Writing a Rant

Okay, I know I've been slacking off a little bit lately...so here is the rant I wrote the other week for class.  Enjoy!!! :)

I am here to tell you about one of my biggest pet peeves.  People who go on and on and on and on, saying the same thing over and over and over.  I have a hard time forcing myself to listen or read the entirety of their nonsense.  I have a hard time not slapping them and telling them to shut up.  (And having to turn into one of those people when people who can not seem to listen to anything you say the first seven times—what gives?  I know you speak English, why do I need to say it over and over again?!?  You look at me like I’m speaking a dead language.)

Do these people even have a point?  If they do, it gets lost in all of the mumble-jumble—the cacophony of words spewing out of a person’s mouth, sometimes at an inhumanly fast pace.  Occasionally, these people start with good points, and I am totally interested in whatever they are saying.  And then they start babbling.  If you are going to start talking about something interesting, why not keep it interesting?  Why not give new examples to support your arguments?  Why bore me to death?

Of course, some of these people are completely self-absorbed and boring, and I just want to shoot myself rather than listen to their same old problems again.  But because I like to believe I’m a halfway decent person, I feel that I have to listen.  Do you know how many people have backed themselves into the same corners again and again?  Didn’t they learn from the first insane number of times they did?  Why do they keep setting themselves up?  I’ve only told them how to help themselves how many times?  I feel like I’m babbling at that point-and then I feel like a hypocrite.  Do you ever feel like that?

And then there are those people who know they are always right—even when they’re wrong.  There is no way to talk sense into these people!  You don’t agree, so obviously you are wrong.  They do not even have examples to back up whatever the heck they are trying to say!  They are trying to convince everyone that what they are saying should be truth and that everyone should believe them.  No one else gets two cents in—as soon as someone else starts talking they are interrupted and told they are wrong.  These people need to go to a debate class to learn how to argue and learn how to have civil conversations.

Blogs!  Some blogs are so annoying.  Or pages where people can post comments!  Every post is slashing someone, complaining about things people should fix themselves, waiting for some wisecrack to come along and tell them how to fix it.  Maybe if they didn’t spend all of their whining on the Internet they could fix it themselves.  Or at least find a hobby that’s less annoying to the rest of the population.

All of these babblers sound silly and unintelligent.  One day you’re having an intellectual conversation with someone, and the next you are wondering if you’ve found the same person.  (Emotional breakdowns are excluded because everyone is going to snap at some point.)  I guess it is possible that they were abducted by aliens, right?

Do you understand what I talking about here?  Some people just go on and on and on and on, saying the same thing over and over and over…

The Effects of "Seeing It Live"

Having many favourite artists, I am always wary about seeing any of them perform live - I have been disappointed before and am not really willing to spend money on a concert that will not live up to my standards.
I really enjoy the Transiberian Orchestra's Christmas arrangements, so I went to their concert at the Rose Garden (Portland, OR).  While the music was still the stuff I've been listening to for years, the concert was nit to my liking.  It was like a rock concert, but EVERYONE stayed in there seats.  Because of the conflicting performance energy to audience's relaxed seating, the concert lost enjoyment.  I would have liked the performance to match the relaxation of the audience
I've also been to concerts where I've wanted the opposite - I wanted to be dancing around and all with the performers...

The question is - how does the live performance change your view of the artist?
There have definitely been concerts I have attended that have caused me to re-evaluate my devotion and some that have strengthened it.  The Oak Ridge Boys are a group I rarely listen to outside of a concert - it was kinda a family tradition to see them in concert in Branson, MO when we went on vacation or in the Wisconsin Dells, WI for the Christmas concert.  I love going with my mom and sister and singing along!
The merchandise is important too - sometimes...I have bought CDs at concerts, but I've never got any t-shirts or posters or photos or anything else.  Is the concert merch important in one's following?

Have you ever seen someone(s) and had your view of them completely changed??  Have you ever purchased any merch at a concert that has affected your following of an artist?

From All Around the World

Pageviews by Country

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281 - US

Total Pageviews 329!!!!

Keep reading!  I always appreciate comments and suggestions!
And don't forget to take the poll on the left side of the page (down a little)!!

