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In This Day And Age...
By joseexist in Musings On Muses
March 2, 2010

In this day and age our senses are bombarded ceaselessly from every direction imaginable. Computers, televisions, radios, home-phones, cell-phones, billboards, campaign signs, gas pumps, and DVD and Blue-Ray discs, they all blare at us pretty much non-stop. Our only respite is that we do have some control over what we allow in and what we keep out. That which we try to push away runs around corners sometimes and finds another way into our psyche.

I’ll start with cable television. When I’m searching the listings for a show to watch, I pay particular attention to the length the guide shows me that the feature will be on. If it’s on a movie channel without commercials there is usually no problem with watching it. If however, it is on a commercial channel, and the length is easily seen to be far longer than the feature, I will skip the show in most instances. It’s not that I hate commercials (I actually learned to keep good musical timing by singing along or tapping my foot to them as a child), it has everything to do with having a great show interrupted by a sales pitch. I don’t need any of your “you know what” for my “I know what you mean”, and my “you guessed it” is working just fine. Limited commercials are just fine most of the time but my household doesn’t need anything that promises to make us all super-human in any way shape or form. Do you have any idea how many batteries we go thru because of muting and volume jockeying; not to mention channel ping-ponging? Sometimes it’s just best to push the red button and go find something better to do.

The first time a gas pump started taking to me with a pre-recorded sales pitch, I wanted to “take it out” Dillinger style. It was lucky I found the ‘mute’ button quickly. (Feel free to laugh. I did later that day.) We are overloaded with sales pitches from everywhere and for everything. I don’t mind them on the internet as long as I can get to what I need on the page I just landed on. Long load times due to advertisements are a sure bummer. It does happen on hi-speed too and I understand that websites have to generate revenue. In this day and age, can you find a place in your daily routine that isn’t pock-marked with advertising?

I’m glad we have satellite radio in Daisy’s car. The Hard-Rock and Metal stations I listen to give me all the escape I need from ‘commercial-reality’ on any length of drive about. The occasional station plugs and sometimes comical segues ease every transition. After that the CD player plays CDr as well and I have a great collection of unsigned bands from all over the world. I also have the big bands too but they are things I collected for only one good song or two, or even a few on any given disc.

To disconnect from the rat race I get home and put on headphones. I push play and lean back. I close my eyes and fly off into guitar riffs, driving drums and bass, and howling vocals. Commercial messages only get thru if I crack my eyes for a moment to see what’s on TV (if Glenda is watching,). I like any commercial with a soundtrack of my own choosing. I sometimes fall asleep there on the couch like that. If luck has its way a muse will wake me from a musically induced dream and I’ll skip off to write an inspired lyric down or some music, or do both.

Trust me on the sunscreen. Get away from it all via your favorite music. Isolate with a good clear set of headphones. Your favorite music is a ship you should sail as often as possible and as far as possible during each ‘trip’. Music, that you love to listen to, can be a safe drug. You won’t find hangovers or withdrawal symptoms. The addiction is one I’m totally fond of. I can vouch for music the way a voter vouches for their candidate. A commercial about music is the only one you’ll hear from me. My muses write my news. Extra! Extra! Read all about it! Film at 11:00! Catch it then!