Wednesday, May 13, 2009

A Troublemaker

Today, I am going to be a trouble maker ... again.

I played a CD from my collection yesterday evening: “Irving Berlin Goes to Hollywood”. The CD includes 25 famous songs written by Irving Berlin (lyrics and music) and performed by truly great singers: Ethel Merman, Eddie Cantor, Judy Garland, Al Jolson Betty Hutton, and Howard Keel, among others.

This CD is a perfect example of the correctness of my theorem that little great music has been recorded since 1954. On my Irving Berlin CD I have recorded songs written by one of the greatest songwriters and performed by some of the greatest singers. It’s a conflation of great components to make truly great songs.

What does modern music give us ? Some people rave about heavy metal. Other loquacious aficionados elevate a certain band with a cult-like following to godhood. But they have mediocre singers who can barely hold a note outside one octave without their voices quavering, or “play” electronic instruments making sounds not much better than a cat can make when angry. And when their “greatness” is challenged, what do we get in explanation ? A long contorted tome that in the end just says, “it’s great, man”.

Most modern music is mediocre songs with mediocre music performed by mediocre singers and instrumentalists. Of course we’re supposed to worship them because all these “skills” are in the same person. BUT that’s not how great music is made. That's not how any great complex thing is made. Skills from each person of great ability are conflated into one piece. That’s the division of labor and their conflation into a truly great song.

Here’s a mathematical example. Suppose one takes the cube of 99.9%, representing conflating skills at the 99.9% level of ability in all the population. The result is 99.7% - an A+ on any grading scale. Now take the cube of 90%, representing a merely good ability (B or B+level), albeit in the same person. The result is 72.9% for the product (literally and figuratively). On a percentage grading scale, that’s a D.

QED.

Word of the Day

"Sonsy" - adjective [$10] from Scottish
Sonsy means 1. Plump, buxom; 2. Of a cheerful disposition; 3. Bring good fortune.
Sentence: Performances of Irving Berlin’s great songs by sonsy Ethel Merman on Broadway provided great enjoyment even now decades later.

Le Mot du Jour

“Chanson” – noun, feminine
Chanson means song.
La Phrase: Une grande chanson doit avoir de grandes paroles, de grande musique, and un grand chanteur.
Sentence: A great song must have great lyrics, great music and a great singer.

38 comments:

Bud said...

mr G 'seeing signs of recovery'.........does he read this blog ?

Bud said...

betty hutton? howard keel ?? i never even heard of them

Bud said...

red sox........2 in the eighth....1 in the ninth........excellent


doc halladay toyed with the yankee fags......texiera with a man on in the 7th.....3-2 pitch...right down the middle.......caught lookin.......too bad yankees can't play the orioles every day



PS.....how much yankees owe texeira.....165million ???


LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO


well played brian cashman.......well played indeed

Bud said...

Bman what is your favorite ethel mermon song ? was she an actress too..........i know i have seen her somehwere

Bunkerman said...

Ethel Merman was on Broadway mostly. She might have appeared in a few movies. She's a singer, not an actress. I don't have a favorite, most are good.

My favorite Betty Hutton song is Doctor, Laywer, Indian Chief.

Howard Keel was on Broadway and a few movies - a great baritone.

mern said...

as someone who just passed on an entire tour, but have listened to the streams........ i was spot on again! this band sux! warren haynes cant handle lead.

im agnostic about music.

half church, half baseball game, and always life without a net, for better or worse (this tour worse).

here is one of the funnier quotes of all time

"it wud be insane for me to take PED's, heart disease runs in my family. my brother had a heart attack in his late 40's. MY STEP FATHER DIED OF A HEART ATTACK."

i suppose he cud a blood relative to his step father......................................

no one has said boo about how fucked that sentence is.

clemens is like the republican party. done, finished and still making shit up.

lol

Bud said...

roger is a f'ng juicer......and a liar......oh.....he wants to go in the halloffame as a yankee......that also makes him a douchebag



PS.....hall of fame ??? LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Spin-em said...

speaking of scumbags

"ok bud..whatdya need... 4 a side?"

surrrrrre Al....Im playin like shit

(Manny,arod,Papi lie..burn em.. Buddee lies but has no problemo judging people

LOOK IN THE MIRROR

sure did the clamchowder on that match...CANT SAY I BLAME YA...MADE YOU LOOK BAAAAAAAD to say the least

LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Integrity : firm adherence to a code of especially moral or artistic values

CABEZA DE CULO INDEEDO
(azzhead indeed)

ROFLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

Bud said...

horrid retail sales numbers Bman............this recession may not be over


S and p 1000............pffffffffffffft

Bud said...

i still don't get these 'clamchowder' refernces

i guess i am metaphorically challenged



PS.............another monster day in the tank.......boy oh boy.......incredible fire


'danke veilmals jim'

Spin-em said...

since you have to ask "jim" to take a dump....in this country...there's a saying.... when somebody "clams up"...to suddenly stop talking

mfl59 said...

