January 2008

How to Cheat at Blogging

January 3, 2008 21:19

So....yeah. I haven't blogged in a while. My "adventures" as concertmaster (concertmistress, whatever!), the Three Glorious Days of the Takács Quartet's residency at Oberlin, several blizzards, final exams and Christmas vacation have all passed by un-blogged and un-examined. But as Socrates said, the unexamined life is not worth blogging....wait, that makes a paradox. That and I've just been too bloody tired to write with any of my usual sparkling wit and style, so as a result my blog has been empty for quite a while.

And yet still I continue my lack of output! Here, rather than an ode to Károly Schranz, a nature special on the life cycle of the common Nocturnal Oberliner, or a deliriously partisan celebration of Barack Obama's victory in Iowa a few hours ago, is a transcript of a marvelously weird conversation that took place in the dining hall some time last month.

______

Allie: (reading from popular music textbook): This is fascinating. Hey, did you guys know that Chrissie Hynde of the Pretenders is from my hometown?
Jesse, Joe, Mara: ....................
Allie: Never mind.
Jesse: Yeah, that's not really my forte.
Allie: Oh, come on, surely you guys know something about this. It's classic stuff. Here, I'll quiz you.... What was the name of the new-wave punk group who produced the hit songs "Roxanne" and "Message in a Bottle?"
Joe: um, Marilyn Manson and the Heartbreakers.
Allie: No.
Joe: The Beatles.
Allie: No. Ok, try this one: Who was the foremost androgynous glam character of the 1980s, with his hit, "Ground Control to Major Tom"?
Joe: Herbert von Karajan.
Allie: ..........wow. Let's try something else. Define a rock "supergroup."
Joe: Um, well it's a band that has magical powers.
Allie: Oh my gosh, no. You're horrible at this. Name a song by Neil Young.
Joe: Arabesque for Solo Violin! ........oh, no, that's Jeff Young.
Allie: (sigh) Right.
(Joe glances at book, begins humming)
Jesse: ...Joe... are you headbanging to "La Bamba"?
Joe: Yes. Hey, didn't the Beatles do "Y.M.C.A."?
Allie: No, that was the Village People. Ok, you better know this. Who is the best-selling pop star of all time?
Joe: umm... the Beatles.
Allie: No.
Joe: Alice Cooper!
Allie: No.
Joe: Fergie! John Corigliano! Mahler!
Allie: NO. Michael Jackson. But nice try.
Joe: (looking at a picture in the book) *gasp* Who’s that? They look like terrorists.
Allie: That’s the BeeGees.
-- ten minutes later --
Joe: Is Mr. Fulkerson in the book?
Allie: .....um...well... he's not a rock-n-roll legend, per se...
Jesse: I respectfully disagree.

____

And that's all. More creativity later.

18 replies | Archive link


More entries: February 2008November 2007

Facebook Twitter YouTube Instagram Email

Violinist.com is made possible by...

Shar Music
Shar Music: Check out our selection of Celtic music

Pirastro Strings
Pirastro Strings

JR Judd Violins
JR Judd Violins

Dimitri Musafia, Master Maker of Violin and Viola Cases
Dimitri Musafia, Master Maker of Violin and Viola Cases

Thomastik-Infeld's Dynamo Strings
Thomastik-Infeld's Dynamo Strings

National Symphony Orchestra
National Symphony Orchestra

Violins of Hope
Violins of Hope

Violinist.com Summer Music Programs Directory
Find a Summer Music Program

Violinist.com Shopping Guide
Violinist.com Shopping Guide

Colburn School

Metzler Violin Shop

Southwest Strings

Bobelock Cases

Johnson String Instrument/Carriage House Violins

Jargar Strings

Bay Fine Strings Violin Shop

FiddlerShop

Fiddlerman.com

Los Angeles Violin Shop

Baerenreiter

String Masters

Nazareth Gevorkian Violins

Laurie's Books

Discover the best of Violinist.com in these collections of editor Laurie Niles' exclusive interviews.

Violinist.com Interviews Volume 1
Violinist.com Interviews Volume 1, with introduction by Hilary Hahn

Violinist.com Interviews Volume 2
Violinist.com Interviews Volume 2, with introduction by Rachel Barton Pine

Subscribe