Hard to say. Bach was a near-unknown till the mid-19th century. The "three B's" were Bach, Beethoven, and Berlioz till Berlioz fell somewhat out of favor and a German guy substituted Brahms in the trio.
Never been a Debbie Harry fan but that song was good.Interesting Juxtaposition Copland and her. You and your late wife had wide encompassing minds. Something almost unheard of today.
I read somewhere that "Heart of Glass" was a sendup of the disco style by a group that was more or less the antithesis of disco. And then it became their top hit! It's a funny old world...
Anyhow I was a huge Blondie/Debbie Harry ("Blondie is the name of the BAND!") fan myself. As we've discussed earlier you and I were near-contemporaries at Columbia (CC'79, SIA'80) and I was well aware of the scene at CBGB but never went, an omission I deeply regret now.
Blondie was the last band I followed except for Alan Parsons Project. After that the musical scene moved on and I no longer found it that interesting.
Anyhow your dear wife is no doubt looking down on you from Heaven, where she's getting to meet all the folks she would have wanted to in real life but didn't! :-)
And, of course, there's some revisionism regarding disco. Question of whether it was bad music or just good music used badly. My sense has gravitated somewhat (not entirely) toward the latter in recent years. I can listen to a good bit of Donna Summer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDD7t2Mj_aQ&list=RDhDD7t2Mj_aQ&start_radio=1
Quite so. And of course--as Saturday Night Fever goes to considerable effort to emphasize--disco was a working-class musical movement, largely based--at least in New York--in the "outer boroughs."
But then...New Wave was to a considerable degree a working-class musical movement as well, so it's not clear whether that really plays into what was a most definite antagonism between the two.
Truthfully I never thought disco was "bad music." I assume you have the soundtrack to Saturday Night Fever: if there's a bad number on there, I don't remember it. And they did some quite clever things: "A Fifth of Beethoven" and "Night on Disco Mountain" have obvious roots in classical pieces, and how often do you hear that nowadays?
I never had the soundtrack to Saturday Night Fever, but with Spotify, I now own the soundtrack to everything. :) A Nicaraguan friend told me back in the 1990s that the Macarena was quite a beautiful thing till Anglos came in and took it over with their leaden shoes. (He wasn’t being preachy—just being funny, albeit deadly serious about his thesis.)
Heh. I can well believe it. Well you should look it up: it's a real eye-opener.
<sigh> I miss albums...People nowadays don't realize that an album was itself a carefully-crafted composition. They think that random musical numbers are enough <ptui>
Yes, like the chapters of a novel are not just short stories to be read randomly. I do tend to listen to Spotify playlists these days. There is a logic to them, though not the same logic as an album.
I used to prefer recordings of symphonic music conducted by their composers, including Aaron Copland, Ferde Grofe and Leonard Bernstein. Yet, I heard the comment of a conductor who heard a composer conducting one of his own compositions: "Eh, he conducts like a composer." I have never figured out what he meant by that. Since you have heard Copland conduct a Copland composition, not in a recording but a live performance, can you suggest an explanation? Was it just professional jealousy?
Funny. I've never heard that comment before, but I have no trouble understanding it. Composing and conducting are radically different skills. Some (e.g., Leonard Bernstein) have both, though in his case, his productivity in both was probably hampered by attempting to be both. But ask yourself whether you'd want to watch movies where the screenwriter starred, rather than seasoned actors.
A better question would be would you want to watch a movie directed by the screenwriter. Or better yet, by the novelist whose work was adapted for the cinema.
A couple of years ago there was a retrospective show honoring the career of a prolific country music writer named Bill Anderson. One of his hits was a song called "Still," which was a fine old country ballad, but on this show it was performed by Con Hunley, who made it into a bluesy number that flew above any previous version I ever heard. When he finished it, Bill said something like "Yeah, that's what I meant."
This is one of your very best posts. It's so tightly focused, its impact is powerful. Honestly, I don't (didn't) even know who Deborah Harry was, till this piece. Now, I'm introduced, feeling a tad more educated. I love you fantastic multi-linked topics pieces, but this one packs a terrific punch. Thanks for hanging in there in your time of mourning.
Thank you so much. I love this comment. Flattered. As for mourning, I can either stare at walls or celebrate the incredible woman I spent most of my life with. I've chosen the latter.
> My dear wife, Alanna, who was my co-conspirator in error, passed away three weeks ago
I'm so sorry for your loss!
Thanks so much. It does pack a wallop.
I know.
I just hope you can find some comfort in knowing that you will see her again.
My sympathies, but the memories live on forever!
Yes they do! And memories of her more than most.
I wonder how many "Great Musical Artists" today will be nothing more than a small footnote in the musical history 100 years from now?
Hard to say. Bach was a near-unknown till the mid-19th century. The "three B's" were Bach, Beethoven, and Berlioz till Berlioz fell somewhat out of favor and a German guy substituted Brahms in the trio.
OH OH! I may have learned something new. You know Why Bach became big? A link to the story?
