# How Does One Stay in Touch?



## Blue Hour (Jan 2, 2012)

Do you ever feel that your love of classical music makes out of touch with "mainstream" society or culture?


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## Polednice (Sep 13, 2009)

I feel out of touch, and I want to feel as out of touch as possible.


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## Lenfer (Aug 15, 2011)

Surreal said:


> Do you ever feel that your love of classical music makes out of touch with "mainstream" society or culture?


You are a bit posh darling. :kiss:

I do feel the same way now and then but I'm with *Polednice* on this one.

Although you can't choose what you like. You happen to like "highbrow" pursuits that the majority of people don't have the time nor money to get involed in. :tiphat:


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## Huilunsoittaja (Apr 6, 2010)

To put it simply, I certainly haven't been in touch with it, but I don't feel I've _missed out_ on much popular culture. I hardly watch TV anymore, I listen to almost nothing pop-music-wise, and I rarely read new books (I prefer the classics there too). But what I've been able to hear from others, very little out there has true merit right now. Of course, I won't say there's _no _merit, but not a merit I can appreciate.


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## violadude (May 2, 2011)

If by "in touch with pop culture" you mean that I stalk celebrities and make sure I know when their baby is born and when their divorces start and what they have for breakfast.

Then no, I am proudly not in touch with pop culture.


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## moody (Nov 5, 2011)

Surreal said:


> Do you ever feel that your love of classical music makes out of touch with "mainstream" society or culture?


Mainstream society has to accept me, so they are really the ones out of touch.The secret is to be in touch with your self, but that takes time. Most of all don't go through life attempting to be mainstream, because if you do you never will !


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## Ukko (Jun 4, 2010)

This 'in touch' term lacks meaning for me.

I am still curious about 'what's going on' out there, and my friends forward things they find interesting. Some of that stuff I find interesting too.... No hillbilly or other variety of hayseed can be closely 'connected' with pop culture, because too much of it is either nonsensical or irrelevant to us.

Locally, the coming of 5" of snow to bare, frozen ground is a 'happening'. Bare ground means the frost will go down. If it goes down far enough it will freeze septic/sewer lines; a foot or so deeper and water lines freeze. On the upside, the thrips get frozen too, which is good for the maple trees.

We haven't had thrips around here very long - they're part of the global warming thing. At least them freezing provides an upside to think about when the water pipes burst.


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## Huilunsoittaja (Apr 6, 2010)

I sometimes wonder if say the composers we love so much were around today, or we were in their time period, would we stalk their lives as much as other celebrities are today? I mean, I actually _would _be interested if Prokofiev was going on a tour to the US.


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## emiellucifuge (May 26, 2009)

Polednice said:


> I feel out of touch, and I want to feel as out of touch as possible.


[10 character filler]


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## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

I am a bit out of touch, but I listen to about an hour or so each day of radio that's non-classical. I do like rock, techno, metal that's not too on the heavy side, dubstep, reggae, hip-hop, etc. I don't know a huge amount about them though, can't name many of the bands whose music I hear.

So I'm not totally out of touch. But I did feel that, overhearing a conversation on the street ages ago. A guy was asking a girl what music she liked. "Some of the old stuff" she said. & from their conversation, I gathered that by "old stuff" she meant stuff that was a few years old. So to them, eg. Stravinsky must be ancient, in the era of dinosaurs. Not to speak of the three B's, etc.

As for jazz, my knowledge of that is second only to classical, but it can be said that jazz is also a dead genre. Or less relevant than it was until a few decades ago. The swing era was it's peak in terms of popularity and that was before 1945 .

But in terms of what's "mainstream," a lot of classical still is. Eg. movie scores, which is most likely what the three B's would be writing today if they were alive and breathing. Not exclusively, but they would definitely at least dabble in it.

I also think the disconnect between so called high and low art/culture is now not there, or not there as much. Schnittke certainly thought this. Our own Peter Sculthorpe did as well, he wrote some pop songs in the 1970's, which he later orchestrated into "serious" concert works. Reich, Adams, have been incorporating popular culture into their music for yonks. 

