"Two-part Harmony" by Cole Parker

[Rutabaga]

7 hours ago, Cole Parker said:

I was in high school when the Beetles became a smash in the country.  I never could understand why.

I was in 8th grade.  I don't think I watched the Ed Sullivan show when they appeared, but I have a distinct memory of the boys in my Phys Ed class the next day all wanting to grow their hair long like the Beatles did.

R

[Altimexis]

44 minutes ago, Alien Son said:

You just don't have an ear for music!

I was in the third grade when the Beatles made their first appearance on Ed Sullivan. I didn’t much care for their music at first, but then I was just a little kid. Besides which, I Wanna Hold Your Hand and She Loves You didn’t exactly represent their best songs. It’s funny to look back at those first appearances, as their hair wasn’t all that long and they were well-dressed. It wasn’t really until I was an adult that I appreciated just how profoundly the Beatles changed the course of popular music - at least until rap / hip-hop wrecked it. Actually, there have been many fine musicians in every decade, including now. If you get past all the Swift mania, Taylor Swift is an exceptionally talented singer-songwriter, which gives me hope for the future of music.

[Cole Parker]

Music, yes.  That stuff?  No.

C

[Alien Son]

6 hours ago, Cole Parker said:

Music, yes.  That stuff?  No.

C

Really, Cole? Your prejudices don't mean it's not music.

[Rutabaga]

How do you spell asshole?  F - R - A - N - K.

 

R

[Altimexis]

19 hours ago, Cole Parker said:

Music, yes.  That stuff?  No.

Wow, that’s pretty judgmental. Just remember that some of the greatest classical musicians record popular music too. I’m sure the folks who shell out major bucks to attend a pops concert don’t consider it ‘that stuff’.

[Rutabaga]

2 hours ago, Altimexis said:

Just remember that some of the greatest classical musicians record popular music too. I’m sure the folks who shell out major bucks to attend a pops concert don’t consider it ‘that stuff’.

Indeed -- a lot of the strings and woodwinds on classic Motown singles from the 60s were provided by moonlighting musicians from the Detroit Symphony.

R

[Cole Parker]

My prejudices, sure.  They're mine, and I take full ownership of them.  I don't like cooked carrots, either.  We all have our likes and dislikes, and people who don't share our specific ones wonder what's wrong with us.

C

[Alien Son]

8 hours ago, Cole Parker said:

My prejudices, sure.  They're mine, and I take full ownership of them.  I don't like cooked carrots, either.  We all have our likes and dislikes, and people who don't share our specific ones wonder what's wrong with us.

C

Perhaps you could try to not be so dismissive of others' likes.

[Cole Parker]

Didn't realize I was.

[Rutabaga]

Getting back to the actual story under discussion:  What are the odds that Frank will just take all this lying down?  And how will James be able to continue in this increasingly untenable family situation?  

R

[Ivor Slipper]

22 hours ago, Rutabaga said:

Getting back to the actual story under discussion:  What are the odds that Frank will just take all this lying down?  And how will James be able to continue in this increasingly untenable family situation?  

R

Perhaps Mrs Ford will provide the means of Escape?

[Cole Parker]

 

should find out tomorrow

[Rutabaga]

My comment about Frank stands.  For the rest, folks will have to read the new chapter.

R

[Altimexis]

How in the world did Frank and his wife produce such a wonderful kid? Of course great parents produce horrible kids all the time, in spite of good parenting. I'm sure we all have friends and colleagues who hate their parents. It goes both ways. Frank's father apparently was someone of importance, yet Frank failed to acquire even a milligram of the drive that made his father a successful businessman. However, being a successful businessman doesn't make one a great father. I suspect that Frank grew up getting everything he wanted and he never had to work for anything himself until he got to college - and then he flunked out.

Somewhere in Frank's DNA were the recessive genes for musical talent, and that will be James ticket out of Hell.

A quick question about interests in music, and then I'll cease and desist. Cole, you obviously have great breadth and depth in appreciation of a wide repertoire of classical music, but the other genre I mentioned other than popular music was jazz, which is equally broad in its scope. Even a century (literally) after it was first performed, Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue remains one of the most beloved pieces of all time. I'll grant you that jazz improvisations may be hard to categorize as music, but you can't tell me that Miles Davis' Kinda Blue is not.

[Cole Parker]

I've always regretted my lack of appreciation for popular music.  Like tomatoes.  Growing up, I hated raw tomatoes.  Yet I saw everyone else loving them, and realized I was the one missing out.  I would have liked to enjoy them.  I couldn't.  Everyone liked the popular music of the age, but when you've grown up listening to Wagner, Brahms, Beethoven, Dvorak, Rachmaninov and the like, I just didn't get it.  It's funny, but if I go back and listen to the popular music of the 50's now, I find it quite tuneful; nothing like the pop music of a few years ago and today.

