Music

The Man Who Sold the World

Michael Stipe:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hF2ed7ouU3o

Nirvana: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fregObNcHC8

Lulu: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RV8ywV7KwSI

David Bowie:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSH–SJKVQQ

 

 
Over the last 24 hours, I have been inundated with videos of Trump and Stipe, with headlines about the most incredible audio from these men.

Trump managed to suggest that women who get abortions should be punished, and when the backlash was immediate and fierce, he backtracked and suggested that doctors who perform abortions should be punished, not the women who undergo the procedure.

Even abortion foes reacted strongly against Trump’s comment. John Kasich tweeted: “Of course women shouldn’t be punished for having an abortion.” This from a staunch opponent of abortions. Really? Since when have women who are pro-choice, much less suffered through an abortion, not been punished? Granted, the punishment is not prison or a fine, but the endless shaming and aggression against those who are pro-choice has always trumped (pun intended) compassion or concern or even curiosity about alternatives.

Whether Trump’s latest belch will affect his polling remains to be seen. After all, he’s the man who sold the world. He says what some think. He’s a zillionaire, so he must be the most capable and smartest in the world. He wrote The Art of the Deal. He’s bought and sold so much, you won’t believe how much. He’s the man who sold the world.
As all the media, social and anti-social, were broadcasting and posting Trump’s comments—about punishing women or physicians, the media was also sharing a rebroadcast (you-tube) of Michael Stipe, former frontman for R.E.M., singing a haunting cover of “The Man Who Sold the World”, by David Bowie. He performed it on The Tonight Show the other night, in advance of his “Music of David Bowie” tribute concert. His haunting rendition hardly conjures The Donald, but captures the personal searching for ourselves that Bowie’s version, and Nirvana’s unplugged version, also evoke. Yet, Stipe puts his own stamp on it, as did Bowie and Nirvana (Kurt Cobain, especially).

Art speaks truth to the human experience, and individuals find their specific identifications with a work of art. The style of Bowie’s 1970 song, and Nirvana’s 1995 Unplugged cover, and Michael Stipe’s 2016 rendition are each artist specific, yet the song seems timeless.

Demagoguery and hate are also timeless. There are always those who would sell the world for power. I couldn’t help but consider this song that was being posted everywhere yesterday in the context of the events of the day—namely, Donald Trump’s latest. The interesting thing about “The Man Who Sold the World” is that it is both the demagogue and us.

If the original intent of the song was to meet and “shake hands” with our “other” (lesser) selves, its meaning extends to a societal level. We not only have tremendous economical, social, religious, educational, cultural differences among us in the U.S., but we somehow have to shake hands and meet. We can’t merely sell the world and think we will continue to be successful.

I know that the man who sells the world, i.e. Donald Trump, is far from the guy Michael Stipe, Kurt Cobain, or David Bowie were evoking, but there is something quite amazing about The Man Who Sold the World. It is fitting that Stipe’s affecting rendition was being played everywhere the same day that Trump’s “punishing” comments were everywhere.

We passed upon the stair,
We spoke of was and when,
Although I wasn’t there,
He said I was his friend,
Which came as some surprise.
I spoke into his eyes,
“I thought you died alone
A long long time ago.”

“Oh no, not me,
I never lost control
You’re face to face
With the man who sold the world.”

I laughed and shook his hand
And made my way back home,
I searched for form and land,
For years and years I roamed.
I gazed a gazley stare
At all the millions here:
“We must have died alone,
A long long time ago.”

“Who knows? Not me,
We never lost control.
You’re face to face
With the man who sold the world.”

“Who knows? Not me,
We never lost control.
You’re face to face
With the man who sold the world. —David Bowie, first released in the US, Nov.1970

 

 
I just discovered Lulu (To Sir With Love)’s version of the song from 1974. Perhaps this version, albeit 1974 pop, is the most appropriate version. Women still feel face to face with The Man Who Sold the World. Of course, the more versions, the more we each recognize The Man Who Sold the World. We’re face to face with him.

Leisure Suits

I was born in 1963, just before Camelot was obliterated. By the time I started grade school, sartorial splendor was becoming a thing of the past.  In the 70s, countering the culture largely meant wearing informal, poorly made, unflattering, and often, just ugly clothes.  Changing one’s appearances was meant to denote changing  one’s attitudes. Relaxed fit clothing (before we called a particular style of jeans “relaxed fit”) was supposed to reflect greater freedom, fewer constraints, undoing structures of culture, and a more casual attitude. Adults were uptight; youths were tuning in, turning on and dropping out, which meant building a new harmonious society. Imagine. Then came those horrific Leisure Suits. Even then, I thought they were hideous and silly. The worst part was that Leisure Suits were for dressing up. They didn’t look comfortable or flattering, and came to represent a cheap, synthetic, and middling culture; a culture that was apathetic and confused, low brow and lazy.

