Lady Gaga Research Articles

MO056: Alteration of Glycocalyx on Endothelium of Peritubular Capillaries in CKD

Abstract BACKGROUND AND AIMS The glycocalyx is a carbohydrate-rich gel-like mesh, which covers the luminal surface of cells, including the endothelium. The glycocalyx is involved in many regulatory functions of the endothelium, including vascular permeability. In chronic kidney disease (CKD), peritubular capillaries undergo anatomical, structural and functional alterations such as rarefaction, increased tortuosity and increased permeability. Here, we hypothesized that the glycocalyx of peritubular capillaries might be affected in CKD and investigated morphological and ultrastructural pathological alterations of the glycocalyx in different murine CKD models and human kidney tissue. METHOD We stained the glycocalyx of peritubular capillaries in kidney tissue of murine and human CKD specimen using different fluorescently labeled plant-derived lectins. Next, we established the Lanthanum Dysprosium Glycosamino Glycan adhesion (LaDy GAGa) staining technique to visualize the ultrastructure of the glycocalyx using transmission electron microscopy and to perform quantitative analyses. Finally, we analyzed the expression and regulation of glycocalyx components in primary murine endothelial cells. RESULTS Fluorescence stainings using different lectins with high affinity to components of the renal glycocalyx revealed a reduced binding to the endothelium in CKD. We found a similar change in a human kidney tissue. The LaDy GAGa staining technique visualized the ultrastructure of the glycocalyx and enabled quantitive analyses. We found a significant reduction of the glycocalyx thickness and density in two different models of renal fibrosis and CKD, i.e. unilateral ureteral obstruction and ischemia–reperfusion injury. Additionally, mRNA expression of proteins involved in glycocalyx biology, synthesis and turnover, i.e. syndecan 1 and glypican 1, which are main components of the glycocalyx, and exostosin 2, involved in the synthesis of the glycocalyx, were significantly upregulated in endothelial cells isolated from murine CKD models. CONCLUSION Visualization of glycocalyx using specific ultrastructural analyses allows qualitative and quantitative analyses, revealing significant pathological alterations in the glycocalyx of peritubular capillaries in CKD.

Feminist stylistic analysis and LGBTQA+ representation in Lady Gaga’s born this way

This study is intended to find out the exact meaning of the lyrics at different levels of language, and phonetic devices, as well as to reveal how these stylistic devices work on Lady Gaga’s Born This Way (LGBTQA+). This study employed qualitative content analysis. The source of the data was the song Born This Way by Lady Gaga and the data were the linguistics aspects of the song, which are the words, phrases, clauses and sentences, as well as the discourse unit of the song. It was found that the song aims to speak to as many perspectives as possible, through different races, sexualities, and gender expressions, through the language uses that are represented in the song. By then, this song has completely succeeded to not only raising up feminist voice, but also, most likely, if there was no song with all the impact and events, understanding about gender and equality would not develop as it is today. The song strongly emphasizes the equality notion by accepting who we are as we are all born this way. The choices of word, phrase, clause and sentence as well as the discourse unit credit about self-liberation, and loving every part of oneself, no matter what race, belief, or sexuality one is on. This also proves that this song is not solely an LGBTQA+ community anthem, instead, it is a song for all kind of self-acceptance.

Rock Trolls and Recovery

Rock Trolls and Recovery

Cory Pesaturo: A Musician on a Mission

Cory Pesaturo: A Musician on a Mission

“Life(‘Fashion’) Goes On”

<h3>ABSTRACT:</h3> For Ghana’s style-conscious women, <i>life</i>—in the form of African-print fashion—”goes on” despite three decades of economic decline caused by the World Bank’s Structural Adjustment Programs, which ended many women’s ability to wear and stockpile assets in costly “Holland” wax-print cloth. In the early years of the twenty-first century, Ghana’s struggling commission-based grassroots fashion system has been reinvigorated by the advent of affordable Chinese- manufactured African prints and new digitally produced fashion “calendars,” displaying a profusion of new exuberant African-print styles. By the late 1990s, inexpensive fashion calendars featuring the latest African-print styles began to appear on workshop walls of Ghanaian seamstresses and tailors who specialized in women’s fashion. The photographic realism achieved by new digital publishing technologies proved especially valuable for conveying the intricate stylistic details and inventive combinations of African prints, solid-color cottons, and lace that express Ghanaian women’s African-print fashion aesthetic. Importantly, the twenty-first-century infusion of energy from the youth-driven boom in “fanciful” African-print <i>kaba</i>-and-<i>slit</i> styles, seen in 2007 and 2010 fashion calendars, attests to the enduring vitality of African-print fashion. By 2013, youthful African-print “straight dresses” also began appearing in fashion calendars with titles such as <i>New Generation, Living Young and Free</i>, and <i>Lady Gaga</i>, further expanding the innovative scope of grassroots African-print style.

