I know, it’s been quite a while since I’ve written here. I’ve felt guilty about it for a while, but I’ve honestly been so side-tracked with getting the music site, The Round Table, running consistently. Bad excuse I know. So while I think of some cool things to blog about here — figured I’d share something semi-funny with ya’ll.
In 1987, Hellraiser, was the-must-see scary movie. Did I see it? No, I was six at the time, but I distinctly remember being terrified by the movie poster. Our local movie store in town had it plastered on their door to promote the film. Every Saturday for about a month, whenever I’d visit he movie store with my Dad to pick out movies for the weekend, I came face to face with that damn movie poster. It was awful. I tried everything, closing my eyes, looking the other way, but still always ended up having nightmares.
Point being – I’m still a massive baby. Today while (reluctantly) reading Perez Hilton, I came across a post with that EXACT same movie poster. It turns out they are re-making Hellraiser. D’oh. More sleepless nights… Join my misery…
There are times when someone’s already said everything you’ve been meaning to say. This is one of those times. Listen to Ashley Arrison’s “Losing You.” Watch it…think about it….then read the lyrics if there’s still any confusion.
Alright, this will be my last music related post (maybe…) for a while on this blog. I mean, I do have The Round Table as my music writing outlet, but sometimes I just feel the need to share a music gem (or two) here as well in case ya’ll are too lazy to click over to the RT.
Now, this isn’t another video featuring a crazy stalker bear (Eddie, I’m still cracking up over the escalator part!), rather, it’s from my latest musical obsession, Jill & Kate. Sick sick harmonies, their voices sound as one, the best part is they’re funny as heck (read their blog), yet their recent EP, Finding My Own Way (plug…plug), is filled with some of the saddest break up songs around.
This track “Guess I Better Move On” isn’t on the EP since they just wrote it, but check it out — video and lyrics below. The question is – are these girls in my head – cause they definitely wrote this for me. Jill & Kate, give me a shout – seriously, we need to discuss…P.S. – KC fans, peep the voice of the cameraman — ehem — woman.
Guess I Better Move On
I think I’m going just a little bit crazy
You’re never gonna change
And I’m a fighter but it’s getting late and I’m just about to break
I’ve been tripping on every step
Ever since I put on these shoes
And all the roads we take
How come they never are the roads we’d choose
I’m falling fast
I don’t think I’m gonna last
But I hold on til I hit the bottom
Then I let go cause it’s all I know
And it’s not like I haven’t fought it
But when everybody says it’s over
When everybody says it’s over
Guess I better move on
These are only words but they’re all that I have left
I’ve been chasing you climbing your ladders
You don’t ever stop to rest
And I don’t want to give in
Cause I don’t want you to win
I’m falling fast
I don’t think I’m gonna last
But I hold on til I hit the bottom
Then I let go cause it’s all I know
And it’s not like I haven’t fought it
But when everybody says it’s over
When everybody says it’s over
Guess I better move on
Guess I better move on
I’m fighting for every word
I want it so bad it hurts
But you have stolen every bit of hope I had and I don’t think I’m gonna last
The five words that are tossed around relentlessly in my profession that I’ve grown to hate, yet am forced to integrate (just missed the cut) into my vocab on a daily basis. Really, there’s nothing revolting about these words/phrases rather it all comes down to the context in which they are used.
1. Leverage – this is hoity-toity marketing speak for “use”. Why can’t we just say use anymore?
2. Assets – can we be more vague? What are our assets? Most days this consists of news, video, and/or images. I know – annoying right?
3. Loop – Most commonly used as a verb: “I’ll loop you in,” which loosely translates to “I don’t feel like doing this work, so I’ll be sure to pass it off to you in front of others so you can’t decline.”
4. Case Study – Everything is considered a case study – but rarely is any thing a TRUE case study. However, I’ve affectionately come to refer to the dreaded case study as – CS.
5. Thanks so much – Most commonly used as a reply to the “I’ll loop you in” comment. It’s drenched in sarcasm and dripping with disdain, but still seems civil in tone, unless your recipient is wise to you.
Ok, so this is really for the one “fan,” Matt, who called me out on the lapse between today’s date and my last post. See, I’ve been taking a bit of a breather from the internets these last few days, but for good reason.
For those who don’t know, I quit my job. I had intended on being there two more weeks, but my employer saw things differently. No worries though, it’s all good and I’m just hanging out for a while.