A generation later, our children have grown up with a more robust culture. While access to information and communication has been revolutionized in the last generation, there has also been a renaissance of leisure activities and accoutrements. The leisure business is enormous, and people invest great time and money into leisure activities. This has been a terrific boon over the last generation, not only economically, but culturally. Pursuing a leisure activity such as a sport or art is productive. For years I have cautioned parents about over scheduling their children. Children (and adults) need unscheduled free time, but pursuing a hobby or activity (beyond looking at a screen) on a regular basis can provide skills that may go beyond the activity.

When we find a leisure activity that suits us, we strengthen ourselves and can expand. There are all kinds of attributes to all sorts of sports and arts, but the activities themselves often become metaphors for us. I was a great swimmer as a young child, and enjoyed the competence and strength I felt in the water. Many  years later in college, I swam every morning, as it felt like the only way my thoughts could flow in order to write papers. I hardly go to the pool for a swim these days, but I’m very much a swimmer in other ways, and yes, still a lifeguard of sorts. I tend to dive into whatever I pursue. Somehow, I’ve been able to stay afloat, treading from time to time, but mostly propelling myself forward using all my muscles, along the surface of the tide. I was well suited to swimming, and swimming suits me.

Those who are well suited to their work are often quite successful. It’s not always easy to find work that suits us. We often think of work as effort, and leisure as effortless, but there can be joyful effort in both work and play.  Leisure activities are not only ways to  have fun, unwind and relax, but are often ways in which we can more fully realize ourselves and develop our strengths to use in various capacities.  Leisure suits!

Right of Spring

As an arts and education activist– a culturalist– I am always delving into how traditions and cultural symbols and expressions reflect our ideas and ideals, as well as inspire. This week many celebrate Passover and Easter, and recount the ancient stories of slavery to liberation, sacrifice and resurrection. Families and friends feast on foods and participate in rituals that evoke these tales, and seek relevance to our own struggles. We have  the opportunity to celebrate the newness and beauty of the nature and culture of Spring.

 

Aside from religious rituals of Spring, I was thinking about other cultural expressions, and of course Stravinsky’s “Rite of Spring” sprung to mind. For those not familiar with the music, it hardly evokes images of Spring. The music is harsh and, although interesting, is almost the opposite of the way we like to think of Spring as crocuses, chirping birds and fluttering butterflies. Similarly, the ballet, originally choreographed by Nijinsky, was initially poorly received as the dances and dancers were contrary to audience notions of beauty and grace or the loveliness of Spring. The music and ballet (and also Matisse’s “Dance” that was painted around the same time as Stravinsky’s “Rite of Spring”composition) recalled elements of paganism in an avant-garde approach. Their modernist works upended cultural notions and referenced paganism as a means to pushing cultural boundaries. If Spring was about transformation and (re)birth, the birth of modernism transformed cultural sensibilities (in frightening geo political ways as well). This modernism is over a century old.

 

We often think of Modern as new, but what is the new Rite of Spring? We still have much to transform.  A couple of years ago, the world watched as uprisings across the Arab world gave rise to what was coined the Arab Spring. There was hope and possibility in the air that dictatorships and harsh rule and economic inequalities would be transformed , and that Democracy would ensue.

 

As of this writing, the Supreme Court is examining the legal implications of gay marriage. At this moment in our history, it seems as though public opinion is far ahead of the Court on gay marriage. In previous eras, the Court created the legal paths for civil rights, and cultural attitudes had to adjust to the legal reality. Now, we have a different situation: The Supreme Court is wrestling with the right to marry after the cultural shift toward marriage equality for gay couples. This is the Right of this Spring. Now we need new cultural arts compositions to reflect our new ideals and inspire the next generations.

The After Life of Pi

Happy Pi Day!

Pi Day is celebrated on March 14th (3/14) around the world. Pi (Greek letter “π”) is the symbol used in mathematics to represent a constant — the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter — which is approximately 3.14159.

