Entries Tagged as 'controversy'

Saturday, March 22nd, 2008

culture seeks its level

In Nation of Rebels: Why Counterculture Became Consumer Culture, Joseph Heath and Andrew Potter explain that really, there was never any conflict between the two to begin with. Counterculture hinges on, and consumer culture consists of, the expression of your lifestyle/identity. Whether you’re choosing to wear Nikes, Doc Martens, or some crazy obscure Japanese […]

Monday, February 18th, 2008

consumer insight is funny

“You’re just perpetuating the stereotype by acting all stereotypical.”
- deleted line from tony scott’s domino

i have no idea about the racial background of the individual(s) that publish stuff white people like, but does it even matter?
as lenny bruce said, it’s not the word itself, but the censorship of the word that gives it its […]

Monday, January 28th, 2008

a trend’s success

“Is The Tipping Point Toast?” asks the recent FastCompany article in which researcher duncan watts talks about his findings (and their less than exuberant reception) that expose the billion dollars a year marketers spend targeting “influentials” as a waste of money.
i am constantly repeating the phrase that “we buy the brands and products that we […]

Friday, December 21st, 2007

ashton kutcher christmas card

absolutely phenomenal:

Friday, December 21st, 2007

the music industry: destruction/creation

you know, i didn’t even used to care about the music industry. i could vibe on its culturally-relevant aspects, but the industry of the music industry was never all that interesting to me. it was always just this thing…over there. somewhere else. the concert industry, which i have been involved with for a while, is […]

Saturday, December 8th, 2007

does your music have a stock symbol?

If you ain’t never been to the ghetto
Don’t ever come to the ghetto
‘Cause you wouldn’t understand the ghetto
~ Naughty By Nature, “Ghetto Bastard”

used to be that if you were a musician the only way you could get ANY kind of significant distribution for your music was through a record label. cassettes and cds made […]

Thursday, November 29th, 2007

quantum marketing

i’ll admit right now that this is not what i ought to be writing about.
i’ve been travelling for more of the past month than i’ve been at home, and just coming up with things to write about that i had no time to follow through on. so now that i’ve finally gotten to shower in […]

Saturday, November 3rd, 2007

whatever, internet

cut it out, internet.
everyday there’s some kind of new technology hoopla vying for my attention with the sordid insidiousness of a tabloid magazine at the checkout counter. and i don’t even buy that shit, but for some reason i can never resist trying to get the latest download on what’s going on in brad and […]

Thursday, October 18th, 2007

brands are labels too

worst case scenario, who would lose out if the music industry disappeared?
the fans and musicians would still be able to connect now that they have the internet to act as matchmaker. in fact, even huge acts such as Radiohead and NIN are starting to ditch their labels , cutting out the despotic middleman to regain […]

Tuesday, October 16th, 2007

across the universe’s “discovery strategy” model

first, you need to watch the trailer for sony pictures’ across the universe: here. if you cannot be trusted to come back here afterwards, however, you can just watch the shittier-quality youtube version:

ok then. now that you have been adequately briefed, we can begin.
i first saw the trailer for across the universe on quicktime.com in […]