Re: Elevator music
Steve Sando (coconutg@wco.wco.com)
Wed, 13 Sep 1995 08:52:16 +0000
>
> I've read the discussion on "funky easy listening music" with
> interest. There has been a slow but steady hype of this kind of
> music but I didn't expect it to go global.
>
> Did a search at Internet Book Shop while I wrote this and came up
> with the following:
>
> Elevator Music
>
> I'm not saying BUY THIS, but it does cover some neglected music
> styles.
>
There's a line between MUZAK and the space age bachelor pad stuff
discussed and to my ears it's a pretty big one but I can see how it
can sound the same. Using Esquivel as an example, he really sincerely
believed he was doing cutting age strero sound sensations (and I'm
not saying he wasn't, just that his music, despite being corny to
cynical modern ears, was sincere). MUZAK hired orchestras to do hack
versions of then contemporary and classic hits in a muted mellow
relaxing and motic\vating manner. It's a realtively recent thing to
have original versions of hits, brought on by competition like AEI
(who I used to work for, sadly).
The book is probably interesting in its story of MUZAK using music to
motive workers (and disputing the fact) and perhaps Esquivel and his
pals maybe were contracted by Muzak, but elevator music and Space Age
Pop (as it's called this week) are different.
If you're still reading this and like the idea, RCA is releasing
three volumes of it this week and it's a very good compilation,
called Space Age Pop. You know you need to be nervous when it stops
sounding odd and you find yourself just enjoying it!
>
>
Coconut Grove, publishers of MisterLUCKY
PO Box 78146, San Francisco, CA 94107
http://www.wco.com/~coconutg/
"Strange how potent cheap music is" - Noel Coward