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Mr. Eric Friesen (BA 1967)

Life Lesson #4

Lesson #4 - elitist is not a bad word… I don’t know that the subject ever came up as such, but I learned here at Waterloo, that there is such a thing as excellence, as quality, that there are hierarchies of quality, that some things are better than others. I was able in later years to put flesh on those bones… I could say with confidence that old J S Bach is better than Ditersdorf, Angela Hewitt better than Rosalyn Tureck, the King James Bible better than Good News for Modern Man, that Woodford Reserve bourbon is better that Jack Daniels, or if you want a Canadian example – Creemore lager is better than Labatt’s Blue…

This is not a fashionable view these days. Throughout my company, the CBC, there is sweeping, there has swept, the belief that all music is equally good. Bull%#$& I say, and I learned it here.

I hesitated to mention this – not knowing what fires I might start here or add gasoline too… I also want to make it clear that I’m not championing snobbishness. There’s quality and excellence in pop culture and country music and gospel music and jazz. I interviewed Lyle Lovett this spring, whose quirky songs which absorb so many popular music traditions I love, love, love. I’m a lifelong fan of Johnny Cash. Shirley Horn. Bill Evans.  Oscar Peterson - he and Art Tatum are the two greatest jazz pianists ever. Keith Jarrett.  Miles Davis.

This is not exactly an exhortation to elitism – but Dr. Martin used to urge us to have favorites. It’s good to have favorites he said. And I do…

I was interested to see in John Ralston Saul’s new book A Fair Country that he makes an unabashed assumption that it is important to acknowledge elites and the need for elites.  I’m sure he counts himself as one…

Anyway – no apologies for quality and excellence – I learned it here.

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