One of the reasons that I enjoy writing this blog is because so many musical experiences have been opened up for me over the years by things I've read that I'd like to try to do some small thing to reciprocate. Reading something about a piece of music gives us a reference point with which we can either agree or disagree, but either way it gets the thinking going, so it's useful. And of course, musical concepts grow with both listening and thinking (I keep coming back to what Keith Jarrett said about his music being more influenced by non-musical ideas than musical ones). Criticism, whether it's done by professional critics or by a friend in a cafe, is what keeps music alive. If we stop talking about it, we'll stop thinking about it - and then listening to it would be next - a horrifying prospect. Let's not let that happen. Let's keep talking, writing and thinking about music, and not let anything stop us. Yeah!

OK, the following song ("Flowers on the Wall" by the Statler Brothers) is a good example, because it's one that took on a lot more resonance for me because of something I read in a non-fiction piece by Kurt Vonnegut in his collection of essays called Palm Sunday (1981). He called it both one of the most accurate portrayals of the results of divorce and an example of great American art. I agree and would add that it's also beautifully composed and sung: (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBZNTW2BIaQ&feature=related)