Unfortunately for us this unfair monopoly has all of the advantages of time and law. With almost unlimited copyright extensions, the music industry holds almost every major song every written in it's iron fist.
True capitalism allows for unfettered and equal access to competition. This certainly is not the case here where they toy with pricing simply because NO ONE ELSE CAN!
Do you all realize just how much power it takes to de-salinate seawater on this scale? You practically need a dedicated power source. What would make sense here would be something renewable like wind power.
Nothing pisses me off more than when I heard of that offshore wind farm near Nantucket and how the locals (headed by the Kennedy folks in their compound) are NIMBYing it.
Oh well... I guess we can always generate more power with coal or nukes, eh?
Look, this is absolutely true. There is still plenty of software out there that breaks under W2K/WXP when not run as a local administrator.
And forget 'looser' environments. I run a network at a private school. Care to take a guess how much educational software cares about following the rules properly? Grrr!!!
About the happiest day of my life was when HoJo played in my small town (Lititz, PA) and I got to shake the master's hand! We have the famous Clair Bros. studio here and while he was on tour, he played an unscheduled date at the grand opening of our rec center!
Now the funny thing is, I was there with some close friends who understood what a big deal this was (being 1986 and all). But it was pearls before swine as 99% of the local guys were into Bon Jovi and other corporate metal bands. You can only imagine the comments.
Out of the 2,500 that packed the place, I suspect only 30 people actually understood what he was about. Having never gotten to see him live, being up front was just amazing. What a terrific talent - organ, synth, piano!
My dad has a major bitch about corporate-owned oldies stations (50's and 60's). He complains that they always play the 'top 10' songs. Well as you know, much of what got played on the air back then was NOT top 10.
As radio has become more monolithic and commercial, decreased music airtime (due to increased commercial time), payola (overt or otherwise), and promotions assures that only Top 10 (or wannabes) DO get played. I have come to the same conclusion about a LOT of radio out there, but for me, the proof came in a more horrifying way.
One day back in the late 80's a friend of mine invited me to his radio station where he worked as a 'DJ'. I quickly found out that being a DJ in a corporate station is more like being a button pusher/commercial pitchman.
I asked him where the records were and he just smiled and took me into the back room where four reel to reel 1" tapes were cued. Each tape could hold 15 hours or so of music and once one played through, it automatically rewound to the beginning. The tapes were automatically cycled through in series and were initially started off in random places (although the result certainly wasn't very random!)
He told me that every other month, the oldest of the tapes were changed to something 'new'.
Nowadays this is all handled digitally, but from what I hear, it's the same kind of playlists. Only top 10, only 'the best'. There's a station locally where we've been able to predict what songs are coming up based on the announced artist.
DJ: "Next up: We've got some Neil Young.." ('Needle and the Damage Done' - Live or 'Heart of Gold'), "and some Paul McCartney..." (Admiral Halsey or 'Jet'), "coming your way after these announcements..." (cue SEVEN minutes of ads).
I would like to believe this also, but I know human nature better.
Look, years ago when Michael Jackson's Thriller album came out it shot to #1 and sold millions. And yet... I couldn't find one person around me, not ONE who would own up to having a copy of it. Well SOMEONE was buying them!
I find it's a chore to listen to new stuff usually. There was one time I impulse-bought an album. I was standing in line at some record store when I heard this song come on. I asked the salesguy if it was a new Howard Jones album. He told me (with a smirk) that it was Duncan Sheik. Wow, was I way off! Or so I thought. I bought it anyway.
Later on, after I got this most excellent CD home, I read in the credits that Howard Jones played piano on a few tracks. Now, would I have fully appreciated Duncan's work without having first heard Howard's piano? Probably not, or at least not right away because without it, it would've been totally unfamiliar to me.
Hell, there's been bands that I LIKE, have bought their newest recording, then put off listening to it for a while. Maybe it's a function of getting old - dunno.
I suppose when you see an article concerning the RIAA it's safe to assume that this is a American concern. Nonetheless, please keep in mind that Canadian law insures that Canadian bands WILL get airplay - no matter how good they are.
I believe it's known as the 40/60 law and it covers TV and radio (which is why satellite versions of these are prohibited there.) Fully 40% of your programming has to come from Canada.
That's good, because there's a lot of great musicianship up there. One of my personal favorite bands of all time is Moxy Fruvous. Almost unknown here, but hugely popular in Toronto and Montreal. I've never seen a better, funnier live show.