I do realize I'm limited by what I'm not fond of.  But what can you do?  Trying to force yourself to like something you don't doesn't work.

I do like the Gershwin piece.  His Rhapsody in Blue is just one of the classical pieces he wrote, combining classical and jazz styles, and they all are good.  I think it's the underlying classical form they're written in that make them approachable to me.  Most jazz, though, I simply don't get.  Too free-form for me, I think.  I look for a melody line and it's usually not there.

But again, I'm the one missing out.  The more things you like, the richer your life is.

C

[Rutabaga]

I, too, do not like raw tomatoes.  I can't explain why.  I'm not allergic or anything; it's just that something about them is off-putting.  I completely understand Cole's attitude toward them.

I grew up surrounded by rock, jazz (some), and big band music.  I played drums in the school jazz band from 7th grade onward and learned a raft of standards.  It wasn't until I was I my 30s that I decided to learn what classical music was all about.  In typical fashion for me, I bought a couple of encyclopedia-like classical music guides, and started working my way through composers.  I was blown away.  I discovered that my all time favorite piece was Beethoven's 7th Symphony, especially the second movement.  But I came to love Mozart, Mendelssohn, Brahms, Prokofiev, Rachmaninoff, Chopin, and many others.  Bach I liked but it did not move me as much as later composers.  And after I watched Leonard Bernstein explaining Debussy on a TV program, I became a fan of Debussy as well.  And I am now familiar with a number of mainstream operas, and even had season tickets to the L.A. Opera until the price went clear up to the stratosphere.

But I still like popular music in its many forms.  On the occasions when I turn on the radio in my car, I tune to stations that play pop music (oldies, typically).  I grew up with those songs.  I remember listening to "Purple People Eater" by Sheb Wooley when I was 5 or 6 years old and had put on the radio to help me get to sleep.  Or "Witch Doctor" by David Seville.  (As a youngster I loved the novelty songs.)  

Now, getting back to the story:  Hopefully James's mom is on the title for whatever car she wants to sell, because otherwise she may have difficulty transferring title to a buyer.  At that point they only know that Frank has disappeared earlier that day.  I share Altimexis's puzzlement as to how Frank could have developed into such a POS.  How fortunate for James that he had a Mrs. Ford to turn to in times of need.

R

 

[Cole Parker]

Beethoven's 7th is an amazing piece.  It truly shows the man's greatness.  The second movent is one of the few pieces in the genre that is all rhythm with basically no melody.  How could he do that and still make the movement hypnotizing?  Astounding.

C

[Altimexis]

2 hours ago, Cole Parker said:

Beethoven's 7th is an amazing piece.  It truly shows the man's greatness.  The second movent is one of the few pieces in the genre that is all rhythm with basically no melody.  How could he do that and still make the movement hypnotizing?  Astounding.

C

Richard Dreyfus played the second movement to his music appreciation class in the movie, Mr. Holland's Opus. It was just after his character had learned his son was deaf, so it had particular meaning to him. I love that piece. I love all of Beethoven's music, as well as music by Tchaikovsky, Greig and Rachmaninov. Although Bach's music is more mechanical and less emotional, I enjoy it nevertheless. He was, after all, a Baroque composer, as opposed to the Classical and Romantic composers that followed him. Beyond a doubt, Mozart was a genius and very prolific, but I find his music to be a bit formulaic. If you like Debussy, another great French composer worth mentioning is Saint-Saëns. Gustav Mahler is another composer whose music has received more attention in recent years.

Gershwin's Piano Concerto in F is a particular favorite of mine, but it's generally played only in pops concerts, whereas it's a true classical piece. Leonard Bernstein wrote some symphonies that I'm not all that fond of, but his musicals, particularly West Side Story, are memorable. Philip Glass is worthy of mention as a great 20th century composer, but his music treads a fine line between minimalist and monotonous.

The music of the 50's was before my time, although I do have an Essential Elvis album in my collection. I didn't care for him or understand people's obsession with him, but he did perform some memorable songs such as Love Me Tender. I have all of the Beatle's albums in high-res audio. The originals have some of the worst stereo mixing possible, with the voices coming from one speaker and the instruments from the other. Imagine that - playing guitars on the left side and singing on the right? The recent remasters are much better. I'm not sure how I feel about the use of AI to recreate John Lennon's voice from an original recording though. The use of AI is a very slippery slope.

