Spring Break
Spontanious combustion keeps you on your feet
Scott Dennis
Issue date: 1/12/09 Section: Forum
I recently came across an interview with famed guitarist/director Frank Zappa in which Frank spoke about the decline of the music industry. According to him,"one thing that did happen during the 60's was some music of an unusual or experimental nature did get recorded or did get released. Now look at who the executives were in those companies at those times. Not hip young guys. These were cigar-chomping old guys who looked at the product that came and said, 'I don't know. Who knows what it is. Record it. Stick it out. If it sells, alright'."
Zappa's words can be applied to more than just the state of the music industry, however. The what-the-hell experimental mindset of the "cigar-champing old guys" he mentions is an attitude that has virtually disappeared from society itself. Not that everyone used to be an ambitious risk-taker, but many of the executives of old trusted in their knowledge that they didn't know how to do their job. So, instead of trying to make every product they released fit their idea of what entertainment should be, they were often inclined to just put stuff out there and see what happened.
Now, I'm not saying self-esteem is the reason for the excessive amounts of "blech" in modern entertainment, but when people (such as movie execs) get it in their head that they know what the public needs/wants to see, the art form is in trouble. Such thinking inevitably leads to homogenization and suffering. Well, maybe not "suffering," but definitely homogenization. This, of course, makes the product (movies, for instance) predictable, and the audience gets burned out on seeing the same thing over and over.
In other words, when things become routine, a change should occur. In cinema, this happens when a movie comes along that's refreshingly different than what we're used to. But in everyday matters, routine tends to hold more sway.
School essays, for instance; say you need to write about the U.S. economy in the 1930s. Sure you could just state the facts and talk about business models and government actions, which is likely what the teacher expects you to do. After all, they've probably been handing out this assignment for years and are accustomed to reading a dry, serious discussion of economics.
Zappa's words can be applied to more than just the state of the music industry, however. The what-the-hell experimental mindset of the "cigar-champing old guys" he mentions is an attitude that has virtually disappeared from society itself. Not that everyone used to be an ambitious risk-taker, but many of the executives of old trusted in their knowledge that they didn't know how to do their job. So, instead of trying to make every product they released fit their idea of what entertainment should be, they were often inclined to just put stuff out there and see what happened.
Now, I'm not saying self-esteem is the reason for the excessive amounts of "blech" in modern entertainment, but when people (such as movie execs) get it in their head that they know what the public needs/wants to see, the art form is in trouble. Such thinking inevitably leads to homogenization and suffering. Well, maybe not "suffering," but definitely homogenization. This, of course, makes the product (movies, for instance) predictable, and the audience gets burned out on seeing the same thing over and over.
In other words, when things become routine, a change should occur. In cinema, this happens when a movie comes along that's refreshingly different than what we're used to. But in everyday matters, routine tends to hold more sway.
School essays, for instance; say you need to write about the U.S. economy in the 1930s. Sure you could just state the facts and talk about business models and government actions, which is likely what the teacher expects you to do. After all, they've probably been handing out this assignment for years and are accustomed to reading a dry, serious discussion of economics.
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