It's a total shame Jian's on his own now, but I can understand their frustration. They tried to break into the American market in every which way and it just didn't take. Conclusion: They were too good for radio here.
The other thing that is making bands wary of the established labels are some of their more recent money-grubbing practices.
In the past, t-shirt sales and concert profits ALWAYS went to the artists - no more. Bands used to depend upon this income because CD sales just aren't enough for most anymore. Now the labels are demanding a cut of even this one thing.
Most every band out there would like to make it big, but the Internet has gone a long way in being able to show them just how twisted the industry is, what not to do (sign a blind contract for instance), and good general info.
The industry has been used to dealing with uninformed musicians in the past. Granted, there are still some out there, but many more have wised up.
You're proving my point. The INDUSTRY is the issue. I didn't point to musicians. I believe there is still musicianship out there - you just can't tell by listening to popular crap.
Yeah, it is. So? I never said anything about copyright, but you bring up a good point.
How long should a copyright be good for? You know there's this Elvis revival going on in Germany right now - know why? They have a reasonable 50 year copyright law. All of his works are starting to come out in compilations and it's free and legal to do so.
I'm not suggesting that breaking the law is the answer. I'm suggesting that CHANGING A BROKEN LAW is. The 55 MPH speed limit was broken by many (were you a nasty-wasty law breaker yourself?) That law was found to be stupid and fairly unenforceable (especially out West), and so it was changed.
I'm a musician myself. I've personally watched the struggles of others who have tried to make it. I also know that 99.5% of anyone who signs a contract with these music company bastards commit themselves to being BOHICA'd.
With the self-serving record labels and the RIAA re-writing copyright law every decade it will be a miracle if ANY music ever again sees the public domain in this country. Don't think that you can take a superior tone with me or anyone else just because we don't agree with that fact and want to 'fight the power', so to speak.
If you can't see how one-sided the whole industry is, I would suggest that you report back to your corporate overloads and request more instructions on how to deal with people like me.
But you're missing the point. You and I aren't the ones the industry cares about. It's all about the kids and disposable income.
Kids want to listen to what's 'cool'. To them, MTV and the radio shows/tells them what is cool and then they share this information with each other to reinforce it. Why is this so important? Peer acceptance - something some Slashdotters who had trouble getting dates will not understand.
I can look back at them and say, "What sheep! Back tatoos, piercings all over your bodies, wearing pants that would clothe 3 or 4 immigrants do NOT make you an individual!" But all of them will invaribly tell you that they are being 'different.'
You know what a joke THAT is, don't you? Or do you? Think back in school. What did you do to be different and how different were you really than anyone else?
Personally, I listened to Black Flag and the B52's (ok, I was a bit eclectic), but did that make me different? No, it put me in a strange minority, but MILLIONS of kids listened to them!
Those that are truly different - the true innovators and pioneers of our time are shunned or ignored, plain and simple. You can't be too different after all, then you're 'wierd', right? If it could happen to a guy like Tesla, you know it could happen to anyone.
A better question here is HOW do you innovate and with what?
Here's a short (very short) history of innovation in the last 60 years:
40's: Swing. The idea of using big band in a fast and fancy musical tone while borrowing from early blues and jazz really took it to a new art form.
50's: Emergence of Rock 'n Roll and the multitrack recorder. This is where tech started to make inroads in music. The Electric guitar and bass finally get airplay.
60's: Stereo rock and studio tricks. This is when the experiementation reached an all time high. Things started to be heard on radio that simply weren't possible in the 'real world'.
70's: More studio refinement and the synthesizer finally takes lead. More sounds no one had ever heard, or heard together.
80's: Early 80's saw better synths producing increasingly more realistic sounds. Glam metal makes a comeback as it is mixed with more attention to sound detail and synthesis. Rap makes it's national debut in the song "Rapture". New genre started.
90's: Rap meets metal. Studio techniques are perfected to a point where any differences in sound quality appear negligible. Synthesizers focus on producing more 'natural' sounds. Machiens are developed to help improve vocal tracks (for those who can't sing worth a damn) and/or create backing vocals (for those who can't AFFORD those who can sing with them). True technical innovation has 'jumped the shark'.
00's: For the first time in over 80 years of music, all forms of music that started this decade were around last decade. All technical innovations in the studio have been minor or non-existant as digital equipment is considered standard issue.