So are we as cut off as we think?...


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde (Dec 2, 2011)

I hate popular culture. Jazz is the closest thing to popular culture that I like. I hate anything that is popular culture. I *detest* it immensely.


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## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

^^But you said you were listening to John Adams,_ Nixon in China_. A lot of elements of popular culture in that. The repetition associated with rock music for one thing. What you're saying is purist, but what you're listening to isn't. Do you get what I'm saying here?...


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## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

BTW I voted that I'm out of touch. But I would pick a middle option if it was available. I'm not totally out of touch. But I'm not fully in touch with things outside classical either. In between kind of...


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde (Dec 2, 2011)

Sid James said:


> ^^But you said you were listening to John Adams,_ Nixon in China_. A lot of elements of popular culture in that. The repetition associated with rock music for one thing. What you're saying is purist, but what you're listening to isn't. Do you get what I'm saying here?...


Ok, ok, John Adams and jazz then.


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde (Dec 2, 2011)

ComposerOfAvantGarde said:


> Ok, ok, John Adams and jazz then.


And certain television shows perhaps. But that's it!


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## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

ComposerOfAvantGarde said:


> Ok, ok, John Adams and jazz then.


& also add to that Michael Nyman, I think you said he's a favourite. He is for me as well, I like a lot of his stuff...


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde (Dec 2, 2011)

Sid James said:


> & also add to that Michael Nyman, I think you said he's a favourite. He is for me as well, I like a lot of his stuff...


Yes Michael Nyman. Except for his music for "The Piano." But that's it. No more popular culture for me other than everything else I have mentioned!


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## Xaltotun (Sep 3, 2010)

I feel that by studying history and the classic arts (in music, literature, visual arts...) one can better grasp the fundamental whys and wherefores of this current moment in history, than by studying this moment in history itself by its immediate and visible phenomena (for example pop culture). Studying the fundamentals also teaches one better to prepare for the future.

But yeah, I don't really care about modern culture at all. I like to follow the advancements in natural sciences and that's about it. Humanity is a bigger thing than the present moment in history - and it must be.


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## Argus (Oct 16, 2009)

I listen to BBC Radio 6 during the day and Radio 3 at night. That gives me a nice even mix of musical styles.

I've been keeping up with some new releases and enjoying a lot of them. The new Oneohtrix Point Never, John Maus, Tim Hecker, Mark Maguire, M83, Todd Terje, Palmer Eldritch, Nicolas Jaar, Gonjasufi, Destroyer, lots of good stuff from last year.

I even really like the new Radiohead single 'Staircase'. Best thing I've heard from them for a while.

To all the out of touch people, here's a helping hand:






I can't imagine not liking that track. The sax solo kills.


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## Lenfer (Aug 15, 2011)

Someone called *Surreal* a "*Toff*" the other day and this upset his *Trotskyist*/*Bakuninist* sensibilities. :devil: It's not your fault you have good taste *Surreal*.

I'm interested in this *John Adams* fellow must have a look.


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## TrazomGangflow (Sep 9, 2011)

No I choose not to stay in touch. I simply feel that pop culture is very poor culture. I have better ways to spend my time than to watch that Kardashian show or look at some celebrities Tweets. (I only wish Chopin could Tweet )


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde (Dec 2, 2011)

Lenfer said:


> I'm interested in this *John Adams* fellow must have a look.


You don't know one of the greatest American's who ever lived??? I must recommend any recording of his music conducted by Edo De Waart. Master of John Adams. May I recommend the opera "Nixon in China," the piano pieces "China Gates" and "Phrygian Gates," the orchestral fanfare "A Short Ride in a Fast Machine," his "Shaker Loops" for string orchestra and his piano concerto "Century Rolls."


