The New-and-Improved Same Old Thing
I would like to pose a question to you the reader, cuz maybe you can help me out with something I've been wrestling with lately: Why are we so drawn to new things?
A radio station here in Syracuse just flipped its format. It's now what we in the business call a Classic Hits station; basically, a mix of old Top 40 hits from the 70s and 80s with a couple classic rock or R&B/soul tunes thrown in. Now, I wouldn't ordinarily listen to a station like this, I'm more of an AOR/modern rock kinda guy. Hell, I used to work for a Classic Hits station down in Pennsylvania while I was going to college, I know what to expect from this format, I've heard all these songs before. However, I find myself flipping over to this station, to see what they'll play next, what songs in what order. Why do I do this? Because it's a NEW station. It's something different, thrown in to shake up the often stale mix that is today's radio dial in Syracuse and other markets like it. When you look at it, though, you react as many in the know have, online and elsewhere: it's just a repackaged version of the same old thing. You could get the same mix of songs if you flipped from an oldies station to a classic rock station to a lite station. Nothing really different about it, but we're drawn to it, we want to talk about it. Why? Because it's NEW!
It reminds me of something my dad once said, a flippant comment directed at the TV after seeing an ad for a new three-door coupe. He said, "If it's not selling, just put another door on it." Very true, indeed, cuz you know there were a lot of people who looked at that and said, "THREE DOORS? WOW!!!" Truth is, it's the same damn car, only with another door on it. And what my dad said eventually did come to pass some time later; sales of that car must have slacked off, because lo and behold, introducing the new FOUR-door coupe. Again, everyone gets excited, but again, it's the same car, only with an extra door.
The reason I don't make such a big deal out of such developments is that fact that for me, it's all about the practicality. If it's a car, I don't care how many doors it once had or has now, does it run? Will it get me from Point A to Point B (provided I don't crash the thing, but that's another column)? Of course, it's not like I can afford a brand-new car, maybe that has something to do with it. Also, once you get older and you've seen enough trends/fads/etc. fall by the wayside, you acquire some kind of perspective on all of this. New Beetles are cool (damn, I want one), but they're based on old Beetles. PT Cruisers look like Model A Fords from the 30s, what's up with the big hoo-ha over them? Gore and Bush are two new names in the presidential race, but they're no different than candidates past (for the record, I voted for McCain in the primary).
Of course, you can only get away with new editions of old stuff for so long. Consider every time some classic rock act that hasn't had a hit song since the 70s is putting on a concert, and they utter the phrase, "...and now something off our NEW album...," a line guaranteed to turn off your audience every time. And, there are the times when it just gets frustrating; for example, how my Mets seem to have a new team every year, and they STILL can't beat the Braves. So, my point of all this is that I wonder how people can get all excited about new things when most times, it's just something we've always had, just with a new name/price/taste/function/doo-hickey that it does. Are we that easily bored? Are we just that stupid? OK, strike that question, we all probably know the answer to that one.
How about something completely original, something nobody's ever heard of and it will instantly become part of the pop culture landscape? How about a new spin on an old product that makes it a completely new product, rather than the old product with a new label? Those things do happen, but more often than not, they become the things we poke fun at years later. I'm referring to the Edsel, New Coke, Crystal Clear Pepsi, the Turbo-Grafx 16. I drank New Coke; hell, I LIKED New Coke, I drank Crystal Clear Pepsi, I played the Turbo-Grafx 16. Why? Cuz they were NEW. But we are a fickle people; as drawn as we are to original things, we all eventually settle for same-old, same-old. When's the last time you saw a hula hoop, a pet rock, or even a Tamagotchi? Those have been sent to the dustbin of history. How long ago were Tamagotchis popular? Three years ago? Geez, makes me want to pull out an old Alice In Chains CD and reminisce about that far-gone decade of the 1990s. I'd love to hear any examples of truly original and creative things than are actually still around. And stuff like computers and the Internet don't count, because those didn't just appear overnight, they were the product of decades of improvement and evolution (unless, of course, you actually BELIEVE that Al Gore invented the Internet).
And while we're on the subject of somebody doing something radical and creative, would it kill somebody at one of the local radio stations to run their commericals sometime other than 20, 35, and 50 after the hour? I can't stand flipping around the dial at those times and getting commericals on EVERY SINGLE STATION!!! Sorry, had to get that off my chest.
