Our Dumb World indeed

Re: "On Campus, Vampires Are Besting the Beats"


To address the cynics first, it's true that you can't really judge what college kids are reading based on sales at the college bookstore. Those stores' sales are made up almost entirely of textbooks, other required reading such as novels and anthologies, cheap items in the "used" bin, and impulse buys. I think it's safe to say that these purchases of books about "hunky vampires or Barack Obama" fall into the last category -- if you're loading up on Advanced Economics or Theoretical Neuroscience, it's pretty easy to justify tossing in a brainless paperback and charging it to your student account.
But that aspect doesn't account for the larger issues. I graduated from college three years ago, and I remember "Harry Potter" beating out every single book for being most discussed outside of a classroom. Sure, we'd gush about our love for Lady Brett Ashley or moan about the tedium of Samuel Beckett, but virtually nothing of any real relevance or importance save presidential politics (the election of 2004 and Karl Rove's visit to our campus) was on the lips of any student, even English majors.
College students are self-obsessed, monomaniacal party machines who often lose articles of clothing in public places; they also spend more time than they would at a full-time job reading, researching and writing in-depth on a myriad of esoteric subjects; they really don't have any time or desire left over in their free time to read anything more complex than articles on College Humor. But why isn't just plain reading a part of these students' lives anymore? Before the Internet, political fanatics and subversive activists wrote books, and students read them, not because they loved to read, but because reading was a primary mode of communication as well as a way to pass time and stay engaged with the world. Reading and writing weren't considered chores or activities set aside out of necessity for a few hours a week, they were just a natural, cohesive part of society. Now, you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone with an attention span long enough to finish anything other than headlines on Drudge. Strangely, in the Age of Information, real information is no longer relevant.
Which brings us to why people would rather read "Twilight" than something more fulfilling or even well-written (even king of pseudo-lit Stephen King hates Stephanie Meyer!). First, I think it has to do with trends 
—vampires are a phase that ebbs and flows, and this book came out at the right time and was able to target the optimal audience of tween girls (not to mention it probably half-assedly filled some gaps in the hearts of those in Harry Potter withdrawal). Second, I think there's a mentality, especially in parents, that any book is a good book—"Hey, as long as my kid is reading." This might apply to college students, as well, who think, "Hey, I'm reading a book not required for class! I deserve a medal!" But the third reason is the most problematic: People do not understand books. For some reason in the past few decades, society has divided volumes into "School Books" and "Fun Books," and the twain very rarely meet.
I was a writing tutor in college, and I could tell that virtually every student who walked into the writing center was in "School Book Mode." You could ask them what they thought of a book or a class, and they'd answer academically and dismissively. Even if it was a book like "Cat's Cradle," or a poem like "Howl," works that are extraordinarily stimulating, deep, and—most importantly—FUN. These students seem to think that if a book is required reading, for them or for any other student in the country, then it cannot be a Fun book, and therefore cannot be a Good book. They treat reading like a chore, and any other piece of trash they come across has infinitely more potential to be Good or Fun simply because of its non-school nature. Therefore, "Twilight" is popular because it's superficial, it talks to ignorant teenagers on their own level, it challenges and stimulates no one, and no school would ever dream of ever making it required reading.
This mentality towards education has infinite problems associated with it. It has to do with, in some cases, an omnipresent disconnect between a student and school that has existed as long as schools have, but in other cases, a rapidly growing trend of laziness brought about by society's glorification of instant gratification. It's easy to blame the Internet and to rail against Twitter and instant messaging for the downfall of literacy, but they're obviously a huge part of the problem—schools have already lost the war over handwriting to keyboards.
"There is nary a student in the classroom—and this goes for English majors, too—who wouldn't pronounce Stephen King a better author than Donald Barthelme or William Vollmann. The students do not have any shame about reading inferior texts," Professor Eric Williamson says. Well, where's the shame? It's time for illiterate kids and adults alike to rediscover the embarrassment of being ignorant.

Poor Noah

If I stop what I'm doing for a few minutes and blog every time I observe someone misusing the English language, I doubt I'd ever get any other work, reading, writing, eating, peeing or much else of anything done. But here I go.

You're Making Noah Webster Cry, day 1.

I work in a newspaper office, where there is much bandying about of style terms, neologisms and shorthand. Often, people I work with use terms (I guess in the interest of saving time by using shorter and less-precise words), and this one of them.

The words "fix" and "revise" to mean the noun "correction."

