The Useless Tree

Music

  • A Taoist Maestro

    A nice piece in The Age about Vladimir Jurowski, conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra, who apparently finds some inspiration in Taoism.  A key graf: Jurowski has always been inclined towards matters spiritual – he spent his first student grant… Continue reading

  • Box of Rain

    Thinking about an old Grateful Dead song and how it reminds me of the Daodejing. Here are the lyrics to "Box of Rain:" Look out of any windowany morning, any evening, any dayMaybe the sun is shiningbirds are winging orrain… Continue reading

  • Better than Valentine’s Day

    This recording happened almost exactly thirty years ago(!).  I've always loved this tune: Continue reading

  • Demon Rock and Roll

    Alan Baumler, over at Frog in a Well, has a post up on Xunzi (who I really need to pay more attention to) and music.  Great stuff.  Xunzi (or Hsun Tzu) would definitely banned Eliv Presley: The influence of music… Continue reading

  • The Beatles and the I Ching

    While I was preparing the turkey yesterday morning for our Thanksgiving feast, I was listening to the radio and caught a good portion of “The White Album Listening Party,” commemorating the fortieth anniversary of the Beatles’ White Album.  They played… Continue reading

  • Oh, no, it’s only rock and roll….

    I have never been a fan of Guns n' Roses.  They hit when I was a struggling assistant professor, too busy with my academic work to concern myself with new rock bands.  And having been influenced by earlier bands, like… Continue reading

  • Confucian Rap: Remember the Name

         This may seem a bit disrespectful – and I certainly don’t mean it that way for either Confucians or rappers –  but I can’t help but sense a Confucian overtone to this well-known song by Fort Minor (a… Continue reading

  • Joe Zawinul, Taoist Sage

        Joe Zawinul died two days ago.  His band, Weather Report provided the sound track of my college days.  "Birdland," however overplayed it may have become, is a joyous piece (you can hear it at the NPR site here),… Continue reading

  • Sublime

    Tanglewood, July 10th, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Tchaikovsky’s "Serenade for Strings." In Ch’i, after hearing the music of Emperor Shun, it was three months before the Master noticed the taste of food again.  He kept saying, "I never dreamed music was… Continue reading