Episode 5

So I finally got Episode 5 to download on my computer, but it took long enough! I think one of the best quotes in the episode was said right away. Harry Smith said "I would like to see more of you studying the beauty of nature around you." This fits with our class, because a lot of times this kind of relaxed looking around contributes to music. However, I think it fits better with the entire college setting, because often we get so wrapped up un our classes, we forget to just be amazed by the world and decide to learn things about it on our own.
When they talked about the "genuine anguish" expressed in the song "Penny's Farm", because I didn't hear that genuine anguish... I thought it sounded more like someone discussing the difficulties of life that they'd accepted.
In the Cajun Fox Trot, I liked the tune, and wondered what it would sound like on a different instrument... maybe like something we are more used to. I was also struck by the singer's apparant lack of pitch.... or is it supposed to sound like that?
I thought it was interesting how they talked about Harry Smith having too common of a name to become known early in his career-- I guess I never actually considered that a person's name could determine so much.
For awhile it was interesting to hear about how he was heavily into drugs and alcohol, and how he was basically crazy. But the "Harry" stories got overdone... just one or two would have gotten the picture across just fine.
I liked the sound of the Hawaiian Guitar in the song from sounthern Alabama, but it bothered me how the voices didn't match very well. They sang slightly different rhythms, and although they both used slides between notes, they did that at different times.
When they talked about him teaching Epistomology, I really really wanted to sit in on a class of this subject sometime. I think it'd be very interesting.