Washa Washa

El infierno

2010-09-17T20:47:00.000-07:00

Hace casi un año escribí mi último artículo en este blog. Como decía un amigo, "los verdaderos escritores, escriben". Así, me he decidido a esribir más seguido. Primero dije uno diario. Pero así como he prometido hacer ejercicio se va a cumplir.

Así que por lo menos un par de veces por semana valen.

Ayer, 16 de septiembre de 2010, fecha del bicentenario de la independencia de este H. País, fui a ver El Infierno, de Luis Estrada.

Tengo qeu diferir de la opinión de mi amigo Hernán Kesselman, a quien admiro por su talento como director, pero, no del todo culpable, ha juzgado la película desde el punto de vista de un argentino. Y no un mexicano. Cuando estamos hablando de una película muy mexicana.

Hace un par de semanas, cuando Hernán fue a ver la película, me dijo que le había parecido irregular. Sobre todo se refería al hecho de que la película cruza la línea de la comedia (partiendo de que sabemos que es una comedia negra) hacia el drama. Probablemente en otros países eso se ve como una práctica un poco extraña. Casi incomprensible.

Pero en México, país de contrastes, poner una comedia en la que nos relatan nuestra triste realidad (la mejor comedia es la realidad) al punto que nos hace gracia, al lado de escenas en donde a un protagonista le matan un hijo, pareciera que iría contra las reglas. Mckee hubiera pasado de varios guiones con este corte.

Pero en México lo entendemos.

Porque en México sabemos reírnos de la realidad lo suficiente como para después sentarnos a hablar de lo jodida que es la misma. Porque en México podemos reir de lo mismo que lloramos. Porque en México celebramos lo que es nuestro, y lo nuestro no tiene nada de que celebrar.

Por eso El Infierno es una buena película. Para México. Por eso los mexicano la irán a ver y saldrán diciendo "¡Cómo me reí! Pero que de la chingada estamos". Y salir con un sentiemiento distinto es falso. Es más, me atrevo a decir que la mayoría saldrán con el sabor de boca de que al situación está jodida, más de los que saldrán hablando de qué tan cómica resultó la película y qué tan bien representan sus personajes tanto Damián Alcazar como Joaquín Cosío, Ernesto Gómez Cruz, María Rojo y Daniel Giménez Cacho.

El Infierno es la película mexicana por excelencia. Ni muy muy, ni tan tan. Ni comedia, ni drama. Para un país que siempre ni está muy bien, ni está tan mal.

Feliz bicentenario.

The End Of The Venue.

2009-10-30T13:48:00.000-07:00

For my friend James Wood.

So, ever since I moved back to Mexico I've been mainly writing (if at all) in Spanish. Of course, I'm in Mexico. I wasn't aware that some of my friends (I don't even know why I say "some" since I am only aware of one of them) back in the States still read this blog. Thank you. And since my good ole' brit friend James isn't going to learn to speak or read Spanish in the short term, this one goes out in Shakespeare’s own.

Quick Note>> I'm listening to the Kinks as I write this.

Due to a quick rush of brit pop fever I had this morning I remembered the time when I lived back in London for a few months in the summer of 2005. I had only been to London once before and it was as a tourist, which is never the same. London's a unique place, though quite expensive, it's a great city to live in, for many reasons you could find in either a BBC documentary or by taking a trip. Hence, no details about that.
London has one thing though, that maybe and arguably, no other city in the world has. Hell, not even New York or for that matter none of its boroughs and districts in particular (LES, Williamsburg). London breathes music. From the 60's feel of Soho, Carnaby and Denmark St. to the years of Camden and today's Whitechapel. I had never experienced a city that experiences music the way London does. People might argue that Britain and London's music scene is not what it once was, taking that bands from other scenes (Williamsburg, Montreal...) and the scenes themselves have grown bigger. Maybe. But London still has a great scene, and even if it didn't, the bands from other scenes have to stop here. Because this is London town. This is the place to make it, at least when it comes to critics. British bands have always faced the huge deal of making it in America for commercial purposes. But the whole world wants to make it in the UK, because we regard them as the ultimate connoisseurs. Them Brits.

All this comes due to the fact that this morning I found out old news that came new to me. After 8 months of happening I found out that the old Victoria Theater has been demolished. Gone. Adios. In January. And I found out today.
I went to the Astoria once. And I cared more about the fact that I was going to the Astoria than listening to the band. It was a good gig, though. The Dears.
I felt it was important going to one of London's most important venues. If I wanted to experience London's music scene, the Astoria was the place to be.
Half legendary rock venue and half gay club, the Astoria saw many acts, old and new perform epic nights for intimate crowds. Is there any better way to enjoy music?
There isn't. What there is less of every day are venues like the Astoria. We've already seen CBGB go down, now this one. There will be more. The problem is that in many cases they're not being replaced by venues like their predecessors, but by newer, bigger venues. Arenas and the like.

As with the CBGB, the former Astoria owners have claimed a new location will open in the near future. The new location won't breathe the same air Hendrix exhaled no more than a new CBGB will feature original Ramones handwriting on its walls.
We're losing cathedrals of music by losing venues that have seen the Stones, Oasis and the Arctic Monkeys. Generations of music and diversity of genres represented. They all fit these places and these places are built from the spirit of music. They're not arenas that will host U2 one day and a sporting event the next one. (And even U2 played the Astoria). Those venues have no personality. The ones that do, are those you'll be willing to go to no matter the band, because the venue itself is worth it. Because it is alive.

Democracia Mediática.

2009-09-22T09:53:00.001-07:00

Ayer vi a Letterman entrvistar a Barrack Obama. Es la primera vez que un presidente de Estados Unidos acude a un talk show. Y me pareció excelente que lo hiciera.
Podrán decir que fue para hablar de sus programas de Gobierno, ¿de qué más va a hablar un presidente, es su trabajo? Cuando un actor va a Letterman o con cualquier otro entrevistador de un late night va a hablar de su trabajo. Promueve su última película, habla de sus proyectos. Es parte del trabajo de un actor aparecer en este tipo de programas para darle promoción a su figura y a sus proyectos. Lo mismo para un político, incluso un Presidente.

