Today I give thanks for spectacular music shared with an amazing friend.

She and I have supported each other through hard times, good times, joy and heartbreak, for over a decade and I love her and her family dearly – I consider them my family.

Today we went to our first classical music concert – Handel’s Messiah, performed by the Seattle Symphony and Chorale at the acoustically excellent Benaroya Hall. It was an experience of a lifetime, like being immersed in the music of the spheres.

The Seattle Symphony and Chorale were excellent, but the guest artists were amazing, especially the soprano, Dominique LaBelle, whose fabulous voice could have filled the concert hall without amplification.

Sharing it with one of my dearest friends was a bonus; we will always remember this adventure.

Above is a cut from Handel’s “Hallelujah Chorus”; the performance today awed and humbled us.

I tried to explain my dislike of Prince, and at the end of the day, it comes down to taste. I tend to like music at either end of the spectrum – either folksy, angsty, bluesy singer/songwriter stuff, or crunchy, edgy metal. Music that falls mid-spectrum, that is more pop or light rock, or is likely to show up on a top 40 show, typically doesn’t do much for me.

One of my criticisms of Prince is that his music, to me, is boring. I called it “trivially pop.” Those, apparently, were fighting words. To quote my fabulous, brainy friend Eric:

Trivially pop? Trivially pop is an oxymoron.

“The only excuse for making a useless thing is that one admires it immensely. All art is useless.”–Oscar Wilde

I guess what I’m getting around to in a backwards way, and the reason for the famous (and usually misunderstood) Wilde quote, is that all art is in some sense a trivial thing, while even art that is trivial in all senses–those silly love songs or meaningless ditties–may be profound in the effects they have not merely on individuals but as social memes, the cultural glue of a society (few songs are as frivolous as “Macarena,” but–love it or hate it–everybody old enough to remember it has it as a cultural common touchstone).

Actually, I realized last week that I don’t really know much about music as an art form or as a pop culture phenomenon. Bryan did, and many of my friends do, but I am fairly musically ignorant. I can’t tell “complex syncopated rhythms and chunky guitar riffs” from “basically just loud and enthusiastic”.

I guess I agree with Wilde’s definition of art though. If I point to it and say, “This is art”, then it is.

I do know visual art to some degree, since I’ve taken some art study and history and have some design, drawing, painting, and photography training. And the analysis of art is a study in effective use of tools and contrasts, for example:

• Value – light, medium and dark

• Texture – smooth, choppy, rough
• Color – intense to pale, and primary to tertiary
• Line, shape and scale – small, large, overlapping, angular, curved, etc.
• Media – oil, acrylic, gouache, pastel, pen/ink, watercolor, mixed media

An artist has the ability to combine all these, effectively and skillfully, using effective composition and technical skill – and then adds eye and heart to make it truly art.

I assume the same applies to music – that there are dimensions of composition, music, performance, sound engineering, and more that combine to make a piece excellent. In fact, I’d assume that it’s much more complex because there are multiple tracks, performers, with both instruments and vocals involved.

And – even then – I do recognize a simple piece performed with heart and soul can be absolutely riveting, while a technically nearly impossible piece performed to perfection without any passion can be cold and boring. Both are art, but the former is more effective.

So, I guess when it comes to Prince — and Madonna, Hall and Oates, Mariah Carey, Bangles, Little River Band, etc. — it’s just a matter of taste. They’re the kind of middle of the road, heavily produced pop that is just boring and not particularly accessible to me. There’s nothing wrong with them, but to my uneducated ear, there’s nothing there that particularly appeals, either.

But in the final analysis, I do agree – all art is at its purest form self expression. It’s trivial and beautiful and at the same time grand and glorious, and it’s one of the capabilities that sets humans apart from the animals. I’m grateful for it.

Have a great weekend, hopefully sans apocalypse.

I could listen to this guy every day.

Wolfmother – New Moon Rising on Vimeo.

Demon Hunter – Infected on Vimeo.

H/t to Jason & Joe (who was right about them) for the recommendation.

“Who Killed Amanda Palmer” Video Series – Part 7: Guitar Hero from Amanda Palmer on Vimeo.

This week’s series featuring music with a little more edge is dedicated to them. Today – NIN.

I love NIN’s anger, rawness, poetry, and sound. Plus – Trent Reznor is hot. He’s on my celebrity boyfriend list.

Where were you when the world stopped turning that September day
Out in the yard with your wife and children
Working on some stage in LA
Did you stand there in shock at the sight of
That black smoke rising against that blue sky
Did you shout out in anger
In fear for your neighbor
Or did you just sit down and cry

Did you weep for the children
Who lost their dear loved ones
And pray for the ones who don’t know
Did you rejoice for the people who walked from the rubble
And sob for the ones left below

Did you burst out in pride
For the red white and blue
The heroes who died just doing what they do
Did you look up to heaven for some kind of answer
And look at yourself to what really matters

I’m just a singer of simple songs
I’m not a real political man
I watch CNN but I’m not sure I can tell you
The difference ‘tween Iraq and Iran
But I know Jesus and I talk to God
And I remember this from when I was young
Faith hope and love are some good things he gave us
And the greatest is love

Where were you when the world stopped turning that September day
Teaching a class full of innocent children
Driving down some cold interstate
Did you feel guilty cause you’re a survivor
In a crowded room did you feel alone
Did you call up your mother and tell her you love her
Did you dust off that bible at home
Did you open your eyes and hope it never happened
Close your eyes and not go to sleep
Did you notice the sunset the first time in ages
Speak with some stranger on the street
Did you lay down at night and think of tomorrow
Go out and buy you a gun
Did you turn off that violent old movie you’re watching
And turn on “I Love Lucy” reruns
Did you go to a church and hold hands with some stranger
Stand in line and give your own blood
Did you just stay home and cling tight to your family
Thank God you had somebody to love

I’m just a singer of simple songs
I’m not a real political man
I watch CNN but I’m not sure I can tell you
The difference ‘tween Iraq and Iran
But I know Jesus and I talk to God
And I remember this from when I was young
Faith hope and love are some good things he gave us
And the greatest is love

I’m just a singer of simple songs
I’m not a real political man
I watch CNN but I’m not sure I can tell you
The difference ‘tween Iraq and Iran
But I know Jesus and I talk to God
And I remember this from when I was young
Faith hope and love are some good things he gave us
And the greatest is love

The greatest is love
The greatest is love

Where were you when the world stopped turning that September day

      ~Alan Jackson, “Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)”

I listened to, read lyrics, and discarded a dozen songs before I settled on U2′s “All I Want Is You” as the cover text. (I woke up with it stuck in my head, actually, and decided that meant it was the one.) The lyrics are profound and poetic, and the band’s performance of it live in Milan is beautiful.

All I Want Is You

You say you want diamonds on a ring of gold
You say you want your story to remain untold

But all the promises we make
From the cradle to the grave
When all I want is you

You say you’ll give me a highway with no one on it
Treasure just to look upon it
All the riches in the night

You say you’ll give me eyes in a moon of blindness
A river in a time of dryness
A harbour in the tempest

But all the promises we make
From the cradle to the grave
When all I want is you

You say you want
Your love to work out right
To last with me through the night

You say you want diamonds on a ring of gold
Your story to remain untold
Your love not to grow cold

All the promises we break
From the cradle to the grave
When all I want is you
     ~U2

He was my harbor in the tempest, and I am grateful for the years we were given.