I Have Nothing to Say and I am Saying It

The Falling Man: Music in the Mad Men Title Sequence

2011-09-01T09:32:00.015-05:00

I know, I know: I am late. Admitting that I am just now starting to watch Mad Men is a startling confession. I am now one step closer to completely drinking the AMC Kool-Aid. Breaking Bad, Mad Men and...don't tell me The Walking Dead? The thought ofa whole series devoted to zombie goriness turns my stomach a bit. Don't have the best feelings 'bout the undead walkers. So, since watching Mad Men (only in Season 2 Episode 11 or so) I can't get the opening title sequence out of my mind/ears. I keep humming that ridiculous 3o" plus opening soundtrack. I thought it was clearly in D minor, however, it turns out it is in C# minor. I've never claimed perfect pitch. The more I look at and listen to it I figure out that it is a pretty clever opening sequence that you could probably speculate as metaphorical.

I was drawn to this article right away. It goes in to lengthy detail about the whole process from concept to form, editing, revising and the finished product. It is a fascinating tale to say the least. Yet, to say the least, when it came to the choice of music, is about all that was said. From what I can tell, Matthew Weiner, changed the music (whatever it initially was, I could not tell), preferring the darker, smoke-filled jazziness of the RJD2 track.

The subtle, yet loaded with meaning, opening sequence seems to concur with the concept of falling that the creators clearly set out to accomplish. The jazz-like music accompanies the visuals with a descending line that begins on A and ends on C# with a supporting bass line and harmonic structure of I-II-V-I. As far as I can tell it kind of looks like this:

We can see the stylistic emphasis on the off beats (despite the accent and tenuto markings). The harmony lines up with the second eighth notes. I am not completely sure, however, if the dotted eighth followed by a sixteenth is the correct rhythm of the bass line. It is more likely this version:

This shows that there is much more of a groove to the theme, and is more laid-back, rhythmically. It brings us into the cool, dark and sensuous world of Matthew Weiner's creation. I am pretty sure all of the imagery and music in this opening sequence was incredibly intentional to the point of contrivance. As evidence by my assumption that the "falling music" symbolizes the "falling man."

As a side note, I can't help but thinking of the recent articles written by Hannah Rosin in regards to men and masculinity as I watch this black-suited figure fall to the ground. Maybe this falling man is less a character study of Don Draper and Co. in the 1960s and more of a symbol of where men are today? Regardless, the music seems to be in stride with the thematic elements presented in the opening sequence. Although, I must say that this alternative take makes me a lot more happy and nostalgic for a less complicated 1960s. Maybe now is the time to go make an Old Fashioned and look inquisitively at the Schick Quattro ad that sits on my Facebook page.

Sketch finished

2011-06-17T11:37:00.002-05:00

Here is the first drawing. Double click for better viewing.

Writing and Art Therapy

2011-06-16T12:58:00.010-05:00

The stage of pre-composition has always been particularly daunting for me. However in the past I haven't let that bother me too much because the pressure of deadlines caused me to not "over think" the process. Well, now, with no huge deadlines within the next few months, but still having the pressure to write "the piece" (aka, the magnum opus they call your dissertation piece), I find myself deeply self-conscious of this process. Basically, I have more time to think and wade through the deep waters of the apotheosis of a work that I feel strongly should be larger than anything I have done.

"Larger than anything I have done" is a self-imposed stipulation, that probably appears to be more hefty than it actually is. I think what I really mean, is, that reaching the end of my institutionalized study of composition, I feel that I need to create a work that represents a culmination of everything I have done up until this point. Whatever I write should be it's own musical CV, so to speak.

I realize that, in my career trajectory of a composer, this piece will be one of many and may not even be my best work. But, I don't have that hindsight at this point and have to meet the present psychological, emotional and intellectual demands that I feel when approaching this work. You could easily say that I am overly earnest to the point of lunatic zealousness. I am sure that the rigors and practicality of the compositional process will temper this zealousness, but at this point all I see is a gargantuan blank sheet of staff paper and the ideas in my mind can easily fill the expansiveness of endless reams of tabloid staff paper. Yet this all resides in the abstract: the moment you put pencil to paper, or mouse click to software, abstraction gets swallowed up by the physical reality of musical time and space. This is where therapy is helpful, self-help therapy that is.

