Today, December 15th, 2008, is the first COLLEGE “snow day” I’ve ever had or even heard of. I understand Portland does not get this much snow (which for me, being from MinneSNOWta and all is not a lot at all), but it has to be the ice that’s dangerous and not the snow…? Anyway, my Music & Language exam, which was a blogging party, was the one exam I think I have ever and will ever be excited for! But alas, it has been “cancelled” as the whole Lewis & Clark College campus has been shut down. Odd times. So instead I’ve been listening to a lot of good jams in my room and finishing my last paper/the semester off right! Here is a video from one of my most cherished bands, Digable Planets, which is a NYC hip-hop phenomenon via 1993 (the best year of hip-hop, including 1994…). So enjoy the snow, enjoy this vid “Where I’m From” which makes me so happy and proud of where I’m from! Even though I’m not from nyc, I still got mad love for it and miss it and want to go back ASAP. holler holler holler holler!
Doing a music analysis is very very hard. Donald Tovey makes it look as easy as 1-2-3. I have not gotten a great start to doing one, yet, but I think the main goal is to make clear WHY exactly I chose the piece that I did to analyze. As encouragingly noted by my professor, Nora Beck, this opportunity to take a bloody stab at a music analysis is meant to take chances in music/academic writing. I am supposed to teach the reader, allowing one to LEARN! Even though I was told to make this a larger objective, I’m pretty sure I would’ve done this subconsciously, which is possible a good thing. I shall try and let you know how it goes. Then, you can tell me if I taught you something.
Today, December 1, 2008, Ned Rorem, the ridiculously unreasonable critic of modern music (or any music but his own) essay Against Rock, taught me a new, useful, and intelligible word! BATHETIC: it is derived from the Greek word ‘bathos’ meaning to depth, but in regards to poetry it supposed refers to ‘bad’ poetry, or on a more positive note (pun intended, since this is for a music & language class…) it refers to outrageously performed and/or written poetry. This is how crazy Mr. Rorem uses the term. he claims that Mary Baker Eddy uses “bathetic stanzas… [that] promote[d] and function[ing] precisely like rock, are as effectively persuasive to another large group”. Yeahhhh, I don’t know what he is talking about, but if YOU do, please let me know? cool beans
