drwex | Music and Language

Some time ago I noted that Lewis Lapham was retiring as editor of Harper's and am sad that I won't get to read him as often. I've just now gotten around to reading his farewell essay, published back in the May issue. It's a brilliant piece on writing and language, from which I steal liberally:

The telling of a true story usually puts the writer at odds with some sort of wisdom in office...

[O]ver the last few decades in the United States we've been learning the dead languages fitted out for television and better business management, and our newfound gifts for the art of saying nothing make it difficult to hear voices that haven't been swept clean of improvised literary devices, downsized into data points, reduced to an industrial waste product.

What is meant by the truth as a synonym for liberty doesn't emerge from a collection of facts or an assimilation of doctrine, nor does it come with a declaration of war or the blessing of Christ; it's synonymous with the courage that individuals derive from not running a con game on the unique character and specific temper of their own minds...

The slovenly use of words makes it easier for us to have foolish thoughts... If one gets rid of these habits one can think more clearly, and to think clearly is a necessary first step toward political regeneration. --George Orwell, from his 1946 essay Politics and the English Language

I continue to try to learn a language that lets me speak coherently about music, instead of just pointing and grunting "like," "dislike." Today's phrases include 'a subtle use of paired vocal harmony' and 'groove-based composition'. I've learned that minor-key and major-key tonalities both appeal to me, though in different contexts. Pandora has a "backstage" feature that gives you a song profile, and links to similar songs. Easy for me to get lost wandering and song sampling there. Going backstage on an artist gives biography (but, sadly, only "selected" discography) and lots of links to similar artists.