Came across an interesting thought from the great detective writer Raymond Chandler the other day. I'm not sure of its original context (it was quoted in a book review), but I imagine it was somehow or other in defense of his genre, which is usually under-rated. Anyway, the words went this way: "There are not vital and significant forms of art; there is only art, and precious little of that." Upon reading this I understood my rather eclectic musical listening tastes, which run from the Sex Pistols to Stravinsky, and which I've tried to explain on this blog in the past, much more clearly. Chandler said it all, and with his usual concision (one of the main reasons that Lou Reed is a big admirer): it's either art or it isn't. Therefore the task of people who write about music, or play it, or even quite simply only care about it, is to differentiate between the two categories, and to understand their reasons for doing so.

I listened to Fleetwood Mac's Tusk several times the other day, and found that it's stood up really well to the test of time. I mentioned it during a recent post on the Beatles' White Album, which sent me through my collection to find it, and was glad I did. Like the Fabs, the group is centered around three distinguished and distinctive songwriters, who are all splendid lead vocalists but who also have the ability to blend for ensemble singing. Also, the two groups have outstanding rhythm sections who are able to bring a wide variety of material to life. It's hard to pick specific highlights on an album as well-balanced as this one, so here's a link to the first track, Christine McVie's "Over and Over": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhUsXxdAkbg. I hope it'll make you want to listen to the whole thing.