tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19649922599093155072024-02-19T08:37:44.898-06:00polyphonic musingsc.e.w.http://www.blogger.com/profile/13604995469610647997noreply@blogger.comBlogger156125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1964992259909315507.post-73048360648781880002009-10-10T13:33:00.009-05:002009-10-10T15:35:51.895-05:00The color of sound (and other ramblings)...Synesthesia...I've always been fascinated by synesthesia, a condition that causes people to experience sensation in one sense when another sense is stimulated (i.e. equating a C major chord with the color yellow). In the late 1800s, spurred by Freud and a fascination with the subconscious, many musicians were obsessed by the concept of synesthesia. It pops up a great deal in my thesis research.c.e.w.http://www.blogger.com/profile/13604995469610647997noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1964992259909315507.post-39592030697069304262009-09-23T00:24:00.002-05:002009-09-23T00:57:47.631-05:00I love it when...people boo at operas. It's just such a snotty pseudo-conservative-opera-goer thing to do. Seriously, haven't we seen it all when it comes to opera at this point? Must we continue to feign shock, horror, and disdain in the face of innovation? You spent $1200 on your seat. If I were you, I'd be disappointed if I weren't shocked.c.e.w.http://www.blogger.com/profile/13604995469610647997noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1964992259909315507.post-66822755316703795972009-09-18T00:19:00.006-05:002009-09-18T01:10:30.450-05:00Life lessons 'n shit (or, a little late night pedagogical musing)...I teach a lot of F*@&ing piano lessons every week. This week has seemed particularly long (which is probably why I used the F word to describe piano lessons...wonder how often that's been done...hm...)Anyway, I was reminded today of something my piano pedagogy professor used to say in graduate school: "Always remember that you are not teaching piano, you are teaching people." He reiteratedc.e.w.http://www.blogger.com/profile/13604995469610647997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1964992259909315507.post-17729894777659893582009-09-08T22:08:00.003-05:002009-09-08T22:56:54.415-05:00It's state fair time in Minnesota...Yes, Minnesota...where Al Franken showed up and did this:I'm impressed. I've watched this about six times tonight and while it isn't perfect (Tennessee for instance is a little stubby in his version), it's pretty damn good. Almost as impressive as winning that Senate seat, Mr. Franken...Now get back to work and get all 50 of those states some universal health care!P.S. Just in case you haven'tc.e.w.http://www.blogger.com/profile/13604995469610647997noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1964992259909315507.post-11234092427935027702009-09-06T01:31:00.003-05:002009-09-06T12:12:46.692-05:00Hours and hours and hours of fun...This just in (because I just found it):Pitchfork listed its top 500 (yes, 500) songs of the 2000's. And they posted all 500 with MP3s. Go Crazy, kids!(Just FYI, I think the Young Jeezy song "Go Crazy" is somewhere in the 300s. You know the one..."pop my collar then they swing they chain, all the gangstas in the street they be doin they thang...")I'm going to stay up all night going through thisc.e.w.http://www.blogger.com/profile/13604995469610647997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1964992259909315507.post-46202073160978728192009-08-27T00:45:00.005-05:002009-09-06T12:24:26.068-05:00Back to school blues (quote of the day)...It's the first week of school and I'm dragging my heels a bit. I just had a really nice two weeks off and, as Winona Ryder and Ethan Hawke can tell you, Reality Bites.I spent a lot of time alone this summer and I think the sudden onslaught of students is overwhelming. All I want to do at the end of the day is sit in total silence and read. Feeling a tad like a hermit reminded me of this quote c.e.w.http://www.blogger.com/profile/13604995469610647997noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1964992259909315507.post-27913001443165803332009-08-25T01:57:00.004-05:002009-08-25T03:25:26.970-05:00I never go to bed on time (or, ode to fast food chicken and beautiful men playing banjo)...I never go to bed on time. Never. Ever. I'm not even terribly sure what time "on time" is, but I'm sure it has to be sometime before 3am. Especially when your alarm is set to go off around 7:30...Anyway, the point of this post is actually to give you a little ear (and eye) candy in the form of a new video of an acoustic performance by the Avett Brothers (just posted on myoldkentuckyblog.com).c.e.w.http://www.blogger.com/profile/13604995469610647997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1964992259909315507.post-12646098142696151512009-08-18T15:57:00.007-05:002009-08-25T01:48:56.965-05:00Healthcare debatable debacle (red state diaries seen and heard)...I've been taking a bit of a break from blog land this month. What have I been doing, you ask? Well, in short, sleeping, drinking, and reading way too much about health care reform. So, Monday morning I decided to take a break from