Friday Miscellanea

Most writing about pop music in the mass media is really about selling more product--no actual criticism allowed. So when I see this in Rolling Stone, it gets me interested: 50 Genuinely Horrible Albums by Brilliant Artists

“THERE IS NO great genius without a touch of madness.” Greek philosopher Aristotle made this observation roughly 2,300 years ago, long before legit geniuses like Bob Dylan, John Lennon, Carole King, Elton John, Madonna, and Prince proved him right. Among the many celebrated masterpieces these artists have given the world, they have also turned in works so monumentally putrid that nothing short of “a touch of madness” can explain their existence.

Some of these albums were the products of way too much cocaine. (Elton, we’re looking at you.) Some of them came from label pressure to move beyond a cult following by creating commercial music. (Hello, Liz Phair.) Some of them were crafted before a band found its true sound (Pantera, take a bow), while others came long after key members parted and the band had no earthly reason to still exist. (Cough-Genesis-cough).

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 And while we are looking at reviews, here is another one: Review: Mitsuko Uchida Revisits Beethoven’s Final Sonatas

At Carnegie on Friday, in her recital of Beethoven’s final three piano sonatas, Uchida did behave like a different artist from the one who recorded these works nearly two decades ago. I don’t believe that age is inherently necessary or helpful in music — Igor Levit had a handle on Beethoven’s late style in his 20s — but what was reflected onstage was the unaffected wisdom and clarity that comes with decades of interpretive rigor and commitment.

Read the whole thing.

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I've noticed a few articles lately feting various pop artist for their amazing marketing skills and how they have amassed great sums of money. Of course, it is rather more common for musicians to have bad luck in this area. Here is an example: Leonard Cohen’s Heirs Accuse Former Manager and Attorney of Forgery.

Leonard Cohen’s children and heirs, Lorca and Adam Cohen, have filed a motion accusing the legendary singer-songwriter’s former manager, Robert Kory, and his legal representatives of forgery and asking the court to remove him from the role of trustee, to compel him to turn over the estate’s assets, and return the money he has earned from his activity in that role.

The motion, which follows a probate petition filed last fall, cites a deposition wherein Kory’s former attorney admits to removing a page from Cohen’s signed trust after the singer’s death and replacing it with one stating that Kory is the primary trustee — a felony.

And Cohen had a lot of trouble with a previous manager:

In late 2005, Cohen's daughter Lorca began to suspect his longtime manager, Kelley Lynch, of financial impropriety. According to Cohen biographer Sylvie Simmons, Lynch "took care of Leonard's business affairs ... [She was] not simply his manager but a close friend, almost part of the family."[86] Cohen discovered that he had unknowingly paid a credit card bill of Lynch's for $75,000, and that most of the money in his accounts was gone, including money from his retirement accounts and charitable trust funds. This had begun as early as 1996, when Lynch started selling Cohen's music publishing rights, despite the fact that Cohen had had no financial incentive to do so.

In October 2005, Cohen sued Lynch, alleging that she had misappropriated over US$5 million from Cohen's retirement fund, leaving only $150,000.[87][88] Cohen was sued in turn by other former business associates.[87] These events placed him in the public spotlight, including a cover feature on him with the headline "Devastated!" in the Canadian magazine Maclean's.[88] In March 2006, Cohen won a civil suit and was awarded US$9 million by a Los Angeles County superior court. Lynch ignored the suit and did not respond to a subpoena issued for her financial records.[89] NME reported that Cohen might never be able to collect the awarded amount.[90][k] In 2012, Lynch was jailed for 18 months and five years' probation for harassing Cohen after he dismissed her.

But there was a beautiful denouement to that chapter: after discovering he was pretty much broke, he wrote a new book of poetry and scheduled a signing session at a Toronto bookstore: thousands of people showed up and they had to close off several streets. He then embarked on a world tour and played to full houses worldwide.

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Give the drummer some is a piece about the technology of the drum machine. Lots of interesting observations and some humor:

I am a professor of science and technology studies. I am interested in social attitudes to new technologies, particularly those involving artificial intelligence. I am also a part-time mediocre drummer, relieved not to have to rely on my musical talents to pay the bills. We drummers tend to be ambivalent about technology. Like most musicians, ours is a craft that is technologically mediated. The affordances of sticks, pedals and things to hit with them enable our sound. We are used to the jokes that suggest we lack the intelligence of our fellow musicians. (What’s the difference between a drummer and a drum machine? You only have to punch the information into a drum machine once.)

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I've been adjacent to orchestras and orchestral musicians my whole career and it is an interesting social microcosm: Harassment, hierarchies and discreetly rubbed trousers: the exhausting politics of orchestras

In her sharp put-downs, sidelining of procedure, and singular, maniacal artistry, Tár – played by Cate Blanchett in the film of the same name – embodies all the tropes of the autocratic conductor. The first of a glut of forthcoming “maestro movies” (Bradley Cooper’s Leonard Bernstein biographical drama Maestro is currently in production, as is The Yellow Tie, on the life of firebrand Romanian conductor Sergiu Celibidache), Tár isn’t just a character study, though – it depicts the intertwined social and artistic hierarchies, subtle codes and often grotesque power dynamics of the orchestra as a workplace.

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Music as Medicine – The Musical Recommended Daily Allowance:

The best music for relaxation had a slow tempo, simple melody and no lyrics. The optimum time for listening was 13 minutes.

Our test subjects reported positive benefits including decreased muscle tension, negative thoughts disappearing, feeling peaceful and contented and being able to sleep better. So next time you’re feeling stressed, give yourself a time out, all you need is 13 minutes!

79% had reduced muscle tension

84% has less negative thoughts

82% had a better nights sleep

82% felt restful & contented

Cue up the Pachelbel Canon!

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I guess our first envoi has to be the Pachelbel Canon:

 Now I'm too relaxed, so let's hear something a tad more arousing, the Piano Concerto No. 2 by Bartók:

We were talking about ensembles that play from memory: here is a guitar quartet playing Debussy: