revolead Posted September 5, 2003 Share Posted September 5, 2003 Don't mean to be a spammer, but I was wondering if you guys could help me with a homework assignment. I have to interview people around my parents age (40-50) about how the media has changed since your generation, and its effects on you compared to now. I figure I would concentrate more on the music aspect for the purposes of this website. Like how music now influences people compared to when you guys were growing up. If you don't want to answer I understand, but any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for your time, Rev Shut up and play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NMcGuitar Posted September 8, 2003 Share Posted September 8, 2003 Originally posted by revolead: Don't mean to be a spammer, but I was wondering if you guys could help me with a homework assignment. I have to interview people around my parents age (40-50) about how the media has changed since your generation, and its effects on you compared to now. I figure I would concentrate more on the music aspect for the purposes of this website. Like how music now influences people compared to when you guys were growing up. If you don't want to answer I understand, but any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for your time, RevGeez, rev , I wouldn't even know where to begin.... (BTW, I'm 39). MTV hit the airwaves (wow, that term alone tells you something ) about the time I was hitting college. The idea of videos was still kind of "arty", and you rarely got the chance to see 'em. Radio was not all owned by a small handful of companies who dictated virtually everything you heard. There was a lot more variety, and each individual station tended to have a broader range of stuff. It's gotten very niche oriented. The chances of hearing Robert Johnson, The Who, REM & The Primatives all on the same station within a 90-minute period just doesn't exist anymore... So I guess I'd say the change here has caused a narrower focus for a lot of people. Ummm... Have you got some specific questions you want replies/opinions about? May all your thoughts be random! - Neil www.McFaddenArts.com www.MikesGarageRocks.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
member 30687 Posted September 8, 2003 Share Posted September 8, 2003 I think the primary change is that media is more massive---it's "massive media". It permeates every aspect of the modern world & is near inescapable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
revolead Posted September 9, 2003 Author Share Posted September 9, 2003 NMcGuitar, Thanks for the reply. That's a great start. I really don't have very specific questions, and your post basically answered mos of them, so if anyone else wnats to help, that's pretty much how to do it. Shut up and play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NMcGuitar Posted September 12, 2003 Share Posted September 12, 2003 Happy to help. If I think of anything else, I'll let you know. Good luck! May all your thoughts be random! - Neil www.McFaddenArts.com www.MikesGarageRocks.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James-Italy Posted September 13, 2003 Share Posted September 13, 2003 Rev- I'm 38 and here's a little from me. Don't mean to come across too cynical, just thought I'd throw out a couple of tidbits. To sum it up for me- mass media used to be about content, now it's about presentation. When I was growing up we had color tv's, but remote controls were pretty rare still. There were only 4 good channels anyway... ABC, CBS, NBC and the local independent. We watched commercials because there was nothing else to "surf" to, and because you'd have had to get up and manually turn the channel. Commercials were ok and for the most part not overbearing. Stuff like toothpaste, dish detergent, laundry soap, the Ivory soap girl (later became a porn queen btw) were all pretty relaxed. Most of us growing up probably still remember pretty well those commercials and, at least for me, I still find myself buying some of the products. The emphasis was on the content, not the presentation. Companies for the most part tried to convince you their products were good and you should buy them. In the old days, Monday Night Football was about "football" with commercials when there was time. These days, Monday Night Football seems like what they show between the main events- the commercials. Nowadays, I get the feeling the presentation takes precedence over the product. Sure I love the "Wassssssuuuuupppppp?!?!?!" commercials like everyone else, but many times I wonder just what message a company is trying to get across for me to buy their product??? Sex, comedy, zesty.... sure it's all cool, but again, what's the message? Seems to me they are looking for sound bytes, not to convince you they've got a good product. Look at this damn song that Coke made for their commercial that became a hit here in Europe- "Chiwauwa"!!! These days it takes very little for me to get totally "turned-off" by the mass media. As for music industry. Well, before MTV it probably used to be more about the music. Now, post-MTV it's about the cool video. Couple of hot girls and you've got a hit! Or, be totally anti-establishment (as long as you play by the establishment's rules) and you're a hit! I mean, c'mon..... Marilyn Manson? Punk and other stuff used to be cool because it was "underground". You had to go out and find it. It wasn't force fed to you. Now, the music companies package the "underground" stuff for us. Do you older guys/gals remember hearing about the Sex Pistols from any mass media? Who would have sponsored them? What company would have advertised in a magazine