My Cultural Failures
Films I have never seen:
1)It’s a Wonderful Life
2)Gone with the Wind
3)The Seventh Seal
4)The Blues Brothers
Performers whose music I have never, to my knowledge, heard:
1)KISS
2)Marvin Gaye
3)The Velvet Underground
4)Motley Crue
Authors whose fiction I have never read:
1)Austen
2)Salinger
3)Tolstoy
4)Clancy
Well, OK, but not all of those are really costing you anything. I would say you can feel free to forget at least one thing in each of those categories, but there is also at least one thing in each category that is totally freaking mandatory.
My nominations:
Miss: Seventh Seal, the Crue, Clancy (tough choice)
Must: Wonderful Life (easy pick), Marvin, Austen
Comment by MCQ — December 15, 2007 @ 2:55 am
You’ve probably heard some Marvin Gaye and didn’t know it. For example, “How sweet it is (to be loved by you)” shows up in about 10,000 different romantic-comedy movies. And if you really have never heard, “I heard it through the grapevine,” then you’ve been living in a cave. (This was recorded by a few different artists, but Gaye’s version is the one that’s most often played.) Marvin Gaye was also one of two singers on the original “Ain’t no mountain high enough,” but the Diana Ross cover was more popular (though they were both top 10 hits, and you’ve probably heard them both).
Marvin Gaye’s stuff is like Shakespeare. It has sufficiently penetrated the cultural lexicon that you’re going to absorb it, whether or not you intend to.
KISS, on the other hand — well, if you haven’t heard “I want to rock and roll all nite (and party every day),” then you probably haven’t heard anything of theirs. It’s the only song of theirs that you’re really likely to stumble on, and it’s not nearly as culturally embedded as any of the Marvin Gaye songs.
Comment by Kaimi — December 15, 2007 @ 3:41 am
I’ve never seen Wizard of Oz. Plan to keep it that way.
And you aren’t missing a thing skipping It’s a Wonderful Life
Comment by gabby — December 15, 2007 @ 8:23 am
I haven’t seen Gone With the Wind either, but you should definitely see the Blues Brothers, if only for Aretha Franklin’s appearance in it.
And I think you have to hear Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On,” but I find it hard to believe you haven’t already. Or his “Sexual Healing,” which I’ve actually heard in two different places recently. But “What’s Going On” is a masterpiece.
I’ll post it the radio.blog. If you want to hear the other bands, I can post something by them too. Kiss’s best song, IMO, is probably “Black Diamond,” but it wasn’t a hit (that I know of). Another popular Kiss song was “Lick It Up.”
Comment by Susan M — December 15, 2007 @ 9:49 am
MCQ, sorry, The Seventh Seal is brilliant. I think it’s probably the best film on the list. Sure, it’s extremely serious — but it’s also incredibly smart, visually innovative, and haunting. How’s that not mandatory?
But you’re right that there’s no harm in skipping Motley Crue and Tom Clancy.
I think it’s true that everybody’s heard Marvin Gaye. Probably nearly everybody’s heard the Velvet Underground, too — at least at one or two removes. After all, at least half of the guitar bands in America since 1990 have been heavily influenced by the Velvets.
Comment by RoastedTomatoes — December 15, 2007 @ 10:42 am
i HATED Gone With the Wind so I wouldn’t waste your time with it. and you really should hear something off of Motley Crue’s first album, but I’d try to listen to it free somewhere, certainly don’t pay any money.
Comment by jen — December 15, 2007 @ 11:08 am
All of the movies are worth at least one (if not multiple) viewing(s).
Austen and Tolstoy are a must.
Ditto what has been said about Marvin Gaye — you’ve probably heard many of his tunes already — good stuff.
And, most importantly, the Wizard of Oz is a treasure.
Comment by Jack — December 15, 2007 @ 11:25 am
Actually, I must protest the arguments that I’ve heard Marvin Gaye. I am aware of his stuff on an intellectual level, but weirdly, the only Marvin Gaye tune in my head is Jack Black’s cover at the end of High Fidelity. I can throw out many snippets of Marvin Gaye lyrics, but have no melody to connect them to. I think I picked most of them up from Nick Hornby novels.
