Gaga-fied?

I've been living in the Pacific Northwest now since Summer. I've always maintained that the pace of the Northwest is much in tune with my own pace. What makes the Pacific Northwest particularly gripping is, and there's no other non-trivial to say this, music. I love the music scene from this neck of the woods. I especially love the text of music here. Music just feels different here. I illustrate. While driving South, Lady Gaga's "Poker Face" pops up on my iPod. I don't know how Gaga managed to creep into my playlist. It's a mystery. It's as much a mystery as Gwen Stefani's Love. Angel. Music. Baby. I don't know how it got on my iPod but it did. I took a glimpse of my Dad in the back seat and he was clearly digging Gaga. In shock, I turned around and said, 'wait, you like this?' He says "I do. It's catchy. Yeah, don't change it. Let it play"
Deep down I'm thinking, "dude, my Dad's into Gaga?!" But then she kind of sort of grows on me. Maybe it's because those around me are sort of inclined to like her. No, I'm not going all the way Gaga. Can't see it happening anytime soon. I've got too much new music to explore around here.

What's gripping about music is that it allows you to reconsider where you stand vis-a-vis your tastes and what the world has to offer. Music makes one more adaptable, even flexible. I'm not saying I'm morphing into a Gaga fan anytime soon. What I'm saying is that music, like few other things out there, has the power to make one revisit choices and attitudes.

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Talent Worth More Than, say, a Paragraph?

This morning as I was going through my routine of news-reading, email-checking, and news commentary-hearing/listening via MSNBC's Morning Joe, I was pleased to hear the music of Postal Service play as the show went into commercial. "Cool," I thought. Morning Joe aired from Seattle today and I thought it apropos that it pay some lip service to Seattle talent. When the show resumed, Joe Scarborough mentioned Death Cab for Cutie as well as the other equally impressive Ben Gibbard band, Postal Service which made sense since they were in Seattle.

I don't really get my news from cable shows as I'd rather read it myself first thing in the morning but if I could privilege a political commentary show at all, I'd go with Morning Joe since they manage to fuse political, social, and pop culture references without much effort and the hosts don't produce too many artificial laughters/chuckles which would eventually result in a rather successful suppression of my desire for high-protein breakfast. It doesn't feel like they're placing products as much as it feels like a tip of the hat to place-specific talent. So, Joe, here's a tip of my hat.

If I truly believe in a product or piece of art, I make it a point to give it as much textual space as I can. I'm going to mention Muse again as they just released their last album. As I've already mentioned, their fifth studio album, The Resistance, is beyond good. It's all-sorts-of-things ahead of so many other acts that get so much attention. I did a search on the NY Times today to see if they had reviewed it as well. I figured, if the Times reviews such absurdities as Bravo's The Real Housewives of New York City....

The Times does mention Muse's new album even though it was a mere paragraph and comparing it to the other paragraphs reserved for such artists as Nelly Furtado and New Boyz, it looked like it was put on a rather unnecessary diet. Is it really that hard to talk about talent these days? Here's the paragraph:

"MUSE This neo-progressive British band gets better whenever it expands its ambitions, and for its fifth album, “The Resistance,” it is going all out: bombastic rock symphonics, dystopian electronic boogies, Chopin quotations, visions of pan-Eurasian political unification."

You can read the other paragraphs featured in the same piece here.

Solid paragraph, Times, it's just that if you're now employing economy of speech why not reserve it for reality TV reviews? Just an idea.

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Verdi on High Definition?

Some snobbism is allowed when Verdi's work is at stake. At least, according to many Verdi-informed music lovers. Since I have loved his work since I was able to read, I consider myself worthy of voicing an opinion on the matter.

Incidentally, I am currently reading much about Verdi's impact on Italian/European politics of the 19-century and the more I become involved with the topic, the more I see my admiration for the composer morph into yet another (much deserved!) cognitive appreciation. Experientially, I have always 'gotten' his work. Now it's cognition's turn to catch up.

As a supporter of the arts, I list Verdi as one of the highlights of my upbringing and life. Watching things like Casa Ricordi didn't just give me musical pleasure for the moment, it also taught me concretely about the pragmatic aspect of creative genius. Verdi epitomizes just that. Having overcome an amazing sea of hardships, the composer manages to maintain his stoicism while creating some of the most soul-feeding melodies the West has yet to experience.

Watching a Verdi production live is something that the language cannot adequately contain or explain.
Nabucco, Aida, and Traviata were created to be experienced by sold out audiences and Verdi, like very, very few artists, had the right vision to know that when people would love his work, the would love it in great numbers and with much passion.

