July 31sts

7/31/1997

It’s interesting to talk to 20-somethings because they look at Woodstock like a bunch of old people playing shuffleboard. Some even like big band—which means that you aren’t necessarily bound to your own age group in terms of art appreciation. There comes a time when you break away from the comfort of being with peers to explore.

John Harle/Elvis Costello. Interesting collaboration of pop/classical.  

[7/31/2025: I suspect there's going to be a revival of older genres but the musical armatures won't be there--the instruments, the skill, the pedagogy...]    

7/31/2021

The next piece [for Music For Photographs] is Moonrise In Hernandez. The piece started about two months ago when I went to Saganashkie Slough. The name generated the rhythm for the musical idea. I looped it over and over in my head and it started to form a song. When I got home I started to play around on my guitar with some chords, modal in the key of D minor but alternates with E minor. Then I saw the Ansel Adams photograph and “scored” it nicely. The vibe is “desert noir”, a kind of a Calexico sound. 

7/31/2022

Every Boomer and older Gen-Xer knows of Joni Mitchell because her hits were in rotation on AM radio in the 1970s, but it’s only until later, much later, that we begin to really know the depth of her artistry. Her performance at Newport last week still has me reeling and wanting to revisit again and again. Sometimes there are other things that happen in the flow of events that intersect or trigger a memory of music you like, such as the recent unveiling of the statue of Amelia Earhart at the Capitol. Amelia is a song I first heard on the Shadows and Light album, but was originally released on the Hejira album. I always go to the Shadows version because the band was so excellent. 

7/31/2024

2 Songdays today: There's Everything and Autocratization, based on the 7/31/2005 entry. The latter piece will be all Triton synth.

Lyric idea:

He's everything
His everything 
She's everything 
Her everything 
Their Everything 
There's everything 

Ever since 1981 we've listened to music visually. That's baked in the cake now after 2 generations. That's why I like releasing album sides as videos. They're not music videos per se but rather a motion graphic. I suspect Spotify and other streaming platforms will start doing this, but it's easy to do on YouTube. I'll never distribute again on streaming platforms.