My 3 year old son Aidan is bonkers for a book/cartoon series called The Magic School Bus, wherein a teacher named Ms. Frizzle takes her class on crazy field trips to the stone age, outer space - you name it. Aidan is now convinced that "Magic Bus" by The Who is about The Magic School Bus, and he insists on hearing it on the way to daycare every morning.
Now, The Who is my favorite band of all time. Actually, let me clarify: the Who between the years 1964 and 1973 is my favorite band of all time. For me, there is no other band that has so perfectly combined epic song craft with unhinged rock power (haters: watch this in its entirety and then let's talk). So the fact that my son is now a Who fan? Worse things could happen. I just pray that we can get through the teenage years without him embracing godawful music (i.e. whatever his generation's version of Korn is). For now, I will appreciate the fact we get to listen to cool music in the car. It's better than Barney. Much, much better. ~ Tim
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Friday, September 19, 2008
He Lost Control
With 2 boys aged 3 months and 3 years running us ragged, there's precious little down time around the Scanlin household. But last Saturday night, after the jammies/teeth-brush/bed time stories routine was completed, I managed to stay awake long enough to check out the Ian Curtis biopic "Control". Being a massively huge Joy Division and New Order fan, I've wanted to see the movie ever since it came out.
The verdict: it was just OK.
Much has been made about director Anton Corbijn's decision to film the movie in black and white. I'm a fan of Corbijn's iconic shots of bands like U2 and REM (and Joy Division) as much as the next guy, but the reason those shots are so powerful is that they're moments captured in time. They're iconic. But there's nothing iconic or powerful about a guy waiting for the bus, or brushing his teeth. In other words, it's difficult/impossible to sustain Corbijn's dramatic aesthetic over the course of a 2 hour, live action feature film. It really just ends up looking like any other black and white movie.
The film's star, Sam Riley, bears an incredible resemblance to Ian Curtis, and his acting was proficient if not revelatory. His singing on the other hand was awesome. The guy does an almost spot-on Curtis. But that's not enough to save the film.
I think director Michael Winterbottom did a much better job of contextualizing and portraying Curtis and Joy Division in his kick-ass film 24 Hour Party People. That movie contained versions of all the pivotal scenes portrayed in Control (Ian's first seizure, Ian's confrontation with Tony Wilson at the club, Ian's last moments), but dealt with them in a much more compelling way. And while Winterbottom was at it, he managed to chronicle two decades of Manchester music - no small feat. (I think the coolest scene in Party People is when we see the newly christened New Order, still mourning Curtis's death, fumbling their way through an embryonic version of "Blue Monday" in their dank practice space. The song would go on to become the biggest selling single in UK chart history.)
So now, some random thoughts about Joy Division and "Control":
- It's awesome that Corbijn references Curtis's love of The Doors early in the film. By his own admission, Curtis owes a tremendous debt to Jim Morrison, and the snarky music fanatic (and unabashed Doors fan) in me thinks it's awesome that Corbijn acknowledges this in his film.
- Joy Division were so fucking cool it's kinda ridiculous. Their dark hooks continue to be pretty much irresistible to generations of angst-ridden kids, while their unrelentingly linear sound has been massively influential (we must also credit production genius Martin Hannett here). And their look! In the annals of rock history, you will find only a handful of bands that so effortlessly looked as cool as Joy Division. It's like their clothes were the perfect compliment to their sound. Yes, you can say that about a lot of bands in this day and age, but it's always contrived. Joy Division's fashion sense looked as if it literally seeped out of their amp cabinets and onto their bodies.
- If my boys ever endeavor to be in rock bands (and I pray that they do), I will sit them down and play for them choice cuts by JD. At the end of this little listening session, I will enumerate the lessons learned: 1) You need to have a sound that is your own. 2) Less is more. Listen to the sparseness of this music. Listen to what is not there. Listen to how powerful simple bass, drums, guitar and vocals can be. 3) You need to look cool. 4) Be mysterious - the world does not need to know everything about you, or what you had for breakfast. To which they will of course reply: "Whatever, dad. We wanna hear that Poison record - the one with 'Talk Dirty To Me.'"
