Music is marketing

I wanted to share a pretty insightful and passionate piece of editorial from Jon Pareles of The New York Times. I worked with Jon a couple of times while in the music industry and remember him as a good dude. I like him even more after reading his probing story into the increasing use of marketing in music promotion, which closes with the following;

Perhaps it’s too 20th century to hope that music could stay exempt from multitasking, or that the constant insinuation of marketing into every moment of consciousness would stop when a song begins. But for the moment I’d suggest individual resistance. Put on a song with no commercial attachments. Turn it up. Close your eyes. And listen.

I feel like too many bands are putting the almighty publicity before the unsightly creative process. It's something I've seen first hand recently and I realize this is coming a career publicist... I'm not immune to the irony. Regardless, read the whole piece here.

Secret City!

Out of nowhere, I remembered coming home from school as a kid and watching Secret City on PBS. It was one of my favorite shows. I would sit in front of the little TV in my living room with a pad and pencil trying desperately to keep up with Commander Mark. Today I found a treasure trove of clips (and a classic trip down memory lane) thanks to YouTube member culturaldetritusnyc.



I was embroiled in a contentious conversation last night about brilliant movies and to me, there is no question that this was brilliant TV. Enjoy. Head to YouTube for more episodes and a closer look at the secret city mural. Seems they are still trying to keep the show alive and have started a website supporting the Draw Squad. Ah, memories.

Late night jam

"Coming home after a Friday night out with friends" should have this track included on the soundtrack.

Kings of Leon - Knocked Up (remix)

[also, thanks AT for the Chromatics]

Xmas approaches

It was a tech enabled tree decorating. We video chatted with my sister who was stranded in Seattle as a result of the storms and photo booth provided the strange sideways diffraction from our energy sipping LED light covered tree. Though in a throwback, we were listening to xmas music on a vintage cassette tape, transferred from a vinyl LP made in the 1960s. Talk about generations coming together for the holidays...

-10 degrees is really not that bad

I was feeling a little nervous about spending a couple weeks in weather hovering +/- 15 degrees of zero. In truth, I'm not really scared for the experience because it's an annual thing, but it's fun to make a big deal out of it. Anyway, it was shortly after doing so for a 4,715,395 time when I learned about Oymyakon, a town of 800 people in Siberia. If you go to Oymyakon, you are pretty much guaranteed to be cold. It's the coldest place on earth, holding the record with a measured temp of -72 degrees Celsius. I did the conversion, that equals about -97 degrees Fahrenheit. Wicked.

What's even more loopy is that the name of the town means "non-freezing water." Not sure if that's because the cold drove the town namer insane or because there are local hot springs in the area. I'm going with a combo, because whether or not there are or were hot springs, anyone who actually lives in that town has lost it.

If anyone finds out about Oymyakon, I'm going to have to temper my "woe is me tale." Until then, here's to the frozen tundra.

[from here via boing boing]

blog hijack

pmo attacks

I'm an 'Unofficial Ambassador'

My brother-in-law Ben just posted this article on his blog. It's a great summary and interesting perspective on my two days teaching in the West Bank. Ben and my sister Ashley were fantastic hosts and pulled some strings to set up these last-minute meetings with groups that they sponsor thru the State Department.

Ben published a book last year about his experience living in Jordan, learning Arabic and traveling in the Middle East. It's a great read and you should all buy 10 copies. Thru interactions with everyday people Ben developed the concept of an 'Unofficial Ambassador'. In his blog, he explains how my days in the West Bank relate:

While Ryan didn’t solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict while he was here, the couple of days that he spent volunteering in the West Bank made a difference both for the people he worked with and for himself.

The little things that Ryan and other Unofficial Ambassadors contribute on visits like this and on longer trips add up to real and positive change at the grassroots level. Not to sound cliché, but in the absence of major political solutions, those little changes are big.

On a professional level, Unofficial Ambassadors fill gaps in a substantive way. Ryan offered his Palestinian counterparts something tangible – the people he met now have a better idea of how to approach the challenges that they face in their work. On a personal level, Unofficial Ambassadors represent an America that wants to engage with other cultures. In many parts of the Middle East, locals make a distinction between the U.S. government and the American people. While most are critical of U.S. foreign policies, they admire the American people, who they view as representatives of a land of opportunity, freedoms, and innovation. To the Palestinians he met – people who are likely critical of U.S. foreign policy but who don’t have everyday contact with Americans – Ryan offered a first-hand example of the positives of the American people. The Palestinians who met Ryan went home and told their families that they met an American from a place called Pittsburgh who was nice and cool and who helped them with their work. In a part of the world where anti-American polls are off the charts, that’s a beginning.

