The Soapbox of the World

I know that there are still some people out there who are new to the world of blogs, and if you're one of them and trying to figure this whole blog thing out then all I have to say is "You're too late". Sorry, man, the party's over.

Blogs are officially Old-School now. The new thing in town is the Podcast, and if that leaves you feeling a little behind the curve, don't worry - podcasts are simply audio blogs that are being sydicated around the web via RSS feeds. And for those who don't know what an RSS feed is... well, perhaps it's time for you retire to a quiet corner somewhere and try to recall exactly when it was that the world passed you by.

No, I don't mean that. Go ask your kids or grandkids and maybe they can get you up to speed.

Anyways, podcasts are in, man. Not that they're anything new, mind you, because all of the podcasts I've seen are just the same old mp3 files that have been floating around the net for years. I guess what's new is the delivery mechanism and the fact that you sync these files with your Ipod (hence "podcast" - clever folks, this new generation). I don't have an Ipod but it's easy enough to download the files and play them on any mp3 player you happen to have, and though I've only listened to a couple of these things so far, I still think it's safe to say that with the arrival of the podcast we stand upon the cusp of the total collapse and disintegration of civilization and rational thought as we know it.

Why, you ask? Well, first of all let me say that not every podcast is a total waste of time. There are a few professionally produced ones out there that are simply using the podcasting apparatus as a way to extend their reach into new areas of the internet. Certainly nothing wrong with that, but these are far from common and I'd say the vast majority of podcasts that I've heard so far are amateur affairs, the internet equivalent of giving a 6 year old a microphone and tape recorder and telling him to just start talking. "Say something, Mikey. Anything. Anything that comes to mind."

Ha, you say, so what? Look at this blog. Who are you to be pointing fingers and accusing others of filling the internet with mindless blather? Well, that's true, but as I see it blogging has two distinct advantages over podcasting. The first is that you only have to read a line or two of most blogs to know whether you should bother reading any further, but you may have to listen to some obnoxious jerk for one, maybe two full minutes before you realize that he's not going to get any less obnoxious or be any less of a jerk and stop the podcast. Blogs are simply easier to browse than podcasts. The second advantage that blogs have is that most are quiet and thoughtful while podcasts are more like some guy sitting next to you in a restaurant talking on his cellphone.

Advantages, disadvantages, it doesn't really matter, though, because as you've probably heard there are new Ipod's coming out that are going to have LCD screens and be able to play video as well as audio. This means that it's only a matter of time before we start seeing video podcasts, and when that happens I believe we will have finally reached the point at which civilization reaches it's zenith and starts it's long fall to the bottom. And my reason is simple.

Blogs are for readers, but most members of the Ipod generation are not readers, they are TV watchers. I predict that when they finally acquire a portable video device (Ipod) that allows them to be both consumers and producers of their own video content then there is going to be an explosion of media across the internet that will make this whole blogging thing seem no more than a flea on the back of an elephant. The world is going to be saturated with media, and the only question will be "how do we consume it all?"

I say we'll consume it by devolving into something resembling a sea anemone. We'll just anchor ourselves to some rock and use our tentacles to filter through the vast ocean of media around us, probing for some tasty little morsel that might happen to come our way.

Whatever happens I think that one of the lessons we've learned from all this blogging and chatting and message boarding is that as the quantity of discourse increases, the quality of discourse declines. There may be exceptions, but time and time again I've seen quality message boards and quality groups overwhelmed by vast invasions of the trolls and sociopaths, and therefore my prediction is that in the not too distant future the world discussion will be dominated by 14 year old boys with serious personality problems, and we'll all be watching it on our Ipods.

Of course, I could be wrong and my predictions usually are, but as Jeanne Dixon proved you can be wrong 10,000 times and no one will care, but be right once and the world will call you a prophet.

An Enigmatic Variation (ButWe Still Love Ya, Hilary)

I lack the expertise and experience to be a real music critic and I won't try to pass myself off as one, but I do have a quick comment about Hilary Hahn's latest CD of the Elgar Violin Concerto, and that comment would be

I don't get it.

I guess I've listened to the piece a dozen, maybe two dozen times since I bought it and can't figure out for the life of me why Hilary chose this piece for the new CD. Sure there are plenty of virtuoso moments, and some interesting and expressive passages, but speaking purely as a layman, a member of the ignorant public that is, the piece as a whole just doesn't seem to hang together. Everytime it starts down an interesting path it just seems to fizzle out and wander, and at times even Hilary herself seems to wander from the piece and sort of disengage.

It doesn't help that she didn't write any liner notes for this CD and has been her usual practice in the past. A few insights from her as to why she feels so passionate about Elgar would have been welcome and certainly gone a long way towards explaining why she recorded it.

Most of the reviews I've read have been generally positive although a few have pretty much panned the whole CD and questioned Hilary's ability to pull off this concerto off. I have to admit that I wondered about that myself, but as luck would have it I found one of the performances cited by some of the critics as worthy of the piece on Rhapsody and was able to give it a listen. It's an old Albert Sammons recording that is supposed to be one of the greatest ever made of this concerto, and as far as I'm concerned it doesn't fare any better.

I don't know, I just get the feeling I'm missing something here. When Hilary Hahn recorded the Stravinsky Violin Concerto that was a revelation to me (the ignorant public) and quickly became one of my favorite pieces. When she recorded the Bach Violin Concertos (which some critics complained "were played too fast", a comment which has always reminded me of the "too many notes" line from Amadeus) it seemed she brought some freshness into roads well travelled. But with the Elgar...I can't find it. Whatever she found in the piece is still a mystery to me. I don't feel let down, though, and who knowsl, maybe after a couple of dozen more listens it'll come to me.

So let me put on my music critic's hat here and make a recommendation. The Lark Ascending is beautifully played, full of expression and light as a feather. If you don't have The Lark in your collection it is almost worth the price of the CD just for this piece alone. On the other hand, if you're not a confirmed Hilary Hahn fan or just a new Hilary Hahn fan, then this is probably not the CD for you, and certainly not the CD to start your new Hilary Hahn collection. Go back a year and get the Bach Concertos with Jeffrey Kahane and the LA Chamber Orchestra. And don't worry if she plays too fast, it'll grow on you.