Have you ever heard of Victoria’s Secret? I’m sure you have, everyone has. There are television commercials of these models just wearing their bra and panty playing in their bed or just walking around. Most of the time they don’t even talk in the commercials, there is just some music playing and then it ends with someone in a sexy British accent saying the store’s name or something like, “Now at Victoria’s Secret.” This store is located in every mall and it bares the pink capital letters “VICTORIA’S SECRET” on top. Often, there are mannequins in front of the store wearing lingerie or they may have a big supersized poster of their super beautiful models. The store is mainly white with some pink colors. There are two sections of the store: the lingerie and clothing section, and the lotion and beauty supply section. In the clothing section, it contains white drawers full of underwear organized into different sizes. All the bras and fancy lingerie are put on racks or laid on tables. This store attracts women of all ages because they sell bras, panties, lingerie, perfume, lotion, makeup, loungewear, and etc. When you make a purchase, your items come packed in a cute pinked striped gift bag with some pink tissue paper. On the weekends, you can find this store swamped with teenage girls and women between the ages of 18 to 35 years of age. Now what makes this store so successful?
The reason Victoria’s Secret is so successful is because of their models. All of their models are super models. To be exact, Adriana Lima, a Brazilian model, one of the highest paid models in the world, models for Victoria’s Secret. Gisele Bundchen, a American model, still one of the most famous super models also modeled for them. Tyra Banks, the world’s first well-known black model, also modeled for them. These models are everywhere on their website, in their stores, on their purses, and sometimes even on their gift bags. Another reason why Victoria’s Secret is so successful is because of the way they represent themselves. The vibe the store gives off comes to us as sexy, secretive, fun, sweet, innocent, playful, and young. Their catalogs contain pages of the models pillow fighting, putting on makeup, lying in the sun, running on the beach, etc. Almost all of their perfumes have the word “sexy” in it. Most perfumes are named after the creator, not an adjective. Not only that, but when you have made a purchase and get that cute little gift bag stuffed with tissue paper, it makes a big difference.
With all of these effects, the store creates a welcoming and fun atmosphere capturing teen’s and women’s interest. The gift bag you receive at the checkout makes you feel like you’ve just bought yourself a present. You must admit getting a white plastic bag that says “thank you” to put your items in is not very pleasing. Also, their technique of having the word “sexy” on every label makes people buy the items even more; it makes women think and feel sexier when they have sprayed something on that says “sexy.” Now, how can a commercial with no words, only music, appeal to the audience? Don’t commercials usually have someone talking? Isn’t that the whole point of a commercial? In this case, the commercials that Victoria’s Secret makes are not about listening or hearing, but about looking. Their idea is to have you focus at the pretty models and want to be everything like them. They want you to do your makeup like them, dress like them, wear shoes like them, etc. That is why the only thing they actually say on the commercials are the words “Victoria’s Secret,” so you will know where to go to buy their products. This is very smart marketing. They know that sex appeal sells so it is what they are using to lure consumers in to buy their products.
I actually don’t think that Victoria’s Secret is a bad store for teens to shop at. They do not come off as slutty; I think they do want to be good role models for teens. I have read in a few magazines and they quoted Adriana Lima’s words about wanting to wait and get married before she has intercourse with anyone. Any teen who has Adriana Lima as her idol, will probably follow to that. From my perspective, I believe the store sets a good example to anyone who may like their line of products. Their models are successful and independent women who help out orphanages. They are not super skinny and they do not do drugs and alcohol like others do. Victoria’s Secret sets a good example about eating healthy and being fit along with loving your body, which is a major issue that teens deal with everyday. I, myself, like to shop there for their perfumes and makeup. I don’t buy their bras because it costs about $50 for one. They are pretty pricey, but they’re advertising pretty smartly and people are still buying their products. I see teens wearing the Victoria’s Secret brand “Pink” all the time. It is just cute and comfortable loungewear for teens to wear. Even though the quality is really not that good (I bought a shirt from there and it ripped after one wash), teens are crazy about fashion and style, so they will buy it no matter what price. I used to wonder why most of their commercials didn’t have any talking in it. I later came up with the idea that maybe in some commercials, the girls don’t talk because they can’t speak English properly or maybe they have a manly voice. The girls who model for Victoria’s Secret are super beautiful, however, some of them seem to have manly voices. There have only been two models who spoke in their commercials. One of them was Heidi Klum, she sang a song for the Christmas commercial. I don’t think I will really ever find out why some commercials involved talking and the others didn’t, but that will be fine with me. Overall, Victoria’s Secret is a fun and easy brand to fall quick in love with!
