The View from a Drawbridge

Tag: music

  • Creativity is NOT a Luxury

    As more and more public schools cut back on their art, theater, and music programs, I wonder about the deleterious effect this will have on our society. Without creativity, we would all be living in soul-sucking communist era apartment blocks. It would be nearly impossible to express new ideas. We would have relatively few ways…

  • Nice Guys CAN Finish First. With Your Help.

    I don’t know about you, but I am sick to death of the political climate in this country. Everyone seems to be out on the lunatic fringe, and I’m getting increasingly concerned that the only choice we will be left with when the dust settles is the age-old voting for the lesser of two evils.…

  • Bone Records

    I heard an amazing story on NPR’s All Things Considered the other day. Apparently in the 1950’s in Russia, censorship was so fully in effect that you couldn’t get Western rock n’ roll music. Even being in possession of such music could send you to prison. Censorship in all its forms tends to backfire. When…

  • Support Creativity!

    What a strange world we live in. We are surrounded by creative people, people with talent that we can only dream about, and for the most part they’re the very people who have to struggle to survive. And that struggle often takes away from their ability to create. Imagine a world in which creativity were…

  • Music Sampling

    I have a long-standing debate with a friend of mine about music sampling. He contends that it’s nothing but theft, and that it shows no artistic ability whatsoever. I, on the other hand, think that in this modern age, a snippet of digital code can be a musical instrument every bit as much as a…

  • Not All NPR Stations Are Created Equal

    I am a loyal listener of National Public Radio. It is my main source of news and entertainment. It often inspires topics for this blog. Whenever I travel by car, I look up the NPR station for the area in question so that I can stay connected. It fascinates me how different one NPR station…

  • The Milk of Human Kindness

    A couple of years ago I met a musician in the virtual world of Second Life who went by the name of Strum Diesel. He’s a folk/pop/bluegrass artist, and an amazing talent. I started going to all his performances. I love his music. In real life his name is Sean Kagalis, and he often tours.…

  • Eva Cassidy: The Heartbreaking Story of a Talent Cut Short

    Just recently I was introduced to the music of Eva Cassidy. I’m amazed that it took me so long to find her. She has the voice of an angel. I am listening to her album, The Best of Eva Cassidy, even as we speak. It has become my go-to music when I’m stressed out and…

  • Pet Peeves

    I’m feeling cranky today because it’s my last day of vacation. I’m in the mood to gripe about stuff, so here goes nothing. It drives me absolutely nuts when someone who does not know me calls me honey or sweetie or darlin’. It sounds so condescending to me. It says, “I can’t be bothered to…

  • Concert Therapy

    I went to an Indigo Girls concert the other night and left feeling euphoric. While I love their music, I can’t say I have been a classic fan. I don’t buy their albums or follow them closely, so I couldn’t sing along with any but their most popular songs. I’m sort of a lazy enthusiast,…