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July 6, 2004
TT: Mailbox
While we're on the subject, here's some reader mail about the TCCI:- "The Searchers or Rio Bravo? Neither. Trite male weepies the both of them."
- "Yeats and Vermeer are at least close. Trollope should get your critic's license yanked. What's interesting is that you prefer Dostoyevsky to Tolstoy. Dostoyevsky and Dickens are quite different--Dickens has no religion, Dostoyevsky has no affection--but they both offer heightened, slightly hallucinogenic versions of reality. Trollope may not be fit to do more than shine Tolstoy's shoes, but they both claim to offer The Thing Itself, in large swatches. This is what makes lists fun."
- "Bach on piano vs. harpsichord--maybe I told you this story--if so, stop me here--but as a child doing the local music competition circuit, I came across that issue in what became my first example of biased judging. Picture the 10 year old me playing some 3 part invention as influenced by a Russian piano teacher. Then picture the same me with a stricken look when told by the judge that I had violated one of his tenets in not playing the piece ‘as if it were for the harpsichord.' The winner was a very nice, shy young Korean girl who did just as he asked--because she had no hand strength and could barely punch the piano keys. (And her teacher later apologized to my parents for what had happened!) After that I was never much of a fan of harpsichords..."
- "Don't make me choose between Elvis Costello and Steely Dan. That one is way too hard. Otherwise, my hunch is that we line up about 90 percent of the time."
- "13/20, or 65%. I deleted a few to make it an even 20, but they were all prejudicial: I think I would like T. Williams better than Albee, but I haven't read/seen the latter. Same with Simpsons over Sopranos. It had to be 20 instead of 100 since I'm not as familiar with as many kinds of culture as you are. In addition, the "barely-passing" score might be my youth (how many teenagers read you Terry? I'm one) and inexperience. I suspect I'd find myself agreeing with you a lot on musical theater and jazz as I start listening to more of it..."
- "Re the TCCI: agree with 45; disagree with 20 (most stridently with your preference for Tchaikovsky over Chopin and Daffy Duck over Bugs Bunny); DKI (in lawyer-speak, deny knowledge or information as to one or both) with 23; dislike both choices in 9 (most notably Pollock and De Kooning); unable to choose between comedy and tragedy, and do not understand the juxtaposition of Lincoln and Churchill (what exactly is being compared?). I think I am short one or two. It was fun. Thanks."
- "Like you I am an A type with the following exceptions: No. 75 is a Sushi-no and I am an old smoothie when it comes to No. 85 [peanut butter]. No. 14 is up for grabs as it would be hard for me to choose between Billie and Ella."
- "Ah, paralysis! Some of the choices are so obvious (and frequently the second, non-Terry choice), but so many of them brought me to a complete mental stasis that I was endangering my breakfast hour. I guess I have wimpy values, alas. Or more catholic taste."
Posted July 6, 2004 12:00 PM
