Mind the Gap

I know the whole indie-alt-classical vibe makes perfect sense to some people and makes other people’s gag reflex kick in. Regardless of your artistic opinion on the intersection of Xenakis with fauxhawks and fixies, however, wasn’t it a pretty easy scene merge? What if one of the new music super groups reached for a style that was a little further afield from what was already in the closet, something a bit more…goth rock perhaps?

I was thinking about this and the future of the performing arts in America while watching the interpretive dance portion of the video below. If these are not the most intense, eyeliner wearing, hair swirling cellists you have ever seen, well, then you probably move in more theatrical circles than I do.

Okay, okay, I’m not seriously suggesting concert music imitate the stylistic choices made above by Apocalyptica. I don’t think it, or any music really, benefits from that much licking. But what about the art of personal style and what it communicates about a performer? I feel like we’re not paying enough attention after so much practicing (coordinating shades of button down dress shirts doesn’t count!). Costuming is a powerful tool that it seems a shame to waste. I mean, for better and worse you probably know what The Pretty Reckless is all about before anyone makes a move. And even when you don’t know exactly what a dress says, it says something.

One of the more memorable new music shows I saw last year looked like it was outfitted by a team of Project Runway hopefuls. This was performance with visible cues that more concerts might benefit from. No need to steal a style, mind you, but don’t be afraid to invent your own. This is art, people. It’s supposed to be attractive.

If you are a new music fan in the market for a new digital SLR camera with video capability, secure your wallet and be careful watching this video! Composer/NMBx pal Dan Visconti scored this beautiful demo flick which highlights what this new-to-market bit of technology has to offer. They could not have produced a piece of marketing better suited to the Mind the Gap demographic, I suspect, so I pass it along here:

I get quite a few press releases about very interesting new music events every day, but a concert series in a coat closet? This feels like a first. Chris Kallmyer has organized “four resident ensembles, 96 composers, 350+ new works, and over 400 concerts inside a coatroom, under the stairs in the lobby of the Hammer Museum” in Los Angeles. The performances take two minutes a piece and are performed for the gathered Saturday afternoon audience members two at a time. Also, it is free. For once, I really wish I lived in L.A.

The multi-week festival is in process and running strong through November, but living as I do in a far away zip code (not to mention my claustrophobia), I’ve been exploring things online. There’s plenty of interesting music/performances to check out:

but I have to say that Adam Overton’s unique contribution gets major props from me. I’ve had a thing for spoken wordplay like this–I don’t know why–ever since Daniel tried to teach me the basics of the fugue.

A few weeks ago, a composer I was in correspondence with mentioned that it had been a while since he’d last cruised through Baltimore, but that he suspected Charm City’s new music scene was in need of some fresh energy to get things revitalized. With more than a little bit of hometown cheerleader excitement, I shot back: Something like this, perhaps?

Admittedly, the fact that the curator of the Contemporary Museum’s Mobtown Modern music series, Brian Sacawa, is my husband means that I can in no way be counted as a credible source of unbiased opinion in this matter. Still, the lineup of repertoire and performers, the debut this season of a serious collaboration with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, the supportive audience and media environment, and, um, the fact that Sacawa lets me toss in (a.k.a. shout from my office) my 2 cents re: programming ideas from time to time? I’d say that’s a situation–a pretty sweet one, as far as homes for new music go.

Mobtown Modern’s 2010-11 season kicks off next Tuesday night with an all-Ligeti showcase. If you’re in the area (or even if you’re not–the shows are walking distance from the train station, and I’ve been on late night subway rides that took longer to get me from Queens to Brooklyn than from NYC to Baltimore, I swear) we hope you’ll stop by! Powerhouse pianist Jenny Lin, BSO violist Karin Brown, a sax quartet, a 16-voice choir, and 100 metronomes will be in the house for what seems set to be a killer opening night.

Sharpen your pencils, music makers: Composing original jingles is back!

“Years ago it was selling out — now we call it selling in,” Mr. [Mike] Boris said.

Er, wait a sec, a big part of this is not actually composing jingles in the traditional sense. This Advertising Age report reads like the trend falls more along the lines of people writing pop songs that can be licensed cheaper and with less cultural baggage than a U2 tune to sell a product, and just maybe the artist can ride that freight train to popularity at the same time. It’s…a strategy.

