Darwinian evolution and contemporary music...

First, pieces born out of the desire to spend 45 minutes in some sort of po-mo ethereal meditative state aren't evil. In fact, I've really liked a lot of the stuff to come out of it. But there are times and places for these things. 8.25 at night as the first half of a concert that contains an admitted hallmark of 20th century music isn't an appropriate place. Granted, this is a place that loves these kind of popular-ish, innovative, creative, and po-mo works. Perhaps I'm just too closeminded?

I like the occasional drink of Budwiser, but I don't think that I'm going to pair it up with a 5 course French meal. You elevate the Budwiser inappropriately, and stymie the power of the meal.

Second, any choral piece that doesn't spring forth from the composers page as a textually based enterprise isn't necessarily bad. There are certainly a number of affects that can be well related in a funky piece like this. But I don't really have the time, energy, desire, or emotional acuity to put any vested interest in such music. Life is short....far too short to spend time on music that probably won't survive the process of natural selection.

That's why I like this notion of evolution in music. One fascinating approach would be to program only pieces that are at least 50 to 100 years old or older. This gives musical mother nature a chance to weed out all the weird things that don't have good mutations. You might miss some good stuff along the way but believe me, there's a lot of good music out there to keep you busy in the meantime.

Ok, so this is a comprehensive rant. Please don't think I'm placing all the responsibility of this rant upon a single piece of contemporary music. In fact this whole thing is largely self-indicting.

I LIKE DARWIN! But I don't think that Darwin's thoughts should be confined to application only in the natural world. What's wrong with a little bit of interdisciplinarity?!?

Cussin' in the name of JESUS!

When I was a kid I remember seeing Dr. Eugene Scott on my grandparent's satellite dish. There's something about a preacher that delivers the word of God this way.....Watch, and enjoy!

SONGS OF PRAISE (WITH SUBTITLES)

SC sent thi to me as a lesson in the importance of diction.

Imitation is the greatest form of flattery...

I'd like to point out that PFC Bradley flatters me with his imitation of our Seperated at Birth column, which has made frequent appearances here on Jaques PWOT......

musicinventor.blogspot.com

Pedophillia, Facial Congruency, and the Passion of our Lord

Ok, there are a few things I just need to say.

I think that little old ladies who smile all the time are cute. I honestly believe that there are some folks out there who don't have a vindictive cell in their body, and often these folks are the ones who smile all the time. The others generally turn out to be pedophiles....(See the Best Damn Page in the Universe for more info on the "pedo-smile" and a quiz to determine your ability to recognize one) http://www.thebestpageintheuniverse.net/c.cgi?u=spot_the_pedo

However, when an event comes up where one needs a lector, ie passion readings, I really don't want these muppets to be the people delivering the readings. There is nothing less congruent than reading the text "...cried out with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost..." with a vacant shit-eating grin on your face. CONGRUENCY......make the face match what you say!

No one wants doom and gloom all the time, but there are certainly times when it IS appropos!