Microvascular Inflammation: An Incremental Path to Refining the Diagnosis of Antibody-mediated Rejection in Heart Transplantation

Microvascular Inflammation: An Incremental Path to Refining the Diagnosis of Antibody-mediated Rejection in Heart Transplantation

The Italian American Studies Association at Fifty-Five: 1966–2021

The Italian American Studies Association at Fifty-Five: 1966–2021

Sex Between Body and Mind: Psychoanalysis and Sexology in the German-speaking World, 1890s–1930s.By Katie Sutton. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press, 2019. xv + 347 pages. $90.00 hardcover, $69.95 e-book.

Sex Between Body and Mind: Psychoanalysis and Sexology in the German-speaking World, 1890s–1930s. By Katie Sutton. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press, 2019. xv + 347 pages. $90.00 hardcover, $69.95 e-book. In 2011, Lady Gaga released her global synth-pop hit “Born This Way,” which

A perfect illusion.

On the morning of my Ph.D. qualifying exam, I rolled out of bed, showered, and slid into my navy blue blazer and matching checkered pants. Next came the makeup. I brushed on a layer of foundation and drew thick black lines around my eyes—a look that signified the boldness I wanted to embody during my presentation. I put on heels and walked around my apartment, a test drive to ensure I wouldn't collapse on the floor in pain. After a few laps, I looked in the mirror. I felt confident—ready to face the members of my Ph.D. committee and answer whatever questions they threw at me. It's a strategy I developed thanks to an unlikely inspiration: Lady Gaga. > “My naturally shy and quiet personality was not exactly ideal for public speaking.” I've always struggled with being confident. As an undergraduate, my heart pounded whenever I raised my hand to answer questions posed by professors. I knew the material, but the prospect of getting the answer wrong in front of all my classmates was daunting. Later, in graduate school, I especially feared giving presentations about my research. Beforehand, I would practice for hours on end. I knew I risked sounding rehearsed and boring, but calming my nerves was more important. The practice helped somewhat, but on presentation day, I still sounded flustered. I pored over books to find the best ways to format and outline a presentation. If I had clear slides, I reasoned, maybe then I'd have the courage to speak with authority. I ended up with well-designed slides, but I could not present them any better. Unlocking the key to my confidence was much more difficult than I anticipated. I realized I couldn't expect to wake up one day, look in the mirror, and say, “OK, today is the big day; today I am going to be confident.” But perhaps I could find a creative solution that would work for me. The breakthrough came during the month before my qualifying exam—a major milestone in my Ph.D. program that triggered waves of self-doubt—when I listened to a Lady Gaga album titled Joanne . As an avid fan, I noticed it sounded completely different from her past albums. She had switched from her usual dance-pop to soft rock and country, and her outfits—now cowgirl getups—had changed as well. I was intrigued. Lady Gaga was taking a huge professional risk, but she was confident in the music she released, confident in herself, and confident in her ability to adopt a new image. That got me thinking: Could I do something similar before I stepped on stage? My naturally shy and quiet personality was not exactly ideal for public speaking, so I thought about the traits and the image I wanted my professional self to possess. I pictured a steady, clear voice and a tall, commanding stance. I imagined myself as the expert in the room who wasn't afraid to say, “I'm not sure.” I thought about the moments when I felt the most put together, when I wore professional clothing and highlighted my features through makeup. To me, makeup wasn't a mask. It signified boldness, femininity, and self-assurance—all traits I associated with strength and power. I experimented with the idea during a practice presentation at home. I stood next to my laptop in professional attire, speaking loudly and fluidly—a sharp contrast to my usual practice routine, which involved sitting at my desk in pajamas speaking quietly. It was a promising start. I decided to give my new presenter persona a try at my qualifying exam. When I walked into the exam room, I was pleased to discover I had a newfound confidence. Sure, I was nervous, but an unfamiliar sense of calm rushed through me as soon as I began my talk. I was able to answer questions without a quaver in my voice, and I took ownership of the work I presented. Finally, I was the expert. At that moment, I realized that we either succumb to feelings of doubt or find innovative ways to overcome them. In the years since, my presenter persona has given me confidence during many talks and interviews, and I've become more comfortable transforming into this role when necessary. There's no surefire way to become a confident presenter. But thanks to Lady Gaga, I now have a strategy that works.

