Musical Wallpaper

Silence drives me crazy. Unless I'm reading or composing music, I normally have some music playing. Even if I don't listen to it closely, I know its there. For example, as I type this, I'm listening to an Ahmad Jamal CD. Mozart called this musical wallpaper. He would compose music to be played in the background at royal social gatherings back in his day.

I bring this up because when I'm writing a paper for a class, I normally pick the same music for my musical wallpaper. I'm a little embarrassed to admit it, but I usually listen to Chuck Mangione's "Live at the Hollywood Bowl" CD's when I'm writing. I was finishing up a paper this morning for my summer class; I had those discs playing.

I started this "tradition" back in my undergrad days in Commerce (aka Comatose)in the mid-1980's. I would listen to my vinyl record set of this live recording while writing English compositions or whatnot. When I started grad school back in 1998, I found the recording on CD and began listening to it again. While Mangione is not the best player, his compositions are usually interesting and he surrounds himself with good musicians. In any case, it suits its purpose for my tastes.

I'm aiming for two more years of school. I have a feeling those CD's are going to get a workout.