February 3rds (Ironies)

2/3/1944

(Diary of Anne Frank)

The papers are full of invasion news and are driving everyone insane with such statements as: "In the event of a British landing in Holland, the Germans will do what they can to defend the country, even flooding it, if necessary." They've published maps of Holland with the potential flood areas marked. Since large portions of Amsterdam were shaded in, our first question was what we should do if the water in the streets rose to above our waists?

2/3/2006

Documentary on PBS about German blitz of London in 1940. Interesting: the memories of the sounds, vivid 60 years hence.

Big irony of the time: Everyone has an iPod, but they seem to care less about music, or at least devalue its power and importance in everyday life. (One would think it would inspire more people to be musicians, but it hasn't). In the post-Napster world, a song became relegated to more of a "free download".

[2/3/2025: This is an example of Jevons Paradox in the arts where the ease of access at a presumed lower cost drives up engagement, but has deleterious effects on the system as a whole–one of them being indifference].

2/3/2022

The fact that there is a lag of several months between the genesis of songs and when mixes are made compromises the integrity of the idea of one song a month. Concepts are like working with oils, or paint that never dries. That's typical of conceptual thinking, i.e. the appearance that the ideas remain loyal to the original intentions, but in reality change hundreds of times, a moving target basically. Concepts can be problematic sometimes because you feel you have to adhere to them religiously. Same thing with lyrics: I've found that every singer needs bespoke words. Freddie Mercury was a good singer because his vocal apparatus, overbite, etc. made certain words possible. (Every singer needs a "word wardrobe" ("wordrobe").