From Berlin to Bessie

It was a relief to go from the Berlin Symphony to Bessie Smith. Not because I don't like Brahms, Dvorak, and Tchaikovsky, but because of my listening habits, a little bit in the car, or waiting for the bus with my headphones. The dynamic contrasts in symphonies don't work on the car very well: I'm always turning up the volume to hear the quiet parts or turning down the fff passages. Also, the 3:30 minute segments of popular genres work much better with fragmented modern life.