The Big Lebowski Meets the Big Sleep

Students Liked the Movie, But They Can't Abide The Dude

I’m working on fresh material, tossing around ideas for the Substack. Some people come here and are surprised it’s about music. Thinking about minor tweak to the name, although I’m afraid anything I do will be like calling a popular beverage “the New Coke.” I toss around paywall ideas: there’s a tiny leak in paid subscribers for entirely reasonable reasons. Is that redundant? I’m in the same winter morass as most other sensible people. I started taking piano lessons in summer 2024 and found the teacher of whom I’ve always dreamed. Edmund Arkus, Mahler scholar, teaching me “Louie Louie.” He was transformative. Then he died suddenly on Valentine’s Day, 12 days ago, and I am still bereft in a different way than the daily dose of terrifying news makes me feel. I posted this three years ago when this room was almost empty. It’s about my own dedication to lifelong learning, having gotten my M.A. in middle-age thanks to a late-career fellowship at New York University. It’s also about the gen…