Remember all those vocabulary words you had to learn for the S.A.T., or the G.R.E., and that you never used again? Well, now's you're chance.

It turns out many of those long-forgotten adjectives are ideal for describing the person who is absolute low-man on the old cultural totem pole, Karl Haas, Ph.D., purveyor of a public radio program which ought to be called "Mis-adventures in Good Music":

Obsequious,
sycophantic,
smarmy,
pretentious,
toadying,
fulsome,
oleaginous,
unctuous,
fawning,
turgid.

Not only that. He's also superficial, tedious, and as boring as the most pedantic middle school teacher you ever had.

Since he rarely plays anything composed after 1900, one must conclude that there has been virtually no "Good Music" in the 20th century. No matter. For Karl, there are plenty of "Masters" (as he refers to them) before 1900.

Need we add that two of Karl's requirements for being a "Master" (in addition to being dead) are 1) that you must have been European, and 2) that you must have had a penis.

Back to Millennial Culture-at-a-glance

Magellan's Log VI

Magellan's Log front page