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From: jackson@curium.DEC (Seth Jackson)
Newsgroups: net.music
Subject: Re: Good and bad music
Message-ID: <2652@decwrl.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 12-Jun-85 19:01:06 EDT
Article-I.D.: decwrl.2652
Posted: Wed Jun 12 19:01:06 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 15-Jun-85 09:27:50 EDT
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>>The Laverne and Shirley/MacBeth analogy is a good one. MacBeth is clearly
>>a superior work if you base your judgment on the criterion of intellectual
>>challenge. However, if you choose the criterion of 1/2 hour of light-hearted
>>entertainment, then Laverne and Shirley is the superior work. The show has 
>>something to offer that many people find
>>to be of value, and, therefore, by certain measures, not only is it a 
>>good show, it's better than MacBeth.
>>

>Okay, here's another analogy.  Think of the attitudes of various people
>toward the concept of "love".  Little children think of it as
>'icky mushiness', teenagers as 'sex', and many adults as 'a mutually
>supportive relationship' (or somesuch).  Most people who've experienced the
>last kind of "mature" love would say that it is superior to two previous
>views.  But holders of the two previous ones would look at "mature" love
>as perhaps silly and tiresome.  But what you will probably find is that 
>most anyone who has been in the third stage has probably been in the previous
>two as well, but NOT THE VICE VERSA.
>	You might use this criterion for musical quality as well.  How many
>people do you know who have gone from being dead-heads to top-40 fans.
>I know plenty who've gone the vice versa route.
>
>-larry kolodney

People who desire intellectual challenge or soulfulness or whatever 
will gravitate towards music with those characteristics. This will 
tend to happen as people grow older and develop the capacity 
to appreciate those things. But, on the other hand, there are 
plenty of people who grow older and do *not* become Deadheads 
or lovers of jazz or classical music, because those kinds of 
music do not have what those folks are looking for, whereas 
middle-of-the-road or top 40 *does*.

Face it. You are never going to prove that top 40 or any kind of
music is bad. All you can ever prove is that *you* don't like it.
And even then, what you might really be proving is that you're too 
much of an elitist to allow yourself to enjoy the simple pleasure
that pop music has to offer. This is not meant as a personal flame,
but rather as a spark to cause you (and others) to examine your 
motivation for wanting to insist that pop is "bad" and that the 
music you like is "better".
--

"Once in a while you get shown the light 
 In the strangest of places if you look at it right"

				Seth Jackson
				dec-curium!jackson