Comments on: Animal TherapÃ½

By: DR

DR — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 14:35:02 +0000

As a one-time performer with the Michael Gordon Philharmonic, I have never had a clue what his music was about; from Industry to Weather he seemed more intent on breaking whatever supposedly established rules of classical and pop molds borrowed off the shelf, than making his own. His rocker models, Laurie Anderson and Lou Reed, are, in contrast, handled reverently. But although more domineering, it is not to say that he typifies the BOAC aesthetic, either. Julia Wolfe, to whom he is married, is a far deeper artist, whose music assimilates broad traditions to find in both large sweeps and small gestures, nuances that resonate beyond the notes of the page.

By: Robert

Robert — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 22:46:09 +0000

Not sure if this is quite parallel to the Bang-on-a-Can/Muhly dialectic, but when Philip Levine met John Ashbery, Levine said, “I like your poetry.” Ashbery was surprised and replied, “But you write about cars and factories and fistfights and stuff.”

Despite their opposing aesthetics, Levine honestly admires Ashbery’s work. Maybe his pants, too, who knows.

By: Ben

Ben — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 21:08:39 +0000

your part of the airport is pretty great. also, this is a link to some remarkable hammer pants that may be enjoyable.
http://www.seisports.com/?,browse,3,12,151,043118

By: Dan Johnson

Dan Johnson — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 18:26:43 +0000

I’m with Nick. I think we saw exactly the short you require being worn at the Marathon, didn’t we? Step 1: Cut off a pair of jeans just at the buttock. Step 2: Cut the jeans again, right across the damn buttock. Step 3: Flaunt.

But seriously. You’re right of course about the Bang on a Can aesthetic. Gordon’s model for All the Stops ain’t no Britten Ceremony of Such-and-Such, it’s that Wood by Louis Andriessen (what the All-Stars recorded on the same disc with Michael Gordon’s Industry back in the day, then later they paired it with Workers’ Union).

“Wood,” “Industry,” “Bang on a Can,” “Workers’ Union”: yeah, this is not your scene. Coveralls, not pyjamas. But I suppose if it were the sort of club that had you as a member, it would be a different sort of club.

Maybe you need to start your own marathon? The Use a Wittily Designed, Hand-Cranked Opener to Extract Strange Ingredients from a Can Marathon! I volunteer to make the coffee.

By: Marc Geelhoed

Marc Geelhoed — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 19:17:31 +0000

Is that really a Futurist Manifesto reference up there?

By: Nick Scholl

Nick Scholl — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 19:04:22 +0000

DID YOU GET ‘A DAISY DUKE’?

By: Michael

Michael — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 19:00:29 +0000

I’m off on the QM2 tomorrow, so I am glad that this latest posting arrived in time for me to relish. I don’t think anyone writes about music quite the way Nico does. I trust it absolutely whether or not I agree with it entirely. The distinctions between awesome and fabulous speak to me in ways that Rorem’s German and French do not, although they may be striving in the same direction.

I hear Nico’s reverencing of Britten throughout his music, perhaps most poignantly — without a scintilla of imitation — in The Only Tune. And I am pleased to imagine that Nico’s nuanced writing for Sam’s voice is a whispered reverence of Ben’s writing for Peter.