Music: vocal or instrumental sounds (or both) combined in such a way as to produce beauty of form, harmony, and expression of emotion.
I have discussed that I gave up a lot of old pastimes in 2008: Recreational reading, movies (my interest went from waning to waned) spectator sports and lastly, music. That last one was unexpected of course. But so many of my pop heroes had gone Jonestown with Obama and if that does not destroy one's artistic integrity, I don't know what would.
I have mentioned my habit of playing Youtube videos of election night news coverage. I don't watch these vids the way I would watch a TV show. I mostly listen as background noise, or more accurately, background music.
These are seven-hour operas. Very formulaic and yet, all very different. The first hour or two on EVERY network is the condemnation of Donald Trump, the demise of the Republican Party, the certitude of an impending Hillary coronation, and questions about how Hillary will govern.
In Act 2, the tension starts to build. Slowly but surely, by hour 4 there is universally, a change of mood and tone in the newsroom: Maybe the Dems won't take the Senate after all. The presidency might not be as big a landslide as we predicted. Trump has a chance. A tornado just hit the Macy's Parade!
As the evening wears on, the artists go free form and start playing from the heart, conductor be damned. They tell us what they really think about their social inferiors who voted for Trump. The race card gives way to the racist card. And yes, there are tears.
A few observations: Pack journalism has given way to hive journalism. One reason the pundits all sound the same is that there are so damn few of them. I guess once you get your talking heads card, you will never again be out of work. Even the British networks recycle the same blah blah people I saw when I used to watch Fox News.
ITV is a private UK broadcasting network, They are more overtly anti-Trump than the pretend-to-be-unbiased Americans and twice as nasty.
Sky News is also British. They have the dullest presentation bar none. It is tough to plow through this performance.
Yahoo is anchored by Katie Couric. I will say that she is a pro and handles the anchor with poise and charm. Unfortunately, she is still Katie Couric. You might tune in early to see Frank Luntz's predictions and his denouncement of the GOP now that he has joined CBS.
For a change of pace, Never-Trumpers from The Blaze provide an interesting variation on a theme. Anyone who says Democrats have a monopoly on smug never met a Never-Trumper. Tomi Lahren, a Trump supporter, steals the show. Beck is funny for proclaiming Hillary's victory and later hedging his bets while stating that he predicted Trump's victory long ago if this and that and that and this and the stars align and...I know money is tight at The Blaze but they might consider getting themselves a sound engineer or at least spring for a few more microphones.
Propaganda is ugly but failed propaganda is art. Sit back and enjoy an art form such as we might never again witness. This is music to my ears.
ITV
SKY NEWS
YAHOO
THE BLAZE
