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The Audio Version Of David Byrne’s Bicycle Diaries Is Destined For A Mashup

[ Comments Off ]Posted on September 17, 2010 by admin in Popular Media

Friday, September 17th, 2010

David Byrne’s got to find a city to live in. And he’s doing it by bicycle. Check out Byrne’s clever marketing and creative production of the audio version of his book “Bicycle Diaries”.


I’ve always felt a funny connection with David Byrne’s work. I have this mild delusion that I’m an alien anthropologist, sent here to observe the strange behavior of humans. It makes it easier to accept all the killing, abuse and neglect they engage in with each other. And as a musician, I’ve always leaned on technology and tend to “talk sing” because my voice has a rich timbre but I have no real skill musical or singing skill. If you’re at all familiar with Byrne’s music, alien-like demeanor, disturbing gaze, and unusual speech patterns, I think you can understand why I feel a certain simpatico. Which is why I’m looking forward to the release of the audio version of his book Bicycle Diaries. I haven’t read the actual book, and don’t know if I’ll get around to it. Managing one’s media consumption is a full time job these days, and I’m not that interested in cycling or the insights of genius IQ media stars. But I’m excited about the release of this audio version. I’d be less excited about it if it were simply Byrne reading his book; his strange diction and delivery might easily drive one insane or hypnotize them over the course of an hour. But Byrne has taken a slightly creative approach and added ambient sounds, walla, and occasional music to the recording. The intro is available for free on his site, and if the mixes don’t get any crazier than this, the book should actually be quite listenable. Kind of like those NPR programs that are lightly punctuated with “wild sound” as segment segues. And he’s using a clever marketing method; instead of having to purchase the whole thing for $19.95, you can buy individual chapters for $2.49 after reviewing 30 second clips. The full release is scheduled for September 28. Personally, I’m looking forward to the inevitable mashups. What a treasure trove of material for slicing and dicing into an audio/video collage! Read the rest of this entry »

Joaquin Phoenix’s I’m Still Here

[ Comments Off ]Posted on September 11, 2010 by admin in Popular Media

Saturday, September 11th, 2010

Joaquin Phoenix is one big hot bowl o’ crazy. Which is why I can’t wait to see his new film I’m Still Here: The Lost Year of Joaquin Phoenix. On DVD in November, in theaters this week. And probably not to be found as a torrent.


I don’t really know much about Joaquin Phoenix. I’ve never been exactly sure how his name is pronounced, and although I thought he was AWESOME as Johnny Cash in Walk the Line (and did a fantastic job on the soundtrack), and in spite of his busy career, I can’t think of another film he’s been in except as narrator of EARTHLINGS, the documentary about animal abuse and factory farms. The first time I remember hearing of him was when I had a surreal experience a few nights after his brother died at the Viper Club. I was at a different club when the L.A. Style club hit James Brown Is Dead came on, and I leaned to a friend and said “River Phoenix. Is Dead”. A few minutes later the entire dance floor was screaming the same words as they danced. Over drinks later my friend said “thank God Joaquin wasn’t there tonight”. I had no idea who he was talking about. But in spite of (or maybe because of) my ignorance, and the fact that he gives the impression that he’s one big huge bowl of crazy, I must confess to kind of being a fan. Which is why I’m looking forward to seeing I’m Still Here: The Lost Year of Joaquin Phoenix, which is in limited release (“limited” apparently doesn’t include the cultural backwater in which I live) in the US as of yesterday. The film – shot by his brother in law – allegedly follows Phoenix’s career transition from actor to rapper over the past couple of years. Reviews are mixed, with many asserting that it’s probably a deadpan satirical mockumentary, which is my guess as well. And which is why I kind of admire the guy. In the tradition of Andy Kaufman, Crispin Glover, Pee Wee Herman, and frankly, a tradition stretching all the way back to the surrealists, Phoenix keeps you wondering with things like his perplexing appearance on David Letterman (clip below) and a quietly but insanely erratic personal life. I for one would LOVE to roll my car and have Wim Wenders come to the rescue. The DVD isn’t out until November, and if you’re not in a major city, who knows if the film will even come to your town. If you really want to see the film in the near future, you may be able to find I’m Still Here as a torrent. Personally I’ll wait. Seeing this in the theater would be a fun night with friends. Trailer and Letterman clips below. Read the rest of this entry »

Osama Bin Laden Captured

[ Comments Off ]Posted on September 5, 2010 by admin in Popular Media

Sunday, September 5th, 2010

On film, in a campy Bollywood comedy called Tere Bin Laden, with a fun Desi soundtrack

