I wonder sometimes what makes us like the music we like.  I’ve tried to like classical music, but most of it leaves me cold unless I’m listening to an orchestra play it live.  Jazz is the same way: great live, but puts me to sleep anywhere else.  It’s great if you’ve got a talented singer who’s fun to watch as well as listen to, or if you’re at a party where the music isn’t the only thing going on, but take those things away, and the music isn’t enough.  Organ music and chant are similar: great in the context of church, but they don’t hold my attention by themselves elsewhere.  The only music I like by itself out of context is pop and rock.  I wish that wasn’t the case, but there it is. Read more »

(This is the third in a series of posts called Why the Latin Mass? I’ve been asked by several people why I like the Latin Mass—why people will drive a hundred miles to get to one, or spend a lot of time and money bringing it to their area. I’m trying to answer that from my perspective in this series.)

I grew up on rock and roll. It’s not my parents’ fault; they listened to country at home, and not a lot of that. But I picked up 80s rock and pop from friends: AC/DC, Reo Speedwagon, J. Geils Band, Foreigner, Pat Benetar, Rick Springfield, Toto, and yes, Michael Jackson. (Hey, 10 million other people bought Thriller too; we didn’t know what a freak he was then.) My favorite then was Billy Joel—the Angry Young Man version who did Captain Jack and Glass Houses, not the happy version that was married to Christie Brinkley or the morose version she divorced. Later, when I lived in range of a classic rock station for a while, I caught on to the Eagles, Clapton, BTO, and the like.

All that left me with a definite expectation that music would have a strong drumbeat, and usually a melody carried by electric guitar. Popular music tells you plainly when to tap your foot. There’s nothing subtle about it, but it’s catchy. Now that I’m older and trying to expand my cultural horizons, I try to appreciate classical music and chant, but it’s hard to. It doesn’t give me that obvious beat, and soon my mind is wandering off. The only time I really seem to appreciate classical music is in an auditorium, listening to an orchestra play live.

And the one time I definitely enjoy chanting and “church music” is when I’m in church, fortunately enough. There it just fits. Like most Catholics my age, I grew up with Masses where people played guitar, shook tambourines, and probably even whipped out a kazoo or two that I’ve blocked from memory. Those things all have their place elsewhere, but there’s something special about organ music and chanting in church. I’ve been told that the reason the organ was always allowed at Mass was because it “breathes” through the pipes, so it’s similar to a human voice. I don’t know if that’s the real reason, but whatever the reason, the result works. A choir backed by a real organ makes a sound that is unquestionably “churchy,” that you can’t mistake for an Arlo Guthrie concert.

I don’t know enough about chant and terms like “polyphonic” to appreciate it on any deeper level than that. Most of the time I attend Low Mass, which doesn’t have any music, and that’s fine by me too. Either have the real thing, or don’t have music at all, and I’ll be happy. Just keep those tambourines away!

We just got back from the “Christmas Memories” concert put on by the Quincy Symphony Orchestra. I’d recommend it, but it looks like it’s a one-time show; so if you weren’t there, you’re out of luck. At $15, the tickets might seem a bit pricey, but it’s nice to know that you’re supporting a Quincy institution and most of your money isn’t going off to Hollywood or China or someplace.

I’m resistant to the way people keep celebrating Christmas earlier and earlier, and then dropping it by about 3pm on Dec. 25th. (Salvation Army bell-ringers who were out by mid-November, I’m loooking at you.) I try to pace myself so I still have some Christmas spirit for the real Christmas season: the twelve days after Christmas. I guess you have to make an exception for Christmas concerts, though. Who’s performing one on Dec. 26th? I don’t listen to Christmas music on the radio or see seasonal commercials on TV, so I’m not in much danger of overload.

Anyway, I thought it was great. I learned that I need to sit closer to the music next time, though. Lots of people behind us had ants in their pants or something and couldn’t sit still, so the constant rustling and my poor hearing made it hard to hear some of the quieter pieces. They did the Mannheim Steamroller version of Silent Night, which has long been a favorite of mine, and I just couldn’t hear it very well. Next time: up close.

They had a harp ensemble that was pretty cool, although I definitely don’t know anything about harp music. I think there were eight harps (and harpists), which is about eight times as many as I would have guessed existed in Quincy. Apparently, thanks to a lady who has been teaching the harp in Quincy for 62 years, Quincy has more harpists per capita than any other town or city in the United States. This town sure excels at some unusual things.

There were two choirs, one adult and one youth, and they both sounded good. I could have done without the karaoke portion of the program, personally—I’d rather listen to people who have practiced the songs together for weeks than the random crowd around me—but it seemed like people who can sing enjoyed singing along. I especially liked the choirs singing Christmastime is Here from the Charlie Brown Christmas show, and the song the Whos in Whoville sing together in the Grinch show (the cartoon, not the Jim Carrey abomination).

All in all, it was a nice time with a lot of good music, and I hope to attend some of their future performances. When people complain that Quincy doesn’t have enough big-city entertainment options, they should know we do have a pretty darn good symphony you don’t have to drive to St. Louis to see.

I’ve been trying to change my music-listening habits lately, as part of my overall quest to have a more positive, life-affirming focus. A lot of popular music is, if not actually depressing, fairly negative. Rap is the worst of course, with its hatred of women and glorification of drugs and violence. (And if you think maybe it’s not really that bad, or it’s just certain songs, read this.) Other genres are far better, but still have their downside. How long can you listen to the radio — pop, rock, or country — without hearing a song about a broken heart or a disappointing life? Bombard yourself for hours everyday with people singing about how much life hurts, and it’ll surely have some effect on your own expectations.

So, I started listening to classical music online. That was okay, but a lot of classical music is pretty dreary. It doesn’t have the negative lyrics, but dreary music can create the same mood. Also, after 37 years of listening to popular music, it’s hard for me to appreciate music that flows along without a drumbeat to anchor it. Most of the time, it fades into the background like the elevator music in a store, until after a few hours it starts to get repetitive and annoying. I’d like to learn to appreciate it more, but I think it’s going to take small doses over time, rather than immersion.

So I switched to Celtic music for a while. Much of this is upbeat, the kind of stuff you dance a jig to. That’s pretty good, but every once in a while they break in with a long bagpipe number that sounds like a bunch of trucks are in a traffic jam outside, laying on their horns. I can’t take very much of that.

Now I’m listening to 1980s pop and rock. It’s not ideal, but there are enough online stations that I can switch if something clearly negative comes on. The ratio of positive to negative music and lyrics was a lot better in the 80s than before or since. I’ve said before that rock music always starts from a basis of “Life sucks…”:

• 1960s – Life sucks so let’s get stoned. (Woodstock)
• 1970s – Life sucks so let’s hallucinate and screw a lot. (Disco)
• 1980s – Life sucks so I want to punch someone. (AC/DC)
• 1990s – Life sucks so I think I’ll kill myself. (Nirvana)

There are exceptions and overlap between those, of course. I’m not sure what the message for the 2000s is; this decade doesn’t seem to have a recognizable attitude yet. In any case, while punching someone isn’t the nicest thing to do, at least it’s a positive action in a way; it’s an attempt to remove something that’s bothering you. The others are all different forms of surrender.

Hmm, I wasn’t expecting this to get so deep or long. Anyway, now I’m switching between those three choices. I’ve tried listening to “inspirational” channels, but that seems to be a synonym for Christian rock, most of which is musically dismal. Maybe at some point I’ll collect my own library of “uplifting” music from all genres, and put the list on here.