Re: CHAT: Philip Glass Knockin'

On Thu, 12 Oct 2000, dirk elzinga wrote:

> I'm not sure I would agree though that there is an "Asian-sense" to
> Glass' music (early or late). In fact, I see Glass, Reich, Riley, and
> Young as being proto-typically Western in their willingness to plunder
> foreign traditions and appropriate their material and techniques and
> call it their own. What a Western thing to do, after all!
On a completely unrelated note, I remember when I read the Robotech
novelizations (which, BTW, I recommend avoiding--they're not very
well-written at all) I was puzzled by the Zentradi susceptibility to
Minmei's music, etc.

Then I read an online review of the anime series (as opposed to the
novelizations, I guess--I haven't seen the anime) and the reviewer noted
that the Robotech/Macross notion of "culture as warfare" was completely
whacked out.

In a sudden flash, I realized that it *wasn't* that whacked out, just
clumsily (IMHO) conveyed.  Cultural warfare and domination.  That's
something many a culture "invaded" by American customs (t-shirts, music
styles, McDonald's, what-have-you) could understand!

> > OBCONLANG/CONCULTURE: again even a culture's sense of time - being part &
> > parcel of their worldview - can influence not only the language, but it's
> > sense of what is and is not "music".
> >
> > music IMHO is different things to different cultures and even subcultures.
> > It is presuming a lot to say music is a universal language cuz then the
> > question that comes up is: how do you define "music"?
>
> Indeed. I find that I'm increasingly drawn to music which has a
> ritual/ceremonial function or orientation; I've always enjoyed
> liturgical music of all sorts. But then this sort of music is meant to
> be an adjunct to the ritual or ceremony which it accompanies and not
> an object in and of itself.
I really enjoy the Mongolian throat-singing CD I have, as well as the
Turkish sufi music (whatever a sufi is--I couldn't decipher the liner
notes) CD...but the latter sent my dad, who dislikes Korean traditional
music and likes Western-style classical, running out of the room.  <G>

> I have always rejected the assertion that music is a "universal
> language." Here's a specific example, why is it that the parallel
> seconds in Bulgarian folk music (as realized by the Bulgarian Women's
> Choir) evoke joy in that tradition, when in Western Europe they are
> merely shrill and grating? So much for the "universal language."
<laugh>  Unfortunately, I get a similar unpleasant sensation from
traditional Korean vocal music, with what sounds like wails and
caterwauls.  But then, I'm not much of a vocal-music person anyway.

> > For instance,I like soundscapes and DarkAmbient music...(amongst other
> > musics)... some consider these kinds of music _soft noise_ or _boring
> > environmental sounds_. I come from a different "head-space" than these
> > "philistines" who don't understand the idea of sonic awareness and
> > soundscape aesthetic appreciation. In thisday and age, it takes a
> > meditative/contemplative ability that not many are willing or able to
> > cultivate.
>
> I'm *not* very fond of ambient music or soundscapes, but I reject the
> idea that that makes me a "philistine." I do enjoy Morton Feldman, who
> has a similar sense of time(lessness).
For me it depends on the soundscape.  Some really *are* pretty boring to
me.  However, *in general* I like fast, martial music (best exception is
Barber's "Adagio for Strings"), so it isn't just soundscapes.

> Now for a completely different sonic experience, check out Glenn
> Branca. I'd recommend Symphony #3 "Gloria"; it's essentially an
> amplified wall of sound tuned to the overtone series. I play it when I
> want to be left alone (among other occasions), since no one will come
> into the room while it's on.
Where do you find these composers?  Every time I walk in a music store
I'm confronted by these horrible rows of things like rap and rock that I
have no interest in, but I can never seem to figure out what section I
should be looking in for certain modern composers.  :-(

YHL