Comments: Laura - 2004-04-01 00:39:09 If Charity Nebbe were a superhero, she'd be "the Polarizer." Never have I seen any NPR host incite such violent reactions on both sides of the coin. I wish her no ill. But I note that Brandon proposes a "get Charity Nebbe off the air" campaign in a comment in a post, below. No doubt she can contribute to NPR behind the scenes, where my terminally undercaffeinated brain won't have to absorb her chirpy giggles. I personally would like to see some edgier stories on her radio program "Stateside." No more on Coke memorabilia collectors, for God's sake! More on environment, politics, local history! Scandals! Crimes! But that's just me. * * * * * * * * * * * * JM - 2004-04-01 15:22:30 An interesting question ... one might say that bluegrass, like jazz, is focused on elaborations of tunes. Whether or not bluegrass is really improvised is a complex question, but it certainly is about texture and instrumental virtuosity rather than about tunes. Exactly what kind of phenomenon Muzak is is anther complex question. But it depends on melodies. It almost fetishizes them. You couldn't do Muzak of jazz either, and you might say that each genre represents a kind of freedom to which Muzak is antithetical. Muzak, incidentally, is strikingly prefigured in the 1920 Soviet novel We, which introduces an entity called the Music Factory. * * * * * * * * * * * * Laura - 2004-04-01 20:32:42 The book sounds interesting; I put it on the list. I see what you mean about Muzak's dependence on a melodic line...and bluegrass's emphasis on texture and virtuosity; that makes sense--I had the feeling a good answer like this one would materialize from the mist; thanks JM. * * * * * * * * * * * * add your comment: your name: your email: your url: back to the entry - Diaryland