December 2011
25 posts
2 tags
A Proposed New Year's Resolution for Music Critics
Maybe we could spend extra time in 2012 thinking about how we, as individual listeners, respond when the music of the present seems especially connected to the music of the past. To figure out when and why we forgive artists that seem only the sum of very clear influences and when and why we actually seek out such artists. And maybe we could articulate a set of criteria for when...
Dec 31st
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Dec 28th
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“The music critic Charles Rosen, observing that difficulty in the arts has...”
– Merce Cunningham Dance Company Ends Its Legacy Tour - NYTimes.com
Dec 27th
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This Ron Paul Newsletter Thing
Should be a lesson to us all. We need to start reading the newsletters we put out. This week I plan to sit down with a big stack of the Mark Richardson Political Report, Mark Richardson’s Freedom Report, the Mark Richardson Survival Report, and the Mark Richardson Investment Letter to make there’s nothing crazy going out under my name.
Dec 26th
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“But it’s an impossible role in an impossible movie that has no reason for being...”
– ‘Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close’ Review - NYTimes.com ‘Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close’ : 9/11 :: ‘Life is Beautiful’ : the Holocaust? (via doree) This reminds me of David Mamet’s essay about Schindler’s List, “The Jew for Export” (I know Mamet is...
Dec 24th
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Learning to Practice Non-Attachment
I just moved into a new apartment. I love setting up the stereo and I try and do that as early as possible in the move-in process. Everything about it—figuring out where the speakers should go, measuring the cable, stripping the wire, splicing wire for the subwoofer, making sure the polarity is correct, getting the RCA cables in place, tightening the turntable ground—is enjoyable for...
Dec 22nd
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Dec 16th
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Dec 16th
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Dec 16th
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Dec 13th
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Dec 13th
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Dec 9th
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My Reviews in 2011, With Commentary
There weren’t many, but here’s what I did for Pitchfork this year:  Tennis: Cape Dory In which I demonstrate that I have room to improve when writing about records that aren’t very good. Destroyer: Kaputt I think I belabored the connection to Death of a Ladies Man but felt OK about this otherwise.  Julianna Barwick: The Magic Place I wrote this on an airplane and just before...
Dec 9th
38 notes
"What I love in music, more than anything, is the... →
desnoise: markrichardson: desnoise: marathonpacks: Greil Marcus. This is so interesting! Tonight I don’t think it’s necessarily what I love in music, and I’m not sure if it’s actually all that clear— what kind of ambitions? is ambition for ambition’s sake OK? (didn’t the ancient Greeks have sort of a negative connotation for “ambitious”?) what if a particular record or performance has...
Dec 9th
36 notes
"What I love in music, more than anything, is the... →
desnoise: marathonpacks: Greil Marcus. This is so interesting! Tonight I don’t think it’s necessarily what I love in music, and I’m not sure if it’s actually all that clear— what kind of ambitions? is ambition for ambition’s sake OK? (didn’t the ancient Greeks have sort of a negative connotation for “ambitious”?) what if a particular record or performance has only humble ambitions but turns...
Dec 9th
36 notes
1 tag
Dec 7th
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Anonymous asked: Hey, Mark. How's it going? I'm doing pretty good. It's nice over here in So Cal. It's actually starting to look like Fall. Anyways, when people ask me what I want to do when I get graduate college, I tell people I want to be a music critic. I guess people aren't really use to hearing people say they want to be a music critic. Was there ever a point in your life when you...
Dec 6th
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Dec 6th
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Dec 4th
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Questions to Ask Yourself Before Running for...
1) Have I been giving money to any “close personal friends” on a monthly basis for many years? 2) Have I told my spouse about these people and that I was supporting them financially?  If the answer to 1 is “yes” and 2 is “no”, you probably shouldn’t run for President. Because even though there is nothing wrong with secretly offering financial assistance...
Dec 3rd
4 notes
Rawktumblr: Guide For Bands To Getting Written And... →
rawkblog: Are you a band or musician? Would you like someone, anyone, to write about your music? Here is some advice. There is good advice here. The one thing I would add to it is that you should take the time to make sure the mp3s you send out are tagged properly. I am constantly downloading songs and albums that look interesting. At the end of every day, I put things in my iPod to listen to...
Dec 3rd
69 notes
3 tags
When we engage the creative mind, the object upon which we focus our energy seems to proliferate. For example, if we attempt to make a collection of green things, and we engage the creative mind for this task, we begin to see green everywhere. Often we think we can engage the critical mind separately from the creative mind. We think that to be critical means to be negative. In...
Dec 3rd
13 notes
1 tag
Dec 2nd
19 notes
calling these the worst lyrics ever written
Oh Maria, Maria She reminds me of a West Side Story Growing up in Spanish Harlem She living the life, just like a movie star Oh Maria, Maria She fell in love in East L.A. To the sounds of the guitar, yeah Played by Carlos Santana “Maria Maria”
Dec 2nd
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“I’m working on a thing called postrebellion and postopinion. People are good...”
– Tere O’Connor - Dance - Time Out New York
Dec 2nd
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