Veámosle el otro lado a la tortilla y pongamos la misma situación en México. Dado que no tenemos a una personalidad de la categoría de Letterman en la barra del late night (perdón René Franco pero estás a años luz) y lo más cercano que hemos tenido ha sido Adal Ramones (perdón David Letterman por la comparación) digamos que Felipe Calderón decide ir a Otro Rollo (si estuviera al aire, estamos hablando de hipótesis) para hablar del paquete económico, del IVA o simplemente para ser entrevistado. La mañana siguiente tendríamos a miles de "inconformes", porque para inconformarnos somos muy buenos. Políticos, cientos diputados y decenas de senadores opinarían que cómo es posible que el Presidente salga en un programa haciendo proselitismo y seguramente echarían a andar algún tipo de sanción para el jefe o para quien sea, con tal de sancionar a alguien y "hacerse notar porque esto es un acto fascista". En fin, se armaría un zafarrancho. ¿Por qué no tenemos la madurez de aceptar que las figuras políticas también son gente, personalidades, incluso celebridades y que pueden ser tratados como tal por los medios de comunicación?
Me impresionó ver a Obama con esa soltura, naturalidad, espontaneidad. No estoy hablando de Obama el político, sino Obama como persona. Miren, a mi siempre me ha parecido que el manejo de Obama como marca ha sido impecable. El hecho de que saliera con Letterman ayer comportándose como la persona que seguramente es cuando se toma una cerveza con sus amigos (que ya quedó claro que hace) o la persona que es cuando desayuna con sus hijos, es una estrategia sumamente inteligente. Claro que ayuda que Obama tenga el carisma que tiene. Pero el tipo se ve natural, se ve honesto y eso aumenta su credibilidad. Eso es la política, es imagen, es percepción, es caerle bien a la gente.
Volteo ahora hacia México. Políticos sin chiste, sin naturalidad, cero espontáneos y con un lenguaje que parece lejano al de la gente normal, un dialecto rígido, falso y extraño. ¿Me sentaría a tomar una cerveza con Calderón, con Manlio o con Navarrete y qué dirían? ¿cómo hablarían? ¿contarían un chiste?

Me gustaría ver el día en el que esto sucediera en México. En parte por ver a políticos reales, pero más por ver que la libertad en los medios es posible. Que tenemos la madurez de escuchar propuestas y no que nos prohíban que los políticos digan cosas en programas de entretenimiento o en partidos de futbol porque piensan que no tenemos la inteligencia para discernir entre propaganda política y buena onda.

Pero como todo esto es una hipótesis, también es una hipótesis que vivamos en un país con verdadera expresión de ideales, en donde la gente se puede manifestar en todos lados cuando quiera y como quiera. También es una hipótesis que el uso mediático es una herramienta de la democracia.

¿Porqué los Beatles?

2009-09-14T10:51:00.000-07:00

La semana pasada vivimos la euforia que implicó el lanzamiento del Rock Band de los Beatles. Seguramente ya todos conocen la existencia de este juego y el éxito comercial que ha tenido.
Pero eso no es lo que me llama la atención, o lo que probablemente pueda llamar la atención de muchos, sobre todo jóvenes, gente que nació después de la época beatlemaniatica, que nunca vivió en carne y hueso a los Beatles, y que pueden llegar a preguntarse, ¿porqué los Beatles?
¿Porqué después de tantos años siguen siendo el grupo más importante de la historia de la música? ¿Porqué siguen siendo un ícono popular tan fuerte 30 años después de haber grabado su último disco?¿Porqué habiendo tantos grupos desde ellos, sólo ellos pueden lanzar un videojuego y crear una revolución?
Por esto:

- Porque los Beatles inventaron la globalización.
- Porque no ha habido un fenómeno de cultura popular tan grande desde ellos.
- Porque las canciones que grabaron hace 40 años se escuchan como si las hubieran grabado ayer. Pon el White Album, Sgt. Peppers, Revolver o Abbey Road y escucha los detalles de producción, escucha canciones como I Am The Walrus. George Martin fue el primer verdadero productor musical de este planeta. El primero que le agregaba elementos a las canciones que hacían los grupos. Sin Martin no habría ni Rick Rubin, ni Nigel Godrich, ni siquiera Phil Spector.
- Porque gente de 60 años y de 15 escucha a los Beatles.
- Porque hicieron lo que nadie se atrevía a hacer. Dijeron lo que nadie quería decir.
- Porque el mundo de la música no hubiera sido lo mismo sin Revolver.
- Porque Abbey Road es el disco más progresivo de la historia sin ser progresivo y antes de que existiera el término progresivo.
- Porque nunca se han juntado cuatro genios (si, Ringo también) con semejante capacidad creativa y no matarse unos a otros, aunque sólo durara 11 años.
- Porque tu mamá te dice que le gustaban los Beatles y se refiere a cuando hacían canciones bonitas, tu papá te dice que le gustan los Beatles y se refiere a la etapa más psicodélica y a tus amigos les gustan por sus canciones más oscuras. Hay Beatles para todos.
- Porque nunca habrá otro John Lennon. Ni un McCartney. Ni Harrison. Ni Ringo.

Malinchismo no more.

2009-08-18T15:31:00.000-07:00

Hoy, volví a creer en el rock mexicano.
¿Me estoy volviendo loco? ¿Soy el mismo que desde hace cinco años le dijo no al rock en español? ¿Que dijo que todas las bandas mexicanas eran pretenciosas? Tal vez lo eran. Por lo menos hoy soy capaz de aceptar que probablemente exageré al generalizar.
Pero hoy volví a creer. No en todos. Pero volví a creer.

He estado escuchando algunas grabaciones de bandas que apenas están empezando que han hecho unos amigos en un estudio en la Condesa. El otro día estuve ahí y me encontré a mucha gente de bandas que ya ustedes conocen bien y otros que están por conocerse. Estaban palomeando y pasando la tarde, había un bien ambiente de comunidad musical. Estuve escuchando las sesiones que han grabado en el estudio y hoy me pasaron un compilado.

