So a couple weeks ago, in this article in the Boston Globe, I was quoted thus: “Take [Muhly’s] view of two major symphonies. He admires the daring work of the Los Angeles Philharmonic and bemoans the state of the New York Philharmonic. “You go to the Phil’s website and first it looks like a Tampax ad and then the programming is a disaster,” he says. “A festival of Brahms?”” So, you know, it’s funny or whatever, and it’s true, the Phil’s website does look like they hired the same designer as feminine hygiene people do:
But that’s beside the point. In fact, it’s not really even a criticism, because we should all be so lucky to associate classical concerts with everyday products rather than some secret ritual that takes place in a Mussolini-era bunker on the upper west side. This morning I decided to look at what the actual factual Tampax website looks like, and mercy, mercy! I took a screen capture in case they ever fix it:
Do you see what’s going on in the background with that text? You’d think they’d have chosen some text, like, about freedom and menses and flexibility and comfort or whatever, but no! They totally have the lorem ipsum! So amazing. It’s like an explicit acknowledgment that background text is merely meant for its visually-stimulated emotional content. Either that or they’re trying to say that Tampax has been helping women out since Cicero: “Neither is there anyone who loves grief itself since it is grief and thus wants to obtain it.” Good stuff.