Hey Guys,

Just watched a very interesting show. They have a series called Sound Revolution. ]Tbis episode was called "Traveling Blues". It was about the developments in the Blues from the '60's forward.

Actually, it was not really a blues show. It had an interview w/Buddy Guy and performances by Eric Clapton and Carlos Santana as well as Sweet Honey in The Rock. But it was more about the influence of the blues on other musical genres. Pretty interesting.

There's a ton of good music on this channel and I recommend it highly.

I just dumped Direct TV, and hooked up an antenna. I used to pay 85 bucks a month for nothing interesting to watch on 300 channels, now I pay nothing for 23 channels of nothing interesting to watch.

I ain't even paying for TV again. (I will rent DVD's at redbox for a buck apiece......)

I only watch free TV now and rent Netflix movies shipped to your door or streamed for $8 bucks a month...works great! You can also buy entire episodes of Seinfeld, I Love Lucy, The Honeymooners, Deadwood, House, Friends, Mash, Curb your, Sunny in Phili, or anything else you like each month if you're not paying big bucks for pay TV. Then watch your favorite oldie re-runs anytime you want without the commercials...

Agreed Larry and I might be heading down the same path.

My cable company offers 25 channels or 200 (and above). I might watch 5 channels in the 200 range and enjoy them, so I'm f*#&#d if I want to save money by going to the lower tier.

It's a rip off. My bill for TV and Internet just went up $10 a month; I have no idea why. Maybe for the new channel guide.

If cable/satellite companies aren't careful, they're going to price themselves out of business. That is, if the Netflix, Hulu, Crackle, upcoming Internet streaming doesn't force them out earlier.

Yeah. I'm hip to what you guys are saying.

I'm fortunate. I work from a home office and the company I work for pays for my computer, Internet service, land-line phone and they even pay for most of my cable TV. When I got the job, they asked me how much I was paying for cable TV. I replied, "$40/mo." They responded that I was "still paying $40/mo". I have since added all the premium channels (HBO,Showtime,Cinemax) for an additional $10/mo. So I pay $50/mo and have every channel under the sun.

A pretty sweet deal!

+1 on HULU. I think they will start charging for it someday but for now it's free. I use it to catch a newsprogram that I miss once a month when I have to work that day as I don't have Tevo either. You can take your lap top to your TV and plug-in and catch all kinds of programs if you need to watch it on your bigger screen and sound system. I think the websites for laptops and cell phone and streaming will be taking over and the dishes will be a thing of the past. You'll probably see TV's with phone docking sockets and you won't even need a laptop. You'll have all kinds of things coming over the phone and it will auto-cut off the sound on the TV while you talk through the TV? The Sky is the limit, but you're going to have finger prints all over your TV screen. Woe to those with kids who have peanut butter on their fingers. LOL.

At 51, I've seen a lot come and go; some good, some bad.

To be honest, I'm a bit scared about the future and EVERYTHING being digital: banking, books, bill paying, TV, gaming etc.

Not just from the standpoint of losing libraries, banks, post offices etc, but what it has done to our youth. Those my age remember the "couch potato", what's the new catch phrase going to be? "Net Junky"?

Scarier yet would be the the digital war. What happens when the Internet (globally) goes down for, say, months?

At 62, I'm with you Roots...The sad thing about the cellphobia generation is they are really not aware of the danger of texting and driving. All ages are not aware of how stupid it is to take cell calls and texts while you are out on the town with someone you care about...the teenybopper gamers have no idea that bullets really do hurt big time, and it's not just all fun and games with a bang bang shoot'em up gung-ho fun time on the battlefield or in the streets at night...

Speaking of war and when the Internet goes down, I hope they teach a few of our new Army guys how to use the old map, compass and radio...when the enemy shoots down your satalite you're going to be in Big Trouble in Little China...

Sorry for the doomsday stuff! (couldn't resist)...

Um, this is whats called "thread Hijacking".

Guys, can we get back to Fred's original topic: being stoked about a program he saw on the Smithsonian Channel?

Yeah, it is rude... but some of the best discussions grow out of hijacked threads...
just sayin...

I agree. I think that lively discussion and even disagreement make this forum fun and interesting. If we don't encourage discussion, the forum would devolve into a never ending list of favorite artists, and the plusses/minuses ofthis guitar, that amp etc.

Fred said "there's a ton of good music on this channel and I recommend it highly"

We are responding with the channel may be a great one but not all of us have it. Many of us no longer use Pay TV and can't really give an honest opinion of this channel. I don't think we are trying to be rude or highjack the thread. I'm sorry if you feel that was my intention...

On the rudeness of highjacking of threads issue, I agree with Fred, we do stray off topic many times and it makes the forum more interesting and fun. It's much better than only being allowed to discuss Amps, LP's and Strats...

Yeah, we are very relaxed here when it comes to "staying on topic". I've often found that topics tend to wander, like a good conversation. Cutting interesting things off before they get going just makes things stale; IMO.

There's a few good channels for music out there:

VH-1 Classic shows metal & alternative videos from the 1980s-90s on Metal Mania and slightly altered episodes of the original 120 Minutes. Add stuff like That Metal Show, Behind the Music, and music-themed movies like The Song Remains The Same.

MTV2 has the new 120 Minutes with Matt Pinfield.

Nat Geo has shows featuring videos from all kinds of "World Music" artists.

Palladium has all kinds of awesome shows (old & new), including concerts, covering a broad variety of genres.

AXS- formerly HDNet- airs a lot of concerts, especially on weekends.

The Soundtrack Channel shows videos made for all kinds of music from movies and TV shows.

Free TV (although it's not free if you contribute) has some great music on channel KVIE...on Saturdays you can catch Austin City Limits & Bluegrass Underground, etc. Some examples of upcoming musical programs are: Legendary Bing Crosby 11/24 @ 4:30pm Doo Wop Disoveries 11/24 @ 6pm and Fab Four: Ultimate Beatles Tribute 11/25 @ 7:30pm...

Edit: in case the stations have different addresses back east KVIE is a PBS (Public Broadcasting Service) channel.

ACL is a great show, no question.

I'd say Later With Jools Holland is also in its league, and it pops up in channels like Ovation and, currently, Palladium.

Let me point out that your local PBS station/network has tons of music programming, recurring series and specials. Over the airwaves for free, even.

NPR radio is also full of music, and their online & smart phone/tablet app streaming stuff is great.