Storemen Talk: Volume Two - When did we stop listening to the music?

I think Seth Green ( as Dan Mott) said it best in the film "Without a Paddle" ( http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0364751/ ) :

While listening to Boy George - Do you really want to hurt me....

"When we were kids, it didn't matter what the song was. We weren't wrapped up in what was cool and uncool. We just Listened to the music. It should be like that now. Just listen to the song, man."

It has become a habit lately at work to upload music from CDs onto our personal laptops so that we can listen to our own tunes while we're all busily driving our hoists rather than arguing over which radio station to listen to throughout the day.

Myself - I live the sweet sounds of rock and heavy metal. There's nothing better that I can think of that gets the adrenaline going more than a morning coffee and a heavy guitar riff paired with equally awesome bass slapping and drum bashing. A deep death growl is simply the cherry on the top.
While this genre of music is my weapon of choice, I'm happy to listen to whatever, if still fond of dance music depending on the mood and I'm as much a sucker for old school 80's hits as the next person ( and if you say you hate the 80's you're a liar ).

While I'm the only Vanilla face on the team you'd expect the rest of the team - The "Island and Indigenous" brothers if you will to be heavily into the "Hip Hop, RNB, and Gangster Rap" - Wrong. The oldest of the bunch  still believes that Disco never died and is Cool and the Gangs biggest fan this side of the hemisphere, while the second oldest shares my love for the rock music.
The younger two of the team - two stocky "don't mess with us" looking thugs are actually big fans of pop music, in particular: Backstreet boys, Nsync and lately Ugh One Direction.

So is it purely stereotypical to think that Rock is a "White" person music? and vice versa thinking that Rap is only for "Black" people?

The census in the Warehouse suggests not, it would seem like a good assumption and 9 times out of 10 I would say its a fair assumption, but there is always the exception to the rule.

So does Religion play a part in the music taste then?

In my opinion it does, the two of us in the warehouse with a love for Rock and Metal are the only two that don't have an active religious following nor have had a religious upbringing. And while the rest of the team listen to their happy / lively "butter wouldn't melt in my mouth" music they go to church every Sunday with a clear conscience knowing that they have filled their heads with songs about love and not (as they always seem to believe) songs involving death, suicide, murder and the devil. Which is not always the case - It's just another stereotype that's been inflamed by the media.

On the flip slide, in my own ignorance (I'm guessing) I wonder myself why a 30 year old religious man be so interested in a group of 14 year old boys that have a target audience of 13 year old girls?

The mind boggles....

Just listen to the music man.......just listen to the music.

All worlds collide here in this video with Lionel Ritchie, Rob Zombie and Trina - telling it like it is.

If only there was this much understanding between the musical genres, there is greatness in them all.

What we need is a great big melting pot.....

Take care of yourselves and remember: Love is a battlefield

WR5Y8FMRC2ZM 

Pirates of the Digital Era

These days, I would call anyone out as a liar if they told me that they'd never received or downloaded digital content that had been taken from the internet illegally.

Am I one of the guilty? Yes

Am I proud of it? No

So why do I do it then?

Because I believe that we've all become a bit spoilt with technology and content lately - we want it, and we want it NOW. I don't want to wait every Tuesday to see what happens next in my favourite TV show knowing that the same show is already two whole seasons ahead overseas.

If I can't see film and television at the same time as everyone else around the world at home or in the theatre, then I at least want to have the option of seeing the same content on demand so that I can catch up and be up to date.
Most of the major broadcasting companies have "on demand" or "catch up" options on their official websites, and I know that these are free to stream....

Free to stream if you live in the country of origin otherwise you get the "this content is currently unavailable in your country"

How is that fair?

I can understand the reasons why I can't stream the content for free - money hasn't exchanged hands between the broadcasters who want the show here and the broadcasters who own the show there.

And that can take months - sometimes even years.

And this is where my issue is at...... where is my option to beat the slow-ass broadcasters in my country and pay a small fee to watch international content where I want and when I want.

YES, I DID JUST SAY I WOULD PAY FOR CONTENT SO LONG AS IT'S ON DEMAND.

However, there doesn't appear to any such option, which is a shame because someone will then miss out on a pay day if I choose the OTHER option.

So at the end of my tether, the only option (other than waiting for it to eventually air - and by that time it's become less current) is to either find a copy to download or find someone who already has.

The above is using television as an example. When It comes to film most of the blockbusters share a worldwide release date which is awesome. I'm there on opening night, I pay my $17 for my ticket and $23 for my medium popcorn ( the price of which are a different story ).

But what about the films that aren't blockbusters, what about the b grades or even the one that have been banned from even screening here. Shouldn't I be able to make the decision of what is OK for me to view?

Well there is one way of seeing those films where and when I want......

Music? one of those things that has had better treatment via the internet. I Tunes has it pretty well covered, as far as I'm concerned there really isn't any good excuse for music downloads other than the price per download, which in my opinion is not too bad anyway. I'm still a CD shopper however - music is better with lyrics and artwork / photos and you just don't get that with downloads.
I've heard it said before that the artists complaining about their music being downloaded illegally are the ones that really don't need that extra income, the ones that already have five mansions and garages full of expensive cars. I can agree with that statement to an extent, but I'm sure that anyone would be annoyed if someone was ripping them off regardless of how much they were already earning.

So in short - If the option is there, price and availability are reasonable and fair and the content is of good quality it seems as though there are enough people who are willing to pay but just don't have the options.

It's time to change don't you agree?

The debate will continue...


Take care and remember: Oil and water don't mix

Sam1982