Having now established the instrumentation (4 percussionists) I begin not with pitches, rhythms or gestures. I begin with talk. I just write and write on the back of some manuscript paper. Most of the writing is adjectival. I "brainstorm" in a very conceptual way, while keeping a column open that lists potential problems with the given instrumentation. I also list possible titles, points of departure and a working list of repertoire to study.

This kind of process allows me to talk through the initial stages of thinking about the piece. Not a note composed yet, but still helpful.

I am the first one to admit that I am NOT a visual artist at all. Yet, I find me turning to my own sketches quite often as ways to initiate musical ideas and structures. The two dimensional limitations of space combined with my crappy drawing abilities allow me to sketch out shapes, gestures, timelines, etc. as place holders for possible musical events. I am often inspired by Rainer Wehinger's aural score of Ligeti's Artikulation
Even though was done a posteriori it seems that it captures the imagination of the piece, let alone how it stands on its own as an interesting piece of art. In a different sense, I find myself dealing with the visual aspects of my creative thinking for the a priori stage of composing a piece. I tend to have only the width and length of the dimensions mapped out before I start to "draw". In this case, as you see below, I have length-wise panels; obviously representing the four instrumentalists. I try hard to let the process of creating these shapes and figures take form without thinking in terms of musical narrativity. Subconsciously, however, register, repetition and dynamics probably play a role. And, one can probably see such in the proceeding sketch.

Will I try to exactly re-create this visualization musically? Probably not, it would be forced and rather arbitrary. Will I use it as a point of departure? More than likely. Will I abandon the sketches all together as a source for inspiration? Possibly. The point of pre-composition is to bring out your creative impulses that can be cultivated in a musical environment. Much like improvisation, these writing/drawing exercises are focused toward creating a spark from which a piece can spring. If anything, it feels rather therapeutic to be doing something creative. I am curious as to how others deal with this stage of pre-composition. Thoughts?

riff(s) and/or transfiguration(s): program note

2011-03-29T04:49:00.003-05:00

riff(s) and/or transfiguration(s) has been lingering about my computer, piano, manuscript paper, recording devices, conversations, altercations, manifestations, headphones and my everyday life for nearly a year now. There is something about a piece that has a long gestational period. Few of my pieces are of this kind. More often than not, I just binge on a project and purge out the stuff that isn’t working in a rather quick manner. I concede that this is a bad metaphor. Yet, with this work (although there is still the inevitable moments of binging and purging--especially when deadlines approached) there was some time for fermentation. Or, as I said in a tweet in December. As frustrating as this was, I was able to resurrect the piece and imbue it with a newness that still maintains its original spirit, “transfigured” if you will. Through the various iterations of this piece what has remained consistent was the muse(s): Ben Herrington, Geoff Burleson and John Ferrari. The “mercuriality” of the piece creatively depends on the versatility and talent of these players.

The title of the piece seems to both adequately and abstractly “explain” the goings-on within the piece. Maybe I should mention something about the vague (and I mean super-vague) references to Strauss’s Tod und Verklärung. Or, it should be left unmentioned, either way, one may (un)consciously force the reference into the music regardless. This is how we listen to music. We seek points of orientation to give us a better intellectual understanding of or emotional relationship with the piece.

The piece will be played in Taplin Auditorium, Princeton University, April 1, 8:00 p.m.

