If Music Be the Food of Love

Blairs aren’t picky eaters.

Let me clarify this. Blairs are willing to give all food a chance, and enjoy foods of all types. Blairs like to eat new foods, and some of them have the gift of being able to get ideas for new recipes of their own from the new foods they try. (Not me.) Blairs know what is healthy and what is not, and know how make healthy food. Blairs try to eat that most often, but they eat what they are given, especially if someone made it for them. They are always polite about it.

More importantly, Blairs have a great appreciation for really well made food, and because of that, they are able to recognize food of lesser quality. Thus, if given the choice between high and low quality, they know which to choose and which will be the most enjoyable and nourishing.

Bottom line, Blairs love good food. I learned that from my mama a long time ago, and it remains true to this day. (Although I know a few picky Blairs…) But the real question is, what is good food?

I love gourmet. When we’re feeling really fancy, and have a special occasion, we’ll go down to The Cheesecake Factory or Haleiwa Eats, which are two nicer restaurants that are pricier than what we’d normally go for, but definitely worth it. However, Ted’s Bakery (a restaurant on the North Shore near Sunset Beach, which happens to be the home of the world-famous Ted’s pie. My absolute favorite food, incidentally) is a personal favorite, and it’s way more casual. Different style, different setting, different attractions. But of lesser quality? I don’t think so. Good food can be found anywhere, if the right ingredients and culinary knowledge of the chef are present.

Two of my greatest loves are food and music, and all that I just wrote about food can also apply to music. (In the same way that I can’t cook, I also can’t compose.)

Jon Schmidt and Steven Sharp Nelson just came out to Laie for a concert, and I’ve been looking forward to it for several months. However, the day before they came, a friend in my music history class asked our professor what he thought about them, leading to an hour lecture of his feelings, followed by another two hours in my next two classes with him. Needless to say, he’s not a fan.

WHY?

I am in the sad position of declaring that I have the strong suspicion that there is some elitism in the Classical world in general, specifically with that particular professor, but almost certainly along with many other Classical musicians. I also have a feeling there is some subconscious (or conscious) jealousy in said world that their music isn’t received in the same way as that of other styles.

So the next question is, what is good music?

I’d say good music should be defined by the musicianship of the composer and performer(s), and can be found anywhere. Beginning with a good chord progression/ motivic idea/ melody line/ instrumental configuration, or any number of other good bases (“ingredients”) can lead to an exciting and wonderful (“good”, for the sake of our definition) piece of music.

To continue with my food analogy, I was talking with another one of my music professors, and he told me he thinks of music like a buffet. He loves prime rib, but eating prime rib alone every time he goes would be awful. He loves his potatoes (say, Jazz) salads (reggae) desserts (etc.) and all have a place in a very delicious meal. I agree. Music of every genre (minus a few, I suppose, which is obviously the case with food as well) has value and is worth consuming.

To conclude, good music can be defined in many ways, and is in no way limited to expertly-played Classical pieces. Consider the Beatles, Alan Menken, John Williams, Coldplay, Jack Johnson, U2… Actually I can’t continue. The list would be extremely lengthy. But the point is, there’s a reason Heavenly Father blessed so many different sorts of people with musical talent. Music is a language in itself, and different types speak to different people in different ways. (I don’t dig escargot, which is apparently of the highest level of gourmet. It’s just not for everybody!)

If music be the food of love, sing on. And keep the chocolate ice cream coming. And the steak and red pepper fajitas. And the spinach-artichoke pizza. And the maple doughnuts. And the sweet potatoes. And the pie. Just keep it all coming.

And as a report of The Piano Guys concert, it was fantastic. Piano and cello together is extremely cool, and they know how to put on a show. They seem like really good guys, and it was great to have them on the island. They made a video on Pounders Beach, which they debuted for us. All in all, it was just a fun night.

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