RIP PDQ Bach

[LDAHL]

Peter Shickele, aka PDQ Bach, is dead. It made me sad to reflect on how our culture has degenerated over my lifetime. I can’t imagine today’s audiences laughing at parodies of classical music because they simply don’t have the background. How many kids today would get Mr Peabody or Aesop and Son?

We’ve gone from Rocky and Bullwinkle to My Little Pony. From Cavett to Colbert. From Etta James to Taylor Swift. From John Cheever to Jonathan Franzen. From Marvel Comics to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. From William F Buckley and Gore Vidal to Tucker Carlson and Rachel Maddow.

It’s all so sad.

[iris lilies]

I blame Disney for much of the pablum fed to children. Uncle Walt taking good pieces of children’s literature dumbed them down. It’s been a lifelong sadness for me.

But thank God for a few contemporary authors, such as Lemony Snicket and Neil Gaimen although the latter has become too much of an industry. The Harry Potter books brought back mystery and fantasy and danger and ironic humor to mainstream children’s literature. I maintain the past and future lies of quality children’s lit resides with British authors, because Americans just can’t seem to do much that is good.

[catherine]

I blame TV and social media. Neil Postman had it right.

[Rogar]

With exceptions, I think modern popular music has lost it's way. Harmonies, instrumentals, and any tradition of complex music structure are rare. My blame goes partly to the cutbacks in music programs in the schools. I can even prefer disco to some current pop music. RAP may be entertaining to some, but it's barely music or even poetry. And I'll add in video games and social media as being far more entertaining to kids than any sort of cartoon humor. Too bad we don't have one of these.

edit to add, and stay off my lawn.

wayback.jpg

[jp1]

Every generation has lamented the way the next one or two after them "ruined" everything once their generation aged into being generation geritol. I hope I live long enough to see what the Millenials and Gen Z think about whatever the generations to follow them do.

Regarding music I will never forget my music theory professor in college, back in 1986, wailing and moaning about the "Apple Jacks" I IV I chord progression and his horror that most people today (then) didn't recognize how UNDENIABLY AWFUL it was. He was basically of the opinion that people should've been boycotting the cereal due to that jingle. I didn't have the nerve to tell him that the University's cafeterias stocked Apple Jacks and that I routinely ate them shortly before coming to the 9:00 am class. I guess I was part of the problem despite getting straight A's in all three semesters that he was my professor.

[rosarugosa]

Every generation has lamented the way the next one or two after them "ruined" everything once their generation aged into being generation geritol. I hope I live long enough to see what the Millenials and Gen Z think about whatever the generations to follow them do.

Regarding music I will never forget my music theory professor in college, back in 1986, wailing and moaning about the "Apple Jacks" I IV I chord progression and his horror that most people today (then) didn't recognize how UNDENIABLY AWFUL it was. He was basically of the opinion that people should've been boycotting the cereal due to that jingle. I didn't have the nerve to tell him that the University's cafeterias stocked Apple Jacks and that I routinely ate them shortly before coming to the 9:00 am class. I guess I was part of the problem despite getting straight A's in all three semesters that he was my professor.

Did it keep the bullies away?

[jp1]

Did it keep the bullies away?

I had to look that up. It must’ve been a bit before my time. I only remembered the song telling me that they were cinnamon and toasty. And that A is for apple, J for jacks. And all of that is certainly true! Or at least that’s what I remember. I haven’t eaten an apple jack since I stopped eating in the college cafeteria at the end of my sophomore year 35ish years ago.

[jp1]

I tried to edit my post and just had the choice to delete it. Anyway, wanted to add that yes, it must have worked against bullies since I got through college without encountering any bullies! The last time I faced a real bully was in junior high school.

[rosarugosa]

I had to look that up. It must’ve been a bit before my time. I only remembered the song telling me that they were cinnamon and toasty. And that A is for apple, J for jacks. And all of that is certainly true! Or at least that’s what I remember. I haven’t eaten an apple jack since I stopped eating in the college cafeteria at the end of my sophomore year 35ish years ago.

Yes, I'm a bit older than you and I never did like Apple Jacks, but such is the power of TV ads on little kids that I can hear that jingle in my head these many decades later. "New Kellogg's Apple Jacks, a bowl a day keeps the bullies away!"

[pony mom]

When I played the flute in my high school band we played PDQ Bach's Grand Serenade for an Awful Lot of Winds and Percussion. It was actually a bit tricky to play.