From: owner-alloy-digest@smoe.org (alloy-digest) To: alloy-digest@smoe.org Subject: alloy-digest V5 #233 Reply-To: alloy@smoe.org Sender: owner-alloy-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-alloy-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk X-To-Unsubscribe: Send mail to "alloy-digest-request@smoe.org" X-To-Unsubscribe: with "unsubscribe" as the body. alloy-digest Saturday, September 23 2000 Volume 05 : Number 233 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Alloy: TMDR legend status! [Robin Thurlow ] Alloy: music and painting [Robin Thurlow ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 22 Sep 2000 19:53:30 -0400 From: Robin Thurlow Subject: Alloy: TMDR legend status! Thomas just received a forward he loved, which he is very kindly sharing with us. This concerns a Nashville band called Venus Hum, whose web page can be found @ http://artists3.iuma.com/IUMA/Bands/Venus_Hum/ Here's the quote from the band's page: :: What Venus Hum is doing would be remarkable in any part of the globe, but it's made even more so by the fact that they're doing it in Nashville, TN. Or maybe not. As Kubin reckons, "Geography's not a concern. Music like this is normally cultivated in Detroit, Chicago, New York and Europe. It's not really bred in the southern part of America. But we never set out to do anything with a geographic element to it. This is just the music we make." As their following grew, the insistent question the three began hearing at their shows was, "When are you going to make a record?" And so it was back to the basement, where they traded ideas ("When we write, it's very much like a jam session," says Miracle) and let their influences mingle and get to know each other: Henri Matisse, meet Kraftwerk . . . Tomita, this is Burt Bacharach . . . Thomas Dolby, say hello to Debbie Reynolds. :: Bravo Thomas!! :) ...me again... I've just listened to Venus Hum @ their site & I love their sound (what little could manage to squeak through these terrible computer speakers of mine, all the more reason for me to seek out their cd!) I'm terribly proud that Thomas' artistry continues to inspire so many musicians who want to maintain & develop their unique voice - not to mention, his individual strength in the face of blatant record company absurdities earlier in his career must also stand as an example for new bands like this one, who are seeking independent means of getting their music out. So many professionals in the arts are recognising Thomas for his strong influence on the music world, and it's thrilling to see Thomas' name referenced together so naturally with other music legends and masters as in the above quote.. the combinations of all of this band's particular inspirations are indeed fascinating! It makes me so happy. Thomas, thank you for sharing this wonderful quote with us. xxx Robin T ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 22 Sep 2000 21:56:03 -0400 From: Robin Thurlow Subject: Alloy: music and painting The mention of Matisse and Dolby together as creative influences for the band Venus Hum makes me think again of all the ways in which music and painting are similar. Right after I sent the last forward, and with that thought in mind, I reached over to pick up my copy of Leonardo da Vinci's notebooks which is right next to the computer.... and it fell open to the chapter "comparison of the arts" in which I read a beautiful short introduction. (this may not be as miraculous a coincidence as it might sound, because I've probably gone over this section a million times & I'm sure the book is creased open permanently to it by now!) If I've posted this here before, please forgive the repetition/obsession!.... but the similarities of the two art forms, and the creative urges within each type of artist, are something I've always thought a lot about & I like to talk about them with other artists. Irma Richter writes in her intro: "The painter's art resembles the musicians in that the proportions are the equivalent of variations of pitch in musical sounds. Beautiful proportions in painting are like a musical chord with different notes sounded all at one time. These simultaneous harmonies give intense pleasure. Here the poet's art falls short, since it cannot sound more than one note at a time. It follows from these considerations that harmony and rhythm pass beyond the limits of one art. They respond to a feeling of beauty in our very being and reveal themselves in different attire according to the conditions of each art." She concludes her essay with a quote from Da Vinci himself, which I love especially: 'Do you not know that our soul is composed of harmony.' Anyway... thanks for listening. I'm feeling inspired all over again by the forward Thomas sent! Robin T ------------------------------ End of alloy-digest V5 #233 ***************************