Moving from Vatican Bling to Malchus’s Ear: Taking the “Catholic Imagination” Seriously When Thinking About Catholic Devotions in Centuries Past

Moving from Vatican Bling to Malchus’s EarTaking the “Catholic Imagination” Seriously When Thinking About Catholic Devotions in Centuries Past Michael P. Carroll (bio) Every year the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City stages a gala to raise money for its Costume Institute and that gala is always associated with a themed exhibition that is open to the public once the gala itself is over (the Met Gala for 2020, of course, was canceled because of Covid-19). In 2018, the exhibition theme was “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination.” Most press coverage of the gala itself focused on the female celebrities who attended (including, among others, Rihanna, Madonna, Miley Cyrus, Serena Williams, and Lady Gaga) and the costumes they wore in order to reflect the exhibition’s theme. But what would make the 2018 exhibition especially distinctive was that it would become the most visited exhibition in the recorded history of the Met, beating out the King Tut exhibition in the 1970s.1 On the face of things, then, it would seem there is much public interest in the “Catholic Imagination.” What did people see at this particular exhibition? As commentators were quick to note, the exhibition had a tripartite organization. [End Page 124] One section was devoted to what one churlish commentator called “Vatican bling.”2 On view there were nearly four dozen papal vestments on loan from the Sistine Chapel sacristy, many of which had never been outside Rome, and which included tiaras (including a tiara set with 19,000 gems, mostly diamonds); papal chasubles, and pectoral crosses. By agreement with Church authorities, these objects were kept separate from the more secular fashions displayed in the rest of the exhibition. A second section of the exhibition displayed secular clothing by leading fashion designers that had been inspired by religious dress and religious art. Finally, a third section was on display at the Cloisters, the Met’s extension in northern Manhattan, and this also involved secular designs that had been inspired by sacred art. At one level then, the exhibition was concerned with exactly what its title suggests, namely, the influence of Catholic art and clerical dress on secular fashion—though as one commentator noted, this was only true if “fashion” consistently meant “women’s fashion.”3 On the other hand, reading through the scholarly essays published in the exhibition catalogue, it seems clear that the organizers had an aspirational goal that reached for a bit more, namely, they wanted to explore the nature and importance of the “Catholic Imagination” in the Catholic tradition generally. This is especially clear in the introductory essay in the exhibition’s catalogue, which was written by Andrew Bolton, curator of the Costume Institute and the organizer of the exhibition. Bolton starts by noting that the term “Catholic Imagination” was popularized by the priest/sociologist Andrew Greeley (1928–2013) in his book of that title, and Bolton summarizes Greeley by saying that “metaphor is the essential characteristic of a distinctively Catholic sensibility, or consciousness, which he [Greeley] defines as the Catholic Imagination.”4 Bolton goes on to quote an extended passage from Greeley’s book. Since that particular passage also appeared on a wall of the exhibition (which, incidentally, I did visit at the time), it is worth repeating here: [End Page 125] Catholics live in an enchanted world, a world of statues and holy water, stained glass and votive candles, saints and religious medals, rosary beads and holy pictures. But these Catholic paraphernalia are mere hints of a deeper and more pervasive religious sensibility to see the Holy lurking in Creation. . . . The Catholic Imagination in all its many manifestations . . . tends to emphasize the metaphorical nature of creation. . . . Everything in creation, from the exploding cosmos to the whirling, dancing, and utterly mysterious quantum particles discloses something about God and, in so doing, brings God among us. Greeley’s argument, Bolton notes, was derived from an earlier argument developed by the theologian David Tracy,5 and indeed Tracy contributed his own essay to the exhibition catalogue.6 Despite the fact that this very explicit acknowledgement of Andrew Greeley’s work was (literally) built into the exhibition, the exhibition and...

