An FYI to all... having enjoyed Geo's early music exposition, here's a non-traditional suggestion, especially for all those ZAPPA fans out there.

Ensemble Ambrosius 'The Zappa Album'

If you haven't heard of it, I believe you may be in for a treatums :D

http://wiki.killuglyradio.com/wiki/Ensemble_Ambrosius

Re: Early Music intro. When Geo was talking about the softer volume of the music at that concert I couldn't help but recall an experience I had at (unfortunately) the one and only time I saw Miles (Davis) live (during his last comeback phase). It was one of those outdoor festival type situations and Miles was the final act after several other quite loud acts. Miles' band was considerably softer than any of the proceeding acts and could barely be heard above the noisy ambience (I'm being kind in my wording here because one of my major pet peeves is people who go to a concert and then just want to socialize at full volume with their friends throughout the show). Eventually, someone from the audience yelled (in between songs) "TURN IT UP!". Miles casually walked up to the nearest mic and calmly said in his gravely whisper "shut up". Most of the audience took the hint and stopped talking... and you know, you could hear the band perfectly fine. Not to mention that for me experiencing that, shall I say, infamous side of Miles' lack of tolerance towards an audience was a great added bonus to the great music.

I am privileged to live near one of the world's most renowned Jazz Clubs, "Yohsi's" and I have always considered this to be my "church". The music there is amplified, sometimes fairly loudly and other times hardly at all (depends on the act). I'm proud to say that anyone talking excessively will soon be "shushed" by other audience members or asked to leave by staff.

Regarding the Star Wars religious moron: So if this guy is upset about possible future gay relationships with companions, make sure no one tells him about the current slavery and torture you are currently encouraged/able to inflict on your companion now as a Sith character.

congrats on 250 podcasts George!

George,

Unless you have reason to disagree, may I add the suggestion of the Bethlehem Brew Works for either pre- or post-concert dining (serving food until Midnight on Saturdays).

http://www.thebrewworks.com/bethlehem-brew-works/

Don't you just love it when religious morons contradict each other? Tony Perkins jumped on the Star Wars video game for allowing for same-sex romance within the gameplay. He should've been dissing any supposed Christians who actually care about Star Wars in any capacity. After all, it espouses a faith that clearly doesn't recognize Jesus as their savior... He ought to take a page from CAPAlert:

http://www.capalert.com/capreports/starwarsstudy.htm

I would LOVE to have a space (with great architecture and acoustics) where skeptics/atheists/humanists could get together and have a ritual that includes music, maybe candles, maybe thoughts about people in the community, some good poetry or excerpts from literature, maybe a slideshow of great works of art and lectures about science/ethics/history. Basically, a religion with no spirituality that instead focuses on the great works of human kind, critical thinking and maybe even mushy stuff like how pretty the natural world is. I'd LOVE that.

I grew up without religion (my parents are both agnostic) and then in my 20's became a Unitarian. UU's are awesome, and about as religion-free-yet-religious you can get, but at the church I went to, there was still a ton of spirituality. I loved the sermons about Martin Luther King, but diddn't like that they included songs about Jesus or always eluded to a "higher power" and "mystery".

I think ritual is an intrinsically human habit. We couldn't have society or community without it - just look at the recent State of the Union address. That is SUCH a ritual. So many atheist/skeptic/humanist organizations frown upon ritual because it is so heavily tied to religion, yet if you look at it from a non-religious viewpoint what better way is there to foster community, education, inspiration, a sense of group, belonging and discussion. We could totally use that to our advantage!

Oh and, YAY CLASSICAL MUSIC! I am a professional flutist and totally know what you mean about volume. It's easier to play loudly than to compel your audience to listen. Sometimes a whisper is more interesting than a shout! On the flute, it's often harder to whisper, as well.

"Two people laughed at that joke..."

...and I'm the other one. Nice show.

Your thoughts on church made me realize my martial arts class hits some of those same notes as your ritualistic music performance idea.

Hey George

If you haven't heard it have a listen of the Kronos Quartet version of Purple Haze, its pretty good,

Some opera houses do amplify performances, but it's controversial. The argument is that a properly trained operatic singer in a properly built opera hall shouldn't need amplification, after all; a lot of the time, amplification is seen as a crutch for the singer or the venue.

And it's not just the quiet stuff -- there's a big difference between having the Dies Irae from Verdi's Requiem hit you square in the face from a full orchestra and choir, compared to getting it from a speaker stack. The lung power from dozens of singers, combined with the brass and the tympani and all, will knock you back in your seat -- and then it cuts out at the hight of its power, to dead silence, broken by a single trumpet playing in the distance, backstage, in the Tuba Mirum. As you said, amplification tends to flatten that out.