[Harp-L] The best

[Jonathan Ross <jross38@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

So, who's the best classical composer ever?  Today?  Who's the best  
blues guitarist ever?  Today?  The best blues harp player ever?   
Today?  Who's the best dog ever?  The best dog alive today?  Etc...

The answers to all of the above are: no-one.  The question is flawed,  
and actually rather idiotic.  A much, much better question is: who's  
your favorite...?  That can actually be answered.

Frankly, I was disappointed but not surprised to see the word "best"  
come up in this way in a newspaper article.  If they had said  
"amongst the best" it might mean something (slightly--as in a general  
consensus), but "the best" in any artistic field (and most others,  
for that matter) is not even a concept worth considering.  I suppose  
it follows from sports: Jordan is the best basketball player ever  
(though he never played against Russell, Wilt, etc...), Tiger the  
best golfer, etc...  Even in fairly measurable fields like sports,  
the thing is still idiotic, though it sells and thus is used again  
and again.  For arts, it's beyond idiotic and rather insulting  
really--art isn't a contest, and when reduced to such usually ends up  
lessened as a result.

Aside from that it was an interesting article.  I do wonder about  
some things (are the fees for him, or the band as a whole), but a  
nice read.  It's not easy following a dream job, and many of them  
don't have monetary rewards, that's for sure.  But, if you want  
something, often you have to make such choices.



 ()()    JR "Bulldogge" Ross
()  ()   & Snuffy, too:)
`----'