Tuesday, August 10, 2004

So that's what a generational gap feels like!

Today a group of students were giving a presentation on Philip Glass. (Amusing aside, they started the presentation by filling a glass with water. Get it?) One student was describing Glass's life in Paris as a young composer, where he was hired to transcribe Ravi Shankar's music into Western notation. Ravi Shankar, hero of classical Indian music; the man who taught John, Paul, and George how to play the sitar and the tabla. That Ravi Shankar. The student's description of Shankar? "He's the dad of Norah Jones." So much for the "godfather of world music." (George Harrison, for you damn youngsters.)

The thing is, I'm only about twelve years older than these students. At least I know who Norah Jones is. What will it feel like when I'm 50? My daughter will be in college then, so I guess I will have to make connections with that generation through her. "John Tavener wrote music using poetry by Bob Dylan. He's Jakob Dylan's dad."

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