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Comments are now on
To comment on a post, simply click on the Comments link at the bottom of a post. Unfortunately, I can't turn it on for the existing posts.
Testing for Comments
Hi Everybody -
Thanks for the high quality of postings so far! I'm really enthusiastic about this blog, and it's due to your hard work so far.
Unfortunately, the comment function hasn't worked for the first three postings. I'm hoping I just fixed that problem for future posts, so this is a test.
aaron
Thanks for the high quality of postings so far! I'm really enthusiastic about this blog, and it's due to your hard work so far.
Unfortunately, the comment function hasn't worked for the first three postings. I'm hoping I just fixed that problem for future posts, so this is a test.
aaron
Guitar Hero
The Guitar Hero franchise could be considered the biggest surprise for video game success. Once releseased in the U.S. on November 8, 2005 by the publishing studio RedOctane the game was instantly met by rave reviews. http://ps2.ign.com said “Great soundtrack, great peripheral, and best rhythm game ever made. Another video game review site www.1up.com rated it a 10 out 10 stating “are scale only goes up to 10 other wise it would have got a higher review.” Guitar Hero became a surprise success, being critically acclaimed and has won many awards. The success of this first game has launched Guitar hero into a billion dollar franchise, spawning the sequels Guitar Hero 2, Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80’s, and finally Guitar hero 3: Legends of rock.
It all began with a game released call GuitarFreaks. A game that had not much exposure in the U.S., and hadn’t been transferred from an arcade game to a console game yet. The publishers RedOctane, at the time best known for Dance Dance Revolution, was looking to branch out to different genres. With a balance of about 1 million dollars RedOctane approached Harmonix Studios with the idea of taking their dance pad controller and making it into a functioning guitar. Kay, lead programmer for the game, said “no one had any notions about it being a massive success; we all just thought it would be fun to do."
When developing the game they concentrated on 3 major focuses for game play. The first was the note matching aspect. Using Software algorithms, they identified key notes for each difficulty. So even on easy you still feel like you’re playing the song. The second development for the game is “star power”. This gave a lot more depth for the game and replay value. The final development for the game was the whammy bar and tilting the guitar. These added to the realism of the game making it feel even more like a real guitar. The controller they developed for the game was approxmitaly a ¾ scale reproduction of Gibson SG electric guitar.
Actual Guitar
http://www.abcsounds.co.uk/gibson-electric-guitars/gibson-sg-standard.htm
Game Controller http://www.videogamecritic.net/images/ps2/guitar_hero_controller.jpg
Game play in Guitar Hero works a lot like other rhythm games. Players must hit corresponding notes with their controller at the right time to receive points and complete songs. Players have the choice of either using the Gibson SG controller or the standard ps2 controller. A rock meter follows players progress through out the song and judges if you “rock” or are a failure. Players have the choice to play with friends of solo career. Solo career gives players a chance to unlock more songs, guitars, and characters.
So that’s how it all started, a 1 million dollar investment turns into a billion dollar franchise. Guitar Hero 1 sold approximately 1.5 million copies. Once Guitar Hero 2 was released to the world there was no surprise to see it fly off store shelves. This time around, instead of just being released for Ps2, it was also released for X Box 360, PS3, and Wii. Minor adjustments were added to the game but not really needed, because the main focus of Guitar Hero 2 was just get more new songs for players to play. Instantly it was a major success and doubled the sales of its predecessor and sold 3.1 million copies. The most recent Guitar hero Game which Activision has called its largest release in history sold over 100 million USD in the first week in the United States alone.
