The Food of love

Ronnie Malley and George Lawler

I had a rare opportunity last week to attend a seminar on Music in the Middle East at Georgetown University in Washington, DC.

The seminar was sponsored by the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies (CCAS) at Georgetown and featured the Chicago-based band Lamajamal.

The band is made up of five players including Ronnie Malley on Oud, George Lawlor on percussion, Gary Kalar on guitar and chumbus (a Turkish instrument that looked a little like a canteen with a neck) Eve Monzingo on wind instruments (clarinet and sax) and Joey Spilberg on bass.

The seminar focused on three different styles of music - Middle Eastern and North African, primarily Arabic, Jewish music (Klezmer mostly) and Turkish music.  Ronnie and the other members explained some of the differences - and many of the similarities - of the three types of music.  Afterward, we had a chance to chat, and Ronnie Malley told me that music has often been used for political means in the Middle East - to the point that authorities hired musicians and songwriters to write songs so that people would follow them.

But the most poignant thing he said was "If I am holding the arm of an instrument, as an arm, I can play a chord to someone standing across from me, and expect a response from them, there's a communication. If I am holding a gun, the only way to properly operate that gun is to shoot the other person."

I thought that was pretty cool. 

Gary Kalar and I talked about the need for arts education in schools, particularly music.  He made the point that in the world of standardized tests, art is not something you can measure - like math scores - so there's no way for politicians and school officials to know if a class is a success or if a teacher is a success.

It reminded me of something I head Victor Wooten say one time in a bass clinic when asked about music in schools and budget cuts eliminating arts programs.  He said school boards are elected by the people of the country "and they will only do what you allow them to.  If you allow them to cut arts and music out of schools, they will.  But you have the power to change that."

I hope to interview Daniel Levitin of McGill University and the author of This is Your Brain on Music and The World in Six Songs next week.  He has had a lot to say about the role music plays in society and in our lives.  I'm looking forward to it.

Now That's a Story!

I read this story today as part of my research into the situation in Syria.

This girl is brave, but her father sounds like a real tough dude, someone who will look people in the face and say "not on my watch." Check it out.  I found it inspiring.

Metro Madness

I don't understand why this happened today, but I rode the Metro to work, but at Ballston station, they made all the passengers get off the train and stand on the platform. The only problem was the platform was full of people waiting to board the train.  Not like the platform in this photo; imagine the entire area of the station crammed with soaking wet, harried, hurried commuters late for work because the trains were slow.  Then you might have some idea. 

The Orange and Blue lines were single tracking between Farragut West and Smithsonian for track repairs.  That made every other train on those two lines late.  Which meant the train from Vienna, did not leave on time which made people's attitudes get tense, which made them want to cram into the trains as quickly as possible.

One lady in front of me had a broken foot and had just sat down when the operator said "all passengers must leave this train, all passengers must leave this train." I can understand if there was a bomb or something.  But this was just so they could move the train out of the station because they were behind time - at least that's what Metro does most of the time when they empty a train. 

So I got off the train and caught a bus, which took me on a scenic drive through downtown Arlington before reaching the Crystal City Metro station, where I caught the yellow line to work.  Time I left my home: 7:05 am.  Time I got to work: 10:30! Ridiculous.

Moon shot 2

Another shot of the "Super Moon." This one was taken early in the evening when the moon was lower.