Hockey and Music

joanna bujes joanna.bujes at ebay.sun.com
Tue Jan 22 13:59:39 PST 2002


At 02:46 PM 01/22/2002 -0500, you wrote:
>Oh, we won't need professional entertainers - that's so hierarchical
>& alienating. We can all entertain ourselves, sitting around the
>campfire, strumming our homemade instruments, noshing on the
>delicious wild berries we've just gathered, singing nonviolent
>folksongs. Paradise, eh?

Why are you making fun? Think! There is probably little that is more disruptive to cultural development as the cult of the virtuoso. At any rate, I would rather live in a culture where everyone can play some kind of instrument and move their bodies than I would in a country where everyone sits in front of their t.v./stereo bopping and having masturbatory fantasies of fame.

When I was little, my grandfather kept his fiddle on a hook on the wall. He would take it down and play while I danced. The only thing that makes me as happy as that is watching my daughter (8) dance. Neither my grandfather nor my daughter performed for public acclaim; they did it for the sheer joy of it and it was a joy to be there with them. And, for the record, the best party I've been to in quite a while was given by my dance teacher: most everyone who came could play something or dance. As they played/danced until about three in the morning, I noticed that less alcohool and drugs were consumed than at normal parties and that everyone was having a great time. Coincidence?

Also, it's not a question of choosing between Yo Yo Ma and your good buddies. It's a question of realizing that when everyone is musically literate, the few that also have the genes/talent/genius (Bach/Mozart) can rise higher.

Joanna B.



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