… as to my choices of music for the show.
(Visit the Playlist!)
First, I want to establish an atmosphere conducive to folks’ listening to and learning from each other. As I remark at the conclusion of Free Speech Handbook, “Awe in the face of the unknown may be the healthiest of all human postures.”
Second, I want to make available to my listeners music and concepts that are under-represented in the market-driven playlists of commercial music stations.
I can’t apologize too much for leaving out music that I just don’t like. In many styles of blues, for example, performers impersonate someone who is drunk or high. I don’t want to be around such people, see or hear them. So much for those styles of blues. Now, on the other hand, I like practically everything the Rolling Stones have done, and most of that is, in fact, blues.
But just because I like a song won’t get it on the show.
In the world of commercial love songs, drama drives market share; whether it is the drama of entanglement in infatuation, or instead that of unmanaged reptilian urges. Little airtime obtains for lyrics that express mature attitudes, a sense of personal adequacy, or what it takes to build lasting relationships. I will do my small part to correct that imbalance.
Classical music offers a world of depth and beauty that many of my listeners never will discover if they don’t hear it on my show.
On the one hand, a song is useless to me if I can’t make out the words. That’s a factor in my choices.
On the other hand, Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony has no words, and yet speaks powerfully of human beings’ ability to find courage and hope in the face of personal disaster. That’s its statement; and it deserves every bit of its fame.
Well, I had a hidden agenda as to music. I guess it’s not so hidden now.
I welcome suggestions for additions to the playlist. In particular, if you can e-mail me an mp3 file, I’ll give it a listen.
(Originally posted 2012-05-22 at Trojan Horse Productions. Reposted 09/07/17.)
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