Found Objects
Having a free week this summer was a rare commodity, but that’s just what enabled my wife and me to take a trip to Long Island and visit her family. It was exactly what a vacation should be: non-productive. Needless to say, I did enjoy learning some of the basics of banjo-music from Emily’s brother, Randy. We even wrote a tune called (I think) “Moonshine Under the Moonlight.” Not too shabby, but I’ll spare you the details for now.
In the midst of this time, however, I did keep up on my reading of posts on music around the net. Here’s a few “found objects” that I thought worth sharing without comment:
- “Roll Over Beethoven” by Jean Cook
Music sites that tell you Beethoven is the performer, that “Allegro” is the name of the piece, that the piano soloist might be the Berlin Philharmonic. I find these experiences endlessly frustrating. I don’t understand how something so simple has to be so hard to figure out. (I take that back. I do understand. Believe me, I really, really do. But it still makes me crazy.)
- “M50: Minimalism Turns Fifty” on Sequenza21/
This September marks the 50th anniversary of musical Minimalism, an artistic revolution which critic Kyle Gann has described as “the most important musico-historical event of my lifetime.”
- “A dancer’s disciplines” by Andy Crouch
For 30 seconds I danced in front of everyone. It was a very ridiculous-looking version of modern dance (and, c’mon, that’s a long time to look ridiculous). Then a professionally trained modern dancer (with Stillpoint Dance Theater) danced for 30 seconds. Hers was beautiful. I said, “Folks: exhibit A, exhibit B, this is the summary of my talk.” And with this my talk officially began.
Enjoy!
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