In Process...

so, I have several "working posts" - hopefully I can finish them within the next week, but some are dependent on my time availability (it is hard to write about things you haven't seen or heard)

in the meantime, I am looking for new ideas.  So, what do you want to read about???

please leave your prompts/ideas/questions/concerns/etc.!!!

(and vote in the poll on the left side of the page...down a little bit)

Is Music Dying Off?

With the Internet invasion, the poor economy, and nothing new coming from composers who are gone, orchestras across the country have been struggling to survive. Is the population of orchestra concertgoers just simply dying off? And, if so, why? Why are there not more young music lovers attending great orchestra concerts? Why are people not interested in hearing the great symphonies? Pop music sales are down, but people are still listening.

I do not know a lot of people outside my family that regularly go to orchestra concerts or other “classical” music venues. Most of my friends before college had never even been to an orchestra concert (a concert doesn’t count if you are performing in it), and I always wondered why none of their parents took them right downtown. The Rochester Orchestra & Chorale had concerts about once a month from October to April, and tickets were cheap. I went to every one of those concerts until I left for college. Even a number of my music-majoring peers had not been to a professional orchestra concert until our theory class went with Mozart scores in hand.

Several decades ago, conductors were part of “popular society.” Nowadays, people don’t even know their names. Few people know that Leonard Bernstein did more than write West Side Story—he directed the New York Philharmonic, wrote books, and played piano.

The shrinking concert attendance cannot be only from the economy; even when concerts are free, there is never a full house. Even though orchestras typically only get around 35% of their revenue from ticket sales, the large amounts of donations and sponsors are holding back money in the rough economy.

Maybe people think they’ve heard it all before: “what new could I possibly hear this time?” Yes, a horrible attitude to have about music. Live performances are the best places to find the new in the old. What is this orchestra doing to bring out different aspects of the piece? Are they playing it at the same tempo as everyone else? But are people bored? There are plenty of 20th- and 21st-century composers and concerts showcasing their works that people could get a taste of the new. But those concerts aren’t highly attended either. Orchestras are trying new strategies: what can be done to get more people to concerts? There was an article in The Ledger on October 1st that discussed some of the new tactics.

The internet allows people to download their favourite movement(s) of a piece, so why not do what The Imperial Symphony Orchestra will be doing: opening their season with a concert only playing the most recognised movements of orchestral works that include 5 in their title. But will it actually draw more people? How are you supposed to advertise to people who don’t normally read your advertisements or listen to the radio stations that play your ads? They aren’t going to pay attend just because entire symphonies won’t be performed.

Many have come to the conclusion that music is actually dying this time—a slow painful death. Orchestra concertgoers are typically of the senior crowds, and not being replaced by younger generations, as they are unable to attend concerts any longer, fewer and fewer people fill the concert hall. Why not make it a family event? A lot of small orchestras have kids concerts or family based events. Why are parents not introducing their children to all types of culture?


Will classical music survive this downfall?

What makes these people "musicians"?

With the explosion of new artists, how many of them are actually satisfying our musical needs?

Today in class, we talked about knowing who is popular in the music business right now.  But why are those people popular?  We watched part of one of Drake's videos--I, personally, was not impressed.  I didn't care for the lyrics, didn't really like his voice.  Could his recently found music success be based on his previous stardom, playing Jimmy Brooks on Degrassi: The Next Generation?  Or what of Justin Bieber? I think he sounds like an 11 year old girl, and I'm not seeing how he looks any better than other boys his age.  He's even written a book--there are VERY few people who have the talent to write a truly good story or even write well that are his age.  Miley Cyrus?  Hate her voice.  Yet every young girl is obsessed with her - and becoming her.  Hannah Montana is a frequently watched show when I babysit.  Are people interested in her because she is also an actress?

Then they all have their merchandise, artists have clothing lines, make-up lines for what purpose?  A way to forge more loyalty?


Are the "real" and great musicians being hidden by all of this?  I know so many people with talent, so many people that could inspire the world.
So how do we get these people into the recording and radio world?

Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross - The Social Network

Not knowing much about creating electronic music, I am at a loss for how Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross came up with the music for the movie The Social Network.  The ability to express the story around the Facebook phenomenon and all of the drama at its beginning is amazing.

Knowing the movie isn't completely accurate doesn't change the effects of the music.

I am curious about the process Reznor & Ross went through: did they write the music after seeing some of the film?  Did they ever get to see part of the film before composing?

I will hopefully be able to give you an analysis after I see the film, so stay tuned!!

Some of My Favourite Quotes...and Photography (Part 1 of ?)

.nature.

“I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” ~ Maya Angelou 

 

“Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.”

"Life has been your art. You have set yourself to music. Your days are you sonnets." ~ Oscar Wilde 

  

Sunset

  "I think music in itself is healing. It's an explosive expression of humanity. It's something we are all touched by. No matter what culture we're from, everyone loves music." ~ Billy Joel 

“A life without love in it is like a heap of ashes upon a deserted hearth, with the fire dead, the laughter stilled and the light extinguished” ~ Frank Jebbets

Painted in My Dreams

“From birth to age 18, a girl needs good parents, from 18 to 35 she needs good looks, from 35 to 55 she needs a good personality, and from 55 on she needs cash” ~ Sophie Tucker

Seven Spot Ladybug 1

“Music is the movement of sound to reach the soul for the education of its virtue” ~ Plato

"There are very few jobs that actually require a penis or vagina. All other jobs should be open to everybody." ~ Florynce R. Kennedy

 

Autumn wears sparkles

"Some cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go." ~ Oscar Wilde

"Use your precious moments to live life fully every single second of every single day." ~ Wieder Marcia

"Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.” ~ Dr. Suess

Purple Soprano

"Live life so completely that when death comes to you like a thief in the night, there will be nothing left for him to steal."

"Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened." ~ Dr. Suess

 

For Nature

 my life quote

Happiness is a journey, not a destination.

 Dance as though no one is watching you,

Love as though you have never been hurt before,

Sing as though no one can hear you,

Live as though heaven is on earth.

~ Father Alfred D'Souza


***Please check out the links below the pictures to find more of their work!!***

Digging Into the Person...and Their Psyche

Review of Maynard Solomon's "Taboo and Biographical Innovation: Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert"**

An interesting look into the minds of the musical favourites of many, Solomon's article gives unusual insight into the process of biographical writing and its process.  Not actually addressing music at all, Solomon dwells into the person and psyche.
Leopold Mozart is deemed a liar: his father's death, his schooling, his marriage.  The city of Salzburg is none the wiser, but later leaves the Mozart family abandoned.  Leopold's motives are left to psychoanalysis and the multiple symbolical explanations for the reality to fantasy.  Solomon wonders why these have only recently been brought to the biographers' attention.  Beethoven's lineage is in question--not by everyone else, but by the Beethoven family--and his possible lovers are living double lives.  Schubert's friends and colleagues wrote of his disinterest in the the women-folk and his effeminate demeanour; Solomon was one of the first to connect anecdotes to Schubert's potential homosexuality in an article from 1981.
Solomon, invested in the music business and in music history, writes of the hidden sources and the implications of their release.  This article, geared mainly towards psychologists, could easily catch the attention of musicians and gossipers, although not for the same reasons.  The psychology behind the music is not discussed, hardly even mentioned.  Only Schubert's music is mentioned-"an effeminate tenderness [exists] in Schubert's music."  Given the potential for an audience outside the psychological community, Solomon should have included more about the affects of the psyche on the composers, even if it were not discussed in direct relation to the music.  Upon concluding all of the narratives, Solomon arrives at his main point of the article: social taboos have hindered the spreading of personal information for biographers.  Solomon never makes a definite verdict if this is good or bad-or if he as a biographer thinks it is important.  Solomon relied heavily on past publications of his own and primary sources; the primary sources cited support his claims and conclusions.
Understanding the ability of sources to be hidden for extended periods of time and how the inaccessibility of those sources influence the impressions and understandings of people throughout history is applicable to more than Mozart, Beethoven, and Schubert.  What is the value of the importance of personal sources to the stories behind the people?  Do we even need to know the stories?  The only reason that Solomon mentions is the taboo affect--whatever the poison touches becomes poison itself.
Solomon mentions how some have elected to burn all of their correspondences to avoid subjecting themselves to the personal invasions upon their passing.  Solomon should have started exploring the new technological age.  With the ease to create so much and delete everything created, how are biographers going to dig into the personal, hidden lives of today's celebrities?  Or maybe, we already know everything we want to know with the tabloids and the internet thriving.  With all of the interest in today's celebrities, and having many of those knowledge cravings filled by the wide variety of sources now, where will the digging into the lives of the past celebrities end?

