Highbrow? Lowbrow? *Furrowed brow*

[daibhidc]

There's a quiz on Radio 4 called The Third Degree, in which a team of three students are pitted against a team of three dons. One of the rounds is called "highbrow/lowbrow", in which the contestants are given a single word and asked if they want a highbrow or lowbrow question connected with it, with the other question going to their counterpart on the opposing team.

On this week's episode, the final word was "underground". Here are the questions:

Highbrow:
[clip of "Subterranean Homesick Blues" by Bob Dylan]
Amongst the torrent of extraordinary urban imagery in that song, can you complete the quote from the end of the second verse?

Lowbrow:
[clip of "I'm Sticking With You" by The Velvet Underground]
The song was revived by being the music behind an award wining Hyundai car advertisment. This might well have delighted the father of pop art, who was closely associated with the band. Can you name him?

Now, can someone explain to me why one question about a 1960s song (which just asks if you know the lyrics) is highbrow, but another question about a 1960s song (which is actually "Who was the father of pop art?") is lowbrow? Just because the latter was in an advert somewhat recently (a fact which had nothing to do with the actual question)?

Comments

[silly-swordsman.livejournal.com]

Simple: Bob Dylan is highbrow, because he's a protest singer.

[john_amend_all]

And again I reach for A. P. Herbert — in this case, Trott v. Tulip [Is 'Highbrow' defamatory?]:

We have had in this case the advantage of the expert testimony of nineteen well‑known writers and authors, fourteen literary critics, seven editors, and two philologists. And the one thing that emerges from this mass of informed opinion is that the expression complained of must be the most remarkable word in common use to‑day. For though each of these authorities came prepared with a full and impressive theory of the origin and significance of the word, no two of these explanations were in any respect the same.

If, therefore, we were to place any reliance upon the expert evidence (which, fortunately, it is not the habit of these Courts to do) we should be forced to the conclusion that the word 'highbrow', having a different meaning in the mouth of every authority, has in fact no meaning whatever...

[daibhid-c.livejournal.com]

Oh, thanks for the link - I've not read that one before.

[speakr2customrs.livejournal.com]

Well, the 'lowbrow' question is considerably easier...

[daibhid-c.livejournal.com]

True, but then the previous week the "highbrow" question musical question for "Napoleon" was "That was the 1812 overture. What is unusual about the orchestration?" the answer to which is the only thing most people know about the 1812 overture...

[speakr2customrs.livejournal.com]

I presume the equivalent 'lowbrow' question was "That was AC/DC's 'For those about to rock'. What is unusual about the instrumentation?"