Awesome quote on the power of rock music.

[Fifty]

Picture a thirteen-year-old boy sitting in the living room of his family home doing his math assignment while wearing his [ipod] headphones or watching MTV. He enjoys the liberties hard won over centuries by the alliance of philosophic genius and political heroism, consecrated by the blood of martyrs; he is provided with comfort and leisure by the most productive economy ever known to mankind; science has penetrated the secrets of nature in order to provide him with the marvelous, lifelike electronic sound and image reproduction he is enjoying. And in what does progress culminate? A pubescent child whose body throbs with orgasmic rhythms; whose feelings are made articulate in hymns to the joys of onanism or the killing of parents; whose ambition is to win fame and wealth in imitating the drag-queen who makes the music. In short, life is made into a nonstop, comercially prepackaged masturbational fantasy.

Thoughts from the type of person described (that is, roughly 80% of OT)? Thoughts from others? Does this accurately capture the music obsession that so many young people hold? If you are one of said music lovers, are you thinking to yourself "well yeah, lots of music lovers are like that, but not me!". Are you sure you aren't like that? How sure? Are you sure that you wouldn't be more virtuous without the ipod on 24/7?

My thoughts: I agree with the author!

 

[Ansar]

Only if it's 2 Live Crew.

 

[Trajan12]

Thoughts from the type of person described (that is, roughly 80% of OT)? Thoughts from others? Does this accurately capture the music obsession that so many young people hold? If you are one of said music lovers, are you thinking to yourself "well yeah, lots of music lovers are like that, but not me!". Are you sure you aren't like that? How sure? Are you sure that you wouldn't be more virtuous without the ipod on 24/7?

My thoughts: I agree with the author!

I agree as well. But I'm unsure about what exactly the author is trying to convey.

A critique of commercialism? I'm with that.

Critique of "Omg music is my life-teenage Hipster kids? I'm with that.

Critique of being immersed in music? Now that, I don't think I agree with. I don't think listening to music 24/7 is necessarily a bad thing until you factor in the commercialism or hipsterism.

 

[Thorvald of Lym]

Critique of being immersed in music? Now that, I don't think I agree with. I don't think listening to music 24/7 is necessarily a bad thing until you factor in the commercialism or hipsterism.

I agree with the last part, and I think in that context the music is likened to a drug addiction: you can probably tell it's bad for you, but you don't want to let go of the artificial pleasure it provides.

 

[Eran of Arcadia]

That quote inspires me to go out and buy stuff.

 

[Phlegmak]

Thoughts from the type of person described (that is, roughly 80% of OT)? Thoughts from others? Does this accurately capture the music obsession that so many young people hold? If you are one of said music lovers, are you thinking to yourself "well yeah, lots of music lovers are like that, but not me!". Are you sure you aren't like that? How sure? Are you sure that you wouldn't be more virtuous without the ipod on 24/7?

My thoughts: I agree with the author!

I mostly agree with the author.

By the way, after keeping it secret for 16 years, I am making my music available for your listening pleasure:

http://cctg.us/~alex/music/index.html

 

[Rossiya]

Have you got a source for this? I don't trust anything that doesn't say exactly where it comes from, because I live in an insecure little world of my own, scared of a butterfly flying past me because it doesn't have a "Made in China" sticker on it.

 

[Mise]

Sex is the proximate cause of musical enjoyment. You'll learn more if you think about it yourself, but the ultimate cause is here.

Spoiler :

That's right, you've been Chesney Hawkes'd!

 

[I'm Cleo!]

Yeah, I suppose that's right. But life could be a lot worse than "a nonstop, comercially prepackaged masturbational fantasy." The kid's not worrying about being eaten by lions, or starving to death, or being impressed into naval service. We've come a long way, baby!

Cleo

 

[LucyDuke]

I am not a music lover. I flirt with music sometimes. Sometimes we dance together. But I am not a lover of music. I like it, sure. I just don't really feel much passion about most of it. I don't really understand how people can get SO FREAKIN INTO IT OMFG IT IS MY LIFE. Cool? Have fun, I guess. I don't understand hyperreligious people either. Or skateboard fanatics. Whatever, y'know?

Are American kids spoiled little shitbags? Uh... that's not news, or really arguable. Of course they are.

Maybe I don't understand what's going on here.

Have you got a source for this? I don't trust anything that doesn't say exactly where it comes from, because I live in an insecure little world of my own, scared of a butterfly flying past me because it doesn't have a "Made in China" sticker on it.

A source? What do you want a source for? It's something somebody said, and what do you think about it? Why does it matter who said it? You're weird.

 

[JollyRoger]

. . . masturbational fantasy.

Seems what the author is engaging in.

 

[Trajan12]

I am not a music lover. I flirt with music sometimes. Sometimes we dance together. But I am not a lover of music. I like it, sure. I just don't really feel much passion about most of it. I don't really understand how people can get SO FREAKIN INTO IT OMFG IT IS MY LIFE. Cool? Have fun, I guess. I don't understand hyperreligious people either. Or skateboard fanatics. Whatever, y'know?

If you don't feel passion in the music you're listening to, you're not listening to the right music!

 

[m4gill4]

I don't get it... so appreciating music is nothing but a masturbatorial fantasy? What a cynical person!

There is a lot of good music out there that has no elements of "onanism or killing of parents". What kind of music is this weirdo listening to?

 

[jameson]

"The children now love luxury. They have bad manners, contempt for
authority, they show disrespect to their elders.... They no longer
rise when elders enter the room. They contradict their parents,
chatter before company, gobble up dainties at the table, cross their
legs, and are tyrants over their teachers."

......................

 

[I'm Cleo!]

Well, if your kid's doing his homework while listening to The Divinyls on his iPod, it might be a little strange, but probably nothing too serious.

Cleo

 

[shortguy]

I don't think this person is only saying that the young and music obsessed are nuts, fifty. He seems also to be saying that they should spend their time prostrated in awe at the technological and social marvels that have given them the ability to listen to it in the comfort of their own home. If your point is that people should take music less seriously, I don't think this nutter is the dude you want to be quoting.

 

[m4gill4]

"The children now love luxury. They have bad manners, contempt for
authority, they show disrespect to their elders.... They no longer
rise when elders enter the room. They contradict their parents,
chatter before company, gobble up dainties at the table, cross their
legs, and are tyrants over their teachers."

In other words:

GET OFF MY LAWN!!!!!!!!!

 

[Cheezy the Wiz]

......................

This only validates Fifty's position. I mean, you're thinking like Socrates himself!

 

[Mise]

Criticising popular culture is so edgy and non-conformist.

 

[jameson]

This only validates Fifty's position. I mean, you're thinking like Socrates himself!

No it's not, because in the 2,500 years after the man allegedly said this (the origin of the quote is disputed), the children of that day have produced children, who in turn produced more children who were likely as lazy and onanistic as those in Socrates's age, this cycle continuing until now where we've got marvelous, lifelike electronic sound and image reproduction and a whole lot else. Besides, the pubescent childs whose bodies were throbbing have by now likely produced kids of their own, given that the quote originates from a 1987 book.