Theater of the Ears

One of the most haunting pieces of music ever composed or recorded is Aaron Copland's Billy the Kid. Close your eyes and listen to the whole thing when you have 20 minutes.

Thank you to Mark Jorritsma for turning me on to Copland at Calvin College (with The Copland Album). I've listened to that thing hundreds of times since. And also for my introduction to Ansel Adams, whom I never came to fully appreciate.

Aaron Copland – Billy the Kid

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As long as you hold on to old ways, they live on; when the last person lets go, they are gone forever. Copland is an example of how we hold on to the Old West. So are Western movies and TV shows and dime store novels from yesteryear. And alas, so are handguns.

[2013-02-27]

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