new thread
This is a PBS documentary from 2001 which I highly recommend you all watch.
The Merchants of Cool 1/6
"They spend their days sifting through reams of market research data. They conduct endless surveys and focus groups. They comb the streets, the schools, and the malls, hot on the trail of the "next big thing" that will snare the attention of their prey--a market segment worth an estimated $150 billion a year. They are the merchants of cool: creators and sellers of popular culture who have made teenagers the hottest consumer demographic in America. But are they simply reflecting teen desires or have they begun to manufacture those desires in a bid to secure this lucrative market? And have they gone too far in their attempts to reach the hearts--and wallets--of America's youth?"
The Merchants of Cool 2/6
The Merchants of Cool 3/6
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The Merchants of Cool 5/6
The Merchants of Cool 6/6
I really enjoyed this documentary, and it shows how fashions are changed before the clothes wear out naturally, its all about money, and control.
I have my hair long since 1979, and always had a disdain for trends, and so-called "coolness". I am just who am I, not what corporations want me to look like.
I like your insight on popular musicians cutting their hair to make it big. In my opinion they are sell outs. Smart musicians are independent of labels, and use sites like Band Camp to promote their material.
Have a nice day
Georges.
Thanks. I watched the documentary when it aired and maybe will again. I worked in commercial FM broadcasting for 25 years where we were effectively an arm of the processes described here. The cool stations such as we always tried to be are run by corporate venal suits whose only interests are numbers and money. They generally don't care about the program content beyond how quickly and reliably it produces ratings and profits. I was chief engineer and unfortunately never worked for a station I'd ever listen to. Guess I'm not "cool". Really didn't think much about it until later.
If you've been part of a legitimate scene for many years before the mainstream masses realized that it existed it and suddenly it becomes the new mainstream that does not make you UNcool. it just means you were hip to something before the suits decided to market it to the masses.
being "hip" means being aware and the majority of the masses aren't really that aware of all the music scenes that spring up until many years later. many have no awareness whatsoever.
look how long it took Punk to mainstream in the U.S.
what was it, 20 years?
the pop-punk explosion of the 1990s was a joke compared to the original punk bands of the 1970s.
the masses can have their Green Day and Weezer. I'll take the Ramones!
it's like saying Marilyn Manson was/is Goth when he never was and never claimed to be because the idiotic media said he was and the two psychos that went on a shooting rampage in Columbine were classified as "Goths" by the mass media because they were Manson Fans and happened to be wearing black trench coats and the dumbed-down masses fall for this.
try Bauhaus who preceded Manson by 15 years and started the genre.
underground music has and always will be ahead of the curve and in most cases is much better in terms of talent.
what is happening today will be yesterday`s news in five to ten years and if it ever becomes a mainstream trend those who were originally involved in the scene will probably have moved on to something else or will tire of the morons attending shows by bands that they used to enjoy before they became well known.
May I ask why you got into radio in the first place?
was it that you thought you could change things for the better or was it just another dead-end job to you?