Fw: GG & Harpsichord/hit parade 2200

[Jim Morrison <jim_morrison@sprynet.com>]

hi fminor,

Here's an interesting email that was sent to me a few weeks ago.

The sender has okayed and encouraged me to forward it to the list.

Look like there's yet another intelligent and interesting member of F minor.

This list is full of them.

Jim
----- Original Message -----
From: "sistersunshine" <sistersunshine@twistedvillage.com>
To: <jim_morrison@sprynet.com>

Subject: GG & Harpsichord/hit parade 2200


> If, and this is a pretty big if on F-minor, you're fond of rock music
> (gasp!), then you'll find GG's Handel LP has at least one other second
> cousin besides that-loveable-moogmaster Dick Hyman out there.
>
> And that's the infamous Jerry Lee Lewis "Live At The Star Club".  It's
> renowned among rockabilly and oldies collectors for just the same kind
> of "whump" and "wham" that GG gets out of his 16th-foot stop.
>
> No kidding.  I've played them back to back for folks who wouldn't know
> Handel from Honegger, and birthed lifelong Gouldophiles as a result.
> Jerry Lee comes upon his version of that sound by banging an out-of-tune
> not-so-grand piano (while accompanied by fuzzed out electric guitar,
> electric bass, & a rock drum kit) into the cheapest tape recorder in all
> of Germany.  Circa early 1960s.
>
> Clarity is nowhere to be found on such a recording.  But the rhythmic
> profile is right on the money.  And in rock aesthetics (if you'll permit
> me such a term), this is the sine qua non of quality.
>
> And gosh darn-it:
> Soundtrack compilers, ad men, and elevator programmers have been
> shamelessly exploiting audiences' tendencies to identify symphonies with
> highfalutin' highmindedness and social snootiness for even longer than
> they've been exploiting pop music's nostalgia factor.  This is not to
> say that I think Madonna has centuries worth of staying power, just that
> the cultural sheen which denotes a segment of the population or a
> particular mindset is a characteristic of all musical styles (and
> probably even a characteristic of all artworks, hmmm?) rather than a
> characteristic of one genre.  This aspect of not-so-attentive listening
> has never prevented anybody from turning into a fanatic about their
> favorite tune, and likewise has never prevented careful listeners from
> paying close attention to anything that might cross their paths.
>
> Thanks.  Forward to the list if you like.
>
> --
> DH Douglas
>