Open letter to Wes musicians

I’d like to preface this letter by saying that we are privileged to have access to such a wide range of music through the various offerings here at Wesleyan. On with the show…

I recently attended (and performed in) Wesleyan’s student composers’ concert. I was greeted by the opening piece, which consisted of an army of talented young people dropping marbles on to the floor through a tube. After sitting, rather squirming, in my chair for a minute just to make sure I wasn’t missing something, I got up and waited backstage for the following piece in which I was to play. When the monotonous dropping ended, I couldn’t help but hear a healthy sound of applause resounding from the seats of Crowell.

This spawned many questions in my feeble mind. Did the performers and musicians in attendance genuinely enjoy this uninspired demonstration of gravity and human error? Is there nothing that they wouldn’t applaud? Are they afraid that their fellow musicians will mock them for their “apparent lack of understanding” if they do otherwise?

Well, I am not afraid to speak my mind and point out when I understand a piece of music well enough to know that it is complete and utter BULLSHIT.

Some musicians get so wrapped up in trying to think up “creative” process pieces. There is absolutely nothing creative about the sufficient lack of foresight to realize that the resultant sound of your brilliant idea means about as much as a semen rag. While we’re on the subject of semen, I have a suggestion for some of our fair composers who probably hate me at this point in my tirade. Why don’t you save some time and forgo the mental masturbation involved in your manner of composition and actually jerk off the next time you are so inclined to set foot on the Crowell stage.

By now I am sure most of you are wondering one of two things. First, you probably wonder who in the hell I think I am to make such condescending remarks about my peers?“ Or second, those who know me must think I am one hell of a hypocrite due to the fact that immediately after the piece that evidently twisted the very moral fiber of my being, I pranced around onstage with two friends of mine blowing on bottles, whistles, and other noise makers. To address the first question, I must say that I have no inflated views of myself as a musician. I’m merely a concerned student voicing an opinion that I know has been nagging at least a few of my music major peers. As for the potential charge of hypocrisy in my thoughts and actions, I have this to say. I thought that my friend’s composition was a well-conceived collective improvisation involving various sound-sources. As a performer rather than a listener, I cannot truly comment on the piece’s effectiveness. I can only say that through playing the piece I experienced a dynamic and responsive sonic environment that seemed to avoid stagnation. If you, as a listener, despised this piece, then that’s fine with me. Perhaps it didn’t successfully reach its potential for whatever reason. But, if you despised this piece, I ask you now if you applauded anyway.

There must be limits to what we, as students, allow to go on at our school.

We cannot adopt the post-modern cliché of complete tolerance for all ideas.

Sometimes people are wrong. I have the feeling that most people here are afraid to say when they think something is not right, for fear of seeming foolish. Maybe I’ve got this whole music thing figured wrong. Maybe I seem incredibly foolish not only for stating my beliefs, but also for putting down others who don’t share my beliefs. Fine, I am acting foolish. I’ll get past it and learn from the experience. What I won’t get past is the feeling of regret for not at least attempting to create a dialogue about an issue that troubles me.

This is supposed to be a school full of activists. But I’d say it’s more of a school of activists who join (and stick to) certain bandwagons, and in doing so, give up their individuality to certain blanket platforms of group-thought. As the future leaders of this country (or so the administration would have us think of ourselves), we must cease ”to go with the flow“ and decide things for ourselves for once. In a not-so-insignificant moment in European history an entire country allowed a young and ambitious Adolph Hitler to rise to power and commit one of the single most evil acts ever due to its peoples’ unwillingness to question right and wrong and their tendency to follow those in power. Don’t follow bullshit; you’ll end up stinking before long.