Not everyone can invest the time keeping up with the changes and trends in music, I get that. It’s especially difficult if you’re running a business(es) and can’t devote the time yourself nor “get” why you should listen to Soma.Fm or look out for Lana del Rey’s new b-sides. That said, I can think of a few different “venues” in general where the sheer inertia of not-caring leaves visitors to suffer through old or even archaic music. I can’t say I ever really enjoy myself as much as I could at these places.
One is casinos. Man, do brick and mortar gambling spots love their Frank Sinatra, Eric Clapton, Cher, and occasional early Rihanna. (Fortunately, online casinos like www.partycasino.com offer poker tables and games without forcing you to listen to anything preprogrammed.) Maybe it’s just me but when I want to churn out all of my well-earned money at a rapid fire, regrettable pace, I want to hear some thumping bass or righteous synthetic beats, or even just something I haven’t heard a million times before. Blackjack and craps are games of form, people, so I really could use something in the ambiance to spice up the experience.
Another mortifying public space for variety is the stadium. Football, soccer, tennis, softball, political conventions – none of these events ever feature anything “edgy” or at least mildly relevant to what’s happen in the world of music at large. To my chargin, sports outings inevitably blast Bon Jovi, Ke$ha, or Bruce Springsteen to “pump up” the crowd and players, while rallies or caucuses or what-have-you’s are even more pared down and “conservative” in their choices for what to play in between speeches. Needless to say, none of these are my scene.
So, organizers of the world, please heed my words: Whether you run a dice game or a $100 buyin Texas Hold-Em table, or arrange events of physical or rhetorical might, please at least listen to the radio the week of and catch a drift of what’s not stagnant.