- Ian Curtis was kind of a narcissistic dick. If you were going to kill yourself, why would you hang yourself in your living room, knowing that your loved ones would find you and be scarred for life by the image of it? David Foster Wallace just did this exact thing. WTF, people? If you must shuffle yourself off this mortal coil, please have the decency and foresight to do it some place where a complete stranger will find you, instead of the people who really care about you. I mean, c'mon. It's just rude.
I'm off to listen to Unknown Pleasures for the 14th time this week. Toodles! ~ Tim
The verdict: it was just OK.
Much has been made about director Anton Corbijn's decision to film the movie in black and white. I'm a fan of Corbijn's iconic shots of bands like U2 and REM (and Joy Division) as much as the next guy, but the reason those shots are so powerful is that they're moments captured in time. They're iconic. But there's nothing iconic or powerful about a guy waiting for the bus, or brushing his teeth. In other words, it's difficult/impossible to sustain Corbijn's dramatic aesthetic over the course of a 2 hour, live action feature film. It really just ends up looking like any other black and white movie.
The film's star, Sam Riley, bears an incredible resemblance to Ian Curtis, and his acting was proficient if not revelatory. His singing on the other hand was awesome. The guy does an almost spot-on Curtis. But that's not enough to save the film.
I think director Michael Winterbottom did a much better job of contextualizing and portraying Curtis and Joy Division in his kick-ass film 24 Hour Party People. That movie contained versions of all the pivotal scenes portrayed in Control (Ian's first seizure, Ian's confrontation with Tony Wilson at the club, Ian's last moments), but dealt with them in a much more compelling way. And while Winterbottom was at it, he managed to chronicle two decades of Manchester music - no small feat. (I think the coolest scene in Party People is when we see the newly christened New Order, still mourning Curtis's death, fumbling their way through an embryonic version of "Blue Monday" in their dank practice space. The song would go on to become the biggest selling single in UK chart history.)
So now, some random thoughts about Joy Division and "Control":
- It's awesome that Corbijn references Curtis's love of The Doors early in the film. By his own admission, Curtis owes a tremendous debt to Jim Morrison, and the snarky music fanatic (and unabashed Doors fan) in me thinks it's awesome that Corbijn acknowledges this in his film.
- Joy Division were so fucking cool it's kinda ridiculous. Their dark hooks continue to be pretty much irresistible to generations of angst-ridden kids, while their unrelentingly linear sound has been massively influential (we must also credit production genius Martin Hannett here). And their look! In the annals of rock history, you will find only a handful of bands that so effortlessly looked as cool as Joy Division. It's like their clothes were the perfect compliment to their sound. Yes, you can say that about a lot of bands in this day and age, but it's always contrived. Joy Division's fashion sense looked as if it literally seeped out of their amp cabinets and onto their bodies.
- If my boys ever endeavor to be in rock bands (and I pray that they do), I will sit them down and play for them choice cuts by JD. At the end of this little listening session, I will enumerate the lessons learned: 1) You need to have a sound that is your own. 2) Less is more. Listen to the sparseness of this music. Listen to what is not there. Listen to how powerful simple bass, drums, guitar and vocals can be. 3) You need to look cool. 4) Be mysterious - the world does not need to know everything about you, or what you had for breakfast. To which they will of course reply: "Whatever, dad. We wanna hear that Poison record - the one with 'Talk Dirty To Me.'"
- Ian Curtis was kind of a narcissistic dick. If you were going to kill yourself, why would you hang yourself in your living room, knowing that your loved ones would find you and be scarred for life by the image of it? David Foster Wallace just did this exact thing. WTF, people? If you must shuffle yourself off this mortal coil, please have the decency and foresight to do it some place where a complete stranger will find you, instead of the people who really care about you. I mean, c'mon. It's just rude.
I'm off to listen to Unknown Pleasures for the 14th time this week. Toodles! ~ Tim
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Taillights Fade...