I Found the Culprit of the Sibelius-error-accidental-bieber-time-stretch-thing

2010-09-30T10:33:00.005-05:00

So I found the culprit that was causing all of my MIDI trombone notes to stick. Weeks of frustration and just composing anyway are to an end (at least the frustration part, for now--the composing part is never at an end). What was so frustrating is that I don't really rely on MIDI playback for my compositional feedback. However, the trombone plays a really critical, almost soloistic part and to have all of that jumbled mess constantly piling up when trying to at least hear in a cursory way how things are locking together (or not) was driving me batty! After messing with the Playback Devices dialog and going inside Kontakt 3 several times I threw my hands up in the air, sent another message to Avid customer support saying I am at a loss, I tried something I should have tried a long time ago: See if the same trombone sample works differently/same in another staff. Which I did, and it does--that is--work differently, which means it works how it should. So I knew the problem wasn't a playback issue, it was something beneath the surface in the staff itself that needed to be found. I used the Focused on Staves dialog and found that there was a dangling and hidden l.v. sign just below the messed up trombone part. I can never remember what the marking means in its original French but I know it has adopted a more common Anglicized definition that means "let vibrate." I hoped that the constant stream of note-on MIDI messages was simply following the marching orders of this little symbol. So,I got rid of it, crossed my fingers and began playback. And to my surprise it worked! Phew finally. So, word to the wise, watch out for those dangling and hidden modifiers. Those two letters wasted too much of my time.

An Accidental Reply to Bieber Stretches

2010-09-01T10:25:00.005-05:00

With all of this conversation about bieber stretches I think a lot of interesting things have been said and the conversations are rife with the continuing quandary of talking about music vis a vis the creation/reification of music through the ease of technological advancement. Shortly after this died down to a low roar (pun intended) I encountered my own accidental "bieber stretch." Basically, it is a MIDI trombone sound (through Sibelius 6/Kontakt 3 Playback Engine) where the MIDI Note-On messages never turn off. I still haven't found any viable solutions. Even contacted technical support at Avid and their suggestions were not helpful. In a way I think that this accidental block of sound that comes from an intended composition is kind of an anti-bieber stretch; in the sense that the adjectives used by many in describing the phenomenon wouldn't even come close to describing this awful wall of sound. It is 8:36 of pure MIDI-fied nastiness. I do add a little fade-out at the end to give it a little shape. You will notice some ebbs and flows of dynamics, but near the end it starts sounding like a pulsing quasar (again the problems with talking about music). So, I pose the question: If we can bask in the technological "beauty" of the easily-created (thanks Paul Stretch) sound world by a 20-something Floridian, can we withstand the "ugliness" of technological error found in my Sibelius Error Stretch Part 1: Trombone Edition (GPO Tenor Trombone)?

Whales!!

2010-08-15T17:42:00.001-05:00

Absolutely amazing

Advanced Notation

2010-08-12T21:29:00.007-05:00

Advanced Notation by Visual Index (ca. 2008)

for alto flute, clarinet, tuba, viola and piano.

2009 Discoveries in Popular Music

2009-12-17T09:31:00.017-05:00

As 2009 winds down I thought I would shell out some cursory ideas about my cultural/artistic discoveries this year. This first part covers a little bit about what new bands and music-related media I came across.

Fanfarlo is a London-based band. NPR All Songs calls them a mix between Arcade Fire and Beruit. They do have that Arcade Fire-like anthemic sound. I'm glad they don't have the annoyingly painful dithered voice of Zach Condon. Simon Balthazar's voice closely resembles Morrissey's lilting legato with a touch of Win Butler's forthright emotionalism.

Fool's Gold is a L.A.-based band "that celebrates the places where cultures converge in music rather than exploiting their contrasts for wink-value or affected complexity. Everything from soukous music to Touareg desert blues unfurls in a cloud of Californian glitter, suggestive of permanent good weather and easy times with friends." (Brian Howe--Pitchfork Staff). This is a great description. Oh, and a lot of the lyrics are in Hebrew. An interesting find. They did a great live set on KEXP in November. It is hard to keep track of how many guitars are playing, even when watching the live video clips.

Curumin or Luciano Nakata Albuquerque incorporates several styles from Brazilian samba-funk/ to hip-hop and bossa nova. I first heard him on a KEXP Live podcast. Some nice, shameless jam music, with some interesting For all of my Brazilian funkster friends out there, you must check him out.

And then there is Cemetery Gates on Pitchfork.tv. Here are a few awesome sets. Is Pitchfork in the 00's (aughts) for youth culture as Mtv was in the 80s and 90s?

Andrew Bird

Grizzly Bear

Hyper-(Un)Consciousness of Temporality in a Super-Short Pop Song: Grizzly Bear's "About Face"

2009-07-14T14:56:00.000-05:00

I am a little late in the blogosphere to presenting my informal review of Grizzly Bear's latest album Veckatimest. Especially since this latest album was released in late May with such glowing reviews here, here, a lackluster review (less on the music, more on band history, etc.) here and a highly informational, yet a little less-glowing review here. And a nice piece in the times (awhile ago by internet standards) here. Altogether, this Brooklyn quartet cannot seem to escape the hype. Hopefully, they escape the confines of popular indie music.

