Wes Phillips

<I>Language Log</I> offers some good advice on protecting yourself from&#151'wait for it&mdash;good advice on writing.

Really, don't bother.

Terry Teachout's <I>Commentary</I> essay on Malcolm Arnold suggests that it's time to re-evaluate the critical consensus that Arnold's music wasn't serious simply because it was, well, among other things, not hard on its listeners.

Tomorrow night, I'm going to attend a wake for Tower, an event held by ex-Tower classical employees where we will commiserate, dissect, and reminisce about the good old days.

This is a great response to a bone-headed manufacturing ploy. Yes, it happens&mdash;a reviewer contacts a manufacturer for a review sample and the manufacturer responds, "Sure, as long as you guarantee good press."

I've just discovered <I>Think Denk</I> (thanks to a link from Alex Ross' <I>The Rest Is Noise</I>). Billed as "the glamorous life and thoughts of a concert pianist," it's a good read&mdash;and Jeremy Denk is good company. Now I have to hear him play.

It is a well-known fact that a rock guitarist's ability to squeeze those really hard-to-reach notes out of a guitar is directly tied to the facial muscles. Over at WFMU's fabulous <I>Beware of the Blog</I>, Scott Williams has posted a tribute to the "guitar face."