Gracias Juan Manuel Torreblanca por la versión de Disorder de Joy Division. Aunque no es una canción de rock mexicano, es de los mejores covers que he oído en mi vida. Llevo escuchando a Joy Division toda la tarde después de eso.

Puede ser que estaba loco. O que no lo quería ver. Pero hay talento en México.
No en todos lados. Y no en todos. Pero ahí está.
Quizás muchas cosas sucedieron en los dos años que estuve fuera.

Miscellaneous Blogging

2009-08-07T09:00:00.000-07:00

Or, nothing to blog about.

It's all been work, work, work lately.

I've seen no good movies (with the exception of catching Superbad on TV on Sunday night).

I've heard no new good music.

I really need to get around.

I just wanted to say I'm still here. And I'm still blogging.

PS. I fucking hate the term blogging.

¿Quién ganó?

2009-07-06T16:01:00.000-07:00

Nadie.
Esa es la realidad que vive México estos días. Todos perdimos con las elecciones del día de ayer.

Perdimos porque menos de la mitad del electorado fue a votar.
Porque 6% de los que sí votaron lo hicieron en blanco o anularon el voto.
Porque la sociedad mexicana lanzó un claro mensaje de que la clase política y la gente están viviendo en dos lugares distintos y hablando dos lenguajes distintos.

Y es preocupante.

Es preocupante que a pesar de que la clase política se de cuenta de ello (es imposible no hacerlo) se hace de la vista gorda y festeja (como si hubiera mucho que festejar) sus "triunfos". Triunfos conseguidos a través de interesar a menos de la mitad del electorado. Es un triunfo falso, es un triunfo que es porque alguien tiene que ganar.

Pero no han triunfado. Todos hemos perdido.

Perdimos porque se vivió una jornada electoral cochina. Pareciera que el esfuerzo que se ha invertido en limpiar el proceso nunca hubiera existido. Vilvimos a las prácticas antiguas y denigrantes del acarreo, toma de casillas, perdida de boletas. Desde el caso penoso de Juanito dictado por AMLO en Iztapalapa hasta casos de toma de casillas por Flavio Sosa en Oaxaca. Parece que no hemos aprendido nada en este país. Y tampoco tenemos memoria.

Hoy, el PRI a vuelto a ser mayoría. Y aunque la alternancia es sana, es tiempo de alternar con algien más. ¿Pero quién? ¿La izquierda? Me encantaría ver una verdadera izquierda, bien preparada y seria en México. Pero el PRD no se puede gobernar ni a si mismo. Y el PAN está siendo castigado por una sociedad cansada.
Parece como si el tiempo se hubiera detenido y en los últimos diez años no hubiera pasado nada.
Qué triste se ve el panorama político en el futuro de México.
Pobre México, lo fuimos a poner en muy malas manos.

Don't take it from me. Take it from this guy.

2009-07-01T08:03:00.000-07:00

One day, I took a shot at this subject and one of my teachers said I didn't know what the fuck I was talking about.
Well, someone big has finally made it very clear. This is what Jeff Goodby wrote last week from Cannes. Enjoy.

Jeff Goodby: 'We Are Becoming Irrelevant Award-Chasers'

By Jeff Goodby
Published: June 23, 2009

(AdAge.com) -- I call it the "cab test."

When you get into a taxi and tell the driver that you're in advertising, they often ask you whether you've done anything they might be familiar with.

Well, have you?

Ironically, the more awards you've been winning these days, the more likely the answer is "No."

It's fast becoming clear that the majority of things we're rewarding, as an industry, are either small or marginal efforts for legitimate clients, things we made for real clients that the clients seem not to have ever heard of, or out-and-out fakes.

Some of these projects are well-intentioned since, at the very least, they are meant to "inspire" us when we work on bigger, better-paying accounts. But without getting into whether this kind of activity is immoral or just plain chickenshit, I'd like to point out a graver toll it's taking on us all: It's making our business less famous. Less fun. Less public. Less about any of the reasons you probably got into it in the first place.

We've created a system that rewards work that is increasingly unknown to anyone outside the business. We have become connoisseurs of esoterica. And in the process, we're becoming more about us, and less about changing the world.

We are becoming irrelevant award-chasers.

Sure, some of the best things we make nowadays are internet experiences with necessarily specific, limited audiences -- that cab driver might not be expected to see them. But for the ones I'm talking about, the only intended audience is, well, us.

Ghost ads are symptom of the malaise
There are big, obvious signs of this syndrome everywhere, of course. The controversy in Dubai this year led to the rescinding of a big bag of awards and an Agency of the Year accolade (and may queer a host of end-of-the-year tallies). There was the apparently fake J.C. Penney commercial that won at Cannes last year. The list goes on.

But beyond the nakedly exposed fakes lies a gray area of questionable stuff that is perhaps even more dangerous. At the Andy Awards this year, we gave a gold to a lovely magazine spread campaign for an FM radio station -- but you had to wonder how such a station had the money to produce and run over 14 versions of such lush creations. And I have heard three different people from New York City -- parents who are in our business -- say they never got even a whiff of that widely-awarded school cell phone campaign.

As I say, this is not yet another complaint about ghost ads. It's a protest against the people who compliment things for being "well-entered." It's a warning that we are, in effect, making things that serve our own agency brands instead of serving our clients and making a difference in the minds of the world.

Making marketing famous again
I want us all to be famous again, outside the walls of our agencies. How can we accomplish this?

Well, I think we have to demand that awards judges take into account the sheer "famousness" of a piece of work when they make their determinations.

Not whether the stuff worked -- we are all quite good at making entry videos that make that case. (Judges parody these now as they watch them.) Not whether the stuff is new or ingenious -- yeah, we all want that. I'm talking about naked fame. Whether it's something you've ever heard of.

