Can an Intelligent Person Like Phish?

I hate phish, but i don't think it has anything to do with intelligence. i hate hearing a band play what sounds like partial scales, then partially higher scales, then a little higher, then all the way back down, then the same thing back up.... then back down. then all... the...way...back...up... then back down... ad nauseum... for 45 minutes per song.  i agree tat it takes some talent to be able to play it. i just dont believe it has any musical merit.  i think musical taste has more to do with what you are exposed to early in life than intelligence.  of course, if you realize that music can speak to you and be a near spiritual experience, you will seek that out. some people may find phish speaks to them. i think it has more to do with lack of originality than lack of intelligence. i do think there might be some correlation to a lack of intelligence and adults listening to music aimed at tweens. when 40 year old secretaries listen to katy perry (who i do believe exhibits a distinct lack of intelligence every time she opens her mouth and anything comes out of it) or taylor swift (whose music so distinctly does not challenge anyone's taste that you can practically sing every predictable lyric and sing every predictable melody the first time you hear it... including the part at the end of the chorus where the music drops off and she sings the last couple lyrics a capella) might indicate a lack of intelligence.

Wow. You'll never hear me say a word against the freedom of speech, but if a country allows someone to make a piece of literary garbage THIS deplorable to appear in public, there's something wrong. 

You have done nothing here expect prove you are a misinformed, ignorant, troll with no sense of actualization. I feel sorry for the people in your life.

Look at me! I have an advanced degree and love Phish!! Whoopdeedoo... The irony is the self professed snobbery which is the main actual criticism of Phish fans, not lack of intelligence. But they bought it, hook-line-sinker. I like Phish, but many other bands and genres as well... guess I'm a freakin' super genius then.

Better headline: Can An Unintelligent Person Judge Someone Solely Based on Musical Taste?

I hope he didn't pay for those non-drugs.

My friend is majoring in physics, seriously a smart dude and he owns very single phish cd. I love phish as well:)

Mark Kaspher - violinist with the LA Philharmonic Orchestra, on Phish: "Their harmonic language is much richer than that of typical rock groups and the structure of the pieces—especially longer ones with extended instrumental sections—is very similar to “classical” ways of building a piece. Melodic inventiveness is impressive and musical themes are actually being DEVELOPED which is an extremely rare feature in “popular” music. The rhythms are also more varied than those in average rock compositions. One question I can’t answer specifically is about which classical composer this music reminds me of. No single name comes to my mind, but that may be a good thing actually because the reason for it is—at least partly—that this music is not derivative but in fact original and it speaks in its own distinctive voice."

Hipster idiots just do it to themselves, don't they? Time and time again

I am an extremely conservative Republican and I fucking love Phish--hardly a typical phan. But seriously anyone who dislikes Phish either simply doesn't appreciate good music or doesn't want to. Before I got into them I used to ignorantly say they sucked because so many of my friends liked them. However I am a musician and once I gave them a chance they instantly became my second favorite band...behind the Allman Bros. of course.

What love story??

I and my friends work here inelligentnye http://agree.goldline.pro/en/

Answer: Yes

Evidence: http://www.laphil.com/press/pr...

Just an educated guess, but I bet Wittels' IQ is much higher than Auckerman's.

i love the The Phish, they are totally awesome !

It's funny though when Phish fans say you have to be stoned to love the music...it's like saying you can really appreciate Transformers 2 more if you have brain damage.

Trying to characterize any band as "good" or "bad" as opposed to a matter of preference is cute and all that... But the real question is:  What was wrong with this guy that he drank vodka and beer, ate ecstasy and shrooms, and smoked weed and couldn't get high?!

If you go into any show, regardless of who/ what/ where, and are looking for faults, you will find them. This guy should spend some time enjoying the ride, instead of picking apart life and looking down on others.

I'm an attorney, and I've seen Phish dozens of times. Huge fan. If you don't like them, don't bash them. Just don't listen to them. Plain and simple. Allow us to love them without your mindless distractions.

lol @ intelligent people listening to garth brooks and marshall tucker band. quit pretending to like chopin, phan.

 How did the intelligent people react when that guy from Phish molested that little girl and got stomped by bikers?

