Changes In Our Lifetime

PHOTOS

Used to cost something and were shot sparingly and viewed in the future. Today, photos literally cost nothing and are oftentimes shot and discarded. I was stopped at a light in Brentwood yesterday and my eye wandered to see Dustin Hoffman cross Barrington. My first thought was to reach for my phone. In the old days, I would have been formulating the story in my head to tell in the future. Today, the picture tells the story (thank you Rod Stewart!)

MUSIC

Was something you listened to, now it's something you use. You add it to YouTube clips, you integrate it with your projects, it's all done very easily but copyright law has still not caught up with today's uses, nor has the music industry.

CREATION

Used to be expensive and we felt anybody who'd made a record deserved attention. Now anyone can record, even on their iPad, and we need a reason to pay attention.

PHONE

Long distance was expensive, today you can video conference across the globe for nothing.

AUTOS

We used to want something that impressed others with its swooping lines and horsepower, now our vehicle is a badge of our eco-consciousness. You may buy a Porsche, but you're gonna be judged negatively by the very people you're trying to impress. If your car is not a hybrid or an electric, you won't become a pariah like a smoker, but you'll be close.

NEWS

We trusted the few sources we had. Now no one trusts TV news, other than the images displayed. What anybody says is seen as no different from wrestling. Now news is plentiful and the odds of being out of the loop are infinitesimal. Then again, we're all on news overload so except for a few stories, like the Boston bombing, we tune out so much, figuring our friends will clue us in on what's important.

COLLEGE

Was once seen as an eden for few that expanded your brain. Now it's an overpriced haven for everyone to get a job.

SUMMER CAMP

Was where you had color war and made lifelong friends. Now it's where you develop skills and build your college resume.

STEREO

Once upon a time you could only play your music at home, it wasn't until the seventies that you could take it in your car. Today you expect all your music to be available everywhere you go.

INTERNET

You used to lament the downtime, you knew your provider's telephone number by heart. Now, when the Internet goes down it's akin to a blackout, a very rare event. Then again, why is it blackouts are more prevalent in the twenty first century than they were in the twentieth?

RICH PEOPLE

Hid and did their work behind closed doors. Today everybody who's rich wants acknowledgement from the poor, it's like they want to rub it into everybody else's face how much better they are.

GOVERNMENT

Was a functioning body making life better for all of us. Has now been labeled a do-nothing enterprise and those elected on this premise are doing their best to live up to this description. Why run for office if your main goal is to stop legislation?

ABORTION

Easily had, all over our country. Now, unless you live in a northern metropolis, you've got to have money to get an abortion at the clinic not so close to you.

REPUBLICANS

Wanted to live free and die. Now they want to get in your business and tell you how to live.

APPLE

Going out of business then the triumph of the century and then a running out of gas has-been. Illustrating that perception is only key in art.

COMPUTERS

Used to crash and you used to know how they worked. Now your tablet never crashes.

LIGHT BULBS

Became political. Who knew that most of the energy dissipated as heat? If we can switch everybody to efficient LED bulbs, with fluorescents nearly passe, what other problems can we as a nation, with legislation, tackle and solve? In other words, when was the last time you heard someone bitch that they've lost their freedom because they can't buy an incandescent?

ONLINE ADS

Went from nonexistent to de rigueur. Even nytimes.com has ads covering the entire site. The next business is charging people to make the ads disappear, YouTube would be more profitable that way.

YOUTUBE

Went from loss leader to profitable. That's the value of deep pockets, they can think beyond today. And isn't it interesting that the deep pockets in music can only think about yesterday, with execs needing fat paychecks and artists still clamoring to sell overpriced albums nobody wants.

EVANESCENCE

Nothing lasts anymore. Certainly not movies or music. TV has a longer lifespan because it's built for the modern paradigm, needing to be in the consumer's face week after week. Amazing that musicians don't take heed.

MARKETING

Used to be the narrative to sell the product. Now marketing is the product.

HEADPHONES

Used to be rare and expensive, but are now cheap and plentiful, people own multiple pairs. First the product is democratized, then quality improves. So don't bitch about today, think about tomorrow. Everyone will be able to hear your music in good quality, it's just that you've got to give them a reason to listen to it.

KICKSTARTER

Was a way for the underdog to get financing, with the illusion of a profile. Now it's where the already successful go to get way too much money, and as a result they're killing crowdfunding. That's the way of America, anything worth doing is overdone, and killed. If you don't keep it small, you kill it. Kind of like EDM, will Live Nation and SFX kill it? They're gonna try!


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