jonathanmann:

The Student Debt Bubble (Song A Day #1524)

SO TRUE

(Source: jonathanmann)

11/26/12

Into The Woods (cont.)

In Act I, things seem to resolve, but then everything unravels, as in real life, in Act II — pulling apart the “happily ever after” to see 1. that it is not real and 2. that it is based on activities we would normally not approve of if we were not sympathetic to characters

Inspiraton, etc, yada yadda blah bob loblaw

I’m not going to pretend that any analysis I might offer regarding classical music would be particularly illuminating; my formal training on the piano began when I was eight and ended when I was fifteen or sixteen, and while I could probably hold my own at the salon for half an hour or so, I’d be in over my head before long.

Still, I listen, with increasing pleasure, to my modest collection, and I increase its numbers whenever I find myself with time to kill in UCLA’s Schoenberg Music Library. A month or two ago I spotted a Midori CD, and remembered hearing about her when she was one of the Next Big Things. I always found the single-name moniker distracting (as I do in the case of Nigel Kennedy, who, when he cast off his first name, said it was because he didn’t like the name “Nigel,” which is just crazy talk), but that’s a stupid reason not to investigate somebody’s work. Still, life’s short and the world vast, so I never got around to Midori.

The one I picked up is called French Violin Sonatas - note the niche-within-a-niche nature of the parameters here; it’s like somebody was aiming specifically at my tastes - and to anyone who’s looking for something distinctly autumnal as the leaves begin to turn, I recommend it. The Poulenc sonata that opens the disc is lively and bracing, and the Saint-Saens that closes is delicate and complex, but it’s the Debussy in the middle that’ll knock you over. Debussy, more than practically any other composer to my ears, seems to speak specifically to our time: not in the sense of sounding like he belongs here now with us, but as if the thing that he came to say had been meant especially for our ears, and our hearts. His sense of space and interplay is tranquil or light on the suface and slightly agitated underneath, except when (as in the middle of the second movement of this sonata) it’s agitated on the surface and slightly tranquil underneath. Midori (with her pianist Robert McDonald) approaches this tension with depth and diligence. In my opinion - again, a pretty undereducated one; I’ve mainly only got my ears to work with - Debussy’s tricky; err too far on the side of the heart and you’ll turn him into a romantic, but rely too much on the head and you’ll exaggerate his modernity. This is an historical question, which is to say, a very pesonal one, and Midori’s approach is to just dive directly in. She opens Debussy up for me, and if you’ve been wondering about him as I have then you might find this reading a good place to spend a few rainy afternoons inside.

at Village Theatre Westwood

Looks like somebody partied a little too hard. A fitful sight to end a fun summer at UCLA! (Taken with Instagram at UCLA Saxon Residential Suites)

To paraphrase Alan Bennett, “We must not confuse an education with the smell of old stone.” (Taken with Instagram at Harvard Yard aka UCLA’s Kerckoff Hall)

(Source: duderonymusbosch)

UCLA Piano Rooms Are Bad And They Should Feel Bad at UCLA Rieber Hall

Song For People With Mustaches We Appreciate at Beta Theta Pi

UCLA’s Royce Hall #ucla @ucla #royce #hall #roycehall (Taken with Instagram)

I first listened to Bartok as a kid because my name was one letter away. Learned so many of his works for piano. I could go on.. But this is instagram, who reads this anyway? #Bartok #record #Vinyl #ucla #schoenberg #music #library Sidenote: Why can’t album covers look like this anymore??????? (Taken with Instagram)

Found in UCLA ‘s Schoenberg Music Library (Taken with Instagram)

To paraphrase Alan Bennett, “We must not confuse an education with the smell of old stone.” (Taken with Instagram at Harvard Yard)

I am once more and foreseeably for the final time breaking my self-imposed ban on use of GIFs to share some important news with you.

According to LeakedIn, my LinkedIn password was NOT one of the many leaked!

And further good news: I will spending the summer writing music scores for movies in the advanced film scoring program at UCLA! 

HURRAY!!!!!!

#Unfiltered intersection of multiple favorite things. (Taken with Instagram at Beach Mansion)

Go Bruins. Go Picasso. #ucla #bruins #picasso (Taken with Instagram at UCLA Campus Gateway)