Ask Grandstander

[skrable]

David Seville: Musical marketing genius or diabolical abuser of animals?

[Grandstander]

Originally Posted by skrable

David Seville: Musical marketing genius or diabolical abuser of animals?

I'm not absolutely positive, but I think the first three .45's I owned in my life were:
1) "Whole Lota Shakin' Going On"..Jerry Lee Lewis
2) "All You Gotta Do"...Brenda Lee
3) "The Witchdoctor"...David Seville

Anyone remember that last one? It was Seville's one pre-Chipmunks hit.

We have to take him to task for not fostering greater harmony among the Chippers. A couple of years ago, when Alvin was inducted into the Rock and Roll HoF as a solo act, Simon and Theodore refused to attend, evidence that the feud which destroyed the group has not been defused over the years. (Although of course Theodore really could not attend because of the US warrants waiting for him if he tried to eneter the country..but he did say he would not have come even if he could have.)

[LongtimeBravesFan]

Are there any good coffee shops in Parts Unknown?

[Zen653]

Aside from the Village People (YMCA, In the Navy, San Francisco, etc.,), which pop group produced the strongest homosexual overtones in its lyrics? Also, how do you explain the Village People's popularity in a time when homosexuality was far more taboo than it is today?

[Grandstander]

Originally Posted by LongtimeBravesFan

Are there any good coffee shops in Parts Unknown?

There aren't any good anythings in Parts Unknown save outdoor oriented stuff. It's the kind of place where there is only one decent bookstore, but around 30 places where you can rent a kayak. I also suspect that we have more bailbondsmen per capita than any other California community.

[Grandstander]

Originally Posted by Zen653

Aside from the Village People (YMCA, In the Navy, San Francisco, etc.,), which pop group produced the strongest homosexual overtones in its lyrics? Also, how do you explain the Village People's popularity in a time when homosexuality was far more taboo than it is today?

Taking the second part first, I credit the success of the Village People to their talent. It was the disco era and their tunes were damn catchy, that's why they have survived all these years, YMCA and Macho Man made people want to dance and still do, I suspect that it will be around for a long time because of this.

Further, since this was also an era when folks were just starting to creep out of the closet, it was possible to overlook the obvious and pretend that they were not exactly what they appeared to be. That sounds fantastic in retrospect, but its very much like the steroid era in baseball. Something funny was going on with all those record shattering performances, yet the fans found being in a state of denial rather easy.

I answered the second part first to give myself time to think...and I'm still drawing a blank. I'm sure that there are some, but understand that I stopped paying any attention to pop music right about the time that "Thriller" came out. There was "Timothy" by The Buoys which was about eating a man, but not that kind of eating, it was about cannibalism.

[phenweigh]

What other aspects of pop culture have you stopped paying attention to?

[Grandstander]

Originally Posted by phenweigh

What other aspects of pop culture have you stopped paying attention to?

All of it would be closest to the truth. It all seems like observational phenomena to me now rather than anything of which I am, or would want to be, a part.

[phenweigh]

Where do you draw the line between observing and participating? As an example, I have never participated in pop music in the sense that I wrote or performed pop music. Would attending a concert be participating? How about watching the American Music Awards on TV? Is buying a CD (or down-loading music, legally of course) particpating, while listening to the radio observing?

[Grandstander]

Originally Posted by phenweigh

Where do you draw the line between observing and participating? As an example, I have never participated in pop music in the sense that I wrote or performed pop music. Would attending a concert be participating? How about watching the American Music Awards on TV? Is buying a CD (or down-loading music, legally of course) particpating, while listening to the radio observing?

You are a true observer when you you are the most detached. You attended a concert because you wanted to experience those things which made the concert enjoyable. I found myself reaching a point where my only motivation for going would be to gather insights for theorizing on the phenomena of concert audiences.

Simply listening to and enjoying a piece of music reveals little, the distinction occurs when viewing the effort and desire that went into the selection process. For the last couple of decades, all music which has been new to me which I have enjoyed, has been a matter of accidental discovery. I heard the song in a movie or it was played on some tv show that I was watching, or someone I knew insisted that I listen to something and I wound up liking it, that sort of thing. Missing has been any effort at all to deliberately seek out new music.

You are an observer when you reach the take it or leave it attitude. That you do take some, doesn't change the fact that you could have just as easily not taken any and it would not have meant any sense of loss to you.

[phenweigh]

I am an observer of Good Morning America since my wife participates in watching it. I have observed that they discuss pop culture phenomena, such as Dancing with the Stars as though it were a newsworthy event. When did pop culture become newsworthy? Or is the better question, when did news programs deteriorate into fluff discussions? Is it all innocent enough or is it indicative of a dumbing of America?

[skrable]

Isn't DWTS is a more newsworthy event than one of these presidential debates?

[noetsi]

how much longer in the reality tv craze?

[Grandstander]

Originally Posted by phenweigh

I am an observer of Good Morning America since my wife participates in watching it. I have observed that they discuss pop culture phenomena, such as Dancing with the Stars as though it were a newsworthy event. When did pop culture become newsworthy? Or is the better question, when did news programs deteriorate into fluff discussions? Is it all innocent enough or is it indicative of a dumbing of America?

It isn't so much a matter of deterioration as it has been expansion. When there were three networks, PBS and local stations only, that amounted to x amount of air time which had to be filled. They had to get in the game shows, the dramas, the comedies, the sports etc. in a limited timeframe, so the news got x amount of airtime and it was all devoted to delivering news or serious commentary on it. If you wanted to keep up with Hollywood gossip, you needed to buy the supermarket rags.

Now in the cable age, we have reversed that dynamic. Now we have more air time and space available than we do programming to fill it up. All of the things that one channel had to present in abbreviated form, now have entire channels devoted exclusively to them, including multiple and rival news channels.

Thus, in the never ending search to fill air time, what qualifies as news has been greatly expanded. And since high ratings are strongly desired, what will be selected will be what they think will attract the most viewers. So, if the ratings go down when they talk about Congress, but go up when they talk about Paris Hilton, they will talk about Paris Hilton.

[Grandstander]

Originally Posted by skrable

Isn't DWTS is a more newsworthy event than one of these presidential debates?

In terms of probable impact on many lives, I'd call it a dead heat.