Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Glenn Gould on watching television

Glenn Gould, in a 1959 interview:

“I don’t approve of people who watch television, but I am one of them.”

Quoted in Kevin Bazzana’s Wondrous Strange: The Life and Art of Glenn Gould (Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 2003).
Bazzana reports that Gould pronounced himself a “vidiot.” One of his favorite broadcasts: The Mary Tyler Moore Show.

Related reading
All OCA Glenn Gould posts (Pinboard)

comments: 3

Adair said...

Not my favorite pianist, but I certainly agree with his taste in television. The MTM Show is dear to me, especially the first seasons. It is actually a little painful to watch---while hilarious, it also makes me very nostalgic. I can't remember where I read that it was Salinger's favorite show as well and that he'd prepare a tv tray of cheese squares and other snacks in anticipation of viewing.

Michael Leddy said...

I like it too, very much. I remember reading once that grown-ups would stay home on Saturday nights to watch.

Geo-B said...

BUT . . . I love that rhetorical turn. I could fill up dozens of them. I don't approve of people who only eat one food at a time off their plates, but I am one of them. I don't approve of people who cut in front of you in traffic just because you're leaving a space in front of you, but I am one of them. I don't approve of those people who check their cell hones in the movies, but I am one of them. I don't approve of people who let their lawns go to hell, but I am one of them.