Love, Love, LOVE!!!

I wish I could have multiple sensory inputs operating at all times.  Maybe I can invent a machine that allows me to simultaneously listen to multiple CDs while reading a book or two while eating delicious food, like grilled cheese dipped into tomato soup, or that yummy Vietnamese cold noodle dish I ate for lunch.  All while enjoying several stimulating conversations with a few of my good friends all at once.

If such a thing were possible, I would be listening to the Smashing Pumpkin's 1992 hit Siamese Twin at the same time as that CD over there on the left, True Love Waits: Christopher O'Riley plays Radiohead. 

I impress upon any of you Radiohead fans out there that YOU. NEED. THIS. CD.  And you need it in disc form, not downloadable.  You need it now.  Actually, you needed it yesterday but nothing can be done about that.

If I had that multi-faceted entertainment machine I would also watch Dexter and Heroes and Weeds at the same time.  Being that I can't, I will instead resist the impulse to wall paper this entire blog with various pictures of Michael C Hall to sit down in front of the TV with J.  And Cake!

Day Is Liking New FB Ammendment

Finally!  Facebook will no longer force anyone "to be" anything anymore!   My prayers have been answered!

About Which I am Not Educated

Now here's an interesting idea: an orchestra with it's own record label!  Mind, I've not put a whole lot of thought into recording industry, as I am sure many have. All I know is, I think I kinda prefer to buy music from a smaller label.  I'm really digging Cantaloupe Music  these days, because I heart Ethel and Bang on a Can - in fact, most of the CDs on my wish list can be found in their catalogue.  So hey, why NOT support the emergence of independence from the big corperate names, who never seem to care about "classical" music anyway?

Palm Stone

Another great part of my job at the moment is that I am always surrounded by musicians.  We all certainly do have our individual tastes, but it's pretty cool that we interrupt our scheduled programs to argue about Brahms.

One particular coworker of mine is actually interested in hearing what I have to say about my own research having to do with music (imagine that!).  Because it proved to be controversial in the past, I've sort of let my passion for this particular subject matter fall by the wayside.  Given the outright animosity with which my opinions have been met, I've been more or less cautious about even mentioning the status of women in Western Art Music, even though it is the perfect merging of my two favorite academic subjects.

Given that I am (or was?) well versed in feminist musicology and how it plays out in our implicit understanding of high art, this particular coworker suggested that I begin to write about it.  I'm turning this idea over and over in my mind - the leitmotif in this internal discussion is the most valid point of all:

Am I a good enough writer to publish (i.e. blog) my thoughts and opinions about the state of women in music?  Would I be able to commit to maintaining such a venture?  After all, to even begin to broach this topic with a good mix of logic and relevance takes quite a bit of research. And maintaining a conversation about it?  That's another skill entirely.

Besides which, to be safe I would need to see if there's any precedent for this type of venture.  What has already been added to the discussion of women in music?  Where is my niche?  (Hint: it sure isn't music by women for the horn.)  

Such is the state of things for now.  Mainly I seek to answer one particular question: with all of the opportunities now available to women, why are we underrepresented in the "voice" of instrumental music?  What circumstances prevent women from venturing into the world of music composition?  And why does it matter? 

iTunes Store Wish List

I have to say, one of the best parts of working in the business of music publishing is all the free music! Although I will never get my hands on a complete album, my friends in Promotion will kindly make copies of live recordings of new works, often world premieres.

The trouble is, obtaining all of these promo CDs has whetted my appetite for more new music. Due to the positive reinforcement of being fully engaged with new music that we help to produce (and possibly in conjunction with having a computer of my very own) my bibliophile tendencies are back in full force. It does not help that I also work with FOUR composers, each of whom are very outspoken in their musical choices. I find that my taste very closely matches certain coworker and now I am determined to forage away the complete discographies of Ethel, Alarm Will Sound, and Bang on a Can.

It is not at all lost on me that my musical tastes are closely linked to the company I keep. Thanks to J., for example, I now have countless brass quintet recordings. Some of them I still do listen to, and my admiration for Meridian Arts Ensemble has not waned even despite my own decision to not strive to be them some day. And I still think the Etler is the best piece ever. So now that I'm making friends with composers, my geekiness for new music is coming to fruition.

As an attempt to satiate my desire to listen and learn about music written post-1950 I made a journey to Academy Records on 18th street (finally) thanks to a tip from my fellow blogger and BFF. Seven CDs and less $50 later, my CD collection is a little more awesome. But I *still* don't have enough Kurtag!!

For kicks, and just to torture myself, I've been visiting the iTunes store, lusting after that which I do not have but really, really want. In keeping with the title of this post, here are the titles on my must-have list:

• Alarm Will Sound - Accoustica: Alarm Will Sound Performs Aphex Twin
  
• Steve Reich - Tehillim & The Desert Music
• Kurtag & Keller Quartett - Musik für Streichinstrumente
• Boston Modern Orchestra Project - Ziporyn: Frog's Eye
• London Sinfonietta w/ Dawn Upshaw - Gorecki: Symphony No. 3
• Kronos Quartet - Black Angels
• Meredith Monk - Atlas

Further Reading

A link for this post showed up on my feeburner today. I was planning to email it to myself for future reading, but then thought some of you might like to see it also.

More Catching Up

Halloween also came and went while I was importing CDs into my iTunes library instead of posting to my blog. In Halloween spirit, I consumed probably 3000 calories in bite-sized candy and a delicious meal at the Shake Shack. Their shroom burger is so delicious - deep fried portobello cap stuffed with oozy cheese on a bun with lettuce, tomato and special Shack sauce. I'll have to make a sticky as a reminder to blog about Shake Shack come Spring and its milder weather.

Anyway, here's my pre-indulgence Halloween self-portrait. Can anyone guess what I am?
Hint No.1: Think genre.
Hint No. 2: Think MOVIE genre.
Hint No. 3: A piece named after this genre is in the Boosey Catalogue.

Also related to Halloween, I recently read an Op-Ed in the New York Times about lobbyists from candy companies joining forces with lobbyists in the energy field to have Daylight Savings Time pushed back in order to let the Trick-or-Treating last an hour longer, which would give way to higher candy sales. It just wouldn't be the US of A if we didn't give coorperations the ability to manipulate time in their favor... LOL.

Catching Up

I think I've spent more time on a computer this week then I ever have in my life, and yet I didn't write a single post.

I am loving my new MacBook but am having a slightly difficult time switching operating systems. I miss the start menu, for one thing. Add to that the fact that I haven't had a computer of my very own in a long time and so I am having to develop my autonomous computer skills. Easier said than done. There are tons of apps to explore, and I'm stuck on iTunes and iPhoto.

To provide contrast to my geekiness this week, I was fortunate to get VIP tickets to the Phil Lesh show at Nokia Theater. Granted, I had no idea who Phil Lesh is prior to this concert, but I went anyway and had a good time. I have to say, viewing the show from the VIP lounge is pretty awesome. Full view of the floor, plus an unobstructed view of the stage. We were also allowed to keep the passes, which means J and I can dress up as Wayne and Garth next Halloween.

Above it a photo that represents the composite topics of this post so far. I'm not sure why Photobooth takes mirror images, but that's research for another day.