In fact, music was the only production category that saw an increase in budget last year, according to a 2010 study from the 4A’s; the Association of Music Producers (AMP) reported 78% of its members’ income came from original music vs. 22% from licensed music and arrangements in a spring 2010 survey.

“It seems like the cycle is ebbing slightly, and it may be less popular to align yourself with a major superstar,” said Elizabeth Myers, president of AMP and co-founder of Trivers Myers Music. She suggests it could be a reflection of the economic mood — original music feels more simple and real. And, she said, “in America, the clients like to own that identity that comes with original music.”

Just don’t tell Neil…

I’m not usually a sentimentalist, but after slogging through recent weeks of news rich with intolerance and violence (I’ll spare you the litany of links), this vet’s story of music and humanity sneaked into my Google reader thanks to a friend and provided a glimmer of, well, hope in the midst of what all too often feels like an endlessly horrific news cycle.

Towards the end of the clip, he states his name as Jack LeRoy Tueller, and a little searching turns up this CNN news item which offers a more detailed account of Jack’s narrative than the video provides. A newspaper account seems to indicate that the clip is part of a larger “Utah World War II Stories” series filmed by local PBS affiliate KUED. Search results also turn up a 33-page interview conducted by KUED, if you really find yourself engaged by Jack and his stories. My own Papa having passed on, I admit I’m working my way through the transcript.

Thanks for sharing, Col. Jack.

It’s August. It’s Monday. Delay it for 6:20.

Later on if you want to get all philosophical around the water cooler, segue from here into a discussion of sampling, appropriation of pop culture reference points, and what defines art and culture in 2010. Then take it to licensing and legal complexities if you’re nasty.

Has your board asked you to craft a social media strategy for your organization? Are you unable/unwilling to stop and think through what options make the most sense in light of your mission? No problem!*

*(Be advised that the site employs coarse language, if you’re sensitive to that sort of thing.)

I have joined forces with two fellow amateur gourmets and started blogging about my kitchen exploits. It took a swift kick (from a certain friend we’ve heard from in this space before) to convince me that there was enough time in the day to add this activity, and now that I’m in it, I am hooked. So where previously I have tried to sneak the occasional pseudo food posting into this space, now things will be neatly divided–just as the internet intended!

This divide and conquer mentality, however, got me thinking about a day last winter when Orange County Register music critic Timothy Mangan posted his martini recipe to his newspaper’s dining blog but also made mention of it in his usual classical music space. Audiences meshed, and music and cocktail fans came together to passionately debate the subtle variations between vermouth distilleries. The community expanded (if briefly). It was as if we went on a field trip together. It was a beautiful thing.

So when I read about how we are trading the open internet for app-specific content delivery, I got a bit of a sinking feeling similar to the one I get every time I look at the 12-deep stack of unopened Harper’s magazines on my coffee table. I still feel like I read a lot each day, but now that I sit at my computer every morning and don’t commute to work, gone are those unexpected but powerful moments when I read about people and places I would never otherwise have known about, and do so simply because they are profiled in the magazine that I have stashed in my bag for when my subway train is “held momentarily” for 20 minutes. You may be able to Google your way to any bit of information you could need, but accidental enlightenment seems to take some serious commitment and concentration in 2010. There may be 800 unread posts in my Google reader, but I know from experience that most of them will be just more of the same. This seems to indicate the need for an active readjustment of how I distribute my attention every day if I am to have any shot at continuing to grow as a person. I can’t imagine I am alone in this frustration.

Circling this all the way around to music then (hey, I was getting there), no matter what genre or artist we are advocating for, do we need to be adjusting our efforts due to declining opportunities for chance discovery? Will there be a reaction to this boxing up of information and an audience hungry for something new that we can be prepared to feed when the time comes?

While you’re thinking that over, feel free to stop by the kitchen for a snack anytime!

The last time I cruised through NYC I had the chance to chat with Tristan Perich about his 1-Bit Symphony in advance of its official release on Cantaloupe next week. The article and video that resulted are online now on NewMusicBox.

I have to say the music itself is fantastic, but the trappings it comes packaged inside add a great deal to think about as well. Plus there’s something amazingly powerful as far as audience connectivity is concerned in getting to do something as simple as launching the performance by physically turning the thing on. To me, it was like being invited to knock down the first domino of an elaborately set chain. Immensely fascinating stuff.