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Podcast 542-Music

Podcast 542-Music. I’ve been threatening to do a podcast about music, so here it is. Finally. It turned out better than I thought it would, although I learned right away that I have entirely too many tunes on my computer for one podcast to do it justice. Music has the power to transport us from one place to another. I don’t think I am unique in suggesting that sometimes the best thing to do is to crank your ‘stereo’ (meaning computer, iPod, iPhone or whatever) to top volume and sit on the deck, just listening. This is an activity I don’t engage in often though. In producing this podcast, I had such a good time, I’ll have to spend more time listening to music in general. Of course, when the headlines and the political news, and the day to day crap – and that is what it is – gets to me, I can do more music podcasts. Don’t want to overdo it, but then again, it’s not done ’til it’s overdone, right? For the purposes of Podcast 542-Music, we’re gonna take a little journey from Soundtracks and Blues music, mid sixties pop to soul music and memories of sitting on the steps on summer nights listening to the radio, to the FM Rock or “Classic Rock” era, through the 80’s to some Trance and Dance music from today. Yeah. I forgot the 90’s even though a lot of tunes on my computer are from the 90’s. I could have done a podcast about each one of those eras, and had tunes left over. Finally, the only disclaimer here is that my experience of music is almost wholly inside the radio, that is working in radio, from the time I was about 12 all the way through to now. I think about music in terms of my podcasts, so I am a little weird. Also, these are not full versions of the songs, so you won’t be ripping music I paid for. Plus, I talk over a lot of it. But, it still flows pretty good. Sponsored by Hydrus Performance and X Government Cars.

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Podcast 492

Dramatic Distractions. Had a conversation with a friend awhile back and he said, “All these people and they’re shows. They’re asleep”. Didn’t think too much about it for almost a year, and today it popped into my head. To say that I love my shows is an understatement. So for this podcast I made a partial list of some of the series shows I have watched, or am watching on Netflix, iTunes, Hulu. It was a bit of a surprise. I didn’t even make a complete list and it’s way too long! Someone will hear this and think, “This guy does nothing but watch TV Shows”. Well. Uh. No. At least I didn’t think so until I actually made a list. Then I thought, am I that unusual? A lot of us watch these shows. Add to that screen time on FB, Instagram, Twitter and especially You Tube and you have the makings of a real distraction. And this AFTER I’ve scanned and read a huge portion of the news. I talk a lot about how people are watching the political news shows, and listening to talk radio and political podcasts as entertainment. Seldom do I talk about the escapism inherent in watching hour after hour of television drama, which. Is. So. Satisfying. The Walking Dead and the new Don’t Fear the Walking Dead. Ray Donovan. The Affair, Breaking Bad, Mad Men, Boardwalk Empire, The Wire, The Sopranos, Sons Of Anarchy, Justified, House of Cards. Mister White isn’t a meth dealer, he’s a TV drama producer in Hollywood! Do this shows influence our thinking about society? Or, are they just a guilty pleasure. By the way, who has time to read East of Eden, or In Cold Blood when these shows are being pumped out. It may be time for a news cleanse, as well as a drama cleanse. Then we get to a discussion of the delights available on You Tube. Endless Illuminati Conspiracy videos, horribly done but immensely entertaining horoscopes and tarot card readers. Finally, FaceBook has become nothing but posts and shares of dogs that can’t catch videos, cute kid videos, mom’s doing yoga videos, Bernie Sanders Memes, Ted Cruz Meme’s, and other nonsense. Who has time to work? Yeah, maybe it’s time we looked at this. Sponsored by Brush Studio In The West End, Saint Louis Park and by Hydrus Performance.

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Podcast 302

Mass Markets and Politics. As the death rattle of the Mass Market echoes through the land, why do politicians, specifically those on one side of the spectrum continue to attempt to appeal to it? In discussing the rhetorical and organizational challenges of the politics recently, it was suggested that the reason some politicians make lurid comments is to ‘appeal to the mass markets’. If you were born at a certain time in the US, you became very familiar with something called ‘The Mass Market’. From Elvis, to the 1960 Nixon/Kennedy Debates, the Beatles on Ed Sullivan, favorite TV shows and songs and the radio stations people listened to, there was a collective experience. Millions had to wait a week for the next episode of their favorite show. You had to go to a big department store to examine consumer goods. It was an era of shared experience; one after another, from Johnny Carson to Star Trek, to All in the Family and Miami Vice. Radio multiplied from AM only to AM and FM, but all still served a mass market and provided a mass experience. First came cable television, which brought scores of nationwide channels into the home, then the VHS machine, the DVD, Netlfix and very recently, on-demand audio and video, You Tube, Google Hang Outs, Vimeo, Netflix, iTunes, Amazon Prime, HBO Go, and more to come.  Now people can have the experience they want, when they want it, how they want it. They can research characters, content and what it said. Now, the experience is between the content provider, the retailer, politician, entertainer or writer and the individual. While we still have shared experiences, we may have it at different times, we may binge listen and view, we may not have the same experience as someone else. Why then, do politicians insist on lining up and yelling at each other, say ridiculous things to get publicity, why do political parties insist on mass promotional orgies called conventions be televised on the ‘networks’, when the era of Mass Specialization is upon us, and growing stronger every day? Are candidates that play to the mass markets making a mistake? What new tools are there and how can they be used to win. 1965 called, and left a message. It’s not coming back. Ever. Sponsored by Ryan Plumbing and Heating. 

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