{"id":6774,"date":"2013-03-15T10:17:56","date_gmt":"2013-03-15T18:17:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/?p=6774"},"modified":"2013-03-15T10:17:56","modified_gmt":"2013-03-15T18:17:56","slug":"thennow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/2013\/03\/15\/thennow\/","title":{"rendered":"Then\/Now"},"content":{"rendered":"

THEN<\/p>\n

People had car trouble.<\/p>\n

NOW<\/p>\n

If someone tells you they’re not coming because their car won’t start, you don’t believe them.<\/p>\n

THEN<\/p>\n

Your computer crashed, you feared the Blue Screen Of Death.<\/p>\n

NOW<\/p>\n

Your computer goes months without ever crashing, and you barely turn it on anyway, only for work, because you’re addicted to your tablet and smartphone.<\/p>\n

THEN<\/p>\n

Superstars took a year to make an album and it sold for three years.<\/p>\n

NOW<\/p>\n

Superstars take a year to make an album, and they’re essentially dead on arrival. The faithful buy them and then they’re done. And everybody complains the business sucks and it ain’t what it used to be when the truth is there are five hundred TV channels and YouTube and nothing gets the mindshare it did before.<\/p>\n

THEN<\/p>\n

Concert tickets were three, four and five dollars. The bands drove in station wagons and getting high and getting laid were the goal.<\/p>\n

NOW<\/p>\n

Concert tickets cost triple digits, the bands want to fly private and your money goes to buying houses and cars and other assets as the band tries to keep up with the truly rich, which they no longer are.<\/p>\n

THEN<\/p>\n

The goal was to work at a record label.<\/p>\n

NOW<\/p>\n

The goal is to work at Apple.<\/p>\n

THEN<\/p>\n

You bugged your parents for your own Princess phone in your bedroom.<\/p>\n

NOW<\/p>\n

You can’t remember the last time you spoke on the phone.<\/p>\n

THEN<\/p>\n

Gas was pumped for you and you went inside to get maps.<\/p>\n

NOW<\/p>\n

You pump your own gas and maps are on your phone.<\/p>\n

THEN<\/p>\n

You went to the record store and plotted what albums you were going to buy in the future<\/p>\n

NOW<\/p>\n

You can listen to everything for free online and the thrill of new is gone, now it’s solely about what is great. The concept of buying something and finding out it sucks is passe.<\/p>\n

THEN<\/p>\n

You were constantly returning records to the store for scratches, skips and warps.<\/p>\n

NOW<\/p>\n

There are no stores and there is no returning.<\/p>\n

THEN<\/p>\n

The deejay was the most trusted person in the music universe.<\/p>\n

NOW<\/p>\n

The deejay is a joke, sold out to the man with no personality, playing drivel that only ten year olds would sit through.<\/p>\n

THEN<\/p>\n

It was all about record sales.<\/p>\n

NOW<\/p>\n

It’s all about tickets.<\/p>\n

THEN<\/p>\n

You could only buy the t-shirt at the gig, so you did, to appear special.<\/p>\n

NOW<\/p>\n

T-shirts are everywhere and not quite meaningless, but far from meaningful.<\/p>\n

THEN<\/p>\n

You sat down and listened to the music, in aural bliss, you only stood during the encore.<\/p>\n

NOW<\/p>\n

You stand throughout the gig, get jostled by your neighbors and get beer spilled upon you, all in the name of feeling the music.<\/p>\n

THEN<\/p>\n

You woke up early to wait in line to buy tickets.<\/p>\n

NOW<\/p>\n

You go on StubHub weeks after the on-sale to overpay for good seats.<\/p>\n

THEN<\/p>\n

You went to a show every month.<\/p>\n

NOW<\/p>\n

You go to a show once or twice a year.<\/p>\n

THEN<\/p>\n

There was live music in bars.<\/p>\n

NOW<\/p>\n

You listen to deejays in bars.<\/p>\n

THEN<\/p>\n

Mainstream media was clueless as to music.<\/p>\n

NOW<\/p>\n

Every publication covers the scene and tries to look hip.<\/p>\n

THEN<\/p>\n

Acts were unreachable.<\/p>\n

NOW<\/p>\n

If your favorite act isn’t on Twitter and you don’t think you have access, you’re angry.<\/p>\n

THEN<\/p>\n

There was upward mobility in the music industry.<\/p>\n

NOW<\/p>\n

The baby boomers don’t want to let you take their jobs.<\/p>\n

THEN<\/p>\n

The Beatles were the biggest act in the business.<\/p>\n

NOW<\/p>\n

Paul McCartney is the biggest act in the business.<\/p>\n

THEN<\/p>\n

The Rolling Stones couldn’t sell a record.<\/p>\n

NOW<\/p>\n

The Rolling Stones can’t sell a record.<\/p>\n

THEN<\/p>\n

Clive Davis was telling us how powerful he was.<\/p>\n

NOW<\/p>\n

Clive Davis is telling us how powerful he was.<\/p>\n

THEN<\/p>\n

The labels screwed the artists.<\/p>\n

NOW<\/p>\n

The labels screw the artists.<\/p>\n

THEN<\/p>\n

Acts were unsophisticated.<\/p>\n

NOW<\/p>\n

Everybody’s an expert, they read Passman’s book, they’re savvy.<\/p>\n

THEN<\/p>\n

Security at the gig was like us, just beefier.<\/p>\n

NOW<\/p>\n

Security is the enemy.<\/p>\n

THEN<\/p>\n

You went to make the scene.<\/p>\n

NOW<\/p>\n

You go to make the scene at the electronic music show, it’s too expensive to go to any other gig on a lark.<\/p>\n

