My sympathies to you concerning your father.
**ROCK** Yes. Rock music is generally repetitive, and Rap is nauseatingly so. I am trying “alternative” currently, but find it for the most part to consist of meaningless sizzle and jangling. I will keep trying to adjust to it. Hopefully I will make some sort of progress. Certainly had I to choose between it and Rap, it would win handily. I send my compliments to your son. “Yes” had a drummer by the name of Bill Bruford who is really quite talented. He started several groups and I have quite enjoyed his music. I enjoy old “Yes,” old King Crimson, UK, Peter Gabriel, Steely Dan, stuff like Joni Mitchell's and Joan Armatrading's, virtually anything from the sixties (Hendrix, etc., etc.) I think Clapton is dang overrated. The guy really cannot play well in my opinion. There are a few Christian artists I enjoy (a guy named Phil Keggy is really wonderfully talented when he keeps his dang mouth shut and just plays guitar. He is dang clean and crisp), otherwise I find the Christians woefully mediocre.
**FUSION**I like a lotta folks here, some of which would probably be classified as rock. Others would classify them as jazz. I think the category “jazz” should be reserved for the pure stuff.
**CLASSICAL**too many to even begin to seriously mention. Here is where I go for some serious pleasure. No dang music on this earth compares with the best of this genre. Chopin is priceless, as are Bach, Beethoven and countless others. Composers are made of fire indeed. I fairly recently began restudying Mahler's symphonies. Slatkin claims he's overrated. Slatkin is fulla shitake. Mahler was once visited by a friend who began to marvel at the mountain view of Mahler's home. Mahler said “Oh I have composed all of that,” and by golly I think he has. His music sounds like dang mountains. It sounds like the greatness of the earth! Just like Beethoven's dang 9th. But Slatkin has done a great thing for me. He has brought my attention to American classical music. Of course Copeland is American classical music (okay, there is Barber, but Barber really doesn't really harken us to the frontier now does he?) I used to think Copeland rather bumpkinish, but heck Americana is bumpkinish. Copeland is soooo dang good. I was up late writing one night and decided to put on a little Copeland. Eventually one of those sweet little pieces of his like “Our Town” or something started playing. My eyes just filled with tears because the music was so pure and sincere. The man really said his piece before he died, and that is what it is all about. He ain't no Bach or Beethoven, but he gave us all he had. When a man does that, you gotsta fall in love with it.
**JAZZ** Ellington and Basie are great. Yes. And Myles is also, though, like I have said, I think Myles went a little goofy at the end there. If you ever decide to force yourself to more jazz, then I suggest you start with late Basie and move up from there. Basie can really swing. Actually swing ain't the word. Basie dang stomps the heck outta yez. If you ever want to stretch a bit toward more modern instrumentalists, try Peterson (When I play jazz, I try to play as he does. No dang body plays with such friggin' taste. Surely there are technicians galore. But Peterson is the true magician). Later, try John Coltrane. Coltrane has pretty much wrapped up the tenor sax area in my opinion. I like the modern guys, yes. Years back I enjoyed Michael Brecker quite a bit. But for real honest-to-goodness tenor, no dang body comes even close to John Coltrane, and I mean NO dang body. He is the George Washington of tenor sax. For alto, of course, I go for Bird. Again, I like the wizardry of the modern guys (like Dave Sanborn – every dang alto guy sounds like dang Sanborn), but Bird is Bird. He ain't always as clean as I'd like, but man! Those lines! Pure brilliance like that is dang scary! You may wanna wait before going Bird. He is pure beebop. Doing him at first may be like doing Messiaen while having only a listening background of Mozart or Vivaldi. He'll probably sound like nothing a bunch of notes running endlessly. I assure you – it is dang deep – dang deep! All the musicians I have mentioned above (including Messiaen and Vivaldi) are so unmercifully honest it is painful.
Oh, and stay the heck away from Kenny G, you hear me?? Stay the friggin' heck away. Kenny G is nothing but the dang Bill Clinton of music. He will wreck your friggin musical mind if you ever subject yourself to him. So if you have Kenny G in your collection, burn him posthaste.
**MUSEUMS** (grin) Yes. I am beyond total philistinism, but perhaps not by much. Actually I think I am a remarkably open and accepting person when it comes to people (and their arts). When I have encountered “works” I thought despicable, I have simply ignored them and moved on. It really takes quite a bit to offend me (like forcing me to pay for offensive garbage). I thank my wife for that. Over the years I have tried to adopt her penchant to analyze a thing, however repulsive it seems initially, to see if it has any redeeming quality. The woman is unflappable (but now I am getting all homesick and sentimental again). Yes. I can walk to the Guggenheim and the Met, though I hardly do either anymore. Like you I enjoy the MOMA.
**NOVELS** The top three greatest novels of all time are (in no particular order): this is really unbelievably difficult now that I think about it. Were I trapped on an desert island with only three books to read, what would they be? Well, the King James Version of the Bible, of course, (the King James Version because of its elegance and majesty), The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (contains pretty much all of life here), and at least one Russian-- either “The Brothers K. or W&P. Unfortunately, only a few of these are novels. So I find in my list here two novels that will comprise my top two picks. Here is my list thus far.
1. W&P
2. Brothers K.
Now for the third… (Since, as I do not yet speak Russian I see my first two picks are translations. My third selection therefore will come from the English language. DANG this is tough. I get only one dang English book!!!???? Okay here it is…)
CopperfieldGrapesofWrathOldManandtheSeaInvisibleManGatsbyFountainheadUlyssesIClaudiusLordoftheflies(andoftheRing)MobyDickAmbassadorsAtlasShruggedLordJimanddozensmore.
(Dang I gotta get C&P on that list somehow, so slip it in the number three slot also. Its English enough – grin)
You know I gotta revist Steinbeck. I have a friend who swears he is overrated. Sure, "Travel's with Charley" ain't nothing to write home about but "Mice and Men" and even "East of Eden" are really special works. "Grapes of Wrath" is also remarkable. Hemingway is truly a master. Problem with him is every dang thing is too dang depressing. Except for one, maybe two works, I certainly wouldn't take him on a desert isle. Oh but Fielding's work is too hilarious not to mention. I think Tom Jones was the first real novel. Man it has been some plenty years since I have read it, but if I recall properly it was the first. You gotta give the guy credit somewhere.
Mercy. ain't life just dang great? All these folk producing such wonders. Don't you wanna just dang live forever?????
(gotta run) |