I don't think that it's wrong to have international judges -- people who are probably among the most media- and internet-savvy types on the planet -- mark things down a bit if they've never heard of them. For the good of our business. For the good of us all.

Bob Garfield recently complained that Cannes had become irrelevant because advertising forms had descended into "chaos." Giving free rein to the fame factor helps make such quibbling irrelevant. No one feels uncomfortable celebrating "Whopper Sacrifice" or "Mac vs. PC" or Coke's "Happiness Factory."

Think about it the next time you get in a cab. Think about it when you consider what will make you want to get up and go to work tomorrow.

Do it for the fun we'll all have.

The Greatest Performer Of Our Time.

2009-06-26T09:43:00.000-07:00

That’s what Michael Jackson was.

This is probably one more of millions of blog entries, facebook status, twits that touch on the same angle on this day after the death of one of pop culture’s biggest icons. You may like or dislike him, but never ignore him. Michael Jackson re-invented pop music and gave the mainstream something of value and quality. For that we are eternally grateful for it shows us how quality and mainstream are not exclusive of each other.
He gave us well crafted, immaculately produced, well made pop music always joined by the hand of Quincy Jones. The result was some of the best pieces of popular music ever made.

Michael Jackson was the ultimate performer. He was it. Never again have we seen someone who could execute his art with such finesse and perfection. Every step, every move was perfectly calculated. To the mortal eye it happened in seconds and we saw something natural. But it took hours, years of rehearsal and discipline. He took the title of performing arts to the maximum. And did it like no one else.

About his troubled life I’d rather not talk about. I will always take what he left. The music. The art. The performances.

Many are good. Some are great. Few are perfect.
Some sing. Some dance. Almost nobody does both.
Some sing to terrible music. Some dance to good music.
Having done it all is impressive.

We’ve maybe seen many great performances in our lifetime. And when it comes to the music there’s preferences and taste. Maybe we like bands for their music, bands who are not necessarily good performers. Some genres think they don’t need great performances. But Michael Jackson taught us that writing, producing and recording music is one art and performing is another one. An art that we don’t look for anymore. Because few can accomplish greatness.
But we still love a great performance.
Music has lost a singer.
The world has lost the greatest performer it has seen in the last 30 years.

Sufragio efectivo. Y ya.

2009-06-25T07:42:00.000-07:00

Sufragio efectivo, no reelección.

Este fue el argumento con el que se justificó una de las farsas más grandes, sino es que la más grande, de la historia de México: Su revolución.
La Revolución Mexicana pretendió quitar a un cacique para poner a otro(s). Pretendió que la gente luchara por tierras que aún no son suyas. Que la gente luchara por causas ajenas. Y resultó en una de las aberraciones políticas más grandes de la historia de la democracia: El PRI.

Ahora la Revolución está muy lejos. Así como sus ideales. Aunque muchos pretenden ser "revolucionarios" o "auténticos revolucionarios". Hemos escuchado ¨Partido Revolucionario Institucional" "De la Revolución Democrática" "Único Revolucionario". En fin, el término se ha prostituído.
Nos han vendido la revolución que nunca existió y todos quieren seguir siendo revolucionarios.

Ahora, sería tan fácil conformarnos con el sufragio efectivo. Lo de la no reelección es una necedad de nuestra historia y nuestra clase política porque "violaría los cimientos de la democracia Mexicana que están fundados en su Revolución". Fundamentos que claro está, se han violado millones de veces en otros temas.
La no reelección fue un fundamento que hizo sentido hace 100 años. Cuando existía un dictador en el poder, quien había sido reelecto varias veces. Pero ahora, no tiene sentido seguir aferrados a un sentimiento revolucionario rancio y cauduco.

Muchas de las democracias ejemplares del mundo aceptan la reelección, ya sea limitada o ilimitada. Como todo en la vida, esto tiene sus ventajas y desventajas. Pero lo que es verdad es que la reelección le permite a la gente "probar" a sus gobernantes y el poder de decisión recae completamente en ellos. Será la gente la que decide si está contenta y le concede al gobernante otro término.

Probablemente en México la reelección presidencial al estilo de Estados Unidos o España esté un poco lejos. Pero podemos empezar por proponer la reelección de puestos como Delegados, Presidentes Municipales y Legisladores.
Durante toda la historia democrática de México el incentivo del político ha sido el poder, y mantenerlo ha sido relativamente fácil. Ahí tenemos otra de las genialidades políticas de nuestro sistema, los candidatos plurinominales. Si tuvieramos reelección no cambiaría la ambición y antojo de poder de nuestros políticos, pero por lo menos los obligaría a realizar acciones concretas durantes sus mandatos para ganarse el voto de la gente y poder mantenerse en el poder.
Hoy en día, todo quien esté en un cargo de elección popular tiene una oportunidad. Y muchos de ellos sólo la utilizan para enriqucerse y empaparse de poder. Y no les importa mucho si cumplen o no, porque al finalizar nadie los va a juzgar y se irán a continuar con sus proyectos personales. Si tuvieran la opción de reelegirse tendrían que trabajar por el voto de la gente.

Espero que algún día México deje de ser un País que le concede todo a su clase política y empecemos a ser un País que le exige a su clase política, que la controle y que sepa manejar el poder de decisión que debería de ser más grande que el poder de gobernar.

El mayor insulto a la inteligencia colectiva (si es que la hay)

2009-06-16T09:03:00.000-07:00

Mis últimas entradas a este blog han sido de política. Me encantaría escribir de música nueva (escribo esto mientros escucho a una nueva artista británica llamada Kid A, si, como el disco de Radiohead). O acerca de cine, pero la última película que vi fue Star Trek (todavía en Estados Unidos, hace como un mes). Por lo tanto voy a tener que hablar de los que todos hablan. O más bien, de lo que es inevitable hablar: Esta cochina campaña electoral que ocupa la mente y espacio físico de México.

