They've just played a long performance by the Nunavut woman who won the Polaris Prize this year for her throat-singing. Compelling (one word for it) as it may be, I don't consider it music (others may; whale song is considered music, of its kind). The throat-singing I heard this morning sounded more like what comes out of our bedroom on a good night when there are no kids in the house.
Nothing convinces me that rap "music" is music, either, since I discern only rhythm and no melody.
Musically uneducated it may make me, but I stick to my own definitions, even as the rest of the world passes me by and rap is now mainstream (really?) and Inuit throat "singing" wins the country's most valuable prize for music. To me, these are emperors who are wearing no clothes. I don't consider Leonard Cohen's "sung" poems to be music, either.
As it is, now when rap comes on the radio, I turn it off. I do the same to advertising and to sports reports. They only irritate me.
Maybe someone can help me see/hear/experience this in some other way?
For instance — this kinda relates — someone else's perspective changes everything:
I use a machine to knead my bread.
Something happened to the bottom of it so that it rocks itself out of position, across the floor, knocking on the kitchen cabinets. My effort to put a stop to that has been to set the pot on a pair of oven mitts on the floor. That helped, but didn't solve the problem. The pot still moved.
So this morning I asked Scott for ideas.
"Set it on a rubber mat," he said, just like that. "Like a bath mat."
We don't own such a thing, but there is my yoga mat.
Worked like a charm. Now why didn't I think of it!
After dropping Emil off at Aylesbury House after supper last night, I stopped in at Everett's to drop off some mail. He was grating cheese onto his meal of pasta so I didn't stay long (nor was I invited to!) but as I turned to leave, he said, "Oh! I got something for you."
What could it be? What could it be? I wondered as he strolled over to his back porch. He came back carrying a large wooden birdfeeder.
"Bought it at a garage sale. Thought you'd use it."
And he is right.
I like listening to Leonard Cohen. Not all his songs, or sung poems as you call them, but most of them. The first time I listened to him I thought what the hell - that's not music. Then he grew on me - or at least some of his songs did. Especially his Hallelujah piece but in my opinion there is no one who belts out that song better than K.D. Lang. She can send shivers up and down my spine.
ReplyDeleteAnnette, I like Leonard Cohen too. I like his poems set to music, as far as that goes.
DeleteI heard that too . Makes me really miss the days of Peter Gzowski and Morningside but I guess we are just lucky to have as much of the CBC left as we do.
ReplyDeleteRalph, I miss Peter Gzowski and Morningside! Those were great conversations.
DeleteAs to music, I think it all highly subjective. For instance many hate the sean-nos style of the old Irish way of singing and I love it as my grandfather sang this way, all epic stories in a form of song.
ReplyDeletethat's why I love Leonard probably.
But I can make throat singing, always have for my own amusement and sometimes disgust, how could I make those awful noises. Just tried it and you know? it's only 10% of what it used to be.
Thanks for the egg recipe dying to try!!
XO
WWW
WiseWebWoman, I agree; absolutely, it’s all subjective. After writing this entry I thought, “Surely this is exactly what my grandparents were saying when rock’n’roll got a foothold: ‘That’s not music!’”
DeleteHey, did you see on FB where they showed how to peel a boiled egg superfast, by shaking it in a glass of cold water? I haven’t tried it yet but I will.
how nice of Everett, thinking of his mother.....
ReplyDeleteYou know, since Jordan has begun listening to Eminem, I have as well. I was never a big fan, always thinking he was just an angry guy spewing f words around. BUT now I listen to his stuff every day I work out at the gym. I enjy the lyrics and the beat and it is really motivsting workout music. Cray cray? Maybe. I never would have thought I'd get into Eminem in my 40's. As for the newer rap stuff on the radio... I don't care for it really, so what it is about Eminem, I don't know. Each to his own, I guess.
Yep, each to his own. And -- something that doesn't appeal now might appeal very much at another time. Never say never!
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