I'm partial to the music of the 70s, which is when I came of age. Carole King's Tapestry is one of the all-time greats. I didn't appreciate Steely Dan as much then as I do now. The 80s brought us The Police / Sting and Tears for Fears… and then Rap and Hip-Hop came along. Even so, the alternative music scene has always had some memorable artists. I don't care for Rap, but I have to admit that I enjoy the music from Lin Manuel Miranda's Hamilton and In The Heights. 

So, yeah, I have very broad musical tastes and have spent more money than I care to think about purchasing enough high-res downloads to listen continuously for nearly half a year. Even the best streaming services don't come close. At least I'm not as crazy as the fanatics who scour record stores and the internet and spend $500 on original pristine copies in vinyl. With narrower tastes, think of how much money you've saved, Cole.

Perhaps someday I'll be able to download a French horn duet by Freddy and James.

A.

[Rutabaga]

1 hour ago, Altimexis said:

I have all of the Beatle's albums in high-res audio. The originals have some of the worst stereo mixing possible, with the voices coming from one speaker and the instruments from the other. Imagine that - playing guitars on the left side and singing on the right?

Back in 1962 when the Beatles first began recording, the final product was always going to be monaural.  The fact that two-track masters still exist is somewhat of an historical accident, but there was never an intent to release those as stereo recordings per se.  It was not until later in the 60s that the idea of stereo record releases really took hold at that level.  Before that, the two tracks were used so that the vocals could be overdubbed, or tracks could be bounced so that other changes could be layered on.  It didn't matter what was on which track because it was all going to monaural in the end.

R

[Cole Parker]

Responding to Altimexis:

 

Richard Dreyfus played the second movement to his music appreciation class in the movie, Mr. Holland's Opus. It was just after his character had learned his son was deaf, so it had particular meaning to him. I love that piece. I love all of Beethoven's music, as well as music by Tchaikovsky, Greig and Rachmaninov. Although Bach's music is more mechanical and less emotional, I enjoy it nevertheless. He was, after all, a Baroque composer, as opposed to the Classical and Romantic composers that followed him. Beyond a doubt, Mozart was a genius and very prolific, but I find his music to be a bit formulaic. If you like Debussy, another great French composer worth mentioning is Saint-Saëns. Gustav Mahler is another composer whose music has received more attention in recent years.

     : Funny, but I have the same reaction to composers that you do.  Some Bach is wonderful, but muc of it I can only take a few minutes of.  But no one else has ever come close to writing music like he did.  It's favorite trick for composition instructors in colleges to assign students to write a short piece that sounds like Bach.  They come back frustrated like hell.  It sounds easy, they say, but they can't do it. 

     I saw that Holland movie, but it was way too long ago for me to remember that he'd played that piece.  It is a reamrkable piece.  Try humming the melody of it and you'll see just how elementary it is.

       I love all the composers you mentioned, and even more.  Mahler was considered almost unlistenable when I was young.  Now, his music is in the standard repertoire.  Tastes change and develop with time.  Mahler was a genius.  Long-winded, but a genious.  I tend to favor the Romantic composers.

Gershwin's Piano Concerto in F is a particular favorite of mine, but it's generally played only in pops concerts, whereas it's a true classical piece. Leonard Bernstein wrote some symphonies that I'm not all that fond of, but his musicals, particularly West Side Story, are memorable. Philip Glass is worthy of mention as a great 20th century composer, but his music treads a fine line between minimalist and monotonous.

    Perfect description of Glass's music.  Minimalistic music drives me nuts, and I turn it off quickly.  It's awful to my ear.  Same thing over and over, chaning maybe one note in a chord  now and then.  I'm glad that phase didn't last long.  There are wonderful composer working today.  You have to mention John Williams, although I always say I like his movie scores better than his concert music.

The music of the 50's was before my time, although I do have an Essential E    lvis album in my collection. I didn't care for him or understand people's obsession with him, but he did perform some memorable songs such as Love Me Tender. I have all of the Beatle's albums in high-res audio. The originals have some of the worst stereo mixing possible, with the voices coming from one speaker and the instruments from the other. Imagine that - playing guitars on the left side and singing on the right? The recent remasters are much better. I'm not sure how I feel about the use of AI to recreate John Lennon's voice from an original recording though. The use of AI is a very slippery slope.

    I was in high school when Elvis hit the airwaves.  Yes, he did have some beautiful ballads.  But there were several male singers with great voices back then.  I think Elvis became the big star he was for the personna he played more than his actual singing.