As defined by Merriam-Webster, the first set of definitions for "fix" is for the verb. The set second, for the noun, includes the following: "1: a position of difficulty or embarrassment : predicament 2 a: the position (as of a ship) determined by bearings, observations, or radio; also : a determination of one's position b: an accurate determination or understanding especially by observation or analysis 3: an act or instance of improper or illegal fixing 4: a supply or dose of something strongly desired or craved 5: fixation."

Only as the very last option (and the least common) is the one that means "something that fixes or restores : solution ." And I suspect this entry was added as nominalization has become an increasingly widespread and horrifying trend.

Yes, nominalization. The act of turning an unsuspecting, useful word (usually a verb) into a noun, creating what are often unnecessarily long, convoluted sentences. "My specialization is in phonetics" instead of "I specialize in phonetics." "I tend to engage in rationalization of the issue" instead of "I rationalize." And so forth. Like passive voice, nominalization takes away action and displaces the emphasis of a sentence. Nominalization is bad. But case in point: Blogger's spellcheck doesn't even recognize the word, and wants to replace it with "criminalize." Well, I can see the relationship.

Anyway, "fix." As in, "I made the fixes to that page" instead of the more precise, eloquent "I made corrections" or even better, "I corrected that page." So many fewer, better words! "I made the revises" is even more ignorant, and it makes my brain hurt just thinking about it.

So remember, no nominalization. One thing I can get behind, however, is om-nominalization.

Guillemots - "Clarion"

Artist: Guillemots
Song: "Clarion"
CD title: Red
Label: Polydor UK
Release date: April 8, 2008
Genre: Pop-rock

Fans of the loungey, symphonic themes in Guillemots' previous releases might be a little taken aback by the reckless abandon with which the group's new record plunges into a new, dark work full of synthesizers and retro, Michael Jackson-esque electro-pop. But the glamorous Red is full of surprises, not the least of which is "Clarion."
The song opens lazily enough, with stock ambient sounds giving way to a twangy Eastern theme punctuated by finger snaps. But when the drums kick in, laid down under Fyfe Dangerfield's soaring, gleeful vocals, it's suddenly a dance tune. Even though the retro beats would be at home in any 21st-century club, there are still enough strings and meaningful lyrics on top of the synthetic glitter to keep the tune grounded in its orchestral roots. But at times it seems to ask for more: "Give me a beat and real sound / Maybe some feet will reach cold ground to find you."

The Day the Baseball Died

A long, long time ago
In the summer of '74
Hank Aaron broke that home-run record.
And I know that if he were here
He'd consider baseball with a tear
And hope some dignity would be restored.

But February, pre-season training
Only a few clean players remaining
Bad news from the panel
Blaring on every channel

It put everyone in a bad mood
When they read about those doped-up dudes,
And managers hid under their beds and cried
The day the baseball died.

So bye, bye, Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy up to Fenway but the Fenway was dry
And them good ol' boys shooting steroids into their thighs,
Singing, "This will help me get some RBIs."

Did you read the Mitchell report
And would you have faith in the future of sport,
If ESPN tells you so? Now do they believe in taking drugs,
Or do they sit there looking smug,
And can they get out of this hole that they've dug?

Well they know that you guys took those 'roids,
And now you know you can't avoid
The fact it's all over the news,
Oh, you guys are totally screw-eeed
The Orioles were a team of last-place schmucks,
Thought bulking up would help them not suck,
But too bad now: they're out of luck
On the day the baseball died.

And Mitchell's singing,
Bye, bye, Miss American Pie,
Drove my Chevy up to Fenway but the Fenway was dry
And them good ol' boys shooting steroids into their thighs,
Singing, "This will help me get some RBIs."

Now for several years baseball's gone downhill
Hard to break records or give the fans a thrill
But that’s not how it used to be.
When Babe Ruth hit that 714,
No one thought drug use would be routine
And guys would get caught with it in their pee.

Oh, and the commission was looking down,
Probing locker rooms with a frown.
And discovered the whole scam;
The verdict was a grand slam.
And while Selig read "Game of Shadows,"
Roger Clemens was warming up to throw,
But his career was dealt a blow
The day the baseball died.

Greetings, Citizens

• Rilo Kiley's lead guitarist, Blake Sennett, also creator and front man of The Elected, was a child actor, playing the roles of Ronnie Pinsky on Salute Your Shorts and Joseph "Joey the Rat" Epstein on Boy Meets World. He and Jenny Lewis dated for about four years while playing together as Rilo Kiley, but despite each musician's side projects, they have released two albums together since breaking up.

• For its first six years, animated talk show Space Ghost Coast to Coast featured an opening theme called "Hit Single" by guitarist Sonny Sharrock and drummer Lance Carter. Seasons four, five and six had a closing theme by surf-rock group Man or Astro-man?. Many musicians were guests on SGC2C, including Björk, Radiohead's Thom Yorke, "Weird Al" Yankovic, Alice Cooper and Pavement (whom Space Ghost introduces as The Beatles).

