doing things for fear of the disapprobation of othersHear, hear, hear!
Very clearly it's wrong to "do" alleged classics (of whatever art form) just because you feel you
have to do so.
On the other hand, it can be throwing the baby out with the bath-water to take a "tried it, didn't like it" approach.
The classical composers, for instance, were the rock stars of their day, and sometimes that can be strikingly obvious
(Beethoven
- nuff said).
Most importantly, it seems to me there are some classics that can't fail to move you, especially in an appropriate context. That's almost the true definition of 'classic'.
In which case
IMHO (underline that)
Bohemian Rhapsody sits side-by-side with the
Toccata,
Jerusalem, the
Moonlight Sonata (3rd movement's great!),
Schubert's 'Unfinished' Symphony (8?) and
The Moldau, just for a few off the top of me head.
Obviously I could pick loads more for the 'recent classics', including some good ol' prog rock, but the list would be
very large. And endless.
