Gehry for Gaga

Is there anything Frank Gehry cannot design? The octogenarian just designed a hat for Lady Gaga, and drew the initial design on his iPhone.

Lang Lang

Maria and I were invited to attend Lang Lang's concert with Taipei Symphony Orchestra at Taipei Dome. It was unfortunate the concert had to be held at a sports arena instead of a concert hall, because the music had to be amplified and the acoustics simply left much to be desired.

The same can be said of Lang's outfit. He wore a slightly shiny, black tuxedo-like outfit. The jacket has shawl collars with white trim, which continues down the side seams of the pants. I don't understand why today's classical musicians, especially conductors and soloists, can't just wear normal tuxedos with tails, which never go out of style.

As for the concert I was a bit disappointed with the program. In the first half, Lang played the Rhapsody in Blue by George Gershwin. I like the piece except I can no longer disassociate the piece from United Airlines. Lang probably cannot either since he made a commercial for United Airlines with Herbie Hancock last year. In any event, I don't feel classical-jazz improvisation is Lang's strong suit.

After the intermission, Lang played Chopin's Opus 22. He finished the concert with Yellow River Concerto. I thought he would be tired of playing this piece since he plays it constantly in front of Chinese audiences. I would have preferred to listen to something like Sergei Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No. 2, the piece he is planning to play later this month in Berlin.

Lang played two more pieces, both by Chopin, as encore to end the concert: Op. 10 No. 3 and Op. 25 No. 1. There is no question that Lang is an extremely talented pianist. He also seems to be a charismatic person, very much at ease with the spotlight, and has a desire to connect with the audience. However his interpretation or style of play simply doesn't suit my taste. This was clearly illustrated by the two encore pieces. Besides his gyrations and expressions, he likes to drag out the notes and play the pieces much slower than my liking. For me there is a bit of unnecessary indulgence. While I admire his prodigious talent, I have to respectfully disagree with his approach.

Beatles

I was not big on the Beatles when I was young. It was probably because my parents listened to the Beatles when they were young. Furthermore, many famous Beatles albums were all recorded before I was born. When I was a teenager, I certainly didn't want to be caught listening to old popular songs.

Recently I am rediscovering the Beatles through the video game Rock Band. While some Beatles fans have complained that the game lacks many iconic tunes, I am very happy with the game. I like jamming with friends on "Here Comes the Sun" (1969), enjoy singing "Yellow Submarine" (1966) with Vera, and love playing the guitar solo on "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" (1968).

Gaga

During a recent family gathering my cousins, niece, nephews, and I discussed the subject of pop music. I didn't have anything to offer to the discussion since I have been busying listening to Rudresh Mahanthappa; actually I haven't listened to much pop music for quite some time. Since I didn't know what's hip, I was curious to know what the tweens are listening to these days. The answer, according to my nephew, seems to be Lady Gaga.

Of course I had no idea who Lady Gaga is and what kind of music she makes. I thought the name was kind of intriguing but didn't think too much about it until I got the April 27 issue of The New Yorker. The magazine's music critic Sasha Frere-Jones wrote, "Gaga can really sing and really write" and "If you want melody and a cheerful embrace of the moment as it happens, Lady Gaga is a wise bet." Since I didn't want to be the un-hip uncle, I decided to buy Gaga's album and listen for myself.

I bought Gaga's The Fame from 博客來; another new experience for me. It is a bit like Amazon.com for Taiwan but with far fewer selections. Instead of using a credit card and having the goods shipped to me, I picked up my order the next day at the local 7-Eleven store and paid in cash. The CD comes bubbled wrapped inside a grey envelope. The whole process is quite convenient since there are 7-Eleven stores everywhere in Taiwan.



After a night of repeated listening, I quite like The Fame. The music reminds me a bit of Madonna and David Bowie. Some tracks are a bit like disco music. I suppose things tend to come back every 30 years or so; what's old is made new again.

http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/musical/2009/04/27/090427crmu_music_frerejones

Kinsmen

It has been a while since I bought a jazz album, but after reading the New Yorker article by Gary Giddins on Rudresh Mahanthappa, where he declares the album Kinsmen as "a momentous achievement that will be around for a long time to come", I felt I had to get one. Since Mahanthappa's album is from a New York based small label it is not available in Taiwan, at least I can't find it. Luckily, a good friend of mine came to visit from the US and was able to bring Kinsmen back for me.

I listened to Kinsmen almost non-stop last weekend and really enjoyed it. I found some passages in the album to be quite unique and beautiful. I am so glad I found Mahanthappa's music. Now I need to get Mahanthappa's Apti.



http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/musical/2009/03/02/090302crmu_music_giddins