the sleeping and the drinking and participate a bit more actively in the debate. Texas senators Pete Sessions (R/Douchebag)and Eddie Bernice Johnson (D) met Monday c.e.w.http://www.blogger.com/profile/13604995469610647997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1964992259909315507.post-38676153589987607612009-08-04T13:20:00.002-05:002009-08-04T18:59:55.150-05:00I know this is the opposite of feminism...But I love Mad Men:Don Draper. Le sigh...c.e.w.http://www.blogger.com/profile/13604995469610647997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1964992259909315507.post-33665794441277655162009-07-22T22:09:00.004-05:002009-07-22T22:42:37.885-05:00"That's me in the corner, that's me in the spotlight...Losing My Religion..." No, that's not a link to an R.E.M. song, but rather to an interesting article this week by Jimmy Carter outlining his reasons for leaving the Southern Baptist Church (yay! better late than never, prez!).In his own words: "It was an unavoidable decision when the convention's leaders, quoting a few carefully selected Bible verses and claiming that Eve was created second to c.e.w.http://www.blogger.com/profile/13604995469610647997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1964992259909315507.post-21683996100776977762009-07-16T14:17:00.004-05:002009-07-19T11:28:46.156-05:00And yet again......it is 102. One hundred-freaking-two.Dear Texas, In the words of New Edition, cool it now.Actually not bad advice in general, people.c.e.w.http://www.blogger.com/profile/13604995469610647997noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1964992259909315507.post-80439513712432144492009-07-15T11:03:00.002-05:002009-07-15T11:33:41.412-05:00Dear Mr. South Carolina...You, over there...the one in the senate...not the one with the Argentinian lover. Mr. L-Graham-R-S.C., you are obnoxious on so very many fronts. But I just wanted to let you know, every time I've heard this clip over the last few days, these are the thoughts that go through my head:1. Listening to you talk is actually the one thing that could make an intelligent, tolerant, cool-headed judge, c.e.w.http://www.blogger.com/profile/13604995469610647997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1964992259909315507.post-86268937672841649312009-07-14T20:49:00.007-05:002009-07-14T21:18:23.966-05:00And I was just thinking, "You know, people don't dress up like 19th-century opera composers enough these days..."Thank god for Rufus Wainwright! If nobody else remembers to grow a beard and dress up like Guiseppe Verdi, he's got us covered...(Wainwright)(Verdi)In case you didn't know, Rufus Wainwright wrote an opera. I know. For real. And it's called "Prima Donna." (Or, when art imitates life...) I just got around to reading the NYTimes review and this is my favorite part:"Sure enough, while a crowd c.e.w.http://www.blogger.com/profile/13604995469610647997noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1964992259909315507.post-89199059947748095122009-07-04T16:35:00.006-05:002009-07-04T16:57:43.605-05:00Shoes on my feet, I bought 'em (or, happy 4th o' July)...Happy Birthday, USofA...what is this, 233? I guess you're lookin' pretty good for your age. Perhaps a bit broke at the moment, but you'll bounce back. What with your inventive entrepreneurship, your future really is bright!Case in point:And just FYI, this is how my brain works...it is independence day, so I've had this song in my head ALL DAY! Really though, what's more American that Destiny'sc.e.w.http://www.blogger.com/profile/13604995469610647997noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1964992259909315507.post-46811821452214440782009-07-02T17:37:00.005-05:002009-07-02T18:03:43.808-05:00"Spent a week in a dusty library..."Well, maybe not a week, but at least a day.Today was my bi-monthly day-before-thesis-meeting-scramble-day and I found myself in the west stacks of SMU's main library digging around for the writings of Wagner on Beethoven. (Incredible that those two have anything to do with a thesis on late-nineteenth century cabaret music, but you know, theses tend to meander into unexpected territory....) c.e.w.http://www.blogger.com/profile/13604995469610647997noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1964992259909315507.post-81711112683692656672009-06-25T19:54:00.006-05:002009-06-25T21:27:51.440-05:00Not like other guys...Given that I was born in 1982, Thriller was a bit before my time - about a month before my time to be exact. Regardless, didn't we all grow up on MJ? (yes, yes, we did) I felt like those songs had just come out in the early 90s when I started sneaking behind my parents back and watching the videos on MTV (my parents were totally against MTV, clearly. corruption central, that place!).One of myc.e.w.http://www.blogger.com/profile/13604995469610647997noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1964992259909315507.post-55444254205605887902009-06-23T12:43:00.003-05:002009-06-23T13:14:26.869-05:00Two disturbing realities (or, red state diaries)...Disturbing/uncomfortable thing number one:Disturbing/uncomfortable thing number two:Conservative rap.c.e.w.http://www.blogger.com/profile/13604995469610647997noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1964992259909315507.post-51961100729881161762009-06-18T12:04:00.003-05:002009-06-18T12:15:43.608-05:00Still gOOgling Stravinsky...So it seems the author of every music blog I read made some comment yesterday about Google's Stravinsky banner. Oh, fellow classical musicians, we are a desperate little crew! We get so excited when someone (anyone!) in the "real world" notices something important to us and we just have to comment ("We're still here! Our music matters too!! Look, Google says so - that's the internet folks!").c.e.w.http://www.blogger.com/profile/13604995469610647997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1964992259909315507.post-83026837367366475382009-06-17T10:43:00.005-05:002009-06-17T11:10:41.308-05:00Happy Birthday to you (or, Google does Stravinsky)...Good old google. You can always count on them to remind you of important events. Today they attempted to wish Igor Stravinsky a joyeux anniversaire.I say attempted because, well, see for yourself...Cute Firebird. Whatever. But floating music notes (can I get a cliché up in this house, what, what)? And if the caterpillar and the daisies are supposed to conjure up images of The Rite of Spring,c.e.w.http://www.blogger.com/profile/13604995469610647997noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1964992259909315507.post-56362428570773390522009-06-17T02:52:00.006-05:002009-06-17T10:04:50.314-05:00On empty apartments (or, strange things will happen if you let them)...I love sitting in an empty apartment. There's something about a fresh start...just a room...before all the shit that makes up life crowds the space.I'm moving in a couple weeks and last night I went over to my new (empty) apartment to measure the walls and make sure I can actually fit an organ and a piano in my one-room place. I ended up just sitting on the floor for a while. It reminded me...c.e.w.http://www.blogger.com/profile/13604995469610647997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1964992259909315507.post-58586223475778348392009-06-17T01:11:00.002-05:002009-06-17T02:49:02.385-05:00Shows n' stuff...The thing about live music - in any genre - is that the experience is completely different when you know the band/composer's music by heart and when you are hearing it for the first time live. Both experiences are great. Some of my favorite music is music I "discovered" live. Then there are those pieces you think you know, but when you hear them live your perception of them completely changes.c.e.w.http://www.blogger.com/profile/13604995469610647997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1964992259909315507.post-85210832303426252322009-06-07T02:53:00.005-05:002009-06-07T11:01:23.321-05:00Block partay (or, my favorite news story of the week)...As you may have heard, Tetris turned 25 yesterday.(cue theme)The music, like the game, is Russian of course. Actually, it is based on a Russian folk song called Korobeiniki. Here is an orchestrated version of the folk tune with balalaika and accordion.But why stop there? People have way too much time on their hands to stop there. Let the games begin!The Tetris theme...With humans.With c.e.w.http://www.blogger.com/profile/13604995469610647997noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1964992259909315507.post-21077735620341378112009-06-02T21:38:00.004-05:002009-06-02T22:14:45.799-05:00Video killed the radio star...I like music videos. They are like opera. What is better than one art form? Two or three art forms combined. (Gesamtkunstwerk, baby!)Anyway, I was thinking recently that music videos are powerful things (this is all relative of course...i mean powerful the way microwaves cook food, not the way jesus saves or obama gives you hope). For instance, there is this song that I love and have loved forc.e.w.http://www.blogger.com/profile/13604995469610647997noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1964992259909315507.post-59913925216556659552009-05-28T01:06:00.003-05:002009-05-28T01:49:29.122-05:00In memory...I found out this week that my thesis adviser and the chair of the Music History department at SMU, Dr. Donna Mayer-Martin, passed away on Sunday, May 24th. I've felt a wide range of emotions over the last few days. Dr. M-M was diagnosed with cancer earlier this year but her death was sudden and unexpected.I began studying musicology midway through my masters degree in piano performance and c.e.w.http://www.blogger.com/profile/13604995469610647997noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1964992259909315507.post-31326399906945308112009-05-26T19:44:00.006-05:002009-05-26T23:09:12.278-05:00This guy does not look like Igor...Admittedly, this movie (that closed the Cannes festival this week) looks a tad predictable and tedious and I'm not terribly impressed with Mad Mikkelsen's Stravinsky from the little you see of him in this trailer. Regardless, I can't wait to see it, if only for the first 30 seconds of the preview. After that, meh... Comme Au CinemaThe 1913 premier of Le Sacre du Printemps is one of c.e.w.http://www.blogger.com/profile/13604995469610647997noreply@blogger.com0