It’s been nice not being on a constant deadlines, choking down lunch in order to sit on conference calls for hours, then racing home to try and enjoy some sunlight. I don’t remember the last time I had this much freedom, maybe it was in college? (surgery leave not included – there’s nothing relaxing about 20 stitches holding your stomach together)
So what do I do all day long? Well, I get up pretty early (still), enjoy some breakfast while reading the newspaper (a hardcopy, not online), enjoy a nice cup of tea, then go for a walk around town. After that I’ll take a shower, check some email (I can’t completely avoid the internet!), chat with some friends, check a few blogs, then shut down for a bit. I might read some more or just run random errands that I haven’t been able to do during the day in several years like: go to the cleaners, go to a bank and deal with a teller (rather than ATM machine) and so on.
Unfortunately, the weather hasn’t been very nice so I haven’t enjoyed the outdoors as much as I’d like to, but hoping that will change next week. I’ve hit up the local Borders quite a few times to browse for some books and have spent way too much time in CVS fighting with pharmacists over perscriptions (don’t get me started!).
Aside from that, when all else fails, I’ll enjoy a ridiculously entertaining marathon of Bravo shows (Real HouseWives of OC/NYC and Millionaire MatchMaker) followed by lots of Food Network (I love you, Tyler Florence, Bobby Flay, Paula Deen, Giada) and the occasional HGTV show (though not too many because it makes me want to destroy something and try to rebuild it).
It doesn’t sound very exciting, but I’m actually enjoying every moment of it. Hopefully the weather will clear up and I can head into the city for some long over due lunch dates with folks.
Yup, so that’s about it. So now you have a new blog to read for March. Feel free to contribute blog topics if you’re bored reading about my daily activities.
For my fellow music junkies out there, WIRED magazine’s January issue has quite a few articles of note on the future of music, its value, and the industry itself. The article that really caught my attention was a short conversation between Thom Yorke, lead singer of Radiohead, and David Bryne, musician/co-founder Talking Heads, discussing “the real value of music.”
Always an interesting topic to kick around with my fellow colleagues at the Round Table. But I wanted to share a portion of the conversation that resonated with me:
Byrne: ” I’ve been thinking about how distribution and CDs and record shops and all that stuff are changing. But we’re talking about music. What is music, what does music do for people? What do people get from it? What’s it for? That’s the thing that’s being exchanged. Not all the other stuff. The other stuff is the shopping cart that holds some of it.”
Yorke: “It’s a delivery service.”
Byrne: “But people will still pay to have that experience. You create a community with music, not just at concerts, but by talking about it with your friends. By making a copy and handing it to your friends, you’ve established a relationship. The implication is that they’re now obligated to give you something back.”
For members of a music community it’s not about dollars and cents. It’s about entrusting someone with something intangible that they deem priceless and that action implies that, in turn, you’ll return the favor. Once you do, your payment is fulfilled. Pretty interesting concept, but definitely not a new one. I’d imagine before the world got hung up on album/cd sales, this was standard thinking.
Recommend reading the rest of the interview here. And while you’re at it, check out David’s take on “The Future of Music,” again interesting perspective coming from a label owner himself.
Received a tweet from my good friend Paull Young, inviting me to they upcoming Social Media Breakfast in the city on December 11th. Pretty excited about it. I don’t get to attend many events lately as I work outside of the city, so it’ll be nice to finally meet a few of the folks I converse with via email, Twitter and a few other networking sites.
Eric Krangel, virtual world reporter for Reuters, will be on hand for the discussion. Definitely looking forward to hearing some of his thoughts on how social media is impacting the journalism/communications field.
The breakfast is being sponsored by Converseon, Paull’s company, and Text 100. It’s free to attend so if you’re interested in social media and communications, you might want to check out Paull’s blog for more details on registering.
Out of boredom, mostly due to the fact that my company is still open at 2p on Thanksgiving Eve, I decided to surf the Ticketmaster website. Randomly searched on a few artists I enjoy, just to see when/where they might be playing in the near future.
Among the artists searched was Alicia Keys. Yes, I’m still on my Alicia high since her performance on AMA’s — and now after today’s news that her cd As I Am has debuted on the charts at #1 with over 740k sold.
Wait, back to ticket searching. So my query yielded 2 results and one happens to be z100’s Jingle Ball. I’m not sure when Z100 Jingle Ball started, though I’m pretty sure I attended one of the first Jingle Ball concerts (ever?) back in ‘95 or ‘96. That particular year, Jingle Ball was dubbed as “Girls Rule the Yule” where all artists performing were female singers — No Doubt, Sheryl Crow, Tracy Chapman, Jewel, Sarah McLaughlin, just to name a few. It was amazing…
The concert started at 7 and ended well after 11p and back then I paid (ok, my parents paid) no more than $100/ticket. And we had damngood seats. Do you have any idea what the going rate for a seat to this year’s Jingle Ball is? Going rate as in you’re lucky enough to snag one on Ticketmaster rather than through scalper…
$235. For $235 you can have a floor seat to Jingle Ball. For a mere $210 you can be seated anywhere above floor level. RIDICULOUS. What’s even more ridiculous? They’ve just put “worst seats in the house” tickets on sale. So for $40 (not including surcharge), you can sit in MSG and hear the concert, but not see it.
