Very nice temps, clear and I got out and enjoyed it some -- also nightwalking downtown. Man, things are changing down there!
OK,
I take back the carp in last night's rant over the definitions in the
Concise OED. They're "concise" -- OK, I finally get it: lots of words
with concise definitions. I like the book, though I still think it's
cheaply made. I hope the UK editions have those nice "flex-back"
bindings with good paper inside. The (assumedly -- is that a word?* Hey, I
need to log off to look it up!) US hardback edition has average-feeling
paper and a cheap feel to the binding. It looks like the pages were
stuck to a huge glue block like an ordinary paperback and a little red
bit of fabric was tacked on the top to make it look "fascicle-bound."
But there are no fascicle strings anywhere I see.
I'm
not that much of a bibliophile, so I'm probably using the wrong words
to describe elements of a quality binding. And I guess I was spoiled in
the 70s by OUP's pioneering use of quality paperback bindings -- they
felt as good as some well-made hardbacks of the era. Even in modern
times, the OUP's runs of those little books (I forget what they're
called -- quick summaries on some deep topics. I especially liked the
Introduction to the Koran -- yes, I have three translations -- liked it
so much I gave it to a friend, and that's why I can't remem ... . Oh,
well.) So, count me still disappointed by the Concise OED print quality.
I've
found no support line or anything else to guide me as to my problem
with the OED software. It appears to work, but just not the way I need
it to. Again, I may have been spoiled by the free software I've been
using -- all of which I installed as an administrator and all of which
had their little icons waiting for me when I logged into the limited
account I use for internet surfing, word processing, etc. All of
the free software did, without exception. Well, OK -- Open Office
didn't, but a drag and a drop fixed that. The resulting OO desktop icon
is not actually a shortcut -- it's part of the Desktop itself, like My
Documents and IE, offering a menu of shortcuts to the individual OO
programs. Neat. Wish I could say that about the Concise Oxford English
Dictionary. I feel stupid, and I feel guilty that I wasted my Christmas
money on it.
On to a
brighter topic: why the Beatles and Joni Mitchell appealed to me more
than the Stones and Dylan. Yes, Joni's and the Fab Four's music was
easier to access in the mid-60s, but local radio quit playing all
Beatles music after John Lennon's famous remark about Jesus' popularity
relative to theirs. Also, Joni's "Blue" got no airplay around me -- and I
was listening!
No,
there's another reason. When I was selling records retail in '84-'85, the
musicians there schooled me on something: nearly everybody has musical
"preferences" for melody, harmony, or rhythm. My preference is clearly
for melody, so the more melodic writing of Joni Mitchell and the Beatles
appealed to me instantly.
Dylan
and the Stones are strongly rhythmic, so my "beat-friendly" pals in
school went more for their music. Yes, Dylan can write melodies very
well ("Like A Woman"), and the work of Jagger/Richards can also be
tuneful ("Wild Horses"). But listen to their best-known songs, such as
"Like a Rolling Stone" or "Let's Spend the Night Together". They hammer
away at you with their chomping, thundering rhythms that almost force
you to start stamping your foot or bouncing away on your car seat (I'm
sure none of you absolutely civilized people do that, but, just pretend
you do.). "Blowin' in the Wind" is another example, as is "Paint It
Black." The effect can have mesmeric intensity, when paired with the
right lyrics.
Harmonic rock or pop? Try the Beach Boys or Three Dog Night as examples from my youth. The Wreckers or Switchfoot, nowadays.
Classical
music can have the same appeal, to a lesser extent because the truly
great composers do it all well. But quickly compare Beethoven to Bach to
Schubert, and you get the idea immediately.
There
are a few people who dislike all music, all kinds. And there are even
fewer who love it all equally: melody, harmony and rhythm. Can you guess
one example of the latter from the classical world?
Think "A Little Night Music."
___
*According to the Concise OED on my computer, “assumedly” is assuredly a word.
LJ orig.: 12/28/06
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