荒謬世界香港篇之地鐵禁古箏

早前傳媒流傳一張背著古箏的學生在大圍站被地鐵職員留難最後無法上車的照片，網民指出帶著比古箏更大件如電器傢俱的乘客（疑似水貨客）卻在地鐵進出自如，相當不公平。後來有報導指曾有祖國學生欲攜古箏乘港鐵來港參賽被拒，以及大提琴也在被禁之列，可見受害者不只本地人，也有祖國人；不單中樂器，亦有西樂器，總之音樂人不分彼此。

蕭才子撰文從經濟學：執法成本分析此現象，其實道理極簡單：職員捨難取易也！和水貨客糾纏既費時又費勁，拿著樂器的學生哥如何相比？早幾天又流傳一張城管留難拾荒老婆婆的照片，說為何被趕的從來不是有枱有櫈阻街的電訊公司電視台推銷員？道理也差不多吧。


熱愛中樂的我在中學時代也學過兩種中樂器，幸好笛子和二胡皆方便攜帶，其實我不知有學生會背著體積重量不小的古箏乘搭公共交通工具，這股熱誠實在值得尊重。

Bass music

I heard that some people have the tendency to hum the bass line when trying to sing-a-long and I doubt I'm one of them but I do enjoy bass-centric music a lot. I recommended "The Bridge" by Charnett Moffett and "About Now" by Mark Egan before. The former is a bass solo album. I listened to another today: "Ones All" by Dave Holland. Any non-bass fan should give this a listen: Holland's melodic playing will change your mind. One bass is all you need, but sometimes it's also good to have a saxophone, as in the case of bassist Heiri Kanzig's duet with Chico Freeman named "The Arrival." You would hear the intimacy between two voices, and the listener, which is a very special feeling, especially on the ballads. Last but not least, another album with Dave Holland was his collaboration with flamenco master Pepe Habichuela named "Hands" It started with a producer invited both of them to play in Spain. That's when Dave Holland learned the art of flamenco. And it proves that really talented musicians are capable of mastering multiple styles. It's actually quite rare to hear flamenco music featuring bass (here is a study on this topic by a music school student) I think all instrumental flamenco music lovers will enjoy this work a lot as Dave Holland has added an extra dimension to the style.