Christmas time?

I hope everyone is having an exceptionally grand Holiday Season. As per the picture above, I would like to address the Christmas season. So please excuse my christian-centric prose below.

I must say that this year, I have been disappointed in the Christmas season. Not at the commercialism, or the loose religious conviction most christians have during this time of year, but with the crappy music I have heard. I am not talking about the "Christmas" carols popular this time of year, but the music heard in church. Most of it totally SUCKS. I never thought I would yearn for a Palestrina Mass more than I do now. Most of what I have experienced has been guitars played by marginally talented musicians, employing singers that can barely carry a tune. I know what you may be thinking: "Churches don't have much attendance, thus barely have the funds to function, not to mention pay musicians." This is simply not the case. The last church I attended, a moderately sized congregation, raised over 40 grand in one night to fund an anti-abortion campaign. So I guess the message here is that a churches political agenda is more important than its worship service.

For me, music is a big part of the religious experience. I would suspect that anyone involved with music in any capacity would agree with me. And, it seems that music is not a priority of most churches nowadays. So, I guess what it comes down to is this: why can't we come up with some tolerable church music? Why does it have to sound like bad folk music? Why should the music be left to unimaginative and short-sighted musicians with no concept of the grand tradition of music in the Church? To hear music that comes close the majesty of traditional music (circa 19th century at the latest), one must seek out their local cathedral. Here in Seattle, we are lucky to have St. James. The music is exemplary, and Dr. Savage does a great job of programming interesting music.

I wish they would encourage the same behavior in churches within their archdiocese.

Some Seattle music pics...

Here are some pics related to the Seattle music scene:


The legendary Jimi Hendrix



The Seattle Symphony at Benaroya Hall



A concise history of "Seattle Grunge"



A historic picture of the 5th Avenue Theater



Interior of the Paramount Theater

More coming soon...

Is it alright to like Disney?

In some circles, it is taboo to appreciate Disney. More specifically, it is a no-no to like Disney music if you're a "serious" musician. I am not sure I agree with this. It may be important to state here that I was an avid Disney fan when I was younger [middle and high school]. I was ashamed to admit it then, and I am just beginning to embrace it now [more than ten years later]. I have finally come to a decision about Disney movies and their soundtracks: they are extremely well made. Yes, for the most part, they do not break new ground in the field of film music. There are few if any moments of utter brilliance, but they are always, without fail or question, well conceived and flawlessly executed.

Let us take a quick tour through some of the most notable and recent examples of this phenomenon. Let's start with a classic: "Aladdin". One cannot deny that this classic soundtrack is so well written, and performed, it ranks on the level of some of the great classics in classical music. I am not saying that it is as ground-breaking as Beethoven's Ninth, or as well balanced as Mozart's Fortieth. I am saying that its construction is as solid as anything Mozart or Beethoven conceived. Its execution for the movie is near perfect. You cannot deny that it is some of the best constructed music ever written.
Here is another example: "The Lion King". Hans Zimmer wrote the soundtrack to this movie, and did a fabulous job. If you take out the song written by Elton John [which is a great pop song, not applicable here], you find a plethora of examples of music that became instant child classics. The orchestration, melodic construction, and harmonic principles are all outstanding, and worthy of further study.

There are many more examples of great Disney music, worth serious study and consideration: Pete's Dragon, Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, amongst others. The simple fact remains, that if I see two buildings and one happens to be a Cheveron station, I will not dismiss it. Just because something exists in a form that is not considered ground-breaking, cutting edge, or artistically provocative, doesn't mean it is without merit. If I see a well built gas station, I will stop and admire its construction, just as I would if I was staring at the pyramid built at the Louvre.

Wind Storm Mass Hysteria

I will never understand it. Maybe I do understand, but I am ashamed to admit it. How did everybody get so worked up about a power outage? I have to admit, I was drawn into it momentarily, but I found my way back to reality quickly. I also want to say that some people have a reason to get worried [but they are the ones keeping their cool]. Let me give some illustration as to the depth of the hysteria.

I live in an area that was moderately affected by the windstorm and subsequent power outage. I live on a hill over looking a valley. The valley was largely unaffected. Almost every business had power, as did the gas stations and grocery stores. Now, mind you, we had at least a weeks worth of warning this storm was coming. It lived up to every prediction that was made. It was the worst storm we have seen since 1993. what was unbelievable was the hysteria that FOLLOWED the storm. Bread was a hard-to-find commodity. I was trying to make my way across the valley, and it took me an hour [when it usually takes me about 20 minutes]. The reason for the slow going was NOT that the intersections were dark, and every stop was a four-way stop, it was because there was an UNBELIEVABLY long line into an Arco station. C'mon! Give me a break. There are SEVERAL gas stations in operation in the immediate vicinity, and people were FRANTIC to get gas.

Let's examine why.

The media has been spouting the dangers of having no power. And, they have been telling people that the power won't be restored for 7-10 days. I am sure those were "official" numbers. But, what ever happened to walking out your front door, and looking for yourself. Why let the media dictate your situation? Why not call the power company for yourself to find out when your power might be restored? And why, for the love of God, do you need to gas up your car at ONE gas station when there are several stations within a mile of the Arco. I went to the store to buy normal dinner groceries, and I couldn't find bread [which doesn't surprise me...it kept the Egyptian Empire going for hundreds of years], and I could not find chips. Chips?!?!? You can't go a couple of days without chips? And futhermore, why weren't these things bought in advance? It is a power outage people.....not Armagedon.

Finally, I am tired of hearing that line crews restoring power are "Heroes". This term has become TOTALLY diluted since
9/11. I mean, these people are doing a great service to the community by doing their jobs well, and as quickly as possible. But heroes? What about the doctors, policemen, and firefightrs that do their jobs in unfathomable circumstances EVERYDAY...not just after a storm. The electric company, and its service people are to be commended for sure, and probably paid double wages. But let us not throw this term around to willy-nilly.

Let me repeat myself. There are plenty of people in dire straits because of this storm. But the guy who rushes down to the grocery store to buy 20 loaves of bread, 15 gallons of purified water, and goes to gas up his Mercedes SUV at the gas station, ISN'T in a bad situation.