Twitphonic?

The National Symphony introduces real-time program notes via Twitter.

This is going to stir up a bit of controversy. I am far from a purist and all about embracing technology for musical audiences but does this take it too far? Surely, going to the symphony is about experiencing the music as it happens and how each individual audience member engages with that performance in his/her own way. I view these live tweets from the conductor creating two potential problems: disengagement from the audience (aren't the symphony, opera, ballet, theatre, etc. places we go to get away from our smartphones?) and changing the way an audience member might receive and react to a piece. I feel the last one might be more harmful than the first and interfere with the audience member's interpretations of the piece by being fed the conductor's insights to the work in real time.

Also, by allowing the live feed from Twitter on the lawn and not in the house, aren't we promoting an even further division of highbrow/lowbrow value judgments by reserving the technology for the less elite lawn-seating? As if those on lawn seats would benefit from the tweets?

Tweeting from the opera probably isn't in our future but pending the reaction to this it might be at the next symphony concert we attend. What are your thoughts?

Visual Representation

Here is a visual representation of all 28,266 words of my master's thesis from Wordle. Good to know that it all looks pretty common in the end!

Transitioning

I'm back from the blogging hiatus of a ridiculously busy spring quarter which was filled with writing too many research papers and grading too many from my students. However, I was quite pleased with the variety of topics and overall writing skills my students developed throughout the past year. I'd say most, if not all, improved their writing skills, which was no small feat (for either of us) but I trust it will pay off for them in the long run. But the best news is that I am finished with coursework. HALLELUJAH! Now, onto prepping for exams and writing that darn dissertation... Oh yes, and welcome back to the real world (see above comic for real life experiences with this so far).

Moving from the frenetic pace of reading, writing, teaching, and pumping coffee just to stay awake into this stagnant stillness of not having any classes and having to gear up for pending exam studying is quite disconcerting. I'm spending many hours a day looking for work (apparently, not a huge market for us overqualified academics at the moment) and trying to build up a core of students to teach lessons to. It's amazing how quickly life can shift from completely crazy over-scheduled madness into unfettered sluggishness. No close deadlines or upcoming projects--it all feels so foreign and far-removed. Thankfully I've had friends to entertain me to keep me from cleaning my living room AGAIN and trying out a ton of new recipes for fun.

But really, WHAT'S NEXT? I recently experienced high competition applying for a barista job. The sad part that everyone looked over 30 and probably was either in or finished with grad school. Oy. (Again, see above comic).

I guess this is a lesson in how to transition. I think I'm not doing very well as I'd much rather plunge forth into work than figure out whatever it is I'm supposed to be figuring out but I guess during the "figuring out," everything will fall into place.

Buried

My apologies for a lengthy absence, it's been a busy couple of terms. I am currently allergy-ridden and buried underneath a pile of term paper drafts and midterms. I will probably reappear at the end of the quarter once I finish my term papers. Bear with me. In the meantime, I was seduced by New Orleans and think I would immediately move there if I had the opportunity. The PCA conference was awesome, my paper was very well-received, I met many new friends from different disciplines, danced onstage at a drag show, and now have academic groupies...all in all, an awesome trip. I'm also currently pining to go back to Vienna, but that's not in the cards at the moment.

#34 and The State of the Arts in the United States

Apparently I’ve been given a shout-out as #34 in the Top 100 Musicology Blogs.

But wait—top 100 musicology blogs, you say? How many musicology blogs are there? I’m going to guess that we are like Dalmatians and there are 101 musicologically-related bloggers out there. Even so, seeing that this blog is relatively new and my updates are few and far-between, I’m quite pleased I was given the status of the glorious number 34. Not only is 34 an awesome number, cosmically speaking, (according to Doreen Virtue, Ph.D. of the angels, who claims it means “Your prayers are heard and answered by the angels and ascended masters, who are with you right now.”) it is also the title of a lovely instrumental track from Under the Table and Dreaming by the Dave Matthews Band highlighting Leroi Moore. If some of my students had to write a paper on that piece, I could imagine them writing that it sounds like a “heavenly jam session” or “Jazz 4 God.” So, being bestowed the honor of #34, I will blog more with more frequency and try to keep it to music, gender, and pop related issues.

Several of my colleagues were also noted on this list, and you should visit their blogs as well: Good Noise and i am sitting in a room. Sadly, the Omniscient Idiot’s new blog was not applauded, but I am sure it has to do with his change in blog providers. OI had quite a following back in his typepad days [insert virtual shout-out here].

I’ve been in a feverish haze of sickness the past few days, am hopelessly behind in my tasks, and there has been much blog-worthy news. First and foremost, Obama is IN! And while that is exciting on its own, Quincy Jones has begun a petition to ask President Obama to appoint a Secretary of the Arts. This is huge! While many other countries have had Ministers of Art or Culture for centuries, there has never been anything like this in the United States. If you are reading this blog, you are probably (at the very least) marginally involved with the arts. I encourage you to sign this important petition.

2009

This Piled Higher and Deeper comic pretty much sums it up...although this will be my last new year returning to coursework. I'll have the joy of student loans and hopefully a real (*crosses fingers* adjunct) job to return to after next winter break. So, as I'm thrown back into the harsh reality of another quarter, I hope the bleak midwinter passes you by quickly bringing only the fluffy and pretty snow that is easily driven upon and does not make the roads a mess. Here's to another great year--grad school style.