Jukebox Jive
I have been thinking about how Jukeboxes informed my early musical taste. Back in the ’70s, when I started frequenting pubs, the Jukebox was ubiquitous. The content tended to reflect the taste of the pub’s patrons. For instance, if you went to a biker’s pub, you would almost certainly find “Born to be Wild” by Steppenwolf, “Freebird” by Lynyrd Skynyrd, and maybe a Deep Purple or Led Zeppelin classic. In those days, it wasn't easy to find rock music on the radio, so a Jukebox was the best place to gain new inspiration. The collective choices of everyone in the pub would effectively become a playlist and contain familiar and unfamiliar music.
A similar process is in place with playlists on your favourite streaming service. Although some are curated and credited to an artist, some are generated according to the last thing you listened to. This tends to come from popular choices others have made after listening to the same thing. A bit like being in a pub with a Jukebox!
Even today, I find new music in this way. Of course, having the artist and title displayed on your streaming device is much more convenient than getting up and walking across a crowded bar (without spilling your beer on someone) to read those details from the machine itself.
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
Take care out there.
Carl
Editor
