Newsgroups: bit.listserv.allmusic
Date:         Tue, 8 Sep 1992 11:26:03 CDT
Comments:     Resent-From: Little Inquisitor <U33963@UICVM>
Comments:     Originally-From: Little Inquisitor <U33963@UICVM>
From:         Little Inquisitor <U33963@UICVM.BITNET>
Subject:      Farewell (at least for now)

Little Inquisitors are bad at computers.

----------------------------Original message----------------------------
Allmusicdom:
            About 3 wks ago I joined this list mostly out of curiosity.  I was
certainly not prepared for what I encountered: a wonderfully rambunctious babel
 of distinctive voices.  The list has had the same effect that Proust's madelei
nes had upon that author; the discussions have unleashed a torrent of musical r
ecollections going back to childhood -- some sweet, some sad and bitter, some s
imply blissful.  Examples: I recall growing up in Columbus, Ohio, the introduct
ion by a DJ named Dr. Bop, who started his program with the words "this is Dr.
Bop, on the scene, with a stack of shellac on his record machine."  That's when
 I found out that there was other music in the world than the one my parents li
stened to.  The a cappella discussions reminded me of one of the most wonderful
 experiences in recent years when my wife and I were traveling in Spain, and we
 managed to put into a monastery/convent in the middle of a hot summer day to f
ind the good monks engaged in quite an a cappella -- literally -- Gregorian
concert. Since we were the only visitors at the time, we were serenaded, as it
were, while going through the imposing Romanesque and Gothic building.  And tal
k about blues and jazz has summoned forth memories of the time I lived with a
jazz/blues singer, and the helllish hours she used to keep. Why, we'd go throug
h entire weeks without hardly seeing each other...

The various posting have enabled me to reassess the kinds of music I like, as w
ell as why I do.  In so doing, I've thought a great deal about the significance
of time, place, mood/energy and circumstances in the type of musical choices we
 make at specific times; as well as to just what exactly appeals to me in diffe
rent styles and why. Ironically, while my tastes have hardened somewhat over ti
me -- some think of my likes and dislikes as very opinionated -- age and experi
ence have rendered me less judgmental about other peoples' opinions.  I don't l
ike flabby, lazy, soft, boring, uninteresting and mechanical stuff.  In Spanish
 there's an excellent expression for having bite, oomph, and at the risk of sou
nding sexist, balls: "tener garra" ("having claws.") I love music with bite/cla
ws; music that bites at your intellect, memory, romantic spirit, longing, happy
 feeling, physical being, senses and so on.  If it doesn't bite me anywhere, br
ing on the next disc.

The list is an excellent medium of exchange, though IMHO the list would be sign
ificantly strengthened by greater emphasis on discussions regarding music (and
in particular the relationship between the personal and the musical context).
Tiresome polemics, which more often than not deteriorate into insults (no matte
r how clever the putdowns or flamings might be), do little to advance or constr
uct our respective likes, dislikes, and passions in music. You like country and
 western and I don't? OK, that's cool.  But if I adore psychedelia and you thin
k it's a crock, then you have a problem. It's quite simple, really, there's amp
le room on the list for *negotiation* over divergent and conflicting views.
That's what triggered my Confessional --yeah, all of you out there, you know yo
u've got skeletons in your closet, no matter how firm your basic tastes.
BTW, I wish I could have responded to the extraordinary  range of schlock you h
ave a weakness for, but for the most part it won't be possible.  (I would only
respond to those who like Madonna, that you could have done worse. You could li
ke Roseanne Barr's singing, and she scratches her crotch too!)

Thanks to all who answered my queries and took up the Confessional challenge.
And to the anonymous admirer with the fan mail, you raised my spirits.
If anyone wishes to correspond directly with me, I can be reached at U33963 or
U31447 at UICVM.  Good luck to all of you.

Renato
P.S. I'm taking a leave of absence from the list to involve myself fully in my
research.  History beckons, and I must respond.  For anyone interested, my fiel
d of work is 16-18th century Spain.
P.S.S. It's almost as if I didn't want to sign off. I just what all of you how
much I've learned in the past 3 wks.  It's been a quite wonderful run.
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