Subject: Re: MUSIC, AGE, and ALIENATION
From: citycabn (citycabn@gateway.net)
Date: Wed Jan 05 2000 - 13:05:39 EST
Paul,
A wonderful post. I just hope you'll be hiding your Leonard Cohen
collection for awhile till she grows up.
yours at 49 (whose masters, before lit. came along, were
Dylan/Cohen/Simon/John-Paul),
Bruce
PS I think due to copyright restrictions, you might as well move away from
your fax machine. I fear you'll have to go to Princeton for the word for
word reality. Or _really_ twist will's arm. :)
-----Original Message-----
From: Paul Kennedy <kennedyp@toronto.cbc.ca>
To: bananafish@lists.nyu.edu <bananafish@lists.nyu.edu>
Date: Tuesday, January 04, 2000 10:49 PM
Subject: MUSIC, AGE, and ALIENATION
>Dear Fishes:
>
>This is one of those 'conversations' that an 18-year-old will never believe
>they get sucked into. I like Bob Dylan. My father liked Glenn Miller. I
>liked the Beatles, and the Stones. My mother liked Frank Sinatra.... Mel
>Torme... They're too old. I'm too young. ....Kurt Cobain.... We'll never
>be able to talk.
>
>Why am I picking up this thread with the vague hope of spinning it into
some
>sort of richly rewarding tapestry?
>
>First: I certainly never intended to diss Mr. Cobain, and I'm a bit
>surprised that my original message was so interpreted. Basically, I was
>trying to say that I don't know ANYTHING about him, or his music--so I
>automatically disqualify myself from any discussion about either of the
>above. ......I went to school with Neil Peart (drummer for RUSH). He's
>given me public credit for making him a musician. I've never listened to a
>note of his music. So if "RUSH" suddenly popped up in the bananafish
>subject line, I'd likely feel morally obliged to ignore all postings--even
>though I could tell you things that might make my old buddy Neil blush.
>Why? Because I'd have nothing to say.....
>
>Second: I remember a discussion here some months ago about "Smoke Gets in
>Your Eyes".... Somebody REALLY smart (but much younger than me....) said
>that it didn't really matter what the song actually sounded like.... I can
>only hope that it was the stupidest thing they'll ever say. The "Smoke"
>scene from CATCHER would be sonically empty if I couldn't be playing
"Smoke"
>in my imaginary soundtrack while I read it. Generational musical
>intolerance works both ways.
>
>Third: Ever since the invention of audio recording, we've enjoyed the
>unprecedented priviledge of listening to great musical artists who have
>long-since been pushing up roses. Let me recommend Billie Holliday, Maria
>Callas, Glenn Gould, Roy Orbison.... I imagine, (but I can ONLY
>imagine--sorry Scottie, and John Lennon) that Kurt Cobain might be included
>in this list. Some day, when I've got world enough and time, I'll try to
>give him a listen.... But I guess that RUSH (for personal reasons) should
be
>first in line....
>
>....after Bach, and Beethoven.... and Brubeck.... and Buxtehude....
>
>So much music. So little time.
>
>Music ought to bridge the gaps between generations. My (now 14-year-old)
>daughter was delighted when she first witnessed BOTH her parents singing
>aloud to some stupid sixties song on the car radio. She's been through
>Alannis, the Back Street Boys, and I can't tell you how many "musical
>suppliers" in the meantime. We'll meet again when she's 40, and I'm on my
>deathbed. And we'll agree on maybe Bach, and Bob Dylan, and maybe (maybe)
>Kurt Cobain--whom she's yet to discover....
>
>Open minds must be open in ALL directions.
>
>Cheers,
>
>Paul
>
>
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