Imaging: Get Out Of The Eighties

If I hear one more imaging piece start with a grating sound effect, I'm gonna scream.

The other day, I heard three pieces -- in the predictable "every other song" positions -- start with what sounded like an electric guitar cable being plugged into an amp that was already turned on (to "11"). Song ends, irritating honking noise starts a little "look how wonderful we are" imaging piece, then the next song (mercifully) begins.

The constant use of sound effects to start imaging pieces is so 1980s. What people forget is that the video game sound effects that came into vogue through Star Wars were about the mechanical elements of those movies ('droids, light sabers, space craft). It was John Williams' Academy Award-winning music that created the emotion and most of the impact. Indeed, most people who hear something from the Star Wars soundtrack can remember the action of that specific scene just by the music alone!

It seems like we're doing everything we can to make people turn the radio off these days. Look, I don't see a lot of people putting many sound effects into their iPods.

And you're not going to see a lot of listeners embracing anything that makes it seem like there's a toll to pay before they can hear another song.