**you will likely need a subscription to the journal, but it is findable online

Worshiping False Idols...?

 I read an article on Monday discussing music merchandise and memorabilia - and how it has consumed the interest of some the music-crazed.  But are these trinkets enough to hold the value and important that the music has?

The Value of Music

How does a person decide on the value of music?  How do you decide what the value of music is?  How do you decide which songs, artists, genres are important to you?  Do you share this importance with everyone or keep it to yourself?
Music gains it value from the affect it has on it's listeners - feelings, reactions, memories, symbolism.

Can merch hold all that value?

So you bought that poster, hanged it on your wall, and three years later you're taking it down - why did you buy it in the first place?  Was it worth the money you paid for it?
Assuming you will forever like and appreciate the same artists, bands, and kind(s) of music as you do when you buy merchandise, will it forever hold safe the reasons you bought it?
Does a CD or vinyl count as merchandise to you?  I've always thought of a CD as a way to get the music, never because of the booklet with the pictures (although lyrics are sometimes useful).

Digital vs. CDs & Vinyl

I am probably one of the odds ones, but less than 5% of my music library is of a digital origin.  Why is the world going digital with everything?  The computer age is overrated in some areas.
Don't get me wrong, I like my green iPod nano, and I need to upload everything to get the music on it.  But what happens if I loose all those files?  To me, CDs are a form of backup.

Artist Branded...Stuff

Artists creating clothing lines and home decor, endorsing shoes and diet plans.
Does that mean all these things are better?  Are they more unique or "worth it" than other similar products?
How much is artist (or famous-person) endorsement worth to you?  How much does that increase the price you are paying for whatever product you're buying? ('cause you know they don't do those advertisements for free)

...Finally...

What does the hoarding of all this stuff say about you?  How does each thing you own from all of the pop culture represent you?
We have all done those "All About Me" presentations at some point - how many of those things were music merchandise or memorabilia? ...

...So is it worth it?

(The article I read was given to me by my professor.  Writing about music is a very interesting subject - don't you think?  Well, you are reading this blog...)

The Changing Music Scene

Aspiring artists, composers, musicians.**

what is the best way for them to exhibit themselves to the world?  close friends can easily hound in on a facebook/myspace/twitter page, but that only goes so far.

CD sales plummeting, singles available online are again creating those one-hit-wonders of the vinyl age.  But what does this mean for the classics? Not only Bach, Beethoven, Vivaldi - any those old-time pieces that can't be released again because they're everywhere already? 

My grandfather probably has 3000+ CDs of all his "favourite" classical, orchestral pieces ad composers - he has not been caught in the crazy technological advancements that the younger generations have.  How is his perception of the current music scene different than everyone else's?  How does his tiny use of the internet affect his sense of "pop culture"?

What affects how you buy music?  Do you still buy the entire physical CD?  I do - I like having the physical, it's a back up; I have the book that goes with the CD.  Although, I do like being able to load 1000ish songs on my iPod Nano and roam around the planet without all those CDs in tow.

What about music?  How much sheet music or music books have you got lately?  The internet has many many many sites that sell and will transpose pieces and songs for you before purchase.  Does this transposition tool help increase sheet music sales - your favourite song transposed to a range that you can perform it in, transposed to a key that's easier to play in.

**Here's one of the aspiring groups:
 AcMe RehD (a combination of their real & pen name initials) is a sibling duo - one the wordsmith and the other the composer - both musicians.  Influenced by the classical music (which they were exposed to while in the womb from the middle of the orchestra), country, celtic, pop, jazz - bascially everything except rap and heavy metal - they seem to be striving for a best of both worlds scenario.