Musical Tangents

Loui visited NYC in October. While in NYC, he had an opportunity to talk to Shigeko, who is Loui's father's former colleague and a dear friend. As a working, professional actor who has been in numerous productions including her work at the MET, Shigeko offers different perspectives on music and performing arts in general. They explore topics related to La Mama Experimental Theatre company, her journey to working at the MET, and her journey as a minority actor in NYC.

Another musical theatre giant is Andrew Lloyd Webber (ALW). Although Loui cannot deny the influence Webber had on him as a musician, he has developed many mixed emotions about Webber as an artist. He shares a few aspects of Webber that he admires and a few that he disdains.

As Loui continues to introduce his musical idols, he explores the impact that the pianist Vladimir Horowitz had on him as a musician. Loui explains how he was introduced to Horowitz when beginning to take piano lessons and how he was captivated by how Horowitz interpreted others' works.

Valerie is out of town! So, Loui brainstormed about a filler episode that won't take a lot of effort, and he could just talk for a long time... Thus, he decides to discuss a few musical influences of his that impacted his musical journey. This episode is about Stephen Sondheim and how he influenced Loui as a musician.

Valerie and Loui along with Amelia continue their discussion about listeners and their opinions on music based on their inherent values and their opinions on the artists' personal lives. Should people appreciate music based on music's inherent values, or should they appreciate based on what they like about the artists' personal lives? Should they care to share the opinions...?

Loui and Valerie have a featuring guest to their show for the first time! They along with Amelia discuss how standardization has affected musical world in general. Has it pushed the music as an art form to its limit? Or... has it limited the artists from pushing the boundaries?

Many artists live in a world where they have to be their own promoters of their work. Exposure brings audience, but there is a catch; the work must be original. Is originality crucial, or is it based on what academia believes to be moral? Does originality truly exist in music? Valerie and Loui ponder upon the difficult topic in this episode.

Some famous musicians have said that "music is a universal language." Maybe for many people, this sentiment can be true. But how true is that statement when we use it in our practical reality? Does it still hold the same amount of truth? Valerie and Loui ponder upon this question in this episode.

Loui & Valerie are the two hosts for Musical Tangents, but who are they? Why are they hosting a podcast discussing music? This episode explores both of their upbringings, backgrounds, and growth in music.