In this week’s issue, John Colapinto writes about Dr. Zeitels, who’s performed vocal chord surgery on Adele, Roger Daltrey, and other notable singers. Here, Colapinto considers the claim by many that Adele has “seemed a little restrained” in her recent performances at the Oscars and the Grammys, and writes, 

I wonder whether Daltrey and others who have detected tentativeness are not projecting their own anxieties onto Adele, knowing that those extraordinary vocal cords were once laid open by the surgeon’s scalpel, and knowing that Adele knows it… That we see, or think we see, restraint or fear makes me understand why singers keep vocal problems a secret. 

Continue reading: http://nyr.kr/Y16RVj 

Old Unsingable: Bob Mankoff looks at how our cartoonists have taken on the national anthem over the years: http://nyr.kr/WBRJhD

Cartoon by Carolita Johnson. For more: http://nyr.kr/Um4rBU

Michael Schulman: “If you, like me, spent Christmas day eating spare ribs and waiting on line to see “Les Misérables” (but maybe not in that order), you’ve had time to contemplate the relative vocal prowess of its stars, not all of whom are exactly Pavarotti. Much has been made of Tom Hooper’s directorial approach, which required the actors to sing live on set, rather than lip-synching to a prerecorded track—with decidedly mixed results. So who fared the best, and who was just plain misérable? A ranking, from best to worst”: http://nyr.kr/TJaCTT

Bob Mankoff: “as wonderful as our Cartoon Caption Contest is, it wouldn’t be complete unless it had a theme song…” Click-through to see the other version we’ve created, to the tune of “Imagine,” and for the chance to enter your own song! http://nyr.kr/WSJ5Av

(Source: newyorker.com)

A carolling cartoon of the day. For more cartoons from this week’s issue: http://www.newyorker.com/humor