MPS (MIXTAPE PRESERVATION SOCIETY HOUR 37)

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I am not a big fan of classical music, and it stems from a few things:
  • No real exposure to it. No one in my family ever played it for me or taught me to appreciate it.
  • No education on it. I went to a highly gifted Magnet school, but it wasn't until the Humanities high school I attended that I ever remember discussing the music with teachers.
  • Stereotypical feelings towards it. Classical music is for stuffed shirts and pompous fools; serial killers love classical; it just isn't cool music-- only nerds like it.
Now that I am adult, I have run out of cool musical trends to explore. I have become one of those old people who deplore the music their kids listen to. I try to keep an open mind towards all this mumble rap and Auto Tune shit, but the reality is: even if I did like it (and some of it I really do) I am too old to be mucking around in the sandbox with the wee bairns. Time to grow up and act my age, right?

I forget how much classical music has played a part in the history of art and civilization. Once upon a time, Stravisnky's Rite Of Spring inspired riots; John Cage baffled audiences with 4'33"; even Bach got into hot water for daring to render the Passion of St. John into musical terms. One need not be Ken Russell to see the connection between music that we modern people see as archaic and the scandalous, rebellious realm from which said compositions were forged. 

There is excitement to be found in classical music, and fortunately for me I am not a complete stranger to it. Thought my expanse is limited, I have always held a soft spot for the synthesizer-driven stylings of Wendy (formerly Walter) Carlos and in particular her music for the movie A Clockwork Orange. Maybe it's because the movie is such a vicious and bloody spectacle; in any case, no one made me appreciate the Ninth. Just because Alex the Droog liked "good ol' Ludwig Van" doesn't mean I had to. And yet, it is one of the few albums I own that has any classical music on it.

So I reached out to Marcus Redden, a musician who plays French Horn for the ISO. He and I sat outside in the warm Indiana sun and shot the shit for half an hour, batting ideas regarding classical music about as he told me the convoluted story of how he found his way to an instrument not of his choice by pursuing his passion. Along the way I learned a great deal about the classical wold outside of the United States; as is usually the case, the rest of the world seems caught up while we lag painfully behind, in cultural terms.

Sure, I doubt I'll ever make a classical mixtape for my friends (although I'm positive Marcus would probably approve) but at least it's now on the radar and therefore on the menu. And my musical appetite is big. I can digest a lot. I can do a five-course meal and not feel full. But I'm going to have to add some spice here and there, and as you'll note there are liberal doses of modern pop/rock throughout this podcast. Sade, ELO, and (of course) The Beatles get some time in the light alongside cuts from Rossini and Beethoven.

So sit back and put your headphones on, while I take you on another journey...

00:00 Intro/Music For The Funeral Of Queen Mary
02:22 Segment One
06:05 Interview w/ Marcus Redden Pt. 1
13:33 For No One
15:28 Interview w/ Marcus Redden Pt. 2
22:22 Smooth Operator
27:05 Interview w/ Marcus Redden Pt. 3
37:26 Broken Boomerang
42:33 Segment Two
47:22 Interview w/ Marcus Redden Pt. 4
49:49 Roll Over Beethoven
57:35 End of the Hour/Blog Tag



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