the next Dundee conference

Mike Burns has asked me to post the link to THE NEXT CONFERENCE IN DUNDEE.

I gladly do so, not just as a favor to Mike, but because the Dundee conference this past March was fantastic, and I would expect the same again this year. Unfortunately I can’t fit it it due to a heavy Spring Semester schedule, but I will regret every minute of my absence.

The theme is idealism, and we’ll be hearing a public statement of I.H. Grant’s idealistic turn, among a number of other things mentioned on the site. Make sure to go if you’re within striking distance.

another of those cartoon videos, no comment needed

Actually, just one comment. Along with “filmic” and “performativity,” another of my least favorite academic words is when someone says that one piece of writing is “informed” by another when they mean “influenced.” Just say influenced. It’s good enough.

one of the most ridiculous polls ever conducted

Should a permanent shrine be erected in memory of Paul the Octopus?

No 73%
Yes 27%

Should a “permanent shrine” be erected in honor of Popeye?

now listening to

Zakir Hussain. My youngest brother is the real world music authority in the family– with the additional advantage that he and I have the same tastes in virtually everything, so that I can simply buy whatever he tells me to buy and never be disappointed. This disc was originally from his library.

It would be an interesting exercise to go through one’s music collection after reaching a certain age (say, 40) and try to do a geological analysis of the different strata. In my case at least, three are probably 4 or 5 rich geological eras of music in my collection, and they can usually be linked to specific people I knew who were great music authorities in an area that was previously unfamiliar to me, and who prompted mass purchases over the course of one or two years.

The first such authority was actually my father, who is a member of the Iowa Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (no joke) and also a heck of a good singer and bass player. (He went back into the studio a few years ago, and hadn’t lost his touch at all.) It was he who got me listening to a lot of old Stax music: Sam & Dave, Booker T. and the MG’s, etc. That was high school music for me.

My brother’s reign of influence was the early ’90s, when he was actually just finishing up high school himself, but already had a precocious command of world music offerings, as displayed on his excellent University of Iowa radio show, Wig-Wag. In his radio host role he was also able to interview Ravi Shankar, and obtain me a free ticket for Shankar’s incredible concert in Iowa City in spring 1993, still the best live musical show I’ve ever seen. (Unfortunately, Hancher Auditorium where the concert was held has been condemned due to 2008 flood damage– see photo below.)

And then, living with Paul Schafer in Chicago in the late 1990’s was probably the last giant wave of influence on me. He had a huge music collection in a number of different areas, and we also discovered a few new things jointly, such as all that weird Sun country stuff, Chess blues, etc.

By contrast, the classical part of my repertoire, and the techno, all come from individual experimentation.

Mark Fisher deserves credit for getting me interested in Burial, however. I doubt I’ve ever listened to one CD more times in a single year than I did that second Burial disc. I think it averaged two plays per day during 2008. (A lot, considering that the average CD is played only 3 or 4 times, according to a study I once read.)

And now, a sad photo of Hancher Auditorium in the process of being destroyed by the terrible 2008 Iowa flood. Below it, Ravi Shankar, who took music to its highest possible level in Hancher in 1993.

would love to do this, but can’t

Levi just posted an item about THIS CONFERENCE PANEL. Aside from the interest of the panel itself, I would love to go to Vancouver for once in my life. Unfortunately, I go to Philadelphia right after that and Amsterdam not long before it, and don’t want to be utterly ragged by the end of Spring Semester.

And incidentally, that’s one thing that will gradually change in your life. In graduate school you may often think: “I’d go to that conference, but I don’t have the money.” Later, you’ll find yourself saying: “I’d go to that conference, but I don’t have the time.”

Napoleon to his generals: “Ask me for anything but time.”

Phar Lap

It’s not a theme to continue for too long, but on the topic of “celebrity animal assassination,” blog reader Martin writes:

“One case of a famous animal being assassinated is the New Zealand born (& Australian assimilated!) Thoroughbred racehorse Phar Lap. Even a quick look at his story pays well:

* He was an iconic figure in the Depression & one of the greatest stakes
winners (c.1930s)

* He was given a massive dose of arsenic before he died (in the United
States, I think).

* It was alleged that US crooks did it to prevent him from wreaking havoc
on their race fixing.

* His hide is kept in Melbourne, his skeleton in New Zealand & his
(enormous) heart in Canberra – which is a little gruesome.”