I have been thinking a lot lately about why some music attracts my interest and other music does not. Then I thought about the music of two of my contemporaries who for reasons that will soon become obvious will remain nameless. Both of these contemporaries are solid technical musicians and prolific composers. They are also both very well known. Musician […]
On the Attraction of Music Read More »
Django By reynold d. philipsek I was busy whispering a detailed explanation of Schopenhauer’s Philosophy of the “Will” into the eager ear of a young lady in the backseat of my 56′ Ford when it happened. Believe me, it took quite a jolt to disengage my attention at that exact moment. After all, I was only 18 years old and
My mother was a very keen music fan. Even in my pre-school years I remember listening to her records with her on her tiny Hi-Fi set. She collected 45 RPM 7 inch singles. In those days the “singles” had picture sleeves which added to the fascination for me. Her favorites were Hank Williams (Senior, that is, not his less talented
A Lifelong Love of Music Read More »
At week three of my hiatus in the sun I have come up with a short guitar piece that I think is quite nice. The working title is “Poor Hidalgo.” I have been thinking about the Don Quixote character a lot and it led to this tune which utilizes as a unifying them the Spanish dance pattern called “Quajira” which
Hiatus Week 3: Poor Hidalgo Read More »
I have always that thought that the legend of Sisyphus was an apt metaphor for all human endeavors especially creative ones. For those unfamiliar, Sisyphus is a character from Greek mythology who was doomed to push a boulder up a steep hill for eternity only to see it roll back down and therefore begin the frustratingly futile and laborious process
A pretty sure sign that your having “writers block” is when you commence making lists of your favorite compositions much like I did in my last blog. I have had “blocks” before and I don’t much let them upset me like I used to. S. J. Perelman (perhaps my favorite writer) explained them as being the natural consequence of having
Writers Block etc. Read More »