On Sound. Have you discovered ye the remarkable Margaret Watts Hughes and her “Voice Figures”. She and Charles Kellogg would have appreciated one another.
Of course he was friends with John Muir. It gives me hope that there are human beings with such sensibilities in this world. There are dimensions we have yet to explore. Rare people like Kellogg have found the path to such wonder.
This story has left me awestruck! I really liked that you’ve mentioned Tansen. The legends say that Tansen could lit lamps. They call it ‘Raga Deep’. What’s more interesting is that, when he performed this feat, his wife sang ‘Raga Megh Malhar’, summoning rain, in an attempt to save Tansen from being engulfed by the fire.
I’m glad to have found your newsletter. More power to you!
A cricket and a dime! Amazing story and person. You might have heard the following. This somehow brings to mind what Joel Dorn wrote about Most Allison telling him that his epitaph could well read 'Irony is my albatross'. A prominent white educator studying Hopi culture found it strange that almost all their music was about water and asked why. The Hopi man explained that because water was what they had the least of. And then he told the white man "Most of your music is about love."
Ted, I simply LOVE this posting. Thank you for bringing Charles Kellogg and topics with this kind of imagination and urgency to the fore. Several years ago while concertizing in Italy, David Peat introduced me to a similar legacy which had been nurtured and sustained by a single environmentalist who had survived WWII. That man had died shortly before I arrived but the villagers wanted me to see his notebooks: reams of birdsong scores. Deeply moving! I remember the days when even well intentioned instructors with tenure track professorial appointments once framed that which was white, Western, symphonic and scored by male composers as serious music, real music. They inadvertently dismissed much of what flourished outside that grid as inferior, lacking in seriousness. So thrilled that more informed, generous and respectful scholarship has allowed bias to crumble during our lifetime! BRAVO on bringing Kellogg to your readers! Loved reading this.
Another fascinating piece, Ted! I am confused, however, by Richard Zuelch's bizarre comment, his accusation that Charles Kellogg was a fraud and his attempt to tell you what to spend more time writing about. In his own Twitter profile, Mr. Zuelch placed this quote by Samuel Johnson: "A man ought to read just as inclination leads him, for what he reads as a task will do him little good." The same might apply to writing as well! Ted can write about whatever he wants to write about.
Great piece. Is Charles Kellogg related to Kellogg cereal by any chance? The French writer Raymond Roussel in the 19-teens also had an early version of the RV as well. But unlike Kellogg, he paid someone to build it for him. Nevertheless, I really enjoy your article. And ignore Mr. Zuelch's letter down below (or above). Keep writing on what you want to write about. And Mrs. Miller was pretty cool!
Wonderful article. I read it in Peter Gabriel’s i/o tour program where it’s a Focus feature. Love the whole program too!
I've heard too many 'songs' that extinguished my fire.
When I play shakuhachi in the park, the people usually pass by but their dogs come and sit in front of me.
On Sound. Have you discovered ye the remarkable Margaret Watts Hughes and her “Voice Figures”. She and Charles Kellogg would have appreciated one another.
Of course he was friends with John Muir. It gives me hope that there are human beings with such sensibilities in this world. There are dimensions we have yet to explore. Rare people like Kellogg have found the path to such wonder.
This story has left me awestruck! I really liked that you’ve mentioned Tansen. The legends say that Tansen could lit lamps. They call it ‘Raga Deep’. What’s more interesting is that, when he performed this feat, his wife sang ‘Raga Megh Malhar’, summoning rain, in an attempt to save Tansen from being engulfed by the fire.
I’m glad to have found your newsletter. More power to you!
Nice piece on Kellogg by Ian Nagoski in the December 2020 issues of Sound American: https://soundamerican.org/issues/folk/charles-kellogg
Amazing topic and story. Thank you.
A cricket and a dime! Amazing story and person. You might have heard the following. This somehow brings to mind what Joel Dorn wrote about Most Allison telling him that his epitaph could well read 'Irony is my albatross'. A prominent white educator studying Hopi culture found it strange that almost all their music was about water and asked why. The Hopi man explained that because water was what they had the least of. And then he told the white man "Most of your music is about love."
What an amazing story. Thank you!
Ted, I simply LOVE this posting. Thank you for bringing Charles Kellogg and topics with this kind of imagination and urgency to the fore. Several years ago while concertizing in Italy, David Peat introduced me to a similar legacy which had been nurtured and sustained by a single environmentalist who had survived WWII. That man had died shortly before I arrived but the villagers wanted me to see his notebooks: reams of birdsong scores. Deeply moving! I remember the days when even well intentioned instructors with tenure track professorial appointments once framed that which was white, Western, symphonic and scored by male composers as serious music, real music. They inadvertently dismissed much of what flourished outside that grid as inferior, lacking in seriousness. So thrilled that more informed, generous and respectful scholarship has allowed bias to crumble during our lifetime! BRAVO on bringing Kellogg to your readers! Loved reading this.
Absolutely fascinating!
Another fascinating piece, Ted! I am confused, however, by Richard Zuelch's bizarre comment, his accusation that Charles Kellogg was a fraud and his attempt to tell you what to spend more time writing about. In his own Twitter profile, Mr. Zuelch placed this quote by Samuel Johnson: "A man ought to read just as inclination leads him, for what he reads as a task will do him little good." The same might apply to writing as well! Ted can write about whatever he wants to write about.
Why did all those guys at turn of century wear those high tight fitting boots?
Great piece. Is Charles Kellogg related to Kellogg cereal by any chance? The French writer Raymond Roussel in the 19-teens also had an early version of the RV as well. But unlike Kellogg, he paid someone to build it for him. Nevertheless, I really enjoy your article. And ignore Mr. Zuelch's letter down below (or above). Keep writing on what you want to write about. And Mrs. Miller was pretty cool!