Back From The Dead For One Night Only

The ghoulish aspects of popular culture are evident in ventures like the latest Jimi Hendrix CD, People, Hell and Angels, which hit the charts this month. I remember some hushed rumors right after his death that hundreds of hours of Hendrix tapes existed that would be gradually released, but wouldn't that be the case with any electronic entertainer, since performances are now - and have been for the past 100 years or so -  recorded and archived. Twenty first century technology is also breathing new life into old content, with colorization and hi def and digitization

Think of the implications - vaults chock full of unreleased stuff from the Beatles to the Stones all the way back down to Elvis, Chuck Berry and Hank Williams. This is a boon for the recording industry - no troublesome artists to appease, no radio music directors to schmooze and cajole into "breaking" a new artist, no expensive tour schedule to expose new bands,just recycling the proven hitmakers and counting the profits. Although "live" shows are difficult with dead artists, holographic tours are a distinct possibility. It's "Rock n Roll Heaven" on earth - for example, you could create your own favorite cyber line-up - Elvis, The Beatles, The Stones, The Who, Pink Floyd - and experience it in the comfort of your own audio/visual cave without having to go through a metal detector, find someone sitting in your seat which cost a c note and is still several thousand feet in elevation from the stage, or have someone you've never seen before simply pass out on you as I did during a memorable J Geils extravaganza at the Garden. 

The implications for popular culture are a bit different. Recycled TV series featuring long dead celebrities are coming back to life thanks to cable, computerized images of icons from John Wayne to Chris Farley still plug products from beyond the grave (Their relatives can collect fees up until 50 years after the celeb's demise, at least in California), and the recording industry strategically releases legendary artist trax. These are the true zombies of the mass media - forget The Walking Dead. What if so-called talent simply gets swallowed up by re-makes and re-runs digitally enhanced so you can re-experience the experience?

Naturally, the chances are that the music conglomerates will continue to invest in "brands" - the soulful female chanteuse, the wailing rocker, the straightforward hillbilly. Hopefully the day won't come when the cost of marketing and promotion  begins to outweigh investing in unproven artists, but the plethora of technological enhancements can seemingly bring back the digitally enhanced dead to compete with the living not just one night only but any night you choose.