Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Oh, that way madness lies;

let me shun that.

16 comments:

The Dude said...

Nice piece, I have always been a fan of Mendelssohn's work.

But what is up with those graphics? Not good.

I prefer these graphics. Sadly, however, we are a bit past Midsummer's night - time flies.

deborah said...

Thank you for that. What amazing and varied paintings.

I defend the graphics in mine because they help visualize the music. In this case, the instruments and where they come in etc.

The Dude said...

I get that. I spent years readin' the dots, studying such things and I know the score.

Not saying I could lead an orchestra, at best I am a semi-conductor.

deborah said...

What I meant last night about Vivaldi's Gloria was that it sounded very much like Handel's Messiah.

The Dude said...

Handel stole? Vandals stole the Handels? Bob Dylan appropriated his music?

deborah said...

Oh. My. Gawd. That was amazing. You a closet Dylan fan?

Well, I checked wiki, their lives nearly overlap. What is your verdict, Maestro?

The Dude said...

I don't have an opinion - I am not nearly learned enough nor well versed in the works of Vivaldi to declare one way or the other.

Being born when I was I am quite familiar with the works of Bob Dylan. Unlike the bint over at TOP I don't think he is the messiah.

Also, I can hear music, unlike Althouse, so I can appreciate works far beyond her ability to hear. Her inability to hear music explains why she loves Dylan so much.

deborah said...

Well Dylan is a great. Do you agree?

The Dude said...

Nice trap, D, but really?

Back when he was using amphetamines and psychotropics he was able to put together some interesting lyrics and convey some very thought provoking images. At times complex, occasionally profound, but frequently nothing more than facile.

Musically, he stole from the best, which is the way of the world and I don't fault him for that, but mainly, that poor bastard could never sing a lick. Bad singing destroys even the best written songs.

Brian Wilson - he was a musical genius. Dylan, a leftist icon. Big difference.

deborah said...

Not a trick at all. I was only asking if you agree. As for 'borrowing,' I don't know about that kind of stuff, like last night, when that guy borrowed from Muddy Waters.

Yeah, Dylan had a crap voice, but he could pull it off, like Cash (though Cash's was much more agreeable).

Yeah, some of his music sounds the same, but he was genius at lyrics. Worst song...Hurricane.

He's extremely covered. Lots of songs I didn't know till later in life were his.

He's a great. And to save time, so are the Beatles and the Stones. I find the Beach Boys too pop. Or too reminiscent of my childhood near the California coast. I don't know. I saw them open for Heart in the late seventies. I felt sorry for them, because nobody was paying attention to them, in fact, iirc berating them a bit.

The Dude said...

The work that Brian Wilson did before Smile and his mental breakdown was brilliant, no two ways around it. He hired the best studio musicians and was able to produce the sound that he heard in his head.

There is a good documentary about his particular musical genius and where it came from. He thought of chord progressions that were far outside of the usual pop music tunes of that time.

Hearing the Beach Boys' new records come out in the early '60s was a revelation. They really pushed the boundaries of what was played on the radio in those days.

The Beatles mimicked his sound. Brian really caused the Beatles to grow musically. He deserves more credit than he usually receives.

deborah said...

Thank you. I did not know that. Who influenced Wilson?

The Dude said...

His father was a musician, but he was brutally abusive. Brian would retreat to his room, which he was in, and play his piano, which he had because he was firmly middle class.

As with other geniuses, the music just poured out of him. He probably couldn't explain it.

As for musical influences, he most likely listened to the same late 50's pop music as the Beatles did - Buddy Holly and the like. But I have not read a biography, so I don't know who else influenced him.

deborah said...

Thank you, Sixty, this was a nice conversation.

The Dude said...

You are welcome.

And, as always, these are just my opinions.

I saw The Who in the fall of '68. Led Zeppelin opened for them. Did not like the latter - the seemed to be too derivative of the former in their lineup, and not as creative musically. Keith Moon is one of my all time favorite drummers, so nothing the other now-dead drummer could play would change my mind.

I saw Ravi Shankar in August of '69 in White Lake New York - always liked Indian music, so that was a real treat.

Here is a Mohan Veena being used to play an old Willie Dixon tune - yeah, I have no idea what these people were thinking, but the world is an amazing place.

deborah said...

Damn :)