 

So, yeah, I have very broad musical tastes and have spent more money than I care to think about purchasing enough high-res downloads to listen continuously for nearly half a year. Even the best streaming services don't come close. At least I'm not as crazy as the fanatics who scour record stores and the internet and spend $500 on original pristine copies in vinyl. With narrower tastes, think of how much  money you've saved, Cole.

     I didn't actually save it.  I have well over 200 CDs of classical work, composers from John Adams to Richard Wagner.  Just bought different ones from the ones you bought.  With the technical changes in my lifetime, I've gone from records to tapes to CDs, often buying stuff I have in other media.  Annoying.

 

Perhaps someday I'll be able to download a French horn duet by Freddy and James.

   I'd hope so, except they're fictional.   C

[Talo Segura]

Music for me is an intricately woven thread that runs through life. In the summer of '67 I was on vacation walking across the Dorset countryside with a rucksack on my shoulders and sturdy leather boots on my feet, the youngest boy in a small band of boys. The sunshine washed the landscape and Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band was playing on a tinny transistor radio. Sure I'd heard music before, but this was different, an adventure away from parents accompanied by our own soundtrack.

Seven years later and seven years older it was the Moody Blues that were the soundtrack accompanying us on another adventure. This one more esoteric and spiritual. No longer a boy, not quite an adult, on the brink of fleeing the parental nest.

If I think right back to when I was a very young boy, it was the melodic strains of Morning Has Broken which accompanied us into morning assembly. Not the version sung by Cat Steven's, that came later, but the children's hymn written by Eleanor Farjeon, in an epoch when every British school was Christian and morning assemblies were held each day, with prayers and hymns.

"If music be the food of love, play on." Shakespeare's play explores love and being in love, starting with a naive, adolescent love, and into other areas, such as falling in love at first sight, deluding oneself about someone being in love with one, falling in love with someone of the same sex. Music accompanies our lives, it is the food of love, and defines our memories, whatever the music, often we don't even choose it!

[Merkin]

7 hours ago, Talo Segura said:

Music accompanies our lives, it is the food of love, and defines our memories, whatever the music, often we don't even choose it!

Well said.  Who we become is a composite of who we have been, and various music becomes an underlying theme for our memories.

[Rutabaga]

Chapter 9 --

Freddie is kind of a tease in that rather cerebral conversation he has with James in the bedroom.  But it seems that the outcome was a good one.  There can be little doubt that the two will be good for one another, filling holes in each one's respective life.

I remember having an American Flyer "S" gauge train set when I was in elementary school.  My dad built a kind of Murphy bed arrangement on one wall of the bedroom I shared with my next younger brother, with a big sheet of plywood hinged on the bottom so it would swing down to reveal the train set mounted on it.  When it was in the up position, the bottom of the plywood that showed was painted with chalkboard paint so my brother and I could write and draw stuff on it.  We took the train set along when my family moved back East during my third grade, but I can't remember ever setting it up again.  Last I knew it was in a box in the basement.  

Meanwhile, the end of the chapter had me wondering:  Does anyone actually count sheep in order to go to sleep?  I'm not even sure how to do that.  Wouldn't the concentration on that activity keep you awake?  I don't normally have trouble falling asleep so I'm not well acquainted with the methods some people reportedly use.

R

[Altimexis]

I inherited my brother's AF set. He's 10 years older than me but autistic. I think my parents bought it for him, thinking the circular motion would calm him. Unfortunately, as was the practice in the fifties, he was institutionalized when he was 5. His story's outlined in my story, Hiking Clifty Falls with Cliff. The reason I'm bringing this up is that a model train set can be a real black hole for anyone who has the interest and the resources to invest in more than a basic setup. My parents didn't have the resources to buy more than a circular track with some fancy platforms and the like, so I ended up amusing myself by using the tools that came with my erector set to completely disassemble the locomotive, and then put it back together again, at the age of 7.

Growing up, my next door neighbor's oldest kid had a very elaborate model train set that was everything I could've ever wanted, but he was a few years older than me and not interested in playing with a little kid. Later, he took up the drums and practiced with his band, right outside my bedroom window, keeping me up at all hours. Then he got a very low draft number and seeing the writing on the wall, enlisted. I know he made it back from Vietnam, but I long ago lost track of him.

I don't think model trains are much of a hobby for kids anymore, although there are plenty of adults who attend conventions and shows, and collect rare items. I gather that Freddie's dad was one of those enthusiasts and he shared his hobby with his son. However, a model train addiction is hardly the way for an introverted kid to make friends.

I once tried counting sheep to get to sleep. I gave up when I reached a hundred.