Frank Kogan

Also, despite my line "English-teacher-certified quality," I wouldn't say it's remotely true that all English teachers turn whatever they touch into lameness. It depends on the teacher to some extent, also on what the overall school experience is like for a particular student, etc. Even bad teachers can help someone to a good book merely by making the student read it (presumably a good book will have some power to make its readers get it, enjoy it). And of course good commentary can open up material and help someone get it. As for music, this is what we do, right? We comment on music, and I'd say in my case rather insistently try to get people to think about it.

And I'm curious how various people might think the way the culture presents, say, Bob Dylan or the Velvet Underground has to do with how the people reading my livejournal experience them, if the performers' role now in the culture (as the Great Progenitors Of Whatever It Is They're Taken To Have Generated) has a positive or negative effect on the music.