You should be quoting the whole relevant passage. And, if you want to know the meaning of a sentence omitting parts of it is not a good idea.
1. The war was on television every night but we all went to the movies. Soon most of the movies began to look alike and we went into dim rooms and turned on or off, or watched others turn on or off, or burned joss sticks and listened to tapes of near silence. I brought my 16mm camera along. It was a witty toy and everyone was delighted.
It's unclear -- it could be the TV, or it could be a reference to sex, or it could be a reference to using drugs, or all of the above. The general mood is that of tedium and meaningless repetition.
2. Music came from all the stores in jingles, chants and hosannas, and from the Salvation Army bands came the martial trumpet lament of ancient Christian legions. It was a strange sound to hear in that time and place, the smack of cymbals and high-collared drums, a suggestion that children were being scolded for a bottomless sin, and it seemed to annoy people.
He's talking about the sounds one hears around Christmas holidays. The sound of martial music (musing used for marching) sounded harsh and out of place and by its martial nature it sounded to the author like a scolding. "The bottomless sin" goes with the theme of Christianity.

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