This is going to be a tough question, and no one would ever want to have to make a choice, but if forced to would you rather give up TV or music.

I absolutely love music and couldn't imagine my life without it, but I also love sports, great TV Shows etc. I know I'd be more productive if I gave up TV, but I also love lounging around and watching an episode of Extras. Really tough call, but if finally pushed I think I'd live without TV. How about you......

TV goes easy. I only ever watch live sports, and that only occasionally. I listen to music every day, for several hours. No competition for me.

I do enjoy television, but it could easily go in favor of music.

By far music is the winner. I've lived for a couple years without T.V. and well, I did get my homework done on time .

A harder question:

Computer or Television?

I'd choose computer and music over tv in a second.

quote:

Originally posted by in limbo:
TV goes easy. I only ever watch live sports, and that only occasionally. I listen to music every day, for several hours. No competition for me.

i'm like you, i only watch tv for sports but listen to hours of music per day. so the tv goes without hesitation.

ditto for comp vs. tv: tv goes out the window.
now, comp vs. music, now that's harder for me and i'm glad i don't have to choose....which i won't here

I didn't own a TV for 10 years. My girlfriend's parents got fed up with our apparent 'techno-fear' and got us one last Christmas. It's not very good is it?

TV means very little to me. It just tells me what I should buy or what to think. Interestingly, when you don't own a TV you notice large sections of society behaving in tandem for no apparent reason. They start gardening or dieting at the same times of year and they buy a lot of strange things.

You also notice uniform opinions a lot more. Because you're not being bombarded with the same information, you don't have a clue what's going on. It can be quite eerie. Try it sometime (if you haven't already).

I digress...

When I don't have TV I feel enlightened. When I don't have music I get annoyed. Music is less dominating and I get to choose the contents of my stereo. It wins every time.

quote:

Originally posted by Besttasteinmusicever:
I know I'd be more productive if I gave up TV, but I also love lounging around and watching an episode of Extras.

Are ya having a laugh? Are ya having a laugh?

I never watch TV. NEVER. That said, I spend way too much time on the computer.

I'm not sure how to pick music or computer because I play all music, find all music, and buy all music on my computer...

Dislike and eviction of television from people's life is rather silly I think.
After all, TV is a medium just like mp3 files or the web or newspapers or books or radio etc.
Television is not the problem. The programming for the most part is. Every medium is full of junk with some gold.
If I gave up TV, I would be giving up The Wire, a piece of art which works only on televison.
Many other examples can be cited....but I gotta go, that ad telling me what cigarette to smoke is on....

I watch one fictional show on TV, and the news.

So yeah, even if it means losing 24, I'd throw my TV out the window before giving up Raw Power.

quote:

Originally posted by Ishmaelscoffin:
Dislike and eviction of television from people's life is rather silly I think.
After all, TV is a medium just like mp3 files or the web or newspapers or books or radio etc.
Television is not the problem. The programming for the most part is. Every medium is full of junk with some gold.
If I gave up TV, I would be giving up The Wire, a piece of art which works only on televison.
Many other examples can be cited....but I gotta go, that ad telling me what cigarette to smoke is on....

I have a computer that plays DVDs. With the invention of youtube I can easily check out any 'gold', without having to sift through 'junk'. I stay informed on what's going on in the world and it doesn't have adverts every 15 minutes. I can honestly say I don't need a TV. Like I say - I can choose the content of an MP3 player, a stereo or a computer. Not so with TV.

Duncan Black, a number of points.

1. There are dozens, if not hundreds of television series, films and one-off programs that are not available on DVD or on the Web.
2. YouTube has poor picture quality compared to a decent High Def TV.
3. Ads can be edited out easily.