So what is it that makes this game such a success? People are naturally drawn to this game because lets face it who doesn’t dream of being a rock star? Now you can become a rock star in little to no time right in your own house. To pick up a real guitar and rock out one of your favorite rock songs could take years to learn and most people don’t have the patients. Guitar Hero has given the chance for every one now to play many of their favorite songs taking little time to master. By identifying the key notes as they did it really does make you feel as if you were really playing the song.
Is the video game company that created this game the only one benefiting? Not by a long shot. I have noticed from personal experience after playing the game I enjoy listing to rock a lot more. When ever I here a song that has a sweet guitar in it, I’m always playing away on my air guitar now (and I’m definitely not the only one doing this). When ever listing to 93.X or any other rock station, it seems like an hour won’t go by with out you hearing something about, or a song, from any of the Guitar Hero games. This is promoting back and forth between game and radio. The game makes people want to listen to rock more, while people that already listen here about this game all the time.
Was all this planned out from the begging or mere coincidence do to the success of the game? I’m not sure if this could have been a master plan from the begging but it didn’t take long for the one the biggest companies in music to get involved with this game. After RedOctane sold the rights for the game to Activision for 100 million, Activision turned around in September, 2006 and sold it to MTV for 175 million. For all you that don’t know MTV is just a lil sibling to its massive mother empire Viacom. This is not the first deal to go down with Guitar hero and MTV. They have previously had agreements involving air time with MTV promoting the game.
What to expect from the Franchise of Guitar Hero? I think it’s safe to say this franchise might just be getting started. After MTV got its hands on the franchise the have already released an extension of the game called Rock Band. This now gives you the chance to sing, play guitar/bass, and drum, the full rock experience. Also after seeing how many more songs were on this game its clear to see MTV using its pull to get all the songs they want and not just the covers(cover bands playing a popular song) any more but the original soundtrack recordings from the actual bands. Is Viacom taking this avenue to sell a game which helps recording studios, radio stations, rock bands, businesses where game is sold, and anything else that involves rock music, because these are all things that Viacom owns? It seems like a common sense move to make money off a successful game and also get huge free advertisement.
It all began with a game released call GuitarFreaks. A game that had not much exposure in the U.S., and hadn’t been transferred from an arcade game to a console game yet. The publishers RedOctane, at the time best known for Dance Dance Revolution, was looking to branch out to different genres. With a balance of about 1 million dollars RedOctane approached Harmonix Studios with the idea of taking their dance pad controller and making it into a functioning guitar. Kay, lead programmer for the game, said “no one had any notions about it being a massive success; we all just thought it would be fun to do."
When developing the game they concentrated on 3 major focuses for game play. The first was the note matching aspect. Using Software algorithms, they identified key notes for each difficulty. So even on easy you still feel like you’re playing the song. The second development for the game is “star power”. This gave a lot more depth for the game and replay value. The final development for the game was the whammy bar and tilting the guitar. These added to the realism of the game making it feel even more like a real guitar. The controller they developed for the game was approxmitaly a ¾ scale reproduction of Gibson SG electric guitar.
Actual Guitar
http://www.abcsounds.co.uk/gibson-electric-guitars/gibson-sg-standard.htm
Game Controller http://www.videogamecritic.net/images/ps2/guitar_hero_controller.jpg
Game play in Guitar Hero works a lot like other rhythm games. Players must hit corresponding notes with their controller at the right time to receive points and complete songs. Players have the choice of either using the Gibson SG controller or the standard ps2 controller. A rock meter follows players progress through out the song and judges if you “rock” or are a failure. Players have the choice to play with friends of solo career. Solo career gives players a chance to unlock more songs, guitars, and characters.