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## Crudblud (Dec 29, 2011)

If we're talking popular culture in terms of Star Wars, MST3K or whatever I'd say I'm pretty well versed. No, what I feel out of touch with is society; the way I think, act, dress and talk is the eventual cause of ostracism from almost any group I ever felt like I belonged in. I don't have any skills or interests that benefit my fellow man, and I suppose that's my own fault for not programming myself to be interested in school or employment, or going out drinking with loud and annoying morons after my daily slot of time in that employment is finished, but I just can't get off on that. I certainly don't think I am above it; I'm a person just like any plumber, mechanic, office worker, I just have no desire to do what they do, and I don't think there's anything wrong with that.

And yes, I am stupid, there can be no reasonable expectation of being able to live in a society when I think the way I do, I understand that. If I had gone to school to study the various facets of formalised music, I would no doubt have acquaintances who could see about getting my work performed, or pass on a good word to help me get a position as a teacher somewhere. But I couldn't, it was too much, it was horrible, I couldn't understand or aspire to jumping through hoops for the sake of a few scraps of decorative paper. If I had only steeled myself to stay in that God-awful I.T. job where I was frequently asked to perform duties outside my job description, to lick boots and kiss arses for the sake of staying in the good graces of my boss. But I couldn't, it was too much, it was horrible, I couldn't handle the incessant ******** of office politics and phony camaraderie.

Am I beneath the people who can and do perform these tasks day in and day out? Probably, yes.

I realise I got way off track with this post; I often get carried away on trains of thought that have little to do with the actual topic of conversation, and for that I apologise. Please continue as normal.


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## violadude (May 2, 2011)

For some reason, unbeknownst to me, I am obsessed with Asia. So I am more interested in their pop culture than America's. America's pop culture just annoys me.


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## violadude (May 2, 2011)

Crudblud said:


> If we're talking popular culture in terms of Star Wars, MST3K or whatever I'd say I'm pretty well versed. No, what I feel out of touch with is society; the way I think, act, dress and talk is the eventual cause of ostracism from almost any group I ever felt like I belonged in. I don't have any skills or interests that benefit my fellow man, and I suppose that's my own fault for not programming myself to be interested in school or employment, or going out drinking with loud and annoying morons after my daily slot of time in that employment is finished, but I just can't get off on that. I certainly don't think I am above it; I'm a person just like any plumber, mechanic, office worker, I just have no desire to do what they do, and I don't think there's anything wrong with that.
> 
> And yes, I am stupid, there can be no reasonable expectation of being able to live in a society when I think the way I do, I understand that. If I had gone to school to study the various facets of formalised music, I would no doubt have acquaintances who could see about getting my work performed, or pass on a good word to help me get a position as a teacher somewhere. But I couldn't, it was too much, it was horrible, I couldn't understand or aspire to jumping through hoops for the sake of a few scraps of decorative paper. If I had only steeled myself to stay in that God-awful I.T. job where I was frequently asked to perform duties outside my job description, to lick boots and kiss arses for the sake of staying in the good graces of my boss. But I couldn't, it was too much, it was horrible, I couldn't handle the incessant ******** of office politics and phony camaraderie.
> 
> ...


I feel ya man. Dont worry. I hate loud annoying drinking morons and *** licking to get ahead in life as well.


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## aphyrodite (Jan 9, 2012)

Even if I sometimes am _out of touch_, I think I don't mind. Not interested to know too much about modern music anyway. Just a little here and there maybe, and I'm done.


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## Chrythes (Oct 13, 2011)

The only things I care about these days are music and science.


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## StlukesguildOhio (Dec 25, 2006)

I hate popular culture. Jazz is the closest thing to popular culture that I like. I hate anything that is popular culture. I detest it immensely.

Seems to be a common mentality among hard-core Modernists. Hmmm.


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## EddieRUKiddingVarese (Jan 8, 2013)

the first one ...............


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## Klassik (Mar 14, 2017)

I'm in touch with modern culture. Everyone listens to Franz Ignaz Beck these days, right?


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## EddieRUKiddingVarese (Jan 8, 2013)

Klassik said:


> I'm in touch with modern culture. Everyone listens to Franz Ignaz Beck these days, right?


Baldassare Galuppi is more my scene and is particularly fashionable in my neighbourhood...............


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## Capeditiea (Feb 23, 2018)

the only thing i know of popular culture...


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