Further to my point about privileged extravagance during a time of forced austerity, the recent Twitter “boycott” by celebrities raising money for charity missed the mark. Alicia Keys, Lady Gaga, Justin Timberlake, Ellen DeGeneres, Usher, and others joined the Digital Life Sacrifice campaign to help raise $1 million for Keys’ Keep a Child Alive project. They all signed off of Twitter for World AIDS Day and would only come back once the money was raised.
If oftentimes happens that a movie or a television show glamorizes and romanticizes a place to such an extent that I want to go there, live there even. Eat Pray Love made Bali look so stunning that, given the chance, I might visit despite the desperately long flight.
Music, though, doesn’t have the visual edge while making its case for a place. Still, one of the more evocative songs I’ve heard in a long time celebrates New York City.
Alicia Keys and Jay-Z continue to dominate the Billboard Hot 100 for a fifth week in a row with their “Empire State of Mind” collaboration. That’s a positive tocsin for Keys who has just announced an arena tour for 2010 in support of her latest offering, The Element of Freedom. The first date of the run is slated for February 28 in Montreal and Keys will close out the tour in Los Angeles on April 6.