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PEOPLE & ARTS Tuesday 19 November 2019
Jon Voight, Alison Krauss honored
with national medals
In this March 28, 2019, file photo, Jon Voight attends the Champions of Jewish Values
International Awards gala at Carnegie Hall in New York.
Associated Press
Associated Press complex characters.” Voight starred in
WASHINGTON (AP) — Oscar-winning “Midnight Cowboy,” the 1969 film that
actor Jon Voight, singer and musician won an Academy Award for best pic-
Alison Krauss and mystery writer James ture, and he won the best actor Oscar
Patterson are among the artists and phi- for 1978’s “Coming Home.”
lanthropists being honored by President He appears in the Showtime series “Ray
Donald Trump for their contributions to Donovan.”
the arts or the humanities, the first recipi- The recipients of the National Humani- brings together everyone’s hhs and ooooohs as a su-
ents of prestigious national medals since ties Medal are:
Trump took office. —The Claremont Institute “for champi-
The White House announced four recipi- oning the Nation’s founding principles
ents of the National Medal of Arts and and enriching American minds.”
four of the National Humanities Medal in —Teresa Lozano Long “for supporting
a statement Sunday night. Voight is one the arts and improving educational op-
of Trump’s few vocal Hollywood back- portunities” through scholarships and
ers, and has hailed him as “the greatest philanthropy.
president of this century.” Trump is also —Patrick O’Connell, the chef at The Inn
honoring the musicians of the U.S. mili- at Little Washington, “for being one of
tary, who frequently entertain at White the greatest chefs of our time.”
House events. —James Patterson “for being one of the
Trump will award the medals during a most successful American authors of our
ceremony at the White House on Thurs- time.” Patterson wrote a book about
day. Jeffrey Epstein, the disgraced financier
While the honors had been an annual who killed himself while awaiting trial on
affair during past administrations, they charges of sexually abusing teenage
have not been awarded since Trump’s girls. The book includes several referenc-
inauguration in January 2017. The most es to Trump, including an account of the
recent arts or humanities medals were men’s falling out.
bestowed by President Barack Obama The National Endowment for the Arts
in September 2016. and the National Endowment for the Hu-
The recipients of the National Medal of manities solicit candidates for the med-
Arts are: als and compile proposed winners. The
—Alison Krauss, the bluegrass-country White House, which sometimes adds its
singer and musician, “for making ex- own nominees, traditionally approves
traordinary contributions to American and announces them ahead of a presi-
music.” The White House misspelled her dential ceremony.
name in its release. Trump has had an uneasy if not hostile
—Sharon Percy Rockefeller “for being a relationship with many in the arts and
renowned champion of the arts, gener- the humanities who oppose his policies
ous supporter of charity, and a pioneer and have denounced his presidency.
of new ideas and approaches in the He has been largely shunned by Holly-
field of public policy.” wood and has skipped events like the
—The Musicians of the United States Mili- annual Kennedy Center gala that is one
tary “for personifying excellence in mu- of Washington’s premier social gath-
sic and service to country.” erings after some honorees said they
—Jon Voight “for his exceptional ca- would not attend if Trump was part of
pacity as an actor to portray deeply the ceremony.q
This cover image released by Walt Disney Records shows the
original motion picture soundtrack for "Frozen II."
Associated Press
‘Frozen 2’ soundtrack
struggles in shadow of first
By MARK KENNEDY Wood — as Elsa and Anna's
Associated Press deceased mother — sings
Various artists, “Frozen 2” “All Is Found” and joins
(Walt Disney Records) Menzel on “Show Yourself.”
No, there’s no new “Let It Norwegian singer Aurora
Go.” Let it go. lends the soundtrack a
The “Frozen 2” soundtrack whole bunch of spooky ah-
favorite princesses — Elsa pernatural presence. One
and Anna — the snowman nice touch is all four leads
Olaf, good guy Kristoff and singing together in the
his faithful reindeer, Sven, sweet “Some Things Never
for an impossible task: im-
Change,” which, with its
proving or matching the refrain of “I’m holding on
first “Frozen” movie’s songs.
tight to you” is the inverse
Songwriters Kristen Ander- of “Let It Go.”
We get a direct link to the
son-Lopez and Robert Lo-
pez have offered seven first film with the song frag-
— six, if we’re being hon-
ment “Reindeer(s) Are Bet-
est — original songs and ter Than People (Cont.)”
they’re all lovely, rooted in and it is awesome to hear
Broadway traditional struc- Menzel’s voice in fifth gear
tures and each playing a again. But missing are the
key role in keeping the ani- inventive lyrics from the
mated film moving. None first, the “frozen fractals
will spend 33 weeks on the all around” and “Bees'll
Billboard Hot 100 charts like buzz/kids'll blow dandelion
“Let It Go” but they de- fuzz.” The lyrics this time are
serve to be cherished on straightforward, less play-
their own merits. ful. It’s a more emotional
album than the first, more
The template hasn’t re-
ally changed. Like in the mature and internal.
first, everyone gets a song The album also includes re-
— Josh Gad’s Olaf sings makes of three of the songs
his comedic “When I Am that play over the end
Older,” Idina Menzel gets credits.
the
(closest Panic! At The Disco superb-
roof-raising
thing to “Let It Go”) “Into ly redo “Into the Unknown”
the Unknown,” Jonathan into a glam rock song.
Groff’s Kristoff has the mel- Kacey Musgraves does a
rootsy, almost Simon and
ancholy (and slightly remi-
niscent of a lost tune by the Garfunkel version of “All Is
band Chicago) “Lost in the Found” and Weezer does a
Woods” and Kristen Bell’s very Weezer take on “Lost
Anna closes it out with the in the Woods.” The whole
mournful “The Next Right album is wonderful, but it
has unattainably big snow-
Thing.”
But this time Evan Rachel shoes to fill.q