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Thanks for sharing. Sad to say, I couldn't listen to it, though, for me, it's similar to what Rand wrote about "preferring a funeral dirge" to the 'Nelson Eddie/Jeanette McDonald' kind of music." Optimistic doesn't necessarily translate to appreciation. But I did want to share an example of "optimistic" electronic music that I do like (optimistic, at least in places): "Equinox" by Jean Michael Jarre. It seems more "sophisticated" in its optimism, not "cloyingly" so... Shine on.

Hello, this is an invitation to my blog Orpheus Remembered, dedicated to the discussion of the music in the Objectivist community. Music has been one of the most divisive issues among Objectivists, from the debate of rock versus classical to the debate over whether or not it fits into Ayn Rand's definition of art. I present Orpheus Remembered not as the answer, but as a gathering place of material on the subject, for the reader to peruse and ponder for themselves. Contributions and comments are always welcome. Thanks, Joe

From Superhero Babylon: For election day, a mini-version of A SHOW OF HANDS: A Cautionary Tale of Heroes in Exile:

Hi, thanks for reading, and no problem. Short answer: If those "artists" didn't fly those planes, they at least cleared the airspace and invited destruction through "engraved invitation." Long answer: Notice the symbolism on that page. The dollar sign and cross for the rappers, the pentagram and anarchy symbols for the rockers. Notice the ghosts of Charles Manson and Tony Montana behind each. Notice the embrace of anarchy and anti-capitalism in the WTC protester, notice the terrorist actions on both sides. Notice that despite the different means and values (one embraces money while wearing the cross and wielding guns, the other rejects capitalism but argues for political change), they converge on the same image: two rappers blowing up the world trade center, which is on fire. You may not know this, but on Sept. 11, two albums were released that day with the Twin Towers on fire: Dream Theater's LIVE SCENES FROM NEW YORK and the rap album PARTY MUSIC by Coup. This is on that page, two guys in front of the towers with a detonator as it explodes. (Also that year, a concert tour promotion said "destroying America, one city at a time..."). This is a quote from the Coup camp: "The image, says the duo, was intended as a metaphor for the effect music can have on a corrupt system." "There's been a whitewash in the media over the past couple days over what the U.S.'s role in the world is, and the fact that they kill hundreds of thousands of people per year to protect profit. Now how can I get to the point where I could be saying that on the world stage, and interrupt the lies that CBS, CNN, NBC, and everyone is saying? In my view, that [would be] by keeping the cover. Not because I think by looking at the cover you get all of this message that I'm telling you, but as a way to have a platform to interrupt the stream of lies that are being told right now." About the Coup: "The Coup, part of the sub-genre of political hip hop, is politically radical and Marxist in their music, and align themselves with other radical hip-hop groups like Dead Prez. Their music is characterized by electronic sounds and bass-driven backbeats overlaid by humorous, cynical and sometimes violent lyrics criticizing capitalism, American politics, pimping as a form of patriarchal exploitation, and police brutality, among other things." And if you're wondering why I replaced comic book villains with artists, well, in the 90's, comic-book antiheroes were popular (Spawn and the Punisher, for example) and spiderman villains like Venom and Carnage were popular as well. This could never have been the case in previous decades (well, maybe during prohibition.) This was not just comics, Captain America would have found himself at odds with the culture that was "destroying America, one city at a time.) The artists here were a "spawn" of the larger change in the culture after Reagan that opened the doors for an event like 9.11.

Hi, Brian...close, but I can't really say...it's meant to be suggestive, not literal.

From SuperheroBabylon.blogspot.com: A SHOW OF HANDS: A Cautionary Tale of Heroism in Exile (pdf) About the story: This is a short graphic story based on a larger project written by myself and Landon Erp with the working title of SYMPHONY OF BABYLON. The story is larger than what we can complete at this time, (a full time artist is still needed), but it is a story I would like to see finished one day. A SHOW OF HANDS is a "synopsis" of sorts, a "poetic condensation," if you will. I felt that the story needed to be told NOW, and this version is offered as a means to keep the larger story alive until it is one day finished. It also is meant to be a "throwing down of the gauntlet," a message that heroes are not meant to be sacrificed, whether politically, artistically, economically, or socially. It is a defense and a tribute to the real-life heroes who inspire us to achieve on our own. Shine on! Joe Maurone superherobabylon.blogspot.com

Cut out Richard Halley from an ATLAS SHRUGGED movie? NOOO! You have to have him! He represents the 5th element of Objectivism, the aesthetic element. The sense of life. And it's integral to the idea of reason and emotion being integrated. You could condense much of the film by using the musical element (How, I can't get into at the moment.) You would have to have music in the film anyway, so to cut Halley would be wierd. I do agree that there is the threat of the music not matching the description in the book, just like the buildings in THE FOUNTAINHEAD movie didn't match the ideas in the book. One way to deal with this is to use it sparsely, meaning that when you are dealing with scenes where the people are apethetic, and in despair, use no music, since there is no sense of life. Have a lot of silence. Then, when we meet the whistling engineer on the train, and Dagny is hearing the symphomy in her head, it will stand out that much more. Then when she awakes form her reverie, and he stops whistling, the silence will resume. That's just one example of how Halley is important to the film. The bigger question is, why a concerto? A concerto usually refers to a solo instrument against a backdrop of the orchestra. But in Galt's Gulch, there is just Halley and the protege. Is Rand using the term concerto loosely, or is his performance in the Gulch arranged for piano only? But Dagny hears the orchestration in her head. You could have the piano in the Gulch scene, and during the credits, the full orchestration. The whole movie could be an exercise in the rising of the notes, becoming rising itself.