tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674333464171899932.post4460057831851372817..comments2023-09-15T08:07:28.542-06:00Comments on Western Hero: Road Trippin'Silverfiddlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13541652236676260219noreply@blogger.comBlogger50125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674333464171899932.post-55288652255517217842012-04-15T18:42:33.913-06:002012-04-15T18:42:33.913-06:00You westerners ought to know Ferde Grofé who wrote...You westerners ought to know Ferde Grofé who wrote The Grand Canyon Suite.<br /><br />Born in New York City of French Huguenot parentage he supported himself doing various menial tasks included driving a truck, harvesting crops, tending bar and functioning as a saloon pianist.<br /><br />He was a skilled orchestrater and produced the orchestral score for the historic world premiere of Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue in 1924 with Paul Whiteman's orchestra, Gershwin, himself, at the piano and Whiteman at the baton.<br /><br />He is best known and most remembered for his Grand Canyon Suite -- a musical evocation of what it feels like to experience the canyon from several different aspects. The suite was hugely popular in his time, and may still be in the repertory. I hope so!<br /><br />He lived to the age of 80. I only wish he'd written a great deal more.<br /><br />If you heard his music, I'm pretty sure you'd recognize it -- even today.<br /><br />~ FreeThinkeAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674333464171899932.post-31049806337578354092012-04-15T11:29:15.046-06:002012-04-15T11:29:15.046-06:00I agree with Rob about that stretch of road in the...I agree with Rob about that stretch of road in the Texas hill country from Brady to Austin. Made that trip a lot going from Bergstrom AFB in Bastrop to hometown Odessa.<br /><br />Another good drive is highway 65 from Harrison, AR to Branson, MO. Drive it during the day. It's more scenic and safer. Rock on the way to Branson. But it will take a few days to get the bluegrass out of your system.OD357https://www.blogger.com/profile/13129455581130598040noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674333464171899932.post-79138718635365194492012-04-15T10:36:30.747-06:002012-04-15T10:36:30.747-06:00Ducky said: "Zarathustra is too closely melde...Ducky said: "Zarathustra is too closely melded with 2001: A Space Odyssey."<br /><br />Fortunately, I had years of listening to the music prior to the film in '68. So for me the music in the film was awkward. I couldn't believe they used my family's music!KPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13788103894599339102noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674333464171899932.post-1854816050533278232012-04-15T07:34:39.526-06:002012-04-15T07:34:39.526-06:00Freethinker, I was out at the old granite quarry o...Freethinker, I was out at the old granite quarry on the ocean in Rockport, quite alone.<br /><br />Calm day, no waves. I thought it was dead silent.<br /><br />Then one of Cage's compositions started playing. It was surprisingly complex.Ducky's herehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14608115001116619877noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674333464171899932.post-68616140006220084862012-04-15T07:30:56.809-06:002012-04-15T07:30:56.809-06:00One of the more pleasant threads you've hosted...One of the more pleasant threads you've hosted, Silver.Ducky's herehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14608115001116619877noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674333464171899932.post-298448738892658012012-04-15T04:26:09.401-06:002012-04-15T04:26:09.401-06:00Lastly, American composer John Cage (1912-1992) is...Lastly, American composer John Cage (1912-1992) is best remembered for a "composition" where a group of musicians sit for several minutes on stage and do <b>absolutely <i>nothing.</i></b> If this challenging composition is performed properly, the players don't even roll their eyes or pick their noses. Farting, of course, is <i>strictly</i> prohibited -- the ultimate "Sound of Silence," I suppose.<br /><br />The performers are permitted to wear clothes -- the only concession to "convention" in the entire work.<br /><br />That may change, however, in the unlikely even that the piece is ever given a revival. Revision is so "in" these days.<br /><br />Throughout much of the past century -- an era fraught-with-if-not-dominated-by a morbid devotion to irrationality -- Andersen's poor old emperor must have spent many a wretched winter day hugging his naked body in a futile attempt to stay warm, while his teeth chattered in the bitter cold.