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[ Comments Off ]Posted on November 10, 2009 by admin in Music
Tuesday, November 10th, 2009
The new release from Noah and the Whale is more than a breakup album; it’s a 45 minute breakup film as well.
The other day a friend of mine in Scotland turned me on to the latest Noah and the Whale release The First Days of Spring
. I’m not always a huge fan of bands that might fall into some sort of alt/folk category, but this release is indeed “pure, dead gorgeous”, as my friend put it. The release is in one way a classic “breakup album”, but with a twist: it was conceived alongside a 45 minute film produced by the band. You can view the trailer at left, which features the wistfully hopeful Blue Skies
. If the trailer is any indication, the film should be well worth a view on its own; with some compelling images and editing, they’ve cleverly created the feeling that you’re viewing an extended trailer from a non-existent conventional feature film that used their music. It’ll be interesting to see how they actually distribute the film; so far it’s only been shown at special screenings, and as of this writing there are no more US dates. It will, however, be available on DVD as part of an upcoming 2-disc edition. I would think they’d make it more available to coincide with release dates, but releasing a conceptual, slightly abstract film in conjunction with an album of songs is bold, uncharted….oh wait. Never mind
. Read the rest of this entry »
[ 1 Comment ]Posted on November 4, 2009 by admin in Popular Media
Wednesday, November 4th, 2009
It’s actually pretty two-dimensional. They want your money. They want their profits back.
As I sat at a friend of a friend’s house the other evening watching a torrented “DVD rip” of the new Star Trek movie
two weeks before its release date, it struck me that there’s a bit of irony in the fact that Disney is using a remake of “A Christmas Carol” to help roll out the film industy’s latest flailing attempt to save its way of life – the 3D movie. At a time in US history that teeters on the edge of being Dickensian, to take a story that is typically viewed as an indictment of nineteenth century industrial capitalism and use it as part of a platform that is meant to help Hollywood regain control of its media and its profits is either a master stroke or incredibly foolish. They’re going to have to do something though, I may have been watching a copy of a DVD release a couple of weeks early, but Star Trek was available as a torrent while the film was still in theaters. Hollywood’s been warming you up with 3D re-releases of Toy Story, Toy Story 2, and The Nightmare Before Christmas, but the acid test will be James Cameron’s Avatar, set for release around the holidays, and touted as the spearhead of the new assault of 3D in theaters. If you haven’t pieced this all together yet, Hollywood’s idea is to offer something in theaters you won’t be able to take home later. Will it work? I personally don’t think so; I agree to some degree with the thinking of people like Chris Anderson, who’s book Free: The Future of a Radical Price
points up the fact that pop media has little value in itself, but is a great way to build customer engagement. I mean, a pop song is 99 cents on iTunes, and Star Trek is free at my friend’s house. Why would I pay even more to watch a movie in an already overpriced theater? I’m not alone in this thinking, this mom’s reaction highlights Hollywood’s ongoing disconnect. In my opinion, the greed will eventually kill them. They literally own our brains already by virtue of how media like Toy Story saturates our existence and generates ancillary sales, but it’s not enough. They still want cash up front. Sorry Hollywood, my life is already in 3D. That’s precisely why I go to a movie or play; to invest a little imagination and get away from things. Read the rest of this entry »
[ Comments Off ]Posted on October 15, 2009 by admin in Popular Media
Thursday, October 15th, 2009
Lars von Trier’s latest film has everything you need to grab some headlines: Misogyny, dying babies, genital mutilation, and demonic talking foxes.
