Da real Super Tuesday

Erin, I would gladly doff my greaves and have a nice cup of tea instead. All this jousting in the hot sun is quite enervating. ; )

Rod, I don't suppose there is any rule against liberals liking Mendelssohn, or classical music in general. I suppose some of the more intransigent leftists on the Spartacist fringe would consider classical music a mere by-product of an oppressive class structure . . . but you couldn't call those folks liberals.

I think the inconsistency in liking Dr. John is that such music originated in low-life kinds of places like bars and brothels and is associated with bad behavior that involves drinking and sex and wild dancing. Furthermore, it is offensive to the conservative faction that approves an aristocracy, of manners if not of blood, because it is associated with classes of people who possess neither the culture and self-restraint of the aristocracy nor the sturdy traditionalism of the folk.

My brother is quite a music aficionado and fell in love with jazz and blues in junior high school. By this time he is a walking encyclopedia of world music. One of the best presents I ever gave him was "Goodbye, Babylon," a boxed set of over 150 gospel songs and sermons. (And if you like American music, Rod, you simply HAVE to give this thing a listen. It is so amazing!)

Now, we all owe our musical ear to my father, who played music constantly. Many a morning we woke before dawn, groaning, to the sound of German marching bands or oboe concertos at cheery high volume. But woe betide my brother if he tries to insinuate that there might actually be something worth listening to after Mendelssohn. And M. is really a begrudging stretch--really the boundary is Bach, Bach and nothing but Bach. They get into serious fights over this issue.

Thanks for the link, Maclin! That was a very interesting article. I hope Rod reads it, as it explains some of what I was trying to say better than I did. My brother would agree with you. My father wouldn't. I can hear him now, in fact. "That's CRAP!" Mendelssohn was his only concession with regard to the early Romantics. He dislikes Beethoven. I can also hear him snorting incredulously at the idea that a conservative could possibly admire Wagner. Wagner is evil.

Just in case you're still reading this one, Maclin, that was an interesting post on Wagner as well. You obviously know more about music than I do. I'm sort of an "I know what I like" person. And I've never liked Wagner. I completely agree with your take on Siegfried--LOL! Music is a language, and like any language, you have to spend a lot of time listening to it before it begins to make sense to you. Baroque music was my milk language, as it were, so I'll always like it best--in addition to any objective analysis of its merits.

I understand your point about consistency with regard to pop music, and I think you got that right, too. It's no use letting all those jazz and blues elements sneak in and then being shocked, SHOCKED to find Mama allowing some rock and roll playing in here.

To pronounce sigaliris, think "signal lyrics," then take out the g and the n and the c. Simple! A sigaliris is a small green moth with randomly shaped transparent patches on its wings, the better to counterfeit a partially decayed leaf for purposes of concealment.