It appears that just in time for September 11, Osama Bin Laden has finally been captured. On film. In India. In spite of rumors earlier this year that Osama was alive and well and enjoying a relaxing life in Iran with his falcons, it turns out he’s actually happily surrounded by cocks in Pakistan. At least that’s the basis of the premise for a new Indian comedy called Tere Bin Laden. In spite of an obviously limited budget, the film is actually a fun 90-minute goof full of jabs at the war on terror and the cultural collisions of south Asia and the middle east. The story revolves around a young reporter working for a low-budget Pakistani TV news channel that dreams of moving to “Amreeka” and becoming a famous international correspondent. Having been deported from the US once already, his chances of realizing his dream have become slim. Given a choice of either creating a new identity with a forged passport for 272 grand (in an unspecified currency) or going to Iran as a mujahadeen so he could surrender in Iraq and get to America for free – but as a traitor/insurgent – he is convinced his dreams may be dashed. After botching the coverage of a press conference and being forced to pay his boss a fine to keep his job, the last straw is when he and his partner get assigned to a “cock opera”, i.e., a rooster crowing contest. His fortune seems to turn while editing the footage from the contest, when he realizes that the owner of the winning chicken is a dead ringer for Osama Bin Laden. This inspires him to hatch a crazy plan that ends up causing a US invasion. The flick is no cinematic masterpiece, but is a fun piece of Bollywood camp that shows a lot of potential for the team that created it. It was written and directed by Abhishek Sharma, and produced by Pooja Shetty Deora and Aarti Shetty. The gags are silly, the cultural cliches are rampant, but I enjoyed it if only for a fresh view of America from abroad, the hilariously bad American accents, and a mostly upbeat desi soundtrack. The site for the movie is kind of amusing too. Trailer and screengrabs below. You might watch the film simply because you can, it’s been banned in Pakistan. Read the rest of this entry »

A Listful of Dollars, Infostractions For Graphtards, & More YouTubidity

[ Comments Off ]Posted on August 28, 2010 by admin in Popular Media

Saturday, August 28th, 2010

Our final collection of pointless infographics, lists of stupid lists, and the videos that eat up any time you have left over after Facebook.


Completely irrelevant photo
of Heather Locklear

I’m always searching for ways to bring you interesting content without actually doing any work. For a long time, I achieved this with our Monday Demotivators, but with the incredible growth in the unemployment sector, no one’s at work on Monday these days to avoid it, so we dropped that weekly feature back in December 2009. More recently, I thought I’d sneak by with a weekly “linkdump” (like this one and this one), but quickly realized that this would be almost as much work as actually writing something, so I hope you enjoy this final collection of useless infographics, pointless lists, and YouTubidity. The infographics and videos are first, because the stupid list of 66 stupid lists would take you almost as long to peruse as the hours of suffering all the involved parties endured in the hope that someone would actually take the time to look it over. Oh. But before we move on, my pick for link of the week is the story of how Coach scrubbed their brand clean of all the filthy Snooki. Read the rest of this entry »

Is The Printed Book Dead?

[ 3 Comments ]Posted on August 27, 2010 by admin in Popular Media

Friday, August 27th, 2010

The “is it dead” question gets pretty tedious, until it becomes a reality, as with newspapers. Is the death of the book imminent? If you answer that question with a resounding “no”, I’d bet a nickel you’re over forty.


Not surprisingly, this title is
only available for the Kindle

Is it dead yet? Is the Internet dead? Is Facebook dead? If you spend enough time on the web, this kind of question becomes incredibly tedious. See The Tragic Death of Practically Everything if you don’t know what I mean; it’s a tidy roundup of press about the death of everything from iPods to e-mail, including the death of both print and eBooks. Now that would be a tragedy. If that happened, what would we read, especially now that the iPad is killing the magazine (and 18 other things) as well? As a result of all this kind of linkbait content flooding the web, I actually find it refreshing when one of these deaths is more or less confirmed. Especially when it impacts me directly. It wasn’t too long ago that you could debate whether newspapers are dead, but I think the eulogy is being delivered as you read this. And now, at last, I think the real death of the printed book is imminent. Although as recently as September 2009 I was pondering the pros and cons of eBooks vs their dead tree counterparts, a few pieces of information finally tipped the scales for me recently, which was a relief, because I’m nearly finished with a book myself, and was struggling a bit with how to market it. The fact that there’s an iPad vs Kindle debate going on at all is a powerful statement that those who understand books and making money are committed to the future of the eBook. But what is probably informing my decision even more is the wealth of information about how much money you DON’T make in traditional publishing. My first glimpse into this was this article from last year in which the author of a top 20 NYT bestseller shares that she netted about 27 grand for her troubles. And most recently, influencer and media guru Seth Godin said that in spite of his significant success with traditional publishing, he’s giving it up for his future releases. Which has helped me solidify my plan to forgo the traditional publishing route (unless you can introduce me to Ellen or Oprah) and utilize a mix of guerrilla marketing and the web, with print on demand solutions to satisfy the paper-addicted. I often joke that with certain technologies like landline phones you need only wait for the over-fifty crowd to die and the technology will die with them, but books are much more emotional. What do you think? Will the book be joining its distant cousin the newspaper within say, a decade? And if your answer is a resolute “no”, are you over forty? Read the rest of this entry »

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