Lo que más me molesta de las campañas no es que no sepamos hacer campañas, o que sean de pésima calidad. Tampoco es el hecho de que en realidad no sirven de nada. Sino que la manera de hacer campañas en México viene de la premisa de que todos en México somos estúpidos.
¿Porqué el Partido Verde no enseña a un solo candidato? ¿Quiénes son? Nadie sabe.
En vez de enseñarme a la persona que va a tomar las desiciones importantes del país, me enseñan a Raúl Araiza y a Maite Perroni. Porque parten de la premisa de que México es un país de telenovela, por lo tanto enseñemos a los personajes de telenovela para vender nuestro partido. Y peor aún, piensan que los mexicanos son tan ignorantes que van a votar por su partido "porque es el partido de los actores".
El simple hecho de usarlos como arma para manipular a la gente los descalifica totalmente como un partido con buenas intenciones y ganas de hacer las cosas bien.

Me muero de miedo en pensar que Enrique Peña puede ganar las elecciones del 2012 porque está galán y se va a casar con La Gaviota. Nuestro Kennedy mexicano. Ojo, no estoy diciendo que estoy a favor o en contra de Peña Nieto, sólo que me parece delicado pensar que lo pueda llegar a ser por estas situaciones. Y por supuesto que lo van a explotar. Acuérdense de mi cuando estemos bombardeados por esa campaña.

Luego tenemos al PRD, PT, PRI, PAN, et al. Que todos hacen campañas igual de malas, chafas y de contenido pobre que no nos dice una de dos cosas: a) algo nuevo y b) algo relevante.
Ayer decía AMLO en un spot que la crisis económica nació en el 82. Lo decía tirándole al PRI y al PAN y a todos los que no son él (que por consecuencia también incluye a todos los del PRD, PT, y demás, porque en ese entonces todos pertenecían al PRI y al PAN, incluyendo al mismo López Obrador). Pero no sólo eso, sino que lo dice en un tono como si estuviera descubriendo el hilo negro, somo si fuera algo que nadie sabía. Es obvio, todo mundo sabe que el País ha vivido una constante crisis desde la década de los 80. Cómo es posible que López Obrador pueda adueñarse de una obviedad. Está jugando al comentarista de futból, que repite lo que ya estamos viendo. Pero lo dice con un tono mesiánico, somo si la noción de saber el hecho nos va a sacar del hoyo.

Las épocas de campaña son deprimentes. Los partidos dan patadas de ahogados para que los pele una sociedad que está harta de ellos. Juegan su juego sucio mientras los demás los contemplamos de lejos, como cuando ves una pelea callejera y te pegas a la pared. Estamos ausentes en su campaña, propuesta y gobierno. Siguen gastando dinero en medios ineficientes de promoción que no sólo no le van a hacer ningún bien al País sino que le están haciendo un gran daño.

El puesto de trabajo más difícil en México.

2009-06-12T07:29:00.000-07:00

¿El Presidente de la República?
No. Si por lo menos a la mitad del País realmente le interesara la política y su rumbo, el señor Presidente pudiera estar considerado para tener la chamba más dura.
Pero no lo es.
Tampoco es ser Jefe de Aduanas. Ni siquiera el lider de la guerra en contra del narcotráfico, si acaso ese sería el más peligroso.

El trabajo más difícil en este país es ser entrenador de la selección nacional.

Porque en este país los medios se inventaron para hablar de futbol.
Porque en este país todos somos "expertos" en futbol.
Porque siempre estabamos mejor con el anterior.
Porque lo juzgamos como si él metiera, fallara o parara los goles.
Porque al final de cuentas él tiene la culpa de la ineptitud de 22 personas.
Porque en este país nos encanta apuntar el dedo.
Porque si.
Porque ni Hugo pudo.
Porque es extranjero.
Porque es Mexicano.
Porque no hizo los cambios.
Porque hizo los cambios.
Porque no habla español.

Porque pase lo que pase, y esté quien esté, nunca vamos a estar a gusto con nadie.
Porque así somos los mexicanos.

La realidad.

2009-06-10T09:25:00.000-07:00

El narco no nació ayer.
Ni el sexenio pasado.
Ni el anterior.

No es para que los partidos en las actuales elecciones se estén echando la bolita para ver quién tiene la culpa. Ni es para que por la misma razón, nadie quiera arreglar el problema.

No es para que un partido o el Gobierno se adjudique la lucha. Pero si es para que los demás que no lo están haciendo despierten y apoyen a quien lo esté.

El problema con el que vivimos actualmente tiene que ver con años de impunidad, de gobiernos y gobernantes que se hicieron de la vista gorda. De no querer arreglar un problema chico, que se hizo grande, y se hizo grande, hasta que terminó por ser más grande de nuestra capacidad de gobernar y poner orden.
Cómo poner fin a un problema que está dentro del sistema de gobierno y de imposición de la ley. Un problema que hace que un cuerpo de policía municipal se enfrente a la policía estatal y federal.
Los narcos están riendo.
Mientras el gobierno y la policía exhiben su ineptitud.
Pobre México. Estamos en manos de pendejos.

Por donde veo, no hay nadie que tenga la autoridad, el liderazgo, ya no digamos las ganas, de sacarnos del hoyo. Las intenciones de todos los candidatos a legislaturas y delegaciones son cuestionables. No importa otra cosa que ganar. ¿Ganar para qué? ¿Para qué quieren ganar? ¿Para decir que ganaron? De eso se trata, de ganar.
Ellos ganan. Nosotros perdemos. Con quien sea perdemos.
Es triste. Pero es la realidad.

Bands that suck.

2009-05-23T12:04:00.000-07:00

And unfortunately people think they don’t.

