I don't want to live on a cloud

As I watched one of the countless re-runs of Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, I saw a commercial that stuck out to me. "Now, Walmart will transfer your DVD collect to digital for not $10 but only $2, it's fast and easy!" After a bit of research of a rather vaguely described commercial I came across an article that does confirm Walmart's new service transferring DVD movies into digital movies. This to me was actually really interested, especially for the fact that you're allowed to keep the discs after you transfer them to the UltraViolet DRM system. This made me realize, we're becoming a cloud-based entertainment society. As people are making the switch to Spotify, Netflix, and Steam for their entertainment, it saddens me. I've always loved technology but I'm not ready to live on a cloud.

Now for those who don't know what the cloud is, the cloud is pretty much online storage space that can be anywhere from several megabytes to hundreds of gigabytes, that can store anything from photos, music, documents, videos, and any other computer file you'd hope to store. That cloud is becoming increasingly popular. Amazon has recently given 5GB free to people who used their "locker" which is music, videos, and media files purchased through Amazon. Google Documents recently uploaded their site to Google Drive, which still does all the capabilities of Google Documents but with 5GB of storage, to store any files (previously 1gb of storage for documents). We're seeing a big shift to cloud storage. Which cloud storage is a great thing, we're getting a lot of online space for free, and if you'd like to upload to more storage (such as Apple's iCloud) for a fee of about $29.99 a year, you'll get 30GB of space on the iCloud. We're seeing this theme a lot, and it is truly helpful. We're in a world where documents are needed at all times, and cloud services such as Dropbox are convientely allowing us to transfer files from computer to computer without a problem. It's great. It almost sounds like something we would've seen on the sci-fi channel years ago. But I'm not ready to live on a cloud.

One of the biggest new innovations of the cloud, is Google's Chromebook. What Google Chromebook is, is a book focused around Google Chrome (the internet browser) what Chrome does, is allows you to compute normally but with limited storage on the actual model. You're also run on the Chrome browser constantly, without internet it's pointless. Most storage of everything is focused and centered on the cloud. Now, to me that isn't a problem, it sounds like a stress free concept with a clutter free computer lifestyle, but when does it become a problem?

The reason I'd never want to live on a cloud, without having my 500gb of storage on my computer, and completely transferring to digital would be for one main reason, what happens if cloud services are hacked, internet service goes bad (who knows, maybe there is some bandwidth that we can reach before each of our   modems just blow up), or plain and simple you lose internet (or don't have the capability) at home or elsewhere. Not only does having a limited service not help, but for some reason the collection of DVDs, CDs, and books look far more awesome on a shelf than on a cloud service. There is a certain feel that comes with a new purchase at the store of a DVD or book, that is not like any other. The world has an attachment to stuff, anything that is a material object, but when you take that material object and make it digital, it's less appealing. People are also far too social for the cloud. Of course services that are completely cloud-based shouldn't change, but people want to borrow movies, books, music,and games. It's how we are.

In a recent TED Talk, Graham Hill says that with less stuff, we are happier. But I truly don't believe this. We live in a material world, yes it does get cluttered, and unorganized, but the feeling of having all these material things, especially countless movies and music is just far better than having a cloud of all your things. Hill also argues that, we should be transferring our music, movies, games, books, etc to digital, but I believe there is no rush as material objects have far more prominence in a persons home than a cloud. Hill is right when he says there is less clutter, and ultimately an easier lifestyle if everything is digital, but I believe that is only half the fight.

Overall, I do believe the cloud is a great thing. It's convince truly at the touch of a button. But we shouldn't completely shift our society to a digital-based cloud quite yet. Some true classic possessions of mine in the media world such as my turntable with my several records whether it'd be my Jimi Hendrix or my Black Keys which can both be found online, doesn't mean I'm quite ready to part with them. Integration between the two will be the only way in my opinion that should be used, people have built collections that are beyond imaginable, and transferring that to the cloud, just seems pointless to a lot of people. When it does come to documents, music I can't exactly buy, movie streaming, and any type of streaming, the cloud is a blessing in disguise, but transferring our lives to a cloud, isn't the right step just yet. I truly don't want to live on a cloud.

