Television has no patience and little curiosity, and so the picture jumps constantly. A guitarist can sit and pick the most stunning simple version of "Wildwood Flower" and achieve a moment of transcendent grace but television is deaf, it can't sit still, it circles the guitarist, shoots his hands, his face, jumps in back of him, crouches, circles, until the viewer is completely separated from the performance. You don't need this if you want Leo Kottke, whose appeal is through his music. What you want television for is a celebrity guitarist who is more interesting for who he is than for what he sounds like. For example, if a Doberman pinscher played "Go Tell Aunt Rhody" on the guitar, you wouldn't be satisfied to listen to him on the radio and hear the announcer say, "That was Rex playing. Good job, Rex." You'd want to see it for yourself.
-Garrison Keillor, We Are Still Married
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