So that’s how it all started, a 1 million dollar investment turns into a billion dollar franchise. Guitar Hero 1 sold approximately 1.5 million copies. Once Guitar Hero 2 was released to the world there was no surprise to see it fly off store shelves. This time around, instead of just being released for Ps2, it was also released for X Box 360, PS3, and Wii. Minor adjustments were added to the game but not really needed, because the main focus of Guitar Hero 2 was just get more new songs for players to play. Instantly it was a major success and doubled the sales of its predecessor and sold 3.1 million copies. The most recent Guitar hero Game which Activision has called its largest release in history sold over 100 million USD in the first week in the United States alone.
So what is it that makes this game such a success? People are naturally drawn to this game because lets face it who doesn’t dream of being a rock star? Now you can become a rock star in little to no time right in your own house. To pick up a real guitar and rock out one of your favorite rock songs could take years to learn and most people don’t have the patients. Guitar Hero has given the chance for every one now to play many of their favorite songs taking little time to master. By identifying the key notes as they did it really does make you feel as if you were really playing the song.
Is the video game company that created this game the only one benefiting? Not by a long shot. I have noticed from personal experience after playing the game I enjoy listing to rock a lot more. When ever I here a song that has a sweet guitar in it, I’m always playing away on my air guitar now (and I’m definitely not the only one doing this). When ever listing to 93.X or any other rock station, it seems like an hour won’t go by with out you hearing something about, or a song, from any of the Guitar Hero games. This is promoting back and forth between game and radio. The game makes people want to listen to rock more, while people that already listen here about this game all the time.
Was all this planned out from the begging or mere coincidence do to the success of the game? I’m not sure if this could have been a master plan from the begging but it didn’t take long for the one the biggest companies in music to get involved with this game. After RedOctane sold the rights for the game to Activision for 100 million, Activision turned around in September, 2006 and sold it to MTV for 175 million. For all you that don’t know MTV is just a lil sibling to its massive mother empire Viacom. This is not the first deal to go down with Guitar hero and MTV. They have previously had agreements involving air time with MTV promoting the game.
What to expect from the Franchise of Guitar Hero? I think it’s safe to say this franchise might just be getting started. After MTV got its hands on the franchise the have already released an extension of the game called Rock Band. This now gives you the chance to sing, play guitar/bass, and drum, the full rock experience. Also after seeing how many more songs were on this game its clear to see MTV using its pull to get all the songs they want and not just the covers(cover bands playing a popular song) any more but the original soundtrack recordings from the actual bands. Is Viacom taking this avenue to sell a game which helps recording studios, radio stations, rock bands, businesses where game is sold, and anything else that involves rock music, because these are all things that Viacom owns? It seems like a common sense move to make money off a successful game and also get huge free advertisement.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
American Idol
American Idol has been a national phenomenon for the last six years. It draws millions of viewers each week, and each year the turn out for the show gets larger and larger. The show is about the average American making it big in the music industry--basically, some judges pick out X number of people that America then gets to vote on. The winner becomes America's next 'American Idol.'
It begins each season with the insane auditions of hundreds of thousands of hopefuls. Auditions are held in five to eight cities across the nation, where everyone stands in line outside, sometimes days in advance. At sign up, each person is given a number to wear for the rest of their audition. As the time nears for those numbers to sing, groups of people are ushered into a waiting room, and as called, enter one at a time into the audition room. It is large and barren, and at the front sit Simon Cowell, a BMG producer; Randy Jackson, also a producer as well as a former bassist for the band Journey; and Paula Abdul, former L.A. Lakers girl and 80's pop star. The person auditioning is allowed a few minutes to sing any song of their choice, to which many people add dance routines, or even come in with costumes or pets. Most auditions are stopped part-way through by Simon, at which point each judge will give feedback. Randy and Paula are known for their cop-outs in this arena, generally giving comments such as, "I just wasn't feelin' it, dawg," or "The important thing is you came in here and gave it your best shot." Simon is known for being brutal in his remarks, telling people he didn't like, "That was absolutely awful." After this, each judge decides individually whether or not they would like to see the contestant move on to the next round--Hollywood. If at least two of the three judges, or two of four judges when a guest judge is present, say yes, the contestant moves on. Approximately twenty people from each city are sent on to round two.
