Thursday, January 12, 2017

Throwback Thursday: Background Music and the Soundtrack Phenomenon

"The problem with reality is that there’s no background music, so you don’t know whether you’re experiencing a comedy, suspense or a tragedy." ~ Unknown

I don't know about you, but a lot of times when I'm walking or driving in my car, or doing whatever, there is music playing in my heart, or head or wherever those tunes are coming from. Often it is upbeat and it makes me feel upbeat. Other times it puts a rhythm in my step.

But wouldn't it be funny if the soundtrack were on the outside? You walk into a room and the mood changes because the music is David Grusin's theme from Tootsie. Following you wherever you go.

Or what if the music changed from cheerful to ominous while you were heading up the stairs to your office, but you did not know it... You're still humming a happy tune, but the soundtrack has shifted to discordant, edgy.

Actually, music tracks are a strange notion sometimes. It is funny how we have learned to just accept them in movies, though even the best music can't save a bad film. An even stranger thing for me, however, is the laugh track on television sitcoms.

Wouldn't that be funny if when you said "Good morning!" to the clerk at the checkout counter a laugh track started playing?

ON ANOTHER TOPIC
It's interesting how we take things for granted as if what we are experiencing has always been this way. When it comes to things Internet, it's a relatively short history, so if you wish to go back and time it's not that difficult to get there. Here is a link to a story in the tech section of the Telegraph about how 20 popular websites looked when they first launched.

We've come a long ways, baby.

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