I have listened to the album several times and instead of rehearsing and reusing the typical music journalistic rhetoric that surrounds the whole album (avant rock, 1960s prog rock, whispery indie rock that channels the Beach Boys,etc.), I want to focus on what has been collectively (at least in most of the reviews I have read) called the mysterious song: "About Face." I chose this song because, to me, it is the most musically frustrating and intriguing track in the album. This song is intriguing, because on some level (conscious or unconscious) the group seems to be pre-occupied with the temporality of the music. In a way there is a hyper-awareness of moment-by-moment events and how such play a larger role in the unfolding narrative of the piece. There seems to be a conspicuous deliberateness of event placement, which results in a rather engaging listening experience. But...(here comes the meta-thesis)...they suck at fulfilling the musical expectations implied in the first 2:30 mins. Why? Because the piece is only 3:21--too short for the great and meticulously-crafted stakes of the first 2:30 to actually do something significant. Right when the piece gets going, they decide to cut it off with a non-sequitur guitar whimper. Hence my frustration.This reminds me of Radiohead's failure to really get somewhere interesting in "Bodysnatchers." At 3:10, there is a little (and masterfully timed)break in the texture where all we hear is fuzzy guitar, bass, snare/cymbal-less percussion, and Thom Yorke vocalizing. This then builds up with Yorke yelling "I've seen it coming!" four times---then, bam, cut-off prematurely at 4:02 (I should mention that full drums and the wailing guitars come in at 3:32). To me there is so much more that needs to happen---instead of blowing the roof out with more complex layering--which it starts to do--and abrupt textural shifts, i am left wanting more.

Similarly I hear such premature closure in "About Face." I do not intend to make this a point-by-point comparison to "Bodysnatchers"; rather, I think both act as evidence in a greater argument about popular/rock/indy music that seeks to be legitimized (whether intended or not) outside Top 40 bubble-gum mass-produced pop, while still existing in a commodified music-market place. How can such music, that requires greater length for development and unfolding, exist in such a short time span? All right, I get ahead of myself---too much broadening out. Down to brass tacks: "About Face"
It seems to me that the piece starts rather unassumingly. A nice 8 bar introduction in 6/8 time, with a meandering/descending repetitive bassline, equally repetitive guitar arpeggiations and a 16th drum pattern played on the edge of a drum---no membranophones here yet (thought I would give a shout out to Sam Adler's orchestration book). A guitar burst comes in the second, fourth, sixth and eighth bar on beats 5 and 6. Yet, when the voice enters (0:20) the guitar burst disappears, but is still readily accessible in the memory. The original guitar burst does not come back again until 1:23---but by this point the introductory guitar arpeggios are thickened by what sounds like a wind instrument, and the vocal line is also thickened with more of that 'shape-note' harmony for which Grizzly Bear has gained much notoriety. Also, the guitar bursts are enhanced by the first sounds of drums which punctuate the guitar burst on beats 5 and 6 of every other bar (just like the introduction), yet the drum beats extend further into the first few beats of the first half of the next bar. The next section seems to be a collusion of sorts with previously introduced material. This takes place around 2:20. Two aspects of the piece come together here: the guitar swells (introduced at :50) and the guitar bursts (as mentioned earlier). And of course this goes on until the piece just kind of peters out at 3:20. At this point it seems that almost all beats of the 6/8 bar are covered with some sort of textural layer. It seems to proceed in a logical and predictable yet surprising manner. Logical and predictable because the sounds are all familiar, and surprising, because of the temporal placement of these familiar sounds and the textural adjustments to such. (i.e. the second iteration of the guitar burst). All together, what an intriguing listening experience. Its too bad that they couldn't extend the song longer to explore these ideas more fully. Did they set the stakes too high for this song? Or, is it really about these two guitar elements coming together and that is all? Have a listen:

Solids

2009-07-14T14:00:00.000-05:00

SAHD: An Expository Introduction

2009-06-24T07:21:00.004-05:00

Its unfortunate that the acronym for stay at home dad is rather glum. Given the glum weather as I post this I guess it kind of fits. So here is my daily companion in his 'fun chair.' I also spend my days with this guy:
And here is my daily arsenal:

amphitheatre madness

2008-08-19T19:32:00.001-05:00

Fast-tracking throughout North America and Europe this summer is the huge Radiohead tour. They are moving at breakneck speed (not as much as the Jonas Brothers, I’m afraid) and selling out amphitheater after amphitheatre (for the Brits). After a week rest from their explosive show in Massachusetts I have had time to digest what has happened—the result of such is troubling. The question that keeps tuggin’ at me is whether or not they are who they claim or anti-claim to be any more.

The Comcast Center filled up quickly after Grizzly Bear left (more on them another time). A foggy mist of cigarettes, pot and booze floated through the air like a silly poltergeist ready to play. By the time Radiohead took the stage, the crowd was half-baked, three-quarters buzzed and fully loaded with crappy attitudes. “Reckoner” opened the set with the splashy cymbals, and Yorke’s spacey warblings. Reverie pervaded the crowd all the way through the third song, Kid A (which was beautifully redone with Yorke’s voice going through a vocoder or frequency analyzer) as if everybody was still in the “pinch me, I’m at a Radiohead concert” moment. Reverie it was, reverence it wasn’t. My silly naiveté of believing that everybody at the concert knew who these guys are slowly waned to oblivion. I don’t want to tether the conversation to an epistemological discussion, but when I refer to knowing, I refer to an enveloping appreciation and respect for something or someone that is shown through one’s actions. All hope disappeared when I heard a frat-drunken bellow “Play Creep!” buzz through the air like an unwanted car alarm. After many raucous songs including “The Bends” the medieval crowd was lulled into a giggling stupor, deftly aided by the bibbing and toking. When Jonny Greenwood and Thom Yorke joined each other on the stage with two acoustic guitars I was prepared for a magical moment. They began playing the pattering, yet soft “Faust Arp” when more giggles and barbaric “whoops” filled the air. For a moment Yorke lost his train of thought and missed some words—to which the crowd responded with “empathetic” laughter. Similar interruptive moments littered the concert, like in “House of Cards” and “Nude.” Throughout the concert the ‘pinch me’ moment was still nagging at me—as I exerted all possible effort to not be distracted. In spite of the ‘fans’ it was an unexpected enjoyable concert, not the expected exhilarating experience. The sound quality was massive. The knob-twiddling was interesting to watch on the big-screen although the subtlety was difficult to catch because of the resultant, hegemonic sound. Yorke’s dancing was fantastical—though not as frequent.The new version of Kid A was breathtaking, and they played the hell out of all of the In Rainbows tracks. I even got a glimpse of Jonny Greenwood’s Max patch for videotape and was elated to see that his patches are just as messy as my own.

But as I absorb the whole experience I can’t help but think if this is what Radiohead really wants? Do they want an audience that comes for the beer and weed and entertainment? Has the behemoth of modern rock become a commodity of mass culture? Have they become the latest trend among the twenty/thirty-something singles to pay homage to just because of the panache associated with their name? Another name-dropping excuse for glad-handers to make another connection in their social/business network? Maybe I go too far. But, what are your thoughts?

