I had to go the beloved public library to drop off CDs and get a fresh stock (I found one of Yo Yo Ma's, playing Astor Piazolla's tangos; I am a bad dancer fascinated by the tango, a manifestation, perhaps, of reading J.L. Borges), when I chanced upon the memoir of Sting called "Broken Music". Now I am under a self imposed ban from buying any further books, for moving what I already have to my next garret upstate can be a bit expensive. But way back, I discovered that not only can Sting write great songs, he is also a very articulate man, who can put across things beautifully like this:

"Silence if disturbing, is disturbing because it is the wavelength of the soul. If we leave no space in our music—and I'm as guilty as anyone else in this regard—then we rob the sound we make of a defining context. It is often music born from anxiety to create more anxiety. It's as if we're afraid of leaving space. Great music's as much about the space between the notes as it is about the notes themselves. A bar's rest is as important and significant as the bar of demi-, semi-quavers that precedes it. What I'm trying to say here is that if ever I'm asked if I'm religious I always reply, "Yes, I'm a devout musician." Music puts me in touch with something beyond the intellect, something otherworldly, something sacred."

Thus, one more book to the pile.