video killed the radio star?
I don’t listen to the radio. What’s wrong with that picture? I’m a musician, for crying out loud.
I can understand some professional guitarists who don’t have a clue how to read whole notes, half notes, or time signatures. Leave that to elementary music teachers. But a musician who doesn’t listen to the radio is unfathomable, unforgivable even.
Watch your mouth Vince, you’re talking about yourself.
It has been 16 months since I last drove a car regularly. And prior to that, I’ve always had a car to drive wherever I go ever since I got my license in 1996. And interestingly—it was only when our SUV was subjected to mortgage last year that I noticed—all my life I only listened to the radio when I was riding a car.
Today’s urban culture is so diverse that it’s hard to get a view of the big picture. Most of us wake up everyday with a tunnel vision of our frantically dynamic socio-cultural sphere. You can lead a life that you thought was abreast with the latest trends but be oblivious of the fact that you’re missing out on something awfully popular, or even crucial, to the majority.
For all you know, you’re no longer in the know. Or worse, you never were.
Right now, the biggest and most prestigious sports event in this part of Asia is being held in our country. Go Pilipinas! The SEA Games is arguably the most significant phenomenon in the land right now. But I’ve bumped into a couple of people clueless that the SEA Games are here. They are both call center agents—members of the most significant work force and subculture in the Philippines today
The call center trade is not just an industry. It is a cultural, economic, and industrial phenomenon. Almost a cult. This is true not just in terms of economic significance but also in the sheer numbers of these nocturnal Homo sapiens. It’s hard to fathom how some are not aware of the SEA Games.
Blame it on the rain, not. It’s because of the immensely diverse way of living in the city.
In my case, I’m unaware of what’s being aired in the broadcasting industry, particularly in FM radio. Yet I’m still updated with the latest in the music scene. And I’m not just talking about culprits for the irksome Last Song Syndrome—songs belonging to the mainstream–but the latest hard-to-finds as well. Thanks to MYX, MTV, bootlegged MP3’s, the Internet, music mags, and regular visits to Tower Records.
This was unheard of ten years ago, when radio was the alpha and omega of popular music knowledge.
I think I myself am a perfect inclusion for my previous article, The Reign of Magneto. There I mentioned that Ms. Morissette noticed the preponderance of irony in life, and even wrote a song about it. It should have included the likes of me.