<br /><br />~ FreeThinkeAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674333464171899932.post-3948499819485783302012-04-14T23:14:23.609-06:002012-04-14T23:14:23.609-06:00Actually some of my very favorite music of all tim...Actually some of my very favorite music of all time when I am cruising along the Skyline Drive in fine weather is <b>The Sound of Silence</b>.<br /><br />~ FreeThinke<br /><br />PS: I left out Franz Liszt. Imagine that. ;-)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674333464171899932.post-31363838730898205962012-04-14T23:11:42.483-06:002012-04-14T23:11:42.483-06:00And then there was Guillaume de Machaut -- the fir...And then there was Guillaume de Machaut -- the first known polyphonist.<br /><br />~ FTAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674333464171899932.post-86977277268913055612012-04-14T23:10:07.892-06:002012-04-14T23:10:07.892-06:00Josquin des Prez, Byrd, Bull, Gibbons, Henry Purce...Josquin des Prez, Byrd, Bull, Gibbons, Henry Purcell, Jan Pieterzoon Sweelinck, Orlando di Lasso, Palestrina, Claudio Monteverdi, Tamas Luis Vittoria, Thalberg, Henselt, Kalkbrenner, Taussig, Moscheles, Arthur Honneger, Georges Auric, Germaine Tailleferre, Cesar Cui, Mrs. H.H.A. Beach, George Chadwick, Edward MacDowell, Dohnanyi, Ottorini Resphigi, Charles Tomlinson Griffes ... ... ...<br /><br />Oh my God! I never mentioned <b>Rossini</b>. For shame!<br /><br />Or Hindemith. Flay me! Scourge me to the bone.<br /><br />Or Scriabin. <br /><br />Or, or, or, or, or, O, Heaven help me! <b>TCHAIKOVSKY!!!</b><br /><br />Dip me in acid.<br /><br />Burn me alive!<br /><br />Feed me to the dogs!<br /><br />I am a most wretched dunce. An abomination in the field. A cypher. A flop.<br /><br />I get an F.<br /><br />BOO HOO!<br /><br />~ FTAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674333464171899932.post-60880514157964430332012-04-14T20:47:44.365-06:002012-04-14T20:47:44.365-06:00Freethinker, I had someone bet me the dinner check...Freethinker, I had someone bet me the dinner check the other day that I couldn't name The Group of Five.<br /><br />I guessed Charles Ives, Walter Piston, Samuel Barber, Henry Cowell, and Carl Ruggles. Got three.<br /><br />You forgot Orlando Gibbons. Absolutely ethereal.Ducky's herehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14608115001116619877noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674333464171899932.post-38581363978596613902012-04-14T20:43:13.471-06:002012-04-14T20:43:13.471-06:00Zarathustra is too closely melded with 2001: A Sp...Zarathustra is too closely melded with <i> 2001: A Space Odyssey </i>.<br /><br />Any film that only makes sense if you're stoned just doesn't do it for me.<br /><br />Along with Fellini, Kubrick went absolutely off his trolley when he moved to color. It ruined a few greats.<br /><br />Although Zarathustra isn't the highlight for me, the docking scene to the Strauss waltz is absolutely inspired. Too bad the film is a New Age melange.Ducky's herehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14608115001116619877noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674333464171899932.post-81533802251360304522012-04-14T18:49:04.053-06:002012-04-14T18:49:04.053-06:00Driving any highway in Arizona is cool and full of...Driving any highway in Arizona is cool and full of adventure and scenery. I've done the I-17, I-40, I-44, I-70 ride several times.<br />I've never driven through Oklahoma when it didn't rain the entire way through.<br /><br />Anyway, ZZ-top, the Doors, some Led Zep, Pink Floyd, Tom Petty, some Rolling Stones - beggars banquet is good for the road, Les McCann, Chet Atkins, Jerry Reed, Traffic, Joe Cocker, Willie Dixon, Anything that's blues. Frank Zappa, Mozart, Cream, Blind Faith, Classical, znd especially anything they don't ever play on the radio.Kidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05287399775879832602noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674333464171899932.post-42491256052369496292012-04-14T18:36:05.267-06:002012-04-14T18:36:05.267-06:00KP,
