Re: The troubles (revisited)

[John Mallinckrodt <ajmallinckro@CSUPomona.Edu>]

On Sun, 19 Oct 1997, Thomas L Wayburn wrote:

> ...
>    I shall omit the discussion of how listening to dumb music makes
> people dumb and go on to how all of this happened, but very briefly.  I
> am not prepared to supply the proof.  I *know* it's true, so I am already
> convinced.  Since a proof is to convince someone that something is true,
> I don't need a proof.

That's convenient.

> You could prove it for yourself if you were willing to do the 
> (considerable) work.

Forgive me if I don't try.  I'm afraid, however, that I'd need a 
little more than your assurance.

As much as I may dislike much or most of what gets repeated 
airplay these days, the statement that "any popular music that 
employs a back beat excessively [whatever that is], puts the bass 
line too far [whatever that is] in front, ditto the bass drum ..." 
is "non" or "dumb" music is simply an expression of personal 
taste.  To suggest that listening to any such music "makes people 
dumb" is an absurd generalization--one that is, I suspect, not 
subject to "proof."

O.K., I confess that you've pushed one of my buttons.  I have 
spent a lot of time over the years listening to, playing, 
producing amateur and professional recordings of, and generally 
enjoying your "dumb music."  (Of course, I only like the good, 
intelligent stuff, not the stuff that really *is* dumb.)  It's a 
close call and the experiences are not really comparable, but I'd 
have to say that I enjoy listening to Toy Matinee and performing 
old Beatles tunes about as much as I do singing Faure's Requiem 
or Carmina Burana.

As long as we are tossing out candidates for primary people 
dumbers with the proof being "I said so," how about my personal 
candidate--professional sports?  I am not prepared to supply the 
proof, but it is a well known fact that watching, reading about, 
supporting with ticket purchases, and especially aspiring to 
participate (and get rich) in professional sports wastes more 
lives and generally does more harm to society than sex, drugs, and 
rock and roll all put together.  The only good thing about the 
enormous popularity of professional sports is that it generates 
(and is, therefore, confined to) its own section of the newspaper, 
one that I don't even have to open before tossing in the recycling 
bin.

Now I have to go write an exam.  I'll need a little background 
music.  Dang!  Where is that Buffalo Springfield album?

John
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