FENDER AND THE BARNUM PHILOSOPHY

jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Mon Sep 18, 2006 4:00 pm

Frank Herbert's Dune (trilogy?) is a brilliant metaphor--the first book, written in the '60s; what visionary stuff!--for the oil situation/power struggle that we now find ourselves engaged in.

You haven't read good mysteries until you've read the Morse and Lovejoy series. Really special stuff, both of which have been turned into downright excellent TV stuff.

winston · Post by **winston** » Mon Sep 18, 2006 6:34 pm

I Agree with the comments about Frank Herbert.

Here is one of his brilliant quotes:

"Show me a completely smooth operation and I'll show you someone who's covering mistakes. Real boats rock."

Chapterhouse Dune

johnallg · Post by **johnallg** » Mon Sep 18, 2006 7:21 pm

This one will get me crucified!

"Safaris Through ancestral memories teach me many things. The
patterns, ahhh, the patterns. Liberal bigots are the ones who trouble
me most. I distrust the extremes. Scratch a conservative and you
find someone who prefers the past over any future. Scratch a liberal
and find a closet aristocrat. It's true! Liberal governments always
develop into aristocracies. The bureaucracies betray the true intent
of people who form such governments. Right from the first, the
'little people' who formed the governments which promised to equalize
the social burdens found themselves suddenly in the hands of
bureaucratic aristocracies. Of course, all bureaucracies follow this
pattern, but what a hypocrisy to find this even under a communized
banner. Ahhh, well, if patterns teach me anything it's that patterns
are repeated. My oppressions, by and large, are no worse than any of
the others and, at least, I teach a new lesson."
-THE STOLEN JOURNALS

(from "God Emperor of Dune" by Frank Herbert 1981 p. 160 - Book 4 of
the 6 works in the series)

And the Dune series was what, six books? And then his son Brian along with Keven Anderson have added the prequels that Frank sketched out but couldn't finish, for obvious reasons.

wayang · Post by **wayang** » Wed Sep 20, 2006 9:03 pm

Philip K. Dick, Harlan Ellison, Samuel Delaney, Thomas Pynchon, Robert Silverberg, Alice Sheldon...these (among others) are my philosophical gurus...

And Hunter Thompson was my weapons instructor...

For the record, there has never been a truly 'liberal' government in the history of our species. 'Conservative'? Oh, yes...we've had quite a few of those...

jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Thu Sep 21, 2006 4:10 am

Philip K. Dick was the author of the very first SF short story I ever read. It was an excerpt from "The Simulacra"; a puppet government is in Washington and people are kept fat, happy, and content with television nonsense beamed into every home.

My first musical group was named after a character in the book: The Papoolas. Good friend and fellow band member Gus, in 2003, sent me a copy of my drawing of the Papoola which I did for our drum head. 1964.

Seems to me that a "truly liberal government" could possibly be an oxymoron.

jamie · Post by **jamie** » Fri Sep 22, 2006 9:39 am

Wow, great thread and I can't believe I read the whole thing! Great points and observations. I'd like to add a couple of my own personal ramblings.

I was wondering just how many different version Fender had of the Strat. Mind boggling. I still have my '72 Fender Catalogue with just one Strat listed! Oh the old days.

You may know from a previous thread here that Paul did a beautiful job doing a top refin on my LP. There was a fair percentage of LP enthusiasts that thought it was sacriligious to do the refin with comments such as I should just sell it and buy another one in the color I want. Other comments were that it will hurt re-sale don't touch it.

I see a lot of these same people doing the aging things on their high end LP's that looks like someone went at it with a set of car keys which just makes me cringe.

However, I dig the look of some old beat up guitars (and I own a few) but won't be buying an artificially aged one. Is this just a Baby Boomer fad that will be looked back on and laughed at?

jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Fri Sep 22, 2006 10:33 am

Depends upon just how long we continue, as a culture, to hold the "price of [our] toys" above intrinsic value.

lyle_from_minneapolis · Wed Nov 22, 2006 10:32 pm

It all boils down to the fact that you can't buy Cool.

jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Thu Nov 23, 2006 7:16 am

Fender--and a lot of its customers--think that you can...

The bigger Question seems to be: how important is Cool? (Do you get More Cool for a Higher Price?)

kenposurf · Post by **kenposurf** » Thu Nov 23, 2006 7:52 am

I think it works both ways and cost is not always the factor. Just because any consumer item is way over priced does not mean it's cool or it's not..it just costs too much. Same thing at the other end of the food chain. About 10 years ago I gave my son my late 60's Les Paul Standard...cool guitar then..cool guitar now...when I gave it to him it was worth about a grand or so...now it's worth about $15,000...way too much for what it is but the axe is still cool! I agree that Fender has taken the concept of overpriced guitars to the limit.