--- [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > I was simply saying that Bach is not better music > than Led Zeppelin, because > it is more complex. In the end I would not say that > any music style is better > than another. > Mark,
But to not make distinctions - decisions about which of things has more merit - is to go against deeply ingrained human desires and experiences. It is actually no less than denying one's own self. Do you have trouble making a decision between a well-cooked meal and a poorly cooked one? I'll bet you don't! (I've had more of the former.) Can you say that whole types of approaches to food preparation are much better than others - say, fast-food McDonald's vs. a slow-food gourmet restaurant? I _hope_ you can. And I'll bet you don't think highly of people who don't take the mental effort to appreciate the distinction between a Big Mac and a Beef Wellington. I know which I prefer. Still, I'll admit to eating (and even being able to swallow) McDonald's a couple of times a year. Yes indeed, Bach's music is better than Led Zeppelin's, _far_ better, in fact. But not just because it is more complex. (Otherwise, we'd have to give the award of "best music" to Boulez or Babbitt or some obscure logarithmist.) I would argue that Bach's music is among the best works of art that the human race has _ever_ produced, regardless of time, place, or society. But that doesn't mean that his music is the absolute best at everything, nor does it invalidate other types of music. I would doubt that a Bach fugue would relate to the specific everyday experieces of the inner-city street thug, for instance - that's where hip-hop came from. But beyond the banal accidents of day to day life, deep in the soul of that person, there is something in the music of Bach that speaks to the soul in ways that a hip-hop ditty never, ever can; now or in a million years. Yes, better. Chris __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
