When you love a person, you put that individual's needs above your own needs. I think sacrifice is a big part of it. Sometimes loving a person means telling them "no", as with a child that needs discipline. Sometimes loving a person means saying "goodbye," as with a spouse that no longer loves you and wants to spread his or her wings. Love is not always an easy thing, but it is the best thing that we humans have going for us and it is really our best and only hope. It makes life worth living.
I remember hearing a peace corp volunteer saying how many of the starving children in the country he was working in were more interested in being held and hugged by the aid workers than they were in being fed. They chose love over food.
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Monday, December 3, 2007
What Happened to the Top 40?
I miss the old days when one radio station played everything. You could hear Steppenwolf, Donny Osmond and Johnny Cash all on the same station. Some of it you liked and some you didn't, but you were exposed to the best of each genre of music.
Not anymore.
The consoliation of the radio industry has really hurt originality and input from local stations that now simply broadcast music handed down "from corporate." And it seems like corporate runs like Dunder-Mifflin. As you move about the country, you hear the same formats that you do at home. Decisions are based on surveys and ratings and trying to please everyone. What happens is you end up pleasing no one. Everything is segmented into country, classic rock, rap, contemporary, etc. And within those categories, apparently only about 100 songs deserve airplay. And even the so-called mix stations aren't really much of a mix at all. No more intermingling of rock, pop, soul, country, instrumental, novelty and you-name-it all on one station. Nobody takes a risk anymore. One of the cool things about the Top 40 was that you were exposed to different genres of music and found out that some of it you really liked. Now it's all about making the most amount of money with the least amount of local influence.
Not anymore.
The consoliation of the radio industry has really hurt originality and input from local stations that now simply broadcast music handed down "from corporate." And it seems like corporate runs like Dunder-Mifflin. As you move about the country, you hear the same formats that you do at home. Decisions are based on surveys and ratings and trying to please everyone. What happens is you end up pleasing no one. Everything is segmented into country, classic rock, rap, contemporary, etc. And within those categories, apparently only about 100 songs deserve airplay. And even the so-called mix stations aren't really much of a mix at all. No more intermingling of rock, pop, soul, country, instrumental, novelty and you-name-it all on one station. Nobody takes a risk anymore. One of the cool things about the Top 40 was that you were exposed to different genres of music and found out that some of it you really liked. Now it's all about making the most amount of money with the least amount of local influence.
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