This post is public-facing note taking on Music Matters by David Elliott and Marissa Silverman for my Philosophy of Music Education class.
This chapter goes after the big questions: What is music and why does it exist? I love chewing over this stuff.
Lisa Stulberg started off Culture Of Learning class this morning with some Hamilton. She wants us to learn how to write, and Lin-Manuel Miranda is her current source of writerly inspiration.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Nr2SQwAklE
I’m taking a sociology class called Learning Of Culture with Lisa Stulberg. It could just as easily be called Culture Of Learning, since it views school as just one cultural setting among many. Our first assignment was to read Between The World And Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates. I agree with Toni Morrison’s cover blurb.
After reading just the first few pages, I couldn’t help but adopt Coates’ prose style. It’s infectious.
Dear Gentleman’s Quarterly,
You recently published a story, An Oral History of “We Built This City,” the Worst Song of All Time.
Continue reading “An open letter to GQ about “We Built This City””
In college, I played in a cover band called Harsh Mouse (because the band members all lived in Marsh House.) One of the high points of our repertoire was this song.
The song’s subtitle refers in part to its childlike simplicity. Still, there’s more going on here than immediately meets the ear.
Continue reading “Musical simples: This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody)”
Many of the Beatles’ most memorable ideas are variations on boilerplate riffs from rock, country, blues or R&B. The riff from “Day Tripper” derives from boogie-woogie. John Lennon cited Bobby Parker’s 1961 song “Watch Your Step” as the inspiration for both “Day Tripper” and “I Feel Fine.”
