My Cool Things -- Krissy, Jethro Tull, and Baroque Music

Here are some more of "My Cool Things."

  What challenges me is to capture in words the unique beauty that my wife brings to my world.  My words won't adequiately describe her, but I'll try anyway.  Krissy loves me; when she first confessed her deep feelings nine years ago, the revelation stunned me.  No other woman had ever loved me, and I had lost hope that any woman ever would.  That her commitment to our relationship hasn't wavered for almost a decade is still a source of wonder to me.  What she sees in me that other women dismissed as insignificant baffles my mind.  But whatever she sees has been compelling enough to keep her with me through two cancers and a bone marrow transplant.  And my first cancer was diagnosed just four months after we met!  That and her willingness to marry me is amazing.  I haven't even mentioned her intelligence, her sense of humor, our mutual interests and values, her imagination and playfulness, her patience, and a long list of other qualities that she has.  I could write volumes about what has made our relationship precious and still not cover all the details of why I  love her.  My wife Krissy is completely cool.

 I've heard Jethro Tull called the original Alternative Rock band.  Musically and lyrically, they are superior to, and far more artistic than, most popular musicians; frequent use of diverse instruments lends their tracks a unique but pleasing sound.  Jethro Tull writes largely about the profound social and political issues of our time.  A fondness for descriptive detail breathes life into their viewpoints, which are thought-provoking and persuasive.  I've enjoyed many of their albums, with the exception of Aqualung, which has a strong atheistic theme.  It saddens me to know that they reject religion, but you don't have to agree with everything artists believe to benefit from their work.  Jethro Tull's tracks are thoroughly enjoyable; artists who both inform and entertain are doubly cool.

 Are you familiar with baroque music?  If all of you were, my job in this paragraph would be unnecessary.  I have to assume, though, that some of you are drawing a blank.  Baroque was a period in European music between 1600 and 1750, marked by an elaborate and ornamental style, which preceded the Classical music era.  Now before your eyes glaze over, let me assure you that this won't become a lecture in music history.  Elaborate and ornamental -- what does that mean, right?  Trying to understand any kind of music by a textbook definition without actually hearing some of it performed is an almost hopeless task.  What I would like to do, if you've never heard baroque played, is urge you to give it a chance.  Maybe you've heard classical music and didn't like it.  You still might find that you like baroque.  Let me give you a popular example to listen to and let you judge for yourself:  Vivaldi's Spring Concerto   If you liked this, I hope you seek out more baroque.  If you didn't, that's all right too.  Liking baroque music or disliking it are both naturally cool.

This is the second entry of a five part series. 

 

Tags: wife, Jethro Tull, baroque music, Antonio Vivaldi, Vivaldi's Spring Concerto