All Good Things Must Come To An End...

Hello, faithful readers. I believe this is goodbye.

But not forever, of course. I'm simply making a change. I've learned that a blog is not just a journal shared with the world. A blog is a place for talking about specific things more than twice a month. Therefore, The Garbage Quilt is becoming Specs on Sideways.

As many of you know, I love three things: Jesus, music, and movies. Specs On Sideways is a site that reviews indie short films and music from a Christian Perspective. It shouldn't be all that different from what you read on The Garbage Quilt, and this site will still stay available if you're interested in reading the older stuff.

Thanks for being a part of this blog, and I hope you like the new site! Our new Twitter is @specsonsideways, and you can find us on Facebook too.

I love you all!

Caress

Hello, World. I'm the Newest Classical Music Junkie.

 (Courtesy of Near Emmaus)

I attended one of my friend's orchestral performances about a month ago, and I can't get it out of my head. Originally, I didn't even want to go, but I wiped away the lazy notions and went anyway. I'm so glad I did.

At first I thought it might have been the strength of the perfume on the woman in front of me, but I changed my mind. This concert was mind-blowingly awesome. Better than being on a roller coaster, eating ice cream, and receiving a million dollar check at the end of the day. The crazy part is I don't feel like I'm exaggerating.

The orchestra has to be the cure for America's short attention span. I was worried that I was gonna get bored, and kept telling myself that I should be grateful for the free ticket in case I did. I charged my phone ahead of time, just in case.

(Courtesy of Georgia Public Television)

From the first note, I forgot about my phone. There was a jazz band that did a tribute to Miles Davis (who was, by the way, a genius!) an they were SO GOOD! My heart started beating so fast and images started flashing before my eyes. Okay, maybe that was a bit of exaggeration, but there's such a romantic quality to the sound of the saxophone. It was mesmerizing. I didn't know whether to laugh or to cry. I think I was doing a mixture of both.

This is officially my favorite kind of music. Although, I have to say, there's a difference between hearing it live and hearing a recording. Unlike with pop music, this kind is better live.

It's so beautiful. Suddenly, life didn't seem so serious. Finals didn't seem so deadly. I really want learn to play some stringed instrument. I bet it would be so soothing to play. I want to be part of an orchestra before I die!

(Courtesy of Music at Vassar)

(courtesy of Music at Vassar)

I've never been a die-hard pop or hip-hop fan, but after this, those genres are ruined forever. You can't call this boring. The orchestra embodies true talent. I think this explains my obsession with movie scores. I never thought about it, but someone (most of the time, Hans Zimmer) has to take the time out to write these lovely scores, and dozens of people have to practice them so that they go off without a hitch during recording. And they have to be memorable. Hats off to Zimmer for being so original and keeping it fresh from The Lion King to The Prince of Egypt to Inception.

I must have been a closet orchestra fan all my life. Thinking back on it, my favorite episode of Tom and Jerry was the one where Tom was a conductor and Jerry was trying to sabotage him. I loved it because of the music. Orchestras are supernatural.
 
I never wanted the performance to end. There has to be music like that in heaven. I'm so excited about this inspiring new discovery!

I want to write a symphony now.

If I ever get married me and my husband are going to frequent the orchestra.

This was beyond music. It was insane amazingness. I felt so calm. Like I was floating, literally. I think I excited myself so much to the point where I got lightheaded, but I was too intrigued to care. Words meant so little. There's no need for them in this situation (although the soloist did a great job during her performance!)

I'm not exaggerating at all. This was so worth missing Two and A Half Men. Then another thought came to me...

These were students. 


Sure, some may have been 20-something graduate students, but the fact that they weren't professionals made me feel like I was a parent or something. I was so proud of them, especially the pianist who led the whole orchestra (her dress was incredible! I wish I'd sat closer so I could get better pictures!)

You could hear a pin drop in the moments between scores. Everyone in the audience was so quiet. So attentive. So expectant.

I felt like writing poetry. I swear, it activates the right side of your brain.  

(Courtesy of University of California)

All other music seems like junk now. At the same time, I have a renewed love for it. Let's just say I love music, but there's not enough good stuff out there.

Contrary to what I expected, this was not at all repetitive. Each score felt like an individual story. I could almost picture characters!!!

I was intoxicated. What had I been doing my whole life??? This was beyond music.

The students still did an amazing job. The show was tender, sweet, powerful, and bold. The piano and the violins created a water-like tone unlike the percussionists, who brought forth a strong, pounding beat for every song.

The amount of expression the conductor showed and the changes in speed were awesome. Just when you thought you'd seen it all, another instrument would appear!

The crowd went wild at the end of the show, giving the musicians a well-deserved standing ovation.

Amazing.
Beautiful. 

(Courtesy of Bishko)