It's a grand idea to think that many little interactions can add up to a more connected, less culturally detached and war-filled world. However, based on my recent experience meeting people in the West Bank (and also from the Obama campaign doing door-to-door voter contact) it does, in our technologically connected world, seem very possible.

Other pictures from my Israel trip are here. Mine was a frequent flier ticket, and thus multi-legged like a millipede. This is a picture taken on the Zurich to Chicago leg, flying over Greenland.

In the company of a legend

From traveling the country in high school to my current spot in the Los Angeles Premiere League (linked in the column to the right), in my dubious soccer career I've been fortunate to have the chance to play with some talented people. Last night was on a different level though as I was matched up against Frank Leboeuf. If you don't plan on clicking through to wikipedia, he was the starting central defender on the 1998 world cup champion French national team and played 200 games for Chelsea, definitely the most decorated player I've ever played against.

We lost a very close game. Can't wait to play them again.

Gone, Baby, Gone...

   Many of you will recognize this image from The Big Lebowski. What I just learned, courtesy of a WSJ article is the extent to which Tricky Dick loved the sport. The bowling alley in the basement of the White House? That was Dick's work in 1969. Actually, there was an older version installed by Truman, but it was out-dated and collected dust. 

   But, because of what you all did on that day, change has indeed come to America. Obama, a very respectable player, fan, and nepotistic hirer of basketball players, is planning on ripping out the lanes and installing a brand new b-ball court. 

   Making this even more hilarious and surreal, is the reaction of both sports: The NBA has volunteered to install a regulation court. The bowling lobby, however, is freaking out that this will be bad p.r. for their sport and are scrambling to do whatever they can to change O'Bomber's mind, including promising to install modern scoring systems etc. It doesn't have that now? Even my much loved my incredibly dumpy local place has it. 

Our 44th president

I love this photo of Time magazine's recently crowned Man of the Year in college. [from Time via Boing Boing.]

SE Asia is for new species

If you want to plan a vacation, may I suggest Southeast Asia? There are so many species being discovered there on a daily basis that there are probably a ton of sponsored research trips to tag onto.

From National Geographic:

December 15, 2008--Gumprecht's green pit viper is among at least 1,068 new species that have been discovered in Southeast Asia's Greater Mekong River region in the last ten years--an average of two a week, the international conservation group WWF announced today.

"We don't know of any other place on the planet that has the same rate of discovery," said Stuart Chapman, director of WWF's Greater Mekong Programme, in a statement. The Greater Mekong includes areas of Myanmar (Burma), Laos, Vietnam, Thailand, and Cambodia.

Discovered in northeastern Thailand in 2002, the newfound snake species grows to about 4 feet (130 centimeters). Like all pit vipers, it hunts prey by sensing heat through small pits in the sides of its face.

The only down side to the SE Asian research vacation? You may have to find stuff like this green pit viper, a cyanide spitting hot pink centipede or the biggest spider in the world.

Awesomeness broken down to elemental units

These are some of my new favorite elements according to the periodic tales of awesoments (click the pic to get a closer look)
TBa - Teleporting Mr. T
SkBr - Shark Beer
BhKl - Black hole Kool-Aid
NcSo - Nunchuck guitar solos
Make your own!
via Boing Boing

Rainy Day Music

It's been raining for a solid 24 hours in Los Angeles. It never rains in LA, once or twice a year it seems. This extended rain has me realizing how nice it is sometimes to sit inside while it rains and listen to music. I've just stumbled onto this guy Bon Iver even though his CD is on all types of people's best albums of the year lists.

Bon Iver - Blood Bank

Israel - Zurich - Chicago - Pittsburgh - LA

Yes, as I sit here at 3:30am, that is the route I have ahead of me. I will be in Pittsburgh by tonight, and LA in time to party on Saturday night. This seems like an impossible journey, as I broke the google trying to calculate the distance between where I am and where I am going.

Hope

Thanks Flavorwire!

Lego Hip Hop

A nice selection of Hip Hop albums recreated with Legos. Fun times, clearly I love legos.

Pancake Mountain

Sometimes my job is really fun, like when I get to take part in children's web shows with bands like the Melvins at places like the Troubadour. I have much more to say about this, but everyone should know what Pancake Mountain is and buy the DVDs. For all of you with children, please share this show with them. It's great. Fingers crossed they get picked up.

