Again with the nude Greek People?

Whoa mama! Really dropped the ball on this whole blog thing!

Okay, so I kinda have been like the worst blogger EVER. Right? 

He's totally talking to me. 

I would try to blame some sort of nefarious outside force, but that would just be bold faced lies. I was supposed to write the blog last week, but we had a short week AND I left. Then, I said I'd do it this week and forgot to write it yesterday! What's up with that? 

True. 

Well, I am terribly sorry and deserve a public flogging. 

Greece is the word, it's got groove, it's got feeling...

That joke/allusion probably just flew right over your head. But, for all you musical theater fans out there, that was comedy gold!

We hope that you're enjoying our rampage through the ancient Mediterranean. Pound for pound, I don't think you can do better than the Greeks. I just feel like they really got the human condition in a way that others won't understand for a LONG time. 

Oh wow... this one hits a little close to home, eh? 

All those statues mean something right? 

Remember, remember, remember, art shows us what a civilization aspires to! We spent time yesterday and today talking about some of the core ideas that informed the Greek way of life. We did this so we can better understand what they created the art they did. We're beginning with sculpture, but this doesn't change with other forms of creative expression. Music, theater, literature, philosophy... they all revolve around this idea of the supremacy of human ability. 

Regina George would make a perfect Greek monster.

Tomorrow we'll finish up talking about those statues after your fun with standardized testing! 

Have fun sophomores.

Soundtrack of the week

I thought we'd have a little fun this week with our soundtrack. I am especially fond of story songs. I am sure you can figure this out on your own, but these are songs that tell an actual narrative story. They are actually one of America's oldest and most beloved forms of songwriting dating back to the pre-colonial days. 

Let's begin with one of my absolute all time favorites. One of my favorite bands on the planet is The Decemberists. They are out of Portland, and they are magical. They work in lots of different styles of music, but hey have a real knack for story songs. But, their most well known of these is The Mariner's Revenge. You must put on your bucket list seeing this performed live in full concert. It involves audience participation complete with props. This is an especially lovely video of them performing it live. Enjoy.