Monday, August 11, 2008

I Don't Mind The Risk Of Being Called An Old Fogey.

Saturday on the thread that containes the Beverly hillbillies Winston's ad ET Wrote...

et said...

I miss the days when actual stage experience was a prerequisite to television. At the risk of sounding like an Old Fogey...it made a difference.

Though I don't miss the blatant endorsement "stuff" like this ad. It's as annoying as the product placement in current film and TV series.

I have tried to write a longer response to this comment but I am going through one of those days when the words aren't coming in a way that I am pleased with. The point of it is I agree totally with the first half of your statement and I don't have a problem being like an Fogey. I have been an old Fogey on these things since I was about 5. Where TV and Music went wrong is a subject I would like to dwell on deeper at a later date. ( I wanted to dwell on it today but my brain isn't working.)

I disagree with some of the second part of your comment.

In a day and age of commercials where Elvis songs become jingles for dick pills, Ask your doctor if this is right for you or tell him if it gives you a heart attack, I get so bloated this time of the month and...Man I am worried dear. We are 70 and have no life insurance what if we die? Well look it's Alex Trebeck. I actually like the old time sponsor adds by the casts of the shows much better.

I think of it this way. today a 30 minute show lasts 20 minutes with out commercials. In the 60's a 30 minute show lasted 25 minutes even without the ads about the sponsors.

As for product placement, Honestly I either don't catch it or don't dwell on it so it does not bother me. One notable exception would be the James Bond Movie Moonraker which had to break the record for 7up Adds. I find the phenomenon of the corporate named sports arena much more annoying. How wrong is it that where once the Boston Celtics played in the Boston Garden they now play at the TD Bank North Garden? The San Diego Chargers now play in Qualcomm Stadium instead of Jack Murphy Stadium which it was for years. THAT I hate.

Being who I am, and making no apologies for it, I can't tell you how happy I was when Jonathan sent me a PM on Newshounds and asked me if he could post here. I think he's a perfect counter balance to me an makes this blog so much better. He's younger and he has some clue as to what is going on in the world in areas where I just flat don't give a damn. Our differences in age, tastes, culture and life experiences, make this a much better blog. And of course he can't stand Hannah Ray Cyrus either :)

7 comments:

Mr. Brown said...

Being who I am, and making no apologies for it, I can't tell you how happy I was when Jonathan sent me a PM on Newshounds and asked me if he could post here. I think he's a perfect counter balance to me an makes this blog so much better. He's younger and he has some clue as to what is going on in the world in areas where I just flat don't give a damn. Our differences in age, tastes, culture and life experiences, make this a much better blog. And of course he can't stand Hannah Ray Cyrus either :)

Why thank you, Count! I'm flattered.

Anonymous said...

I always felt the fall of TV started with the Doors song in that GM commerical about 1975? I always felt that Elvis would saction any commericals with his songs in them, the songs he did not borrow from others that is :) For Elvis it seemed to me he was always in it for the money.

Ah the good old days when I was but 7 years old

I dont remember a thing.

Anonymous said...

always felt that Elvis would saction any commericals with his songs in them, the songs he did not borrow from others that is :)

What songs did Elvis "borrow" from others? And be careful with your answers. My hunch is they will either be wrong or based entirely in myths.

If it's a crime to sing a song that was first song by a black act let me know. because I'll make sure to never sing anymore again.

Whenever people trot out this bullshit about Elvis stealing music from black acts (and sorry Roachman bullshit is what it is) they always mention a song that was either written by white folks, had been a hit for a black act well in the past or both. Elvis no more borrowed or stole from black music than Charley Pride borrow or stole from white music.

Anonymous said...

Someday somebody will explain to me how when Elvis sang Hound Dog he was stealing from African Americans. Nevermind the song had been written by two jewish White Men and he sang it in 1957 four years after Big Momma Thorton had a hit with it. And yet when The Beatles sang Anna, Baby It's You, Rock In Roll Music, Roll over Beethoven, Please Mr. Postman, etc they were only shining a spotlight on forgotten black artist.

Anonymous said...

Oh, yeah, the corporate branding on the stadiums is just awful.

I don't mind the product placement in 007 because, let's be honest, they've always done it and it's mostly been fairly subtle - the label on a watch face, the logo on a cell phone. It's when it's verbalized as dialogue that it really gets to me. The Smallville TV series - one of our guilty pleasures at ET House - is especially egregious about it. If a car is stolen, for instance, instead of "Hey, that guy just stole my car!" it becomes "just stole my Yaris!" And inserting debut bands that the WB record label wants to promote into the story line. It's absolutely intrusive.

On the other hand, it's nothing to lose sleep over. ;)

Anonymous said...

In other "Fogey" news, ET Spouse has just had what can only be categorized as a Senior Moment. We just installed the new satellite receiver (HDTV - woot!) and it's not receiving data correctly, so he called customer service...only he called the company we acquired the other components from (Crutchfield) rather than the satellite provider (Star Choice). And stayed on hold with/talking with them for over 20 minutes before it finally dawned on them both that he had called the Wrong Place.

Oy.

Anonymous said...

"Hey, that guy just stole my car!" it becomes "just stole my Yaris!" And inserting debut bands that the WB record label wants to promote into the story line. It's absolutely intrusive.

That would drive me nuts as well.

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