So, I was doing a little light reading of the Times this afternoon when I came across this new ad from WQXR (which, for those who haven't been keeping up, is now actually part of WNYC.) Clearly designed to resemble an iPhone, the color bars allow you to select one of four movements from Haydn's String Quartet Op. 50, No.6 (played by the Chamber Society of Lincoln Center.) While the look and functionality of the ad is admittedly very cool, the underlying message of the ad – stated at the top in all caps – left me cold:
"Words move you. With classical music, they move you more."
This is a dangerous proposition. Of course, classical music can be nice background music to accompany your workday, as can jazz, or shoegaze, or ambient music, or "soft" rock. But, it can – and should – also jar you, shake you out of your chair in rapture or terror. Whatever classical music is, it isn't wallpaper.
Worse still, the ad asks the user to "choose the movement to match what you're reading," and stops at the end of each movement. WTF? Next thing you know, they'll let you listen to Bruckner in Shuffle mode. Uh…no.
Well, hooray for some intelligent thinking. Monday’s “Times”? I could not find the ad, looked for clues to the page, the photo.
Today’s WQXR is not yesterday’s WNYC, for sure. We (WNYC listeners)lost, maybe because we did not struggle enough in the blogs, on the Comment pages, whatever. WNYC was not going to risk alienating the WQXR audience, which is larger than were we, and, by the way, were in the blogs and Comment pages in droves. No Philip Glass or Michael Gordon. We had plenty of coverage, my blog “Whither Public Radio and serious music”, Doc Searle, many bloggers. But, sticking up for WNYC’s brand of “the fearless music we crave’, I felt alone.
Still, we have Q2, which is the legacy from wnyc2, and which is really now the home of New Music even in a way that wnyc2 never was. The modularity, like Nadia’s four hour gigs, “Eight Days of Steve”, the Atonal series, Hammering, all are making Q2 a real destination for New Music.
Thanks for writing your piece.
BTW, I have not written in “Whither…” in a while, that is for big complex issues. I have now shown in the URL box the URL: for “MusicSprings” which is event and single artist oriented, and in which I write almost daily.
Well, hooray for some intelligent thinking. Monday’s “Times”? I could not find the ad, looked for clues to the page, the photo.
Today’s WQXR is not yesterday’s WNYC, for sure. We (WNYC listeners)lost, maybe because we did not struggle enough in the blogs, on the Comment pages, whatever. WNYC was not going to risk alienating the WQXR audience, which is larger than were we, and, by the way, were in the blogs and Comment pages in droves. No Philip Glass or Michael Gordon. We had plenty of coverage, my blog “Whither Public Radio and serious music”, Doc Searle, many bloggers. But, sticking up for WNYC’s brand of “the fearless music we crave’, I felt alone.
Still, we have Q2, which is the legacy from wnyc2, and which is really now the home of New Music even in a way that wnyc2 never was. The modularity, like Nadia’s four hour gigs, “Eight Days of Steve”, the Atonal series, Hammering, all are making Q2 a real destination for New Music.
Thanks for writing your piece.
BTW, I have not written in “Whither…” in a while, that is for big complex issues. I have now shown in the URL box the URL: for “MusicSprings” which is event and single artist oriented, and in which I write almost daily.
Well, hooray for some intelligent thinking. Monday’s “Times”? I could not find the ad, looked for clues to the page, the photo.
Today’s WQXR is not yesterday’s WNYC, for sure. We (WNYC listeners)lost, maybe because we did not struggle enough in the blogs, on the Comment pages, whatever. WNYC was not going to risk alienating the WQXR audience, which is larger than were we, and, by the way, were in the blogs and Comment pages in droves. No Philip Glass or Michael Gordon. We had plenty of coverage, my blog “Whither Public Radio and serious music”, Doc Searle, many bloggers. But, sticking up for WNYC’s brand of “the fearless music we crave’, I felt alone.
Still, we have Q2, which is the legacy from wnyc2, and which is really now the home of New Music even in a way that wnyc2 never was. The modularity, like Nadia’s four hour gigs, “Eight Days of Steve”, the Atonal series, Hammering, all are making Q2 a real destination for New Music.
Thanks for writing your piece.
BTW, I have not written in “Whither…” in a while, that is for big complex issues. I have now shown in the URL box the URL: for “MusicSprings” which is event and single artist oriented, and in which I write almost daily.
Well, hooray for some intelligent thinking. Monday’s “Times”? I could not find the ad, looked for clues to the page, the photo.
Today’s WQXR is not yesterday’s WNYC, for sure. We (WNYC listeners)lost, maybe because we did not struggle enough in the blogs, on the Comment pages, whatever. WNYC was not going to risk alienating the WQXR audience, which is larger than were we, and, by the way, were in the blogs and Comment pages in droves. No Philip Glass or Michael Gordon. We had plenty of coverage, my blog “Whither Public Radio and serious music”, Doc Searle, many bloggers. But, sticking up for WNYC’s brand of “the fearless music we crave’, I felt alone.
Still, we have Q2, which is the legacy from wnyc2, and which is really now the home of New Music even in a way that wnyc2 never was. The modularity, like Nadia’s four hour gigs, “Eight Days of Steve”, the Atonal series, Hammering, all are making Q2 a real destination for New Music.
