bigot in the classroom (please talk free?)

Main Entry: big·ot
Pronunciation: 'bi-g&t
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle French, hypocrite, bigot
Date: 1661
: a person obstinately or intolerantly devoted to his or her own opinions and prejudices
- big·ot·ed /-g&-t&d/ adjective
- big·ot·ed·ly adverb

oh man, i just walked out of the class i TA because i thought i was either going to cry or scream. The good ole boy was talking about George Crumb, and one student (after an entire semester of listening to classical music) said, "I can respect this intellectually, but I just don't understand why anyone would listen to something that is so unconventional and unsatisfying." Okay, let's talk about this, right? Well, prof's explaination is that you can't listen to modern classical music expecting to be entertained, that it's not meant to be heard on the radio, or used as backround for your dinner (okay, I guess) and then went on about how Mozart's Lacrimosa is being used to sell American Standards, and how this is a sign of the sure downfall of American society, that really shouldn't we just flush away all the idiots who don't understand and just use the opulence of the Requiem to sell toilets?

Har har. Pretty funny that they'd stick a pop culture loving, embrace-the-mass-media kinda girl into a work position where she rubs elbows daily with the most conservative, unconstructive minds in the world, aka, the old school musicologists with tenure and nada clue past the last day of classes for their PhDs on Mahler or whatever. And I LIKE classical music too, that's the worst part.

Somebody hit me with a good book or essay about the decontextualization of meaning of music in use with mass media (not Adorno). pinkgerl@yahoo.com. I would like to intellectualize my combat of this type of mindset w/o resorting to the usual ethnomuze whines.