LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

After six months of Music & Vision, Keith Bramich and I are a touch punch drunk. Nothing serious and certainly nothing contagious. The cause is a combination of goodwill from readers and the generosity of our contributors, who work so hard and enthusiastically to keep this show on the road day after day.

There are many ideas, like balloons, sailing around waiting for the right moment to snatch up for action. One of them will be unveiled next week, and is special because two arts are combined. Micky Shine is known on the internet, and certainly in South Dakota where he lives on the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation. He's a musician, but we know him for his pictures inspired by music. We have designed an open-ended series to show a variety of his pictures, sometimes accompanied by suitable music from the work of new composers.

Micky Shine will provide brief introductions to his paintings, and a longer introductory piece for the first day to explain his work and visionary ideas. We are keenly aware of entering a controversial area, but who really prefers the safety of inertia? The human mind needs to explore its surroundings, whether they be physical or spiritual.

Shine's Musical Perspectives will not reach its potential until a regular feedback from readers reaches us. Our prediction is that a generous response could well prove to be shrewd and enlightening, as much for the artist as we ourselves.

Whilst I'm in full flood, I must again invite readers to interact more frequently with our magazine by raining letters upon us (after all, there's no cost but time on the net), outlining ideas, and submitting articles if there's an irrepressible urge to write about music. Just do it, and leave the rest to our judgement. We delight in chewing things over. You have nothing to lose by contacting us, and we are masters of diplomacy.

Having now commenced the technological trail by including music extracts for record reviews, we see this as a mere beginning towards increasing use of net facilities as technology provides the means. Again, if you feel that we are too timid in this direction, write and insist that we make amends.

One very strong plea from us: please read this through at least twice and then do something about it. Our second plea is straightforward: please do not throw the keyboard through the computer screen as a reaction to this letter. We are not insured for readers' engendered by our suggestions.

Basil Ramsey, July 3rd 1999