tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32354680.post8396713781614443641..comments2023-11-03T09:05:31.265-04:00Comments on Soho the Dog: If that's movin' up then I'm movin' outMatthewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10936327293692397100noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32354680.post-11364739583143331562011-03-26T01:04:11.144-04:002011-03-26T01:04:11.144-04:00I thought about just posting a reply and then my r...I thought about just posting a reply and then my reply got way out of hand, so I just posted it to my own blog... <br /><br />http://interchangingidioms.blogspot.com/2011/03/denial-rebellion.html<br /><br />I agree that these young composers are finding a measure of success they should be applauded for. But, current success doesn't mean you'll be remembered. However, just rebelling against something doesn't improve your chances either.Chip Michaelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11591409283730621210noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32354680.post-39460016961173459832011-03-23T23:07:55.416-04:002011-03-23T23:07:55.416-04:00You are one of my favorite writers about music in ...You are one of my favorite writers about music in the world and for all I know one of the great turn-of-the-20th/21st=century music composers. Keep writing, words and music, please. And though I've never read Marx or Hegel, and haven't really heard a convincing definition of "dialectic," your thrill in those ideas is infectious. Thanks for all the work, and sorry for the serious shyness, which vanishes in your cartoons, by the way.Civic Centerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12362422142667230626noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32354680.post-40646670499770456882011-03-23T22:43:20.799-04:002011-03-23T22:43:20.799-04:00There is a larger point to the Davidson piece whic...There is a larger point to the Davidson piece which he doesn't really explicitly address: the major part of what is perceived to be the musical "zeitgeist" at any given place and time is due to what music gets the most attention in critical discussion. One might think in this age of blogs, Facebook, Twitter, and declining readership of traditional print media, that things would be fragmented, diversified enough that a predominant "meme" of compositional practice would not emerge as it once might have. And true, many people say today, "ah, composers are all over the place compared to fifty or seventy years ago." But to me, Davidson's more valid point was not that composers should be struggling against some rules or boundaries, but that many of the most noted NY composers don't actually sound all that different from each other as they might fancy, that all the eclecticism contains its own type of "sameness." <br /><br />And what Davidson doesn't really say, but I will, is that in spite of the fragmentation and diversification of music coverage, a certain compositional ethos does get perhaps more attention than others in this time, no different really from what we saw in the NY press in each of the last few decades. Some of that is due to the entrepreneurial savvy of this "New NY School;" there's nothing wrong with that in and of itself. But there are other composers, who might be less media savvy or who might just be doing something a little bit more "against the grain"---not aesthetic conflict for its own sake, but just against the grain as defined by what gets the most attention these days among under-35 composers. These lesser-knowns may also be "writing exactly what they want to write." To me the lesson from Davidson's piece is, hey there's a dominant ethos at work in this New NY School but maybe if we are going to truly celebrate stylistic eclecticism, before we go too far in anointing this particular generation as the "voice of their time" let's maybe look into the corners and find some of the people who don't fit into these categories so neatly. One may agree or disagree with Davidson's take on this or that composer, but these composers are going to have to bear up under critical scrutiny no less than anybody else has before them. I'm glad these composers are out there doing what they're doing, but I'm glad Davidson wrote this piece, too.Philliphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12609236921894516397noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32354680.post-27139808240256221162011-03-22T22:26:36.626-04:002011-03-22T22:26:36.626-04:00This is a brilliant piece. When I read the Davids...This is a brilliant piece. When I read the Davidson article, I felt keenly he'd somehow got it wrong, but didn't think I had sufficient musical knowledge to enter the debate. All I know for sure is that, as a listener, I'm enormously grateful to these composers for what they've done so far and want only for them to get on with it without any sense of constraint. Thank you for so eloquently making the case.Susan Scheid (Raining Acorns)https://www.blogger.com/profile/02827286681242730183noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32354680.post-56182263865229033332011-03-22T19:11:28.092-04:002011-03-22T19:11:28.092-04:00Man, this post hits me close to home! I wish I wa...Man, this post hits me close to home! I wish I was nearly as articulate and clear about this as you are. Thanks for the great read!Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02505061132633237985noreply@blogger.com