If you liked Also Sprach Zarathustra, you...KP, <br /><br />If you liked Also Sprach Zarathustra, you'd probably like A Hero's Life, Death and Transfiguration,Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks, and The Domestic Symphony too, and you might even enjoy The Final Scene from his opera Salome.<br /><br />Try also The Immolation Scene from Wagner's Goettedaemmerung and The Prelude to Die Meistersinger von Nuernberg.<br /><br />This stuff will blow your mind, and make your hair stand on end.<br /><br />Just don't try to listen to it all on the same day. ;-)<br /><br />~ FreeThinkeAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674333464171899932.post-45874335296132710882012-04-14T16:19:56.223-06:002012-04-14T16:19:56.223-06:00FT, "Also sprach Zarathustra," was somet...FT, "Also sprach Zarathustra," was something I grew up with in my house in the early 60s (particularly the inital fanfare "sunset"). My father played it on reel to reel tapes, very loud. One of my favorite chilhood memories. That and him with cotton in his ears when I played Neil Young on the same machine. His quote "that guy sounds like he got his balls caught in a sewing machine". <br /><br />Anyway, my brothers and sister and I were shocked to hear Strauss in the movie theaters in 1968. <br /><br />v - correct about the memory. What the heck happened to me the last ten years :-) I think I will increase my fisetin intake!KPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13788103894599339102noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674333464171899932.post-47271128969962055362012-04-14T16:08:45.099-06:002012-04-14T16:08:45.099-06:00by the way not that anyone has called me on it, bu...by the way not that anyone has called me on it, but I forgot to mention Gabrieli, Dietrich Buxtehude, Johann Pachelbel, Antonio Vivaldi, Carl Maria Von Weber, Felix Mendelssohn, Domenico Scarlatti,John Field, Jean Sibelius, Mily Balakirev, Olivier Messiaen, Georges Bizet, Josef Cantaloube, Erik Satie, Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakoff, Selim Palmgren, Igor Stravinsky, Alban Berg and Anton Webern in my little list above.<br /><br />I'm sure Ducky who knows absolutely everything about everything will be glad to tell us who I missed besides Heinz Werner Henze, Christian Sinding, Carl Nielsson, Luciano Berio, Octavio Pinto, Charles Ives, Luigi Dallopiccola, and Eliot Carter, but I imagine the names he might give would be Japanese, Chinese, Korean or Indian.<br /><br />Let's see. ;-)<br /><br />~ FreeThinkeAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674333464171899932.post-87228039145871906922012-04-14T15:39:21.702-06:002012-04-14T15:39:21.702-06:00Hi, SilverFiddle. I believe the inspiration for Th...Hi, SilverFiddle. I believe the inspiration for The Planets was <i>astrological</i> not "astronomical" or mathematical. <br /><br />There's a lot of math in the scientific structure of Music, of course, but the basis for true musical expression usually stems from a need to capture emotions and "essences" by translating them into sound. It's a very intuitive, somewhat mysterious process, and requires tremendous, unfettered imagination, insight and the love -- and a <i>capacity</i> -- for fantasy and metaphysics.<br /><br />Have you ever listened to The Planets? I hate the word, because it's become so overused, but the music is truly <i>awesome</i>.<br /><br />It's in a league with "Also Sprach Zarathustra," the Tone Poem of Richard Strauss that became popularized because of Stanley Kubrick's movie "2001: A Space Odyssey," which you may remember.<br /><br />Lots of classical, romantic and post-romantic symphonic music deals with large-scale cosmic themes that evoke the mystery and grandeur of things far above and beyond our little selves and the petty concerns of our daily lives. Listening to it with full atention can feel a little like looking at earth from outer space without having to worry about whether or not one of the rockets might fail before you can return safely home -- or scaling Mt. Everest -- or hang-gliding over the Grand Canyon, if that's even permitted. <br /><br />Once you get into this stuff, it gives you goose bumps and sometimes a feeling of ecstasy that might be like a good trip on LSD or Peyote but with none of the health risks involved.<br /><br />I, personally, believe that great symphonic music and the best keyboard and vocal music bring us closer to God than mere words could possibly do, BUT you have to be tuned into it to get the right kind of vibes.<br /><br />All this stuff is larger-than-life, takes us out of ourselves and puts us in touch with a much broader view of the world -- and for me at least -- greatly expands hope for human potential.<br /><br />BUT, it may not be for everybody, but I wish more people could be exposed to it early in life and be encouraged to give it a chance to work its magic. That can't happen, unless you meet it at least halfway. Many are reluctant to make the effort, because they're afraid it would be "BAWRING."