Related and Why I don't listen to new Pop Music
The Real Reason Why Music Is Getting Worse
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bZ0OSEViyo&t=10s
Jun 25, 2024
In this episode, I discuss the crisis in music in two acts:
Act I - Music is too Easy to Make
Act II - Music is too Easy to Consume
...and their cumulative negative effect
I like REAL People playing REAL Music on REAL Instruments.
I have to lie down for a while to get my mind around the fact that Debbie Harry is 80 years old.
Great story.
Does take some getting used to.
I haven't decided if I'm going to come to terms with it or not.
Never been a Debbie Harry fan but that song was good.Interesting Juxtaposition Copland and her. You and your late wife had wide encompassing minds. Something almost unheard of today.
Debbie's not at the top of my Spotify list, but I do recognize her talent and style. And my wife's mind contain several universes.
I read somewhere that "Heart of Glass" was a sendup of the disco style by a group that was more or less the antithesis of disco. And then it became their top hit! It's a funny old world...
Anyhow I was a huge Blondie/Debbie Harry ("Blondie is the name of the BAND!") fan myself. As we've discussed earlier you and I were near-contemporaries at Columbia (CC'79, SIA'80) and I was well aware of the scene at CBGB but never went, an omission I deeply regret now.
Blondie was the last band I followed except for Alan Parsons Project. After that the musical scene moved on and I no longer found it that interesting.
Anyhow your dear wife is no doubt looking down on you from Heaven, where she's getting to meet all the folks she would have wanted to in real life but didn't! :-)
Blessings to you both.
And, of course, there's some revisionism regarding disco. Question of whether it was bad music or just good music used badly. My sense has gravitated somewhat (not entirely) toward the latter in recent years. I can listen to a good bit of Donna Summer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDD7t2Mj_aQ&list=RDhDD7t2Mj_aQ&start_radio=1
Quite so. And of course--as Saturday Night Fever goes to considerable effort to emphasize--disco was a working-class musical movement, largely based--at least in New York--in the "outer boroughs."
But then...New Wave was to a considerable degree a working-class musical movement as well, so it's not clear whether that really plays into what was a most definite antagonism between the two.
Truthfully I never thought disco was "bad music." I assume you have the soundtrack to Saturday Night Fever: if there's a bad number on there, I don't remember it. And they did some quite clever things: "A Fifth of Beethoven" and "Night on Disco Mountain" have obvious roots in classical pieces, and how often do you hear that nowadays?
I never had the soundtrack to Saturday Night Fever, but with Spotify, I now own the soundtrack to everything. :) A Nicaraguan friend told me back in the 1990s that the Macarena was quite a beautiful thing till Anglos came in and took it over with their leaden shoes. (He wasn’t being preachy—just being funny, albeit deadly serious about his thesis.)
Heh. I can well believe it. Well you should look it up: it's a real eye-opener.
<sigh> I miss albums...People nowadays don't realize that an album was itself a carefully-crafted composition. They think that random musical numbers are enough <ptui>
Yes, like the chapters of a novel are not just short stories to be read randomly. I do tend to listen to Spotify playlists these days. There is a logic to them, though not the same logic as an album.
I used to prefer recordings of symphonic music conducted by their composers, including Aaron Copland, Ferde Grofe and Leonard Bernstein. Yet, I heard the comment of a conductor who heard a composer conducting one of his own compositions: "Eh, he conducts like a composer." I have never figured out what he meant by that. Since you have heard Copland conduct a Copland composition, not in a recording but a live performance, can you suggest an explanation? Was it just professional jealousy?
Funny. I've never heard that comment before, but I have no trouble understanding it. Composing and conducting are radically different skills. Some (e.g., Leonard Bernstein) have both, though in his case, his productivity in both was probably hampered by attempting to be both. But ask yourself whether you'd want to watch movies where the screenwriter starred, rather than seasoned actors.
A better question would be would you want to watch a movie directed by the screenwriter. Or better yet, by the novelist whose work was adapted for the cinema.
A couple of years ago there was a retrospective show honoring the career of a prolific country music writer named Bill Anderson. One of his hits was a song called "Still," which was a fine old country ballad, but on this show it was performed by Con Hunley, who made it into a bluesy number that flew above any previous version I ever heard. When he finished it, Bill said something like "Yeah, that's what I meant."
Hunley's version, if you care to listen: https://youtu.be/OV4fEdVgGrY
This is one of your very best posts. It's so tightly focused, its impact is powerful. Honestly, I don't (didn't) even know who Deborah Harry was, till this piece. Now, I'm introduced, feeling a tad more educated. I love you fantastic multi-linked topics pieces, but this one packs a terrific punch. Thanks for hanging in there in your time of mourning.
Thank you so much. I love this comment. Flattered. As for mourning, I can either stare at walls or celebrate the incredible woman I spent most of my life with. I've chosen the latter.
Your lovely post hit me hard, as I too love music and lost my wife last month. Thank you for sharing; I am very sorry for your loss.
I thank you so much. And all the best from one painfully fresh widower to another.