I grew up hearing this guy at the Metropolitan Opera on NPR on Saturday afternoons. I thought it was normal until I was old enough to have friends and go to other kids houses.
Luciano Pavarotti 1936-2007
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Yes, this is sad news today. Now there are only two of the Three Tenors.
And yes, I remember several times going to the Gannon household and having loud classical and/or operatic music shaking the windows. Really, it was quite quaint, and probably a good influence.
So one has to ask, what is “normal” for our dear Eliot and Claire?
I’ve been over to the Gannon household and saw Eiiot rocking out to Aimee Mann one time. I also know there’s a lot of Irish music they’re hearing. The Gannons came to the Twin Cities a couple of weekends ago, and Eliot mentioned U2 as well, and also “Sons and Daughters,” by which I assume he was referencing The Decemberists. They seem to be getting a good variety of tunes.
As I grew into a teenager, my view turned from thinking my family was “normal” to thinking that my entire family was insanely abnormal. I now realize that there is no such thing as normal, at least as far as I can tell, which is maybe the beauty of it all.
Yes, Eliot and Claire get everything from the Bothy Band to Dvorak and Beethoven to the Water soundtrack to Devotchka and the Decemberists to Baaba Maal. Of course, we also take them to church, which Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens have both described as child abuse. I don’t feel like I’m abusing them, but then, I’ve watched many a friend and family member go through the painful experience of shedding the burdens of their family’s religious conventions, not without considerable guilt and consternation.
Perhaps since you are aware what a burden religion can be for some people your kids will never feel it to be a burden.
As for me — my parents never burdened me with religion. For the most part I did it to myself. That’s what really hurts.