Memorial Day was created three years after the end of the Civil War. Originally called “Decoration Day,” late May was chosen for its observation because it was thought that the flowers to be places by the graves of the fallen would be in bloom at that time around the country.
Patriotism and nationalism are easy to confuse and have gotten completely mixed up in recent years. To the extent you can, put politics aside this Memorial Day and honor the ideas of service and sacrifice embodied by the men and women of our armed services. Think about those serving abroad. Think about their families. Offer up a prayer for those in peril on the sea, and around the world.
I do love a good 90s pop throwback sound. I also love a three day weekend after a long period of suck. And I especially love being able to wander around D.C. with my man, watch movies, hang out with friends, and do absolutely nothing of any value. So, Saturday. Man am I big fan of Saturday.
Beethoven wrote some of the most famous “first few notes” in the history of music. The beginning of the first and second movements are definitely among those. But that’s not why I’m posting this. You already know all of this.
I’m posting this because of Maestro Paavo Järvi and the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen. Järvi is famously devoted to Beethoven’s original tempo markings, which are quite faster than how modern conductors usually take his works. Such speed with a two-bit orchestra would make this music sound sloppy and muddy. But the DKB produces razor-sharp, gloriously precise phrasing.
If you want to enjoy this properly, make this video full screen and watch the orchestra. The entire collective is at the top of their game. They are throwing everything they have into the notes. The cellist at 0:28. The violinist at 0:39. Järvi himself from 1:28-:136. They are an army of music, and it is glorious. Because here’s the thing: the 9th is standard orchestra fare. These people have played this hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of times before. But in this recording, in this video, it’s like they’ve just been rehearsing their whole lives. This is their first real performance. It’s one of the most exhilarating things I’ve seen in ages.
I’m about to head into three days of mostly day-long meetings and I am fully anticipating that they will be feel and sound like this, one of my favorite pieces by Argentine tango genius, Astor Piazzolla. Put a group of fun, smart, interesting people together in a room, give them a cool topic and a lot of coffee, and watch them go. Nothing better.
To follow up on yesterday’s super-inspiring Peruvian llamas post, about which a number of you wrote me to suggest perhaps I needed a vacation (thanks, genius), here’s a song that will make you feel like you just won one for free. And because you got lippy with me, I’m going to tell you, in the longest, wordiest possible way, how it was I came to find this song. Aren’t you excited? …Say you’re excited.
Long before there were iPods and MP3 players (aside: I love how we still say “MP3 players” even though the market for Apple alternatives only existed for about 20 minutes), there were discmen and CDs. And poor students have existed since the beginning of time, or at least since the beginning of the $800 college textbook (hi, Dad!). So it was a big deal when my university’s student union would have CD sales. This being a student union at a small university in the middle of nowhere that nevertheless attracted a healthy international student body, the selections were really weird.
This one particular afternoon, after I’d slept off my hangover (sorry, Dad…), I padded down the street to the union to get a cheap late lunch before gently installing myself in the library. And when I walked through the front doors, what hit my senses first? Well, yes, stale beer on the floor, but – a huge rack of CDs. Hot damn! I got three: a Meatloaf album, a classical thing of some kind, and our pal Louis Prima.
Whenever I have a hard day that still allows some room for bucking up, unlike those days that are so frustrating you just want to hide in a dark closet, I put this on.
Now aren’t you glad I took you on that stroll down Memory Lane? …Say you’re glad.
Ever wake up and think, “oh, the hell with it?” No? Well you’re probably hiding a deep sadness so go see someone. I’ll wait.
…Ever wake up and think, “oh, the hell with it?” Yes? Yeah, it’s a gross, hands-in-the-air, “I’m moving to Paraguay to raise llamas at this rate” kind of feeling. So put this song on. I recommend very, very loud.
This is one of the most popular mantras in Hinduism, and the most important in Shaivism, the sect of Hinduism that reveres the god Shiva.
Shaiva temple in Sibsagar, Assam, India.
These words are known in Shaivism as the panychAkshara mantra, or the Holy Five Syllables. Its loose translation is, “Adoration to Shiva,” but its essence is much more closely associated with the sublimation of the ego along with complete devotion. The mantra has been set to countless melodies but this is one of my favorites.
Today is the Sunday in church we read the gospel lesson in which Jesus tells his followers, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” As Bishop Mariann Budde, the head of the Diocese of Washington, preached this morning, it’s a deceptively difficult statement to wrestle with because it seems to imply exclusion – i.e., the only way towards the divine is through Jesus, and therefore through the Christian faith. Bishop Budde said that, to her, this is much more of a statement of love between Jesus and his disciples than it is a commandment that those who are not followers are condemned. The Holy Five Syllables is another such love song. What a wonderful thing that humans evolved so many ways of approaching the divine, and that each of them begins with love.
I like using my brain. It is my favorite thing to do. I love to spend hours thinking, turning things over in my mind, then talking about these things with people. I remember great conversations like they were trips I went on. I get the same high from intellectual stimulation as I do from my favorite physical activity, running. The rhythm of this song reminds me of both, and therefore makes me happy.
This song goes out to two dear friends of mine who are today beginning their cross-country moving trip to resettle on the west coast. (Pro tip: if you want to speed past the odd and theatrical intro, the music starts at 0:57.) Westward, ho, dudes! Pedal to the metal – no parking on the dance floor.
The Daily Tune-Up 