Thanks to Susan, however, this is about to be rectified.
And really? I can skip Tom Clancy and still be an American? I’ll have to chew over that a bit. Next you’ll be telling me I don’t actually have to read Dan Brown, despite what my mom keeps saying.
Comment by Matt B — December 15, 2007 @ 11:50 am
Yep. Looking at this list, it is true. You have failed.
Comment by Jacob — December 15, 2007 @ 12:17 pm
Austen and Salinger are an absolute must. Read both of their entire canons, and can’t imagine not having those experiences.
Feel the same about Gaye and the Velvet Underground.
These people are artists, and should not be missed.
Motley Crue, Tom Clancy, and KISS is nothing but disposalbe pop culture.
Comment by Matt Thurston — December 15, 2007 @ 12:21 pm
Ditto the Salinger. I love Gone with the Wind, but you can get through life without seeing it- but do read it.
VU had infiltrated pop culture too- but mostly with covers. Marvin Gaye is seminal- a must.
I’ve never read Bronte (none of them) or seen Raging Bull, Taxi Driver or Casablanca.
Comment by tracy m — December 15, 2007 @ 12:28 pm
My cultural failures:
Never Seen:
Citizen Kane
None of the films of Fellini or Bergman
2001: A Space Odessy
Dr. Strangelove
Reds
Out of Africa
The Elephant Man
Never Read:
Tolstoy
Updike
Bellow
Toni Morrison
Pynchon
DeLillo
Never Listened To (or barely listened to):
Sufjan Stevens
50 Cent
Kanye West
The Flaming Lips
Steve Earle
Steely Dan
Primal Scream
Comment by Matt Thurston — December 15, 2007 @ 12:44 pm
HOLY CRAP. Never heard Marvin Gaye?? You waste of a man.
Plus you will never appreciate Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey if you never see The Seventh Seal.
Comment by Supergenius — December 15, 2007 @ 12:48 pm
p.s. you’re better off without Austen.
Comment by Supergenius — December 15, 2007 @ 1:09 pm
gabby: You are a blasphemer.
SG: You can dislike Austen (if you have no taste), but not having read Austen is something no civilized person should ever admit.
Comment by MCQ — December 15, 2007 @ 1:40 pm
This post makes me think of The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, of which it is said,
It does not appear that there is a category for either popular music or movies, and you could argue that many of the entries are tied to a bygone era. Maybe we should do our own “Dictionary of Kulturblog Literacy.”
Comment by MCQ — December 15, 2007 @ 2:01 pm
12 - Matt Thurston, not having listened to 50 cent places you at the heighth of culture. However, not having seen Strangelove or 2001 places you back into the cesspool.
Comment by Jacob — December 15, 2007 @ 2:29 pm
I saw Bogus Journey before I had even heard of Ingmar Bergman. I thought Death was supposed to be the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come.
By the way, Chuck Klosterman disagrees with everybody here about the value of Motley Crue. Most underrated band of the 1980s, he claims.
Comment by Matt B — December 15, 2007 @ 2:45 pm
On Motley Crue — and the rest of the ’80s.
Comment by RoastedTomatoes — December 15, 2007 @ 4:56 pm
From RT’s link:
The Top Eight Reasons Why the ’80s Sucked
1. Over-production
Has this guy not listened to anything put out today? At least the 80s was pre-Pro Tools.
I couldn’t even tell you a book Salinger wrote.
Comment by Susan M — December 15, 2007 @ 5:06 pm
Susan, I bet you have heard of a book called The Catcher in the Rye.
Comment by MCQ — December 15, 2007 @ 7:46 pm
Susan, RE Pro Tools, so true. On the other hand, in the 1980s, many of even the biggest allegedly hard rock acts used super-clean and dramatically over-layered production… And crossing threads a tiny bit, I would have liked The Joshua Tree even more if it hadn’t been a bit over-produced. The songs were better than the recording of them.