If there is nothing on television that you will watch, I think it is more to do with some mistaken thought than the reality. Over in good old England, there are many great shows, concerts, etc which are never seen again on DVD or the Web.
Perhaps soon, every little thing seen on TV will be on the Web, but as that is still not the case, I am happy to keep a television, as I am happy to keep a radio, books and a quality hi-fi system.
Anyway, stay none more black. keep it on 11.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Kulturtrager,

I just don't like TV. Neither did Frank Zappa or Al Jourgenson (they wrote very angry songs about it). I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree on that one.

I think we'd better move on before we totally go off topic.

No harm done.

quote:

Originally posted by Ishmaelscoffin:
Duncan Black, a number of points.

1. There are dozens, if not hundreds of television series, films and one-off programs that are not available on DVD or on the Web.Actually, you can get pretty much any show you can imagine on a torrent

2. YouTube has poor picture quality compared to a decent High Def TV.Youtube blows anyway. It is full of (mostly) ignorant teenagers who want a new medium to display their jackass style shananigans

3. Ads can be edited out easily.What is the point when you can get the full show without commercials?

Your last point is actually false, because there are very few shows/programs/events that I cannot find and download on the net. The only benefit of a tv is to watch live programming or watch new shows that are not posted on the web yet.

Here is an example, I watch The Daily Show if there is a new episode on at that very moment, it will not be on the web, five minutes after the show is over, I can download it on the net.

But generally, the programming on tv is garbage and there are few things that I enjoy watching:

The Daily Show
The Colbert Report
Scrubs
South Park
Random shows on the Discovery and History channels.
Random Cartoon Network "Adult Swim" programming.

All of these things I can download on the net...

This message has been edited. Last edited by: St. Mike,

There are many things you can't get on the web.
Remember you're American. there's a hell of a lotta programming from other countries....it doesn't all get to the web....
so my point is not false.
The irony is of course that you are still watching shows generated by television revenue. You wldn't be able to enjoy Scrubs et al if we didn't have tv shows which cld then be transferred to the web.
You wldn't know this of course, but every friday & saturday nights on ABC television Australia, for approx. 6-10 hrs, a show called Rage runs.
It plays new & old music videos & short band interviews, and it is a wonderful, wonderful institution which works ONLY as a tv show, to sit up late watching, or to flick on when you come home from gigs.
TV gives me Rage. TV is a medium. TV doesn't suck. Undemanding audiences suck.

True, but in most instances there isn't anything limiting the amount of programming released on the net save people willing to put it up. If you put Rage on the net maybe I could watch it.


Another point to be made, against my point, is that when the internet starts becoming the main medium for watching programming it will eventually turn into televison. At the moment though, television programming on the net is the only way to go.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: St. Mike,

quote:

The Daily Show
The Colbert Report
Scrubs
South Park
Random shows on the Discovery and History channels.
Random Cartoon Network "Adult Swim" programming.

This is kind of crazy. If I was going to make a list of TV shows I watch, it would be exactly this same list. You have good taste, Mike

I disagree wholeheartedly

quote:

Originally posted by Ishmaelscoffin:


If there is nothing on television that you will watch, I think it is more to do with some mistaken thought than the reality. Over in good old England, there are many great shows,

Hmm, no offence, but there aren't. Fair enough, I live in Scotland, so maybe a Sassenach conspiracy exists to prevent decent TV shows from filtering over the border. However, British TV is probably the worst (or best depending on how you look at it) example of lowest common denominator broadcasting. Many, many, many more decent shows exist in the US than emanate from the once proud, but now wretched Beeb, and the once alternative, but now none-so-mainstream Channel 4. ITV isn't even worth the mention I've just given it.

I also disagree with you in terms of comparing TV to mp3 files as a medium. The better comparison would be TV and a Hi-fi. If I had no say over what came on my stereo, Radio 1 for example, then I'd do away with that too. As it is, because the programmes that come on to my TV are 95% awful, I can quite happily live without a TV. I use a projector to watch dvds and the few decent TV shows I've downloaded, such as The Wire. I do agree with you about that... phenomenal show.