i think the original quote is "writing about music is like dancing about architecture" and i think joni stole it (as she so often does) from nietsche. usually she gives him credit, though.
i hate the comment, though, whether it's from joni, jerry garcia, or nietsche. i think, at the minimum, it displays ignorance about the possibilities of dancing. as a visual art, dancing is actually well-suited to be "about" architecture, and several choreographers i'm familiar with have done fantastic work creating dances about architecture. george balanchine's 50's neoclassical ballets reflected the edgyness of new york life then, including the agressive expansion of its skyline. lar lubovitch in the '80s made a dance called 'big shoulders', a tribute to his home town chicago, that truly did reflect its architecture. and mark morris' dance 'marble halls' brilliantly drew the connections between bach's musical structures and the baroque architecture of bach's era. and you know, there ARE more. furthermore, i think nietsche's statement is perverse in its avoidance of the fact that art is always searching to describe what's outside of itself. does joni think writing should only be about writing? does she write music that's only about music? is poetry about love lame because it's not actually love? of course not, but neitsche and joni miss that point. i'm a little more angry with joni, because i find the comment self-serving. she was unhappy with the writing about her music at that point, so she devalues all of it, and not even with her own words. it's a bit childish, and for someone who has a pretty good eye and ear for art, a little tone-deaf-and-blind. i've never read proust, but i understand his writing about music is sublime. i've read both fiction and non-fiction about music made my heart sing. i know it's out there, good writing about music. and i hope to see more good dancing about architecture. i feel a little sorry for joni if she can't read and see the those joys. patrick, end mild rant >-----Original Message----- >From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]On Behalf Of Randy >Remote >Sent: Wednesday, June 05, 2002 1:07 AM >To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >Subject: Re: dancing to architecture > > >[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > >> << Writing about music, Mitchell reportedly once scoffed, is >"like dancing to >> architecture.">> >> > >Shouldn't it be "dancing ABOUT architecture"? Jerry Garcia and >others have made this or similar comments. Wonder where this came >from originally.... >RR
