Got my new glasses. The “medium distance” pair for computer use (and music making) is great, as long as I don’t try to walk around too much with them (and I don’t dare try driving in them).
The pair for general use… not so much. They’re rimless, and the posts holding the earpieces and central connection/nosepieces on were getting in the way of the included clip-on sunglasses at first (until I did a bit of bending). Those posts are also in my field of view and a little distracting — maybe they wouldn’t be so bad for single-vision glasses but when your focus depends on the part of the lens you’re looking through, and your eyes keep trying to focus on something a centimeter away… uh-oh. Also, the edges of the lenses catch light from above or behind and throw out distracting flares.
I gave them several days but still don’t like them. So I just ordered a replacement, in the same frame style as the computer glasses but silver instead of black frames, and purple EyeQLens (UV, infrared and blue light, with a slight tint that darkens in sunlight, reportedly even a little bit behind car windshields, yet still compatible with clip-on sunglasses if more is needed). And adding this third pair of “fancy” glasses from Zenni still doesn’t total as much as one (supposedly discounted) pair from Crown.
I recently watched a BBC documentary on minimalism (talking mostly about LaMonte Young, Terry Riley, Steve Reich and Philip Glass) which was kind of interesting. The biggest surprise though was that apparently, Terry Riley doesn’t particularly enjoy listening to minimalist music. That seems a bit weird to me.
I did used to have fun making beat-oriented music with odd time signatures and complex rhythms, too twisty for a typical dance floor. But if I’d stuck with it, my music might be right on trend for summer 2024 thanks to Matmos:
(I even had the “super crunched out sounds.” Geez.)
But I found I liked making that kind of music more than listening to it, and that’s why I changed my habits and I make noisy drone/dark ambient music. Honestly I enjoy listening to my own music (*) more than most ambient artists out there. It’s custom-made for me after all.
(*) some of my older stuff does have cringe moments, places where I recognize that my production skills were a bit weak or where I would make different creative decisions today.
I do wonder what Riley listens to though. Maybe he’s a Taylor Swift fan or is really into Babymetal or Little Nas X.