Philosophy
Yesterday was Bruce Springsteen's 60th birthday. Let's play with a question I thought about for my contribution to Bruce Springsteen and Philosophy.
Bruce is famous for leaving it all onstage. His shows don't end when the shows end. Anyone who has ever been to see the E Street Band knows that the encore is not just one hit held back to throw out before hitting the bus, that for Bruuuuuuce, the encore is virtually another set.
But what is an encore? Joni Mitchell, for example, is well-known to not play encores if she thinks the crowd was not sufficiently accepting of the show, if they weren't quiet enough at the quiet times or rowdy enough at the rowdy times. If you bought a ticket to her show, do you have grounds to be angry for not having gotten your encore?
On that view, the encore is like a tip the band gives to a hard working waitress. Is that what it is, a thank you from the band that is gratuitous, that is not expected, but appreciated (don't open the tip conversation back up please...) Is it a standard part of the rock show format which fans have a right to demand, a ritual that is not what it may seem at first glance? If so, how much of an encore do fans have the right to expect?
Happy birthday, Bruce.
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Philosophy
The Boss and Encores
Yesterday was Bruce Springsteen's 60th birthday. Let's play with a question I thought about for my contribution to Bruce Springsteen and Philosophy.
Bruce is famous for leaving it all onstage. His shows don't end when the shows end. Anyone who has ever been to see the E Street Band knows that the encore is not just one hit held back to throw out before hitting the bus, that for Bruuuuuuce, the encore is virtually another set.
But what is an encore? Joni Mitchell, for example, is well-known to not play encores if she thinks the crowd was not sufficiently accepting of the show, if they weren't quiet enough at the quiet times or rowdy enough at the rowdy times. If you bought a ticket to her show, do you have grounds to be angry for not having gotten your encore?
On that view, the encore is like a tip the band gives to a hard working waitress. Is that what it is, a thank you from the band that is gratuitous, that is not expected, but appreciated (don't open the tip conversation back up please...) Is it a standard part of the rock show format which fans have a right to demand, a ritual that is not what it may seem at first glance? If so, how much of an encore do fans have the right to expect?
Happy birthday, Bruce.
- What Is Classic Rock?
I was flipping around the radio channel and when I got to the classic rock station, they were playing some late 90s hair band and it immediately made me think "hey, that's not classic rock." But then I started thinking about the referent of that vague...
- Band Names
Was reading a book awhile back and came across the phrase "Empedocles' cosmic love cycle" and thought "man, that would make a great band name." Always wanted a band myself called The Synthetic A Priori Blues Band. There's a folk duo on campus...
- The Dead: Facsimile Or Reformation?
The Dead just announced a spring tour. Lots of excited chatter on the internets tubes. Then the prices were announced. Around $100 a ticket. Much grumbling ensued. The reason for the exorbitant prices during a recession is that they are afraid. At the...
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So, how many houses will the Democratic VP pick have? Does Obama announce his pick today or let the eight house story run as far as it can? UPDATE: Note to blogosphere: mentioning that John McCain spends over a quarter of a million dollars a year on household...
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Brothers, Sisters, and Transgendered Comedists Everywhere, This week we celebrate the birthday of Lenny Bruce, a man who truly made much of comedy what it is today. Comedy in the 1950's was cute, like Alan King, even insightful and clever like Mort...