Auckerman is sincerely the unfunneist person ever associated with Mr. Show (I would know - I was there).  He now makes a living sucking off the hind tit of any talent he manages to attach himself to (whether that be booking them on Death Ray (or whatever stupid name it is now) or "producing" thier pod cast.  This fruad of self promotion now includes back-drafting off of the band Phish.What a very pathetic (for those ever unfortunate enough to have to sit through any of his "hack") individual.Hey - Scott - How's your "good friend" BJ Porter doing?  You Moron.

The title of the article is incredibly misleading and the entire piece is sophomoric. I have a doctorate degree and I attend Phish shows, like many of the commenters here. I think there are thousands of us who can disprove the title of this boorish article. Now next, the Phish concert scene isn't for everyone. Drugs are there, but that certainly doesn't mean everyone is on drugs. I do not do drugs and many times, I have not even imbibed in a cocktail prior to attending a Phish show, and frankly I appreciate the clarity that provides. If this article is true, I think the author is the unintelligent one for ingesting foreign substances, the content of which was unknown to him at the time. Real bright, pal!

What evidence do we have that Aukerman is intelligent?

me fail english? that's unpossible!

I have been listening and seeing phish since 1993 andhave been to over 200+ shows (was on phish tour from 96-2000 ) have an undergrad degree in International economics, post grade degree in Accounting, sat for the CPAexam, Speak Mandarin Chinese as a second language, have lived in China for 10years and have companies in both Shanghai and Hong Kong. I have a beach houseon koh chang island in Thailand and two companies in the US with one in  Fort LauderderdaleFlorida where i also have a condo across the street from the beach.   I Have traveled the world and do business inAfrica, Latin America, Asia, Middle East and North America.  My musical tastes were transformed by Phishand the Grateful Dead in the early 90’s and I owe to them everything I am today,the sense of adventure and the taste for “intelligent music!”  

One of the most self-satisfied and unfunny people ever to get in front of a microphone. It's really sad that a seat was wasted at a Phish show for Scott Aukerman. 

Do "Intelligent" people think "Parks and Recreation" is funny? The answer is astoundingly no. The fact that one of you assclows claims to be a phish fan, yet abuses his position of fleeting "fame" to openly mock the band and it's fans shows a lack of intelligence. I'd hope you do the "Intelligent" thing and stay as far away from the scene as you can. Each pathetic swipe you take just solidifies what is wrong with attention whores like yourselves. No one thinks you are funny and everyone thinks you are two douchenozzles.

- David Byrne called Phish "absolutely phenomenal" and co-wrote music with Trey Anastasio

- Peter Gabriel was slated to perform The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway with Phish in 1998

- David Fricke, one of the most respected music critics ever, thus making Ben look like an amateur, called Phish "the most important band of the '90s"

- Vampire Weekend recently praised Phish in a series of interviews

- The National & Mates of State are working on an album with Trey right now

- "It's just as easy to be surprised by a Phish song and have it sound like none of the aforementioned; to hear hints of classical music, the grandiosity of a Who rock opera, or the melodic prowess of Lennon/McCartney" -  Carrie Brownstein, Sleater-Kinney

- "In America, I'm drawn to a band like Phish" - Robert Plant

- "I'm totally knocked out with their flexibility and ambition to play all this wildly different stuff." - Pat Metheny

- "Phish is a great band" - Chris Franz, Tom Tom Club

But forget all of these idiots. They like Phish, so they're not intelligent.

I'm very stupid and I like Phish.

oh no.. look out.  Phantasy Tour is going to ruin your life!  Self'd.

This may be one of the most offensive and ignorant articles I have ever read, starting from the title. Can an intelligent person like Phish? Is that a joke? Aukerman is a pathetic human being for stating that typical Phish fans are annoying. To make the assumption that most fans prefer to be high while attending a show is irrational. Shouldn't a good piece of writing have evidence and sources if they are going to make such a bold statement? I would love to hear what types of "intelligent" music this asshole listens to. It is a shame how hateful, judgmental, and pathetic some people are in our society.

Stuyvesant H.S. > Amherst College summa cum laude > Harvard PhD > sweet stereotype, brah

Phish is a band of musical geniuses.  LA Weekly known for obscure musical takes lately.  Last month one writer thought he was superman dissing Chuck D.  unreal.

This outrageous music is not something any journalist should make light of. It is disgusting, dangerous and downright anti-American. As someone who has devoted his life to helping our youths, I am offended that this journalist would treat a subject like the Phish so lightly. 

Phish and their fans are a huge embarrassment to my fellow white people.

I always thought that I didn't like Phish because I wasn't intelligent ENOUGH.