Glenn Stallcop Composer, Performer
A Convincing Commitment
When it comes to politics, I tend to be opinionated but not aggressive. I applaud those who find the time and energy to support candidates and causes, but I find that I am often either too cynical or antisocial to become directly involved. That does not mean that I am not both intrigued and fascinated by the process. Deciding who leads a government by means of little more than a popularity contest seems less than intuitive on the surface, but it has proven to be the least offensive and often also the most fair.
I am also fascinated with those who do the campaigning, either for themselves or a cause. Though there are those who show sometimes only a thinly veiled thirst for power, there are also those who have a strong commitment to public service. Often, of course, there is a little of both. I can’t help but think that the process of campaigning must have a strong influence on the nature and makeup of the candidates. There is so much more to a campaign than ideas.
During a campaign, a candidate’s exposure to so many different people, opinions, and viewpoints can’t help but have an effect on all but the most hard-headed or obliviously entitled. Any political person I have known and had an honest discussion with has mentioned those encounters with reverence and responsibility. Of course, not all of those encounters are positive. Those who peddle influence are sometimes not above appealing to less than virtuous urges. And as they say, campaigns are a marathon, not a sprint.
So this album deals with the emotional impact of the campaign itself, without reference to the quality of the candidate or issues. The diversity of people and situations in a campaign can stir the cauldron of experience in unexpected ways with unpredictable consequences. It is about how real people can interact on a more human level and add depth, subtlety, and reality to another’s life and beliefs, and it is about how people can change.
A CONVINCING COMMITMENT
When it comes to politics, I tend to be opinionated but not aggressive. I applaud those who find the time and energy to support candidates and causes, but I find that I am often either too cynical or antisocial to become directly involved. That does not mean that I am not both intrigued and fascinated by the process. Deciding who leads a government by means of little more than a popularity contest seems less than intuitive on the surface, but it has proven to be the least offensive and often also the most fair.
I am also fascinated with those who do the campaigning, either for themselves or a cause. Though there are those who show sometimes only a thinly veiled thirst for power, there are also those who have a strong commitment to public service. Often, of course, there is a little of both. I can’t help but think that the process of campaigning must have a strong influence on the nature and makeup of the candidates. There is so much more to a campaign than ideas.
During a campaign, a candidate’s exposure to so many different people, opinions, and viewpoints can’t help but have an effect on all but the most hard-headed or obliviously entitled. Any political person I have known and had an honest discussion with has mentioned those encounters with reverence and responsibility. Of course, not all of those encounters are positive. Those who peddle influence are sometimes not above appealing to less than virtuous urges. And as they say, campaigns are a marathon, not a sprint.
So this album deals with the emotional impact of the campaign itself, without reference to the quality of the candidate or issues. The diversity of people and situations in a campaign can stir the cauldron of experience in unexpected ways with unpredictable consequences. It is about how real people can interact on a more human level and add depth, subtlety, and reality to another’s life and beliefs, and it is about how people can change.