As 2021 comes to an unsatisfying close, The Times' arts team reflects on the many ups and downs of a surreal year.
2021 is almost over and I’ve got the most terrible earworm stuck in my head. It’s “Won’t Get Fooled Again” by the Who. One lyric in particular just won’t quit: “Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.” Might as well change it to: “Meet the new year, same as the old year.”
far surpasses my capacity for holiday cheer. Since this is the final Essential Arts newsletter of the year, Team Arts has put together a fascinating package of year-end stories exploring the many ups and downs of one of the most surreal years on record — one distinctly marked by our tentative return to live performance.
For a month or so, the view from our new-world perch looked fine — not ideal but tolerable. Then the music changed — chords crashed discordantly andslipped onstage, twirling its mustache from behind its collared cape. This new variant conjured images of malevolent presences in a Marvel movie, and we were asked to rethink all of our carefully laid plans.
I went to my first live performance of the pandemic in early November. Even though everyone was required to show proof of vaccination and wear a mask, I still felt vulnerable. At one point during the show, I had to ward off a rising panic as I gazed around me at all the humans, breathing. I had to squash an urge to run for the nearest exit. A mask-muffled cough made me flinch. I could not wait to step outside.
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