And people are buying them. Talk about inflation man!
So this year’s concert bill includes: Alicia Keys, Jonas Brothers, Miley Cyrus, Fall Out Boy, Avril Lavigne, and others. Maybe my cynicism is a result of my age increasing, but paying $235 ourtright to see the likes of Jonas Brothers and Miley Cyrus isnoteven remotely appealing. Hell, even if Jingle Ball had the original line up I saw back in ‘96, well established artists now, I still doubt I’d drop $235 on a concert.
Who do I really feel bad for? The parents! How can a family even remotely afford to take their kids to a concert these days? Man, a family of four would have to take out a small loan just to attend Jingle Ball!
So I’ve reached my boiling point with a client. Yup, so I have to take it to the blog for a second.
Recently, a client of mine, that will go unnamed, had an incredibly promising meeting with a major consumer publication whose name begins with an “F.” After the meeting the client was very excited about the potential of building this professional relationship, after all, that’s what PR is all about, building relationships, right?!
So a day goes by — we connect with the writer at this major consumer publication — and he’s so amped on what my client does. He proposes the idea of a feature story to appear on the publication’s website. “Great!” we say and take that news back to the client.
All of a sudden, he balks. “What do you mean an online piece? I won’t be in the print publication?” We gently explain, there’s no guarantee of being in both print and online (though in reality there is never a guarantee that a story will ever run to begin with) and urge him to consider this opportunity as a stepping stone to building a great relationship with said major consumer publication with tremendous market influence…
Three weeks have now passed since that initial meeting with the publication and the client refuses to budge. It’s amazing… and it all comes down to ego. Why would a company, who makes its profits in the online space, hold out to be in print? Simply to take that story, stick it in a frame, and hang it on his wall. Or better yet, knowing him, photocopy it and send it to all the people who once made fun of him. Call it a geek’s ultimate revenge, right? Frustrating.
Aside from frustration, it actually makes me laugh. Why you ask? Because all I can picture is me finally breaking down (in the near future) and screaming at my client, in my best Laurie Ann Gibson impression, “I don’t like ego. To be ego and to be jealous. These things are negative for a reason.”
Who’s Laurie Ann Gibson? Formerly the choreographer on Making the Band 3 (MTB 3), Puffy’s P.Diddy’s “reality” show where thousands of girls auditioned to …er…make the band … or make a girl pop group.
Not only did Laurie Ann make sure the group’s dance moves were tight, she also delivered the most random one-liners and inspirational speeches ever caught on tape. The “ego” lecture was one of my favorites. My friends and I would re-enact that scene over and over, but looking back now, Laurie Ann was totally right.
As she so eloquently put it “to be ego and to be jealous” are, in fact, negative things. I’m starting to realize my job isn’t necessarily relating information to the public, it’s about stroking the ego of these CEOs who need constant reassurance and attention. I’m over it.
I’m exhausted. Spent just about the entire day setting up this blog, but I think I’ve finally worked out the kinks. At least for now.
Usually I don’t dive right into this posting thing without much thought, but the boring, blank page (with my wonderfully positioned sidebar links) was driving me a bit nutty.
Have to admit, didn’t realize it would be so difficult to pick a url name for a blog. I guess I thought I was original enough to come up with something know one has ever thought of before. I was wrong.
Have no fear though, I was able to decide on one that I’m pretty psyched about. So a big “thank you” to all the friends I drove crazy running ideas by all day. It might need a bit of an explanation though. So I’ll do my best.
I’m slightly, ok, majorly , obsessed with Fiona Apple at the moment. Yes, I know, she’s like three albums deep and hasn’t been relevant to the mainstream music scene since ‘97, but I just got into her. (Thanks again Mike, Eddie & Paul). It’s more than just her music, I’m addicted to her lyrics. I love the way that Fiona works and re-works phrases until they fit perfectly to create the most succinct, meaningful line possible.
Even before I started this wordpress process, I had decided my blog name would be taken from a song title or lyric, but I wasn’t sure exactly which one I’d use. After tossing around some ideas with Paul, it hit me:
“my method is uncertain/it’s a mess, but it’s working.”
Aside from describing today’s template creation craziness, this line sums up how I feel about many aspects of my life. Everyone is a work in progress and we all get through the day in different ways. There’s a lot of times where I can’t articulate my approach or the reasons why I do certain things, which might be alarming for some, but it works for me. I always manage to get things done even if it takes a few steps more or a few detours here and there. That’s sort of the abridged explanation, but given I’ve been staring at this website since 9am this morning, it will have to do.