Color of the Year

Pantone, the authority on all things pertaining to color, has selected the color of 2009. DIY and home improvers ready your paint brushes and behold PANTONE 14-0848 Mimosa, "a cheery and deep yellow."
Not only does the color share the name of a bubbly and refreshing morning beverage, it is said to best embody optimism and hope in today's changing and challenging times. From the Pantone press release;

"The color yellow exemplifies the warmth and nurturing quality of the sun, properties we as humans are naturally drawn to for reassurance," explains Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute®. "Mimosa also speaks to enlightenment, as it is a hue that sparks imagination and innovation."

For the SAT friendly, Pantone is to artistic designers like Morton and Bassett is to professional chefs. They catalogue the best colors so designers can keep consistency within their designs. I'm really taken by the purity and clarity of Pantone colors and lust over their the markets at art stores. Here's a sampling.

About the color of the moon

"It was like we was both back in older times and I was on horseback goin through the mountains of a night. Goin through this pass in the mountains. It was cold and snowin, hard ridin. Hard country. He rode past me and kept on goin. Never said nothin goin by. He just rode on past and he had his blanket wrapped around him and his head down and when he rode past I seen he was carryin fire in a horn the way people used to do and I could see the horn from the light inside of it. About the color of the moon. And in the dream I knew that he was goin on ahead and that he was fixin to make a fire somewhere out there in allthat dark and all that cold, and I knew that whenever I got there he would be there. Out there up ahead."

Shalom, Israel...

   Shalom. It means both hello and goodbye in Hebrew (this is a very context heavy country). This is my second night in the Holy Land, though it seems like a week or so. I landed (only) yesterday morning at 4am, was picked up and taken to Jerusalem by my brother-in-law Ben, slept a couple of hours until 8am then woke and headed to the old city in hopes of seeing some goats slaughtered. Alas, there was no groggy, jet-lagged, where-am-I? experience because we didn't see any blood being spilled. Can't say I was totally heartbroken. It's a Muslim holiday now- the time of year that people make the haj to mecca. Today I ran around Tel Aviv, thru Jaffa, which is just the old city part of the city, on a hill by the water. I stood at the top of the hill, saw a storm coming in over the Mediterranean, felt the wind and looked out. I immediately remembered times I would do a similar thing when I lived in Barcelona, and indeed this was the same body of water, just the other side of the pool. Tomorrow I am teaching Palestinians video editing. This is one boring frikkin' trip....

   So, some pics so far. My sister and her bosses. The excitement for a change of leadership is obvious in her office. 

   This guy was banging on metal in the middle of the sidewalk, yet somehow didn't want me to take his photo. Must be shy. He was apparently saying something about my mother's privates as I snapped this. How does he know....mom??!!!
   Cool view from the top of the old city's walls. The surrounding hills are filled to the gills with graves. Old place. 
   This man had made the holy trek to mecca, and in his honor his door was painted white. There were a LOT of doors painted white. Apparently there is some points system where your prayers count for more from a more holy place. Religion is stupid, and one day, sadly far off in the future, everyone will realize it. Thor, Zeus, other pagan gods are all gone and... somehow... the world is still working. Whew. 
   This is German. Language is amazing, and the less I understand it, the more easily I realize that truth. 

SantaCon 2008

Too many amazing things to do, so little time. That's the trouble in my town. Take for instance this past weekend, when I had to choose between an annual bad holiday sweater party at a good friend's house (which was a blast) and SantaCon, a ridiculous worldwide gathering of people dressed as Santa, Elves, Mrs. (or Ms.) Claus and more.

My friend Verdelf (pictured above from an LA Times story) has been trying to get me to go for two years. Now that I'm thinking about it, it seems that's about how long it takes for me to commit to anything annual, so I can be confident knowing that I'll be a part next year. I've already started planning my costume.

So for SantaCon, all these "revelers" travel by bus around Los Angeles (and a city near you) to descend on bars and public places for general revelry, including snow ball fights, carols, choreographed dance routines, elf union strikes and faux-battles of epic proportion. There are tons of Flickr streams with great shots for more context and a pretty staggering sense of scale.

SantaCon, I'll be seeing you soon.

Pulled straight from The Onion

Staten Island Historians Piece Together Genealogy Of Wu-Tang Clan

In what many are calling the most comprehensive study of its kind, Staten Island historians Robert Wilburn and Charles Tinsley have successfully traced the lines of the infamous Wu-Tang Clan all the way back to 1993 A.D.

