The Movie Pass Effect

            I could try to romanticize going to the movies to hide some of the less flattering aspects of it. The smell of old, buttery popcorn and the crunch of stale candy when you walk into the auditorium. The chance that while you’re sitting down, someone who drank way too many sodas earlier has to constantly walk between you and the screen when nature calls. Then of course, a little kid who trots along the isle behind you occasionally screaming “Wakanda forever!” in your ear (I may have experienced this one). There are opportunity costs for going to the movies rather than staying home, but the benefits of top grade sound and visuals can be possibly paired with better pricing in the near future in the form of movie theater subscription plans.

            With movie streaming services like Netflix and Hulu becoming more and more integrated in American culture, the movie theater industry has started to combat these sites with their own subscription plans for customers. One of the most notable and newsworthy companies offering a movie subscription is MoviePass. Opening in 2016, the company offered moviegoers a fantastic value with a monthly fee of $10 to see as many movies as desired. Sounds too good to be true, right? Well, that’s because it was. In July of this year, the company went through a shaky period where it did not have enough cash to pay for subscription holders’ movie theater visits, and it’s bitter sweet because the idea behind MoviePass is great by providing customers with incentives to go back to the movies.

            I don’t plan to talk about the business side of MoviePass; however, do check out the link below to watch a video from the YouTube channel Nerd Writer to learn more about the company’s business model and other financial related information. It’s very insightful and gives this short essay more context. Instead, I want to discuss how the business model behind a subscription plan is a great idea for keeping theaters culturally relevant in 2018.

            First off, I love being able to stream movies on my laptop, home console, and smartphone. The opportunity it’s given me to watch films that I either cannot find elsewhere or making movie viewing affordable to someone with my socioeconomic status is astounding. Those luxuries that I just mentioned, movie theaters have a hard time competing with, but for the type of moviegoer who sees on average two or more films a month like myself, it is likely we’d end up seeing a movie in theaters subscription or no subscription (although a subscription plan is great). However, this demographic makes up a small percentage of consumers.

            The average American sees at the most six movies a year, and theaters want to attract these types of consumers who make up this majority. Getting this section of the market is the great part about subscription-based plans to generate more interest amongst the public because of the price point. Getting customers like these into a theater does obviously means more revenue, but it also continues to keep the act of going to the movies relevant in our culture. I would be happy to see a business model that would make subscriptions work for both consumers and businesses. Other theaters like AMC and Cinemarks have started to adopt this idea, and I hope its popularity continues. People have been going to the movies since the early 1900’s and this trend in the market towards a movie theater subscription would help to continue movie theater relevance.  

             Sources: https://www.statista.com/statistics/264396/frequency-of-going-to-the-movies-in-the-us/

         NerdWriter Vid (also used as source): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w876zZZIb10&t=59s

           

           

           

           

           

           

Covers Done Right: All Along The Watchtower

            When I first started playing music, I never attempted to write my own songs. My lack of music theory and technical playing skill at the age of 8 did not give me a lot to work with. Instead, I practiced those skills by learning other songs written by those more experienced than myself, crazy right? Beginning musicians starting on bass, guitar, piano, or any instrument start with this. However, besides a great learning tool for novice players, covers can be an art of interpretation.

            In a modern context, remixes are a great example of the reimagining of another musician’s song, but the practice of covering a song is not new to popular music. From Johnny Cash’s cover of Nine Inch Nails “Hurt” to Amy Winehouse’s cover of the Zuton’s song “Valerie,” it is surprising how many songs gain fame because of a cover. One of my favorite songs that, surprise, happens to be a cover, is Jimi Hendrix’s version of Bob Dylan’s “All Along the Watchtower.” Hendrix’s version is a what a great cover should be; a reimagining of a song sonically while preserving the character of the original.

            1970’s Electric Ladyland was Jimi Hendrix’s last full-length LP with his band The Experience, and the album includes tracks like “Voodoo Child” and “Burning of the Midnight Lamp” with intricate, experimental production and extended sections where Hendrix’s soloing displays the power of psychedelic rock. Beyond these original tracks, the surprise is that the most focused display of Hendrix’s musicianship is found on “All Along the Watchtower,” a song off of Dylan’s 1967 album John Wesley Harding.

            The song (link below) has a laid-back, minimal production style and includes few instruments in the arrangement. Only an acoustic guitar, drums, bass, harmonica, and vocals help bring to life the song’s story of a Joker and Thief. Dylan sings the song reserved instead letting the harmonica soloing act as intense transitions between each of the three verses. The song is quintessential pre-electric guitar era Dylan and is a classic example of great folk/singer-songwriter material, but what Hendrix does to rework the original is astounding     

            Regardless of the hundreds of times I have pressed play, the intro instills a sense of power with its hard-hitting snare and floor tombs combined with Jimi’s iconic treble guitar tone. These opening 10 seconds sound nothing like Dylan’s version almost as if Hendrix wanted to trick his audience into thinking it’s one of his compositions. It continues with the original harmonica replaced by a melodic guitar line that cuts through the rhythm section commanding attention. Then the first verse hits with Jimi singing, “There must be some kind of way out of here said the joker to the thief” as he accentuates guitar parts to emphasize each line in the verse. Suddenly, the ending of the first verse is met with a soloing section that gives way to one of Hendrix’s biggest strengths, improvisation.

            There are many parts of this song that could be discussed at length, but I wanted to focus on the solo because Hendrix does something uncanny; He changes his guitar tone and playing style three separate times. As he sings, “so let us not talk falsely now. The hour’s getting late,” the solo that precedes acts as the sonic answer to what happened to the Joker and the Thief. The solo begins with the same lead guitar tone we have heard in the intro and solo, but something is different. Treating his guitar as rising action in the song’s story, Jimi’s solo climbs as if the characters are traveling to a towering mountain when at the last moment of tension, there is a change to a psychedelic, dreamlike, plateau of tone.

            Listening to this part of the solo with headphones, the euphoric sound weaves between the left and right earbud as if two guitars are simultaneously playing next to each ear. Even in the mix of instruments, everything is pulled back and distanced to add to the ambience. For me, anytime during this section of the solo, I visualize myself floating in deep space where each pluck of the guitar is transmitted as green, purple, and yellow sound waves bouncing off of one another and myself. This space like effect was produced using a wah pedal that Hendrix was famous for throughout his career, and it’s used as an excellent transition to the final section of the solo with its harsh contrast.

            Up till this point, Hendrix’s improvisation in the solo has been used to great effect with crafting the cover, and to finish it off, he goes for quite a climax. He changes to a dry treble tone, and as he does, the rhythm section starts to creep up with the bass and rhythm guitar becoming hotter in the mix and drummer Mitch Mitchell hitting the crash cymbals harsher. As the rhythm mix gradually gets louder, Hendrix resorts to fast plucking and even palm muting the strings eventually leading his solo to change dynamically by playing farther up his Fender Stratocaster’s fret board. This equates to an explosion of playing from every member of the band, and the solo finishes with Hendrix singing the last verse, but this time with more vocal power than before.

            Jimi Hendrix’s version of “All Along the Watchtower” is a cover song that can be used as a creative model for anyone who plays covers or remixes songs. Even as I am writing this and listening to the Hendrix’s version, trying to describe to my best ability the intricacies of the track, I can’t help but still try to figure out how he rethought a song like that. It is certainly something to aspire to.

Let me know your favorite cover or remix in the comments! 

           Sources: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCLxV1JdHlM           

Jimi's Version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLV4_xaYynY