The video above is of Renee Fleming singing September, one of Richard Strauss’s Four Last Songs. Last night I saw Deborah Voigt perform the songs. Some of the most beautiful and haunting music ever written. I have five different recordings of this piece of music; each performer brings something new to it. Jesse Norman’s recording introduced me to the songs. If you’re listening to the Four Last Songs, be sure to turn up the volume.
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Filmed in 1969, and I saw it when it came out. But I only just realized that John Lennon played lead guitar, and George Harrison held down the rhythm part. Such a simple song, four chords and a catchy riff. Harrison’s rosewood telecaster has become legendary and is up for auction, the opening bid is $200,000.00.
One CommentThis new MP3 player from Yahoo is a beautiful thing. It’s early yet, but this is the kind widget that will bring Yahoo back into the center of things. Arrington says they have some big plans for music, and music is a great place to start. And it all goes back to this blog post by Ian Rogers with the memorable quote: “Inconvenience doesn’t scale.”The player is written as unobtrusive javascript, so it’s simple to add to a page. It recognizes MP3 links and layers itself over the layout. I need to play with it a little more, but it looks like a very well thought out implementation.The reason to focus on music? Music changed Apple Computer to Apple. It introduced millions of users to Apple software and Macintosh. If Yahoo can get some things right with music, it will go a long way. To understand the elemental force of music, read “This is Your Brain on Music.”
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Sometimes I dream of a digital Chautauqua that crosses over and travels in a tent show around the land. I think about Levon Helm’s Midnight Ramble, or the Willoz’s Chautauqua. I haven’t quite figured out how the Chautauqua on the network connects to the Chautauqua in the tent or the barn— but the two should be deeply intertwingled.
As I think about what the next big thing on the Web will be, I can’t help thinking about the next small thing. I imagine it will look like a digital Chautauqua, a unique performance that will exist for just a moment in time. It’s participants will be witnesses. Can I get a witness?
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