Music

[ethan at magicnet.net]

This is my first posting, and I have only been on the list for a few days,
so please excuse me if i discuss something that has already been beaten to
death-

There was recently some discussion about how much and how in depth Pynchon
knows some of the topics that he mentions in his novels, particularly
music.  It is my impression from the way in which he discusses music (and
therefore I hope other subjects) that he has more than just a cursory
knowledge of the subject.  It seems to me that, while most of his musical
references represent a vast appreciation-type knowledge that comes from an
extreme love of music (and therefore hours upon hours spent listening to
it), some of his comments represent a deeper understanding of both the
inner workings of music itself, but also of the role that music has played
in the society around it.  I can't give any examples right away because
this has been a crazy week, but I will work on finding specific examples to
show this and hopefully post them in the next week or two.

                                                Ethan Schofer
                                                B.A. in Music from Carleton
                                                College and 6 weeks from
                                                completion of a degree from
                                                a renouned recording engineering
                                                school in Florida
                                                ethan at magicnet.net