Every decade has its share of shit. And most of the bands that I’ll mention in this entry were born in the 90’s, and we still remember them because they’re fresh in our minds (shiver). I have to say it’s not their fault, well, not entirely their fault. People who like them or think these bands are even remotely close to being good have to be blamed as well. Sadly, decades are remembered for bad bands. A lot of people have the perception of the 80’s being the worst decade for music, that it was full of bad pop acts and one hit wonders. Well, ever heard of Punk? Or New Wave? Brit Pop? Have you ever stopped to realize that the bands that you fancy today are mainly influenced by bands that were born in the 80’s? Yes, the 80’s had a lot of crap in the mainstream popular side, but it had genius in the other, that by the way was often popular as well.
Now let’s move forward to the 90’s. Turns out grunge was a double-sided act. The good side is conformed by the original grunge bands, you may or may not like grunge but you can’t ignore their relevance in musical history. Hate the game, not the players. The evil side of grunge was its legacy. It left us an outstanding number of really bad bands all wanting to be Nirvana, Kurt, Pearl Jam and Eddie. And so the 90’s were marked by (again) bad pop, a pseudo-alternative genre to triumphantly culminate with Nü Metal (chill). Again, most people missed the scene. The 90’s are awesome, even though we’ve been trying too hard to erase them from our memories. The famous indie term was originally coined in the 80’s but popularized in the 90’s, so was college rock. The 90’s went on to produce musical geniuses that were discovered by hipsters early this decade.
With no further ado, here is the list of the bands that suck and people think they don’t.

Creed.
And anything that comes close to sounding like Pearl Jam or imitate Eddie Vedder’s voice in any form.
Telltale sign of sucking: Popularizing Christian rock.

Live.
Telltale sign of sucking: Just the fact of being labeled “alt rock” is bad enough for them and any other band like them.

Counting Crows.
A professor I had in College, who by the way was a musical connoisseur, adored the Counting Crows and spoke of them as the unappreciated genius act of 90’s American music. I looked for something that might hint to that in their music and never found it.
Telltale sign of sucking: Everything that’s not Colorblind or Round Here. And every time someone sings Mr. Jones at a karaoke bar.

Korn.
There’s so many wrong things with Korn I don’t even know where to begin. The fact that they created Nü metal might not be worse than creating a long line of “poser” bands that pretended to be “hardcore” and then dated Britney Spears (which with time turned out to be pretty hardcore.)
Telltale sign of sucking: They spawned bands like Limp Bizkit and Linkin’ Park, and we can thank them for Nü Metal.

Limp Bizkit.
Tell-tale of sucking: See “Korn”

Linkin Park.
Telltale sign of sucking: See “Limp Bizkit”

Sum 41, Blink 182… and everything that sounds like them. And they all sound the same.
This is the part to say “who the fuck invented the term alternative?” Whoever tried to find a place in the world for bands like these.
Telltale sign of sucking: They make a joke out of their music and then they sound so cheesy when they want to go serious. If you’re going to make a joke be like Ween.

Bon Jovi.
Do you remember singing “Blood on Blood” from the top of your lungs when you were young? I do. Wasn’t it cool? No, it never was. But it felt like it.
Bon Jovi is the quintessential “I thought they were good back then” band. It’s like a robber entering your house at night, he opens the window silently and then triggers the alarm when he’s about to take your TV. Sadly, some people don’t have good alarm sytems and Bon Jovi has even stolen their refrigerator.
Telltale sign of sucking: The creation and later exploitation of the “rock-mantic ballad”, i.e. “Bed of Roses”, “I’ll be there for you”, “Always” and the list can go on.

My Chemical Romance / The Offspring.
Too much attitude, very little to offer. Back in the day I thought of the Offspring when I thought of Green Day. They were contemporaries and maybe, maybe shared some of their sound. But I was so wrong (thankfully), Green Day turned out to be good, The Offspring turned out to be a bad joke. My Chemical Romance shares the same problem, we can’t take music so generic seriously.

Spin Doctors.
No comments.
Telltale sign of sucking: Wrote “Two Princess”

Hootie and The Blowfish.
I was shocked to learn that Darius Rucker (former lead vocal of Hootie. Hell, he is Hootie) is now at the top of the country charts. HATB is the perfect example of a band that was so bad it could not even be redeemed by its commercial success.
Telltale sign of sucking: Rucker’s push-cause-I’m-running-out-of-breath singing style. And he’s consequential career in country music. Yuck.

Matchbox 20, Barenaked Ladies, Lifehouse, Goo Goo Dolls.
Is this Creed? No. Exactly.
Thanks to these bands the 90’s can be seen as darker than Medieval ages. They had no contribution to music whatsoever. They made lame songs with lame lyrics played by lame people to lame people. God, the 90’s could have been so lame. Well, they were to a lot of people.
Telltale sign of sucking: You can’t tell from one band and the other.

Bonus mention: Phil Collins (and for that purpose Genenis post Peter Gabriel). Phil Collins playing the drums. Phil Collins singing. Phil Collins acting.

The most obnoxious people in TV.

2009-05-23T07:46:00.000-07:00

There's two types of annoying advertising: There's the big leagues, with the likes of Cash for Gold or GoDaddy with beyond-annoying Super Bowl appearances, and then there's the everyday stuff, companies that can afford to buy space in the shows we watch. This is prime time garbage. Prime shit.

The woman from the rollover minutes.
Bad concept + Bad acting = An obnoxious mom who will remind everyone who had an obnoxious mom about their obnoxious mom.

The yelling bitch from Progressive.
How much of this can you take? I go for mute when I see the blue and white screen on. Her voice has the power of projecting what hell must be like.

The guy from the Verizon network.
Who the fuck is he? No. Seriously.

All the people who have ever appeared singing "5 dollar footlong" on Subway ads.

Enough said.

John Schnatter (Papa Johns' CEO.)
It's so archaic to think that having the company's CEO will add either value or credibility to your message. It's something that only local businesses that don't know better do (for those of you living in Richmond I can reference the guy who sells cars in a gown.) But a nationwide pizza company could be a bit more engaging than having this guy say "Better ingredients. Better pizza. Papa Johns" at the end of every commercial.

The money you could be saving with Geico.
OK, we get it, really, we get the jokes. But do you have to shove it up our asses every 10 minutes and run the ads back to back? We put up with the over exploited cavemen (thankfully I never saw the show), then with the Gecko (and the asshole that followed him around) and now the money with plastic eyes. Bonus points for having heard the radio ads.

