Happy Birthday! NewMusicBox is always an interesting read primarily due to the many different authors ie composers involved… Here are just a few examples worth a read (it seems the site doesnt have an easily accessible archive – most of these I found via the search function)

Amanda MacBlane ruminates on the Future of Music & Technology and comes up with some universal truths

Composing for the Theremin: Some Practical Issues

Tan Dun: Tradition/Invention re Music for Film

How do Music & Nature connect in your work?

Picture Perfect: A HyperHistory of Film Music in the United States

Maximize Information Flow: How to Make Successful Live Electronic Music

View from the East: Erik Satie—A Model for Alternative Thinking

The Impossible Case of Seeing Music – Might an appreciation for contemporary art translate to an appreciation for contemporary art music?

Now this last article covers similar fertile ground as a book recently released by David Stubbs called Fear of Music: Why People Get Rothko But Don’t Get Stockhausen. Quoting from a BBC article on the book: “..the Tate Modern is one of the most popular galleries in Europe – but an audience presented with the equivalent in music tends “to screech”.

Intriguing! I think my only theory on the subject is one of context. One place that abstract or challenging music finds a welcome home is in cinema & that is all about context; while listening to Penderecki at full level at home relaxing on a sunny afternoon is fairly unlikely, put The Shining on & the same music makes perfect sense… But the context is virtual, not real. Art galleries provide a context to appreciate art & so when you walk through the door you are making a similar commitment to appreciate art as you are when you go to a movie. The issue then is whether the primary purpose of challenging music is for it to be ‘enjoyed’ in its own right, and that is down to the individual listener as to why they listen to music. For many people it is a means of active relaxation, which for me it is hard to imagine Penderecki in that context. But now I feel like watching The Shining again! Hmmmmmmm…..

This is a beautiful gentle video for a friday afternoon & apart from the fantastic work animating still images into movement the soundtrack really works in context – its a track by Fennesz. Its interesting how the element of field recording works with the images; it makes me think we are ‘almost’ hearing sync sound, like production audio from the stills or from a memory or something… the combination is incredibly evocative!