Plus ça change…

Old, conservative, self-indulgent rationale for ignoring new music, ca. 1954:

”I can’t stand the new music, it’s too dissonant and just not nearly as great as Romantic music.”

New, hip, egalitarian rationale for ignoring new music, ca. 2004:

”I can’t stand the new music, it’s too consonant and just not nearly as great as pop music.”

In the world of music criticism, this passes for… Progress!