Wine is something that I know little about, but that I enjoy. Sports are similar. You could ask me to name players, statistics, or team records. I would do badly. Yet I love to watch on television, cheer in person, or play myself. Running has become my personal choice for exercise and while I’m not fast, I can go a long way. There are many things in life that I enjoy, but happily know little about. If I were to become a connoisseur, the wine would likely taste better, but also somehow worse. There is something lost when one becomes proficient; as if there is a point where you know so much that you cannot partake with the same innocence.
Music is another space where I have fun, but have avoided going too deep. In college I took a course in jazz history. It guided choices in the music store and the reading I’ve since done informed my tastes. That understood, I have no clue, but I do know that both my son and I love jazz on a lazy afternoon. Somehow it is an excellent backdrop to each of us doing our own thing at home. With this music we can be together while also occupy our own space.
Today I got to see the documentary about Nat Hentoff, The Pleasures of Being Out of Step. Loved by those who love the music, Hentoff was also an influential writer and defender of free speech. He did not avoid controversy and thanks to the content of his character, got to meet many of the most important figures in US underground culture during the second half of the twentieth century.
Hentoff’s life was a remarkable one and with his recent death it is worthwhile to see this film and -whether you love it or love spending time with it- to listen to the music that was so important to his life.
Music is another space where I have fun, but have avoided going too deep. In college I took a course in jazz history. It guided choices in the music store and the reading I’ve since done informed my tastes. That understood, I have no clue, but I do know that both my son and I love jazz on a lazy afternoon. Somehow it is an excellent backdrop to each of us doing our own thing at home. With this music we can be together while also occupy our own space.
Today I got to see the documentary about Nat Hentoff, The Pleasures of Being Out of Step. Loved by those who love the music, Hentoff was also an influential writer and defender of free speech. He did not avoid controversy and thanks to the content of his character, got to meet many of the most important figures in US underground culture during the second half of the twentieth century.
Hentoff’s life was a remarkable one and with his recent death it is worthwhile to see this film and -whether you love it or love spending time with it- to listen to the music that was so important to his life.
