Sofia Gubaidulina : Chaconne

Sofia Gubaidulina De profundis Sergey Naiko

This is not your Grandfather's accordion, it is among the most profound compositions of the past fifty years played with the highest level of artistry.   Sofia Gubaidulina is, beyond doubt, one of the best living composers.  She makes almost all of the more famous, would be avant guard look like the fiddling adolescents they are.

Roussel Le Festin de L'araignee

Sofia Gubdaiulina - Musical Toys

Clint for Mitt, Big Surprise?

It's always funny to read the shock on liberalish blogs when some reactionary pop-culture figure turns out to be something other than wonderful.   But in a lot of cases it's someone with a relatively short track record. The surprise in some quarters that Clint Eastwood supports a Republican jillionaire on the basis of his proposed tax policy -  that would benefit Eastwood  - is hilarious in its cluelessness.    Eastwood is a paleo-conservative who ran for mayor of Carmel as a Republican because he wanted to get by zoning regulations.   It was all about Clint, that's his conception of politics.  The man is an ego wrapped up in some of the worst of psycho-macho fantasies with a high component of paranoia whenever those are threatened.  He's Dirty Harry, the High Plains Drifter, John McBurney, and Dave.  

The Eastwood personality has been on full display for decades.   There is no surprise to be had in this.   It would be a good thing if liberals could grow up and stop being star struck.   Pop culture is largely, I'd say almost entirely, a corporate propaganda machine, it has little to offer the struggle for change.  It's about the status quo, it's not about challenging it, it's all about making money and the status quo has got that.