The asshole from Shamwow.
If we owe anything to Billy Mays and Tony Little is enabling assholes like this to pollute our screens everyday. Vincent, so I learned his name is, has even gone as far as beating the hell out of a prostitute (true story) and became a scandal. If his sad TV act is not enough to get him off the air, this should.

BONUS: The asshole from Shamwhow, Spanish version. (AKA: El pendejo de Shamwow)

Oh Shit.

2009-05-05T13:28:00.000-07:00

Thanks to a twitter post from my friend Joey Camire (you can read his and other Brandcenter student blog posts at www.blommit.com) I learned that this kid named Ben is the most subscribed-to person in Youtube.
Before I say anything else, please take a look (and then tell me how long you lasted.)

Now, this touches on a couple of subject I recently wrote about. The one being the contemporary Warholian 15 minutes of fame and how these days they refer to Youtube and not necessarily to TV and mainstream media. Point proven.
The second one was about this morning's post, which was about great TV. And the video shown above is discouraging me from thinking that TV was headed towards a good direction. Well, I overlooked a small detail, TV. And the fact that the latter is now widely watched through the Internet, and there's plenty of user generated content to compete with the traditional content.

This kid, who I estimate has to be no older than 16 years old has produces videos that are sometimes watched by as much as a million people. That's scary. I love the fact that anyone can have access to a million people, it's the world we live in, the media democracy. But, is this what other 15 year olds are watching. And maybe you're thinking "yes, as opposed to be watching other crap-MTV shows or bad reality TV" and maybe you're right, it is after all a vicious circle, viewers watch what's out there.
Is there a way to make everyone watch the shows that are truly interesting and worth watching? I don't think so. No more than we can convince people that this type of music is better than another, or forms of literature, or films. It's a matter of taste. It's the eternal mainstream VS quality issue (which I personally think that it's sometimes bullshit because they're not mutually exclusive, at least not all the time.)
Yes, it sucks. No, there's no answer as to why the world functions the way it does. It's just a matter of taste. You have to take whatever you think is good, and I truly hope you don't think this way of using YouTube is.

Great TV.

2009-05-03T09:38:00.001-07:00

There's good TV and great TV.
Thankfully, we're living in times where great TV is more common. TV has evolved well as a media. Or maybe it's the fact that it has grown to such diversity that we don't necessarily have to look at shit anymore. Although sometimes it's hard to escape it.
Either way, the time and money spent on making good quality TV is better nowadays than it was say 20 years ago. More good actors from films are interested in venturing into TV, when some years back it meant your career was over.

Good TV is the one that entertains. The one that's not bad in content, but it's not exceptional either, but above all it has the ability to not piss anyone off. But greatness, that's different thing. Great TV is the one so realistic that you fell you'll run into the characters on the street. Like if you're eating at a hip LA restaurant and you see Ari Gold or any of the Entourage crowd. Or run into the guys from The Wire in Baltimore.

About The Wire, I know I'm a bit late to the prom on this one but it might be one of, if not the greatest show I have ever seen in my life. It might not be my favorite. But when it comes to building a smart story, with great characters and performances, well done and produced and definitely one of the smartest critiques to the system and governance I have ever see in any form of entertainment, The Wire has to be my pick.
It might just be the standard of great TV. And it's not for everyone. Greatness never is.
It's the kind of show that will make you see things that maybe you don't want to see. That will make you think when maybe you seek TV not to think.
TV has evolved to a medium that used to be the "idiot box" to shows that are pushing the envelope and are trying to be smart and entertaining at the same time. It can be done. And even when they will not find instant commercial succes, this is becoming a trend. There's obviously people to thanks for it, and they're called HBO.

If you haven't seen The Wire, do it. It will make you see a TV you've never seen. Don't expect a 24-like show, where Jack Baure saves the world over and over again. Expect to see a real portrayal of an American city and the people in both sides of the law, where you don't always tell who are the good guys and the bad guys.

The Fatalists.

2009-04-30T16:33:00.000-07:00

Hard to believe, but there's people and media companies who insist on comparing the swine flu outbreak with the one in 1918, also dubbed "the Spanish flu." History tells us that nearly 20 million people lost their lives back then, with a flu very similar to today's. They also say that it began in the late spring and then came back in the fall, when it was much more devastating.

Sources and reports are vague. I've seen the numbers from the 1918 flu dance from 20 million to, according to a CNN article I just read, 50 million (they preceded it with the word conservatively.)
Again, people just trying to be alarmist and scare the shit out of others.

Context. Facts.
Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin in 1928.
Though the study of antibiotics started in the 1880's, they were not widely used until the late 1930's.

Two medical components that are not only basic factors for treatment but rather common nowadays did not exist back when the Spanish flu attacked.
It would be outrageous to suggest that the world today is as vulnerable as it was 90 years ago. I am not disregarding the fact that this is a serious situation, but in no way we can make this kind of comparison.
Once again, the problem of disinformation is attacking the media.

Infonoia

2009-04-30T06:50:00.001-07:00

Did information made us paranoid? Or paranoia made us informed?

It's hard to run away from information in the world we live in. Even if you don't want to be informed there's the TV with 24/7 news channels, there's your computer with all the information in the world. It's tempting not to be seeking information every 30 minutes. Especially when there's something like the swine flu we have going around the world today.

Where's the media's responsibility? Naturally, the first and foremost principal of journalism is to stick to the truth. But, where does the truth and the necessity to inform every step become too much? Where is the line? Where does the responsibility of avoiding collective panic start? And where do we identify a point where we have to be extremely careful to keep everything in context?

The latter is the main issue when it comes to information that can cause panic. And it's not always the media's fault. Sometimes we only listen or read the headline, or we drop an article after the 1st paragraph. That's why it's imperative that journalists be extremely attentive to how they write their headlines. A lot of them want to write the shocky kind because "it will attract more readers." But it will also scare more readers, because a lot of people will stop reading and keep only the information included in the lead.
I read an article in one of Mexico's most prestigious newspapers yesterday, the headline read: "Alarm on rising swine flu cases in Canada." The second paragraph went on to explain how all of the cases mentioned were found benign and none of the patients were in grave danger. There's an obvious disconnect between the headline and the rest of the text. This is irresponsible journalism.

