Sunday 9 August 2015

The wisdom of Nick Stefanos

"Mai had an Abba CD playing on the house system. It bothered Stefanos that groups like Abba and the Carpenters were considered hip now. Stefanos figured that anything that blew the first time around still blew, period. Retro appreciation was nothing more than blind nostalgia."

I guess I should have apologized to all my readers who loved ABBA (and the Carpenters, but I don't know them). That said, there is so much to love about this quote from Shame the Devil by George Pelecanos. Because what private eye Nick Stefanos says is so darn true. I often compare his stories to classic Greek tragedies or Greek mythology set in Washington D.C. You know, since Pelecanos is of Greek origins and all. Now I add Greek philosophy to this. Because this is pure wisdom. Object of nostalgic appreciation, and this comes from a nostalgic, has to be earned. And yes, I think ABBA blew the first time around.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I enjoy Abba, and I still do,,
to each his own I suppose,,

Unknown said...

There is something to be said for bad bands that no longer exist.

I don't know. It's as though because they have fallen off the map, they don't need to be criticized anymore.

Any point I'd make like, This won't last," or "Theyve got 15 minutes" has already been made for me, so listen to them if you want.

But I'm a music snob.