The music companies - more than ever - are pushing personality rather than the substance of the music because there is no more innovation, but they are making a mistake.
When Norah Jones outsells a pop star 5:1 and surprises the hell out of everyone for doing it, it's not because she's hot, it's because her music speaks to people in a way that has not been heard in many years. In many ways, it is music that could have been produced 30 years ago (albeit with primative equipment).
If the music industry wants to survive it will need to innovate, but as you pointed out, this will mean returning to the roots of the music itself and not the 'flash in the pan' futures of personality.
"Well, also, they're failing to realize what the CD industry failed to realize..."
That's because they're thinking like it's 2004 where most people have dial-up and peer-to-peer is still in its infancy. Let them continue thinking that! I'd rather have them hash it all out and implement it now rather than 5 years from now where broadband and mega-sharing will be more apparent than ever.
Wow, first try - that's my favorite band. Roger Hodgson was/is the shit. Now if only we could get his ass back here from India...
Anyway, true musicianship will not die but it will transform itself. I've personally found that it's better to view all this borrowing of 'old' music in rap and pop as more of a sign of respect then theft. How can you not respect the fact that those 'old fogies' had to actually PLAY their instruments and sing without an Antares Vocalizer?!
How old are you - really? It definately has a direct relation to this subject. So does: Are you a musician?
As the in-house DJ for our dances here at the school, I can personally testify how far music has fallen - but not to the kids.
I take solace in the fact that in 20 years or so, these kids will most likely view their own music as memorable but cliched (Example: See Vanilla Ice). Many of them will have moved to other forms of music because of boredom or maturity.
Remember: A little boy will eat as much candy as you give him until it makes him sick. It takes maturity to appreciate a nice fresh apple.
I think it's directly related to the fact that music QUALITY went down another 20% or so. Think Janet Jackson's breast will help sales, or will Justin Timberlake's musical talents sway yet another generation of gum snapping teens?
God, 'music' is the suck today! Either that, or I'm just too old.
Since they're determined to do this anyway, they need to do it soon. The sooner it's presented to the general public, the sooner we can all get cracking on it.
Really, what difference will this make when everyone's got a 100 Mbit conenction to the Internet and 'friends'? The industry really needs to work on value as opposed to obstruction. People will see this for what it is and get around it anyway.
He's NOT right about the Amiga. High resolutions/color combinations will KILL your connection speed on the old A500/2000. Please read my reply post with a decent reference from a knowledgeable user.
I NEVER said that you couldn't do 56K on the Amiga. I said you had difficulty maintaining 14.4K whilst doing it in 640X400X16 interlaced. THAT is a fact, not fiction.
Now I ask you, how often did you use that hires mode? Probably not very - interlaced graphics suck at TV refresh rates. This explains why most people never saw this as a problem or even knew about it.
Er, I had plenty of experience with the Amiga at least.
Note, I did not say that the Amiga would not connect at serial speeds of 56K or above. What I did say was that if you used a high resolution (640X400X16 interlaced, I believe) while attempting to do so, you'd be missing data.
The UART's in the 500/2000 series Ami only had an 8 byte FIFO buffer - which was fine as long as the system didn't struggle to keep it empty. At higher resolutions it became an issue since, unlike machines like the IBM/PC and C=64, these modes had to 'draw' the text on the screen. Amiga had no hardware character-based graphics at those resolutions - it had to be drawn in software.
So... The result was, if you tried to use high res with a fast stream of data - you'd be missing some. This is of course assuming that you were using a stock machine. Accelerator cards helped with this as did the newer AGA chipsets on the 1200/4000 series.
Slashdot Mirror
Unfortunately for us this unfair monopoly has all of the advantages of time and law. With almost unlimited copyright extensions, the music industry holds almost every major song every written in it's iron fist.
True capitalism allows for unfettered and equal access to competition. This certainly is not the case here where they toy with pricing simply because NO ONE ELSE CAN!
The RIAA is the OPEC of music.
Yeah, but the SCALE the Mass is saying they need water is what concerns me here. No matter what method is used, it's going to be a power drain.
Do you all realize just how much power it takes to de-salinate seawater on this scale? You practically need a dedicated power source. What would make sense here would be something renewable like wind power.
