"Can we take no pride in a human gathering of smaller proportions than would fill a stadium? And will someone tell us the name of the presumptuous god who ordained that the respective appetites of spirit and flesh must remain forever strangers? And if there is none such, will the Arbiters of Pure Beauty please close their eyes on this sordid world and then inform us what is wrong with having tables strewn with glasses of beer and chocolate malteds along with music, at least in some situation more intimate than the concert hall." -Harry Partch
Equal parts composer, inventor and philosopher, Harry Partch was one of the world's most lyrical proponents of cultural holism. His every gesture married form and function to the point where the two were virtually indistinguishable. The above passage, taken from his vital opus Genesis of a Music, suggests the distinction between art and the everyday can be easily marred without sullying the muse or starving the cultured corpus.
Indeed, prejudice of old deigns serious music belong in the concert hall, but it should not be discounted that even the most unpalatable helping of conceptual crackery would pass easier through the ears in the presence of some well stocked crockery. The presence of victuals at a concert does not so much detract from one's enjoyment of the art as it does enhance the pleasure one takes in the art of enjoyment. Musical culture is not comprised solely of the apprehension of the artistic object for contemplation and critique. There is the gathering and the engagement of the listeners, themselves human and animal, spirit and flesh. Given the opportunity, why not feed ear and stomach alike? Such was Partch's suggestion and so it is with The Somethin' Else! If the music isn't easily accessible, perhaps the culture is. Perhaps, the pre-eminence of art over life or, contrarily, life over art is null and void where the goal is gathering, engaging and enjoying. Perhaps, it is time for music to find it's way off the stage and into the dining room. Mmm... perhaps.