• Review site Pitchfork gave music a 6.8.
  

Collection of Sundry Music Facts

• The song "One Way Out" was originally written and recorded by the King of the Slide Guitar, Elmore James, in 1960-61. Blues man Sonny Boy Williamson II, who is often credited with writing the song, released another version of it for Chess Records later in 1961. It was then popularized by The Allman Brothers Band and released as a live track on 1972's Eat a Peach.

• Folk singer/activist Pete Seeger, most well-known for writing "If I Had a Hammer" and "Turn, Turn, Turn!", was a banjo aficionado. In 1948, Seeger wrote the first version of How to Play the Five-String Banjo. He also invented the Long Neck or Seeger banjo, which is three frets longer than a typical banjo, and slightly longer than a bass guitar at 25 frets, and is tuned a minor third lower than the normal 5-string banjo.

• Metal band Quiet Riot's cover of the 1973 Slade hit "Cum On Feel the Noize" shot to No. 5 on the Billboard chart in late 1983 and spent two weeks there, making it the first heavy metal song to make the top 5 on Billboard's Hot 100 singles chart. Subsequently, the group's album Metal Health was the first American heavy metal debut album to reach No. 1 in the United States. It was No. 1 on Nov. 26, 1983, making Quiet Riot the first heavy metal band to have a top 5 hit and a No. 1 album the same week.

• Music collective Elephant 6 Recording Company was founded in 1991 by Robert Schneider, who went on to form The Apples in Stereo; Bill Doss and Will Cullen Hart of The Olivia Tremor Control; and Jeff Mangum of Neutral Milk Hotel. The Apples in Stereo's 1993 Tidal Wave 7" EP was the first E6 release, and though the label has since disbanded, the Apples' 2007 New Magnetic Wonder also bears the E6 logo.
  

The Music Re-education Project

Recently, I was in my car, scanning radio stations in the D.C. area, looking for anything at all that was 1) in English and 2) didn't necessitate the bleeping of any words starting with "n," and I came across a classic rock station playing "A Day in the Life." Good enough, I thought. I performed that song with my high school marching band, so I'm even more familiar with it than I am with other Beatles songs. Out of habit I start to sing along. My boyfriend, who was in the passenger seat, asked, "What's this song called?" I told him. He said, "This is the Beatles? I've never heard it."

Yes, he's never heard "A Day in the Life." Meanwhile, my own mother tells me regularly that she knows how many holes it takes to fill the Albert Hall. I tried not to make a big deal out of it, since I know he's not the biggest music aficionado. But seriously? How does anyone who has ever owned a radio, or had parents with a record player, not know one of the most famous songs from one of the most famous rock albums of all time? I thought it was bad enough when my best friend said he'd never heard "Stairway to Heaven." (He immediately regretted the admission, since my mom was within earshot.)

Do I just hang out with musically challenged people? Are they in the minority? Or does my generation truly not have any concept of musical history? It got me thinking about my own musical education, and I realized the only real source I had growing up was my parents, and they might be disproportionately obsessed with their own generation's culture. My dad can tell you what guitar Eric Clapton is playing on any given song with any band he ever played with, and I've never seen him as proud of me as he was when I snagged his Allman Brothers t-shirt and started wearing it to school.

So maybe I got lucky. But what about everyone else? My American history class ran out of time at the end of the semester, so we didn't even get to the Cuban Missile Crisis, let alone Woodstock. Even playing trumpet in band, I was never taught about Miles Davis or Louis Armstrong. Our teacher made us attend a performance by Maynard Ferguson, but at the time I had no appreciation for it, probably because I had no background.

Having in the past few years discovered a great interest in indie music, I started writing about it. I got a CD few reviews in the newspaper where I was a copy editor, and last month I started writing about music for a national news outlet. But an appreciation music is not an understanding of music. A foundation in the Beatles and Ten Years After is a good start, but I had never heard a Smiths song until a few months ago. I have huge gaps even in my own musical education, and my writing suffers because of it. You have to have points of reference -- it's like hearing a cover of a song before the original.

So I've decided to remedy that. I've been looking for something to stimulate my brain since college, and this is it. I'll do short studies of prominent people and events in American culture as related to music, and I hope by the end to education other people as well as myself. As I'll be doing this mostly as a way to pass the time at work, I'll spend a lot of time with Wikipedia, but I'll supplement that information with whatever else I can find -- books, magazines, mp3s. Maybe I'll even learn to play guitar. Thanks for the inspiration, Jack Black.