Grappling with (Mis)Categorization in Music

2008-01-12T16:01:00.000-05:00

So, I have been anxiously awaiting Alex Ross's new book The Rest is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth Century. I am checking the UPS tracking number two times a day. It turns out it won't get here until the January 15th. Apparently the book has had incredible reviews and it is the "talk o' the town" amongst my musicology colleagues. I will thoroughly peruse the book and hope to get something out of it. Hopefully it will shed some light on the age-old arguments about popular and art music. In the minds of many, there exists a so-called divide between popular music and art music. One argument is that art/concert music is superior because it doesn't stoop to the masses, it is steeped in a tradition of progressiveness that is unflinchingly connected to the great "masters" of historical concert music of the Western/Germanic tradition. And that its ancestry is enough to coronate some sort of entitlement upon it as being the official music of civilized culture, regardless of the pan-sociocultural mores and tastes of the general public. By default, this sheds an unforgiving light on popular music. It is a debased vernacular that holds sway to the masses without any connection to the well-lettered pedigree of the great ones. In short: high-brow v. low brow. Another argument states the case on behalf of popular music, suggesting that the high-brow elitism found in much of the traditionally Western, concert/art music, is out of touch with populist aesthetic judgments. The value of music, in this case is determined through some sort of democratization. The public has spoken, so such shall it be! One last argument that resurfaces, is really an anti-argument. It is a Zen-like "it is what it is" mentality: Art music is art music, popular music is popular music. And music is music. This is the kind of anti-intellectualizing of the matter that I like. Frankly, all of the former arguments are rather silly, and are based wholly on the idea that such categories even exist in music. I believe that such categorization should not be the basis for critical analysis and judgment of music.

I have come to this conclusion through an interesting avenue: composing music. A recent project of mine is setting a text by a friend of mine for piano, electric guitar, electronics and voice. Just the way I used the phrase "setting text" suggests that what I am writing is a concert piece. Indeed, it does come from that "tradition", but I am wanting to do something different with this piece. I don't want it to be attached to any line of categorization. I purposely have the pianist being the vocalist at the same time, and have the score as a mixed bag of improvised "chords" mingled with very specific notation. Yet, as I write the piece of music I find myself grappling with how to define what I am writing. I find myself asking questions like "Is it too poppy?" or "This sounds way too art-song-esque." I either stop writing and do something else, or just push those nagging questions to the side and as Mr. Cage would say "let the inner organism decide," or Jiminny Cricket channeling Walt Disney by telling me to "always let my conscience be my guide." What comes of this I don't know? Hopefully, it will help me shed some of my predispositions toward writing a music that can be categorized and allow me to just write music. It is kind of intriguing and adventurous to me (probably just to me, I realize) that I feel like I am walking the line between writing a song and composing music. What joy.

The Blogosphere Awaits

2006-09-22T06:25:00.000-05:00

I am still trying to figure out the purpose of having a blog. Is it a self-gratifying thing to see one's own words printed on the world wide web? (you know, that kind of neato thought that somebody might google and run into you?) but then I think about MySpace and realize that any narcissistic dullard can project their personality, sexual preference, favorite music and what they just ate and pooped into cyberspace. Or has it rather become a place to write down thoughts and concerns that may be related to others' similar feelings? that's a stretch. Many use a blog to keep all of their friends and family up to date in a creative way. I think this is a more pragmatic approach. Indeed the space between humans has grown shorter while at the same time creating incalcuable distance. I really think the title of this blog encapsulates what the blogosphere is actually about. I think when we write in a blog we just like to be heard and that is that. Oh, by the way, I do have a myspace account.

Post Schenker...Pre...Life

2005-12-07T22:27:00.000-05:00

He looks like a mix between Wilford Brimley and Igor Stravinsky. But, he neither acted nor composed music. Rather, he did a whole bunch of funky looking graphs: http://music.utsa.edu/tdml/conf-VIII/VIII-Sadoff/Image37.gif that threw the ever-so-noticeable theory world into a feeding frenzy. A man equally despised and embraced. A bigot, a visionary. A non-academic academic. A walking paradox (I guess, he is really a rotting paradox now). He help perpetuate fancy German terms such as Ursatz, Urlinie, Bassbrechund, anstieg, Kopftone, etc.––they all really mean one thing: TRIAD. Yes, all music of genius (at least those that existed in Western europe [i.e. Germany, Austria, France]) is composed out of that blessed, organic, eternal, natural, phenomenal triad. I used to have so many feelings of animosity toward this purist and completely reductive (miopic) view of tonal music. My feelings have changed from animosity to adulation, now ambivalence. The adulation began as I saw how cool his concepts coincided with a Mozart sonata I analyzed for a class project. About 7 hours into the project, the ambivalence quickly replaced the adulation. Something can only be so cool as long as you don't have to use it too much. Can Schenkerian analysis be too much of a good thing? Well, ambivalence does not allow for a solid answer either way. I simply love to hate and hate to love that darn triad and everything that comes from it. Maybe that is why I don't write music that has a triad at its core. I subconsciously do not compose out of the triad, because deep down in that same subconscious I sub-knew that I would neither hate nor like (I guess i sub-like/sub-hate) the Schenkerian concept of the triad. Therefore rendering me a useless tool of the divine power of the triad that meanders to and fro, tossed by the dogmatic teachings of Post-tonal/Postmodern composition (and whatever other Post-something you can think of---everything is Post-the-last-big-thing nowadays). I guess there really isn't anything left to be a Post-something of. I guess all I really know that since my Schenker project is done I am Post-schenker and pre-tired.

