Has it ever occurred to you that half the people you see interviewed--whether it be on TV, in the newspaper, or even on the internet--are blathering idiots, with nothing interesting to say and no interesting way to make nothing sound like something?

It's occurred to us. It's also occurred to us that the most interesting people in the world are probably not having their doors beaten down on a regular basis for interviews.

That's why we've inaugurated this new feature: Everyday People. It's our chance to track down non-famous folk in the world around us who have a lot of interesting stuff to say about the pop culture we take for granted--or about anything else that pops into their minds. We wanted a forum where we could remind our readers--and ourselves--that what makes you think isn't what comes dripping from the mouth of a superstar; it's good ideas presented in a thought-provoking manner. Shouldn't that be what art is all about?

Remember, we're ALWAYS looking for new Everyday People to interview--one every month. If you know one or are one yourself, drop us an E-mail (matt@pccmag.com) and we'll do our best to contact everyone who sends along their suggestions.

When we decided that we wanted to launch our new Everyday People feature, one person immediately sprang to mind as our first candidate for the interview: Karl-Dieter Crisman. We've known Karl ever since we were tiny scamps in our freshman year at Northwestern. Over the years he's become someone we can always turn to, whether it's for life guidance or an interesting argument--both of which he delivers on extremely well. We also knew he'd bring a unique perspective to some pop culture issues we wanted to shoot in his direction, which he certainly has. Karl is currently a Ph.D. student at the University of Chicago.

Let's start at the beginning. You were born in Germany, right?

No, actually I was born in Shakopee, Minnesota, just across the river from my hometown of Chaska. My mother is German, though, and I certainly have spent enough time there to consider it a second home. I guess it's almost like I was born there, but lived here--except I'm a native US citizen.

What kind of an impact does your German heritage have on your everyday life?

Not so much as you might think. It certainly influences how I perceive the US--we tend to be very parochial in our vision, and having a lot of experience with another culture helps me to consider other viewpoints. Of course, that doesn't mean that the other viewpoints are always correct! But for instance the crass materialism of the West in general is softened somewhat in parts of Europe. Most of all, though, it's having family there that is special to me.

You're also a very devout Christian. What kind of an impact does that have on your life, especially the kinds of entertainment you seek out?

I would like to say that it has a complete impact on my life, since my goal is always to follow Christ's example in daily actions as well as long-term planning. Unfortunately, as is only too well documented in the Bible, humans on this Earth are going to fail at that. I think I am a lot more compassionate and caring than when Christ wasn't as important to me; I also think it helps me look at contemporary culture in a very radical way. The gospel is all about radical change of heart and God winning the victory over the real enemy of evil and sin--not just "ethical teachings."

So that influences my entertainment consumption a lot. For instance, if I am vegging in front of the TV, what do I watch? Even though The Simpsons can be very crass, there really is both recognized wrongdoing and redemption in it--and one of the more positive portrayals of organized religion available, amazingly. While most sitcoms are basically about gratuitous sex, with some platitudinous moralizing every other episode.

In music choices, I think about whether buying a CD today is really a good stewardship of my money--and if it is, is the music a pseudo-angst-filled media creation or someone's honest struggle to understand why life is unfair? I certainly feel much less beholden to the whims of the marketplace--though not unaffected at all!

I know you're into classical music in a big way. Who are your favorite composers?

In a really big way! I'm glad you asked who my favorite composers, plural, are, because there is no way I could choose just one. Maybe I should first mention a non-obvious choice; Dmitri Shostakovich is probably one of my favorite composers, especially of symphonic literature. His music is not just typically Russian, but also encapsulates within it the struggle between trying to please the Communist authorities he at one time supported and trying to musically resist their inane and arbitrary decisions about what was good music. I recommend in particular his Fifth Symphony, because even today there is a lot of controversy about whether it is, as subtitled, a Soviet artist's response to just criticism, or a mocking commentary on Stalinist art policies. Bernstein recorded the First and Seventh symphonies--a great recording.

But other than that, I mean you look to the people who are highly regarded for a reason. There's a reason why generation after generation of pianists and composers look to the music of J.S. Bach; he is quite simply a genius, both technically and at writing spiritually uplifting music. I could go on all day. Maybe I'll mention one more who may be less familiar to PCC readers: Charles Ives. The first true American composer, and still ahead of his time, close to a century after his most creative period.