Comment by RoastedTomatoes — December 15, 2007 @ 8:23 pm
Actually, the most famous KISS song (maybe even moreso than Rock & Roll All Night) is a little tune called Detroit Rock City. There’s also Beth, which was really popular when it came out but hasn’t really retained its fame.
There’s plenty of stuff I haven’t seen, read, or heard. As for my failings, I think the ones to point out are things widely considered masterpieces that I don’t like. Things like Citizen Kane, The Joshua Tree, The Flaming Lips, Gone With the Wind, Bob Dylan, The Velvet Underground…the list goes on.
I’ve never read Jane Austen either. I’ll probably die without having read any.
Comment by Brian V — December 15, 2007 @ 9:11 pm
“gabby: You are a blasphemer”
On which part? The wizard of oz part or skipping it’s a wonderful life? (I’m pretty sure I know, though, and have to disagree…)
I don’t know what to do with the austen comment from several of you. I didn’t know it was possible not to read her!
Comment by gabby — December 16, 2007 @ 9:20 am
I don’t get why somebody who hasn’t read/heard/watched something widely regarded as great wouldn’t just go read/listen/watch and decide for yourself if it’s any good. What am I missing here?
Comment by Allison — December 16, 2007 @ 11:44 am
If you watch the Seventh Seal, then Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey is twice as funny.
But I’m not sure if that is an incentive or not.
Comment by Ivan Wolfe — December 16, 2007 @ 1:14 pm
Missing Clancy isn’t that big a deal. His writing after the end of the cold war is pretty iffy anyways. Although Red Storm Rising as an alternative universe where there was a war and then Hunt For Red October are both excellent.
I’ve never seen Seventh Seal either, and don’t particularly care. All I know of it is, “best 3 out 5? ” “Damn straight!”
The Blues Brothers is great, but a bit surreal. You have to be in the right mood.
Kiss is forgettable. (Sorry any fans) Very easy to ignore. I personally think that if they didn’t have the weird quasi-satanic stage show no one would have paid them any mind. (That and the makeup)
You really should listen to some Velvet Underground and some Lou Reed. Yeah a lot is vastly overrated. But the good stuff is great.
Comment by clark — December 16, 2007 @ 2:23 pm
I have some KISS up on Thang Radio on my blog right now. Just click on my name to check out a couple of songs off of their album “Destroyer”. (Especially check out Detroit Rock City)
Comment by Geoff J — December 16, 2007 @ 5:43 pm
well, as everyone knows, my list of failures would be longer, but I have to chime in on Salinger. It’s ok to skip _Catcher in the Rye_, but you must read _Franny and Zooey_. Must.
Comment by Kristine — December 16, 2007 @ 9:25 pm
I’m not sure why everyone is so down on The Seventh Seal. I think it’s one of the best movies ever made. I found it quite affecting and moving.
of course, I’ve not seen any other movies made by that particular auteur, and I’ve heard that the Seventh Seal starts to look ridiculous once you’ve seen other movies by Ingmar Bergman, they all sort of seem the same.
Regardless, I still enjoyed the Seventh Seal.
Comment by Ivan Wolfe — December 16, 2007 @ 9:42 pm
I tried to read Catcher in the Rye a few years ago. I was in the habit of picking up something well regarded each time I took a trip for work and reading on the plane and in the hotel. It’s pretty much horrible. I put it down when dipshit was in the lobby of some hotel in New York for no apparent reason. I’ve never picked it back up.
Comment by a random John — December 16, 2007 @ 9:51 pm
Read Catcher in the Rye back when I was contemplating murdering Jon Stamos. It’s worth a look. Tolstoy is well worth reading, and Motley Crue is a much, much better band than KISS.
Jane Austin could well be considered history’s first ethnographer of first world peoples.
Comment by Scudworth — December 16, 2007 @ 10:52 pm
Blues Brothers is an amazing movie, and must not be missed.
