Listen, I haven't got time for this now. I've been ill, I'm running late with this assignment; I just need to keep writing and have it done as soon as possible.
Faint pleading cries are heared
What?
A little louder and clearer
Oh, alright then. I'll give you the Word of the Week.
But no more! I honestly have no time!
Word of the Week
Quick
quickadj., adv., & n. —adj. 1 taking only a short time (a quick worker). 2 arriving after a short time, prompt (quick action; quick results). 3 with only a short interval (in quick succession). 4 lively, intelligent. 5 acute, alert (has a quick ear). 6 (of a temper) easily roused. 7archaic living, alive (the quick and the dead). —adv. 1 quickly, at a rapid rate. 2 (as int.) come, go, etc. quickly. —n. 1 the soft flesh below the nails, or the skin, or a sore. 2 the seat of feeling or emotion (cut to the quick).
Definition courtesy of the Concise Oxford Dictionary
Illness prevents me from writing at length today, so I'll just give you the Word of the Week, and then return to my sick-bed by the fire.
Word of the Week
Quagmire
quagmiren1 a soft boggy or marshy area that gives way underfoot. 2 a hazardous or awkward situation.
Definition courtesy of the Concise Oxford Dictionary
Don't worry, the title of this article bears little relation to reality: I'm simply suffering from a particularly nasty viral infection - that one which seems to be travelling through the throats of much of the Earth's population at the moment. So I'm not alone, and have no reason for self-pity, but must just sit it out and wait for it to pass. Wish me well, and I'll see you on the other side of the quagmire. What a wonderful word.
Whether you feel the environment is a beautiful thing worth nurturing, or a big inconvenience cramping the style of your lavish life; whether you agree with the general consensus that there is a problem at hand which needs fast attention to save it from spiralling out of control, or wholly refute the idea that we are to blame for anything related to the environment, and believe that this is the general pattern of happenings that occur in the Earth's life (particularly Global Warming); there can be no denying the fact that if we take a little care of all the things around us - living things (including people), our locality, the environment - a big improvement can be made to the quality of all of our lives.
I take the view that there is a problem, and if something isn't done about it, the world and civilisation will likely disintegrate into a mass of diseased, unhappy inhabitants who can no longer recognise this planet as home. This constant striving for wealth and insistence that the economy is the most high and mighty part of a country does little to help the situation. But to try and change the whole political system (i.e. in such a way that the word 'system' loses its Orwellian connotations, and instead describes something with impeccable organization, logic and efficiency) with one small article on a mostly unread blog, would be futile. However, it is difficult to ignore the fact that such a change would be highly beneficial. If the responsibility of governing the country were transferred from the current select group of individuals (or, really, clan members) in London, to the English people as a whole, then a lot of the damage, I feel, could be reversed reasonably quickly.
But I'm jumping the gun, here. I'm giving out solutions before we've looked at the problems for which they will be. Notice I used the word 'responsibility' in the previous paragraph. Part of the problem is that people simply do not feel responsible for their own country, and thus do not particularly care what condition it is in. I personally feel that way, at least. Let's say you were personally responsible for keeping the railway station clean; you were the person we see going around the station with a brush, getting rid of all the crap that people had left there during the day. To make your job easier, you would likely put your stuff staight into the bin after finishing with it, to save you having to brush it up later. Wouldn't you? I wouldn't expect many people to say no to that. Another example: Let's say you were the person responsible for getting the electricity for your house. It's no mean feat, I'll grant you, but let's just say that you have some solar panels on your roof, a bicycle attached to an electricity producing dynamo, and a gadget on your wall which monitors the amount of electricity you have a available, and shows how much electricity is being used. And let's say that to keep a light shining for four hours, you need to ride that bike for 10 minutes - 30 minutes on a day when the sun isn't shining onto the solar panels. It's just conjecture, and the timings may be completely inaccurate, but nevertheless, I'm sure you get the feeling that you would be less likely to leave your lights, televisions, computers, kettles on for longer than they need to be. Like the railway station cleaner, I imagine that only the most devoted of masochists would leave their electricity draining away into these appliances longer than is necessary.
