Tastes In Music (Was: Extropian Music?)

E. Shaun Russell (e_shaun@uniserve.com)
Tue, 15 Dec 1998 11:22:48 -0800

Joe Moorman wrote:

>>I'm extremely curious what [the list] would classify as "Extropian Music".
>
>I think a lot (but not all) of the music by Rush would classify as
>extropian. Another musician that I think it would be very easy to like for
>extropians would be Vangelis, because a) there are generally no lyrics at
>all, so no anti-extropian ideas are expressed, b) his music is beautiful
>(to me), and c) he makes very creative use of the musical technology
>(synthesizers, etc.). Check out the album Direct by Vangelis.

Yes, I have enjoyed Rush's music for many years...particularly their mid-'70's albums such as _2112_, _A Farewell To Kings_, and _Hemispheres_. Both the music and the lyrics to these albums are of high quality. The drummer\lyricist, Neal Peart, is a self-proclaimed objectivist and has often combined his Randian inspiration with science fiction concepts. Other music which has inspired me is (as mentioned previously) Mike Oldfield's _The Songs Of Distant Earth_, as well as _Incantations_ and _Tubular Bells III_. Also, artists like Terje Rypdal, Mahavishnu Orchestra, David Torn and Peter Hammill all strive to break out of musical preconceptions. All of them have three things in common: passion, focus and ability. Again, these are just a few of *my* tastes in music, and may not appeal to the majority of the list, yet they do have qualities which most transhumanists can appreciate.



E. Shaun Russell Musician, Poet, ExI Member
==============================>    Transhumanities editor for Homo Excelsior
Kineticize your potential.	   http://www.excelsior.org
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