Once in Hollywood, contestants stay in a hotel together. The week begins with gropuing off into threes, and choosing one of about a dozen songs to sing together. They must harmonize and each has a solo. All are judged for their performances individually, and some are sent home right then. This continues until all the groups have gone, at which point the reamaining contestants are split up into three rooms. One room is sent home. The contestants then have one more chance to prove themselves. The decisions are made by the judges in a loft room, making contestants take a long, anxious elevator ride to the top. Only twenty four stay--twelve women, and twelve men.
This remaining twenty four constitutes the finalists of the show. The early part of the eleven weeks of finals are held at CBS Television City in Los Angeles. One set of twelve begins the week on Tuesday, singing only a snippet of a song to fit the show into the time slot. However, after each contestant sings this time around, the judges give feedback like usual, then Ryan Seacrest, the host, steps in to give a number to call at the end of the show to vote for that contestant. The following night the next set of twelve sings in the same fashion. Thursday night the results show airs, in which all twenty four contestants are present. Ryan begins the show by recapping the contestants performances earlier that week, and reveals whether the contestant is safe--meaning they have received a majority number of votes--or if they are in the bottom three. Two groups of bottom threes are made, one of males and one of females. After drawing it out until the last possible minute, Ryan announces who is out from each group, after which a montage of the contestants' journeys through American Idol shows. Eliminations continue this way until six men and six women remain, at which point they perform on the same night. Most of the time, each week is given a theme for the contestants to go by, generally something like the music of Stevie Wonder or Top 40 in the 1960’s. A guest coach comes in to help them choose and rehearse their songs. Beginning in the top five, contestants sing two song each night. Once there are only thee contestants left, each sings three songs that week. At this point, there is no bottom three--instead, Ryan just drags out the show for as long as possible, many times quarreling with Simon Cowell over a contestants performance. In recent years, there have been new additions to the show, such as last years Feed the Children drive, in which viewers were asked to donate to starving children in Africa, and much of the air time is taken up by this.
The finale is held at the Kodak theatre, and draws a huge crowd every year--at least 3400. Shows on this week are generally two hour specials, with guest appearances and performances. The remaining two contestants sing three songs each, and are given multiple numbers for viewers to call at the end of the show, which Ryan repeats incessantly. The winner receives a record deal with 19 Entertainment, cash, and more recently, cars.
One of the most interesting things I have noticed after watching this show for several years is that it seems to be all about advertising, and I don't even mean the commercials, such as the Ford commercials done by the top contestants after it has been narrowed down to the final six. The show itself, through drawing in the audience with the emotional roller coaster of the Idol journey, makes for huge record sales. Of course, one might view this as simply giving the audience what they want, seeing as they did vote for the contestant they would like to see win, but how does the audience know their votes are really even being counted? Instead, the show is about hooking the audience on the winner, so as soon as they release their album, sales skyrocket, and every single released goes top forty. This makes venue for not only the record company, but everyone involved in the making of American Idol, Ford motor company, and Coke, who advertise on every commercial break. This isn't a bad tactic, nor does it make the show bad (though thee is far too much advertising still going on within the show) and as long as the public feels they are still getting what they want, they will continue to consume.
