Skip to main content

Like a Refurbished Ford Shelby

Last weekend was busy. In fact, if I were to describe last weekend as a music critic would describe a new album, the review might sound something like this:

After thorough review of the music wrought within Mr. Tony's album, I have come to the following unadulterated conclusion.

The variety of songs within it is a welcome departure from said musician's previous albums. Whereas the tired style he displays in most of those albums has led to the inevitable drop in sales and popularity we've seen over the past years, this particular album demonstrated a nuanced use of familiar instruments as a few of the old musicians returned to contribute novel rhythms. Among the new songs that caught the attention of this critic were the songs "Let's Get Those Taxes On," "Do Yard Work, Son," and "I Get by With a Little Moving Help from My Friend."

Lest we assume that all the finest songs are found in the album's beginning, the latter songs did not disappoint, either. This was especially true of "Church Bells a-Ringin'," "Stuck in Old Starbucks Again," and the grand finale of them all, "Teacher Conference Tango," with a special hidden track that could be found after the listener believes the album is finished.

All in all, Mr. Tony's newest album will be one of his finest, a boon to a musician whose more recent works had all but reversed the popularity he found in his acoustic solos. This critic hopes we will see more like them, albeit with a little less unnecessary drive.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Persuasion

At different points in history, governments have devoted men, women, and resources to try to persuade others to their side. One significant example of this occurred in Germany under Adolf Hitler. Hitler knew how important it was to make sure the German people were on his side as leader of the country. One way he did this was by controlling what people heard. Specifically, near the beginning of World War II, Hitler made it a crime for anyone in Germany to listen to foreign radio broadcasts. These were called the “extraordinary radio measures.” He did this to ensure that Germans weren’t being persuaded by enemy countries to question their loyalty to Hitler. He knew that a German listening to a radio broadcast from Britain might persuade that German to believe that Great Britain was the good guy and Hitler the bad guy. This was so important, in fact, that two people in Germany were actually executed because they had either listened to or planned to listen to a foreign radio broadcast (one...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Nice Guy Fallacy

I read part of a poem recently by one of my favorite poets. It reads: I envy not in any moods The captive void of noble rage The linnet born within the cage That never knew the summer woods. I envy not the beast that takes His license in the field of time Unfetter'd by the sense of crime To whom a conscience never wakes. Nor what may call itself as bles't The heart that never plighted troth But stagnates in the weeds of sloth Nor any want-begotten rest. I hold it true, whate'er befall I feel it, when I sorrow most 'Tis better to have loved and lost Than never to have loved at all. At base, Tennyson contrasted a life of risk, and consequent pain, with one of security. He sides conclusively with the life of risk, and says he fails to envy those who have faced no hardship. I agree with him; and, for good or ill, his words are just as relevant today as they were in the nineteenth century. Like then, there are those today who choose to live their lives with as little risk as...
2 comments
Read more

Thoughts on Academic Purpose

If I could tell my students how to choose a path of employment, I would emphasize that no effective writer, historian, athlete, musician, or scientist became such without dedicating themselves to some goal. For that to have taken place, however, the respective expert must have had a firm idea about why they were doing what they were doing. In other words, they must have had purpose. Karl Marx spent countless hours in English libraries, I would share, to understand the functioning of society in order to improve it; while Isaac Newton often went without food to gain a firmer grasp of the science of motion, and eventually revised that science. They did this because they had a clear purpose, a real reason for doing what they were doing that would affect others around them. I would communicate that whatever passion students tap into, it should be embarked upon with that kind of clear goal in mind. While they may not know which passions they have yet, I would emphasize that school is a time ...
Post a Comment
Read more