Wednesday morning I got up at 06:00 to take care of Bella who had surgery on Tuesday. The old girl is doing well, but looks a little bit like Frankenstein’s bride. Her back is shaved and features a long sewn-up scar.
Then I rode the Mariachi Bullitt to my acupuncturist.
I used to have acupuncture at every season change, and have gone to the same acupuncturist for twenty years, but had not gone in a while. I felt I needed a tune-up, though, and sure enough, the kidney meridian was running backwards. Another acupuncture session next week and I should be in good fighting shape. After acupuncture I rode to the Treehouse cafe for breakfast. Then home, but not before I bought more wieners for Bella – to hide her medication in.
Good weblog post on digital music:
the music of sound » The Problem with Digital Music
But these meandering journeys across the Internet soundscape can be taxing. The medium too easily generates anxiety in place of fulfillment, an addictive cycle of craving and malaise. No sooner has one experience begun than the thought of what else is out there intrudes. Putting on an old-fashioned disk and letting it play to the end restores a measure of sanity. This may explain why the archaic LP is enjoying an odd surge of popularity among younger listeners: it’s a modest rebellion against the tyranny of instant access.”
The whole piece is worth reading.
Continue reading here.
This is well said: The medium too easily generates anxiety in place of fulfillment, an addictive cycle of craving and malaise. No sooner has one experience begun than the thought of what else is out there intrudes.
How about you? Do you ever just listen to music, or do you listen to music while doing everything else? Would you say 80% of your listening experience is background music? Less, more? Do you sit down to listen to a single track or an entire album? Does listening with headphones help shut out the world or are you comfortable listening with loudspeakers, while not doing anything else? If you mostly listen to music in the background, do you find that it is because digital music can be played continuously (((either streamed or from files you acquired))) while LPs needed to be turned over every 15 minutes – or do you think the cause is our addiction to multitasking?
Bought another album at HDTracks. Wanting to hear how ECM would produce classical piano, I purchased Johann Sebastian Bach: Inventionen und Sinfonien / Franzosische Suite V performed by Till Fellner, on the ECM label. Check out the Sarabande, part of the French Suite, track #33. That is one very beautiful piece, all 5+ minutes of it. I find it very interesting how Manfred Eicher has turned his interest from Jazz to Classical music over the years. His classical production have that same soundscape as the Jazz recordings and sound wonderful.
Found this on Vimeo yesterday:
Reading a newspaper, I saw a picture of birds on the electric wires. I cut out the photo and decided to make a song, using the exact location of the birds as notes (no Photoshop edit). I knew it wasn’t the most original idea in the universe. I was just curious to hear what melody the birds were creating.
What an interesting entry! I’m happy that Bella was able to have surgery and is doing better.
I am not a multitasker. I don’t have the TV on when I’m not watching. And I very much dislike tossing music in with every ad. Makes me reach for the mute. Why do they always have to have awful tunes.
When I’m listening to music I am listening most of the time. When I’m in the car and the traffic needs my attention I’m on it. It’s always such a good feeling to be back to listening to music.
I remember reading where Oscar Castro-Neves had used the mountains. hmm, wonder what kind of music your mesas would make.
My own preference in listening to music leans heavily toward the whole album experience. I want to first find a voice in the music worth listening to and then hear the entire story as the artist intended. Most often, I’ll have a taste for a particular album and seek it out. No different than craving a certain meal and treating yourself to it. I would guess that 80% of my listening is just listening. Put in a CD or pull up the album on the iPod and take the ride. I don’t read, fold laundry, or surf the net. Just listen. I probably split my listening time pretty evenly between speakers and headphones. My headphones sound better and give a better chance at exploring the space in the music but sometimes, you just need to fill a room with sound.
There are some albums I find as great task-specific listening. I like cooking dinner to The Santa Fe Sessions. Matthew Schoening’s Solo Electric Cello is great for preparing breakfast. With any music you know well enough, it can be nothing more than background music for a bit and still let you slip right in to enjoy the detail at any point.
As I type this, I’m listening to Lush from the Wide Eyed + Dreaming DVD. That version is my favorite and one of the single tracks I’ll seek out on my iPod from time to time. There are a few other songs that will seem to tell me it’s time to visit with them again. Sometimes, I’ll repeat the track again and again, spending time remembering the feeling in the music. This hits me a few times a week, if that. I’m just not inclined to take such small samples.
All three of my children are single track listeners. They have their own private radio stations running from their iPods or computers. Before a song is done, they’re already searching for the next track to play. I don’t get it at all. But, from what I’ve seen, that’s how kids are listening to music. Quite a few adults too. Maybe it’s a sign of how short our collective attention span has become.
Bach’s, “French Suites”.
From 1722 and 1725, a total of six suites. Some biographers believe they were a wedding gift to his second wife.
Suite No. 1 in D minor
Suite No. 2 in C minor
Suite No. 3 in B minor
Suite No. 4 in E-flat major
Suite No. 5 in G major
Suite No. 6 in E major
Still not heard them all, but briefly what I heard of the Sarabande, from your link was beautiful.
Hope Bella is doing ok after her surgery and you also. Your comment about Frankenstein’s Bride reminded me about a great comedy movie from 1974 – Mel Brook’s – Young Frankenstein. Laughter is great medicine so I recommend Young Frankenstein for some healing laughs for Bella’s Master Ottmar.
The majority of my listening tends to be either in the car, since I drive a lot for work, or office (currently Hours, one, Opium & t-one in a 5 cd changer). I am definitely album oriented. About the only individual songs I download are from this site, DGM’s Hot Tickles or some ambient podcasts. Like Matt’s kids, my are single song oriented, which I just cannot grasp.