[MD] High horse of the metaphysical plain

[Mike Craghead]

Hi Ron

Ah, but cheese appreciation is an entirely different creature. Is it low 
DQ, or is the DQ hidden in a different place? Are we perceiving the 
evasive poetry which lives in smarminess; or are we sicko car-wreck 
rubberneckers? It's one of the most human moments we have, when we see 
ourselves bravely charging through the foolishness, wearing it like a 
badge of honor. Embrace the sickness... sing karaoke at the top of your 
lungs. There's something to be said for a commitment to sarcasm; it's 
pure DQ if you play it right.

I assume that RP would argue that the fan of the bad Elvis impersonator 
isn't really paying attention, and doesn't know quality. But what of 
sarcastic enjoyment? Where do we file that? The value (of kitsch) is 
tied to other folks and their perceptions, isn't it?

The reason I'm a big fan of William Shatner's singing career is that it 
is a testament to how wrong things can go, when a large number of 
individuals (Bill, his manager, the record company, the sound engineer, 
etc etc) manage to remain deluded for an extended period of time. It's 
mind-bogglingly sick, but when the footage of Bill's rendition of 
"Rocket Man" shows up on cable I just can't stop watching. Don't even 
get me started on "Tambourine Man."
There's poetry in there though, isn't there? It's high comedy, the human 
condition in a nutshell.

Or are you and I simply sick car-wreck rubbernecking bastards?

Mike Craghead
humboldtmusic.com
humboldtmusic.com/mc
humboldtmusic.com/sarimike


Ron Kulp wrote:
>  "he should have tasted the green eggs first."
>
> Right on Mike, even a BAD Elvis impersonator is appreciated by SOMEBODY.
> Remember the band "Dread Zepplin"? That was bad, but  I loved it.
> That's why I like slayer, punk rock and ween...some of the attraction is
> the low DQ. ..some of us dig low DQ. Just because it flys in the face of
> "percieved" high DQ.
> ..
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: moq_discuss-bounces at moqtalk.org
> [mailto:moq_discuss-bounces at moqtalk.org] On Behalf Of Mike Craghead
> Sent: Monday, November 06, 2006 8:01 PM
> To: moq_discuss at moqtalk.org
> Subject: Re: [MD] High horse of the metaphysical plain
>
> Bravo Ron!
>
> I too had a big problem with Phaedrus' reaction to Lila's treasured
> memory, both as a musician and as someone who aspires to give everyone a
> respectful benefit-of-the-doubt before I squelch their silly beliefs
> with my own far superior ones ;)
>
> First of all, it's ludicrous to criticize any performance sight-unseen. 
> Phaedrus has written off the performer based on a verbal description,
> which is like saying "I do not like Green Eggs and Ham" before your
> first bite. Sure, a performance of "oldies" is not as likely to
> challenge one's artistic sensibilities and make one feel all DQ-ish up
> one's spine, but you know what? It still happens. A good performer, "in
> the zone," (Mark's "Sweet Spot"), can deliver Dynamic Quality on a
> silver platter, whether they are singing Cole Porter or Ani DiFranco or
> a sea chanty or an original jazz improvisation or anything else. 
> Phaedrus writes off the experience with such vehemence and with such a
> self-important chip on his shoulder, that I was almost as pissed off at
> him as Lila was.
>
> Lila's performer was delivering high-SQ material; that's what most
> "oldies" are: good lyrics, good melody, good arrangement; all
> time-tested. Low DQ of course, because we've all heard them before, but
> high SQ, or they wouldn't have survived the test of time. And based on
> Lila's account, it sounds like the performer was reaching the audience. 
> Of course this can be done in a low-DQ way, by "sawing the air thusly;"
>
> over-acting/over-singing, working solely in cliche... like a BAD Elvis
> Inpersonator (I allow for the possibility that there are good ones). And
> presumably that is the phenomenon Pirsig was really railing against. But
> his reaction was a slap in Lila's face; she was trying to share with him
> an event that she felt strongly about (so much so that she carried a
> memento!), and he squelched. I'd call that immoral: he should have
> tasted the green eggs first.
>
> Mike Craghead
> humboldtmusic.com
> humboldtmusic.com/mc
> humboldtmusic.com/sarimike
>
>
>
>
> Ron Kulp wrote:
>   
>> I certainly have to say  I have difficulty understanding the method 
>> here sometimes. . I'm re-reading Lila and I have to tend to agree with
>>     
>
>   
>> Pirsig, Natives do not relate well, all this does seem pretty silly to
>>     
>
>   
>> me .. like a lot of mental masturbation. I subscribed to have 
>> questions I have answered or explored in a hope of furthering my 
>> understanding or looking at them from a differing perspective. People 
>> tend to romantasize native americans and I never get a straight answer
>>     
>
>   
>> from anyone. we're not more special than anyone else nor are we some 
>> Nobel savage, some holistic insight "in touch"..look, it all boils 
>> down to "respect"  a dimishing comodity, it's no mystery.
>> One of the things that angered me was how Pirsig treated Lila when she
>>     
>
>   
>> was showing him the "jungle queen" he may as well have crumpled up 
>> That picture and thrown it overboard and said what do you know you 
>> dumb slut,he had a perception of her of being a whore, which somehow 
>> devalued her as a human being I think it's not allways about proving a
>>     
> point.
>   
>> It's about becoming a human being, We are all buying into an illusion 
>> of one kind or another what makes yours better? Opinion? I think a few
>>     
>
>   
>> of you need to get down off your metaphysical high horses and check 
>> out whats going on under your own feet. You're missing an awful lot. 
>> Case said the smartest thing all week, it is all a pile of shit, 
>> Dynamic shit.The static shit is in your head. Nothing in nature is 
>> static only your perception of it.
>> _later
>> -Ron       
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