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Date: March 11th, 2020.

Time of Writing: 10:34 PM.

Weather: Warm but also a little cold.

Mood: Angry and confused.

Day Overview: Shit is hitting the fan. My university is going online only until April 3rd, and likely extending past that. All the clubs that have elections (every club) is scrambling and doesn't know what to do, the entire music department is messed up, and there's a good chance my radio show is donezo after this week. Also, I'm not going to Montreal anymore because some idiot took the subway with it and potentially infected a lot of people, and also a plane landed from Italy that they didn't test anyone who got off. But I just have to talk about life as usual right now, right? Right.

History of World Religions class was interesting because midway through the email got sent out about the university's response to Coronavirus. Then I got a message that Lily was in town. We got bubble tea and walked around and talked and stuff. I barely got to my religion discussion in time. I got a pretty decent grade on my paper, but it was lower than I was expecting, which is fine. Then, I went to Dev's concert with Jess and Spencer, possibly the last concert of the semester. It was alright. More thoughts in the Works Consumed section. I'm in the middle of getting ready to move out right now. One more radio show. One more day.

On My Mind: I don't know. I'm just really kinda upset right now. I can't really write in this section in good conscience. A lot of feelings are coming to the surface and I don't like any of them.

• Split Personalities by 12 Rods: Pretty incredibly indie rock record, somewhat angry but methodical (ayye) sound, lyrics hit pretty hard for me personally on a few songs, gave me OK Computer vibes from time to time, mixes it up with some slower lounge-y bits. Almost expected it to go full screamo. It's not a 10 because it's a bit too homogenous, especially in the middle, it doesn't explore as much as it's capable of and it doesn't make up for that lack of exploration by being like super competent or something. What's there works, but the lack of something more hurts. 9/10.
• Masquerade Suite composed by Aram Khachaturian, performed by the UMass Symphony Orchestra: A smorgasboard of a bunch of dances, basically. The Nocturne was depressing as hell and that was fine but it dragged on forever. It's just sort of all over the place. The movements here definitely overstay their welcome, and the last one, the Galop has a really ugly discordant wind part. The Clarinet solo in there is nice but it doesn't make up for just how wrong it sounds. It's not wrong in an interesting way, it's wrong in a This sounds like it's being played badly way. The Waltz that opens this, though? Pretty incredible. Overall balances out to a 6/10.
• Low Brass Concerto composed by Jennifer Higdon, performed by the UMass Symphony Orchestra: What a fucking mess. The idea of four brass solos at once is interesting in concept, but in execution it sounds muddy and haphazard. All of the individual players were incredibly skilled, but that was overshadowed by the sheer busyness of this piece. It went a lot of different places at once with no real transition between mood or tempo or key. Really just a slapdash array of ideas. Music like this just doesn't have a soul. Music doesn't need soul to be good, necessarily - deliberate soullessness can be used to good effect. But this piece, a commission, truly lacks audible vision. 4/10.
• Symphony No. 8 in G Major , op.88 composed by Antonin Dvorak, performed by the UMass Symphony Orchestra: It sounds very stately. It sounds very considered. It sounds very unadventurous and cordoned off. This is my bigger problem with a lot of classical music; the moods it explores are just not fully dug into, and they aren't allowed much bleed into each other. It's so hung up on musical theory and being clever at times that it loses a human element of emotion. This piece isn't specifically trying to express anything - it was also essentially a commission, written in thanks for Dvorak earning a position in some Academy or whatever, I don't really care. It's a pretty decoration of time in the same way a gas station painting can be a pretty decoration of space. It has its moments, because Dvorak is a talented composer. Here, though, he's really just coasting, and that is most evident in the rushed climax of the symphony. 6/10 overall.

• I have finished everything I started today.

Works Produced: A few thousand words of creative writing in the early evening, at Tsz's tableside. Nothing else, and it'll likely stay that way. I'll exert myself more tomorrow. RIght now I just need to wallow.

Other Thoughts: Thank you for reading my blog. I have one more radio show this semester, it's all but guaranteed. The Theme Machine Episode 008: Travel and Transportation. Tune in Friday morning (or late Thursday night) at 12:00 AM to 2:00 AM to hear what will probably be my last show as a freshman. You can listen on WMUA Amherst at 91.1 FM if you're still in the area, or online at WMUA.org.