1) Its comedy - hilarious
Comment by Jay S — December 16, 2007 @ 11:15 pm
Lets try this again
Blues Brothers is an amazing movie, and must not be missed.
1) Its comedy - hilarious
a) The interplay between Jake and Elwood (akroyd and Belushi) is awesome
b) Awesome Cameos (carrie fisher blowing stuff up, john candy, frank oz, etc)
c) creative plot - very enjoyable story
2) Music
a) James Brown
b) Cab Calloway
c) Aretha Franklin
d) Ray Charles
e) You get the picture
Comment by Jay S — December 16, 2007 @ 11:23 pm
Citizen Kane and Moby Dick.
I feel bad about not having consumed either work. Not just because of their cultural statuses, but also because I think that I’d really like both.
I don’t feel bad at all about never having read Catcher in the Rye.
Comment by William Morris — December 17, 2007 @ 3:24 pm
Moby Dick is like Ulysses. Hard slogging with lots and lots of slight of hand and metaphoric meanings. Both are books I like the idea of but that I just can’t get into somehow. (They are both on my shelf - and I rarely make it more than a few dozen pages in either)
Comment by Clark — December 17, 2007 @ 3:54 pm
“Read Catcher in the Rye back when I was contemplating murdering Jon Stamos. It’s worth a look.”
I’m trying to decide if this post was meant to be ironic. I’m going to go with “yes.” For those of you who do not know, Michael David Chapman claimed that he was inspired by “Catcher in the Rye” when he decided to kill John Lennon, and he was carrying a copy of the book when he was arrested. For the rest of you who don’t know, Jon Stamos is no John Lennon.
At one point in my life, I considered “Catcher in the Rye” my favorite book. I wouldn’t say that anymore, but I think it was a brilliant novel, and was pretty groundbreaking at the time it came out. Like Kaimi says about Marvin Gaye above, “Catcher” has seeped into our consciousness and become a part of the lexicon. All novels about youthful angst and modern literature that use stream-of-consciousness rely, in part, on “Catcher in the Rye.” That said, I actually prefer the Glass family stories, particularly “Nine Stories,” “Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters,” and “Franny and Zooey.”
I think the Velvet Underground manages to be, simultaneously, both the most overrated and underrated rock band of the 20th century. No mean feat, that. I love me some Velvets, though.
Comment by BTD Greg — December 17, 2007 @ 4:44 pm
BTD, those who love Jake In Progress will disagree.
Comment by Supergenius — December 17, 2007 @ 4:59 pm
Greg, totally agree about Velvet Underground. They aren’t as great as some say - but are ignored or unknown by way too many.
BTW - the whole stream of consciousness bit was started by Ulysses as I recall. Say what you will about a book millions say is the greatest piece of 20th century fiction they’ve never read but it was pretty influential.
Comment by clark — December 17, 2007 @ 11:25 pm
Clark, good point about Ulysses. In truth, stream of consciousness can’t really be attributed to just one author. I think the thing that sets “Catcher” apart is that the stream of consciousness is also colloquial. Prior to “Catcher,” it was unusual for something to be colloquial and literary at the same time. (With some exceptions like Faulkner, but again, most of his stuff is pretty opaque.) Raymond Chandler pulled it off before Salinger, but the literary world didn’t recognize Chandler’s greatness until much later because he wrote genre fiction.
Comment by BTD Greg — December 18, 2007 @ 9:17 am
But Ulysses is arguably colloquial to the point of unintelligibility…
I think books like Huckleberry Finn pulled it off in the 19th century though. One can debate whether those are great “high” literature, but they are considered classics and most have read them as literature.
Comment by clark — December 18, 2007 @ 10:26 am
Well, Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man came out before Ulysses, and that has several stream of Consciousness sections.
Comment by Ivan Wolfe — December 18, 2007 @ 12:27 pm
Good point, Ivan.
Comment by Clark — December 18, 2007 @ 2:59 pm