Friday, November 22, 2013

A Stranger in an Ever-Stranger Land

It annoys me when artists wallow blissfully in their weirdness. It doesn't bother me when they are weird; it bothers me when they wallow in it and wear it as a badge -- and especially when they feign it to seem more artistic.

Maybe I should go to a priest and confess: "Father, forgive me. I fall asleep with no problem every night. I have no drug addiction and I don't drink absinthe. I don't wear scarves or knit caps when it is hot out. I come from a close-knit family, with a mom and a dad and a sister and a dog. I don't focus on pain in my writing. I have a whole bunch of what some might label "traditional" beliefs. I even think there is a God up there. Father, forgive me -- I have sinned against the artistic archetype."

That said, every stereotype has its origins in some fleck of reality, I suppose. We creative types can be a strange lot.

For instance, I am wrapping up composition of pieces for my next CD (a CD of piano music; no vocals) I need to decide when I have enough "stuff" to wrap it up. A few days ago, I finished writing a cycle of pieces called "American Sketches." So, last night, I was clicking around on my computer, wondering if I had any unfinished things that might merit completion...and I found something I had completely forgotten about: a symphony.

No, I am not kidding. I had totally forgotten I wrote a complete symphony a few years ago.


(This reminds me of an old episode of the quirky TV series The Monkees -- a comedy about a struggling rock band. The band is looking around their apartment for something (the rent money, I think) and Mickey, the drummer, lifts a blanket and uncovers something: "Hey, guys! There's that bass drum I have been looking for!")

By all rights, I guess I should call it "The Lost Symphony." Quite literally. I think, though, since I am going to put it on this CD as a "piano reduction," that I will call it: "Symphony in a Bottle," what with it kind of being a miniature symphony because it is not yet orchestrated....

Sigh.

Still, I am happy as heck I found it. It's not too shabby.


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