Just Being Dalí: The Story of Artist Salvador Dalí by Amy Guglielmo

Reviewed by: Just Being Dalí: The Story of Artist Salvador Dalí by Amy Guglielmo Deborah Stevenson, Editor Guglielmo, Amy Just Being Dalí: The Story of Artist Salvador Dalí; illus. by Brett Helquist. Putnam, 2021 [40p] Trade ed. ISBN 9781984816580 $17.99 E-book ed. ISBN 9781984816597 $10.99 Reviewed from digital galleys R 6-9 yrs The irrepressible Dalí was as much a phenomenon as an artist, and this picture book biography wisely depicts him as both. When Salvador was a young boy in Spain, his father was frustrated with his dreamy son, but "Salvador couldn't help being himself," a refrain that soon becomes familiar. He attends art school, goes to Paris and joins up with the surrealists, finds love, and paints the work that makes him immortal, The Persistence of Memory. Celebrity meant that "soon Salvador's antics drew more attention than his art," but Dalí and his fans weren't bothered by the art establishment's disapproval; he may have spent a lot more time "appearing on television and having parties," but the man who regularly dined in restaurants with his pet ocelot left an indelible mark on the cultural landscape. The text is deftly compact in condensing a wild life into a brief narrative, and Guglielmo appropriately takes Dalí's side on the value of his life choices. Helquist's familiar style of measured exuberance suits its subject well, calmly throwing in the odd eccentricity unmentioned in the text (like Dalí's Parisian stroll with a leashed anteater) and tastefully depicting without mimicking relevant artworks. An artist who focused on garnering attention and exploring absurdity has innate kid appeal; audiences will definitely be induced to seek out Dali's work and online footprint and consider the throughline to more recent figures such as Lady Gaga. End matter includes a [End Page 263] further note about Dalí, a selected bibliography, a note about quotes, and a key to the featured works of art. Copyright © 2021 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois

“My Compliments to your Dressmaker”: The Past and Future of Wearable Tech

389 NOTES AND CORRESPONDENCE NOTES AND CORRESPONDENCE “My Compliments to your Dressmaker”: The Past and Future of Wearable Tech “Do you think you can gather more information with your eyes than I can with my sensors?” —Dr. Miranda Jones, “Is There in Truth No Beauty?” Star Trek 60 Although Diana Muldaur gives a commanding performance as Dr. Miranda Jones, the telepathic ambassador to the dread Medusan emissary in the fifth episode of the third season of the original Star Trek, she is not the star of the show. The real luminary of the 60th episode is not human at all, nor Romulan or Vulcan, for that matter. It is the dress that Dr. Jones wears for the duration: a shimmering, lightly woven, jewel-studded confection (see fig. 1 and 2, below). Not even the terrible lighting of the starship Enterprise can dull its effervescence, and not even Captain Kirk’s unwanted amorous advances can diminish its decidedly feminine power. The dress has presence, has agency (more on which in a moment), so it is no surprise that since its debut in the popular imagination in 1968, the garment has also starred in a variety of museum exhibitions devoted to Star Trek fandom, costuming history, and textile appreciation, in venues as storied as the Smithsonian Institute’s National Air and Space Museum (Mills). Indeed, Dr. Miranda Jones’s bedazzling dress exemplifies how science fiction both integrates and expands upon the fashion of its time. In the context of the episode’s original release (October 1968), it is interesting to compare the cover model of the 1 November 1968 issue of Vogue, Françoise Rubartelli, who is bedecked in jewels from the bustline up (fig. 3, below). The description of her Pierre Cardin ensemble could be used to describe Miranda Jones’s gown: “embroidered in a rainbow of dazzle from neck to waist—jewel-bright pailletes, silvery sequins, and bits of mirror ... brilliance carried up to the chin” (“Embroidered” 3). So also could the description of serpentine jewels that snake up the forearm of Veruschka on the cover of the 15 November issue (fig. 4, below): “dazzled here by the accessory of the hour” (“Dazzled” 3) or the silver-toned costume that Lauren Hutton wears on the cover of the December issue that same year (fig. 5, 390 SCIENCE FICTION STUDIES, VOLUME 48 (2021) below): “a feast of dazzle for the Christmas eye” (“Feast” 3). Correlation is not causation, of course; and it is in any case less important to identify which of these costumes precedes the others than to observe that all seem to reach out, like the sensitive, tentacled, and bedazzled feelers of an alien being, to an as-yet undefined future. We see the same anticipatory impulse in a variety of popular fashion lines today: the music videos that accompany Lady Gaga’s Chromatica (2020), for example, are as lushly colored and enticing as any M-class planet Captain Kirk and crew might have measured with their tricorders and also depict enough exquisitely tailored, form-fitting costumes to make Barbarella blush—or, given Barbarella’s breath-heavy victory over the sexual excesses of the “Excessive Machine,” perhaps Duran Duran would be the one blushing. (Fun fact: “Barbarella” is the name of a shade of lipstick by Nars Cosmetics.) Speaking of that Jane Fonda film released in October 1968, a recent story in Town and Country—“How 1970s Comic Books and Barbarella Inspired Van Cleef & Arpels’ New High Jewelry Collection”—features a diamond- and sapphire-studded lapis lazuli necklace in the shape of a diadem that one can easily imagine encircling Barbarella’s neck (Volandes). A recent line of jewelry from Chanel—“Constellation Astrale”—similarly riffs upon the celestial imagery so common in science fiction: with its sparkling gold stars, the necklace might adorn the décolletage of Wonder Woman herself. All these sumptuous objects share the sparkle of that Star Trek dress. What remains fascinating about Miranda Jones’s, however, is not the graceful symmetry of its weblike structure or the lavish appearance of its many sparkling nodes. This futuristic frock continues to delight because it is not, in the end, merely beautiful or decorative. No fashionable object is...

