TSF5: It’s the Little Things, is NOW ONLINE!
Posted on February 3, 2010 | By Robert LaFrance | No Comments
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
The Slacker Factor Podcast, Episode 5: It’s the Little Things
The group ponders Pattys Small-Mac Attack and Christian rants about the
ever uplifting media coverage of celebrity death. Rob discusses the
perils of sobriety. And Patty brings the randomness and angst of the
plastic fantastic music genre that is Scene.
Links:
Meandering Rant on the Death of Icons by Christian
Book Report: When Rock Stars Get Sober
Music Segment: Scene featuring Porcelain and the Tramps and Scary Kids Scaring Kids
The death of icons
Posted on February 2, 2010 | By Christian | 1 Comment
Through history people have paid tribute to those who affected them most. In the past it was high placed political powers such as monarchs or statesmen, but since the advent of television this adoration has broadened to include celebrities. The availability of electronic media provided a platform but tabloids and the internet brought it to extreme levels.
When Elvis died it was obviously a big story and deserved “news” coverage. The same can be said for John Lennon, Michael Jackson, etc largely in part to their untimely deaths. But where does the media draw the line as to what is worth “breaking news coverage”? Are D list celebrities worthy of such coverage. Do we need to know that a Reality TV contestant died? Or a TV shill? Where is the line drawn? Do we need a cable station devoted to death much like the Weather Channel?
> keep reading The death of icons
Tags: Gen X > generation x > GenX > reality > slacker > slacking > the slacker factor > the slackerfactor > tsf
Message In A Bloggle: Hope I Die Before I Get Old
Posted on February 1, 2010 | By St. Marquis | No Comments
There are a few times in your life when you suddenly feel “old”.
Finding your first grey hair is probably the first. It’s bad enough finding one on your head but when you find one “south of the border” it’s even more sobering. Followed, of course, by the first time you get pulled over and discover that when the police officer gets up to the car he is obviously younger than you are. And the aggravating thing is even though you’re older you call them “SIR”! Which is not as bad as saying ‘thank you’ for some reason when they hand you the ticket.
But for me the worst realization that I was suddenly “older” was when I realized I didn’t know what the hell was happening in music. At some point in the last few years, I had completely lost touch with what was considered “cool” and “happening” in the music business. And I was pretty upset.
I happened to speaking to someone younger than myself, who mentioned they were going to a concert that weekend. “Oh, who are you going to see?”, I asked. “The Passion Pit!”, he happily declared. The Passion Pit? Who the hell are The Passion Pit? Not only was I kind of upset that I didn’t recognize the name, but I totally felt out of touch when I discovered that they had sold out not one night in NYC that weekend but THREE nights! How could I have never heard of this group that was popular enough to sell out three nights in Manhattan plus have an album that was being raved about online and elsewhere?
Oh, that’s right. I got old.
So, last night as I watched the Grammy Awards sseing Lady GaGa parade about looking like something from a bad 1980’s video on acid and duetting with Elton John, I realized maybe it’s not just me. Back in the 70’s Elton was considered a freak by our parents. Each generation seems to feel the need to create someone or something to rattle the cages of the generations before them. To set them apart. To make them feel as if they are ahead of the curve and hipper than those who came before them.
Because I got a kick later that night on the Grammys seeing the legendary Leon Russell playing with country upstart and Best New Artist winner Zac Brown. I know that there wasn’t a single 20-something hipster doofus dancing down front who had a clue as to who that strange white haired guy playing piano was onstage. And I am sure a number of those same kids later watched Jeff Beck rip through an amazing tribute to the late great Les Paul and thought, “This guy is cool. I wonder if he is Beck’s father.”
Maybe it’s called “classic” rock because to us that’s what it is. Classic. Untouchable. Something from a golden age in our lives that keeps it as fresh and special to us today as it did the first time we heard it 30 years ago. Our music never sounds dated because we carry it with us in our heads and in our hearts all our lives. Which is why, I know deep inside that the first Boston album or even the first RUN-DMC record will make me feel at 90 the way it made me feel at 19.
Now whether or not Lady GaGa’s “Paparazzi” will stand the test of time like The Allman Brother’s “Whipping Post” is something we will have to wait and see. Though to be honest, I am having a hard time imagining GaGa in concert in 2050 , strutting around in her Hefty Bags From Space polyvinyl stage costume and thousands of fans holding up cigarette lighters screaming, “POKER FACE! POKER FACE!”.
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Do yourselves a favor ….
Add some funk and rhythm to your life and pick up anything you can find by Trombone Shorty, Big Sam’s Funky Nation or Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings.
Tags: Big Sam > music > old > sharon jones > St. Marquis > trombone shorty
The NBC Peacock is losing its colors and turning gray…
Posted on January 19, 2010 | By Christian | 1 Comment
If you are looking for a different slant on the NBC battlefront I recommend you check out this blog posting by Daniel at Nightly.net entitled “The Baby Boomers Vs. Generation X in the Late Night War”. Daniel discusses the late night feud, much like 90% of all blogs lately (now including ours), and its relation to Baby Boomers (the Jay Leno camp) vs. Generation X (Conan O’Brien). A great point Daniel makes is that NBC looks to be siding more with the Baby Boomer generation as a target audience and is almost dismissing the Gen Xers.
Obviously there is a large population of Baby Boomers and it makes some fiscal sense for NBC to choose them as a target audience. However, I have to wonder a couple of things:
- Will the boomer population be willing to stay up that late on a consistent basis? It seems to me the younger crowd rules the night.
- Perhaps the Generation X viewers will feel snubbed by this move and view NBC as their parents station thereby turning even deeper to cable and online video?
- Will the ultimate winner be David Letterman? Not exactly a GenXer himself.
- Will Conan land at Comedy Central with a sweet new job (and time slot) and a much bigger following? That’s my bet.
Anyway, check it out. ~cg.
Gen X and retirement
Posted on January 8, 2010 | By Christian | 1 Comment
The Philadelphia Inquirer recently ran a mini-series of articles about Generation X and Retirement written by Maria Panaritis. I know what you are thinking, we are still way too young to really worry about retirement. So many things can happen that are out of our control between now and retirement, there isn’t much sense sweating it too much. Well, if you haven’t been thinking about retirement, its time to start. Now, I don’t want to bring you down but… reading this may.
Between making less overall than our parents did (accounting for inflation etc), the housing market just plain sucks, Baby Boomers taking forever to retire and eating up social security and basically sucking the life out of the economy, and don’t forget the cost of health care; Maria points out we are pretty much SOL. And lets not forget about the melting polar ice caps, but that’s for another bitch session.
Maybe it is time to just roll over and accept the fact that we are screwed on so many levels? Never! If Generation X knows anything, its that we can expect the worst and there isn’t much we can do about any of it. But don’t give up hope, somehow we always persevere. ~cg
Tags: bacon > Gen X > generation x > GenX > irrelevant > Maria Panaritis. > Philadelphia Inquirer > reality > retirement > the slacker factor > the slackerfactor > tsf
