It is strange how much 'how-to' advice there is on the internet for travelers. But genuinely useful advice is not to be found. Take laundromats. Any beginner may be displeased by the cost of doing laundry. Here's my advice: don't be too cheap. Do yourself a big favor, go to a laundromat with an attendant on duty, and pay a little more. Otherwise the place is a dump.
I was at one of America's premier laundromats the other day. I look forward to it, once or twice a year. But I had to ruin it by being greedy. The music that was playing seemed strange. It was a local station, playing what goes for "country" music, these days.
The good news is that it wasn't the ugliest music that there is. But I wondered how the music racket works these days. It's as if music has become an 'autonomous vehicle' for the ears and the soul.
The "country" music sounded like elevator-rock with sappy lyrics, pronounced in a 'before the Great Vowel Shift in the English language' accent. It was so mechanical. Do they even use real live musicians these days, or is the accompanist band just a computer program? Pound, pound, thumpah, thumpah...
The lyrics seem so manufactured. I could easily see a computer program sifting through Facebook conversations to find out what topics or situations are of interest to the average consumer, and then 'writing' some lyrics that reflect that. Then you add in the pounding beat from a computer database, and voila!, you've got a new hit.
I can't help but contrast that to, say, Willie Nelson writing "Crazy", and some musical arranger convincing Patsy Cline to sing it real slow. I wonder what the history of that was, and how and when the Muse affected him. But what does it matter? It's obsolete.
I was at one of America's premier laundromats the other day. I look forward to it, once or twice a year. But I had to ruin it by being greedy. The music that was playing seemed strange. It was a local station, playing what goes for "country" music, these days.
The good news is that it wasn't the ugliest music that there is. But I wondered how the music racket works these days. It's as if music has become an 'autonomous vehicle' for the ears and the soul.
The "country" music sounded like elevator-rock with sappy lyrics, pronounced in a 'before the Great Vowel Shift in the English language' accent. It was so mechanical. Do they even use real live musicians these days, or is the accompanist band just a computer program? Pound, pound, thumpah, thumpah...
The lyrics seem so manufactured. I could easily see a computer program sifting through Facebook conversations to find out what topics or situations are of interest to the average consumer, and then 'writing' some lyrics that reflect that. Then you add in the pounding beat from a computer database, and voila!, you've got a new hit.
I can't help but contrast that to, say, Willie Nelson writing "Crazy", and some musical arranger convincing Patsy Cline to sing it real slow. I wonder what the history of that was, and how and when the Muse affected him. But what does it matter? It's obsolete.
Comments
Sage advice! I found one of those here in Sierra Vista and so glad that I decided to go to it rather than fight for a washer and dryer here in the RV Park. Most Parks do not have enough washers and dryers to accommodate their number of RV spaces.
I found one in Yuma also which means I will have had good laundromat service for the past 6 months.
Chris