Thanks for writing your piece.
BTW, I have not written in “Whither…” in a while, that is for big complex issues. I have now shown in the URL box the URL: for “MusicSprings” which is event and single artist oriented, and in which I write almost daily.
Well, hooray for some intelligent thinking. Monday’s “Times”? I could not find the ad, looked for clues to the page, the photo.
Today’s WQXR is not yesterday’s WNYC, for sure. We (WNYC listeners)lost, maybe because we did not struggle enough in the blogs, on the Comment pages, whatever. WNYC was not going to risk alienating the WQXR audience, which is larger than were we, and, by the way, were in the blogs and Comment pages in droves. No Philip Glass or Michael Gordon. We had plenty of coverage, my blog “Whither Public Radio and serious music”, Doc Searle, many bloggers. But, sticking up for WNYC’s brand of “the fearless music we crave’, I felt alone.
Still, we have Q2, which is the legacy from wnyc2, and which is really now the home of New Music even in a way that wnyc2 never was. The modularity, like Nadia’s four hour gigs, “Eight Days of Steve”, the Atonal series, Hammering, all are making Q2 a real destination for New Music.
Thanks for writing your piece.
BTW, I have not written in “Whither…” in a while, that is for big complex issues. I have now shown in the URL box the URL: for “MusicSprings” which is event and single artist oriented, and in which I write almost daily.
Well, hooray for some intelligent thinking. Monday’s “Times”? I could not find the ad, looked for clues to the page, the photo.
Today’s WQXR is not yesterday’s WNYC, for sure. We (WNYC listeners)lost, maybe because we did not struggle enough in the blogs, on the Comment pages, whatever. WNYC was not going to risk alienating the WQXR audience, which is larger than were we, and, by the way, were in the blogs and Comment pages in droves. No Philip Glass or Michael Gordon. We had plenty of coverage, my blog “Whither Public Radio and serious music”, Doc Searle, many bloggers. But, sticking up for WNYC’s brand of “the fearless music we crave’, I felt alone.
Still, we have Q2, which is the legacy from wnyc2, and which is really now the home of New Music even in a way that wnyc2 never was. The modularity, like Nadia’s four hour gigs, “Eight Days of Steve”, the Atonal series, Hammering, all are making Q2 a real destination for New Music.
Thanks for writing your piece.
BTW, I have not written in “Whither…” in a while, that is for big complex issues. I have now shown in the URL box the URL: for “MusicSprings” which is event and single artist oriented, and in which I write almost daily.
Thanks, Richard. Appreciate the note. The ad is rotating throughout the Times: I suggest looking around in the Arts section. (I saw another one yesterday for Bach’s Brandenburg No. 4 – ugh!)
Totally agree that Q2 is great, and even ‘QXR has some solid programming at night and on the weekends. But, they clearly could have done a better job of retaining WQXR’s loyal audience without alientating the rest of us with these misguided marketing ploys.
Thanks again,
Pete
Thanks, Richard. Appreciate the note. The ad is rotating throughout the Times: I suggest looking around in the Arts section. (I saw another one yesterday for Bach’s Brandenburg No. 4 – ugh!)
Totally agree that Q2 is great, and even ‘QXR has some solid programming at night and on the weekends. But, they clearly could have done a better job of retaining WQXR’s loyal audience without alientating the rest of us with these misguided marketing ploys.
Thanks again,
Pete
Thanks, Richard. Appreciate the note. The ad is rotating throughout the Times: I suggest looking around in the Arts section. (I saw another one yesterday for Bach’s Brandenburg No. 4 – ugh!)
Totally agree that Q2 is great, and even ‘QXR has some solid programming at night and on the weekends. But, they clearly could have done a better job of retaining WQXR’s loyal audience without alientating the rest of us with these misguided marketing ploys.
Thanks again,
Pete
Thanks, Richard. Appreciate the note. The ad is rotating throughout the Times: I suggest looking around in the Arts section. (I saw another one yesterday for Bach’s Brandenburg No. 4 – ugh!)
Totally agree that Q2 is great, and even ‘QXR has some solid programming at night and on the weekends. But, they clearly could have done a better job of retaining WQXR’s loyal audience without alientating the rest of us with these misguided marketing ploys.
Thanks again,
Pete
Thanks, Richard. Appreciate the note. The ad is rotating throughout the Times: I suggest looking around in the Arts section. (I saw another one yesterday for Bach’s Brandenburg No. 4 – ugh!)
Totally agree that Q2 is great, and even ‘QXR has some solid programming at night and on the weekends. But, they clearly could have done a better job of retaining WQXR’s loyal audience without alientating the rest of us with these misguided marketing ploys.
Thanks again,
Pete
Thanks, Richard. Appreciate the note. The ad is rotating throughout the Times: I suggest looking around in the Arts section. (I saw another one yesterday for Bach’s Brandenburg No. 4 – ugh!)
Totally agree that Q2 is great, and even ‘QXR has some solid programming at night and on the weekends. But, they clearly could have done a better job of retaining WQXR’s loyal audience without alientating the rest of us with these misguided marketing ploys.
Thanks again,
Pete