Re: cut'n'paste et al

[Joshua Horowitz <horowitz...>]

Hmph. Please do go ahead and criticize. I certainly don't want to repress 
that need. However, to criticize what is NOT included in a production is a
potentially endless task. Even in todays musical industrial landscape, where
it might be expected to include CDs with books, we didn't have the a priori
assumption that not including a cd lessened the quality of our work. Its a
book. Not a book with a CD. We contacted 60 publishers for this project in
1992. Three of them bit the bait. One of them came through. Our contract
does not include the production of a CD, nor does it include the tune Quando
el rey nimrod nor leather binding and gilded script on the inlay. Such
omissions can be considered shortcomings, but if they are not within the
budget and scope of the production, what exactly is being criticized? Our
shortcomings as negotiators? The publisher's disinterest in ethnomusicology?
So, there, you've been shot now Judith. Not so bad, is it? Josh

> With all due respect and admiration, though, whatever the reasons for
> not including a cd are,  if that had been the intention but it proved to
> be impossible for whatever reason to either have that publisher do it or
> to change publishers, then perhaps including a note to that effect in
> the book, saying that the authors hope to be able to issue one in the
> near future?
>
>>  I hope we
>> don't get into the criticism of why there is not a CD with this book. We're
>> working on it. Believe me after ten years struggling to get this farkakte
>> book out, it feels frustrating to have it pointed out that we didn't include
>> the cd when we fought with our sanity to get it included.
>
> The book has received very positive attention, and should do so, but if
> I and others find that it would be immeasurably enhanced by including a
> cd, which, again, is hardly uncommon these days (Henry's book,though
> separately;  Mark Slobin's book, Kay SHelemay on Syrian Jews, etc etc)
> then, while appreciating the frustrations and difficulties (believe me!)
> I think it's a little unfair to suggest that no one can criticize this
> omission. It's being sold, it's being sold! but wanting to sell one's
> product, however excellent, doesn't mean no one can say anything about
> it that you don't want them to!
> ok, shoot me, affectionately, Judith
 

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