Nothing pisses me off more than when I heard of that offshore wind farm near Nantucket and how the locals (headed by the Kennedy folks in their compound) are NIMBYing it.
Oh well... I guess we can always generate more power with coal or nukes, eh?
You know, your 'libery' sig taken in context of that post, is pretty funny. :)
Er, you know, a lot of times we're not even talking about old software. There's some very NEW software that doesn't follow the rules right.
.org's situation.
It's technically not MS's fault, but it doesn't help me or my
Where's my friggin points when I need them?
Look, this is absolutely true. There is still plenty of software out there that breaks under W2K/WXP when not run as a local administrator.
And forget 'looser' environments. I run a network at a private school. Care to take a guess how much educational software cares about following the rules properly? Grrr!!!
About the happiest day of my life was when HoJo played in my small town (Lititz, PA) and I got to shake the master's hand! We have the famous Clair Bros. studio here and while he was on tour, he played an unscheduled date at the grand opening of our rec center!
:)
Now the funny thing is, I was there with some close friends who understood what a big deal this was (being 1986 and all). But it was pearls before swine as 99% of the local guys were into Bon Jovi and other corporate metal bands. You can only imagine the comments.
Out of the 2,500 that packed the place, I suspect only 30 people actually understood what he was about. Having never gotten to see him live, being up front was just amazing. What a terrific talent - organ, synth, piano!
Ah well...
My dad has a major bitch about corporate-owned oldies stations (50's and 60's). He complains that they always play the 'top 10' songs. Well as you know, much of what got played on the air back then was NOT top 10.
As radio has become more monolithic and commercial, decreased music airtime (due to increased commercial time), payola (overt or otherwise), and promotions assures that only Top 10 (or wannabes) DO get played. I have come to the same conclusion about a LOT of radio out there, but for me, the proof came in a more horrifying way.
One day back in the late 80's a friend of mine invited me to his radio station where he worked as a 'DJ'. I quickly found out that being a DJ in a corporate station is more like being a button pusher/commercial pitchman.
I asked him where the records were and he just smiled and took me into the back room where four reel to reel 1" tapes were cued. Each tape could hold 15 hours or so of music and once one played through, it automatically rewound to the beginning. The tapes were automatically cycled through in series and were initially started off in random places (although the result certainly wasn't very random!)
He told me that every other month, the oldest of the tapes were changed to something 'new'.
Nowadays this is all handled digitally, but from what I hear, it's the same kind of playlists. Only top 10, only 'the best'. There's a station locally where we've been able to predict what songs are coming up based on the announced artist.
DJ: "Next up: We've got some Neil Young.." ('Needle and the Damage Done' - Live or 'Heart of Gold'), "and some Paul McCartney..." (Admiral Halsey or 'Jet'), "coming your way after these announcements..." (cue SEVEN minutes of ads).
GrrrrrrRRRRRadio SUCKS!
You're right, but I usually throw it into the same bin as 'gangsta rap'. I know the difference, I'm just wishing I didn't. :P
I would like to believe this also, but I know human nature better.
Look, years ago when Michael Jackson's Thriller album came out it shot to #1 and sold millions. And yet... I couldn't find one person around me, not ONE who would own up to having a copy of it. Well SOMEONE was buying them!
I find it's a chore to listen to new stuff usually. There was one time I impulse-bought an album. I was standing in line at some record store when I heard this song come on. I asked the salesguy if it was a new Howard Jones album. He told me (with a smirk) that it was Duncan Sheik. Wow, was I way off! Or so I thought. I bought it anyway.
Later on, after I got this most excellent CD home, I read in the credits that Howard Jones played piano on a few tracks. Now, would I have fully appreciated Duncan's work without having first heard Howard's piano? Probably not, or at least not right away because without it, it would've been totally unfamiliar to me.
Hell, there's been bands that I LIKE, have bought their newest recording, then put off listening to it for a while. Maybe it's a function of getting old - dunno.
I suppose when you see an article concerning the RIAA it's safe to assume that this is a American concern. Nonetheless, please keep in mind that Canadian law insures that Canadian bands WILL get airplay - no matter how good they are.
I believe it's known as the 40/60 law and it covers TV and radio (which is why satellite versions of these are prohibited there.) Fully 40% of your programming has to come from Canada.
That's good, because there's a lot of great musicianship up there. One of my personal favorite bands of all time is Moxy Fruvous. Almost unknown here, but hugely popular in Toronto and Montreal. I've never seen a better, funnier live show.
