Culture Vulture
The other night I was at work playing some of my own CD's over the stereo. A fella can only listen to so much KDFC (Death for Classical) per day. A "classical" music station owned by the Mormon Church whose programming is the Top 40 moldy oldies to pacify office working drones so that they won't kill their cubicle mate with a stapler. Anyway, how many fucking times can a person listen to the fucking "Four Seasons" and the "William Tell Overture"? We have to play it at the bookstore where I work because, you know, Classical Music is sophisticated, like you, the sensitive reader of literature...That's the theory anyway.
That's the sort of snobby thinking that makes me hate classical music and books and tasteful art films. If "art" doesn't have the sex and blood and laughs and misery in it, what's the frickin' point? You might as well just die in your easy chair, choked by your own good taste and PBS membership!
Anyway, I still happen to like so called classical music. Is Beethoven any less intense than Ozzy Osbourne? Is Stravinsky any less brain melting than the late work of John Coltrane? I have to remind myself that after another brain softening day or night "listening" to KDFC.
Anyway, anyway, I was playing some of Brahms's Piano Quartets in the store the other night. This guy comes up to me and says, "Thanks for the music. I work at the music conservatory." I've had plenty of people thank me for playing my own music before--everything from Sonny Rollins to the Zombies (don't tell the boss!)--but never "thanks for the classical music." That's because I went outside of the accepted playlist! I told the guy, "I thought I could improve on the usual KDFC claptrap." The guy stared at me uncomprehendingly, but that's not an unusual response to one of my obscure jokes.
Next week at work: The Late Beethoven Quartets! Yeahhhh Boyyyyyyyy!!!
I'll just say it now: Scritti Politti's White Bread Black Beer is my #1 album of 2006.
Finally, let's give the Gilmore Girls credit where credit is due. They didn't play horrible Hinder during the last episode--it was just the promo music. The episode featured French pop music and more music references than they'd had all season.
What with that and the Warriors' improved play, I'm beginning to wonder if this blog doesn't wield some sort of supernatural power to have people do my bidding...
That's the sort of snobby thinking that makes me hate classical music and books and tasteful art films. If "art" doesn't have the sex and blood and laughs and misery in it, what's the frickin' point? You might as well just die in your easy chair, choked by your own good taste and PBS membership!
Anyway, I still happen to like so called classical music. Is Beethoven any less intense than Ozzy Osbourne? Is Stravinsky any less brain melting than the late work of John Coltrane? I have to remind myself that after another brain softening day or night "listening" to KDFC.
Anyway, anyway, I was playing some of Brahms's Piano Quartets in the store the other night. This guy comes up to me and says, "Thanks for the music. I work at the music conservatory." I've had plenty of people thank me for playing my own music before--everything from Sonny Rollins to the Zombies (don't tell the boss!)--but never "thanks for the classical music." That's because I went outside of the accepted playlist! I told the guy, "I thought I could improve on the usual KDFC claptrap." The guy stared at me uncomprehendingly, but that's not an unusual response to one of my obscure jokes.
Next week at work: The Late Beethoven Quartets! Yeahhhh Boyyyyyyyy!!!
I'll just say it now: Scritti Politti's White Bread Black Beer is my #1 album of 2006.
Finally, let's give the Gilmore Girls credit where credit is due. They didn't play horrible Hinder during the last episode--it was just the promo music. The episode featured French pop music and more music references than they'd had all season.
What with that and the Warriors' improved play, I'm beginning to wonder if this blog doesn't wield some sort of supernatural power to have people do my bidding...
posted by ken at 2:24 PM
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