Comments on: Don Quixote’s Thought for the Day: “Radio friendly” politics

By: suek

suek — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 18:54:51 +0000

So why the reliance on the forbidden “7 words”? Anger? shock value? preoccupation of the 4 year old with “poopy poopy poopy”? They’ve just discovered sex?

I’ve never understood why a term which is supposed to be descriptive of a good thing is used with such anger to indicate an intent of doing harm to someone. Males spend their whole lives convincing women to do that with them which they then use as a term of conquest. Is this the only way to express the male dominance that feminism attempts to take away??

I don’t understand.

By: BrianE

BrianE — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 16:53:01 +0000

I agree with the theme of this post that we need to find ways to tell why conservative ideas are good without talking down.

Mike D is on to something. Storytelling. Making an idea real.

As to radio friendly, I assume he means the vast genre of music that can’t be played on the radio. Go into Hastings and look at the number of albums that have parental advisory or explicit on the cover.

Music with overwhelming bass line, very distorted guitar and lots of screaming, filled with anger, anarchism and despair, and a liberal dose of the F word.

Here’s a popular group Korn. Go to the link if you want to listen to snippets of their songs.

http://www.ilike.com/artist/Korn/most_played_songs

By: Don Quixote

Don Quixote — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 16:07:44 +0000

I had to laugh, kali, but you are so right! You must be one of those deep, subtle thinkers. Suek, it's a great question. First and foremost, radio-friendly means it doesn't contain the 7 words you can't say on radio. After that, it just means, or at least meant when the term originated, music that lots of people will want to listen to. It helps if it has a catchy chorus that you find yourself humming in the shower the next day. It helps if, as the kids on Bandstand used to say, "It has a good beat and it's easy to dance to." But, mostly, it has to appeal to a large number of people. Radio was (and I suppose still is) an intensely competitive business, hence the payola scandals. Radio-friendly merely meant the radio stations would play it, and, payola aside, they'd only play it if they thought lots of people would want to hear it.

By: kali

kali — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 15:03:16 +0000

I suspect “radio-friendly” just means accessible, which is anathema to the intellectual and the hip. After all, if many people enjoy your music, understand your nuanced politics, share your sophisticated values, how do you stand out as a deep, subtle thinker?

It’s always been my explanation why some people like jazz . . .

By: Mike Devx

Mike Devx — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 08:00:29 +0000

For those unfamiliar with the story,this link has some of the information.

http://www.sodahead.com/united-states/william-bradford-and-the-real-thanksgiving-story/blog-191323/

It doesn’t have all of the relevant entries in William Bradford’s diary, but it does have the key one:

“The experience that we had in this common course and condition, tried sundry years…that by taking away property, and bringing community into a common wealth, would make them happy and flourishing…as if they were wiser than God. For this community was found to breed much confusion and discontent, and retard much employment that would have been to their benefit and comfort. For young men that were most able and fit for labor and service did repine that they should spend their time and strength to work for other mens’ wives and children without any recompense…that was thought injustice. [...] This had very good success for it made all hands industrious, so as much more corn was planted than otherwise would have been.”

By: Ymarsakar

Ymarsakar — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 07:56:59 +0000

After all, if we don’t think they are smart enough to make good choices with their entertainment dollars, how can we possibly put much faith in their political choices?

Who in the frozen circles of hades are you talking about with this ‘we’. I don’t know many people here who would give a damn about what people spent their entertainment dollars on. But maybe I’m wrong, so go ahead and correct me.

By: Mike Devx

Mike Devx — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 07:53:29 +0000

So, what would “radio friendly politics” be, then?

Is it to frame our arguments towards “Middle America”, the 30% or so of Independents who are swayable? Or to be relevant towards the younger, aged, say 18-25?

Do we urge them to adopt conservatism? Or do we urge them to get out there and vote for the GOP; hard for me to do when I can’t muster up much enthusiasm myself for many in Congress in the GOP. ”At least our scoundrels and wimps are better than their scoundrels and wimps?”

Either way I think you want to tell stories, not just pontificate on principles. Start with the concrete, move to the abstract if you detect your audience is receptive to it. Jesus usually spoke in parables. Reagan had his “Welfare Queen” story and I guess innumerable others.

I’d love to master the telling of the Thanksgiving Story, concerning Governor Bradford and the early colony that tried socialism for two years – communal farming, everyone producing to the best of their ability, everyone being fed from the communal harvest based on their needs – only to fall to the very edge of starvation before abandoning the disastrous experiment. Then within one year of instituting personal and family harvests, with only the leftover being available for trade, and the indolent left to their own devices. Bountiful harvests and productivity and thriftiness, and the gathering after the harvest to celebrate their great good fortune.

By: Ymarsakar

Ymarsakar — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 07:40:48 +0000

as has been pointed out here recently, the vocal advocates on either side of the aisle are not likely to convince many of the advocates on the other side. It’s the good people of America we have to persuade.

Moral equivalence won’t convince good people of anything except that your position is weak. The Left has gained great strides in changing the perspective of entire generations of Americans because they have a clear cut definition of what is good and what is evil. You’re not gong to convince people of anything with words on itself.

Something as small as fanaticism or true belief will convince, where words themselves would have failed. Because it demonstrates strength, however limited it may be, to those that have not yet found what they sought.

The good people of America will believe the same things that they believed about the Iraq war, from both sides of the equation. It’s only happenstance that one side happens be the good side. If both sides were evil, then people would just believe nothing but what evil has wrought. And call it good.

By: Gringo

Gringo — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 06:04:40 +0000

If I knew what DQ’s son liked in music, I would have a better idea of how to react. While most teens of a certain era all listened to Top 40 radio, these days the choices in music are much variable. Musical consensus has fragmented. Fro example: many if not most people under 25 are aware and like a musical group from 40 years ago, a.k.a. The Beatles. When I was a teen, anyone who would listen to music of our parents’ generation would have been laughed at.

The consensus of radio music is gone, whether it was Bob Wills playing live on the radio in the 1930s, or Top 40 or “Progressive” FM in later eras.

I no longer listen to the radio, so my interpretation of “radio music” is what was previously on radio, a.k.a. radiddio. I used to listen to a college station and a classical. I now have all the music I need in cheapo CDs @ $2, many box sets. Or YouTube. People who listen to the radio have also been known to put down the musical taste of those who do not: recall the phrase “long-hair music” from before the Beatles era. It works both ways. People will listen to what they listen to, radio music or not. Some put down others, others do not put down others.

In recent years, my taste is for the divine harmonies of choral music. Schutz, Monteverdi, and even doo-wop, for example. Satchmo, too, for no one got the sound out of a trumpet that he did.

From Bolivia: Savia Andina. Porque estas Triste ? (Why are you sad?) .Golden oldie, at least in the altiplano.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIIPWcu2PcA

By: Mike Devx

Mike Devx — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 05:50:24 +0000

I hope you all will forgive me, but when Joe Biden and Obama were campaigning in Virginia, and the message of the day was “We’re just like all you regular folk”, so they stopped at Ray’s Burgers, and Obama ordered a regular ol’ burger, man, with lettuce, tomato and cheese. And requested his Spicy Dijon Mustard. ”Got any Grey Poupon?”

Yeah, I’m being a reverse snob, just like with my comments about Obama’s attempt to connect with your average voter over the dismaying cost of groceries: “Have you seen the price of arugula lately?”

It’s not that he likes arugula and Dijon mustard. It’s that he thinks those are the ways to connect with your bitter clingers.