that put them on the cover? They got press because of all the people looking to ban them. Now the mass media (music industry) seems pretty open to ANYTHING that will sell. I'm not saying things used to be better, just different. I may be totally off-base here. It could just be the onions on that pizza I had for dinner that are winding me up. Maybe tomorrow I'll view things a little differently. Oh well, just my 0.02! My Gear My Attempts at Music Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pauldil Posted September 13, 2003 Share Posted September 13, 2003 I'm 46 and growing up in the 60's, we only had a black & white TV in our house. I remember watching "The Wizard of OZ" for years amd not realizing that the whole "Oz" part was in color! In bra commercials, the models would have the bra on over a blouse because you couldn't show a woman in a bra. There were cigarrete commercials too! And on TV shows, married couples had to sleep in seperate beds . So, yeah, it was very different than today. Musically, you could hear so many different types of music on the same radio station. There were great variety shows on TV, too, like Ed Sullivan. I got to see acts like the Beatles, the Who, Santana...right along with acts like the guy who balanced plates, some foreign dance group, a couple of jugglers, and Topo Giggio! What a great time to grow up in! Nowdays, things are too graphic and there's not too much left to the imagination. Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
revolead Posted September 13, 2003 Author Share Posted September 13, 2003 Thanks for the help guys, i actually already turned the paper in a couple days ago, but i appreciate the help anyways. Shut up and play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NMcGuitar Posted September 17, 2003 Share Posted September 17, 2003 Originally posted by pauldil: And on TV shows, married couples had to sleep in seperate beds . Do you remember who the first couple was to share a bed on TV? Contrary to popular lore, it was not Mike & Carol Brady ( from "The Brady Bunch" for you youngsters ). May all your thoughts be random! - Neil www.McFaddenArts.com www.MikesGarageRocks.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prague Posted September 17, 2003 Share Posted September 17, 2003 Archie and Edith Bunker! I also like how "record" stores just had a huge category called "Rock". Sly to The Monkees to everything else. Only Jazz and classical were separate. Now, everything is segregated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NMcGuitar Posted September 17, 2003 Share Posted September 17, 2003 Originally posted by paostby: Archie and Edith Bunker! Good guess, but nope. Any other takers on this one? May all your thoughts be random! - Neil www.McFaddenArts.com www.MikesGarageRocks.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tedster Posted September 17, 2003 Share Posted September 17, 2003 I'd guess it was before that. But I have no clue. Herman and Lily Munster? I dunno... I'm 46. When I was a kid, we had three network TV stations and an independent. ABC, NBC, CBS, and a local station. There was public TV, but it was on "UHF", and you had to have a special antenna to receive it. TV was black and white...until the mid-late 60s...but, we didn't get a color TV until around '69 or '70. During the week, in the morning it was game shows. In the afternoon, it was soap operas (if you were unlucky enough to be sick or home from school the boredom killed you)...needless to say, kids played outside during the day when possible. After school there were cartoons, mainly on the independent station. As for music? There were music shows that had the latest bands playing their hottest hits. One was on Sunday night, "The Ed Sullivan Show"...bands like The Beatles, Stones, Who, etc. played, between circus performers spinning plates. The other music show that comes to mind was "American Bandstand" where (generally more poppy) performers lip-synced to their latest hit. There were a couple other lesser shows..."Hullabaloo"..."Shindig"...some show I can't remember the name of hosted by Paul Revere and the Raiders... Radio...AM stations played the hits. Some stations would play Glen Campbell, The Supremes, The Temptations, Perry Como, The Beatles, everything...just the whole gamut of what was called "popular music"...not just what one would call "hip". FM played what was called "Beautiful Music"...101 strings play Mantovani's greatest hits, stuff like "The Autumn Leaves"...what we called "Dentist office music". The Beatles stopped touring in '66. Rather than appear live on "The Ed Sullivan Show"...they did something unique, they sent short filmclips of songs, which differed from the standard "concert performance" in that the visual element was conceptual, rather than people performing in a concert setting. Tunes like "Paperback Writer" and "Rain" kicked it off, and then got quite experimental with "Strawberry Fields" and "Penny Lane". What one may arguably call the first "music videos". Towards the late 60s-early 70s, things started to change. FM began varying its format...branching out, playing rock and roll. AM continued for awhile...mainly playing "pop and R&B hits" while FM ventured into what we called "underground formats"...where anything went. Flo and Eddie, Grateful Dead, Zappa, Doors, Zeppelin...generally the more obscure stuff rather than the hits by those bands. But it didn't take 'em long to figure out that there was money to be made by trimming down the playlists to the popular stuff, so the more obscure went, and FM started to be a little more rock version of AM. More commercials, obnoxious DJs, repetitive and limited playlists. FM