Until that time, here’s my electronic music project, cleverly labeled “Project 1“.

Exciting update: Take the time to read this paragraph. Its the funniest thing I’ve EVER run across in a scholarly article.

“In a fascinating piece of research last year, the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revealed that most toilets flush in E-flat. This is naturally a phenomenon of crucial concern to Wagnerians. The story related by Wagner in Mein Leben concerning the musical inspiration for the opening of the Ring is well known. Lodging in La Spezia in September 1853, Wagner took to his hotel bed, tired and debilitated by dysentery. He fell into a trance-like sleep and it was in that state that he thought he heard rushing water that gradually coalesced into E-flat arpeggios. This, he claimed, marked the inception of Das Rheingold, though scholarship has sometimes taken a more sceptical view. With the new American research we may perhaps be forced to revise our thinking. If toilets flush in E-flat, could the initial inspiration for the Ring actually have been the flushing of an Italian lavatory cistern?” (source)

Categories: Music
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I should really be doing further Wagner research right now, but here are some exciting photos from my Honors Band escapades.

I stood behind them:

Show me more… »

Categories: Music, Photography
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“Who, for example, has not had occasion to become convinced that what goes on at the present day [1850] in an ordinary synagogue is the merest caricature of Church-song? Who has not been shocked and held to the spot, partly by horror and partly by a sense of their absurdity, at hearing those gurgling, jodeling and babbling sounds confusive of all trace of sense and spirit…?” – Richard Wagner, Judaism in Music

I don’t suppose that any of Wagner’s Jewish friends (for there were indeed many of them) thought to say: “Richard, buddy… you know how our religion has been around for thousands of years longer than yours? Yeah I’m pretty sure your worship music evolved from ours. And honestly, Church-song hasn’t even changed in 300 years. Do you understand the Latin of your service any better than you understand the Hebrew of ours? Asshole.”

But that’s just my opinion.

For the record, it really needs to stop snowing, at least long enough for the lovely Physical Plant employees to shovel the sidewalks around here. Either that or it needs to snow enough that both the Honors Band Festival and the Orchestra Cram Session are cancelled this weekend. The latter situation not looking hopeful, I need to get back to research.

And here are those new hair/glasses photos you all asked for about a month ago…

Categories: Crusading, Music
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The SUPER STANDPARTNER STUDIO SPOTLIGHT SPECTACULAR is officially a go. So Mary and I have the closest thing to a recital that we’ll ever get. We plan on decorating the concert hall obnoxiously, wearing our prom dresses, and utilizing golden fiddles.

Well not really on that last one, but they’re actually letting us play Charlie Daniels’ The Devil Went Down to Georgia as a duet and, in case you’re not too well informed, that is officially the coolest thing ever. It almost negates all of the sad from last time. Now I need to either find a guitar player, or a piano player, or start transcribing.

We are going to ROCK. Maybe I’ll get into grad school yet.

(Oh and the problem with the prof and the crying is being dealt with somehow.)

Exciting Update: I would like to admend this post in order to proclaim my love for Amazon.com. Around midnight last night I ordered some crap, selected FREE shipping, and noticed an additional $5 had been taken off of my total for some mysterious reason. Then, at 5:00am, my order shipped. How could they possibly make things better?

Categories: Crusading, Music, Uncategorized
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1. Rejection of my paper from a literary criticism magazine even though the editor told me my paper was absolutely amazing and that they wanted to use it if I could help them format the photos and I agreed to.

2. Professor didn’t write recommendation letter for me until I bothered him on Monday 10 days before deadline. Either that or both of the letters were lost in the mail.

3. Another professor actually made me cry in class for not being able to do things that the rest of the class couldn’t do either. Twice this happened in one 50-minute period.

4. Rejection letter from SCAD’s graduate program, despite absence of aforementioned third recommendation letter.

5. Definitely not getting enough sleep.

Categories: Uncategorized
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Pierrot Lunaire was absolutely amazing live. I now understand why, at its premiere, the audience insisted it be run through again immediately. I think I have more respect for the SU faculty too, who run their daily lives and classes and pull this Schoenberg off with only five rehearsals. Honestly.

Quote of the night: “I’m going to go back stage now, and come back. And then the concert will start.”

In other news, I’m home now thanks to a doctor’s appointment this afternoon. Dr. Russian-accent told me the exact opposite of what my physician had told me about my blood tests/thyroid and proposed I go have more blood drawn and come back later. “Later” happens to mean “over Spring Break, in a month” and “go have more blood drawn” means “find a place your insurance will let you have bloodwork done, give them this list of 14 tests, and have them send it to my office.”

So that will happen tomorrow, rather early, as I have to call the place and make sure they’ll take me before the close at 11am. Then Dad and I can sit around for intense bonding time of taxes and FAFSA. Immediately following said bonding time I will read up on why Richard Wagner hates me (i.e. Judaism in Music), and what Charles Dickens thinks of workhouses (i.e. Oliver Twist).

Exciting Update: I had eight vials of blood taken from me for those 14 tests. I also wrote the world’s best paper on only 4 lines of poetry. Thank you for sucking, Ms Dickinson.

Categories: Home, Music
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