It's a total shame Jian's on his own now, but I can understand their frustration. They tried to break into the American market in every which way and it just didn't take. Conclusion: They were too good for radio here.
The other thing that is making bands wary of the established labels are some of their more recent money-grubbing practices.
In the past, t-shirt sales and concert profits ALWAYS went to the artists - no more. Bands used to depend upon this income because CD sales just aren't enough for most anymore. Now the labels are demanding a cut of even this one thing.
Most every band out there would like to make it big, but the Internet has gone a long way in being able to show them just how twisted the industry is, what not to do (sign a blind contract for instance), and good general info.
The industry has been used to dealing with uninformed musicians in the past. Granted, there are still some out there, but many more have wised up.
Hmmm.. Top 10 artists, all of them, huh?
You're proving my point. The INDUSTRY is the issue. I didn't point to musicians. I believe there is still musicianship out there - you just can't tell by listening to popular crap.
"b-but the RIAA is *evil*!!!
Yeah, it is. So? I never said anything about copyright, but you bring up a good point.
How long should a copyright be good for? You know there's this Elvis revival going on in Germany right now - know why? They have a reasonable 50 year copyright law. All of his works are starting to come out in compilations and it's free and legal to do so.
I'm not suggesting that breaking the law is the answer. I'm suggesting that CHANGING A BROKEN LAW is. The 55 MPH speed limit was broken by many (were you a nasty-wasty law breaker yourself?) That law was found to be stupid and fairly unenforceable (especially out West), and so it was changed.
I'm a musician myself. I've personally watched the struggles of others who have tried to make it. I also know that 99.5% of anyone who signs a contract with these music company bastards commit themselves to being BOHICA'd.
With the self-serving record labels and the RIAA re-writing copyright law every decade it will be a miracle if ANY music ever again sees the public domain in this country. Don't think that you can take a superior tone with me or anyone else just because we don't agree with that fact and want to 'fight the power', so to speak.
If you can't see how one-sided the whole industry is, I would suggest that you report back to your corporate overloads and request more instructions on how to deal with people like me.
But you're missing the point. You and I aren't the ones the industry cares about. It's all about the kids and disposable income.
Kids want to listen to what's 'cool'. To them, MTV and the radio shows/tells them what is cool and then they share this information with each other to reinforce it. Why is this so important? Peer acceptance - something some Slashdotters who had trouble getting dates will not understand.
I can look back at them and say, "What sheep! Back tatoos, piercings all over your bodies, wearing pants that would clothe 3 or 4 immigrants do NOT make you an individual!" But all of them will invaribly tell you that they are being 'different.'
You know what a joke THAT is, don't you? Or do you? Think back in school. What did you do to be different and how different were you really than anyone else?
Personally, I listened to Black Flag and the B52's (ok, I was a bit eclectic), but did that make me different? No, it put me in a strange minority, but MILLIONS of kids listened to them!
Those that are truly different - the true innovators and pioneers of our time are shunned or ignored, plain and simple. You can't be too different after all, then you're 'wierd', right? If it could happen to a guy like Tesla, you know it could happen to anyone.
A better question here is HOW do you innovate and with what?
Here's a short (very short) history of innovation in the last 60 years:
40's: Swing. The idea of using big band in a fast and fancy musical tone while borrowing from early blues and jazz really took it to a new art form.
50's: Emergence of Rock 'n Roll and the multitrack recorder. This is where tech started to make inroads in music. The Electric guitar and bass finally get airplay.
60's: Stereo rock and studio tricks. This is when the experiementation reached an all time high. Things started to be heard on radio that simply weren't possible in the 'real world'.
70's: More studio refinement and the synthesizer finally takes lead. More sounds no one had ever heard, or heard together.
80's: Early 80's saw better synths producing increasingly more realistic sounds. Glam metal makes a comeback as it is mixed with more attention to sound detail and synthesis. Rap makes it's national debut in the song "Rapture". New genre started.
90's: Rap meets metal. Studio techniques are perfected to a point where any differences in sound quality appear negligible. Synthesizers focus on producing more 'natural' sounds. Machiens are developed to help improve vocal tracks (for those who can't sing worth a damn) and/or create backing vocals (for those who can't AFFORD those who can sing with them). True technical innovation has 'jumped the shark'.
