The Mindless Inanity Of Classical Ringtones

We’ve all heard the techophiles bleating about cell phone ringtones being the new frontier of recorded music, so should we be encouraged when we learn that Beethoven-based ringtones are some of the most popular? Or should we wonder, instead, whether those who choose the Ode to Joy are even aware of what they’re hearing? “Ours is a time when all things great are pulled down to the lowest level, everything subject to its own form of Cliff Notes… Rather than have your music so devalued, it is probably better to remain unknown to the great unwashed, permanently enshrined in a state of anonymous immortality.”