Friday, July 07, 2006

Not a Top Ten Music or Literature List

Paddychicken reminded me. Have been asked to do rundowns of my top ten favourite indie/Christian/classical/jazz CDs for January – June 2006.

The difficulty in doing such lists is that it is hard to put a value to a few tracks because the already subjective is made further subjective by the environment within which we interact with the music. "Top ten" under what conditions? Our level of enjoyment depends not just on the music itself, not as if we were robots with pre-programmed music tastes in a hermeneutically-sealed laboratory, but on the circumstances within which we experience such music: the place, the visuals, the smells, the companions, the mood… Music for late night drives in the quiet countryside (Lim Chu Kang lah) would fare insipidly in a roaring party with people eager for a dance; music for sips of absinthe and weedy smoky pub-philosophical arguments would grate harshly and brashly in an afternoon garden tea party among the clipped hedges, cucumber sandwiches and Pernod.

The experience of literature, too, is a product of the environment within which we encounter the words on the page. Reading a particular book in particular circumstances distinctly affects our perception of both the book as well as the surroundings in which it is read.

Therefore, I propose, in full and express cheaterbuggery, to replace the original query with an account of an encounter of one of these creatures (literary, musical or otherwise) in its environment. Paddychicken, if he wishes to do so, may be next. :-)

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13 Comments:

At July 07, 2006 3:27 pm , Anonymous Anonymous said...

Parce que la lecture crée aussi des sensations/sentiments/souvenirs de l'endroit où on la pratique

 
At July 07, 2006 4:36 pm , Anonymous Anonymous said...

Oh, what sad times are these that youngsters disregard the instructions of their wiser elders.

We want A SHRUBBERY!!!!

 
At July 07, 2006 11:37 pm , Blogger paddychicken said...

Alas mine own musical explorations be nigh eclectic. Whither the end of juxtaposing Robbie Williams with Secret Machines or Sonic Youth? To each his own I say ...

 
At July 07, 2006 11:57 pm , Anonymous Anonymous said...

There is a pestilence in this land! Nothing is sacred! Even those who arrange and design shrubberies are under considerable economic stress at this period in history!

 
At July 08, 2006 12:04 am , Anonymous Anonymous said...

Yes. Shrubberies are my trade. I am a shrubber. My name is Roger the Shrubber. I arrange, design, and sell shrubberies.

 
At July 08, 2006 12:14 pm , Blogger shadow said...

Michael: Oui. Peut-on juger objectivement de la valeur d'une livre?

Roger: Yay! A shrubber! Your finest shrubbery for the Knights Who Say Ni please.

Knights Who Say Ni: O Knights Who Say Ni. We have brought you your shrubbery. May we go now?

Paddychicken: Yes, and to what end do we ask and answer these piddling quizzes? For fellowship or for exhibitionism?

 
At July 08, 2006 10:45 pm , Anonymous Anonymous said...

It is a good shrubbery. I like the laurels particularly. But there is one small problem.

We are now *no longer* the Knights Who Say "Ni". We are now the Knights who say "Ekky-ekky-ekky-ekky-z'Bang, zoom-Boing, z'nourrrwringnmmm". Therefore, we must give you a test. Firstly, you must find....
ANOTHER SHRUBBERY!!!

Then, when you have found the shrubbery, you must place it here, beside this shrubbery, only slightly higher, so we get the two-level effect with a little path running down the middle.

Then, when you have found the shrubbery, you must cut down the mightiest tree in the forest...
wiiiiiithh....

A HERRING!

(music in minor key)

 
At July 08, 2006 11:55 pm , Blogger paddychicken said...

Actually there is little value in coming up with a TOP TEN LIST.

The better skill is hearing out what music a person likes, and recommending them just the right album.

 
At July 10, 2006 9:23 pm , Anonymous Anonymous said...

What the paddy chicken says is true. Therefore you shall list for us ALL the CDs you have purchased and liked for the last 2 years.

 
At July 13, 2006 11:39 am , Blogger shadow said...

Cut down a tree with a herring? It can't be done!

The CD list is tedious but probably doable if it's not meant to be exhaustive.

 
At July 13, 2006 6:20 pm , Blogger shadow said...

The list is done! :-)

 
At July 13, 2006 10:19 pm , Anonymous Anonymous said...

Shrubbery-snubbery. We want....
to borrow some CDs off ye!

 
At July 14, 2006 4:19 pm , Blogger shadow said...

Sure thing! Mail me. :-). Addy's in the profile.

 

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