I always enjoy stories featuring amateur musicians (cough cough Station Eleven), and this was no exception! Hindman's experiences with the Composer, aI always enjoy stories featuring amateur musicians (cough cough Station Eleven), and this was no exception! Hindman's experiences with the Composer, and her struggles to get in that position, are unique and remarkable, and I found her voice to be a perfect fit to narrate those experiences.
To me, the most interesting aspect of the memoir was the author's ability to dive into the psyche of America; what do those Ruby Tuesdays and mall performances really tell us about the soul of America? Travel narratives carry their own unique interest; we started to hear about the flavors of Georgia, but it felt like we didn't get as much after that. What about New Mexico? Minnesota? (dare I ask -- Ohio?) The snippets that popped in later were great -- loved the shout-out to Great Lakes Brewing Company's Christmas Ale!
I would have loved another hundred pages or more to go into depth about her tour in China and the steps she's taken to get from music to her current career in teaching and writing. I would've enjoyed more about the technical aspects of playing so quietly all the time, or about her mental routine to survive it, or her friendship with Harriet. I would've been excited to read deeper analysis about the America that was so taken with this music. I want more of everything!
That said, the book had an easily digestible length, and makes it easy to recommend to others. Fans of coming-of-age memoirs, careers in music, PBS specials -- you're in for a bite-size treat!...more
If you're a fan of video games and video game design and theory, you'll definitely enjoy this book. Lots of great details about how music and sound reIf you're a fan of video games and video game design and theory, you'll definitely enjoy this book. Lots of great details about how music and sound relates to games, and issues that come up from using sound in different ways.
I admit, I was looking for something slightly different -- more of an analysis of the different original music specifically composed for video games, which is definitely not what is going on here. I also felt the author's writing style was stilted and filled with far too many big words ("sesquipedalian", which seemed too ironic to use here, but is actually the word for this case...) I don't normally have an issue with that, but everything just seemed far too academic -- he cited about 500 works for a 175-page book. That's insane. Also, the use of the phrase "ludic"! It was everywhere!
Anyway, those who are interested in video games more than music will find this a valuable read, as long as you're prepared for a pretty academic view and a lot of long-winded digressions. ...more
Most people know I'm a big fan of movie music; I was so excited about it that I founded an orchestra in college just so I could keep playing it. So, iMost people know I'm a big fan of movie music; I was so excited about it that I founded an orchestra in college just so I could keep playing it. So, it is natural that I got way too excited when I found this book – unbelievably, I've never read a book about movie music. John Williams is one of my favorite composers, so this was a perfect fit of a book!
The book starts out with a broad history of film music in general, starting from the silent era. I listened to several of the scores discussed in the book, and I have a lot more I'm planning to listen to – I've never really appreciated the great movie music of the 30s and 40s before, and there's tons of great material. For someone who doesn't have a lot of experience in film music criticism, this book gets pretty technical, and I learned many of the more technical terms and processes. Also enjoyable was the author's detailed tear-downs of several of Williams' scores compared with their movie.
Unfortunately, there were some definite flaws – the book originated as a dissertation, and then was translated from Italian; the writing ended up stilted and overly structured. Also, I didn't especially agree with the last chapter, where the author claims that no film composers have picked up Williams' mantel of neoclassical film music... I would argue that's just untrue. There are lots of great modern film composers, and even if not many of them reach Williams' prominence, he's not the only composer doing a fantastic job. Klaus Badelt (Pirates of the Caribbean), Harry Gregson-Williams (Chronicles of Narnia), and even the much-maligned Hans Zimmer (Gladiator) have all written amazing scores in the last ten years. Not to mention the claim Howard Shore doesn't fit that category... sigh. It seemed like an unfortunate end to an otherwise rewarding book.
This was a fun read that inspired me to listen to a lot of new music, and was a completely new genre for me. Recommended for film music aficionados!...more
Loading...
