By way of Introduction...

If 'blog' was the watchword for 2004, it is more than likely that '05 will be "The Year of the Blog."* January seems like the perfect time to jump on the bandwagon – especially since I procrastinated through the “just before it hits big” stage of the blog-writing trend.

I'd been considering starting a weblog for a few months now to support a burgeoning music criticism preoccupation. The choice to borrow the title of Alvin Lucier's composition "I am sitting in a room" was a flash of inspiration when Blogger prompted me to name the blog. The piece consists of a spoken expository text ("I am sitting in a room, different from the one you are in now...") recorded, played back in a room and re-recorded in that space over and over through many successive generations. In Lucier's words, "what you will hear then, are the natural resonant frequencies of the room articulated by speech."

Something similar has been going on in my mind. Processes of reading, thinking, listening, and filtering have been working (I hope) to reinforce the resonant frequencies of my aesthetic, which I will be trying to articulate in writing.

Most posts will be about classical music, with commentary on conventional wisdom, posts on music I’m examining, and reviews from the Houston concert scene. I'm also trying to learn how to write well and vividly about music, and the blog will act as a portfolio for those efforts. I want to develop into an intelligent critic, which I believe involves: 1) being able to access my honest emotional reactions to music (art, film, literature, etc.); 2) becoming a stylish analyst and wielder of metaphors; 3) investing commentary with a broad cultural scope; 4) having the ability to formulate, defend, and argue aesthetic positions.

You are invited to follow my progress, say hi, make comments, and throw rotten fruit as appropriate. Welcome.

* [Remember when '03 was "Year of the Blues?" It was a nice try, but I don't see the blues with any higher profile after the fact. Which is a shame, but it goes to show that invented media hype does not always pan out - which may be something of a blessing.]