Slaves to the Algorithm

We are slaves to the algorithm but we really can’t complain. We get what we want, we get what we ask for. I’ve watched quite a few rock and roll biopics and documentaries recently, so I get offered more of them. About a week or so ago, casting around for anything to watch that wasn’t some fucking cop show, at least, I watched The Cruel Sea, an old black and white Ealing Studios war movie from 1953, real hokey stuff but that’s the kind of WWII film I like, all filled with average guys sweating, and swearing, and smoking cigarettes while they save the world from fascism, except this was made in 1953, so the tough British sailors never swore and had a Disney-esque way of talking about women.
Anyway, after that I was getting bombarded with British war movies of that era, and I’ve watched a couple. Anyway, today the algorithms crossed paths and I was offered a British rock documentary named Pop Gear from 1965, which is way closer to the 1950s than the present, in some ways that it was kind of depressing to see.
They opened with a scene of the Beatles. Cool, so far. Then, I saw who was narrating the show. Jimmy Savile. Now, at the time this show was produced, his incredibly prolific pedophilia was not publicly known. However, it was happening, and so it’s kind of in the back of your head when you see him. The first song he introduced was a little number by Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas called “Little Children.” An innocent little song, really, about a guy trying to have a bit of sexy time with his girlfriend but her little brothers and sisters are in the room, but after that introduction, and some of the opening lyrics (you must keep this secret, I’ll give you some candy), the creep factor was off the charts.
They showed lots of other bands that were popular in ’64/’65, most of whom I did not remember, a couple I did, and I wouldn’t say they were all lame musically, there were a couple of tunes in there which I still like today, but all the bands were guys with short hair, wearing suit jackets and ties, and looking grim as fuck. Zero energy. Barely a pulse. It was like they’d been told “You’re job is to stand on stage and play your instrument. Don’t do any funny stuff.”
It’s no surprise that the Beatles were such an instant hit. In that era, they must have stood out not just for their music, but for the fact that they actually seemed to enjoy what they were doing.