“The things you think are useless I can’t understand” is a line from an early Steely Dan song.
.
I think about this line a lot because so many people seem to think that
- empathy,
- justice,
- kindness,
- logic,
- diversity,
- intelligence,
- compassion,
- speaking up,
- integrity,
- curiosity, and
- openness
are useless, and I can’t understand.
I hope the things you think are useless don’t include today’s blog.
.
As always, thanks for your understanding!
dave brubeck – grew up listening to him, my dad played his music all the time
I listened to him and played his music on the piano as I was growing up, beth. As always, thanks for understanding.
I should have mentioned Oscar Peterson and Ramsey Lewis (along with the “space” portions of a Grateful Dead show. Totally a sucker for piano players. Also had some trouble deciphering your topic – kept reading that the things you (or I) think are useless, followed by I can’t understand. Finally got around to reading it as “I can’t understand [why] you think [these] things are useless. I would add “imagination, frivolity, and wonder.”
But I’m sure that as sung by Steely Dan, it was entirely understandable. 🙂
I understand, Barbara.
For anyone who says they don’t like jazz, or don’t understand it, I recommend James Baldwin’s short story “Sonny’s Blues”. He wrote about music like no other writer I know,
Thanks for another very useful comment, my friend.
these things definitely aren’t useless! I don’t understand how people think they are!
Thanks for another useful comment, Carol Anne.