the more things change…
How is it that I’ve never, ever heard of this before today? Right now, I simply can’t trust that my knowledge of western culture doesn’t have even more huge gaping holes in it.
You’d think that a joke piece by Mozart titled “Leck mich im Arsch” (which translates into exactly what you think it does) would have been the perfect hook to grab the attention of a bunch of disinterested 18 year olds in a freshman western art music survey course. This piece (or its companion, which has arguably better lyrics) presents the perfect example to illustrate that so-called “high culture” can be just as frivilous and base as your average pop tune today (in some ways, this stuff was equivalent to today’s pop music).
Cast a wider net, and you can lead right into all the dirty jokes Shakespeare wedged into his plays, “The Miller’s Tale”, and even ancient Greek and Roman graffiti. People have found dirty jokes and bodily functions funny since the first Homo Erectus farted and the one next to him laughed.
It’ something to think about the next time you hear a kid mention Britney Spears’ “If U Seek Amy”, thinking they’re so damned original.
