{"id":225,"date":"2005-11-15T10:03:34","date_gmt":"2005-11-15T17:03:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/archives\/2005\/11\/15\/why-the-70s-were-better\/"},"modified":"2005-11-15T10:13:25","modified_gmt":"2005-11-15T17:13:25","slug":"why-the-70s-were-better","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/2005\/11\/15\/why-the-70s-were-better\/","title":{"rendered":"Why The 70s Were Better"},"content":{"rendered":"

1. A&M and Island Records<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yes, in the early seventies Steve Ross consolidated Warner, Atlantic and
Elektra into one company.<\/p>\n

But not every label with hits was owned by a corporate behemoth.<\/p>\n

Pound for pound, A&M and Island had the best records.\u00c2\u00a0 After all, Island
delivered Bob Marley to the masses.\u00c2\u00a0 What has that boasting prick who runs J
Records ever added to the culture in the last twenty five years?<\/p>\n

Chris Blackwell and Jerry Moss were mavericks.\u00c2\u00a0 Who believed first and
foremost in music.\u00c2\u00a0 Can you say the same about Andy Lack?<\/p>\n

As for Warner…\u00c2\u00a0 Steve Ross was famous for leaving his label heads alone.\u00c2\u00a0
Whereas all we hear about today is all the corporate pressure the labels’
employees are under, to deliver short term results.<\/p>\n

\n

2. Independent Concert Promoters<\/strong><\/p>\n

Things are different when your livelihood directly correlates with your
batting average.\u00c2\u00a0 It was about RELATIONSHIPS!\u00c2\u00a0 Investing in new bands knowing the agent would be loyal in the future.\u00c2\u00a0 And delivering a good experience for the
customer.\u00c2\u00a0 Meanwhile, Michael Rapino is busy managing debt.<\/p>\n

\n

3. Radio<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lament Lee Abrams’ Superstars format, but in contrast to what we have today,
Superstars was a GODSEND!<\/p>\n

Then again, compared to what came before, Superstars was the beginning of the
end.\u00c2\u00a0 As Superstars took hold, we got corporate rock.\u00c2\u00a0 And then disco.\u00c2\u00a0 And
then the whole thing imploded.<\/p>\n

But before that.\u00c2\u00a0 Before consultants ruled.\u00c2\u00a0 When FM radio stations were
religion more than profit centers, listeners were devoted and bands were broken.<\/p>\n

You trusted the radio the way today’s evangelicals trust Jesus.\u00c2\u00a0 You tuned
into the radio to find out about not only the new music, but the news that
applied to you.\u00c2\u00a0 The deejay was your friend.\u00c2\u00a0 He played what HE wanted to,
what HE thought was good.\u00c2\u00a0 It was a skilled position.\u00c2\u00a0 And, you could reach
him and request tracks.\u00c2\u00a0 Not only stuff on a tight playlist.<\/p>\n

The way it is on Lee Abram’s XM today, in fact.\u00c2\u00a0 When XM reaches twenty
million subscribers maybe the early seventies will return, because it’s based on
the same principles.\u00c2\u00a0 NOT Mel Karmazin’s principles.\u00c2\u00a0 Not Steve Blatter’s
principles.\u00c2\u00a0 But, the principle of choosing the best man for the job and letting him
DO IT!<\/p>\n

\n

4. Vinyl<\/strong><\/p>\n

Why bother to make a warm-sounding acoustic record, it’s just going to sound
like shit when transferred to CD.<\/p>\n

Forget the religion.\u00c2\u00a0 Of placing the needle in the groove.\u00c2\u00a0 If anybody
reading thinks CDs sound as good as vinyl, they just haven’t heard the latter.\u00c2\u00a0 You
know the only thing that sounds good on CD?\u00c2\u00a0 Hip-hop.\u00c2\u00a0 Maybe that’s why it
dominates the airwaves.<\/p>\n

\n

5. Prices<\/strong><\/p>\n

David Krebs told me that Aerosmith’s accusation that he stole from them in
the seventies was false.\u00c2\u00a0 That they didn’t remember that ticket prices were
under ten dollars thirty years ago.\u00c2\u00a0 Sometimes WAY under ten dollars.\u00c2\u00a0 Even hit
bands weren’t canvassing the country and making the kind of money the Stones do
today.\u00c2\u00a0 Hell, the STONES didn’t make that kind of money.\u00c2\u00a0 Which may be why
they’re still touring today.\u00c2\u00a0 And there were no ticket fees.\u00c2\u00a0 No facility fees.\u00c2\u00a0
The price was the price, and you knew it.\u00c2\u00a0 And the cost was equivalent to two
first run movies.\u00c2\u00a0 You didn’t have to pick and choose the gigs you wanted to
go to as much as just decide to ATTEND!\u00c2\u00a0 You didn’t only go to see your
favorites.\u00c2\u00a0 You took chances on new acts in clubs.\u00c2\u00a0 Music was a pastime, not an EVENT that only comes once a year, like a birthday.<\/p>\n