Bud are you a salesman for "jim"? you get a commission?

Frosty said...

"salesman"...LMAOO...just happy jim nonono requires he wear the burka when he takes out the trash...aazzhead, for $501 I will stay out of the tank...drive that passat out here with cash in hand, will even give a shot to "knock my teeth out"

Bunkerman said...

drive a Passat across country LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

What a house of pain.

Bud said...

lmaooooooooooooooooooooooo



finally !!! i understood one of bob's post...........huurrahhhhhhhhhhhhh

mfl59 said...

Bud why are you suddenly dodging questions about your handicap? I dont understand son....spin posts his scores every friday....there's no mystery behind his game like there is for yours...

Feb 2010 is around the corner....

Spin-em said...

Hurraaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh?????

Spin-em said...

44 pfftttttt

mern said...

"Has anyone ever told you you look exactly like Al Pacino? You know, Scent Of A Woman? Hoo-wah! Hoo-wah!"
"Very good. Very good."
"Well, I ..."
"You know something?"
"Hmmm?"
"No soup for you!"
"What?"
"Come back one year. Next!"

Bud said...

when have i dodged questions about my handicap ?? yhoo handicap currently at 14.7...........which is where it was last summer


then i regressed badly ......ballooned upto 17 .......then.....swing caoch......new equipment..........last 2 scores 82 and 83


i could not get out this weekend.........jon secada responsibilities



memorial day weekend will be the next big test..........goin upto rhode island to play with my brother.........5 rounds in 4 days......greens fees alone will be around 500bux



merci jim !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!




'disguised as a pga pro'

Bud said...

the main round will be at a course called Red Tail........36 on saturday the 23th....i played it last summer......it's in my top 3 courses


it's in devens, ma..........is that anywhere near the bunker Bman ???

Spin-em said...

it's in devens, ma..........is that anywhere near the bunker Bman ???

dont plan on getting an answer to that one...Im jus sayin

ROFLMAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Spin-em said...

$17 last fri night... Banditos

Bud said...

here's the deal with sharkinvesting.com


the site has changed my life......i used to be a trader that made nickel on monday.....nickel on tuesday....nickel on wednesday....nickel on thursday........and then lose a quarter on friday

i sucked.....i am not smart like you guys.........i am an idiot........i don't know anythin about stocks..........i don't have an ego..........i don't need credit for picking stocks ( helluva call bob !!!)..........i just need the cash......the only thing i care about is my P and L



what i do know is how to log on to sharkinvesting.com........jim is the sharpest stock picker out there..........he picks dozens of winners every week...........and i just follow along


thanks to him i have a roof over my head......i can eat three warm meals a day.......and once in awhile i can afford to spend some money on fun



clearly he didn't work for y'all.......but he works for me.......so why is that bothering you guys ??? jim is making me money ......end of story



some guys use ops expo open interest spreadsheets .......fine.......it works for them.......those mean nuthin to me......end of story



jim rocks !!!!!!!!!!!

Bunkerman said...

Devens is near where I go to shoot my MGs.

About 50 miles, an hour drive from the bunker.

Frosty said...

Bunky...if and a big if...the bears can pin QQQQ 32 around the fifty day a post experation lift would form a nice head and shoulders pattern into the end of May...32 becomes a huge line in the sand for this rally and a break would measure back to around 28.

How about a lil time and price bull rap today before I jump the shark...your boys at the ppt are doing a fine job sticking a fork in incresing rates...gotta get that skim to work at some point indeed.

Spin-em said...

he didnt write...Hoo wah....he wrote Huuuuuuuraaaaahhh.....pretty lame BUTT-IN-SKI

roflllllll

Bunkerman said...

yes, I'm thinking of where to make my adds.

I'll look at some charts later.

New SUV for Mrs. B arrives Friday.

Frosty said...

'speculative money should stick around for a while, and that means even an ugly day like this isn't going to kill opportunities"...indeed, until the 30 days free expires and you have dumped your book...thx jim.

Frosty said...

Seidman passes...RIP big fella.

Bunky...harvard law, did you ever run into him around campus.

Bunkerman said...

No, frosty.

Frosty said...

oh, guess you were a couple classes ahead.

Frosty said...

back back back...touchem all Frost.

Bunkerman said...

geez ... I'd better put more poo on the punjis.

Frosty said...

Mrs B nonono worries here ie the new whip...I blame the Bman for being weak and unprepared...your still the best.

Bunkerman said...

Voodoo spell ends tomorrow at the close. Delivery of new SUV then.

Note to self - tomorrow AM: look at charts, prepare to buy.

Spin-em said...

companies cashin out..they must think its the top...so why are we buyin?...A wise man once said.."one of these days buying the bad news is going to sound silly"...lol

Bunkerman said...

hmmm companies track record is like wrong way Corrigan.

They bought stock at high prices and are now issuing.

Which time were / are they right ?