- This evening's commute was worse than normal so I had more time to think. I did resist the urge to twitter while driving.
- When I started the car after work, the first words out of the radio were "Eighth Blackbird." I did a double take to make sure this wasn't from a podcast on my iPod. No, this was drive-time radio, not normally a source of anything artistically contemporary. It turned out to be an ad on KQED for the upcoming Cal Performances concert in Berkeley of Golijov's Ayre that includes the group Eighth Blackbird.
- I generally prefer San Francisco's other public radio station but the radio was still tuned to KQED this evening after listening to Bush's press conference this morning. In that press conference, there had been a pointed question about revealing who was going to fund the future Bush presidential library and whether foreign donations were going to be accepted. But mainly it got me to thinking that when Bush read Steve Smith's recent blog post about North Korea, did the President secretly aspire to have a similar gigantic metal sculpture of himself at his new library. Surprisingly, no one followed up at the press conference with that question.
Back to Golijov, I haven't yet decided if I should treat him as an American composer similar to how I don't know what to do about fellow immigrants Schoenberg and Stravinsky. You think I would be used to complicated blends of foreign and domestic background given I work for a UK company in Silicon Valley, California where in maybe half the meetings I attend, I'm the only American-born. And I know more about immigration law, H1Bs, green cards etc. than I ever thought I would need. I suppose with this post, Mr. Golijov officially becomes an aworks composer. I can't yet grant the same honor to Mr. Schoenberg. Maybe if he had an equivalent to that great CD cover of Mr. Stravinsky and Michael Tilson Thomas.- Back to the iPod, I spent the rest of the commute listening to Knee Play 5 and other tracks from Philip Glass' Einstein on the Beach. Repeating this Knee Play multiple times, I found it was more fun to whistle the counting (123412345612345678...) rather than actually recite the numbers. I also preferred to whistle the violin arpeggios rather than listen to the recitation. This is all part of my life exploration to determine why I apparently prefer the timbral to the cerebral, at least in music. It's either genetic or it's because I heard the Beatles on the radio in 1964, permanently altering my brain.
- Bonus quote from the press conference, via The Left Coaster:
And when you couple that with the idea that... taxes may be going up in a couple years, that's double uncertainty.
- YouTube of Knee Play 5 played on a Turkish baglama guitar. Mr. Bojangles also played on baglama and accompanying an animated pie chart.
- A repeat of the link to Steve Smith's colossal man photo.
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