These are just two examples, but I think they illustrate the point that if one has responsibility for one's well-being, one will take more care and interest. Expand this then to the whole country, with everyone holding equal responsibility for England's well-being; everyone performing multiple tasks, and gradually learning about every facet of keeping a country healthy and conducive to life. Can you imagine the improvements?
But before we can take responsibility for the goings-on of a country (or village, or a home), we need to understand what those goings-on are. It is no good trying to take responsibility for something we don't understand. It is the job of schools - particularly primary schools - to teach our children what happens in a country; what everybody does. But that is to take responsibility away from the parents. No, I should say it is the responsibility of parents to teach their children how the country functions, and schools should reinforce this education.
So, in conclusion, Education and Responsibility are two of the main issues that need to be addressed if the environment is to have any chance of regaining its health; the good health it had before we dear humans arrived. You have a little insight into what goes on, so come on and do your bit. I mean, for Christ's sake, I even walk around the streets light-footed, so as not to wear down the pavements too much! I'm beginning to do my part; let's all get involved, let's unite! and save the world.
So as the strains of 'Race: Out' make their way out of our speakers, once past the ears, and off into the ether, we realise we have come to the end of, and must say a fond farewell to, this lovely chapter about that most delightful of topics. We've had an alright time, haven't we? It hasn't gone too bad. It could have been much better, of course. I mean, not one single mention was made of Jean Sibelius, for example. The Minutemen didn't have any speaking parts, neither did Joanna Newsom or Nina Nastasia, and even the mighty Don Caballero were only mentioned in passing. Indeed, Chopin could have been explored more, and more thought could have been spared for Debussy. But, all in all, it came out alright, I think.
As to what happens now, I will brush up the leftovers here, and then we'll move on to a varied supply of miscellaneous subjects, to come back to music at a later date, I'm sure. During the course of the chapter I went down to London to see the mighty Slint perform their magnum opus Spiderland and in the same journey, saw John Adams conduct the BBC Symphony Orchestra in Copland's Billy the Kid: Suite and Adams' own Century Rolls and the world premier of his Doctor Atomic Symphony as a part of the Proms season at the Royal Albert Hall. Both concerts were awesome; the Albert Hall one particularly so because it was the first Classical concert I'd been to since becoming aware of being able to take myself off to concerts to hear music of my own volition. Yarema have also played a handful of gigs in a variety of venues; all of which going down pretty well, I think. I don't know if any of you came to see us performing, but if you did, flaming well leave a comment and tell us how delicious you think we are. Excellent. And just less than a week ago, my Open University course, U211 Exploring the English Language, officially began, and I'm getting well into my stride and enjoying it particularly more than I was the last one. If it keeps up like this, I may have an especially marvellous result to announce in nine-ish month's time. A baby, you think? Well... we'll have to see.
So, that's it! Chapter Twelve is over. All that's left is the Word of the Week, and then you can expect to hear from me sooner than usual next week, for I will be wholeheartedly participating in Blog Action Day on Monday, 15th October. Be sure to join in yourself, and don't forget to come back here, read, and spread the message.
Word of the Week
Coda
codan. 1Mus. the concluding passage of a piece or movement, usu. forming an addition to the basic structure. 2Ballet the concluding section of a dance. 3 concluding event or series of events.
Definition courtesy of the Concise Oxford Dictionary
And now let us sit back and leave Battles to play us out with their coda to Mirrored, the track that conversely begins all of their concerts in this recent tour, the cool, distant, disapperearing, never quite leaving, 'Race: Out'.