Pi has been calculated to over one trillion digits beyond its decimal point. As an irrational and transcendental number, it will continue infinitely without repetition or pattern. While only a handful of digits are needed for typical calculations, Pi’s infinite nature makes it a fun challenge to memorize, and to computationally calculate more and more digits.http://www.piday.org/learn-about-pi/

The idea of and for Pi Day is to celebrate Pi (which also happens to be Albert Einstein’s birthday). In elementary schools and university Mathematics departments, students and teachers celebrate with anything associated with the number 3.14….. and eating pies, and probably watching the movie The Life of Pi (which has nothing to do with figuring out how many digits follow 3.14159 or the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter). For the young students, Pi Day can be an introduction to geometry, ratios, and noticing numbers and the significance of patterns. For the university level (and beyond), Pi Day is celebrated with contests and the joy of playing with numbers and seeking to go beyond our current level of calculations. For the rest, those beyond the early education years and not serious math enthusiasts, Pi Day is cute, and reminds us of the very basic math concepts and rules that our younger students are celebrating today. For too many, our abilities and interests  in Math do not extend beyond the elementary Pi Day.

If Pi Day (or Black History Month, or Women’s History Month), or any other demarcated subject celebration, is to truly have an impact, we must go beyond the superficial celebrities of the celebrations. Pi Day (and Black History Month and Women’s History month etc…) may have initially raised awareness and interest in subjects and important personalities associated with the subjects, but when we keep these celebrations as peripheral to our everyday learning, we limit our abilities to expand .

Too often, after the early years, Math is taught as a series of rules, and those who are not particularly interested in using these rules, often miss opportunities to connect the rules to other applications, or developing mathematical awareness. So many people who are not driven toward studying or working in STEM fields, somehow get through their math courses without acquiring much mathematical knowledge. Few develop the appreciation to see mathematically.

As one who has more of an artistic temperament and appreciation than a mathematical habit of mind, I encourage others to learn more about seeing mathematically. One of my favorite writers on the subject of math is Steven Strogatz. He wrote a series in the New York Times entitled “The Elements of Math”, where he made mathematical concepts available to anyone by real life examples that were expressed in delightful prose. It was like being a tourist with a personable, interesting, caring, and joyful tour guide through some mathematical terrain.  I also recommend Strogatz’s book The Joy of x: A Guided Tour of Math, From One to Infinity.

http://www.stevenstrogatz.com/the_joy_of_x.html

Whether it’s Pi Day or any other subject celebration, we need to use these reminders that rather than superficial celebrity celebrations or simple associations, these are starting points. We can integrate these important lessons into other subjects and contexts and develop greater understanding and appreciation, as well as cultivate new habits of mind that we may have missed along the way.

So, Happy Pi Day!  And may you explore infinite possibilities!

Art Forms

I have no particular talent. I can carry a tune, so I can sing along, but my voice is not particularly interesting or especially pleasing. Likewise, I can enjoy dancing, and have some rhythm, but my ability to retain choreography is lacking. Even basic party crowd pleasers can be awkward for me. I’m a lousy photographer. Actually, I’m no photographer at all. At least I have a phone. I can’t paint or draw or sculpt. I took piano lessons for a few years as a kid, and can’t play at all. I didn’t dare try any other instruments. I enjoyed being part of stage productions, but not because I was any thespian. I just had fun despite my lack of talent.

For me,creating art in any variety, was an alien experience. What I heard musically, I couldn’t reproduce (except in an ordinary voice, best blended among other voices and instruments). What I wanted to capture with a camera, rarely appeared as I saw it. Dance as rhythmic movement to music was always a good diversion, but memorizing steps was not natural for me. There seemed to be a disconnect between my memory and my feet. Likewise with the piano: I could hear the way the music should be, but my fingers couldn’t reproduce it. And the graphic arts eluded me entirely. Yet, I have always gravitated to the arts. The arts may not have been my  own expression, but learning to appreciate the arts and how to see art, hear music, and how the body can move, has shaped my entire life.

Like language, arts reflect cultural attitudes as well as manifest individual expression. The more one learns the grammar, the more one can access and comprehend and be enriched. I may lack certain abilities necessary for producing my own art form, but I have learned how to see and hear–how to appreciate, and that appreciation of all forms of art and their connections to all of life has enhanced my life experience.

As an educator, I can not underscore enough the power and significance of developing an appreciation for the arts. It is part of literacy. Like language, the arts connect ideas with expression. They are not peripheral. Not everyone needs to have artistic talent, but the arts are necessary for everyone. We need not be practitioners, but we do need to cultivate our appreciation and train our senses. Art is a human instinct. It drives culture. Art forms.