Date: Tue, 05 Mar 2002 12:35:05 -0500 From: "Richard L. Williger" Subject: Re: talented or talentless?
OK, I want to know who died and made all the critics King of the Harmonica? Let's keep in mind that there is a difference between "objective" and "subjective." Objective, of course, means you are reciting an observable, provable fact (he was not onstage at 9 pm according to the house clock) as opposed to a subjective interpretation (he was late - oh yeah? says who? according to who's watch? and what is "late" as opposed to "tardy" and on and on ad infinitum). Does Alanis Morissette suck? How are you to measure that? Does your opinion count more than the millions who vote with their dollars? Why does she suck? Because she doesn't play glissandos and trills and thirty-second notes? Because her playing is atonal? And if it is all that, who's to say that's *bad*? Sure we're all entitled to our opinions (the subjective part of what we say), and that's a lot of what this list is. However, one-upmanship over opinions gets tiresome. It's easy to attack the successful, because they're easily identifiable targets not likely to care to bother with us anyhow. Any exposure for the instrument is positive exposure. And any player who receives accolades should be *supported* by us. I don't particularly care for prepared piano, but I'll support John Cage or whoever else tries to further an art form by experimentation, or simply playing. We *all* win when we support each other. We all look pretty damn petty and jealous, otherwise.