Under the Red White and Blue: Patriotism, Disenchantment and the Stubborn Myth of The Great Gatsby

Under the Red White and Blue: Patriotism, Disenchantment and the Stubborn Myth of <i>The Great Gatsby</i>

Interlude. Combating Gender Norms with a Lipstick-Gun

is a track on Lady Gaga's album Born this way which was released in 2011. Given that it attracted a lot of attention not only in popular media but also in several academic works, this might indicate the potential for discussion within this specific religious theme. Many questions, including whether the message of the song intends to criticize religion or whether Judas could potentially be blasphemous, were raised.

Notes on Vegan Camp

By examining a kitsch piece of nineteenth-century scrimshaw on display at the Hull Maritime Museum, Lady Gaga's infamous meat dress, and a range of mock meat products, this essay expands the scope of camp representation to theorize how vegans can, and do, draw both sustenance and pleasure from what has previously only caused pain. Appropriating products of exploitation as “vegan camp” constitutes a refusal to experience horror or disgust and instead to enjoy a surface performance of human exceptionalism, an enjoyment that parodies earnestness and exposes the desperate drive to assert human dominance over the nonhuman animal to farce. Vegan camp thus provides a mode of reading that broadens vegan-oriented scholarship beyond its current associations with the serious and sincere.

‘Art’s in pop culture in me’: Posthuman performance and authorship in Lady Gaga’s Artpop (2013)

Ten years after her eccentric entrance into the pop scene with ‘Just Dance’, Gaga’s image is now markedly less edgy, in part due to her current focus on her film and TV acting career which requires a different image. In her musical work, Gaga is known for referencing artists that came before her in her music and music videos, and she has previously pushed the assumed boundaries between pop and art. This bricolage of influences often gives rise to claims of inauthenticity where rapidly changing and subversive image has left critics questioning who the ‘real’ Lady Gaga is. Moving beyond limited and value-laden discourses of authenticity, we instead suggest that her performances exemplify a posthuman approach to art and/as subjectivity. In the posthuman view, one’s ‘self’ is not a singular, static, autonomous individual, but a subjectivity that is emergent; an entanglement between entities, both human and non-human. Posthuman theory consequently troubles dualistic binaries, such as those between male/female, self/other, subject/object and human/machine/animal. This allows for a critique of anthropocentric hierarchies, instead arguing for a rhizomatic acknowledgement of the different entities in the subjectivities that emerge. We suggest that Lady Gaga’s work on her 2013 album Artpop exemplifies this approach, as Gaga fashions her body to resemble artworks and wears visual references to (female) artists that came before her. She incorporates different objects, machines, animals and others into her performances, thereby embodying a posthuman subjectivity. This work therefore signifies a reconsideration of what it means to be an audio-visual-artist and challenges not only the sanctity of self, but also the Romantic model of the male artist and singer-songwriter which persists in much popular music media criticism. However, problematically anthropocentric approaches remain throughout via Gaga’s foregrounding of self, and her current return to more muted performance styles might be seen as indicative of the difficulties of living a posthuman life in a humanistic society and marketplace.