The Nostalgia of Mystery Train (Part 2)

As rock & roll developed farther from the original blues and country roots that Harmonica Frank had added elements of so early in the history and was becoming a fresh genre, many artists were sprouting up that were popularizing the newly formed genre. Among one of the artists popularized was Elvis Presley. In 1954, only three years after Harmonica Frank made noise with Philips, Presley made his first records. Elvis not only emerged as a popular recording artist, but an acclaimed, everything. “Elvis has emerged as a great artist, a great rocker, a great purveyor of shlock, a great heart throb, a great bore, a great potency, a great bam, a great person, and yes a great American.” (Marcus, 121) 

On December 21, 1970, Elvis Presley who had made his way into the heart of many met with the president of the United States, Richard Nixon. “You dress kind of strange, don't you?” Nixon asked Presley who was wearing purple velvet tunic, high-collared white shirt and a Captain Marvel cape. “You have your show and I have mine,” Presley responded. After the first comments were exchanged Nixon addressed to Presley’s agenda (Jeansonne). Presley who had addressed much of the problems the country was facing such as black nationalists, student activists, and the drug and hippie culture that motivated much of the counterculture movement, was proposing to turn back influence of the problems being faced. Being among one of the many artists that fueled early rock & roll, Presley’s political divide shaped opinions of many of his fans who were also on a divide of the times.  

As highly as musicians such as Presley are looked up in today’s society for their contributions to music, the counterculture movement and rock & roll were looked down upon of their time by most. Journalists of the time were one group who looked down upon rock & roll and thought of it as only a small trend. In 1955, Variety Magazine stated on the topic of rock & roll that, "It will be gone by June."  What most did not know was that the music being made would prompt the countless riots, a generation glued to the music, and a rich history.

The music may have been associated with the counterculture movement and was often looked down upon. The rebellious spirits portrayed by Sly Stone, Elvis Presley, and The Beatles often gave an image to be looked down upon. What most of the younger fans of the generation heard in the music was much more than rebellion. “The parts combine to pull listeners into a labyrinth, with no idea what might be lurking around next,” (Marcus).  The music was an escape to a younger generation who were the cause of the awareness of many of the nation’s biggest problems; it gave hope to a crowd.

A good part of the impact of rock ‘n’ roll had to do with its anachronistic essence, the way it seemed to come out of nowhere, the big surprise that trivialized the events that governed daily life. Rock ‘n’ roll gave the kids who had seen no alternative but to submit to those events a little room to move. (Marcus, 17)

           

Rock & Roll music gave a voice to the voiceless, who were the younger generation trying to establish themselves. What  most of the generation didn’t know was that the music they had loved whether it’d be the Beatles or Jimi Hendrix have had a significant contribution to the music industry since the very peaks of rock & roll. Whether it would be the development of early hip-hop that was developed from 70’s funk rock, or whether it would be the inspiration artists of music now derive their music from early rock & roll influence.

One of the most effective ways that music of the early rock & roll era has contributed to later years of music is through the use of sampling. Sampling which is a form of reusing musical elements in a more contemporary form has been used in countless ways since the music of early rock. Often times sampling is considered demeaning to music and a forfeit to the originality of the craft of music but are also times often reveals a sense of nostalgia and an intensity that could only be matched with early rock & roll. Much like The Band’s classic record, The Weight, which Marcus justifies as “The song captured the yearning for home and the fact of displacement that ruled our lives; we thought that the Band’s music was the most natural parallel to our hopes, ambitions, and doubts and we were right to think so.” The Weight has had elements of the song used in over 40 different songs and was most recently sampled into Girl Talk’s All Day album. Elements of countless songs have been reused in songs and have resulted high critical response such as Sly Stone’s record Everyday People which has been reused multiple times but none more highly than Arrested Development’s People Everyday.

Rock & roll, looking back now, has had some of the largest contributions of music of all time. The Beatles compilation album, One, is the highest sold album between the years of 2000 and 2009, which only shows how much of an impact The Beatles still over today’s music (Lamb). Even the earliest forms of rock & roll are still praised today, without the contribution to artists like Harmonica Frank (who could’ve easily been forgotten by now) rock & roll could have never made its way to the surface to having such an impact on society.

