[NewMusic] coasting?

[Jon Raskin]

We used to have a joke in rova that if you wanted to get a perspective of
trying to make this music you would start the day banging your head against
a brick wall. 

-----Original Message-----
From: newmusic-bounces at music.mills.edu
[mailto:newmusic-bounces at music.mills.edu] On Behalf Of weasel walter
Sent: Tuesday, December 19, 2006 3:37 PM
To: newmusic at music.mills.edu
Cc: newmusic at music.mills.edu
Subject: Re: [NewMusic] coasting?

well thought out arguments, phil. i don't disagree with very much of it,
jeers aside. 

i do believe that the skill to adapt is paramount though. it helps to stave
off the crutch of fogeyism. i don't believe this has anything to do with
artistic compromise either.

when i spent more time complaining (and i'm not accusing anybody here of
that) about the injustice of my context - life isn't fair, things are too
hard, why am i not rich and famous - i got a lot less actual stuff done.
once i accepted certain givens in my environment (i.e. perpetual lack of
money or recognition and the large amounts of stress resulting from it) i
was actually able to move forward with my work and be more serious about it.
i think. i have done my goddamn research - it never ends - so nobody can pin
this rootless whippersnapper shit on me. i'm not that "young"
either. what we're talking about is indeed a complex situation though - what
does this all cost? i'm not sure yet; i have become somewhat neurotic over
the years unfortunately. 

there's a difference between this sort of acceptance and "giving up" . .
. acceptance has to do with admitting that the sky will never be red and
that one can't lift pyramids with one's pinky as much as one might want to.
i see surviving as an experimental musician as totally possible (on a
ridiculously modest level - i'm doing it) if one is truly ready to commit
their life to it - and diversify the fuck out of oneself. still, there is
little time for reflection - as lester bowie said, "if i don't go to the
office and do the shitwork everyday, there's not going to be any music." 
i generally have to spend more time hustling than practicing or writing,
unfortunately.  

it is probably harder than ever to do this, but one absolutely has to adapt
to the new sets of constraints and possibilities in the present and not
expect a bygone paradigm to remain. this whole thing is incredibly complex
and i'm sounding extremely incoherent as a result. sorry.

ww
 
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