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<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Some years ago f_minor accidentally caromed into
<STRONG>Silence</STRONG>, the Alternate Bizarro Universe e-list of John Cage
freakazoids. (A Silence denizen had discovered that I'd taken The Master's name
in vain and that a largely uncomplimentary Cage thread on f_minor had
followed.)</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Around 1920, the insurance executive Charles Ives lured a
great Euro maestro to his Connecticut farm to hear some of Ives' piano
compositions. After a few bars, the maestro screamed "This is not music! This is
NOISE!" and fled back to New York City.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Since my teen years in the previous millennium I've had a
soft or sucker spot for avant-garde music. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Which is not the same as saying I like it. Nor can you
judge my feelings for this stuff by calculating the amount of money I've shelled
out for it. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>My talented pianist brother once got dragged to
a Philip Glass concert, and when the noise started, it grabbed his ear instantly
and filled him with disgust and anger. (He was too polite to stand up and
stomp out, he didn't want to offend his date.) </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>I hope Phil enjoys his prize. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>And I wouldn't want to shackle the Foundation with my
artificial and subjective restraints on picking recipients. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>But unlike Gould's achievements, unlike Mozart and
J.S. Bach, Chopin, Byrd, Gibbons and others, this Noise will not
stand the Test Of Time. (Ives' noise has stood the test of time far better.)
</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>So there is crap avant-garde, and there is avant-garde
that rocks and keeps grabbing the ears of the future.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>In Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, Rufus, a
time-traveller from 2688 AD, comes back to our time to help two hopeless
idiot teen boys pass their high school history assignment.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Eventually Rufus explains why. In 2688 AD, Bill &
Ted's recorded rock music had become Earth's most beloved and famous music,
and Bill & Ted were universally worshipped.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>(I once got my hands on a box of Bill &
Ted's Excellent Cereal. Ask me off-list how it tasted.)</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>GG Prize or no, this ain't going to happen to
the œuvre of Philip Glass. Earth is never going to scream ENCORE! for
<A
href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4WlNj1TTqA">Koyaanisqatsi</A>.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Thanks Pat for the old knock-knock joke. You know what a
sucker I am for old dumb jokes.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>And NASA is never going to get a message from ET that
says</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>SEND MORE PHILIP GLASS</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Bob</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>==============</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="FONT: 10pt arial; BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=promonde@aol.com href="mailto:promonde@aol.com">David</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=f_minor@glenngould.org
href="mailto:f_minor@glenngould.org">Discussion of the Canadian pianist Glenn
Gould.</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Wednesday, April 15, 2015 11:45
AM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: [f_minor] Knock Knock</DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT><BR></DIV>
<DIV>Like Gould, Glass captured the ear upon first listen. Not many
have.<BR><BR>Sent from my iPhone</DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT><BR>On Apr 15, 2015, at 10:19 AM, Pat
<<A href="mailto:pzumst@bluewin.ch">pzumst@bluewin.ch</A>>
wrote:<BR><BR></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE type="cite">
<DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr>
<DIV style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri'; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">
<DIV
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<DIV dir=ltr>
<DIV style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri'; COLOR: #000000; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">
<DIV>- Knock knock</DIV>
<DIV>- Who’s there ?</DIV>
<DIV><FONT style="size: 7">- Knock knock</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT style="size: 7">- Who’s there ?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT style="size: 7">- Knock knock</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT style="size: 7">- Who’s there ?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT style="size: 7">- Knock knock</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT style="size: 7">- Who’s there ?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT style="size: 7">- Knock knock</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT style="size: 7">- Who’s there ?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT style="size: 7">- Knock knock</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT style="size: 7">- Who’s there ?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV>- Phil Glass</DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV>....so, this year’s winner of the GG Prize has been announced and it is
Philipp Glass. </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV>As you all know, with a few exeptions Mr. Gould found that whole
minimal thing a bit dull and methinkst at one point he refered to it as 18th
Century Music or summet to that extent. (Personally I am not of that
opinion, just for the record. What counts here are the opinions of Mr.
Gould.)</DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV>So I wonder if this was a wise choice. </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV>Not that I have any grudges against Mr. Glass, far from it. </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV>Yet I reckon it should have gone to someone with a more “gouldian”
approach to music and technology than a former revolutionary composer from
the 70s who is past mainstream and maybe a bit antique by now. And who
was parodied by Mr. Gould in one of his rehearsal tapes. </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV>Or could it be that the Old Boys And Girls Network was in charge,
decided to give the prize to “one of us” without any regard whatsoever for
any gouldian context or the signals this is sending to the rest of the art
world, be done with it, proceed to the lunch buffet, safe in the knowledge
that their names will also be mentioned in blogs and articles around the
interwebs together with the famous laureate ? Do I smell Politics ? A PR
stunt ? Why am I wondering if dear old Pet Clarke has ever seen or
heard Koyaniswhatever ?</DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV>At least for me this announcement has a strange aftertaste and I really
dunno if Mr. Gould would be happy with the idea of giving a prize in his
name to Mr. Glass. Or giving out a prize in his name in general.</DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV>Pat</DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE>
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