Thursday, March 30, 2017

Are you a foodie?

Tyler Cowen notices that once we listened to the Beatles, but now we eat beatles!
Music made us get up and dance, or occasionally throw a rock. Food, especially if combined with wine, encourages a state of satiety and repose. Most conversation about food is studiously nonpolitical and removed from controversial social issues. There is a layer of left-wing critique of food corporations, genetic modification and food-associated pollution, but its impact on broader American culture has been marginal. These days, it could be said that food is the opiate of the educated classes. Anecdotally, I observe that the contemporary preoccupation with a particular kind of food fanciness and diversity has penetrated black communities less, and those are also the groups where music might in some cases remain politically important.

I don't know about that last sentence; rap music is every bit as big among young whites as it is among young blacks!

I like to think music might win back its social and intellectual resonance, but in the meantime please pass me the green mango chili fish sauce.

Give me my cell phone. I want to listen to Peter, Paul and Mary.

No comments: