nacht

Last year I read Hier, Ernst Jan Rozendaal’s biography of Bløf documenting their first 20 years. Thirteen years earlier, in 1999, he wrote Rijden door de nacht, a book documenting the first few years and the recording of their third album, Boven. It’s a nice little book, with lots of photographs by Lex de Meester…. Read more »

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First Lines: Recensiekoning recenseert Nederland

What? Recensiekoning recenseert Nederland Come again? A book by the staff of Recensiekoning.nl, filled with reviews of (almost) all things Dutch. And does it have a first line? Sure thing! Well? De eerste keer dat ik merkte dat Nederland eigenlijk een veilig, vermakelijk en zorgeloos landje is, was na mijn terugkeer van een vakantie in… Read more »

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First Lines: Waiting for Godot

It is common knowledge that in Samuel Beckett’s play Waiting for Godot nothing happens. Twice. One evening, two vagrant men meet on a country road near a tree. They’re both waiting for a man named Godot. They pass the time. Two other men pass by. Godot sends word that he won’t be coming tonight, but… Read more »