Opeth on NPR's "Morning Edition"!

[T-Rat]

so, not be totally off-topic, and beat a dead horse too, but "anti-intellectual" and "left-liberal" are not at all synonymous.
i listen to npr pretty much all day and the boston station wbur is all news and talk programs (except for the weekends--there's another npr station that's more focused on classical music).
without exception the programs are varied, rigorous, in-depth and of, to my mind, a very high intellectual caliber.
(this is something i feel qualified to judge, albeit with all due humility, since i am a college teacher with a BA, MA, Grad. Cert. in cinema studies and almost a PhD in literature. i read extensively in almost every area of humanities and culture, as well as science and politics...)
but it is certainly true that NPR is in the moderate-to-left-leaning area in terms of its coverage of most news and politics.
there are many other types of programs than just news and current events and these largely seem moderate, intellectually and culturally rich, not mention frequently even entertaining as well.
many of the discussion programs make an effort to get conservative interlocutors involved when such views are relevant--for ex. in discussions of "intelligent design," stem-cell research, etc. there are always right types, sometimes really, really conservative ones, brought in. unlike on so-called conservative radio talk shows when co-called liberals are brought on the air, they are not ridiculed, but are allowed to air their views.
i have also heard right-leaning moderates, such as john mccain, interviewed on various programs--in fact, mccain seems sort of a favorite on NPR.
moreover, as a moderate myself, (and an Orthodox Christian), and perhaps also an "intellectual" i find the programming on NPR to be fair and rigorous even when it does lean to the left-of-center.
we don't get much more than an hour of the BBC world service broadcast each day, and that program, i think, is not really enough for me to go on in terms of assessing the BBC in general. but, from what i've heard, it's no worse and no better than morning edition or all things considered.
anyway,
OPETH rocks.
;-)

 

[all_sins_undone]

so, not be totally off-topic, and beat a dead horse too, but "anti-intellectual" and "left-liberal" are not at all synonymous.
i listen to npr pretty much all day and the boston station wbur is all news and talk programs (except for the weekends--there's another npr station that's more focused on classical music).
without exception the programs are varied, rigorous, in-depth and of, to my mind, a very high intellectual caliber.
(this is something i feel qualified to judge, albeit with all due humility, since i am a college teacher with a BA, MA, Grad. Cert. in cinema studies and almost a PhD in literature. i read extensively in almost every area of humanities and culture, as well as science and politics...)
but it is certainly true that NPR is in the moderate-to-left-leaning area in terms of its coverage of most news and politics.
there are many other types of programs than just news and current events and these largely seem moderate, intellectually and culturally rich, not mention frequently even entertaining as well.
many of the discussion programs make an effort to get conservative interlocutors involved when such views are relevant--for ex. in discussions of "intelligent design," stem-cell research, etc. there are always right types, sometimes really, really conservative ones, brought in. unlike on so-called conservative radio talk shows when co-called liberals are brought on the air, they are not ridiculed, but are allowed to air their views.
i have also heard right-leaning moderates, such as john mccain, interviewed on various programs--in fact, mccain seems sort of a favorite on NPR.
moreover, as a moderate myself, (and an Orthodox Christian), and perhaps also an "intellectual" i find the programming on NPR to be fair and rigorous even when it does lean to the left-of-center.
we don't get much more than an hour of the BBC world service broadcast each day, and that program, i think, is not really enough for me to go on in terms of assessing the BBC in general. but, from what i've heard, it's no worse and no better than morning edition or all things considered.
anyway,
OPETH rocks.
;-)

Thank you... professor.

 

[T-Rat]

^^

heehee, yeah, i got a little carried away...

i'm subbing for someone in a lawyer's office today, and there's nothing to do...

