Friday, July 24, 2009

andrew keen.

http://andrewkeen.typepad.com/the_great_seduction/2006/10/my_book_now_not.html


apparently this guy thinks we are fucking up culture by blogging.

his view is that we gain unwarranted exposure by publishing anything we feel like, without expertise or credentials to justify our position.

he hasn`t been watching tv, or following politics obviously, where everyone and thier little dog is entertainment.

and andrew?, just in case you are reading this, culture was fucked long before we began typing.

and i take exception to his position regarding amateurism. as a musician i don`t read a note, but i have been immersed in the culture and performance of music all my life...having two parents who were accomplished pianists and singers. i have been playing guitar for 35 years, and while i have never taken formal lessons and don`t seek accolades for my performances, i can more than play.

his position that amateurs posting on youtube and the like are somehow diminishing the high position of art and music, along with litarature, science, art and everything else in the realm of human expression.

does he think freud or einstien or beethoven wouldn`t post on youtube?

he is what could be characterised as a snob. an elitist. a citizen of a bygone era when only the top 1% got a go on the stage...and i hazzard to guess that he wasn`t one of them.

blogging, and bloggers are the new culture...along with everyone else who has a voice and wishes to be heard.

expert or not.

6 comments:

none said...

The journalists who had a monopoly on the news for the last few hundred years are now being scooped, exposed, contradicted and outclassed by amateur bloggers.

They especially hate the drudge report.

There is a move right now to license journalists and make it so that only "approved" people can report the news.

Dr.Alistair said...

increasingly, we live in a world of experts.

the mother of my children wanted my oldest boy to take guitar leassons from an expert...because she felt i wasn`t qualified to show him how to play.....she hasn`y het forked over the 40 per hour for such instruction, and by himself, and with my help, the boy is playing things like "dee" by randy rhodes as well as megadeth and guns and roses....bless fingers.

when we went for counseling the psychologist, when he discovered what i did, blthely stated that he headed a committee to lobby the government to allow only psychologists to be able to provide counselling, and not the coaches, teachers, pastors, psychotherapists with other qualifications, etc.

it would be illegal for those "other" types to counsel if he was successful.

this is why i don`t coach kids soccer teams. the accreditation necessary to coach even house league kids is taught by bureaucrats at the ontario soccer association, many of whom have never played the game, and who insist that you not be alowed to provide coaching otherwise.

i simply take my boys over to the park and show them a few things i learned and still do a couple of times a week....and occasionally i see one or the other do something on the field and it makes me smile.

Dr.Alistair said...

and these cults of experts that provide accreditation are about as biased a bunch as one can ever hope to meet.

fair reporting?

jeez.

Chris J. said...

On a related note; good for Jimmy Page:

http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/2009/07/22/10217421-wenn-story.html?cid=rssentertainmentmusic

Chris J. said...

as well as this:

http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/Artists/D/Dead_Weather/2009/07/10/10093781-ca.html

Dr.Alistair said...

chris, i realy resisted my kid`s will to play that stupid plastic thing that you plug into a computer and pretend you are a guitarist, but there are many (read; most.) children who haven`t the natural talent or drive to persist with a real guitar, or drums, or piano, to be able to produce any sounds worth repeating, never mind that of a jimmy page or a john bonham or jack white.

and places like youtube expose this truth clearly. the ratings of videos posted suggest that viewers know the difference between the good and the bad...a point keen would de well to consider.

my personal view is that places like youtube raise the standard of musical ability in that people are envcouraged to learn, practice, share and find thier level quickly, and this benifits all participants.

i use youtube and google video and best of all vanderbilly.com to clarify and correct the playing of music...so that i can get it right (andrew?) because my ear isn`t perfect and sometimes a piece refuses to come until i see it played elsewhere.

like in other places where humans congregate, clear and concise instruction improves all participants ability...unless, of course they have no basic aptitude....then there is guitar hero.