…and living in Detroit! Which looks kinda like this right about now:

Detroit Institute of Arts, December 2008

Anyhoo, Greetings and Happy 2009, Music Nerds everywhere!

I must apologize for my somewhat extended absence from blogotopia. Have you ever been sucked into the vortex of the holidays and spit out the other side, not really knowing which way was up? That’s kind of how it was for me. In a good way, though — McDoc and I had a lovely holiday — he was even able to get Christmas Day off from work!

Also, I’ve been in an oddly un-verbal frame of mind lately, which is a very unusual state of affairs for me. It might be a result of my foray into the visual arts during the pre-holiday run-up. At any rate, it’s about time to type my way out of it, don’t you think?

As I pondered what to write about in the New Year, I continued to get some visual ideas, though. I was thinking about the unspoken rules of writing about music, and how much fun it is to break them. 😛 In particular, I’ve come across a paradoxical pair of patterns during the course of my musical travels:

• When you express a strongly critical opinion about a particular piece/genre/composer/etc. you’ll often encounter hyperbolically indignant pushback from those who don’t hear things exactly as you do,

How-some-ever,

• When you express uncritical, ecstatic, joyful, childlike enthusiasm for a particular musical item, you’ll often be labeled a vapid, milquetoast-y intellectual featherweight, or something to that effect.

I mean, it seems at times like you just can’t win! What’s a passionately opinionated music nerd to do?

Why, wear your passionate opinions like the hard-won badges of honor they are, that’s what! 😀

To that end, and to provide a convenient way for readers to know which wrong side of the bed I happened to get up on on any given day, I’ve created some helpful graphics:

This graphic will alert you that I am about to pop the top on a king-size can of whup-a$$ on what I consider to be a musical travesty of some sort. You may or may not find my smackdown convincing, and you don’t have to agree with me, but don’t expect to be able to change my mind. If I go to the trouble of getting my grouch on, you can rest assured that, my high spirits notwithstanding, I’ve thought it through enough to be quite firm in my stand. Remember, too, that I have my tongue firmly lodged in my cheek most of the time, and if I ever give offense, it’s not deliberate.

On the other end of the spectrum:

This graphic will let you know that my world is being thoroughly rocked by a musical gem that I’ve stumbled across, and I’m not ashamed to be all drippy about it. Anyone who might be tempted to rain on my parade is invited to reflect upon the Golden Rule.

I haven’t yet created a graphic for the Middle Path, wherein I show admirable balance and restraint. It’ll happen, I’m sure. Won’t be nearly as much fun, though! 😛