Thirteenth Interview - Aware and Bugging In

Well, Hello!

Hi

How are you?

Not sure, to tell the truth.

What's New?

Not sure anything is.

What's been bugging you?

Maybe it's a kind of slow burn out. But on another level, it's been like a slow burn, like I'm smoldering just on the point of fire, but it's all just under the surface.

What have you been doing?

Following the real time reality show America Pick A President 2016 and its aftermath.

Ugh!

You know, I'd have preferred not to pay any attention at all.

So what got your attention?

What most got my attention were the allegations regarding ritual satanic child abuse and satanic rituals among people in high places. Everything else really pales in comparison. I had personal awareness of this issue from the 1980's when I was living in New York City. It is very real.

OK. So, you decided to step out of the …

I decided to vote for Trump. He's not perfect, but we can and will put his feet to the fire and already he seems fully aware of the real divide and everyone expects him to act quickly accordingly.

You are basing this on what?

Let's put it this way, I never knew my father in law who was a famous builder in New York; he was responsible for building some big projects there. His mother owned and ran their company. I'm certain she knew Trump's father. All the personal allegations against him I knew to be lies, totally false, libelous and trash talking. I knew so because of direct personal contacts I had with his employees long before we ever heard of him running; they all highly respected him. In fact the level of loyalty I encountered everywhere regarding Trump was and is surprising anywhere but especially in New York.

You have more to say about this? (Didn't think it important)

Well, I just have never seen the like in my life. Trump's performances before the public have been nothing short of astounding. He seems to run almost without script, he hasn't much of one anyway, and is the only politician I can ever remember asking his audience to love him, to love this country, etc.

Well, so what? (mild disgust showing)

I guess we're all so jaded that love for much of anything seems …

To have grown cold? Yes we know. So what are you hot about?

Well, you know I was cursed with a mission; to get people to start using other money. I seem to have been spending as much time writing on this subject here and watching the present system trying to survive or scheduling its next inevitable crash on the next president's watch, while meanwhile for the last 25 years the whole economy has sucked, unless you were lucky enough to catch a trend and even then it was very short lived. Where's the economic traction? There isn't any. I have some pity for those of my grandchild's generation, if we don't have something better.

Don't you trust Trump? (derisive tone)

Trust him to do what? To fix what cannot be fixed? No. I voted for him only because the other candidate was criminally objectionable. But nobody deserves any trust that isn't earned. He's certainly no different in that regard than anyone else.

And music? (brighter tone)

Still Chopin and only Chopin. Looking forward to more practicing and might even have some piano students in the new year.

Well, that's encouraging.

I also renewed contact with Andrew Violette.

Oh? (More hopeful)

He's written a new symphony. It was difficult music but I honestly understood it. He's stuck to traditional forms and put them to a kind of kaleidoscopic or prismatic harmony with rapidly changing tonal centers so you don't ever quite know where you are and yet the entire thing is actually tonal. There are real melodies, real episodic development and some barely concealed slapstick and satirical gestures. Andrew seems as ever a composer who intends to get his audience to laugh. This may in fact be a quintessentially American contribution to formal composition. Other romantic composers can and do get their audiences to cry, sometimes from spellbound joy and other times for the suggestion of intense grief or profound sorrow. But few have set out to intentionally make their audiences laugh. I think it a very important detail worth mentioning.

Can we hear it too?

Why yes. It's here   Andrew calls it a Sonata but he's being modest. It even has four movements, is of appreciable length and I think/hope that it becomes known as his First Symphony and may he write many more. I bet each one following this one will be even more tonal than this one. It's a kind of trajectory he might be taking.

You think there is anyone who could play this?

Oh yes, there probably are people who could and the live performances of these kinds of things are even more revealing than mere recordings of the raw synthesized source sampled sounds at click rate tempi. I already advised Andrew to slow down the second movement enough so that the more vigorous figures that later show up in it stand out more. It's really a remarkably wonderful piece. I appreciated and applaud the wittiness and fun scattered throughout, and why not? Music should make us laugh some too.

So, any chance of Andrew and you teaming up on anything?
Nothing except for me promoting him as much as possible. There aren't many daring to do what he does these days, or for that matter as well as he does it.

OK, so what else is going on in your life?

Well, I have had a budding partnership that may have just died on the vine, we'll see.

What can you tell us?  Come on, how do you really feel about her?

I will always love her. I cannot not love her in fact. When I love, I love for keeps. But that doesn't mean one can keep what one cannot have for whatever reasons. Love is real. Elections, no matter how intensely fought -and this one was probably the most intense I have ever seen- cannot ultimately separate us from those we truly love.

Are you sure?

I certainly hope so. There ARE good people everywhere. Everyday life usually confirms this. Life does and will go on.

Do you feel better?

A little.

Good. I'm sure that time will heal all.

I sure hope so. Thank-you.

Merry Christmas!