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Notes On Musical Popularity And Critical Respect
On the one hand, music that is popular (though not necessarily critically respected) has earned the affection and admiration of its fans because they have found a use for it. The uses of musics are many–as numerous as music’s endless styles–including using music to show others that you like the same music they do. On the other… Continue reading
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Notes On A Sample In A Song By Drake
In 1972 a Miami-based R&B keyboardist and singer-songwriter named Timmy Thomas had a hit song with “Why Can’t We Live Together” which topped the charts and sold several million copies. Two notable things about Thomas’s song are its instrumentation and structure. Alongside Sly and The Family Stone’s “Family Affair”, “Why Can’t We Live Together” was… Continue reading
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Notes On An R&B Concert
We arrived somewhat late into D’Angelo’s set at the Forest Hills Tennis club on a warm early evening in June, but we could hear the bass frequencies from several blocks away. Emerging from the stairwell into section six of what used to be a tennis court felt like entering a party with everyone facing a… Continue reading
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On The Tour De France And Time
“Time passed indifferently, barely leaving a trace.” – Haruki Murakami, Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage “For these riders, time is running out.” – Phil Leggett Though the event ended a few days ago, the last few weeks had me watching a lot of Le Tour de France. (I also wrote about Le… Continue reading
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Four Piano Music
My new recording Four Piano Music is now available here. Continue reading
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On Street Musicians II
There is a man in my neighborhood who plays guitar on the street corner each evening in front of an optical shop, next to the Burger King. No one asked him to come here, but one day a few years ago he just appeared. He plays in all seasons—in blizzards, in rain, in the summer… Continue reading
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On Street Musicians
Here and there along my city travels I see musicians playing on the street, offering their sounds for whoever cares to listen. There are guitar-playing singers walking from subway car to car, an accordionist at grand central, the bucket drummer at 49th, the kora bard, and a child playing Beethoven loops while his father looks… Continue reading
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Notes On Musical Touch And Feel
The other day I was texting a drummer friend of mine about the difference between touch and feel. We were talking about how touch refers to how a musician strikes an instrument and the kind of sound that striking elicits, while feel is one’s rhythmic sense of musical time. My friend—a pretty marvelous drummer with… Continue reading
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