That fucking
"Violinist plays in a aubway station and nobody gives a shit" story. I got linked to it
again today.
More specifically, I get irked by the conclusions that everybody draws from it. Are we unable to recognize beautiful mastery when it's packaged in rags and dumped unceremoniously onto a DC Metro station? No, we're unable to recognize beautiful mastery when we're
unable to recognize beautiful mastery.
Hear me out here. What do you think your grandfather's opinion of Slash's guitarwork is? How many people are honestly surprised to find out, after hearing Weird Al do at least one accordion piece on every album, that he's considered a
genius on the thing? If you handed your little brother a copy of Super Metroid, would he come back saying it was the greatest game of the 16-bit era?
I'm not an expert on demographics but I'm going to take a stab at most people taking the DC Metro not being the sort to pay hundreds of dollars to hear a violin concerto. Even if you
told them outright that the guy standing there was considered a genius on strings, they'd sort of nod appreciatively, maybe listen for a while to try and see what the big deal is, and eventually be on their way. If you told them how much the actual violin was worth someone would probably jump him.
The idea that the package sells the product is a bit true here, because I'll lay even odds that the people who get all uppity about people in a subway station not appreciating classical music - don't appreciate classical music. They think it's a big deal because somebody told them it is. I'm sure that sold out theater in Boston was packed with people trying to look more cultured than they really are. After the show was over they went out for chicken wings.
I dunno why this irks me so much - I think because everybody experiences the same shattering, nature-of-mankind revelation upon hearing this story, and from where I'm standing it looks like
everybody is fucking wrong.