[January 2002 journal entry]
I value and enjoy four types of music – i.e., classical (esp., Shostakovich, Beethoven, Mozart, Haydn, Tchaikovsky), 60s (esp., Chicago, Blood Sweat and Tears, The Beatles, Three Dog Night, Mammas and Pappas), jazz (esp., Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington, Oscar Peterson, Marian McPartland, Diane Schuur), blues (esp., B. B. King, Aretha Franklin, Albert King, Billie Holliday, Eric Clapton, Keb Mo’, Norah Jones). (If I were to pick a ‘religious’ musician, it would be Rich Mullins.) Each genre has deep links with my ‘non-religious’ experience/views – e.g., classical puts me in awe of the artistic potential of the human geist and symbolizes hope for order/symmetry to triumph over chaos, 60s provides a wide-open forum from a revolutionizing decade, jazz illustrates the attempt to integrate individuality and community, blues breaks through from beneath the societal glitter.
