Eolake said... "I wonder what ol' Oscar would have thunk of his life's work being sold for a dollar and eigteen cents?!!"
"MAN, what a wad!" :-D (pretty amazing, though FREE is an even BETTER "price"! I always find it amazing (but grateful) that so much literature is already free.)
This explains why there's no one of his stature writing today.
You are right. There's no contemporary writer worth reading. But thanks to the voluminous output of the bygone masters, there's no shortage of reading material no matter how much we read.
That may be true, but I don't like the idea of becoming culturally stagnant.
I see this as a transition phase that will pass.
It is similarly dead in the field of music. Youngsters born in the 1990's are the first generation who don't prefer their contemporary (pop) music, but instead look to the earlier decades for music to listen to.
This phase will be over by 2020, at which time a new kind of cultural revolution will be well on its way.
I sat in an airplane between UK and Germany, along with a class of school kids. Next to me a 15-year-old lad, who pulled out of a bag... Beatles albums! On Vinyl!
So I guess the fans of Pink and Lady Gaga are older people?
One of my closest friends, a musician, was actually working on an article about this, cultural stand-still... around 1990! I'm not sure if I agree or not. There's something to it.
Next to me a 15-year-old lad, who pulled out of a bag... Beatles albums! On Vinyl!
Exactly! It's a bit unbelievable, but I see examples of this all the time.
So I guess the fans of Pink and Lady Gaga are older people?
Keep in mind that these are products created by big corporations. As long as we have the corporations it would strange if they hadn't managed to push any products to the market.
I'm not sure if I agree or not. There's something to it.
I think it would be difficult to argue that something isn't different now. But then, nothing is black and white; there has to be some contemporary stuff available too, or else we would no longer even have an industry.
Whenever I discuss my musical tastes with someone older than me, they always say the same thing. "I'm surprised someone your age would listen to my music." Well, what else am I gonna listen to? My generation doesn't have any heroes of our own. The closest thing would be Nirvana, and hell, I was still watching Ninja Turtles when Nevermind came out. That said, there are lots of great bands out there if you know where to look. *coughBoriscough*
"This phase will be over by 2020, at which time a new kind of cultural revolution will be well on its way."
I hope so too. And I did say “well on its way”. So even if my conservative prediction turned out to be accurate, I envision it would start gathering momentum earlier.
he could have used it!
ReplyDeleteEolake said...
ReplyDelete"I wonder what ol' Oscar would have thunk of his life's work being sold for a dollar and eigteen cents?!!"
"MAN, what a wad!" :-D (pretty amazing, though FREE is an even BETTER "price"! I always find it amazing (but grateful) that so much literature is already free.)
"I'll sell a million!"
ReplyDeleteThat's a good point.
ReplyDeleteI wonder what ol' Oscar would have thunk of his life's work being sold for a dollar and eigteen cents?!!
ReplyDeleteThis explains why there's no one of his stature writing today.
This explains why there's no one of his stature writing today.
ReplyDeleteYou are right. There's no contemporary writer worth reading. But thanks to the voluminous output of the bygone masters, there's no shortage of reading material no matter how much we read.
That may be true, but I don't like the idea of becoming culturally stagnant.
ReplyDeleteThat may be true, but I don't like the idea of becoming culturally stagnant.
ReplyDeleteI see this as a transition phase that will pass.
It is similarly dead in the field of music. Youngsters born in the 1990's are the first generation who don't prefer their contemporary (pop) music, but instead look to the earlier decades for music to listen to.
This phase will be over by 2020, at which time a new kind of cultural revolution will be well on its way.
I sat in an airplane between UK and Germany, along with a class of school kids. Next to me a 15-year-old lad, who pulled out of a bag... Beatles albums! On Vinyl!
ReplyDeleteSo I guess the fans of Pink and Lady Gaga are older people?
One of my closest friends, a musician, was actually working on an article about this, cultural stand-still... around 1990!
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure if I agree or not. There's something to it.
Next to me a 15-year-old lad, who pulled out of a bag... Beatles albums! On Vinyl!
ReplyDeleteExactly! It's a bit unbelievable, but I see examples of this all the time.
So I guess the fans of Pink and Lady Gaga are older people?
Keep in mind that these are products created by big corporations. As long as we have the corporations it would strange if they hadn't managed to push any products to the market.
I'm not sure if I agree or not. There's something to it.
I think it would be difficult to argue that something isn't different now. But then, nothing is black and white; there has to be some contemporary stuff available too, or else we would no longer even have an industry.
Whenever I discuss my musical tastes with someone older than me, they always say the same thing. "I'm surprised someone your age would listen to my music." Well, what else am I gonna listen to? My generation doesn't have any heroes of our own. The closest thing would be Nirvana, and hell, I was still watching Ninja Turtles when Nevermind came out. That said, there are lots of great bands out there if you know where to look. *coughBoriscough*
ReplyDelete"This phase will be over by 2020, at which time a new kind of cultural revolution will be well on its way."
I pray it happens much much sooner than that.
I pray it happens much much sooner than that.
ReplyDeleteI hope so too. And I did say “well on its way”. So even if my conservative prediction turned out to be accurate, I envision it would start gathering momentum earlier.