J. S. Bach on the economy

I wonder if I could talk Lehman Brothers into sponsoring a performance of BWV 168. See Bach’s soundtrack for the credit crunch.

October 14, 2008 | Filed Under Humor, Culture | Leave a Comment 

Fed up with “Danny Boy”

Received last week from Musical America:

Irish Pub Bans “Danny Boy.” Really.

It’s depressing, it’s not usually sung in Ireland for St. Patrick’s Day, and its lyrics were written by an Englishman who never set foot on Irish soil. Those are only some of the reasons why a Manhattan pub owner is banning the song “Danny Boy” for the entire month of March.

“It’s overplayed, it’s been ranked among the 25 most depressing songs of all time and it’s more appropriate for a funeral than for a St. Patrick’s Day celebration,” said Shaun Clancy, who owns Foley’s Pub and Restaurant.

I’ve got nothing against “Danny Boy” - it’s set to a great tune, and in fact I think the lyrics are beautiful, even moving - but still I find it funny that someone was actually fed up with it enough to officially ban it!

March 10, 2008 | Filed Under Humor | Leave a Comment 

Musical Jokes

The website of the Oratorio Society of New York boasts an exhaustive list of music-related jokes. I haven’t made my way through to the end yet (not sure I’ll ever have that much time on my hands), but I would especially recommend the humor on “Composer Effects.”

Composer Effects
The Mozart Effect
A new report now suggests that the Mozart effect may be a fraud. For you hip urban professionals: no, playing Mozart for your designer baby may not improve his IQ or help him get into that exclusive pre-school. He’ll just have to be admitted to Harvard some other way.
Of course, we’re all better off for listening to Mozart purely for the pleasure of it. However, one wonders that if playing Mozart sonatas for little Hillary or Jason could boost their intelligence, what would happen if other composers were played in their developmental time?
LISZT EFFECT: Child speaks rapidly and extravagantly, but never really says anything important.
BRUCKNER EFFECT: Child speaks very slowly and repeats himself frequently. Gains reputation for profundity.
WAGNER EFFECT: Child becomes a megalomaniac. May eventually marry his sister.
MAHLER EFFECT: Child continually screams - at great length and volume that he’s dying.
SCHOENBERG EFFECT: Child never repeats a word until he’s used all the other words in his vocabulary. Sometimes talks backwards. Eventually, people stop listening to him. Child blames them for their inability to understand him.
BABBITT EFFECT: Child gibbers nonsense all the time. Eventually, people stop listening to him. Child doesn’t care because all his playmates think he’s cool.
IVES EFFECT: the child develops a remarkable ability to carry on several separate conversations at once.
GLASS EFFECT: the child tends to repeat himself over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again.
STRAVINSKY EFFECT: the child is prone to savage, guttural and profane outbursts that often lead to fighting and pandemonium in the preschool.
BRAHMS EFFECT: the child is able to speak beautifully as long as his sentences contain a multiple of three words (3, 6, 9, 12, etc). However, his sentences containing 4 or 8 words are strangely uninspired.
AND THEN OF COURSE, THE CAGE EFFECT — CHILD SAYS NOTHING FOR 4 MINUTES, 33 SECONDS. PREFERRED BY 9 OUT OF 10 CLASSROOM TEACHERS.

February 19, 2008 | Filed Under Humor | 5 Comments 

Pre-flight instructions

A friend recently e-mailed the following to me, thinking that I might enjoy it particularly because I had recently flown internationally. He was right.

My thanks to the person who shot this video, although I’m sure Southwest Airlines isn’t too happy about it…at least not officially.



December 1, 2007 | Filed Under Humor, Videos | Leave a Comment 

On the lighter side

There’s a good reason why concerts are often preceded by appeals to the audience to “please quite all cell phones, pagers and other electronic devices.” I got a kick out of the following video that my friend Charles Jonah recently shared with me.

. . .

This brings to mind a miserably embarrassing experience I once had at a wedding years ago. I was playing in a string quartet for hire and, sure enough, forgot to turn off my cell phone prior to the ceremony. Let’s just say that as I scrambled to muffle my phone when it rang out loud and clear during one of the quieter moments in the service, I had no warm feelings for the caller on the other end of the line. Of course, the fault was all my own. Moral of the story: Turning off your cell phone off before the wedding is a far simpler solution than waiting for it to ring in the middle of the ceremony, flipping it open and then literally sitting on it to shut it up.

Note: Option two will work in a bind.

August 1, 2007 | Filed Under Humor, Videos | Leave a Comment 

So it begins

Friends, I am joining the worldwide community of bloggers. I look forward to staying in touch with you in this way and I hope that you’ll enjoy stopping by every now and then to read a bit about my work with Soli Deo Gloria and muse with me on whatever seems worthwhile. I’ll start things off by sharing with you a youtube video that someone sent to me last year. This performance might strike you as a bit gimiky, but I must say, I am utterly impressed with the musicianship of this violinist! Enjoy.


January 26, 2007 | Filed Under Humor, Videos | Leave a Comment