Violins In The Media

I like my mornings quiet. Not so, alas, my father. He stumbles out of bed and turns on the television. Hence, I love getting up before my dad.

Usually, his early morning television choice is CNN. The local area cable channel--are they trying to immitate SCTV, or are they for real?--can't quite fill all the time given to them apparently, so in the mornings, they broadcast something called "Classic Arts Showcase." Sometimes, that's his option. And I love that. As I type, my father and I are watching an avant-garde film from the '20s made by Man Ray.

They usually start out with Strauss and Haydn and things get a little bit less accessible. (This Man Ray thing is pretty interesting, eliciting a comment of "What the hell is going on now?" from my dad.)

Anyway, they just showed a film featuring Kronos Quartet. I love Kronos Quartet! Back in the '90s, I saw this really cool thing where an arts cinema showed Fritz Lang's "Metropolis" while the Kronos Quartet provided a live soundtrack. It was pretty amazing. That was the first time I had seen Metropolis in its entirety. (Get a load of me! My only exposure to "Metropolis" up until then was in a Queen video.)

Man Ray has fun with
light, shadow, swimmers, movement..
"Makes no sense," says dad.