Tortoise's 'The Taut and Tame' from Millions Now Living Will Never Die
O! Tortoise, Tortoise; lovely Tortoise! The missing link, the binding force between these present days of relative drudgery (which would be complete d. were it not for the cream of today's musical crop, viz. Battles, Clark, Alexander Tucker, Boards of Canada) and the golden age of the early- to mid-nineties, when bands such as Polvo, June of 44, Don Caballero, Rodan, et al. were in their prime. In fact it would be fairer to say that bands like The Ex, Battles (for they have a line back through Storm and Stress to the awesome Don Caballero in the form of their Guitarist/Keyboardist Ian Williams), the electronic duo from Rochdale, Autechre, and the mercifully reincarnated Slint (hopefully for good, this time), are doing their best, along with Tortoise, to sew together the seams between the 20th and 21st Centuries, and continue to make creative and inspiring music. It isn't all doom and gloom.
Just listen to this music, here: 'The Taut and Tame' from Tortoise's Millions Now Living Will Never Die. Does it sound at all old to you? I mean, do you feel that today's music is more advanced, up-to-date, exciting, than this music? I'll tell you: This record, Millions Now Living Will Never Die, was released in 1996. It's over an entire decade old! I had an idea, myself, of its age, but checking the date on their discography (to save me leaving my seat to go upstairs and inspect the record sleeve in my room), even I was surprised to see 1996 written there. And can you honestly put your hand on your heart (through your skin, and perhaps clothing if you have any on) and declare that the vast majority of today's music isn't boring and stale in comparison to this? I, for one, certainly cannot. Just listen to that growling bass; the deliciously precise drumming; the chiming vibraphone. This music is composed: not artlessly knocked together over a few hurried sessions, as I get the feeling most of the music is these days. And there isn't one superfluous aspect of Tortoise: there isn't too much; indeed if someone were to say, 'It needs something else,' then you can be sure that they are certifiably crackers.
When I'm asked what music I like, and then the follow-up question, 'What style are they?', I generally describe Tortoise as Experimental Jazz Rock. I wouldn't say that is too far off the mark, but their style is more commonly known as Post Rock. Post Rock I mentioned in the previous article, but put off an explanation, wanting to stick with the subject at hand. Now an explanation can't wait any longer.
It's a much-derided term, Post Rock; many people think it doesn't mean anything, and that it serves no useful purpose. But I beg to disagree. For me, Rock can be simply described as "fast and loud"; those seem to be the tendencies and the benchmarks. If one can't play loud, they can't play Rock. It ain't got that RAWK! to it. And playing slowly certainly isn't a 'rocky' thing to do. Post Rock subverts this mentality; it is the antithesis of it. If being able to play Rock is to be able to play fast, loud, and in time, Post Rock is the ability to play slowly, quietly, and out of time. It isn't that to play Post Rock is to be unable to play fast, loud, and in time - that is a completely different case. Indeed, to play out of time is a damned challenging thing to do, and can provide some exciting results, particularly if you, e.g. begin in time, gradually drift out, and then come back in again towards the end of a piece. It can be pretty tantalising, and certainly gets the old listeners interested in what's going on. I would also argue that to play quietly demands a damn sight more skill and control than its louder counterpart. Indeed, if you listen to people beginning to play an instrument, after they've got over the slight awkwardness and nervousness of not playing anything, and begin to make solid sounds, you will find (at least I have) that they produce basically loud noises; with no quietude in them, for they have yet to develop the control to play quietly. But as they become more accustomed to playing, and know their instrument more intimately, this control is developed and they are then relaxed to play from the quietest whispers to the loudest (I don't know...) proclamations(?). This is the case, I would argue, with Post Rock.
Post Rock, for me, is the higher art-form. It is what comes once you have learnt how to play Rock, and are looking to further develop your musicianship. Classical Music is always the benchmark for me, but if you don't care for such things or doubt your skill will hold up, I couldn't more highly recommend moving on from Rock, and getting stuck into Post Rock. It's only logical. Just look at the name. It's all in the name. Post Rock! Stroll on.
Word of the Week
Experimental
experimentaladj. 1 based on or making use of experiment (experimental psychology). 2 a used in experiments. b serving or resulting from (esp. incomplete) experiment; tentative, provisional. 3 based on experience, not on authority or conjecture.
Definition courtesy of the Concise Oxford Dictionary
