Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Good riddance to bad rubbish


Can you believe we're reaching the end of the Noughties?

What will they be known for? The X Factor, Heat magazine, the celebrity explosion, 9/11, the London bombings, Darfur, Obama, broken Britain, Big Brother, identity fraud, Harry Potter, bad manners (not the Lip Up Fatty hitmakers), the collapse of society and the digital/internet revolution.

And musically? Er...you might have to help me out here. Coldplay, dreadful identikit Hip Hop, talent show dross and landfill indie is all I can offer you.

They've not been up to much have they? What will the next decade bring? And what will we call it?

Perhaps if I'd not been around in the Seventies and Eighties and now had been my formative years, I might think it was great. Some bits are useful - itunes, mobile phones, blogging, more choice in everything; remember when the only yoghurt you could get was Ski. Now there's a whole aisle devoted to it. It's hard to keep up.

I was only saying yesterday to Mrs F-C that technology moves on at such a pace I'm exhausted just thinking about it. Twitter, Spotify, blah, blah, blah - how does one find the time for all these innovations?

Sometimes I curse the internet. It's killing off newspapers, magazines, the record shop, TV - all things I hold dear. It's invasive, bullying, omnipresent - and incredibly useful. But at what cost? And what's the next big technological advance that we'll all struggle with? Although it would be appalling to living a Surviors-type world, in some ways it would be great (if we were all healthy of course, and there was electricity and running water and sanitation). Quiet, uncomplicated times.

Perhaps I'm showing my age, but more and more I yearn for a more simple existence.

18 comments:

Mondo said...

The digital revolution would have to be near the top of the list - it's impacted on almost every area of life - music, TV, radio, shopping, social networking (although cinema seems to have been unaffected). Along with something for free - albums, films, papers..

Musically we're almost back to pre-Beatles sixties, puppet performers knocking out pre-written hits and standards, or new bands aping old ideas as the Next Big Thing. I know dreary dross isn't exclusively new , (Showaddywaddy, Brotherhood of Man ) - but there seemed to be a balance of quality in the past.

Also experiencing 'the moment' has ben dented by distractions - apart from cinema or books - gigs, days out/off are peppered with checking the texts, emails or fiddling about with the MP3 player or somesuch

Kolley Kibber said...

It's definitely been more about the technology than anything else (apart from the extinction of common courtesy, which seems to affect my daily life almost as much.).

Music has entered a particularly dire phase, and I've stopped feeling bad about how much old stuff I listen to now, as the new is generally offensively dull. I'll also remember it as the decade cocaine really moved into mainstream use, thereby putting me through some of the most terrible evenings out, with some of the most boring self-aggrandising people I've ever met.

Not a decade I'll remember fondly. There used to be an old song about Things only Getting Better, didn't there?

Anonymous said...

Ten years I thought I was glad to see the back of the 90s...

Ah well, it's not been so bad, has it? I have a saying regarding the decade: The Noughties were like the Nineties, only more so.

I think this has been the decade which youth and youth markets have dominated more than any other time since the 1960s. You might think that has always been the case. But to me the 90s were about 20/30 something lad culture whereas this decade has been about teenagers again, from chavs to nu-goths and of course the identikit indie 'types'. Its reflected in the pop stars of the era; a significant shade younger than in the pervious decade.

The 00s were a better (if turbulent) time for Televison than the 90s, which was shite. More choice and an emphasis on high concept programmes such as the return of Dr Who. Also chuck in the US imports where applicable. One could plot a decent evenings entertainment through films, sport, documentaries and drama/comedy through the channels and that certainly wasn't the case in the 90s.

Films have been rubbish though (Argue all you like Empire readers!)...

Overall for me the decade's disappointments were personal and political so once again I'll be glad to see the back of the Noughties and the cycle ends...

Cocktails said...

I've been wondering whether so much change over the past few decades has made us more oblivious to it. I mean, when people first saw washing machines, cinema, the internet etc. they were probably really excited, if not a little apprehensive. Now we just expect computer processors to go faster and faster, and for technology to get more and more wizzy and more and more affordable. It's like it's our birthright.

Jon Peake said...

Interesting that none of us will be sad to see the back of the 00s. I know I won't.

I agree with you Anon, that it's all about the kids in every aspect of life, but I think people might be coming round to the fact that kids don't have much money, so let's aim at those who do.

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