(no subject)

[wickedflea]

Holy shit: "AESTHETICS OF HATE: R.I.P. DIMEBAG ABBOTT, & GOOD RIDDANCE." I would hope it's a joke. Whatever it is, it sure pissed off a bunch of people over here.

Crap. My co-worker Nancy's last day is today. I'm gonna miss her a lot. Not every 50-year-old book editor is hip enough to trade Napoleon Dynamite references with me.

DAMMIT. I just thought of what would have been the perfect going-away present for her. We've had many discussions about Office Space, and I didn't even think about getting her a red Swingline stapler like Milton's. And she had even begged me a while back to send her the link to where you can buy them! Totally dropped the ball on that one. Maybe I'll get her one for Festivus.

Heading south this weekend. GRACK! I have way too much stuff to do before then. But I'm really looking forward to seeing the family, getting away from work, and recharging the ol' batteries. I haven't taken any extended time off in a year.

Comments

[wickedflea.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry--that guy is full of shit and a total boor. To me, the metal vs. classical argument is bunk; it's like comparing apples and oranges. Reign in Blood does different things to me than Beethoven's Ninth, and I prefer not to get hung up on debating their relative merits. Serves no purpose to me; they're separate playing fields. So one's somewhat primitive and one's not. Would you discount the value of Delta blues just because it's also primitive? And furthermore, would you denigrate the entire Delta blues audience or say "good riddance" when a bluesman got shot onstage?

Should we evaluate quality and structure? Absolutely. Should we revere time-honored classics? Of course. But should we apply standards across the board when we really shouldn't? I don't think so. Am I to believe that there's been no good music produced since the 1800s? Or no good art since the Renaissance? Seems a bit short-sighted to me.

For what it's worth, I don't own a single Pantera record. I've never cared for them. But I'm not going to say that the dude couldn't play guitar or that nothing he did had any merit.

I'll have some boiled peanuts for you.

cool

[nationofsheep.livejournal.com]

With you, but I would add emphasis on the fact that a man was killed by another man. That fucking sucks that anyone would use the oppertunity to become a music critic. I read into the author's archives and that guy is a total fucking nut job. There is no excuse for celebrating someone's murder because you didn't like their music. I am not a Pantera fan either. That's just fucking stupid.

Re: cool

[wickedflea.livejournal.com]

Exactly. It's just mind-boggling. That's why I couldn't convince myself at first that it was real--but you're right, there are those archives, and I really do think he's serious.

[madetoshine.livejournal.com]

You rule so hard, Chris! Well said!

[wickedflea.livejournal.com]

Boo--yaa! Thanks, Suz. :)

[m-fallenangel.livejournal.com]

Yes, this guy overstates his case, and does so rudely. However, there's a big difference between blues and MOST metal. Most metal is a study in dissonance that really doesn't require much musical knowledge to compose, although given the speed with which it's played, it does require talent to execute well.

How well it's often executed is open to debate, but yes, many of the musicians have technical talent, even if their music is amateurish.

Blues on the other hand, while "primitive", does have an intricate and layed structure, meeting in most instance my standard of "good" music. In the case of blues, particularly Delta and Chicago blues, the simplicity is an integal part of the overall structure. It usually doesn't require as much talent on the part of the individual musician, but the writer has to be much more talented than most metal writers.

As always, mileage varies.