Why don't you listen to more popular music? What turns you off about popular music today? Are there any artists active right now that intrigue you?

Probably the biggest reason I don't listen to more popular music is because I'm surrounded by it. There's Motown at the laundromat, Top 40 at the office, glam rock in the dorm room, New Age 'Jazz' (egads) at the department store... There is no life style possible except cocooning which keeps pop music (broadly understood) away. In some venues actually classical music also suffers this fate. One of the biggest problems today in the musical world is that it is no longer special. Rather than music being something which enlarges our world, our understanding, our enjoyment, our emotions, it is just background. That degrades all music.

That said, the fleeting popularity of most contemporary music causes me to at the very least be suspicious! At one point I almost bought an Ace of Base CD--and they're already nearly forgotten on playlists. And not only is the fame soon gone, but I have to question the musical integrity of a lot of it. Some fun songs are just three chords, and that's fine--but why just three chords? Because it expresses the mood, or because you're untalented? And of course so much of the music isn't just poor quality, cranked out by the bushelful (and so was a lot of justly-forgotten 18th century stuff), but the lyrics, such as they are, are largely just the same garbage as in many movies.

There is good stuff too, though. Mostly I would say that more proven artists like the Beatles, even Bob Dylan, are worth exploring for a novice like me; but I am interested in Pearl Jam's earlier material, and for instance I actually think that some hip-hop/rap is very interesting. Not only do (some) really have a searching mentality, trying hard to uncover life's paradoxes, but the rhythmic vitality sort of leaps out at you. Some more melody would be nice, but percussion solo music is often highly unpitched, yet I would never say it wasn't music. Inventiveness is key.

Who's the greatest living artist at work today, in any medium?

This is really an impossible question to answer. Bobby McFerrin and Yo-Yo Ma leap to mind because they both reach out so well in their collaboration and outside their original genres, which many do not. But I don't feel either is yet completely comfortable everywhere yet. When they're great, they're stupendous. But so are many musicians. There are so many fine artists today. It's kind of funny, but I think I'm going to have to say Steven Spielberg. Not because he is the best film director of all time--he isn't--or because his movies are the greatest, or because film is somehow a better medium. But because he brings so much together in his work and influences so many people, mostly for the good. Great sadness and great joy. He uses a fine, though not the finest, of American film score composers; wonderful soloists; probes the deepest issues of life, but not by forgetting it is after all art and hence in some sense entertainment.

Art unappreciated is not the same as art appreciated. So much good art dies a painful death from not being enjoyed; just think if we had lost Van Gogh's paintings--I saw many this summer and was overwhelmed. Kafka wanted most of his writings burned upon his death! So I think that because his art is very good and reaches so many, I must select him. That takes not one iota away from all the many fine artists in so many genres-- including many of my friends.

Why did you choose math as the focus of your academic career?

I really, really like mathematics. What else can I say? Seriously, I have always appreciated the natural sciences and music and anything with order inherent in it. At first I thought I enjoyed physics, for instance, because of the particles or something; but really it was the order of it I loved. Pure mathematics is all about finding the order in our minds, the order God has put in nature --and what's amazing is how the constructs in our minds really do map nature so well! Suspiciously well. Anyway, that's what I like about it. I mean, it's beautiful.

If you could have dinner with any three dead people, who would they be and why?

Well, of course that's a standard question for such interviews. How do I know? I guess I'd want ones who make for good conversation, because I enjoy that much more than receiving noble wisdom from people who feel above me. I'll stick to groups of three who belong together... Maybe the Three Stooges. The Moe, Curly and Larry version, of course. I never liked Shemp that much. But it would be goofy. Or better yet, the Marx brothers-- although Harpo never talked... Peter, James and John, the three closest disciples to Jesus, would be really interesting. Asking Peter what he thought when the rooster crowed. Or maybe with my grandfather, my grandmother, and my real grandmother who died before I was born. This actually would be the best one.

What if they were still dead, like rotting corpses? Would you still want to eat with them? Why or why not?

Well, not really. The point of having good conversation would be lost. Although in the autumn, at the height of allergy season, I probably wouldn't be able to tell due to a plugged-up nose. Still, it wouldn't be very interesting.