<br /><br />Too bad! We miss so much when we close our minds to -- anything -- without at least giving it a good college try.<br /><br />Cheerio!<br /><br />~FreeThinkeAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674333464171899932.post-4633541572530407862012-04-14T15:37:27.204-06:002012-04-14T15:37:27.204-06:00As a guitar playin' veteran, I wish I was ther...As a guitar playin' veteran, I wish I was there. Sounds just what the [corpsman] ordered. ;)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674333464171899932.post-17124915617612929602012-04-14T13:51:29.695-06:002012-04-14T13:51:29.695-06:00KP: "I guess we did good because our memories...KP: "I guess we did good because our memories are foggy!"<br /><br /> Yeah, but at our age we can't necessarily blame that on the past. ;-)viburnumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15381796879179539552noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674333464171899932.post-20684441888061099782012-04-14T13:40:24.916-06:002012-04-14T13:40:24.916-06:00Ducky: "Are Western and Eastern road trips fu...Ducky: "Are Western and Eastern road trips fundamentally different? I don't think so."<br /><br /> The scenery here is on much more of a human scale. I remember my first trip to Colorado and commenting on the two beautiful snow capped mountains in the distance. I was dumbfounded when told that they were 200 miles away, in New Mexico. Here that would be like looking out the window at the Catskills. LOLviburnumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15381796879179539552noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674333464171899932.post-48862997164582707732012-04-14T12:53:35.269-06:002012-04-14T12:53:35.269-06:00Ducky:
Because of the mathematical properties of ...Ducky:<br /><br />Because of the mathematical properties of an ellipse, Kepler determined that bodies orbiting the sun much have changing angular velocities along their elliptical paths. He tried to fit it into a theory of music scales but I guess he abandoned it.<br /><br />And I don't think the Grateful Dead is a western thing. They belong to all mankind!Silverfiddlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13541652236676260219noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674333464171899932.post-32674903305354505562012-04-14T11:56:24.083-06:002012-04-14T11:56:24.083-06:00viburnum, I went back and looked. I saw the Dead a...viburnum, I went back and looked. I saw the Dead at UCSB in Harder Stadium in May of 1973. They were in Philly at the Spectrum just before that in March. So I guess I caught the back half of the tour. I guess we did good because our memories are foggy!KPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13788103894599339102noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674333464171899932.post-5015570208279399262012-04-14T10:58:47.339-06:002012-04-14T10:58:47.339-06:00... too bad she died so young. Another one gone to...... too bad she died so young. Another one gone to the drugs.<br /><br /><i> Elis and Tom </i> is proof that there is no better summer music than bosa. Just isn't any better.Ducky's herehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14608115001116619877noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674333464171899932.post-76310681123916112512012-04-14T10:55:55.588-06:002012-04-14T10:55:55.588-06:00Elis Regina no doubt, Farmer.Elis Regina no doubt, Farmer.Ducky's herehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14608115001116619877noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674333464171899932.post-91816250323051717232012-04-14T10:55:09.420-06:002012-04-14T10:55:09.420-06:00Silver, I don't think Holst was commenting on ...Silver, I don't think Holst was commenting on Kepler's musical theory.<br /><br />He had more in common with the Romantics, I think.<br /><br />What was Kepler's influence on music? Now that you bring it up it would make a good paper.Ducky's herehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14608115001116619877noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7674333464171899932.post-75105987031521055112012-04-14T10:50:47.928-06:002012-04-14T10:50:47.928-06:00Is the Dead a Western thing for road trips?
Are W...Is the Dead a Western thing for road trips?<br /><br />Are Western and Eastern road trips fundamentally different? I don't think so.<br /><br />Worst road trip I ever took - in Saudi Arabia. Reason may surprise you, the drivers make Bostonians seem polite.Ducky's herehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14608115001116619877noreply@blogger.com