Bartman as Inspiration

"This time it was personal."

The transference of knowledge from one domain to another has never been one of my shortcomings, not only in one academic musical setting to another - such as, perhaps, music theory to performance - but in seemingly unrelated endeavors as well. I've often received great insight into music through watching sports. For instance, while at UK football games, I can't help but think of the musical aesthetics of Cage, Penderecki, and Xenakis. While watching great tennis players, such as Nadal and Sharapova, their ability to stay calm and almost mechanical while performing with immense enthusiasm and passion is better advice than I've obtained in several years of private instrumental lessons. Since beginning this endeavor of music criticism, I've probably read more sport criticism than music criticism. This, however, has not halted my progress in learning style, rhetoric, and most importantly, how to tell a story.

Last night, ESPN's award-winning documentary series, "30 for 30", premiered its newest episode, "Catching Hell: The Steve Bartman Story". I've long viewed this series as perhaps the best story telling on television, but this episode was more thought provoking than ever. Its attention to detail, pacing, different view points, and interviews with the top sport critics made the 2-hour span pass in mere minutes. As each sports critic spoke, I listened for special wordings, turns of phrases, and trains of thought that I could apply to my music criticism. It is fitting that of all the critics and journalists they interviewed, my favorite, Bob Ryan of the Boston Globe, said only one sentence that shaped the rest of the broadcast - "This time it was personal." No other critic could sum up a city's emotions quite so simply and exact.

If nothing else, I write this blog in hopes that we can draw inspiration as music critics from other genres than music. I encourage everyone to read some of Bob Ryan's immense body of work (he's been at a long time.) and perhaps view an episode or two of "30 for 30" to get a feel of what I estimate to be some of the most inspiring documentation around.