And what would you say, then, of a culture which took this standpoint: music not allowed. Music is a diversion from reality. You know, that kind of awful, utilitarian attitude—but really, one of the basic things, you see, that we live for. What makes it worth surviving and going on is there can be such a thing as music, there can be dancing. In other words, that we can do things that are absolutely irrelevant so far as mere survival is concerned.
Well, I listened to this and I suddenly realized that that’s what life’s all about. And, you know, it was the most fantastic sudden recognition: that everything in this world is gloriously meaningless.