It begins each season with the insane auditions of hundreds of thousands of hopefuls. Auditions are held in five to eight cities across the nation, where everyone stands in line outside, sometimes days in advance. At sign up, each person is given a number to wear for the rest of their audition. As the time nears for those numbers to sing, groups of people are ushered into a waiting room, and as called, enter one at a time into the audition room. It is large and barren, and at the front sit Simon Cowell, a BMG producer; Randy Jackson, also a producer as well as a former bassist for the band Journey; and Paula Abdul, former L.A. Lakers girl and 80's pop star. The person auditioning is allowed a few minutes to sing any song of their choice, to which many people add dance routines, or even come in with costumes or pets. Most auditions are stopped part-way through by Simon, at which point each judge will give feedback. Randy and Paula are known for their cop-outs in this arena, generally giving comments such as, "I just wasn't feelin' it, dawg," or "The important thing is you came in here and gave it your best shot." Simon is known for being brutal in his remarks, telling people he didn't like, "That was absolutely awful." After this, each judge decides individually whether or not they would like to see the contestant move on to the next round--Hollywood. If at least two of the three judges, or two of four judges when a guest judge is present, say yes, the contestant moves on. Approximately twenty people from each city are sent on to round two.
Once in Hollywood, contestants stay in a hotel together. The week begins with gropuing off into threes, and choosing one of about a dozen songs to sing together. They must harmonize and each has a solo. All are judged for their performances individually, and some are sent home right then. This continues until all the groups have gone, at which point the reamaining contestants are split up into three rooms. One room is sent home. The contestants then have one more chance to prove themselves. The decisions are made by the judges in a loft room, making contestants take a long, anxious elevator ride to the top. Only twenty four stay--twelve women, and twelve men.
This remaining twenty four constitutes the finalists of the show. The early part of the eleven weeks of finals are held at CBS Television City in Los Angeles. One set of twelve begins the week on Tuesday, singing only a snippet of a song to fit the show into the time slot. However, after each contestant sings this time around, the judges give feedback like usual, then Ryan Seacrest, the host, steps in to give a number to call at the end of the show to vote for that contestant. The following night the next set of twelve sings in the same fashion. Thursday night the results show airs, in which all twenty four contestants are present. Ryan begins the show by recapping the contestants performances earlier that week, and reveals whether the contestant is safe--meaning they have received a majority number of votes--or if they are in the bottom three. Two groups of bottom threes are made, one of males and one of females. After drawing it out until the last possible minute, Ryan announces who is out from each group, after which a montage of the contestants' journeys through American Idol shows. Eliminations continue this way until six men and six women remain, at which point they perform on the same night. Most of the time, each week is given a theme for the contestants to go by, generally something like the music of Stevie Wonder or Top 40 in the 1960’s. A guest coach comes in to help them choose and rehearse their songs. Beginning in the top five, contestants sing two song each night. Once there are only thee contestants left, each sings three songs that week. At this point, there is no bottom three--instead, Ryan just drags out the show for as long as possible, many times quarreling with Simon Cowell over a contestants performance. In recent years, there have been new additions to the show, such as last years Feed the Children drive, in which viewers were asked to donate to starving children in Africa, and much of the air time is taken up by this.
The finale is held at the Kodak theatre, and draws a huge crowd every year--at least 3400. Shows on this week are generally two hour specials, with guest appearances and performances. The remaining two contestants sing three songs each, and are given multiple numbers for viewers to call at the end of the show, which Ryan repeats incessantly. The winner receives a record deal with 19 Entertainment, cash, and more recently, cars.
One of the most interesting things I have noticed after watching this show for several years is that it seems to be all about advertising, and I don't even mean the commercials, such as the Ford commercials done by the top contestants after it has been narrowed down to the final six. The show itself, through drawing in the audience with the emotional roller coaster of the Idol journey, makes for huge record sales. Of course, one might view this as simply giving the audience what they want, seeing as they did vote for the contestant they would like to see win, but how does the audience know their votes are really even being counted? Instead, the show is about hooking the audience on the winner, so as soon as they release their album, sales skyrocket, and every single released goes top forty. This makes venue for not only the record company, but everyone involved in the making of American Idol, Ford motor company, and Coke, who advertise on every commercial break. This isn't a bad tactic, nor does it make the show bad (though thee is far too much advertising still going on within the show) and as long as the public feels they are still getting what they want, they will continue to consume.