DERIVATIONAL AND INFLECTIONAL MORPHEME ANALYSIS ON THE SONG LYRICS OF LADY GAGA “A STAR IS BORN” ALBUM

The tittle of this research is Affixes Analysis on the Song Lyrics of Lady Gaga “A Star is Born” Album. The method that used in this study is to analyst the lyrics of “A Star is Born” album and the technique that used to collect the data is analyzing technique that used is qualitative method. The purpose of this research is to identify and find out the farms of the affix of derivation and inflectional from the lyrics of “A Star is Born” album. Based on the analysis, it was found that many types of derivation and inflectional affix. The most dominant that found in the Lady Gaga album song is derivation affix. The result of this research, 14 data or 58,3% derivation affixes 10 data or 41,7%% that inflectional found in "A Stars is Born” album. Keywords: Morphology, Affixes, Derivational, Inflectional

Chasing Dreams, Finding Nightmares: Exploring the Creative Limits of the Music Career

Chasing Dreams, Finding Nightmares: Exploring the Creative Limits of the Music Career

Is It Still Good to Ya? Fifty Years of Rock Criticism, 1967–2017 by Robert Christgau

Reviewed by: Is It Still Good to Ya? Fifty Years of Rock Criticism, 1967–2017 by Robert Christgau Shelley L. Rogers Is It Still Good to Ya? Fifty Years of Rock Criticism, 1967–2017. By Robert Christgau. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2018. [v, 443 p. ISBN 978147800082 (hardcover), $109.95; ISBN 9781478000228 (paperback), $27.95; ISBN 9781478002079 (ebook), varies.] Index. The eight-page introduction is the only segment of this book that is totally new content by the author; the rest is previously published material by the famed rock music critic that originally appeared in other publications. This practice is consistent with Robert Christgau's other books, such as Any Old Way You Choose It: Rock and Other Pop Music, 1967–1973 (Baltimore: Penguin Books, 1973) and Grown Up All Wrong: 75 Great Rock and Pop Artists from Vaudeville to Techno (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1998). Christgau earned a degree in English from Dartmouth in 1962. He does not have degrees in journalism or music, but his command of the English language and constant pastime of listening to music has enabled him to earn a living as a music journalist, which began with Esquire in 1967 but continued primarily with employment at the Village Voice (1969–72, 1974–2006). He is perhaps best remembered for his short, graded record reviews in the Village Voice (which stopped publishing in August 2018) and his "Pazz & Jop" music polls. The compilation in Is It Still Good to Ya? does not include those graded reviews from the Village Voice, but it does draw most heavily on that newspaper with four dozen of his columns, plus other pieces from the New Yorker, Rolling Stone, Billboard, Spin, Barnes & Noble reviews, and so forth. Although these pieces are not new, Christgau did revise them: "almost every one condensed to make room for others and spruced up to mitigate stylistic shortfalls or correct factual errors but never to revise opinions or predictions gone awry, with a bunch substantially revised and marked as such" (pp. 1–2). Christgau does not provide additional information on how he amended the individual columns, which may lessen the value of this book to historians researching rock music; they will still want to read Christgau's original texts for his criticism in that time and place. This new volume would be of most use to those who are interested in Christgau's opinions in general or perhaps those doing research specifically on him. After the introduction and the prologue, the book is divided into six sections: "History in the Making," "A Great Tradition," "Millennium," "From Which All Blessings Flow," "Post-modern Times," and "Got to Be Driftin' Along." Each section features at least [End Page 601] six of his columns. Although this topical organization is roughly chronological, the columns are not in chronological order. The source (e.g., "Village Voice, 2006") appears after the text, which I found annoying; before reading the piece I always flipped to the end to find this information in order to give the piece more context. This format is also consistent with his other books, such as Any Old Way You Choose It, and a consistent editorial failure. As most of Is It Still Good to Ya? consists of selected pieces about particular artists, this volume is in no way encyclopedic in its coverage of rock music; rather, it represents Christgau's opinions about a smattering of iconic or influential artists. The index is helpful in determining if a particular artist or group is covered. As rock music did not spring from a musical vacuum and does not continue without influence from other musical styles, Christgau includes criticism of jazz, blues, popular, and country artists that one may not immediately associate with rock, such as Louis Armstrong, Lady Gaga, and Brad Paisley. Before compiling a collection of previously published works, the author and editors should consider, apart from commercial calculations, two aesthetic questions: (1) whether the quality of the original pieces is sufficient, making them worth reprinting, and (2) whether there is value to the collection: is it more than the sum of its parts? As Christgau declared that "almost every" piece was condensed, "spruced up," and...