00's: For the first time in over 80 years of music, all forms of music that started this decade were around last decade. All technical innovations in the studio have been minor or non-existant as digital equipment is considered standard issue.
The music companies - more than ever - are pushing personality rather than the substance of the music because there is no more innovation, but they are making a mistake.
When Norah Jones outsells a pop star 5:1 and surprises the hell out of everyone for doing it, it's not because she's hot, it's because her music speaks to people in a way that has not been heard in many years. In many ways, it is music that could have been produced 30 years ago (albeit with primative equipment).
If the music industry wants to survive it will need to innovate, but as you pointed out, this will mean returning to the roots of the music itself and not the 'flash in the pan' futures of personality.
At least ABBA knew what harmony was.
Harmony - the lost art.
Maybe Antares can get DMX to harmonize with himself though...
"Well, also, they're failing to realize what the CD industry failed to realize..."
That's because they're thinking like it's 2004 where most people have dial-up and peer-to-peer is still in its infancy. Let them continue thinking that! I'd rather have them hash it all out and implement it now rather than 5 years from now where broadband and mega-sharing will be more apparent than ever.
Wow, first try - that's my favorite band. Roger Hodgson was/is the shit. Now if only we could get his ass back here from India...
Anyway, true musicianship will not die but it will transform itself. I've personally found that it's better to view all this borrowing of 'old' music in rap and pop as more of a sign of respect then theft. How can you not respect the fact that those 'old fogies' had to actually PLAY their instruments and sing without an Antares Vocalizer?!
The predictable question here is:
How old are you - really? It definately has a direct relation to this subject. So does: Are you a musician?
As the in-house DJ for our dances here at the school, I can personally testify how far music has fallen - but not to the kids.
I take solace in the fact that in 20 years or so, these kids will most likely view their own music as memorable but cliched (Example: See Vanilla Ice). Many of them will have moved to other forms of music because of boredom or maturity.
Remember: A little boy will eat as much candy as you give him until it makes him sick. It takes maturity to appreciate a nice fresh apple.
I think it's directly related to the fact that music QUALITY went down another 20% or so. Think Janet Jackson's breast will help sales, or will Justin Timberlake's musical talents sway yet another generation of gum snapping teens?
God, 'music' is the suck today! Either that, or I'm just too old.
Hey, you kids and your damn rap music! Shaddup!!
Since they're determined to do this anyway, they need to do it soon. The sooner it's presented to the general public, the sooner we can all get cracking on it.
Really, what difference will this make when everyone's got a 100 Mbit conenction to the Internet and 'friends'? The industry really needs to work on value as opposed to obstruction. People will see this for what it is and get around it anyway.
He's NOT right about the Amiga. High resolutions/color combinations will KILL your connection speed on the old A500/2000. Please read my reply post with a decent reference from a knowledgeable user.
I NEVER said that you couldn't do 56K on the Amiga. I said you had difficulty maintaining 14.4K whilst doing it in 640X400X16 interlaced. THAT is a fact, not fiction.
Now I ask you, how often did you use that hires mode? Probably not very - interlaced graphics suck at TV refresh rates. This explains why most people never saw this as a problem or even knew about it.
Er, I had plenty of experience with the Amiga at least.
F -8 &oe=UTF-8&c2coff=1&safe=off&selm=3ea7nl%248tl%40cr l5.crl.com
Note, I did not say that the Amiga would not connect at serial speeds of 56K or above. What I did say was that if you used a high resolution (640X400X16 interlaced, I believe) while attempting to do so, you'd be missing data.
The UART's in the 500/2000 series Ami only had an 8 byte FIFO buffer - which was fine as long as the system didn't struggle to keep it empty. At higher resolutions it became an issue since, unlike machines like the IBM/PC and C=64, these modes had to 'draw' the text on the screen. Amiga had no hardware character-based graphics at those resolutions - it had to be drawn in software.
So... The result was, if you tried to use high res with a fast stream of data - you'd be missing some. This is of course assuming that you were using a stock machine. Accelerator cards helped with this as did the newer AGA chipsets on the 1200/4000 series.
Still an unbeliever? Check this:
http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UT
This guy had it right.
ATASCII was some crazy shit! With that character set you could make some really intricate curved borders, although not in as many colors.
A lot of the color stuff lives on in the IRC Undernet though. The first time I saw Undernet I just started laughing. It certainly gets your attention!