Klarinet Archive - Posting 000249.txt from 2001/11

From: Daniel Leeson <leeson0@-----.net>
Subj: [kl] Ed Lacy and "Yes We Have No Bananas"
Date: Tue, 6 Nov 2001 19:16:43 -0500

In response to Ed's question, I am very much prepared to venture an
opinion. In the abstract, there is no work of Beethoven that is
intrinsically artistically better than any other, and this is because
there is no way to demonstrate "betterness" with respect to subjective
phenomena.

However, and it is a giant however, if you permit me to include the
words "To me," I am perfectly prepared to list those works which "To me"
have greater appeal and, thus, a subjective superiority "To me."

That does not, of course, mean that what I say has any objective or
universal truth. It speaks only to how I feel about a matter.

Ed, that was exactly the point of the piece I posted. I can (and, in
fact, I think I did) post a collection of reasonably cogent arguments
that dealt with the problems of using the word "better" or the word
"best." By the criteriae I gave (mostly financial and hardly anything
artistic), it can very well be argued that Yes We Have No Bananas is
"better." And if I were the holder of the copyright, I would absolutely
state that it is a better work than Beethoven 9 because it would have
made a pile of money for me. As such, in this case, more revenue means
"better" and the most revenue is "best."

The bottom line is that subjectivity is one thing and objectivity is
another and "To me" some things are very much better than other things.
But that does not mean that they are better for everyone.

Just two days ago someone posted on this list that he "knew" that the
Buffet was the best clarinet. I think its the same cruddy thinking as
evidenced in Bananas.
--
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** Dan Leeson **
** leeson0@-----.net **
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