Unpopular Opinions

Started by The Six, November 11, 2011, 10:32:51 AM

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Cato

Quote from: Sergeant Rock on January 21, 2014, 05:28:35 AM
Jut has apparently never met a Deadhead.

Sarge

True!

There are Rock-n-Roll aficionados who will debate with each other all day about e.g. the Bangles vs. the Go-Go's, Sting vs. Phil Collins, the Big Bopper vs. Commander Cody  ??? ??? ???   vinyl vs. CD's, etc. etc. etc.

Such characters were satirized by the Jack Black character in High Fidelity.
"Meet Miss Ruth Sherwood, from Columbus, Ohio, the Middle of the Universe!"

- Brian Aherne introducing Rosalind Russell in  My Sister Eileen (1942)

Karl Henning

Quote from: Cato on January 21, 2014, 06:15:03 AM
Such characters were satirized by the Jack Black character in High Fidelity.

High Fidelity is a documentary!
Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot

71 dB

#942
Quote from: karlhenning on January 21, 2014, 05:10:42 AM
I think I understand you, but fuzzy logic sounds pejorative (and lawd knows I've seen some of it, even here on GMG ;) . . . .)

But, you only mean that logic has a different sort of exactitude than that of mathematics, yes?

Pejorative? Really? Forget about what I said if it's too pejorative and weird to you.  :-\
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71 dB

Quote from: North Star on January 21, 2014, 05:24:26 AM
I'd say he means that it uses a different sort of mathematics ;)

You guys haven't heard or fuzzy logic?  :o

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuzzy_logic

I mean you can use pretty "mathematical" methods but it must be of course "fuzzy logic" in our heads.
Spatial distortion is a serious problem deteriorating headphone listening.
Crossfeeders reduce spatial distortion and make the sound more natural
and less tiresome in headphone listening.

My Sound Cloud page <-- NEW Jan. 2024 "Harpeggiator"

kishnevi

Quote from: amw on January 20, 2014, 11:20:22 PM
I think I was drawn to the article for a few reasons—first of all high praise for the 14th symphony, a piece that isn't talked about nearly enough; second of all finally! someone else who thinks the Op. 87 is pallid, formulaic, soporific and in general one of Shostakovich's least interesting piano pieces! (Though a few of them are fun to play.); third of all recognition that Shostakovich has become more a symbol than a composer, hence the conflating of artist and man and the lack of "balanced response to the actual notes". We hang a lot of spiritual weight on Shostakovich—he is, at present, probably the most important 20th century composer—and to a certain extent this reflects more his quasi-legendary status than the actual music he wrote. Never mind what you or I might think of that music; he himself might not have approved of a composition like (say) the Fifth or Seventh Symphonies or the Festival Overture being performed and lauded, music he wrote under duress and while intentionally hobbling himself in order to avoid official censure, while more experimental, forward-looking compositions like the Fourth Symphony, of which he was especially proud, remain comparatively obscure.


I don't think that the Fourth can be thought of as obscure nowadays--certainly it's better known than several other of his symphonies.  And he wrote works like the Fifth intending them to be more accessible, and the fact that he intended to win official approval with them doesn't mean he considered them junk.  And I think the evidence is too thin on the ground to say which works he churned out to comply with official demands and no other reason (Song of the Forests, maybe, and some other works produced obviously for official use,  but even with them the evidence is mostly circumstantial).
Quote
Gesualdo is overrated! Salieri is underrated! Prokofiev's Symphony-Concerto is his greatest work! Donizetti's operas are better than Wagner's! Vladimir Horowitz was not that great! Mstislav Rostropovich and Isaac Stern may have been good musicians, but their tone is so unpleasant I can't stand listening to them! I like Glenn Gould's Mozart sonatas! White chocolate is better than milk chocolate! (etc)

Statements I bolded are ones with which I agree and therefore are indisputably correct :)

North Star

Quote from: 71 dB on January 21, 2014, 08:54:50 AM
You guys haven't heard or fuzzy logic?  :o

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuzzy_logic

I mean you can use pretty "mathematical" methods but it must be of course "fuzzy logic" in our heads.
Yes, that's what I meant. Reminds me of Schrödinger's cat.

Quote from: amw on January 20, 2014, 11:20:22 PM
I think I was drawn to the article for a few reasons—first of all high praise for the 14th symphony, a piece that isn't talked about nearly enough[.]

Anyway, the thread has moved on, and since you all seem to be discussing things in a calm and civilised manner with no name-calling and hair-pulling whatsoever, I suppose I will have to be the one to wade in with random (yet on-topic) pointless inflammatory comments and distract everyone.

Gesualdo is overrated! Salieri is underrated! Prokofiev's Symphony-Concerto is his greatest work! Donizetti's operas are better than Wagner's! Vladimir Horowitz was not that great! Mstislav Rostropovich and Isaac Stern may have been good musicians, but their tone is so unpleasant I can't stand listening to them! I like Glenn Gould's Mozart sonatas! White chocolate is better than milk chocolate! (etc)
The 14th symphony is one of my absolute favourites, but white chocolate is an abomination.  >:D  0:)

As for greatest Proky work, I'd nominate Romeo & Juliet, PC no. 2 and The Fiery Angel.
"Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it." - Confucius

My photographs on Flickr

Karl Henning

I like the Op.125 very well, but I couldn't rank it his best piece. (Apt to agree with Karlo on the Op.64.)
Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot

Karl Henning

Quote from: 71 dB on January 21, 2014, 08:54:50 AM
You guys haven't heard or fuzzy logic?  :o

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuzzy_logic

Well, why should I have?  I'm a composer :)

Thanks for the enlightenment.