Minnesota Public Radio: 89.3 the Current
Quality music for a diverse audience
I listen to The Current on a regular basis. When I am in my car, I find myself listening to the radio more than CD’s because of how diverse the music library is. When I am listening to a CD I am often thinking of what song or news I am missing on the current. To rid myself of the possible disappointment I choose to listen always to the current. Before 2005 I would have been shocked at my decision to listen to the radio instead of a Modest Mouse album or Radiohead album; however this was before the inception of 89.3. I was annoyed to the point of disgust at the main stream radio stations that my friends obsessed over. I didn’t like the repetitiveness and quite frankly the songs that played on those stations.
The Current is public radio, funded and sponsored by the surrounding communities unlike advertised sponsored stations. There are three short member drives in order to keep the radio on the air. They entice the listeners to donate by offering gifts and explaining why the current needs to stay on the air. That alone would be enough enticement for me to donate some money to fund my favorite radio station. Why not, it has a hilarious morning show, unlike the mainstream counterparts, it has a huge music library playing songs that mainstream radio wants to play but can’t because they have guidelines. Also, the station provides news, witty d.js such as Mary Lucia and shines a light on local artists and local live music.
After thinking about this and trying to understand why The Current is so different then most radio stations I have came to a conclusion. I think that the people in charge of directing the Current have the right intentions and the other stations, mainly those owned by clear channel have the wrong intentions. Most of the mainstream stations have a strict playlist that they have to adhere to which smashes any trace of originality or innovation. Also, most Clear Channel Communication stations are in the industry to generate as much money as possible so therefore they are not afraid to jeopardize quality. C.C.C stations are hyper commercialized, and regimented to the point where the listeners find it convenient that they can travel across the country and still listen to their favorite classic rock delivered by the same sounding D.J. Really the money hungry executives totally got rid of the real reason for a Disc Jockey because most of the time they don’t even switch out disc, it is being done from a far off location by someone who could be paid from a record company. Conversely public radio acts more in line with what radio used to be like, democratic, enjoyed by a varied audience, and authentic. So if the root of the problem with quality versus mainstream music stations is determined by intentions and intentions are governed by money and profit, what does this mean for the future of radio? I feel that the Current is a radio station that needs to stay on the air and continue to gain more listeners and a broader fan base. It needs to become a role model displaying quality music, journalism and authenticity. Without 89.3 the current, the corporate giant C.C.C would gain more momentum for what it is striving to become, the dominating force in radio.
Jordan Langer
Quality music for a diverse audience
I listen to The Current on a regular basis. When I am in my car, I find myself listening to the radio more than CD’s because of how diverse the music library is. When I am listening to a CD I am often thinking of what song or news I am missing on the current. To rid myself of the possible disappointment I choose to listen always to the current. Before 2005 I would have been shocked at my decision to listen to the radio instead of a Modest Mouse album or Radiohead album; however this was before the inception of 89.3. I was annoyed to the point of disgust at the main stream radio stations that my friends obsessed over. I didn’t like the repetitiveness and quite frankly the songs that played on those stations.
The Current is public radio, funded and sponsored by the surrounding communities unlike advertised sponsored stations. There are three short member drives in order to keep the radio on the air. They entice the listeners to donate by offering gifts and explaining why the current needs to stay on the air. That alone would be enough enticement for me to donate some money to fund my favorite radio station. Why not, it has a hilarious morning show, unlike the mainstream counterparts, it has a huge music library playing songs that mainstream radio wants to play but can’t because they have guidelines. Also, the station provides news, witty d.js such as Mary Lucia and shines a light on local artists and local live music.
