Sometimes things happen. Things that we would like to think
impossible. But
then, as if to spite our confidence, they materialize. Much like
pimples.
Such was the case on the front page of the Emerald on Friday, where
the
portion of the article href=http://www.dailyemerald.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2003/02/21/3e56532d6d5af”
>”Rocking the digital world” addressing Krist Novoselic proclaims
he was a
guitarist for Nirvana.
You jaw should be sufficiently distanced from your palate.
As you and I know, Krist Novoselic was the href=”http://members.tripod.com/~NYRfan25/novoselic.html” target=”_new”>bassist
for
Nirvana. Divining this knowledge is a simple process of elimination.
There
were three members in Nirvana. The instrumentation was a guitar, bass
and drum
set — otherwise known as a “power trio.” Kurt Cobain played guitar.
Dave
Grohl
played drums. The other guy played bass. I can’t honestly claim to know
the
bassist’s name offhand, but if this Novoselic guy is who he says he is,
lord
knows he doesn’t play mandolin.
It pained me to see this error not only in the story, but in the sub
head
as well. This is what happens when href=”http://www.onemorewriter.com/extras/halloween07.shtml” target=”_new”>dumb News
people don’t consult Pulse writers in matters we obviously know
more
about.
You could make the argument that the common bass instrument played
by rock
musicians is a bass guitar, in contrast to an upright bass. But people
who
play the bass use their instrument to set them apart from the
undeserving
hordes who call themselves “guitarists.” Would you call Les Claypool a
guitarist?
Having sufficiently commented on this error, the headline of said
article
reopened an old wound I had forgotten I needed to heal. If you will
recall,
the headline used the verb “Rocking.” We journalists use words as our
art, and
yet we cannot find a better word to describe anything relating to music
and
performance than various incarnations of “to rock.” I am just as guilty
as the
next man. How many times have I written “Band X will rock Y
venue…”
or “Blank rocked the house blank date…”? It’s shameful.
In my search to find a better word, nothing else really works.
Either it
sounds too intelectual (Johnny Guitar invigorated the place
where bands
play…) or over the top (Tim Music eviscerated blah blah blah).
What do
I do? Is The Rock too powerful? Are we doomed to rock forever?
At least there are some
people who
will never be described as “rocking.”