1. How amazing would it be to have a CNN “people meter” approval thing running for a NY Phil concert with new music on the program? Or maybe throughout Doctor Atomic? Instead of English to English translations (” “), the audience approval rating could be projected on the little seat screens. That would be interesting stuff…seriously!
2. What if classical musicians ran negative ad campaigns against the competition? If Anne-Sophie Mutter criticized Joshua Bell’s new recording of The Four Seasons/Devil’s Trill (she released the exact combo in 1999) to promote her new Bach/Gubaidulina? She’s like, “No, Joshua Bell didn’t edit every note….as far as I KNOW…”
3. All this talk about small businesses and Americans’ lack of health insurance: my ears are burning! Crossing my fingers that one of the candidates will look at the screen and speak directly to “Amanda the Classical Music Publicist“. I am America. If you clinch the classical music publicist vote, you’ve got this election in the bag.
4. Is it funny that Obama is wearing a red tie and McCain is wearing a blue tie? Everyone is REACHING ACROSS THE AISLE…just look at their ties!
Update, 10/15, 10:22pm – Why isn’t anyone drinking at these “watch parties” CNN keeps cutting to?
Gossip about and rivalries between classical musicians would appeal to the baser instincts of the public…and thus keep things interesting. I know I’d follow musicians in a heated war of words (or even rival pianists who get into a scuffle outside Carnegie Hall) more closely than I otherwise would. But probably admitting and celebrating that classical musicians are human beings would offend someone’s delicate sensibilities.
What would be really fun would be a “mind-wandering meter”, which would track in real time just how far your attention was wandering from the music (and in which direction: unrelated did-I-empty-the-dishwasher thought at one end of the spectrum, music-inspired fantasy and abstraction at the other), and which would also keep a live tally of what percentage of the hall was currently paying attention to the music.
Forget about specifying new music – let’s do it for all music. Find out how much people really do love and pay attention to the war horses!
I personally would tie the drinking game with the instant reaction meter. That way you can better cope with the depressing sight of seeing how taken in people can be by fallacies, misinformation and outright lies. . .