After thinking about this and trying to understand why The Current is so different then most radio stations I have came to a conclusion. I think that the people in charge of directing the Current have the right intentions and the other stations, mainly those owned by clear channel have the wrong intentions. Most of the mainstream stations have a strict playlist that they have to adhere to which smashes any trace of originality or innovation. Also, most Clear Channel Communication stations are in the industry to generate as much money as possible so therefore they are not afraid to jeopardize quality. C.C.C stations are hyper commercialized, and regimented to the point where the listeners find it convenient that they can travel across the country and still listen to their favorite classic rock delivered by the same sounding D.J. Really the money hungry executives totally got rid of the real reason for a Disc Jockey because most of the time they don’t even switch out disc, it is being done from a far off location by someone who could be paid from a record company. Conversely public radio acts more in line with what radio used to be like, democratic, enjoyed by a varied audience, and authentic. So if the root of the problem with quality versus mainstream music stations is determined by intentions and intentions are governed by money and profit, what does this mean for the future of radio? I feel that the Current is a radio station that needs to stay on the air and continue to gain more listeners and a broader fan base. It needs to become a role model displaying quality music, journalism and authenticity. Without 89.3 the current, the corporate giant C.C.C would gain more momentum for what it is striving to become, the dominating force in radio.
Jordan Langer
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Blog Updates for the next Week
Hi -
First, here are some more ideas from the brainstorming session two weeks ago. Feel free to use these topics or build on them for your first blog post.
- the descent of Britney Spears
- shows cancelled due to poor ratings, but resurrected through fan campaigns (e.g. Firefly, Jericho)
- "Adult cartoons" such as South Park, Simpsons, Family Guy, etc.
- Televised shopping - QVC, etc.
- The content shift in "Top Gear" from affordable car reviews to exotic cars and crazy stunts
- Youtube as a celebrity launch platform
- The freaky Jimmy Johns commercials
- Reality shows, the Amazing Race
- Media coverage of the death of Heath Ledger
- "Mythbusters"
- "Man vs. Wild"
- "The Office" - US version vs British version
- Digital TV conversion
- BitTorrent sites - fan sites for particular musicians and show trading
- "Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?" or "Do you Feel Like an Idiot?"
- The Writers Strike (effects of, causes of)
- "Stoner Television" - the role of illegal drug usage in contemporary tv shows
If you are missing your due date for blog posts, the next week and half are scheduled below - remember, posts are due by 5 PM on the due date:
2/13 Langer, McKenzie
2/14 Magill, K. Vang
2/15 Pluym, Tierney
2/18 Akale, Ringstad, Galipeau
2/19 Rhoda, Thompson
2/20 Rothweiler, Swenson
2/21 Rudek, Simning, Schmidt
Thanks! Looking forward to reading your work!
aaron
First, here are some more ideas from the brainstorming session two weeks ago. Feel free to use these topics or build on them for your first blog post.
- the descent of Britney Spears
- shows cancelled due to poor ratings, but resurrected through fan campaigns (e.g. Firefly, Jericho)
- "Adult cartoons" such as South Park, Simpsons, Family Guy, etc.
- Televised shopping - QVC, etc.
- The content shift in "Top Gear" from affordable car reviews to exotic cars and crazy stunts
- Youtube as a celebrity launch platform
- The freaky Jimmy Johns commercials
- Reality shows, the Amazing Race
- Media coverage of the death of Heath Ledger
- "Mythbusters"
- "Man vs. Wild"
- "The Office" - US version vs British version
- Digital TV conversion
- BitTorrent sites - fan sites for particular musicians and show trading
- "Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?" or "Do you Feel Like an Idiot?"
- The Writers Strike (effects of, causes of)
- "Stoner Television" - the role of illegal drug usage in contemporary tv shows
If you are missing your due date for blog posts, the next week and half are scheduled below - remember, posts are due by 5 PM on the due date:
2/13 Langer, McKenzie
2/14 Magill, K. Vang
2/15 Pluym, Tierney
2/18 Akale, Ringstad, Galipeau
2/19 Rhoda, Thompson
2/20 Rothweiler, Swenson
2/21 Rudek, Simning, Schmidt
Thanks! Looking forward to reading your work!
aaron
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