When you’re trying to market a film these days, it’s hard to cut through the noise. If that’s what you need to do though, call your film Antichrist, be sure to include lots of misogyny, scenes of babies falling to their death while people have orgasms, use the latest HD cameras, and attach a big name like Willem Dafoe to the project. Apparently it helps if you seem to be having a nervous breakdown in the first round of casting, and claim in the press that you’re not sure if you’ll ever make another film. I sound like I’m pre-judging Lars von Trier’s latest film “Antichrist”, but I’m really not. Who knows, it may be the greatest thing since Herzog’s Fitzcarraldo, which also has stories about the production that rival the drama of the film itself; see for instance, this clip, in which Herzog explains how one of the native chiefs appearing in the shoot offered to kill Klaus Kinski. In all honesty, although I was very intrigued with von Trier’s approach to shooting Dogville, I’ve only seen miscellaneous clips of his work. However, the fact that Antichrist looks beautifully creepy in the clips I’ve seen, is so completely surrounded by controversy, and won an “anti award” at Cannes will probably compel me to see it. Antichrist is slated for odd US release dates; it’ll be available via Video On Demand on October 21, and in limited release October 23. See IMDB for the various release dates. Since it was shot with Red One HD cameras, the YouTube clip above doesn’t really do it justice; consider viewing the HD trailers at Apple.com Read the rest of this entry »
[ Comments Off ]Posted on September 7, 2009 by admin in Popular Media
Monday, September 7th, 2009
The folks who brought you the Halliburton SurvivaBall™ are back to fix the world again.
Remember The Yes Men? Don’t feel badly. Not many people do, in spite of their outrageous antics. The Yes Men are consummate culture jammers who utilize “identity correction” by pretending to be people of position or power, or spokespersons for prominent organizations, and then making public statements on their behalf. One of their most well-executed stunts involved appearing on BBC World Television as Dow representatives, to apologize and promise restitution for the Bhopal Disaster. Needless to say the Dow Corporation wasn’t too pleased, but the stunt came off so well that the BBC actually asked them back after their cover was blown. Another stunt that briefly duped some news sources was the The Halliburton SurvivaBall™, “An advanced new technology that will keep corporate managers safe even when climate change makes life as we know it impossible“. This one was so over-the-top that it quickly became appreciated simply for its utter absurdity. The Yes Men released an hilarious movie (aptly titled The Yes Men
) about their ballsy adventures back in 2004, and they’re at it again. If you’re an HBO subscriber you may have already seen it, but watch for The Yes Men Fix The World in US theaters October 7. Read the rest of this entry »
[ Comments Off ]Posted on September 2, 2009 by admin in Popular Media
Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009
After seeing the new Taser 3 web site, I was left screaming “GO AHEAD, TASE ME BRO!”
I’m really not a masochist, but viewing the web site for the new Taser X3 yesterday left me with a feeling of “Wow. Getting tased looks really pleasant“. It also reminded me that really good advertising and marketing campaigns don’t need to describe a product that you like to engage you and build a relationship. A great example of this is the UNIQLOCK site. I easily spent 10 or 15 minutes there, not even realizing it was pitching a product. I didn’t care; I love the Japanese pop of Fantastic Plastic Machine
they used in all the clips, and the visuals were strangely engaging in that way that only the Japanese can muster. Can you figure out what the product is? After you view the site, see the campaign details and more video here if you’re curious. Many of these sites use the still rather under-explored medium of Flash, which when used well, is great for greenwashing, as evident in both this Michelin site and this General Electric Smart Grid site. The Michelin guy already had his “cute cred”, but that GE site almost leaves you feeling like the planet raping war contractor and media company really cares. On a possibly more sincere note, check out the Eco Zoo (say “Ecodazoo!” briskly with a Japanese accent), complete with virtual pop-up books designed to instill a little conservation thinking in kids, without them even knowing it’s happening. There are thousands of these kinds of sites out there, created by hip (and usually new) ad agencies like Switch, BrandStudio.ru (they did this Toyota born every 5 seconds site), BBH, and Mono 1. This site, for instance, is Mono’s idea of a happy new year wish. Below are some screen grabs and more links, and you can find a nice round up of more Flash sites like this here. Have any of your own to share? Read the rest of this entry »
