The Wired Buddha
Monday, December 27, 2010
Favorite Songs of 2010
Saturday, December 18, 2010
DVR isn't the Enemy
- 76% of all viewing is still done "live" even when a DVR is in the home, with sports programming especially.
- Viewers like the breaks. The phone rings, they need a chip re-fill, or another beer. Taking a break during a show gives viewers the chance to catch their breath. Even in playback mode, 40% of commercials are still fully watched.
- When in playback, viewers don't change the channel to watch other shows during the break or leave the room near to the extend that they used to. And people have been doing that for years!
- When a viewer is fast-forwarding through commercials on their DVR, they are focused on the screen. We've all done it. You don't want to miss a portion of the show, so you watch closely to make sure you stop fast-forwarding at the right time. Companies are beginning to leave their name and logo on their commercial longer so it leaves an impression. If the creative is strong, viewers will regularly stop fast-forwarding and rewind to watch the commercial. I do it all the time.
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Working with the Honda Dream motorcycle
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Mashup King Strikes Again
You wouldn’t think that Miley Cyrus’ song “Party in the U.S.A” and the hardcore rap group M.O.P.’s “Ante Up” would particularly go well together, but when you actually hear these two songs mashed together as one song, the sound surprisingly feels comfortable.
Welcome to the newest album “All Day” by the one man group “Girl Talk” AKA Gregg Gillis.
Gillis has been making or “modifying” music sinc
e his first album “Secret Diary” in 2002.
SO what makes this so unique
?
His entire album consist of samples from existing songs, modified and combined with each other to great a new type of song. I know your first reaction is probably like mine.
What a rip off!
but after giving it a decent listen, there is something slightly addictive about it The uncanny way some of these songs mash together is very fun to experience. It helps that a lot of the songs are well known hits from past years, so the album actually takes on a second role as a type of “game” trying to guess which songs the samples are from.
“All Day” is Gillis’ most ambitious album to date, clocking in a 70 minutes long. If you sit through the entire album, you will be exhausted by the end. It never lets up and pummels you without a break for the entire 70 minutes.
That’s my number one cri
tique. It would be nice if he could occasionally slow things down a bit. At the end of the day it will totally wear you out, but if you are trying a dance party, this album will be sure to get it going.
Whether you like it or hate it, It’s very unique, and a sure fire hit if you a planning a party in the near future.
A few of my favorite mashups from the album:
- Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs” on top of Ludacris’ “Move Bitch”
- Cyndi Lauper’s “Time after Time” on top of Young Dro’s “Freeze Me”
- Phoenix’s “1901” on top of Ludacris’ “How Low.”
- Neil Diamond’s “Cherry, Cherry” on top of Crooked I’s “Everythang”
- Kylie Minogue’s “Can’t Get You Out of My Head” on top of Young MC’s “Bust a Move.”
So how does Gillis get away with all of this supposed copyright infringement?
Thanks to Fair Use laws Gillis is able to sample the songs without the threat of getting sued. (For now).
In another break from the norm, Gillis made his album available as a free download on his website www.illegal-art.net.
His site crashed several times on November 16th when he released “All Day.”
So give the album a listen. After a while it may seem a little to frantic but it’s fun to listen to for a while, and if you need some good music to jog to, I guarantee this will give you some extra miles.
Friday, October 22, 2010
Practice makes perfect
Do you play a musical instrument?
If so, how much do you practice? How long did you have to practice and perform the “Grunt work” before you could start playing pieces efficiently?
If I decided to learn to play guitar today, I wouldn’t be playing the songs I want to play by tomorrow. I’m going to have to learn my notes, practice my chords, and memorize them. If I consistently practice every day for an hour at 5 P.M, in a few months I’ll be better and will be at a level where I will begin to play some quality songs.
But I have to practice consistently or I won’t be playing guitar as well as I could be.
If I skip practicing a couple days, try to cram it all in at one time, or worst of all, not practice at all for an extended period of time, I’m not going to be the player I want to be.
Advertising is very similar. Ultimately you want to see increased sales, but you have to build up to them. Your message and advertising has to stay consistent as you “practice for those increased sales.”
The media world is so fragmented and there are so many messages bombarding viewers, it takes time for them to see your message, learn who you are, and put you top of mind.
…And just like practicing the guitar, your advertising has to be consistent and steady. If you practice the guitar for 5 straight hours on your first night, you won’t be playing classical guitar the next day.
The same with advertising. If you devote all your advertising to one short time period, you won’t see the maximum results right away.
The worst thing you can do is to stop practicing all together, then the only sure thing you do know is that you will not become the player you want to be.
Here is the lesson. To successfully learn how to play a musical instrument, you have to have a planned out, consistent practice routine. You can’t skip days, cram, or stop practicing.
Same thing with your advertising. You need a planned out and consistent message campaign. When you have that and you stick to it, the results will come.