THEN<\/p>\n

Arenas eclipsed theatres, the acts were just too big, demand was just too great.<\/p>\n

NOW<\/p>\n

Most acts can’t sell out arenas, other than classic rock acts and the occasional superstar, acts play theatres.<\/p>\n

THEN<\/p>\n

You wanted to sleep with Stevie Nicks.<\/p>\n

NOW<\/p>\n

You don’t want to sleep with Taylor Swift, she’ll write a song about you.<\/p>\n

THEN<\/p>\n

We paid a fortune for hi-def sound systems.<\/p>\n

NOW<\/p>\n

We pay a middling sum to hear compressed versions of our favorites via earbuds.<\/p>\n

THEN<\/p>\n

Top Forty radio played the best of everything.<\/p>\n

NOW<\/p>\n

Top Forty radio…who listens to Top Forty radio, isn’t that just a subset of urban with the occasional Mumford & Sons or Lumineers track?<\/p>\n

THEN<\/p>\n

FM was hip.<\/p>\n

NOW<\/p>\n

We don’t even listen to AM, certainly not for music.<\/p>\n

THEN<\/p>\n

We learned computer dating didn’t work, the matches sucked.<\/p>\n

NOW<\/p>\n

People flock to Pandora, even though the matches suck.<\/p>\n

THEN<\/p>\n

Auto sound sucked and home sound was great.<\/p>\n

NOW<\/p>\n

Auto sound is great and most people don’t even own a home stereo.<\/p>\n

THEN<\/p>\n

You dreamed of being a rock star.<\/p>\n

NOW<\/p>\n

They call anybody rich a rock star. Whereas the rock stars of yore were about freedom, of both lifestyle and expression, we flocked to them. The only thing memorable about these new “rock stars” is their money.<\/p>\n

THEN<\/p>\n

You wore your street clothes on stage.<\/p>\n

NOW<\/p>\n

Fashion is a key element of show business, even though the richest people in America, the techies, wear hoodies and sneakers.<\/p>\n

THEN<\/p>\n

Acts took risks, artistic chances.<\/p>\n

TODAY<\/p>\n

Everybody plays it safe.<\/p>\n

THEN<\/p>\n

You wrote your own material, songs were straight from the heart of the writer\/player\/singer to the audience.<\/p>\n

NOW<\/p>\n

Every song is written by the same people, and personality is absent.<\/p>\n

THEN<\/p>\n

You had to be able to sing to make it.<\/p>\n

NOW<\/p>\n

You’ve got to be willing to whore yourself out to make it. And those with bad voices believe they’re entitled to success.<\/p>\n

THEN<\/p>\n

Our best acts were on weekly TV, on “Ed Sullivan” and “In Concert.”<\/p>\n

NOW<\/p>\n

Our worst acts are on TV, on “American Idol,” “The Voice” and “X Factor.”<\/p>\n

THEN<\/p>\n

Game shows were during the day.<\/p>\n

NOW<\/p>\n

Talent contests are at night.<\/p>\n

THEN<\/p>\n

You had to have talent to make it.<\/p>\n

NOW<\/p>\n

You have to have desire to make it.<\/p>\n

THEN<\/p>\n

You got your license at 16.<\/p>\n

NOW<\/p>\n

You can live without your driver’s license.<\/p>\n

THEN<\/p>\n

Your parents were the enemy.<\/p>\n

NOW<\/p>\n

Your parents are your best friends.<\/p>\n

THEN<\/p>\n

Republicans were about personal freedom.<\/p>\n

NOW<\/p>\n

Republicans want to tell you how to live your life.<\/p>\n

THEN<\/p>\n

Democrats were about erecting a Great Society.<\/p>\n

NOW<\/p>\n

Democrats are pussies who are afraid of alienating their donors.<\/p>\n

THEN<\/p>\n

You wanted to be President.<\/p>\n

NOW<\/p>\n

Who’d want to be President?<\/p>\n

THEN<\/p>\n

Sports stars were just like us.<\/p>\n

NOW<\/p>\n

Sports stars are nothing like us. Hell, they’re richer than musicians!<\/p>\n

THEN<\/p>\n

You rarely flew anywhere.<\/p>\n

NOW<\/p>\n

You’ll fly halfway across the country for a concert.<\/p>\n

THEN<\/p>\n

Winter was endless and miserable.<\/p>\n

NOW<\/p>\n

You wear your shorts in the winter.<\/p>\n

THEN<\/p>\n

If you screwed up in school, your parents chewed you out.<\/p>\n

NOW<\/p>\n

If you screw up in school, your parents chew out the administration.<\/p>\n

THEN<\/p>\n

You went to college to learn.<\/p>\n

NOW<\/p>\n

You go to college to earn.<\/p>\n

THEN<\/p>\n

We were all in it together.<\/p>\n

NOW<\/p>\n

It’s every man for himself.<\/p>\n

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