“Do you know what grinds my gears?” If you are familiar with the TV show ‘Family Guy’, you’ll know what I’m talking about. Hosted by Peter Griffin, this segment was about a fictional news caster who is about to be fired. The news caster rants about ‘how life sucks’ causing the program ratings to skyrocket. It went viral in the internet meme world because the images made people laugh about the trivial yet irritating things in everyday life.Well, some folks also call them the First World Problems.
Like other irksome things – including Whatsapp forwards, Candy Crush requests and telecallers from Phokat Mahindra Bank, we now have advertisements on YouTube. Most YouTube videos begin with an advertisement that can’t be skipped. If I really had to watch advertisements, why would I watch YouTube?
What really got me writing this rant is the FM Radio. To maintain my sanity, I rely on my AUX cable while driving. But when I forget the AUX cable, which is quite often, FM radio is my savior. Not many moons ago, radio was almost 70% music, 15% ads and 15% jockey blabber. Which seems like a dream because now it is something along the lines of 20% music, 35% ads, 35% jockey blabber, and 10% people calling in to share the traffic woes. Which is absolutely insane! And I’m not even addressing the relevance of radio stations asking people to call and talk about the traffic while driving. More so, when the cops are waiting to pounce on anyone using a mobile while driving.
So, when I don’t get a song on one channel, I obviously keep switching channels in search of a decent song. But all I get is advertisements along with blabber. And by the time I’ve made my third rotation to get a song, it turns out to be the same song I heard on the previous channel.
So, when I don’t get a song on one channel, I obviously keep switching channels in search of a decent song. But all I get is advertisements along with blabber. And by the time I’ve made my third rotation to get a song, it turns out to be the same song I heard on the previous channel.
Switch on a radio channel, and chances are that John Abraham wants you to buy your dream house hundred kilometers away from Raj Nagar Extension. Who wants clean water when your kid can enroll in the MS Dhoni cricket academy? And who wants electricity when you can live peacefully next to a car racing track.Then we have " Haan mein Arvind Kejriwal bol raha hoon...." telling me for the nth time that his quitting the Delhi govt was akin to Lal Bahadur Shastri's stepping down as the Railway Minister. Seriously, is there any comparison?
The commercialization of the things that were sacrosanct has now reached a point where you don’t know where to look for unadulterated entertainment. In times of cold arithmetic, even hospitals have jumped the bandwagon - “Attack the Attack with Fortis” says my radio.
The commercialization of the things that were sacrosanct has now reached a point where you don’t know where to look for unadulterated entertainment. In times of cold arithmetic, even hospitals have jumped the bandwagon - “Attack the Attack with Fortis” says my radio.
I wouldn’t be surprised if I get to hear, “Come, make your future with IIT Tirupati.” Or, “IIM Odisha creates history. Remains No 1 on all parameters.” Quite possible, now that IIPM is not in the race.
(This rant is penned by GG, a young Arsenal fan who drives to work.)
(This rant is penned by GG, a young Arsenal fan who drives to work.)
hahah! this post cracked me up!!! you are right, i have stopped listening to FM only b'coz of non stop ads and of course, insane jockey blabber. Even 1/2 hr TV soaps are filled with 10-12 minutes of adv only. Every thing incl. entertainment is adulterated and commercialization has reached intolerable levels. A very relevant post.
ReplyDeleteGood to see you here Ankita.
DeleteI so know this. Even some of my erstwhile favorite magazines are not five pages of content and 30 pages of advertisement. There is such a dearth of solid content in any media form...it is all like a pack of Lays now. Just a few shapeless chips and air.
ReplyDeleteI don't listen to the radio but those ads on YouTube are so irritating.
DeleteThe FM situation has truly gone down the drains. I have stopped listening to it unless I am in a mood to listen to the overexcited jockey.
ReplyDeleteUnadulterated entertainment is a thing of the past.
True. :)
DeleteI am selective about the songs I want to listen. But to discover new songs, I occasionally listen to FM. These days, that's becoming less, thanks to RJ chatter and ads. What could be a great platform to discover great songs is losing its focus. That makes me think if I'd prefer a channel that charges the listeners (monthly subscription, etc.) and does away with ads. Also, I want a weekly top 20 songs listing like the Superhit Muqabla program we had on DD earlier, so that we can listen to new songs.
ReplyDeleteDestination Infinity
Monthly subscription is a good idea to get rid of RJ blabber.
Deletehaha ending punch lines are quite possible, yep I keep surfing the channels too but no Luck . Thats why I never part from AUX cable. But even there we fight for our choice of songs : P
ReplyDeleteLOL
good one
:) You travel together? Same office?
DeleteDespite so many of us complaining, the funny thing is that these adverts have takers. If not they would have been binned ages ago. On a separate note, the adverts before videos on YouTube are a seriously buzz kill.
ReplyDeleteAlso the ones that move along the cursor. I hate the one on FirstPost.com
DeleteYes, Youtube is so annoying with those scrollers and ads at the beginning of the video. FM is such a nuisance even more so in Bangalore where we have only two channels that play Hindi songs. There is one FM channel which even uses the punchline, "Aath superhit gaane chipak ke." So they are actually using this entire thing of ad and RJ blabber-less music as USP. Ingenious! On TV, these days, I prefer to watch recorded progs so that I can FF the ads. Jai ho Tata Sky Plus. A fun post this, Alka.
ReplyDeleteHa ha.."Aath superhit gaane chipak ke.'
DeleteCrass commercialization has ruined the TV / FM Radio and even the You Tube! The only solace is to hear some old collections when I get time to maintain sanity if I have to choose to listen to music! Well penned Alka!
ReplyDeleteRahul, this was penned by my son. :)
DeleteHe is following the footsteps of an illustrious mother, Alka! Sorry I missed the last line:)
DeleteNo issue Rahul. Thank you for reading.
DeleteOhhh...now I get it....while I was reading the post, I was wondering...eh toh Alka ka style nahi hi....And I so agree...some of the radio ads are so annoying...there is an ad I hear every day. The parents buy a new home with everything you want and the kid says, you are best parents in the world. And baap bolta hai, no it happened because of so and so XXXXX mortage broker. My foot! Who is going to pay the mortgage every month? And you tube....yes, it is getting painful.
ReplyDeleteHope you had a great Diwali Prudhvi. And good to know that you recognize my style of writing. Over the years we develop a style, though unconsciously.
DeleteSo,what do we watch or listen to? Its terrible,miserable.
ReplyDeleteI wonder as to who pays hundreds of Crores to shows like KBC as sponsorship? Watch any news channel,it has little cuts pasted as Ads on each corner of the screen.
But,do we have a choice?
Sadly no. Those ads that scroll down along the website are the most irritating.
DeleteGuess, it's all bout the ads and TRPs...to make things work. I know it can be irritating for us, poor listeners wanting music and not ads:)
ReplyDeleteWell well well...isn't that the kind of "progress" we all wanted or made to want by the champions of free markets. Or at least we were told that this kind of progress will be good for us! Not that I am socialist or anything but I do feel that when a society chooses a certain model of development the bad comes with the good. It is inevitable. And when we signed up for a liberal open economic development model the crass and crude commercialism was bound to come. No escaping that other than individually getting out of the game and shutting the TV or radio off. Everything is up for sale now and newer and newer ways to sell are being devised every single day! Welcome to the first world!
ReplyDeleteGood, fun writeup about a first - world problem :)
you know , what grinds my gears
ReplyDeletewhen there are so many online traders
and you are still offline
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