went to hell in a very short time. Meanwhile, on TV in the mid 70s, there came a show called "In Concert"...that featured some of the cooler acts playing in a live setting. Folks like Johnny Winter, Rory Gallagher, etc. Didn't take long for that to go to hell, too, with more commercial, watered down versions like "Don Kirshner's Rock Concert" and "Midnight Special". Then, I remember in the late 70s-early 80s, subscribing to HBO...and there was something called "HBO's Video Jukebox"...the video concept, MTV, etc. reached fruition. I reckon you can take it from here... "Cisco Kid, was a friend of mine" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NMcGuitar Posted September 17, 2003 Share Posted September 17, 2003 Originally posted by Tedster: Herman and Lily Munster? TED GETS A GOLD STAR!! May all your thoughts be random! - Neil www.McFaddenArts.com www.MikesGarageRocks.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael saulnier Posted September 17, 2003 Share Posted September 17, 2003 Who needs any of that old "rock music" stuff anyway... that's so... 90's! Now that we've got American Idol... We know we're gonna get some REAL entertainment! I can't imagine ANYTHING topping Kelly and Dustin! 'Ya gotta LOVE TV! guitplayer I'm still "guitplayer"! Check out my music if you like... http://www.michaelsaulnier.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
revolead Posted September 17, 2003 Author Share Posted September 17, 2003 Originally posted by guitplayer: Who needs any of that old "rock music" stuff anyway... that's so... 90's! Now that we've got American Idol... We know we're gonna get some REAL entertainment! I can't imagine ANYTHING topping Kelly and Dustin! 'Ya gotta LOVE TV! guitplayerUnfortunately I know the name of that fruit is Justin. But you can't avoid stuff like this. No matter how hard you try not to watch that crap, as long as you go to an American school, you'll hear about it. It really gets annoying! Shut up and play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tedster Posted September 17, 2003 Share Posted September 17, 2003 Originally posted by NMcGuitar: Originally posted by Tedster: Herman and Lily Munster? TED GETS A GOLD STAR!! HAHAHA!!! I just remembered the occasional bedroom shot of them, Herman wearing that nightshirt and hat, and Lily wearing her shroud and that hat...and that bed with the batwings or whatever... "Cisco Kid, was a friend of mine" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caevan O’Shite Posted September 17, 2003 Share Posted September 17, 2003 Tedster, you rock, you nevah cease ta amze me! I love the Munster's theme tune; anybody know what it's called, or anything else about it? Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do? ~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~ _ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tedster Posted September 17, 2003 Share Posted September 17, 2003 Originally posted by CaevanO'Shite: Tedster, you rock, you nevah cease ta amze me! I love the Munster's theme tune; anybody know what it's called, or anything else about it?Don't know anything other than "Munsters' theme"...It's probably available on one of those "40 TV themes" CDs that you can get at Wal Mart. "Cisco Kid, was a friend of mine" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anomaly Posted September 17, 2003 Share Posted September 17, 2003 I'm 48 and I have been gigging ever since I was 11. The only syndicated music show was Casey Cassum's top 40 countdown that aired on Sat. nights. FM radio seemed to be much more specialized. You didn't have to wade thru a bunch of crap to hear the music you liked. I had cable hooked up to my FM receiver so I could listen to WMMR in Philly. They contantly played, ELP, Yes, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Jeff Beck, Hendrix, Allman Bros, Deep Purple, CSN&Y,Cream, King Crimson, Uriah Heep, Jethro Tull, Ulitmate Spinach, Egg, Bubble Puppy, and later on Steely Dan, Doobies, Eagles, Fogelburg, Poco, Pure Prairie League, New Riders of the Purple Sage, Marshall Tucker. Then into Boston, Kansas, Styxx, Queen, etc. The biggest difference I see between then and now is the reversal on what kind of band gets the recording contracts. I used to play with a band called Hybrid Ice. Greg Allman, Todd Rundgren and, after I left, Bon Jovi, took the band under their wings and tried to get us a big deal. Everyone loved the band, but the problem was that we sounded too much like Kansas, Styxx and Boston. Back in those days recording companies wanted something original and if you sounded too much like everything else that was out there, it made it tough no matter how good you were. Today, the exact opposite is true. There is so much more media control over what people listen to than there was back then. There was so much more opportunity for diverse genre in the seventies. Now they WANT you to sound like everything else. If they can clone something that is selling for a hit or two they don't have to baby sit a bunch of out of control, immature egomaniacs and don't have to pay the high dollars their popularity demands. It finally looked like we were going to get a contract with Atlantic and the president decided that we had to get rid of the lead singer because he had gained too much weight...something that didn't matter in the seventies. The band sold out and fired him and it was the worst thing they ever did. He was phenomenal...as good, albeit similar, to Jon Anderson and Freddy Mercury, but he was about 20 pounds over weight and Atlantic said was wasn't marketable that way. That was the beginning of the eighties and ultimately the beginning of the end of free artistic expression's affair with the music industry. It is amazing to listen to the kids as Hybrid is doing a reunion tour. None of the younger generation has had anything around in the clubs in our area but the same old, same old. They are amazed at the musicianship and vocal abilities of Ice because today's music simply doesn't require that level of expertise. It's not that there aren't pockets of it out there, but it no longer gets a voice and when I see our old band taking in 3500 to 4000 bucks at the door of local clubs, it's hard to understand why the music industry doesnt wise up and start signing something original. Hope this helps a bit. Good Luck on your project. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caevan O’Shite Posted September 17, 2003 Share Posted September 17, 2003 Wow- Anomoly- your story really puts all of this into perpsective. That whole "marketable/not marketable" thing is purest, distilled BS. Low talent dorks like Marky Mark and Kid Rock are marketable, and it has absolutely NOTHING to do with music. It's kinda like "Pro Wrestling" being defined as entertainment, not athletics. Entertainmen- pi$$ poor, all too often- not music. If it doesn't affect his voice for the worse- and I mean that sincerely, it is possible- your bud could lose the weight, and ascertain how else to make himself more "marketable", without selling-out in a phoney way. God knows that I could be more marketable! And less, uh, spatially displaceing. Yeah, that's it. (I'm a Master of Gravity, myself!) Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do? ~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~ _ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NMcGuitar Posted September 17, 2003 Share Posted September 17, 2003 Originally posted by Tedster: Originally posted by CaevanO'Shite: Tedster, you rock, you nevah cease ta amze me! I love the Munster's theme tune; anybody know what it's called, or anything else about it?Don't know anything other than "Munsters' theme"...It's probably available on one of those "40 TV themes" CDs that you can get at Wal Mart."The Munsters' Theme" Composers: music by Jack Marshall (BMI); with lyrics added by Bob Mosher (BMI) 1978 Publisher: [unknown, but is probably Duchess Music] 2000 Publisher: Duchess Music Corporation (BMI), a div. of Duchess/Hawaii Music, c/o MCA Music, of New York, NY Copyright Date: Oct. 1, 1964; Eu 848 346. - - - - - - - - - And, for what it's worth, the version from the 2nd season of the show is my favorite. The 1st season had the melody in the lower octave & doubled on bass, the second season had that more "surf-y" guitar melody. Check it out here if you want! There's other info to be found at Classic U.S. TV Series . Wow... I really need to get a life... May all your thoughts be random! - Neil www.McFaddenArts.com www.MikesGarageRocks.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caevan O’Shite Posted September 17, 2003 Share Posted September 17, 2003 Thanks, Neil! Man, this forum is such a bitchin' resource! You can find out just about anything here! Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do? ~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~ _ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anomaly Posted September 18, 2003 Share Posted September 18, 2003 Originally posted by CaevanO'Shite: [QB]Wow- Anomoly- If it doesn't affect his voice for the worse- and I mean that sincerely, it is possible- your bud could lose the weight, and ascertain how else to make himself more "marketable", without selling-out in a phoney way. QB]It's a little too late for him now. But sad part was that he did work at it. He was the best he was going to be living life on the road. It was like..umm what's her name...the heavy set sister from Heart. She had a weight problem that cost her her career, too. THat was the eighties. It's like I said, no body had that problem in the seventies. It became all about marketable glitter and much less attention was paid to innovation and skill-especially if it didn't come packaged in a tight ass. It is hard to argue that. It's not like there havent' been some great bands to come down the pike since then, but seldom do you see them getting a break. There are a plethora of Hootie and Kurt Cobain wannabes who had their hit and are now back in their home town working at Burger King. Musical taste and acceptance was head over heels more diverse back then than it is now. There's nothing elitist about that. It's just true. Even in the club circuit, we made a good living around the Atlantic seaboard and that just doesn't happen anymore. The clubs where Hybrid ice are playing their reunion gigs at and making 4 gs a night are the same clubs where everyone else is making 250 or 300! When you ask the audiences, they say they are tired of coming out and listening to the same old stuff played by different bands. You give them something different and top knotch and they pack the places. No different than it was in the seventies except there are a lot fewer bands taking advantage of being different now than there was back then. How many times have we seen that the industry today doesn't really know what the people want. They decide what they want. My kids and most of my friends kids are musicians today and they have the same observations about the way it is. They write songs about it. My best friends son is a hip hop producer, makes huge money off of next to nothing projects, laughs all the way to the bank and hopes for his sanity's sake that something will happen to the music scene to put more real talent back on the map. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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