 

[Hyperborean Exile]

so, not be totally off-topic, and beat a dead horse too, but "anti-intellectual" and "left-liberal" are not at all synonymous.
i listen to npr pretty much all day and the boston station wbur is all news and talk programs (except for the weekends--there's another npr station that's more focused on classical music).
without exception the programs are varied, rigorous, in-depth and of, to my mind, a very high intellectual caliber.
(this is something i feel qualified to judge, albeit with all due humility, since i am a college teacher with a BA, MA, Grad. Cert. in cinema studies and almost a PhD in literature. i read extensively in almost every area of humanities and culture, as well as science and politics...)
but it is certainly true that NPR is in the moderate-to-left-leaning area in terms of its coverage of most news and politics.
there are many other types of programs than just news and current events and these largely seem moderate, intellectually and culturally rich, not mention frequently even entertaining as well.
many of the discussion programs make an effort to get conservative interlocutors involved when such views are relevant--for ex. in discussions of "intelligent design," stem-cell research, etc. there are always right types, sometimes really, really conservative ones, brought in. unlike on so-called conservative radio talk shows when co-called liberals are brought on the air, they are not ridiculed, but are allowed to air their views.
i have also heard right-leaning moderates, such as john mccain, interviewed on various programs--in fact, mccain seems sort of a favorite on NPR.
moreover, as a moderate myself, (and an Orthodox Christian), and perhaps also an "intellectual" i find the programming on NPR to be fair and rigorous even when it does lean to the left-of-center.
we don't get much more than an hour of the BBC world service broadcast each day, and that program, i think, is not really enough for me to go on in terms of assessing the BBC in general. but, from what i've heard, it's no worse and no better than morning edition or all things considered.
anyway,
OPETH rocks.
;-)

Liberalism is itself an anti-intellectual tradition though (in both its "left-wing" and "right-wing" incarnations). It's vision is egalitarian -- the triumph of mediocrity over excellence (in right-wing forms, the triumph of money, in left-wing forms, the triumph of the useless masses).

NPR's refusal to deal seriously with viewpoints outside the mediocre mainstream belies any claim to intellectual weight. Even within the context of "debates" internal to liberal ideology (between "left" and "right"), NPR's "impartiality" is built entirely of smoke and mirrors.

 

[AlphaTemplar]

Even within the context of "debates" internal to liberal ideology (between "left" and "right"), NPR's "impartiality" is built entirely of smoke and mirrors.

What the hell? How is the right liberal?

 

[Hyperborean Exile]

Historically, the underlying ideals of both the right and left in American politics have been associated with the political theory of liberalism. The "right" merely emphasizes its roots in Christian theology and its free market economic theories and the "left" emphasizes civil libertarian aspects and incorporates superficial elements of social democratic thinking, but the basic idea is held in common.

 

[Black Paragon]

I heard Windowpane on Vh1 during one of there dumb countdowns as background music...

 

[Dee Snarl]

Historically, the underlying ideals of both the right and left in American politics have been associated with the political theory of liberalism. The "right" merely emphasizes its roots in Christian theology and its free market economic theories and the "left" emphasizes civil libertarian aspects and incorporates superficial elements of social democratic thinking, but the basic idea is held in common.

Okay... If the left and right are both liberal, what does conservatism entail?

 

[martyrs_price]

I'm hearing more and more weird stuff as background music for NPR all the time. It's getting to be comical already with the stuff I hear.

 

[Hyperborean Exile]

Okay... If the left and right are both liberal, what does conservatism entail?

American "conservatism" for the most part consists of the alliance of classical liberal economic and political ideals allied to evangelical Christian morality.

 

[Dee Snarl]

American "conservatism" for the most part consists of the alliance of classical liberal economic and political ideals allied to evangelical Christian morality.

No, no... you misunderstand...

Not American "conservatism"... what is REAL conservatism (as opposed to the liberalism you've thus far described as comprising right and left, liberal and "conservative")?

 

[Hyperborean Exile]

Conservatism as such is essentially a dead movement, basically, it was rooted in aristocratic and agrarian idealism, both of which are long gone.

 

[Dee Snarl]

Conservatism as such is essentially a dead movement, basically, it was rooted in aristocratic and agrarian idealism, both of which are long gone.

Well, that clears that up.



More to the point, I don't see anything on the NPR website about Opeth as incidental music. Maybe I'm stupid, but they do list all their incidental music, and I didn't see anything on them during Morning Edition in the past few days, and nothing came up when I searched the site for "Opeth."

Maybe some local dude threw it on?

 

[T-Rat]

^^

yeah, it was on wbur in boston...

so, could very well have been one of "ours"

and i'm gonna have to go ahead and agree to disagree with H.E., but i appreciate some of your comments.