August 27, 2004

The Worst Floor Exercise Music Of Its Generation

Whatever gets done, somebody must have done it, and I always enjoy hearing from people who create things you come across all the time without necessarily wondering who is behind them. To wit, Slate chats with Barry Nease, the king of floor exercise music. Nease, who got shut out of the Olympics because none of the gymnasts who use his music made the team, was not impressed with this year's music selections, which he says were "not entertaining, not charming" and had no impact. He cautions further:

Esoteric or vague music lends itself to esoteric and vague gymnastics. There's no room for ambiguity in a floor exercise. Is that a landing or isn't it? When my athletes hit a landing, it's like a sledgehammer!
posted by at 09:58 AM