Pejorative and weird are distinct ideas.  If you meant them as synonymous (perhaps you did not), that is what I should normally take as "fuzzy logic" ;)
Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot

The Six

White chocolate isn't even chocolate. You can't compare it to milk chocolate!

Also, Shostakovitch's preludes and fugues are better than Bach's.

71 dB

Quote from: karlhenning on January 21, 2014, 09:24:20 AM
Well, why should I have?  I'm a composer :)

Thanks for the enlightenment.

You are welcome Karl. Yes, you are a composer, but that doesn't mean you can't know some things outside music.  ;)

I thought everybody knew what fuzzy logic is. I was shocked to find out couple of years ago my working pal didn't know what fractals are. He had never heard of Mandelbrot! :o People know different things...
Spatial distortion is a serious problem deteriorating headphone listening.
Crossfeeders reduce spatial distortion and make the sound more natural
and less tiresome in headphone listening.

My Sound Cloud page <-- NEW Jan. 2024 "Harpeggiator"

Brian

Quote from: amw on January 20, 2014, 11:20:22 PMWhite chocolate is better than milk chocolate! (etc)
Dark > white > milk for me.  :)

Karl Henning

Quote from: 71 dB on January 21, 2014, 10:15:23 AM
You are welcome Karl. Yes, you are a composer, but that doesn't mean you can't know some things outside music.  ;)

Oh, I agree. I do know what fractals are  :)
Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot

kishnevi

Quote from: 71 dB on January 21, 2014, 10:15:23 AM
You are welcome Karl. Yes, you are a composer, but that doesn't mean you can't know some things outside music.  ;)

I thought everybody knew what fuzzy logic is. I was shocked to find out couple of years ago my working pal didn't know what fractals are. He had never heard of Mandelbrot! :o People know different things...

In this case, fuzzy logic has both exoteric and esoteric meanings.  The esoteric--which is better phrased as technical--meaning is the way you use it; but the exoteric--meaning taking the words at face value--merely means failed attempts at logical argumentation,  such as abound on political blogs.

71 dB

Quote from: Jeffrey Smith on January 21, 2014, 10:24:45 AM
In this case, fuzzy logic has both exoteric and esoteric meanings.  The esoteric--which is better phrased as technical--meaning is the way you use it; but the exoteric--meaning taking the words at face value--merely means failed attempts at logical argumentation,  such as abound on political blogs.

Yes, but if you know the esoteric meaning you know that's what people mean by fuzzy logic, or is my logic fuzzy here?  ;D
Spatial distortion is a serious problem deteriorating headphone listening.
Crossfeeders reduce spatial distortion and make the sound more natural
and less tiresome in headphone listening.

My Sound Cloud page <-- NEW Jan. 2024 "Harpeggiator"

71 dB

Spatial distortion is a serious problem deteriorating headphone listening.
Crossfeeders reduce spatial distortion and make the sound more natural
and less tiresome in headphone listening.

My Sound Cloud page <-- NEW Jan. 2024 "Harpeggiator"

Sergeant Rock

Quote from: amw on January 20, 2014, 11:20:22 PM
I like Glenn Gould's Mozart sonatas!

So do me and the boys  8) ...especially his K.331  ;D




Sarge
the phone rings and somebody says,
"hey, they made a movie about
Mahler, you ought to go see it.
he was as f*cked-up as you are."
                               --Charles Bukowski, "Mahler"

Cato

Quote from: 71 dB on January 21, 2014, 11:20:06 AM
Yes, but if you know the esoteric meaning you know that's what people mean by fuzzy logic, or is my logic fuzzy here?  ;D

Actually, I prefer woolly, pastel logic!
"Meet Miss Ruth Sherwood, from Columbus, Ohio, the Middle of the Universe!"

- Brian Aherne introducing Rosalind Russell in  My Sister Eileen (1942)

71 dB

Spatial distortion is a serious problem deteriorating headphone listening.
Crossfeeders reduce spatial distortion and make the sound more natural
and less tiresome in headphone listening.

My Sound Cloud page <-- NEW Jan. 2024 "Harpeggiator"

Cato

"Meet Miss Ruth Sherwood, from Columbus, Ohio, the Middle of the Universe!"

- Brian Aherne introducing Rosalind Russell in  My Sister Eileen (1942)

71 dB

Quote from: Cato on January 21, 2014, 03:25:22 PM
That 63 I.Q. gaze is something else!   0:)

Yes, most of the time Ke$ha looks like her IQ was 63. Look is deceiving. Ke$ha is actually VERY smart, her IQ is said to be 140+ (scale unknown, but that's high on any scale).
Spatial distortion is a serious problem deteriorating headphone listening.
Crossfeeders reduce spatial distortion and make the sound more natural
and less tiresome in headphone listening.

My Sound Cloud page <-- NEW Jan. 2024 "Harpeggiator"