The Internet is a beautiful miasma of the sacred and the profane in quantities so great that we pedestrian users take its content completely for granted. I am no prude and neither am I completely permissive in my cultural attitudes. When a classical music critic characterizes Lara St. John’s Bach Works for Solo Violin’s CD cover as indecent, it makes me ask, “At what level?”
To such characterization let me lend the description of a picture readily available on the Internet that may more appropriately be termed “indecent.” This photograph depicts a naked young lady with her legs spread and a full Miller Lite bottle protruding, capped end exposed, out of her gaping vagina. The caption to the picture is, “Fuck yeah it’s Miller Time!” I submit this photograph might deserve to be considered “indecent” when contrasted with Bach Works for Solo Violin’s CD cover.
In the case of Brandi Chastain’s shameless celebratory bra-bearing moment, I submit a contrasting video, also readily available on the Internet, portraying yet another naked young lady with her legs spread. This time the viewer hears a muffled cell phone ringing. Over the next ten seconds, the naked young lady extrudes the ringing cell phone from her vagina and answers the call (I suspect all those Kegel exercises really paid off for this future star). I further submit this video might also deserve to be considered “indecent” when compared to Chastain’s ecstasy.
American media and viewers, grow up. Just as you are what you eat, you think what you see and read. In each case, it is a choice what we, the consumers, consume. Consume junk and that is what one will provide as opinion and attitude - junk.
Article comments
1 - duane
I have nothing to add concerning Chastain, but re: the violinist:
The violinist is an attractive young woman. The CD cover is beautifully provocative and not just possessing a little whiff of marketing genius.
That's just it. It's a marketing ploy. It's insulting to people who are interested in serious music. Oh, she's gorgeous, no doubt, but what does that have to do with music? She will outsell Agnes, the violinist with a trace of moustache, simply because she's cute, even though Agnes can outplay her in the dark standing on one foot.
These particular characterizations of the marketing of Bach Works for Solo Violin betray an astringent prudishness ....
It has nothing to do with prudishness. It has to do with being disgusted by the blatant pandering to musical illiterates to make a buck. It is indeed in the same class as the Britney phenomenon.
2 - Doug Hunter
Well said duane. Saved me from having to make the point.
3 - C. Michael Bailey
Splendid criticism of my faulty reasoning. This article would have served the reader better as two separate articles as they nominally address two separate issues.
I do direct readers to Lara St. John's recently released complete Bach: The Six Sonatas and Partitas for Violin Solo. These recordings are the finest of the last decade, demonstrating a maturation of the artist without the loss of spirit or personality.
4 - Amanda
On St. John: okay, so maybe it was a marketing ploy. Or maybe not. Her breasts were covered up, right? So isn't it possible that the designers were trying to make an artistic point about the raw relationship between an artist and her instrument? It could be symbolic of being stripped down, uncomplicated; she's not all dressed up (or dressed at all), because it's just her and her violin.
I'm not saying I know what the marketers were thinking. It could be either interpretation, or some other one entirely. But to assume it's sexual, just because you find it titillating, is narrow-minded. If we labeled every image that could possibly inspire an erection as "indecent," we would be in serious trouble.
Nudity is not inherently sexual. To automatically criticize a product that includes nudity (especially such non-explicit nudity as the Bach cover) as sexual is reactionary. It indicates a lack of belief that nudity can be anything BUT sexual. THAT'S where the French got it right. Lots of nude beaches in Europe are less "meat market" than many American dance clubs are.
On Chastain: Again, why does this have to be sexual? It's a freaking sports bra, for crying out loud. Go to any swimming pool or beach in America and you'll see women half as covered up in so-called "decent" bathing suits.
Great article. I hope it continues to spark debate and to get people thinking about ingrained cultural assumptions.
5 - Amanda
Another point to consider: Assume for a moment that the St. John cover WAS simply a marketing ploy. What if people who would otherwise not think to pick up a classical CD think "Oooh, boobies!" and get exposed to something new? Maybe they'll really dig the music for its own sake. Is their introduction somehow tainted because they were intrigued by a provocative cover?
If Agnes doesn't sell as many CDs as St. John because St. John has nudity on her cover, there is no reason to believe Agnes has "lost" any customers. Boobie-buyers weren't going to pick up Agnes' album to begin with. If anything, a provocative album cover that ends up creating new classical fans increases the potential market for other classical artists.
6 - gdggt
wow i love this it reallyhelped with my school assignment D
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