Kyoku. Performed by Mieko Miyazaki &amp; Suizan Lagrost by Aldo Tollini and Mieko Miyazaki

Reviewed by: Kyoku. Performed by Mieko Miyazaki & Suizan Lagrost by Aldo Tollini and Mieko Miyazaki Linda Kakō Caplan (bio) Kyoku. Performed by Mieko Miyazaki & Suizan Lagrost. Felmay Records, FY8199, released 11 2013. One CD (75 minutes). 20 pages of liner notes in English and French by Aldo Tollini and Mieko Miyazaki. (CD) $27.99. As musical tastes change over the years, it has become rarer to find a traditional hōgaku repertoire included on contemporary recordings ("traditional" here generally means works from the Edo period [1603–1867]). If asked why, [End Page 147] performers say that today's listeners (and, truth be told, some of the performers themselves) don't like the heavy classics, because they are, well, heavy. That repertoire has gradually been supplanted by contemporary genres (fusion, new age, avant-garde, and so on) and, as koto and shakuhachi have spread outside Japan, by covers of well-known Western classics, pop, rock, and other styles. (YouTube provides samples of Bach, Debussy, Lady Gaga, Deep Purple, Taylor Swift, and various Nintendo themes, to name a few.) So it was heartening to read in Kyoku's liner notes that Mieko Miyazaki and Suizan Lagrost chose to release a CD specifically featuring "virtuosic works, favorite concert pieces from the seventeenth through the nineteenth centuries." Miyazaki is a well-known name in the hōgaku world. She graduated from Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music (now known as Tokyo University of the Arts) in 1992 and since moving to France in 2005 has pushed the boundaries of koto and shamisen on numerous recordings featuring her original compositions (Asobi ni oide, East Current), covers of Western classical composers (Koto Sebastian Bach, Koto Ambient Chopin, and Koto Ambient Gymnopédie, for koto and synthesizer), and cross-cultural endeavors (Nen Nen Sui Sui [koto and erhu], Tessi Tessi [koto and Corsican voices], Saiyuki [koto with guitars, synths, mouth harp, tabla, udu, and bansuri flute]). Jean-François Lagrost, professor at the Conservatories of Kremlin-Bicêtre and Asnières near Paris, started his musical life on flute, studying with numerous teachers in genres ranging from Baroque to jazz to improv. He discovered shakuhachi in 2000 and devoted himself to his new passion, receiving both his daishihan (grand master) rank in 2014 and the stage name of Suizan. In addition to performing a honkyoku (traditional shakuhachi) repertoire, Lagrost, too, has had forays into fusion projects such as Japanistan (Afghan rubab, shakuhachi, tombak, daff). Kyoku's program is a well-thought-out presentation of the contemporary and the classical. It includes four representative Edo period pieces, each in a different but typical instrumentation. "Yaegoromo" is one of the longest, most difficult pieces of that period. This is an abridged version including instrumental sections and the final vocal part, performed in sankyoku style (chamber ensemble featuring koto, shamisen, and shakuhachi, with Miyazaki handling both koto and shamisen parts). Although it is from the early eighteenth century, there are some definite toe-tapping spots in the middle of the instrumental section as the performers brought this piece to life. One small issue is that unfortunately, due to the prominent nature of their sounds, the shamisen and the shakuhachi often overpower the koto, especially in the second "Yaegoromo" track. "Kurokami" is performed in full, with voice, shamisen, and shakuhachi and with all parts nicely balanced, other than the hajiki notes (in which the shamisen string is plucked sharply with the finger rather than [End Page 148] hit with the plectrum) being a bit strident. Finally, a shortened "Chidori no Kyoku" is performed with koto and shakuhachi (the liner notes did not indicate that this piece was abridged, whereas they did for "Yaegoromo"). The notes offer only a cursory explanation of two of the three songs' themes and none for the third; providing lyrics could have helped give listeners additional context for these three pieces. The fourth traditional piece is Lagrost's stunning rendition of the honkyoku "Yamagoe." This was one of two standout pieces on the CD for this listener. Lagrost displays to the fullest the capabilities of his instrument and his mastery of it. One senses that his experience on the flute has also informed his shakuhachi...