Rules Of The Game #3: Feelings Change

[koganbot]

Rules Of The Game #3: Feelings Change

Key sentence: "What's dangerous here is that feelings seem to be incontrovertible."

Comments always welcome, though attempts to post comments at the Las Vegas Weekly sometimes go through, sometimes don't, so you might want to also post any comments here that you try to make there, to ensure I see them.

EDIT: Here are links to all but three of my other Rules Of The Game columns (LVW's search results for "Rules of the Game"). Links for the other three (which for some reason didn't get "Rules Of The Game" in their titles), are here: #4, #5, and #8.

UPDATE: I've got all the links here now:

http://koganbot.livejournal.com/179531.html

Comments

Don Allred writes:

[koganbot]

Don Allred writes (and tells me I can post here):

But that's not all there is to it, not just the power of suggestion, because you've mentioned enjoying things written, but not getting into the subject, when it came to actual listening (Hank III, Leanne Kingwell, Drive-By Truckers, for instance--not as much as the writer did anyway; and that goes even when you said you can see what other people like or love about them). Not that Palmer isn't an uncommonly good writer. Could be that his sensibility as a writer is like yours on a deeper level than some others. Or maybe "deeper" is another word that needs some relief. Say that his approach to the subject is closer to your own particular combination of "gut" response, self-awareness, speculation on how this fits with your sense of how you and the night and the music fit with social and historical--his voice as a writer feels closer to yours than some other's (You'd read about Wolf before, hadn't you?) But there are several writers whose writing I feel close to, and I love their vision of certain artists, but I just can't hear it the same way, not like they do. The most I can say is, "Boy, it *should* sound like that! Something should!"

Re: Don Allred writes:

[koganbot]

Don, I wouldn't say that Palmer's voice feels closer to mine than yours or Xhuxk's does (to name a couple of people who've spoken up for Kingwell and DBTs [both of you] and Hank III [you]) - I'd say the opposite, actually. But I'd say that my feeling an alignment with a writer's sensibility is a powerful motive for wanting to align my tastes with his as well. But as you also point out, this motive and this match of sensibility can only go so far, and a writer's descriptions and arguments also can only go so far: they can open my mind and my feelings to be receptive to an act, but they can't force my mind and guts cooperate with my motive. The music's got to have something.