Cranky letter to the editor
This letter appeared in The Oregonian on April 3, in response to coverage of the Bruce Springsteen concert in Portland several days earlier:
Bruce Springsteen’s band member tells us that it is a rush to him to “turn your guitar amp up to 11 and scream and shout and be presenting amazing music.” Amazing to me that anyone older than a demented 6-year-old can call that racket “music.”
True, my standards are high, as they are generated by the Metropolitan Opera. But the reaction to the Springsteen noise proves the truth of the old adage that “some people grow up, others just grow old.”
Robert E. Vanderzanden
Woodburn, Ore.
Assuming this letter is legit and not meant as a joke, I have to conclude that Robert E. Vanderzanden is the following things:
1. Very, very old. Anyone who was younger than about 20 in the mid ’50s, when rock ‘n’ roll came around, would almost certainly have succumbed to at least SOME of its charms. To have such disdain for the entire art form — and Springsteen isn’t even “niche”; his stuff is pretty much basic, pure rock ‘n’ roll — you’d have to have been already set in your musical tastes in 1955. At least generally speaking.
2. A pompous crotchbag.
For the record, being a fan of the Metropolitan Opera does not automatically make you a pretentious, insufferable jerk. But citing it as a credential does.
April 8th, 2008 at 5:10 am
Again, assuming the letter is legit, what was Vanderzanden doing at a Springsteen concert in the first place?
April 8th, 2008 at 7:23 am
Now, now, Eric. I don’t think much of Don Springsteen, but that doesn’t mean I have complete disdain for all rock. I just think little of his particular compositions. But, he’s still better than The Rolling Stones.
April 8th, 2008 at 8:09 am
As a HUGE fan of both opera and rock ‘n’ roll, letters like this piss me off. This guy does nothing to encourage non-opera fans to give it a try. Really, there is nothing more rock ‘n’ roll than Don Giovanni. And I have been to many rock concerts that have been truly operatic. Plus, I hate snobs. Why was he even there?
April 8th, 2008 at 8:43 am
“Anyone older than a demented six-year-old”… That sentence struck me as awkward. It reminds me of the sentence “he was as tall as a six-foot tree”, which was an entry in some intentionally-bad-prose contest.
Any TRUE pretentious crotchbag would know better than to sacrifice his syntax for the sake of an insult, especially when it’s the kind of pretentious crotchbag who brags about enjoying Opera. And for the record, my demented nine year old brother enjoys opera. He also enjoys the films of Uwe Boll.
April 8th, 2008 at 8:52 am
I’m reminded of a time at BYU when I was playing a part of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” on a piano and another student came by and asked me what I was playing. After telling him the title, he responded saying, “I’m not familiar with that piece.” I tried to explain that it was a fairly well-known song from a 70s band. He just stared at me as though I was speaking a completely foreign language.
So it’s not always just old people who disdain the awful “noise” of that dreaded “rock ‘n’ roll.”
However even as an avid rock and pop music lover of both modern and classic bands, simply going by the above description alone of blaring amps and screaming and shouting, I’d have to agree that I’d have a hard time calling that racket music either. I’ve walked out of concerts from bands who equate loudness with musical performance.
April 8th, 2008 at 10:13 am
Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Both people who enjoy the racket and people who don’t.
April 8th, 2008 at 10:13 am
He wasn’t at the concert. His letter was in response to the newspaper’s coverage of the concert. Did I not say that?
April 8th, 2008 at 11:22 am
You did say that, Eric. You proved a theory I’ve been working on for a while. Nobody actually reads blogs. They read the title, skim, then comment immediately and with no regard to what comments have already been posted.
Thank you.
April 8th, 2008 at 2:26 pm
I never liked opera until I heard Placido Domingo cover “Born to Run.” Made me cry, in a good way.
April 8th, 2008 at 2:29 pm
Having “high standards” and living in Woodburn don’t usually go together. (Oh snap! Local burn!)
I like the picture of Grandpa.
April 8th, 2008 at 4:19 pm
While I agree with Matt’s (or matt’s) sentiments, he actually never said that. He did say the letter was “in response to coverage” of the Springsteen concert, but really it is a mystery to us if Mr. Robert E. Vanderzanden really went to the concert (for the record, I don’t think he did and that was not my immediate thought at all, and I am baffled as to how anyone came to that conclusion in the first place).
April 8th, 2008 at 6:12 pm
The guy needs to lighten up. I believe it was John Donne who said “Pleasure is none, if not diversified.” that applies to music, even though the original quote was talking about women. I love all types of music, and seeing these letters makes me sad, the poor guy has no idea what he’s missing out on, sticking to one genre. I feel sorry for him, almost. Except the letter (And the picture of Grandpa) have me too busy snickering.
April 9th, 2008 at 10:55 am
Come on, Leah Jane. You love ALL types of music? Every last one? Including the type of music that is poorly written by mediocre hacks? There must be SOME type of music that you simply don’t care for.
It may seem that I am being overly pedantic, but it can sometimes be important to say exactly what you mean. Way back in 1989, when I was filling out my paperwork to live in a college dorm for my freshman year, one of the questions on the form was “what kind of music do you like?” The purpose of these types of questions is to try to match you with a roommate that you don’t want to kill. I thought, “Well, I like the Beatles, U2, Bad Company, Def Leppard, The Rolling Stones, Jerry Lee Lewis, Buddy Holly… I like ALL KINDS of music.” So I put that I liked all kinds of music.
Apparently, the guy who ended up being my roommate, when faced with the same question, thought, “Well, I like L.L. Cool J, Rob Base, MC Hammer, Bobby Brown, Tone Loc, the Beastie Boys… Hey, I like ALL KINDS of Music!”
See what I mean?
April 9th, 2008 at 10:59 am
And before anyone asks, my freshman roommate was so excited to realize the diversity of his musical tastes that he pronounced “Music” with a capital “M.” In his head. Thank you.
April 9th, 2008 at 10:59 am
I can’t believe no one has commented on the “Spinal Tap” refrence! If Springsteen’s amps go up to 11, I am totally buying tickets next time he’s in town!
April 9th, 2008 at 11:50 am
Alaska Boy, that was actually the first thing to cross my mind upon reading that.
April 10th, 2008 at 7:38 am
One time my brother was watching a U2 video, and my dad walked in and asked “This is supposed to be music?” My brother responded that yes, this was indeed music, whereupon my dad said, “I don’t hear any music.” My brother then pointed out that my dad also could not hear the phone when it rang. That was great.
April 10th, 2008 at 9:28 pm
If he’s channeling Spinal Tap, does that mean that Max Weinberg will blow up shortly? Just asking….