I read an interesting bit on the Times today about the use of technology in broadcasting and how it is making an impact on live productions of operas as well. I think Verdi would have been a fan of the notion of allowing many people to experience his works in almost perfect synchronicity.

Something like La Scala times 1000 would have given him pleasure, I think.

The composer produced the kind of music that inspired not only the bona fide music lover but people at large, peasant and nobleman alike.

Would I like to watch Aida on a huge screen in San Francisco when it is being performed live in Milan? Yes.

Would I rather want to watch it at La Scala? Yes.

This scenario strikes me as a rare yes/yes one.

A paragraph says:

"The Teatro Alla Scala in Milan broadcast its gala opening night, a performance of Verdi’s “Don Carlo,” live on Dec. 7. At the New York showing, in the Miller Theater at Columbia University the Milanese glitter of tuxedos, gowns and dripping jewels on the screen contrasted with the bulky sweaters, down jackets and eccentric facial hair of an Upper West Side crowd."

The entire article is here.

And might I treat you with Verdi's "Va Pensiero sull' ali dorate" from his opera Nabucco? This particular production comes from 2001 at the Metropolitan Opera House.

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Taylor Swift?! Uh-huh!

Today I rocked to country.
Yes. I did.

I rocked to country music.

The reason I say this twice is because, well, for lack of a better phrase, I don't do country. I don't know why. I just can't. I am not attracted to it. I never was. While I'm sure that country music feeds many people, it doesn't manage to feed me in any way. Not even with carbs. It's a preference issue, you see. For example, I love Verdi, Wagner, Beethoven, and Mozart but I don't care for Schumann. I love Indie rock but basically everything about Grunge bothers me. And, yes, Nirvana is an exception. Kurt Cobain is bigger than any genre. And I loved him. Very much. I still do. "Smells Like Teen Spirit" continues to be a high-frequency track. It's not grunge, it's classic. So there are exceptions within certain genres, of course.

Now back to my country encounter today. I rocked out to Taylor Swift's "Love Story."
At the end of the tenth lap at the pool, I thought I would take a 60-second break and change up the routine. I remove the items that guarantee my isolation from the surroundings and I suddenly hear this uber-loud song blasting from the loudspeakers.
I gave out a 'huh?' Hmm. The pool is sounding like a Bavarian disco? How about that!

After my 60-second break at the pool, I found myself rocking to the song the loudspeakers were feeding my already-filled-with-water ears. At the end of the mini-break, I found myself singing along with Taylor: "Romeo, save me... My daddy said "stay away from Juliet" Marry me, Juliet... Baby just say 'yes.''

I remember letting out a 'HA!' and then put my cap and goggles back on and got to the second half of the work-out. I couldn't get Swift's words out of my head. I then tried to switch to Verdi. Verdi always bails me out. I tried Nabucco but words like 'Romeo take me somewhere we can be alone, you can be the prince, I can be the princess' kept creeping in. I had another 20 minutes left in my routine, so I was stuck. My iPod and Keane were calling me but I resisted. Instead, I gave in and sang in my head, ''And I said, Romeo, take me somewhere we can be alone."

At the end of the workout, I get to my iPod and listen to Keane's Perfect Symmetry. Keane, de-Swift me swiftly, please. It didn't work.
I turn to Verdi. Nichts!

Now, I support the arts. And I most actively support music. For without music I wouldn't be who I am. But I am very, very specific about what I like. And country is not it. We're all entitled to having our favorites and Indie is what I choose. Indie is what I have chosen for years now. And this week has been a very good week for me. I got Franz Ferdinand's new album, Lily Allen's new stuff, and The Annie Lennox Collection. And it's not even Friday yet. So, what's this country business about?

And I know exactly what my annoyance consists of. Taylor Swift's little, puerile track is a distraction. Much like Lifehouse was a few years ago when their music kept me from more relevant artists like the Magnetic Fields or Morrissey. And this is supposed to be Verdi's time. This is Verdi's month. So, Taylor, I'm sure you have plenty of other fans out there. I am not hiring. I never was. My love is already spoken for. And it's good. It's very, very good.

Best Classical Music Recordings of 2008

A great list!
Tip of the hat to Alex Ross.
I'll definitely be exploring The Stravinsky Symphonies, with Simon Rattle conducting the Berlin Philharmonic (EMI) and Beethoven’s Symphonies Nos. 2 and 7, with Osmo Vänskä conducting the Minnesota Orchestra (BIS).

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