Saturday Morning Dead

Saturday has always been "that day". It just feels different than any other day of the week and not simply because it's the weekend or that most people are off from work/school, but it just has that certain feel to it. The feeling of relaxation and the general vibe of a fun day. I suspect this has a lot to do with how most Saturday mornings started for the majority of children growing up in America.

I know how it started for me: I would wake up early (the only day of the week I actually wanted to wake up early), fix myself a bowl of cereal (unless my mom was already up making breakfast) and sit on the living room floor and watch cartoon after cartoon until noon - when either Godzilla or some Kung Fu flick would come on.

Alas, that era has come to an end and Saturday mornings are no longer what they used to be. Flip around the channels nowadays and you're bound to see infomercials for products ranging from exercise equipment to money management software. A few cartoons are sprinkled throughout the morning, but not enough to warrant any serious excitement. To anyone who's not familiar with the old program schedule this may seem insignificant, but Saturday morning cartoons were such a big part of childhood and have created such lasting vivid memories that recently a couple of co-workers and I sat around reminiscing about those days and trying hard to name every cartoon that we'd ever seen. Everyone had a personal anecdote to tell relating to a particular episode or line of dialogue from their favorite 'toon. There were smiles all around... until everyone realized the same thing: most of our children will never be able to share those same experiences. Not because those same cartoons aren't on anymore (they are), but because Saturday morning cartoons were like an event. Sure, there were cartoons on television every other day of the week (except Sunday), but Saturday mornings were reserved for the "special" cartoons. Either the brand new shows or the hour-long episodes or even the 'toons that came on way too early during the week to catch. We only had seven channels but sometimes there were so many good cartoons on at the same time, that I often had to make what seemed like a life or death decision between two favorites. If for some reason I missed an episode, I knew it could be weeks before it was shown again.

Today's kids will never know the same feeling. Between cable/satellite TV, the internet and DVD's it's now possible to see every episode of every cartoon ever made, so in terms of 'toon watching, Saturday morning is no different from Wednesday afternoon, which is really every kid's dream. Today's kids have got it made and will probably never understand all the fuss about Saturday mornings, but regardless, Saturday is still the best day of the week.

All City Commitee

In December of 2007 AriZona Beverage Company, which originated in Brooklyn, NY released its new energy drink: All City NRG, in limited edition subway series cans that pay tribute to graffiti artists. The term "All City" refers to a graffiti artist who has achieved fame in all 5 boroughs of New York City.

Apparently, this outraged City Councilman Peter Vallone Jr. (D-Queens) enough for him to call a press conference and launch a crusade against All City, urging stores citywide to pull the product from it's shelves, stating "It actually glorifies a vandal...and is a blatant attempt to sell graffiti to kids". The drink was brought to his attention by one of his cop friends who was obviously tired of fighting real crime and stopped in a store to get a energy boost. Vallone is joined in his fight by Councilman James Oddo (R- Mid-Island/Brooklyn) who calls the city's history of graffiti "...an embarrassment". Naturally, this is all backed by Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who in 2005 implemented the Anti-Graffiti Task Force, an 80 member unit assigned specifically to track and monitor the 100 most frequent vandalism offenders.

If this all seems a bit extreme, that's because it is. Vandalizing someone else's property is most certainly a crime, and I don't think anyone who does such is under the impression that what they're doing is not an illegal activity (in fact, that's often part of the thrill) but graffiti is an art-form that is widely recognized to have influenced the look and style of pop culture for the past few decades. Marketing execs and Ad agencies realize the visual appeal of graffiti and are using it's more subtle design aspects to sell products to a generation of consumers that are familiar with - and therefore - more comfortable with it's presence.

Art is defined as creative expression that requires skill or practice to execute, and graffiti easily falls under that heading. The fact that it has it's roots in the inner-city streets does not make it any less valid as an art-form. The manner in which a thing is used should ultimately determine it's worth. If I use a hammer to build a house, but you use a hammer to kill your wife... is the hammer a useful tool or is it a murder weapon?

It's all perspective.

Steal This Album!

Should music be free? This sounds like a silly question, but apparently a lot of people think it should be, and even the ones who don't think so, are often unwilling to pay for it. Let's face it, we live in an age where everything can be downloaded within just a few clicks. If you're not the one doing the downloading, then chances are you know someone who is, and they're most likely willing to hook you up. So it's safe to say that everyone has in some way benefited from an illegal download. The temptation is just too great for some to resist. Stealing music has become so common that many don't even consider it theft, they see it as their right. "They make enough money, they don't need my 10 dollars", is a typical reason given to justify such actions. Others have turned it into a business for themselves, making a decent profit by downloading albums, printing out artwork and then selling these bootlegs at half the price of regular CDs. Plenty of other types of files are pirated but music seems to be the most widely abused.

So, what led to this overall disrespect for musicians and their craft? Maybe it's the fact that a lot of todays artists are not actually musicians. With all of the programs available for music production, someone with a moderate amount of talent can arrange a song, lay some half-hearted vocals, and score a hit from the comfort of their own bedroom; consequently, musicianship is devalued. Consumers don't respect the product, partly because the level of talent involved has declined significantly. It is no longer necessary to be "the best" or even above average in order to obtain a successful career in the music business. True musicians are pushed aside in favor of whatever tune makes the catchiest Ringtone. Somewhere along the line, the hit single became more important than the full album, so instead of getting a cohesive body of work, you're left with a collection of jingles that are aimed at generating some sort of crossover appeal, in other words...sellout. 

The term "sellout" used to have such negative connotations that to even be accused of such a thing could cripple an artists' career. It signified a lack of integrity, which was interpreted as a character deficiency. It meant you were unsteady, and could easily be bought; that you would do anything - even shame yourself - as long as a paycheck was involved. This term is rarely used anymore however, mainly because almost everyone is now guilty of it. Artists from every genre of music are being pushed into the race for commercial success. Record companies dictate that mass appeal is more important than artistic expression, so in turn, musicians begin to compromise, and when the audience knows an artist is not giving his all, or worse, is just trying to get over and make a quick buck, respect is lost. Trying to get somebody who doesn't respect you to give you their money is an insult to them. If I (the consumer) feel insulted by you (the artist) our relationship is over. Don't bother asking me to support you any longer, we're done. If you've purchased an album in the past few years then you have no doubt, felt insulted. You pay up to $15.00 for a CD containing 10-15 tracks, only 3 of which are any good and 2 of which just happen to be the radio singles. Why would anyone continue to subject themselves to this? 

I'm not advocating pirating music files, but I can certainly see the reasons behind it. It's obvious that the current structure of the music industry is collapsing and the old way of doing business is not working. The entire system needs to be revamped for the sake of the record labels since they are the ones who will eventually suffer the most. Musicians make most of their money from live shows which they now have the ability to book and manage themselves. The internet has allowed artists to become more self sufficient and as a result, independently wealthy. True artist will always make art, regardless of who's paying for it.