Rock & roll has developed from the very peaks of the early blues and country influences. With artists such as Elvis Presley, the Beatles, Sly Stone and many others becoming cultural icons of the time, society reflected the changing times with the music. The development of rock & roll, not only contributed to a developing mid 1900’s society, but it has shaped a great amount of our music today. As rebellious and underappreciated as the music seemed to most the music had developed a culture and that is still prevalent in today’s society. What Marcus demonstrates in Mystery Train is the sense of nostalgia that the music brings back and shows how the music has been such an impact. “It was the intensity of the music that changed fascination into commitment and a bundle of ideas into what must serve as a point of view,” (Marcus, 28). 

The nostalgia of Mystery Train

Recently I wrote an essay on a book by Greil Marcus called Mystery Train. Mystery Train is book that includes the history of rock & roll whether it'd be the early years of Harmonica Frank in the 1950's onto the bad ass stylings of Little Richard, Sly Stone, and the King himself, Elvis Presley. As I finished my essay, I realized that there is a delicate nostaliga that lies deep within my heart that makes me miss the 1960's. Now, you're probably rather confused that a sixteen year old has a sense of nostaliga from the sixties, but the culture of the sixites was phonomenal. No, I'm not reffering to the stoner counterculture of the sixties, as much as I love my Jimi Hendrix album doesn't mean that I'm going to go and do acid and then rebel against the Vietnam war. The 1960's brought about a pleasant time, on the brink of changing in the United States, what I love about the 1960's is the simplicity and how such a changing time brought about a whole movement and country focused around the a lot of the same things.

Here is an excerpt from my essay:

"In 1951 Sam Philips set out to become the founder of what would later become known as Sun Records. Philips was dedicated to finding somebody who had the talent of the later 40’s African American blues artists but who was white. “If I could find a white man who had the Negro sound and the Negro feel, I could make a billion dollar,” Philips said. One of Philips’s first attempts was a man who went by Harmonica Frank Floyd. Harmonica Frank was considered a joke. His music lacked elements that were heard of the time and hardly had elements that people of the time would appreciate. Although Frank did record several songs, he was considered a weird man who was unlike much of the smooth soulful blues singers of the time. What Philips and the others who criticized Harmonica Frank didn’t know was that this sound, the abnormal and uncanny sound that came with Harmonica Frank was one of the earliest forms of what America and a generation focused around counterculture would soon call rock & roll. Harmonica Frank Floyd never became famous, he was never considered among the greats such as Elvis Presley, and was barely allowed to make music without ridicule. But what Harmonica Frank did do was inspire a sound which allowed for artists of the generation and the artists of today to become what they are.

            What Harmonica Frank had started and what artists like Sly Stone, The Band, Elvis Presley, The Beatles, Bob Dylan, and Simon & Garfunkel all picked up with their styles of music became a huge focus centralized around the counterculture movement of the United States. Most importantly, what the new distinct, and to some considered peculiar sound brought about was decades of what Americans and folks around the world would be listening too. Whether it would be the development of early hip-hop emcees and DJs of the 1970’s or the mainstream chart toppers that have showcased classic records played upon the radio ever since they have derived some inspiration from the early development of rock & roll.

            In Greil Marcus’s fifth edition of Mystery Train: Images of America in Rock ‘n’ Roll Music, Marcus exemplifies how rock & roll music has not only influenced the generations of the 1950’s and 60’s, but also continues onto making a substantial contribution to music today. The informative past of such an influential generation is shown throughout Mystery Train and shows why rock & roll, a genre of music that is often looked down upon is in fact an important development in American culture today. Through Mystery Train, Marcus demonstrates truly why rock & roll matters:

Rock ‘n’ roll may matter because it is fun, unpredictable, and anarchic, a neatly         packaged and amazingly intense plurality of good times and good ideas, but none save the very youngest musicians and fans can still take their innocence for granted. (Marcus)"