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 »

We went to see the new Star Trek movie last night.  That’ll come as a shock to people who know me well enough to know that I never go to movies, especially never on opening night.  I don’t like crowds, being blasted with noise, or paying through the nose for something I’ll be able to rent for a couple bucks someday.  The last movie I remember seeing in the theater was Quigley Down Under, which came out in 1990.  (Good movie, by the way.)  I think there may have been one more since then, but I can’t remember what it was.

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