Great article in Advertising Age this week about how major labels - with the help of the RIAA - are slowly digging their own graves. Check it out here:
http://adage.com/mediaworks/article?article_id=130766
And it's pretty much true: majors are so fixated on making money the old school way that they can't - or won't - embrace new technologies and the new playing field that has unfolded before them. In a way, you can't blame them. These are massive machines that support thousands and thousands of people (except for those who are getting laid off...). It's like trying to turn around an air craft carrier: it's gonna take a few days, only in this instance, a few days equals a few decades in major label years. And by then, it'll be way, way too late.
This is why we love to work with independent labels. Because they are quick and nimble and open-minded and they get it. They understand the awareness = new fans = revenue equation. And they have (in most cases) the lean infrastructure to be able to adapt to change. One of the key differences between indies and majors is that indies (and particularly artists) have been able to use disruptive technology to their advantage, whereas majors - having sunk billions over the years into establishing slow, lumbering machines - have been caught completely offguard.
It's sad and frustrating watching the majors try to wring every last drop of blood from their once fruitful stone. For me, the most telling "we're completely hosed" moment was when they started charging media outlets blanket fees to stream their music videos, seeing as how videos were totally promotional for, oh, about 40 years.
I could go on and on (just ask my fellow Brandrackateers...), but you get the point. Jack be nimble, Jack be quick. Whatever you do, Jack, don't be a major label in 2008. ~ Tim
http://adage.com/mediaworks/article?article_id=130766
And it's pretty much true: majors are so fixated on making money the old school way that they can't - or won't - embrace new technologies and the new playing field that has unfolded before them. In a way, you can't blame them. These are massive machines that support thousands and thousands of people (except for those who are getting laid off...). It's like trying to turn around an air craft carrier: it's gonna take a few days, only in this instance, a few days equals a few decades in major label years. And by then, it'll be way, way too late.
This is why we love to work with independent labels. Because they are quick and nimble and open-minded and they get it. They understand the awareness = new fans = revenue equation. And they have (in most cases) the lean infrastructure to be able to adapt to change. One of the key differences between indies and majors is that indies (and particularly artists) have been able to use disruptive technology to their advantage, whereas majors - having sunk billions over the years into establishing slow, lumbering machines - have been caught completely offguard.
It's sad and frustrating watching the majors try to wring every last drop of blood from their once fruitful stone. For me, the most telling "we're completely hosed" moment was when they started charging media outlets blanket fees to stream their music videos, seeing as how videos were totally promotional for, oh, about 40 years.
I could go on and on (just ask my fellow Brandrackateers...), but you get the point. Jack be nimble, Jack be quick. Whatever you do, Jack, don't be a major label in 2008. ~ Tim
Friday, September 5, 2008
News Flash: People Like Free Music
Here's an interesting article from Wired:
http://blog.wired.com/music/2008/02/free-music-boos.html
It talks about how Last.fm's traffic went up 58% after they added free, ad-supported music to the site. Hmmm...kinda like what we've been doing for our clients over the last 3 years, in a much cooler, less-obtrusive way (if you ask me).
Yes, it's true: people like free music. They especially like free music with no strings attached. They get the music, they share it with their friends. This leads to more fans for participating artists and labels, resulting in more cash in their pockets via the sale of music, concert tickets, DVDs, merchandise, ringtones, and whatever else they want to sell. Meanwhile, the site on which people find the music gets more traffic because people are telling their friends about it.
This is not rocket science, people. Free music is good for everyone. Learn it. Love it. Live it. ~ Tim
http://blog.wired.com/music/2008/02/free-music-boos.html
It talks about how Last.fm's traffic went up 58% after they added free, ad-supported music to the site. Hmmm...kinda like what we've been doing for our clients over the last 3 years, in a much cooler, less-obtrusive way (if you ask me).
Yes, it's true: people like free music. They especially like free music with no strings attached. They get the music, they share it with their friends. This leads to more fans for participating artists and labels, resulting in more cash in their pockets via the sale of music, concert tickets, DVDs, merchandise, ringtones, and whatever else they want to sell. Meanwhile, the site on which people find the music gets more traffic because people are telling their friends about it.
This is not rocket science, people. Free music is good for everyone. Learn it. Love it. Live it. ~ Tim
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