Friday, June 8, 2012

Communiqué from the trenches

Slogged my way through Chapter 4 of the book so far.  Another two chapters to read, and then I can set about writing the review.  Chapter 5 actually looks interesting; Chapter 6 looks a little less so.  I still think I'd be swifter about all this if one of you would kindly come to my house and hold me at rifle-point until I completed the damn review.  Without the threat of bullet and bayonet, I have moments of despair that I will ever finish the fucking thing.

On a side note, I downloaded a ton of hella cheap classical music this week.  It blows my mind that, in the age of mp3 downloads as purchasable commodity, I can actually buy an entire opera for $3.00.  Time was you had to shell out $20.00 just for the cheapie recordings by Eastern European companies no one had ever heard of.  I also bought every piano sonata that Beethoven ever wrote, for a total cost of $2.00.  Staggering.

I think I shall try working with Artur Schnabel and Maria Callas – not necessarily together – as my new background music.  Better than listening to pop music right now.  I find I'm still a little sensitive to the lyrics of all those happy and sad love songs.  And a man can only listen to so much Billy Bragg.

Here's a taste of one of the operas I got.  (Not this recording, but you get the idea.)

4 comments:

  1. As a pacifist, I can't hold a gun to your head. But I can withhold booze or something. Would that do it? :)

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  2. Didn't realize you were also a classical music fan. You are truly my male doppelganger.

    I often like the Elgar Cello Concerto in D minor. Devastatingly beautiful, and great soundtrack to working. Also a huge fan of Chopin's piano works, as I was a serious pianist for over 15 years. Ballade Number 1 = the shit.

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    1. It's settled: Koshary and Hap are pretty nearly the same person in different bodies. There are too many similarities for this to be mere coincidence; I posit alien intervention as the cause. (Hey, it works for the History Channel!)

      On another note, dear doppelganger, are you quite certain that concerto is in D minor? The only one I can locate so far is in E minor.

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    2. Derp, typo! Yes, it is E minor. Perhaps it would be best if I proofread more? :)

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