Do any sane people like classical music?

Well, I could have put it like this: there is an awful lot of junk music, indeed junk culture in general, being fed to the public and too many people are ready to lap it up - encouraged by demagogues like the French minister of culture who said back in 1981 à propos his "Fête de la Musique" that "an amateur banging on a saucepan has as much worth as a trained professional" (sic) - and the result is that these people's potential is not realized, resulting in continual dissatifaction with their lives. This seems to me very sad.

WE are lovers of Art and Constructors. The Chavs are lovers of cheap lager, cheap music and destructors. We are better than them because we are educated.

Yes indeed, Adrian, there is an awful lot of junk in the world.  But it doesn't follow that humanity is divided into "better human beings" enjoying classical music, and "mindless oafs" soaking up awful junk while swilling lager from a can does it? 

There is a lot of music that is neither junk nor classical and it displays a breathtaking disrespect for others to caricature it in the way you suggest with this analogy.

And in passing, is Brodsky/Uber Alice the kind of classical music lover you had in mind as your "better human being"?

Vic.

That's just offensive on a number of levels.

It's just as bad to bash people who like classical music as it is for some of us who do like it to look down on other genres.

I don't like it when people do either.

I'm not going to be pretentious about it and I make soundtrack style classical music myself so if that bothers you when other people do it,

then maybe you shouldn't do the exact same thing back.

What this person said was also incredibly offensive to the mentally ill and to liberals everywhere.

Whoever it is,

they sound like one of those extremist conservatives that outright hate anyone who doesn't share the same beliefs as them.

I don't care what political side of the spectrum you're from, there's a lot to be said for civility and respecting others.

I am personally schizophrenic and I'm sick and tired of everyone calling people insane whenever they want to bash them for something.

No one seems to realize how offensive that is.

Anyways,

let's not look down on each other.

I personally like almost all styles of music.

Plus, classical and electronic go together like peanut butter and chocolate if you know what you're doing.

Check out "Beneath the Mantle" if you don't believe that:

(specifically when the guitarish keyboard track kicks in halfway through the 2nd part)

http://music.cbc.ca/#/artists/State-of-Psychosis

http://www.myspace.com/tempestmichael

I remember very clearly visiting what is left of the concentration camps in Auschwitz eight years ago and reading at the time that there were times when Schumann, Beethoven, Wagner and other's music was played as people went to their deaths.

When we start to think that somehow the things that we enjoy/take comfort from are so sort of global panacea then we are truly losing sight of what it takes to be a decent human being.

I also remember reading Ian McEwan's novel 'Saturday' and finding the scene where somebody uses Arnold's 'Dover Beach' to disarm a villian in the midst of terrorising a family hilarious, which was not the intended effect I suspect.

One scene involving music that does I think have some turth to it is the moment from 'The Shawshank Redemption' went Andy decides to play Che soave zeffiretto (I think) over the tannoy (here). Yes it is sentimental and as likely in reality as McEwan's conceit and yet... well it does display the power of music to bring down walls within our life. No score required...

Parla, I did not think I was... what I was trying to say was simply to think that an appreciation of classical music (in this topic's particular case) does not corollate with a higher level of civility, intelligence or humanity.If it did, then 'Clockwork Orange' would be a comedy.