And you could AFFORD multiple albums…<\/p>\n

\n

6. Clubs<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sure, the record companies kept them in business.\u00c2\u00a0 But seeing someone with
HUNDREDS of people instead of thousands cemented the bond.<\/p>\n

And there was a culture of opening acts.\u00c2\u00a0 You WANTED to see the new bands.\u00c2\u00a0
You still believed they would be good.\u00c2\u00a0 You weren’t pissed you’d have to sit
through some lame act appearing as a favor.<\/p>\n

\n

7. Live music<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yup, no tapes.\u00c2\u00a0 Not until ELO in the latter seventies.\u00c2\u00a0 You revered Yes
because they could PLAY!<\/p>\n

\n

8. Attitude<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sure, bands still have attitude today.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s just a different kind of
attitude.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s PRESS attitude.\u00c2\u00a0 An image for a magazine, or TV.\u00c2\u00a0 Bands back then
WEREN’T ON TV, not most of them.\u00c2\u00a0 And there was no fawning celebrity press.\u00c2\u00a0 You
could BELIEVE in the acts.\u00c2\u00a0 You can’t believe in the acts today.<\/p>\n

\n

9.\u00c2\u00a0 The Acts<\/strong><\/p>\n

They wanted to be musicians.\u00c2\u00a0 Today’s acts want to be stars.<\/p>\n

Oh, of course there are exceptions.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s just that these exceptions, who
won’t play along, don’t get major label deals, aren’t on the radio, never mind
TV.\u00c2\u00a0 And this is good for their careers, but in the seventies second level bands
got more than a modicum of exposure.<\/p>\n

\n

10. The Culture<\/strong><\/p>\n

Video games?\u00c2\u00a0 The secret society?\u00c2\u00a0 The addiction?\u00c2\u00a0 The revenue?\u00c2\u00a0 That’s the
way it used to be in music, until the fat cats mainstreamed the acts, sold them
out to mainstream culture.<\/p>\n

\n

11. Infrastructure<\/strong><\/p>\n

We were making it up as we went along.\u00c2\u00a0 The music more important than
anything.\u00c2\u00a0 Today, music is a job.\u00c2\u00a0 With a fat paycheck you use to purchase the perks. Used to be you were PRIVILEGED to work in the business.\u00c2\u00a0 Today you’re
privileged to work at Apple Computer.\u00c2\u00a0 In the seventies the most desirable gig was
one at a record store.\u00c2\u00a0 Just go to Tower or Best Buy today.\u00c2\u00a0 These are the high
school dropouts who can’t sell electronics.<\/p>\n

\n

12. No Hit Mentality<\/strong><\/p>\n

All that mattered was good.\u00c2\u00a0 It wasn’t about the single, but the whole body
of work.\u00c2\u00a0 Some of the best records of all time didn’t have a track released as
a 45, and were never played on AM radio.\u00c2\u00a0 Ever heard "Free Bird" on AM radio?<\/p>\n

\n

13. Competition<\/strong><\/p>\n

Today the goal is to sell MORE\u00c2\u00a0COPIES than the next guy.\u00c2\u00a0 Back then it was
to make better RECORDS!<\/p>\n

\n

14. Diversity<\/strong><\/p>\n

Music was presented as a whole.\u00c2\u00a0 You could like Cat Stevens, James Taylor,
Carole King AND Led Zeppelin and the Allman Brothers and nobody would bat an
eyelash.\u00c2\u00a0 After all, wasn’t it all MUSIC?<\/p>\n

\n

15. No MTV<\/strong><\/p>\n

Overexposure kills acts.\u00c2\u00a0 Consider this one of the Ten Commandments.\u00c2\u00a0 Break
it at your peril.<\/p>\n

\n

If things are as good today, how come other than the Dave Matthews Band, no
new act can sell out a stadium?\u00c2\u00a0 Sure, there are great acts.\u00c2\u00a0 But they must be
nurtured by people who CARE, about the MUSIC, not the MONEY!\u00c2\u00a0 And they must be
developed slowly.\u00c2\u00a0 Is anybody interested in the trainwreck or police pursuit
all over TV the following WEEK, never mind YEAR?\u00c2\u00a0 Think about it…<\/p>\n

<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

1. A&M and Island Records Yes, in the early seventies Steve Ross consolidated Warner, Atlantic and Elektra into one company. But not every label with hits was owned by a corporate behemoth. Pound for pound, A&M and Island had the best records.\u00c2\u00a0 After all, Island delivered Bob Marley to the masses.\u00c2\u00a0 What has that boasting […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-225","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-music-business","category-the-music"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p96vPs-3D","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/225","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=225"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/225\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=225"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=225"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=225"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}