Two things that stood out in seeing Lizzo play a crystal flute. I didn't know she played a flute and I didn't know James Madison had such a flute. I also didn't know there was a flute vault at the Library of Congress. To hear some of these conservative pundits spew their hate on Lizzo, you would think they knew all about this flute. They claimed her performance desecrated history. Au contraire, it opened our eyes to a whole new aspect of history the vast majority of us were unaware of. Not to mention, bring this "sacred flute" to life.
My daughter had been following the controversy on her favorite podcast, noting some of the pundits who spoke out on her performance. I suppose if it had been anyone other than Lizzo, there might not have been so much consternation. There was a high degree of twerk shaming and fat shaming associated with the critiques, as few could argue with her prowess. She is classically trained after all. It seems these right-wing pundits prefer their flautists to be as lithe as the instrument itself, if they listen to flute music at all.
It isn't an instrument one typically associates with pop music. Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull stands out. Reading this list of pop songs that had a notable flute solo, I recalled Ann Wilson playing flute on Dreamboat Annie, as well as a few other songs mentioned. It's an instrument one usually associates with classical music, and to a lesser degree folk and jazz music.
There was a funny story about the time Ian first met Rahsaan Roland Kirk. Ian had pretty much copied Rahsaan's style of playing and had stolen a couple of Rahsaan's songs that he played in concert. The two happened to be at the Newport Festival one year. Ian didn't know that Rahsaan was blind. A friend of Rahsaan handed him a cigarette lighter shaped like a small gun and pointed him in the direction of Ian. Rahsaan then asked him, where's my money? A flabbergasted Ian apologized profusely, and as the story goes became fast friends. Ian promised to pay Rahsaan the royalties he was due.
But I stray. All this backlash to Lizzo's flute playing has nothing to do with crystal flutes but the ongoing war against Millennials that is the favorite whipping post of conservative pundits. Even young pundits like Ben Shapiro like to tee off on Millennials despite being one himself, albeit at the older end of the age spectrum. In their minds, Millennials have no sense of history. They wouldn't even know what to do with a rotary dial telephone, much less tell you who invented the telephone. These pundits don't seem to realize that Millennials literally have "history" at their fingertips with Google and Safari on their cellphones.
I don't know how many times I told a story to my younger colleagues, only to watch them start googling on their cellphone. I tell them about the '71 Ventura I first drove, and quickly they pull up pictures. Mostly, they use googling as a form of fact checking when it comes to music and movies, so I have to be careful with my references.
These kids are no dopes. Let me tell you. I've learned more from my son when it comes to rock and roll trivia than I could ever recall, as he scours the internet for obscure references. However, I caught him by surprise one day when I actually knew who Khruangbin was. I should thank Radio KEXP for that, which was pretty much all I listened to at one time.
Contrary to all the criticism, I thought Lizzo very respectful during her visit to the Library of Congress and saw no harm to the precious flute during her VMA performance. She was so good that the James Madison Montpelier Estate has invited her to come play at his house. God knows Madison could use some positive publicity, as he is best known for the notorious 3/5 clause and other compromises to appease slave owners in the Constitution.
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