Prussian Blue--i.e. Racism is perpetuated

2005-12-06T08:29:00.000-05:00

I was folding a large amount of laundry last night and decided to ferment my brains by turning on the television and watching some talking heads duke it out. My attention was rapt with the Donny Deutsch show "The Big Idea." He was discussing with several white "separatists" about a music duo of thirteen-year-old twins called Prussian Blue (I am not giving the website, this entry is in no way free publicity for such and awful display of manipulation and racism). Apparently these thirteen-year-old girls (who are blonde and blue-eyed) are singing songs that perpetuate the unfeeling racism of white supremacy that is still too often present in our country. There was a few pictures of them doing a little jig around a swastika that was taped down on their kitchen floor and also of them wearing these smiley face hitler tee shirts. Their lyrics contained words such as "Wake up Aryan man, wake up"
"Victory is ours, the war is finally done. Our people’s dedication is now complete, our enemies have finally been beat."
Anyway as the program went on I was in complete shock as to how some of these so-called white "separatists" (even they have become politically correct, although separatism is a fancy way of saying we want the same societal treatment of race back that existed in the pre-Civil Rights days) discussed the Holocaust and Civil Rights. I thought we were headed in the right direction as of late---but apparently hateful racism is still abounding within our culture.

Post Cowboy, Medius Schenker, Pre Vacation

2005-12-02T12:18:00.000-05:00

So, I finally have a chance to do some blogging. I really should be getting to my Schenker project, it is due in less than a week. OH well. I just finished my presentation on the origins of cowboy songs in America the late 18th century and early 20th century. It was requisite for my graduate Bib and Research class (i.e. how to use the words lexiconagraphy and jahrebuch to not only sound smart but to also be nerdy enough as to receive a thrill of excitement). Anyway, cowboy songs. So, one of my fascinations in recent years is the development of "American" music. It is the age-old question full of rhetoric: What is American music? Obviously there have been volumes upon volumes written that give a thorough examination of the topic. Therefore, it is a rather taxing job to search everything and come to any certain conclusions. One aspect of the few things I have read and experienced is that most historical information is predisposed to point to jazz music as the only truly American music. This idea has become so perpetuated as to nudge out any other ideas as to what music is American. Granted, jazz is obviously one of the most globally popular and influential styles to come out of the American creative output; therefore it is naturally a very "American" music. But, I question jazz as the sole representative of American music. Granted, the African-American culture, from which many claim to be the source of early jazz, is a unique development. But, there are so many other unique aspects of American culture that presented the world with unique music. And often, there is a sweeping argument that country music, bluegrass, folk music and rock music come from the same jazz family tree. Is it possible that most or all of the preceding styles/genres of American music were not directly influenced by jazz? Is it possible that the development of music away from the urban influence (much of jazz was born in urban America) came into its own without any grandfathering of jazz? These are all questions that are difficult to answer. So, in response to the questions I tried to take on an aspect of American music that falls in a category that I feel is non-jazz influenced: cowboy songs.
I am trying to figure out how I could attach my paper to the blog. Until next time--peace out everyone.

Pie crustiness

2005-11-24T00:16:00.000-05:00

Pie crust is hard to make. I guess it is an art form in and of itself. You cannot work with the dough too much and you cannot let it be too dry. It is really more complicated than it is worth. I guess, since it is a once a year type of thing I forget about hoe much difficulty I put myself through to make the dern stuff. Oh well, the partakers of such on T-giving Day will be the judges of my labors. Well, it is my first blog ever, so it is fun. Maybe I can spend more time talking shop another day (not just silly pie crusts).