The Almost-100, Arnold Schoenberg, and the not-so-sad omission of business, communications and the arts
One of my pursuits these days (August 2014) is creating, designing, reconfiguring, ratcheting up a few new courses in intellectual property, a survey of the music & entertainment industry, social media & marketing in music/video/IP, and business and legal issues helping and hindering music get created, disseminated and experienced.
All of these classes will deal significantly with technology, business, law and music (how could they not?). I could add words like “communication” and “arts” too but I often use words like “technology” to subsume “business” and “communication,” and “entertainment” to subsume “art” and “arts.” (With my classical music pedigree, I should NEVER associate “art” or “arts” with “entertainment.” One of my heroes, Arnold Schoenberg, in his past writings set me straight on that (but I veered off the ranch twenty + years ago):
“If it is art it is not for all and if it is for all it is not art”
or something similar but identical in sentiment.) (One of my favorite Schoenberg compositions is “Summer Morning By A Lake,” the third of his “Five Pieces for Orchestra, Op. 16” from 1909.
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In my Twitter account, I have created eleven (11) lists that cover all of my interests. Since 2008 I have required students to read what certain Twitter users post. I provide a list of these Twitterers in each syllabus. What I want to do now is create a shortened master list of Twitterers from which I can extract subsets that would work in any one, two, three or more of seven or eight classes.
The “rules” and “preconditions that must be met” in order to fall into this list of less-than-100-favorite Twitter authors include:
1. It intrigues me.
2. I find it compelling (out of Spinal Tap context, “compelling” can have positive associations).
3. I’m inspired to act and think (refined people “think ” and then “act”).
4. I might disagree with what is expressed but it is original and/or important.
5. It came to mind first when I thought to compile a list of less-than-100. (Spontaneity, impulse and fast matter when it comes to action, wonderment and ponder-ment.)
(However: A few of these Twitterers are not at all inspiring (and perhaps pompous and verbose) but most people of a field seem to read these and it is OK sometimes to have some things in common with most people – these form a sort of vernacular canon.)
Here are The Almost-100:
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And with extra-special secret code placed to the right, The Almost-100 looks like this:
Perhaps the above should be annotated so as to make for more clarity. In fact, I began but never finished or published an annotated post about great Twitterers to follow more than a year ago. I think I will save those thoughts for class and spend that writing-annotating time better.
I can imagine negative reactions to a few of The Almost-100 above:
Just why should anyone read Taylor Swift?
Doesn’t Bob Lefsetz assault us enough every day?
Why read a young lawyer who has not even passed the bar?
Read Torrentfreak? Are you pushing crime or somethin’?
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Wishing everyone everywhere a happy Sunday. Annuit Coeptis.