Posts tagged history

Michael Jackson’s Thriller Turns 30

Billboard has an interesting history about the November 30, 1982 release of Thriller. In it, we learn of technology disruption (FM was replacing AM radio) and the audience fragmentation that occurred because of it.

We also learn about CBS Records’ concern over the album’s potential success:

Since the start of the [80s], black music had been increasingly banished from most white-targeted radio stations. This was partially due the virulent, reactionary anti-disco backlash that resulted in the implosion of that genre at the end of 1979. As the 80’s dawned, programmers increasingly stayed clear of rhythm-driven black music out of fear of being branded “disco,” even when the black music in question bore little resemblance to disco. This backlash was greatly magnified by the demise of AM mass appeal Top 40 radio at the hands of FM, which led to black artists being ghettoized on urban contemporary radio, while disappearing from pop radio, which focused on a more narrow white audience.

How dramatic was the decline of black music on the pop charts in that period? In 1979, nearly half of the songs on the weekly Billboard Hot 100 pop chart could also be found on the urban contemporary chart. By 1982, the amount of black music on the Hot 100 was down by almost 80%.

Also, and notably, MTV had just launched. But the music videos the station played were very white as it followed the playlists occurring on the FM charts. They too were very hesitant to give Jackson airtime.

[MTV executives at the time] concede that the channel initially assumed it would not play the video, as its thumping beat and urban production did not fit the channel’s “rock” image. They contend however that in mid-February, after seeing the clip—which was possibly the best that had ever come across their desks—they began to re-think things.

Good thing they did.

Billboard, Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’ at 30: How One Album Changed the World.

The WITCH is Back

The 61-year-old Harwell Dekatron (aka, WITCH) computer was rebooted earlier this month by England’s National Museum of Computing. The museum claims it’s “the world’s oldest original working digital computer.”

Via the BBC:

Design and construction work on the machine began in 1949 and it was built to aid scientists working at the UK’s Atomic Energy Research Establishment at Harwell in Oxfordshire. The 2.5 tonne machine was created to ease the burden on scientists by doing electronically the calculations that previously were done using adding machines.

The machine cranked through the boring calculations atomic scientists once had to do The machine first ran in 1951 and was known as the Harwell Dekatron - so named for the valves it used as a memory store. Although slow - the machine took up to 10 seconds to multiply two numbers - it proved very reliable and often cranked up 80 hours of running time in a week.

FJP: 61 years from a 2.5 ton machine that takes ten seconds to multiply two numbers to ever aware smartphones in our pockets? Not bad.

For more old-timey tech, see our Jurassic Technology tag.

theatlanticvideo:

The Making of a Radio Empire: A Fascinating Tour of NBC in the 1940s

Before television took over the airwaves, Rockefeller Center was home to the National Broadcasting Company during the golden age of radio. This promotional film from around 1948 chronicles the rise of the media company from a small collection of 20 affiliated stations, formed in 1926, to more than 170 stations two decades later. The 24-minute documentary, courtesy of the Prelinger Archive, introduces the network and goes behind the scenes at Rockefeller Center, peeking into the mail room, sound recording studios, and music library.

FJP: This is nice excuse to nerd out for 24 minutes and get your history on. We highly recommend exploring the archives too.