A radio station here in Syracuse just flipped its format. It's now what we in the business call a Classic Hits station; basically, a mix of old Top 40 hits from the 70s and 80s with a couple classic rock or R&B/soul tunes thrown in. Now, I wouldn't ordinarily listen to a station like this, I'm more of an AOR/modern rock kinda guy. Hell, I used to work for a Classic Hits station down in Pennsylvania while I was going to college, I know what to expect from this format, I've heard all these songs before. However, I find myself flipping over to this station, to see what they'll play next, what songs in what order. Why do I do this? Because it's a NEW station. It's something different, thrown in to shake up the often stale mix that is today's radio dial in Syracuse and other markets like it. When you look at it, though, you react as many in the know have, online and elsewhere: it's just a repackaged version of the same old thing. You could get the same mix of songs if you flipped from an oldies station to a classic rock station to a lite station. Nothing really different about it, but we're drawn to it, we want to talk about it. Why? Because it's NEW!
It reminds me of something my dad once said, a flippant comment directed at the TV after seeing an ad for a new three-door coupe. He said, "If it's not selling, just put another door on it." Very true, indeed, cuz you know there were a lot of people who looked at that and said, "THREE DOORS? WOW!!!" Truth is, it's the same damn car, only with another door on it. And what my dad said eventually did come to pass some time later; sales of that car must have slacked off, because lo and behold, introducing the new FOUR-door coupe. Again, everyone gets excited, but again, it's the same car, only with an extra door.
The reason I don't make such a big deal out of such developments is that fact that for me, it's all about the practicality. If it's a car, I don't care how many doors it once had or has now, does it run? Will it get me from Point A to Point B (provided I don't crash the thing, but that's another column)? Of course, it's not like I can afford a brand-new car, maybe that has something to do with it. Also, once you get older and you've seen enough trends/fads/etc. fall by the wayside, you acquire some kind of perspective on all of this. New Beetles are cool (damn, I want one), but they're based on old Beetles. PT Cruisers look like Model A Fords from the 30s, what's up with the big hoo-ha over them? Gore and Bush are two new names in the presidential race, but they're no different than candidates past (for the record, I voted for McCain in the primary).
Of course, you can only get away with new editions of old stuff for so long. Consider every time some classic rock act that hasn't had a hit song since the 70s is putting on a concert, and they utter the phrase, "...and now something off our NEW album...," a line guaranteed to turn off your audience every time. And, there are the times when it just gets frustrating; for example, how my Mets seem to have a new team every year, and they STILL can't beat the Braves. So, my point of all this is that I wonder how people can get all excited about new things when most times, it's just something we've always had, just with a new name/price/taste/function/doo-hickey that it does. Are we that easily bored? Are we just that stupid? OK, strike that question, we all probably know the answer to that one.
How about something completely original, something nobody's ever heard of and it will instantly become part of the pop culture landscape? How about a new spin on an old product that makes it a completely new product, rather than the old product with a new label? Those things do happen, but more often than not, they become the things we poke fun at years later. I'm referring to the Edsel, New Coke, Crystal Clear Pepsi, the Turbo-Grafx 16. I drank New Coke; hell, I LIKED New Coke, I drank Crystal Clear Pepsi, I played the Turbo-Grafx 16. Why? Cuz they were NEW. But we are a fickle people; as drawn as we are to original things, we all eventually settle for same-old, same-old. When's the last time you saw a hula hoop, a pet rock, or even a Tamagotchi? Those have been sent to the dustbin of history. How long ago were Tamagotchis popular? Three years ago? Geez, makes me want to pull out an old Alice In Chains CD and reminisce about that far-gone decade of the 1990s. I'd love to hear any examples of truly original and creative things than are actually still around. And stuff like computers and the Internet don't count, because those didn't just appear overnight, they were the product of decades of improvement and evolution (unless, of course, you actually BELIEVE that Al Gore invented the Internet).
And while we're on the subject of somebody doing something radical and creative, would it kill somebody at one of the local radio stations to run their commericals sometime other than 20, 35, and 50 after the hour? I can't stand flipping around the dial at those times and getting commericals on EVERY SINGLE STATION!!! Sorry, had to get that off my chest.
Labels: pop culture, trends
posted by Dave | 11:37 PM
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