While they have definitely faded in recent years, there is no way to argue with their 90's dominance.

Emerging from the slums of Shaolin—located near Wudang Mountain in Park Hill, Staten Island—the Wu-Tang Clan went on to form the largest contiguous rap empire of the late 20th century. The Clan flourished under the rule of RZA, who led his lyrical assassins into a number of heated freestyle battles, and introduced them to a string of new influences, including Kung Fu films and silver-age Iron Man comics.

"During its height, the Wu-Tang Clan acquired a great deal of wealth and notoriety," Wilburn said. "One need only look at Ol' Dirty Bastard's dental records to get a sense of the incredible treasures they possessed."

They played two free concerts in LA last week.

Southdale

This is where I do most of my Christmas shopping and have for years, although it doesn't really look like this anymore. This is the Southdale mall, the first retail mall in the world. It's located about three miles from the house where I grew up in Minneapolis. Probably the last place that I would think of if I had to pick the first city for a mall. The only justification I can come up with would have to be the weather. On second thought, that's actually a pretty good reason. Who wants to shop when the clothes freeze before you can try them on?

I ran across this picture of the mall from the 1950's, shortly after it opened, from Life magazine (a publication that will most likely be forgotten in a generation). The mall was designed by an Austrian, Victor Gruen. While im not sure of Gruen's particular talents, I would love it if someone could tell the ratio of talented Austrian architects to talented architects from the rest of the world. I'd be willing to bet the scales tip towards the Austrians by at least 3-1.

There's some interesting history to Southdale. It was started as an attempt to bring the feel of a city center to places that were not necessarily the center of a city and Gruen was ultimately disgusted by the suburban waste of space that malls eventually became over time.

There is apparently a spirited debate over where the world's first mall actually sat. A short and informational post over at Kottke.com has more details on Gruen, Southdale and the other malls staking claim to first.

Southdale, I'll be seeing you shortly, and no matter what anyone else says, you'll always be MY first.

Drifting

This is what I'm going to be all about for 2009.

The Lebowski Bump

   The White Russian is back. Was it's creamy, cold deliciousness ever gone, you may ask? Marked by the Manhattan Lebowskifest last month (which I had the honor of attending with a very fine lady achiever) the Times did a big, splashy article on the festival's drink of choice: The Caucasian. It's really a great article with a great embedded video (which ludditedly has no code for me to post, damn NYT) and some fantastic tidbits. Among them:

   • Jeff Dowd, the inspiration for the dude (and someone who my old boss Richard Halsey, of course, knows and introduced me to a while back) was living in Seattle in the 60's heyday of the White Russian, driving a taxi and doing a lot of “heavy hanging," and apparently took a liking to the bevvy. 

  • There is a White Trash Russian, which is a bottle of Yoo-hoo, half emptied and then filled with Vodka. 

  • During one of the early Lebowskifests, the organizers underestimated the Achiever's thirst and had to scramble for more milk, eventually buying up all supplies within a mile's radius. Now there is a mandatory "White Russian talk" with all prospective venues. Having achieved two Lebowskifests myself, I can attest that there is a sick amount of it around, served by the pitcher. 

   If you watch the video, one particularly talented LLUA (Little Lebowski Urban Achiever... and proud we are of all of them) has fashioned a Caucasian Kit out of a bowling bag, with a plush foamy insert cradling a bottle of milk, vodka and Kahlua. 

Los Angeles Jungle

Snapped this cool shot during a hike in the Santa Monica mountains on Sunday. Looks more like the Brazilian rain forest or somewhere in SE Asia. It was this fog that uncharacteristically hung out in LA for a couple days and blocked my attempts to see the planets align. Blast! I can only hope I will be around for the next alignment in 2052, because these insignificant occurrences in astrological motion are representative of so much more for me!

Flood In Venice

After sinking inch by inch into the Mediterranean for the last century (because it's built on sticks), Venice is now being flooded by the 4th highest tide ever recorded since 1872. It's a brutal 1, 2 punch that has everyone wading around the streets with tacky tourist trappings floating by. It's much easier to find sympathy with a place you've been, and for me that rings true with Venice. I spent a decidedly un-romantic but very, very interesting few days there with my Aussie friend heather in 2001. Until this story broke and I looked on the map, I had no idea where Venice was geographically. It's way up in the armpit of Italy, nuzzled near Croatia and Slovenia and all those other places that seem so mush further away than Italy.