by Nominis Expers
I've discovered a tear in the fabric of the universe. At some point in
the last 2 centuries, an anomaly occurred where there was a reciprocal
distortion of the continuum, involving two cultural categories: Music
and Sports.
In the Classical period, (and before) experiencing music involved
attending a performance of a work created by a trained and talented
composer, performed by trained and talented virtuosi, while the audience
*audited*. (listened), and, hopefully appreciated the creativity & skill
involved, and was enriched by the experience.
Somewhat later, the industrial revolution afforded the average man more
leisure time, of which he took advantage by (among other things)
engaging in the great American pastime: a new game called Baseball.
Fresh air, exercise, team spirit, sportsmanship, healthy competition
where all benefitted from the exertion.
(Ominous music here)
"The Rift" occurred:
The garment of existence was rent. People stopped auditing music, &
began to demand to participate. "Dancing" began to proliferate. No
longer were cries of "Bravo!" offered to the Musician and Composer.
Applause and ovation ceased. Pleas of "MORE!" were silenced.
Instead,
the request of the attendees distilled into the ruinous question: "Do
you guys make the kind of noise I like to bounce up & down to?"
Over the course of time, the rupture in reality and values culminated in
"Disco" and (Mature Audiences only, you may want to send the kids
out of
the room): Karaoke, and "Rap". (For the uninitiated, this last you
may
have heard thundering from the car next to you at a traffic light. The
phenomenon, claimed to be music by its adherents, sounds like a brick in
a clothes dryer accompanying an auctioneer apparently speaking angrily
in Martian.)
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, the great American pastime morphed from
fun and exercise for all, into "Hey I think I'll sit here and drink beer
while I watch a bunch of strangers run around." The "Spectator
Sport"
was born.
No longer are the fruits of the labor of a lifetime of musical education
and practice rewarded by the financial encouragement of wealthy patrons
of the arts. And instead of reaping the benefits of an afternoon of
physical exertion, we make heroes and cultural icons of those whom we
pay millions to bounce up & down for our amusement, while we quaff beer
and force feed ourselves hot dogs.
Perhaps Science will be able to reverse the hideous polarization which
so few seem to even notice. It fortifies me to so hope.