Friday, January 09, 2009
The Lost Art of the Television Jingle
Many historical, relevant, and effective concepts are missing in modern American television production. For an adult that has lived through more than one decade of pop culture, it is not difficult to characterize American television as disposable. An easy fix for many networks would be an artistic approach. While it could be considered “Adult Contemporary” upon which the now defunct VH-1 network used to rely, the immediate gratification of Rock ‘n’ Roll is effective only if the product packs the punch necessary to get the viewers off. How can a teenager or a twenty-something know anything with the state of education and media the way it is now? Talent would be the answer, and we have “Nature versus Nurture” to thank for that. With the virtual elimination of our eco-system comes the task of creating ideas without the inspiration of Mother Nature. Without the beauty and guidance of the earth, whence does man’s perception about life come? Certainly it does not come from a Japanese created video game. While Geisha traditions, automobile manufacturing, and living in small spaces are attributes of the Japanese culture, America should be defined by her own lineage. In the true spirit of Multiculturalism influences of other countries should be welcomed into mainstream America. The definition of America, because the entire world once looked at America as the pinnacle of human existence, should be kept American. Concept is a useful tool upon which to rely to insure product maintains integrity. Consequently concept requires study, understanding, and discipline. Unlike many colloquial definitions of jazz music, concept necessitates an aesthetic have boundaries, definition, purpose, and humility. Jazz never has been the potpourri many think it is. Conversely jazz music at its highest level is a synthesis of many skilled disciplines culminating in a spontaneous, organic, reactive, reflective, and highly soulful expression of human conditions. Unlike many believe the “rules for jazz” are very tangible, concrete, and understandable. They correlate to the human condition. The production of jazz music then merely is an examination of one’s condition in the context of humanity as a whole. It could be called therapy. The degrading and narcissistic practices of modern pop music are not applicable to jazz, and anyone expecting a subversion should expect to be disappointed. Jazz music is considered America’s only true art form, and as a result should be embraced like the life blood it is. There is little jazz on television, so media is not doing its part to promote the attributes of America’s only art form. Is it because Wall Street cannot benefit from the bounty of jazz music? That is ironic because the majority of jazz music was composed, performed, and produced on a shoestring budget by starving musicians. Many were exploited by record labels paying a meager few hundred dollars for the rights to songs which endured the test of time and reaped major royalties for an elite few. Jazz also if folk music, but it is not popular music. It is reserved for those willing to approach it with something in mind. It is not menial disposable entertainment. It requires artistry, something that modern TV programming has abandoned for shortterm monetary gain. The easiest fix for modern television would be the survey of how dialog and music peacefully coexist. What doesn’t work well and what is seen and heard on the majority of mediocre television networks is a blatant juxtaposition of dialog over music. This non-concept, although we now are forced to consider it as a concept, has no relevance in television programming. If it were considered in the mind of a child, how can dialog be heard and understood with music banging around underneath it? It is annoying. It is distracting, and it is a mistake. The only substance that can be inferred from this technique also is one of Capitalism. Studies have shown that loud annoying music in a retail store or restaurant will cause patrons to buy more product. They are so annoyed by the music they must buy something to pacify their aggravation. Any television producer could surmise this effect on the viewer would be counterproductive. In the home aggravating the viewer accomplishes nothing more than making the viewer change the channel. Artistry on the other hand pulls the viewer in and draws him into a reality that is better than the one he faces daily. It cannot be imagined that anyone would want to enter a world that was inferior to the one in which he exists daily. Escapism hence demands an artistic approach, one that embraces beauty of some kind. Superficial beauty is not required, but the beauty of attempting to understand the human condition and comment on it is. Anything other than that is a disservice to the television industry. Cleverness achieves many goals in television programming. Like the aristocracy of France wit was a major requirement for its members. The Theatre of the Absurd did not qualify, and there is no reason American television should use it as its model. While delighting in the deformity of its patrons could be considered fraternal, ultimately it will lose its appeal. Spoken poetry over music was common in France. It accomplishes two goals. Poetry alone possesses the ability to move the human heart. Music does also. This marriage of forms packs a formidable punch in its ability to effect the listener. Spoken dialog over music, unless great care is taken, is cacophony. That is the majority of television programming today except in the fewest circumstances. The television jingle once was a mainstay of the advertising industry. It, like the “hook” in a popular music song, has the innate ability to draw a listener in with rhythm. The best television program have rhythm in their dialog, kinesthesia in their actors, and thus a marriage of the two to produce what ultimately is traditional comedy and drama on the stage. If one were to flip through the channels of the television set late at night, there is little delineation between networks because the majority of them are spoken dialog superimposed over computer-generated, stilted, unexpressive music. If the producers would spend the money to hire a live band or orchestra to realize the music, much of this problem could be solved. Without the breath of live music, music should be eliminated completely as an underpinning for commercial dialog. Only the most skilled composer familiar with tension and release, ebb and flow, and organic movement should be allowed to underscore television dialog.