http://nicomuhly.com/press/2008/711/ The official website of the New York-based composer Nico Muhly. Sun, 20 May 2012 00:59:55 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2 http://nicomuhly.com/press/2008/711/comment-page-1/#comment-5562 Chris Haun Thu, 09 Oct 2008 07:47:28 +0000 http://nicomuhly.com/?p=711#comment-5562 I am impressed in reading some of these articles by the way that Nico Muhly turns these potentially deadly interviews into stoned-with-your-friend-stream-of-consciousness musings about art, life, seeing, hearing and inanity. And he has a sweetly vicious misanthropy that is irresistible. "I have to loofah" reminded me of a line by the painter Barnett Newman in the documentary film, "Painters Painting": "Aesthetics for me is like ornithology is for the birds." And Sam Amidon's comments about Muhly incorporating his mess-ups made me think about how in the creative process there aren't any mistakes, just things that work or don't. Years ago I heard it summed up beautifully by, (I think, I have no memory for anything but good lines) an old jazz musician: "There are mistakes, and then there are mistakes that don't sound so good." I am impressed in reading some of these articles by the way that Nico Muhly turns these potentially deadly interviews into stoned-with-your-friend-stream-of-consciousness musings about art, life, seeing, hearing and inanity. And he has a sweetly vicious misanthropy that is irresistible. “I have to loofah” reminded me of a line by the painter Barnett Newman in the documentary film, “Painters Painting”: “Aesthetics for me is like ornithology is for the birds.” And Sam Amidon’s comments about Muhly incorporating his mess-ups made me think about how in the creative process there aren’t any mistakes, just things that work or don’t. Years ago I heard it summed up beautifully by, (I think, I have no memory for anything but good lines) an old jazz musician: “There are mistakes, and then there are mistakes that don’t sound so good.”

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