The inspiration to write about this comes from the swine flu outbreak in my country. I want to say that I'm really sad to know that my hometown is going through rough times. That people are not leaving their houses, that the streets are empty, people scared, sick and some dying.
The World Health Organization has just raised the alert level to 5, one before this is declared a pandemic. These are reasons for people to be nervous and can obviously cause paranoia. But we also have to reason and use the information that has been given to us to understand what exactly is going on. The virus itself is treatable, so that tells us that we should seek attention when the 1st symptoms show. The cause for international concern comes from the fact that it's an unknown strain of the virus, which may even go away by the end of the flu season (reports show that it's likely to come back for the winter when, hopefully, a vaccine will be available.) It's more likely to attack people with weak immune systems, so stay healthy and take your vitamins. Be extra cautious when it comes to hygiene, wash hands a lot, this can protect you up to 99% against the virus and other germs. And if you do get sick go see a doctor, there's thousands of flu cases every year and not to minimize the impact of this specific one, but the cases and deaths are still proportionally small.

And the main recommendation is not to panic, be well informed (but not over-informed) and for the media, keep in mind that the collective conscience lies in your hands. Don't be alarmist but useful and helpful.

Cinismo.

2009-04-29T17:32:00.000-07:00

La Real Academia de la Lengua Española lo define como:

1. m. Desvergüenza en el mentir o en la defensa y práctica de acciones o doctrinas vituperables.
2. m. Impudencia, obscenidad descarada.

Para definir a ciertos políticos mexicanos a mi me gusta más la segunda.
De acuerdo a una nota publicada esta tarde en la página de Internet del periódico Reforma algunos senadores como Beltrones, Monreal y otros destacados perredistas no están de acuerdo con la manera que el Gobierno Federal ha manejado la crisis de la influenza.
Carajo. No puede ser.
Es una "obscenidad descarada" el querer tomar una situación tan delicada como ésta para hacer una zancadilla política. Acuérdense que estamos en año electoral.
Por fin tenemos al Gobierno Federal y del DF colaborando intensamente, un trabajo que han aplaudido autoridades de otros países y de la OMS. Pero eso no les basta a esta bola de animales.
Lo único que les interesa es hacer ruido. Porque lo que hacen no es otra cosa. No ayudan en nada, no proponen nada, sólo hacen ruido.
Hace falta gente que se una a la lucha, sin importar de quién y qué partido pertenezcan aquellos que ya están luchando. Que se pongan a trabajar. Y que dejen de ser gente que sólo se dedica a apuntar el dedito cómodamente aposentados en sus curules.
Es el colmo.
Senadores, diputados y integrantes ilustres de la clase política mexicana: Nos importan madres sus elecciones y sus problemas, grilla, en este momento. Lo único que queremos es que la gente esté sana, que paren los contagios y las complicaciones y que el País regrese a su ritmo normal. Nos conviene a todos. A nosotros. Y a ustedes.
Pónganse a trabajar y dejen las trampas políticas chafas y sucias para cuando no haya gente sufriendo en este País. Que para términos prácticos es nunca.

Kinko's 2:35 AM.

2009-04-22T19:48:00.000-07:00

There's only two customers left. I'm one of them.
Business is slow at this time of the night, but even then the guy helping me is stressed.
He's loosing his patience as I take my time to pick the paper I want. We copywriters don't know a lot about this and it makes me nervous that I will make the wrong decision.
He works at an incredible speed. And it's nearly 3 AM. It's like the guy worked the night shift at an ER in Baltimore.
But it's Kinko's. Richmond's West End.
Across the street from a dark and closed Target and Barnes & Noble.
The other customer in the store is beside me.
He has printed some sort of political campaign posters that show him running for Congress.
He then proceeds to ask the Kinko's employee helping him if she thinks the poster is any good.
She describes it as "very eye-catching."
I start thinking what the world be like if every elected official took campaign advice from random people.
The guy helping me refuses to print my DVD labels.
Mrs. "eye-catching" is eager.
Kinko's (now officially FedEx Office) is deserted.
I'm exhausted.
I'll go to bed now.

YouTube killed the TV star.

2009-04-21T19:31:00.000-07:00

Fame, according to Andy Warhol everybody will have their 15 minutes. And he didn't live to see YouTube. I really wonder what Warhol would have said about it. What most people don't know is that the original quote was preceded by the words "in the future." We are living Warhol's future.

It would be useless for me to enlist all the cases of how people are more famous by scoring a YouTube clip than by working for years to make it to the small or big screens. It was eye-opening for me though while watching Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist the other night (BTW, don't even bother watching the film.) In one of the numerous scenes happening in badly depicted hipster venues of the Lower East Side, Michael Cera's character notices his date for the night is very well connected since everybody greets her. Twenty years ago Michael Cera would have asked her if she was on TV, or if she had made it to MTV or something. But no, in 2008 (when the movie was originally relseased) Michael Cera asks "are you in YouTube or something?"

This is the world we live in. The YouTube world. The democratization of entertainment and content. It's not new. But it's a tricky thing that has to be played smart. Ask Domino's "buggy boys" how their joke turned out. It's Warhol's time to laugh at everybody getting their 15 minutes. If we will all get them this is when we'll do. How will you be spending them?

Yes I watched Gossip Girl tonight. So what.

2009-04-20T20:04:00.000-07:00

But panic not, since this post is not about the lives of fictional 17-year-old WASP Upper East Siders who behave, talk and think like 3o year olds.
It's just a segway to get into the new Yeah Yeah Yeahs album. Which I really liked. A mix between Siouxie (who Karen O has always emulated) and Blondie. That's what I like about the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, every album they've made has been so different from the other, and still good. The 1st one being post-punk, the 2nd one more acoustic and then this one being an homage to new wave.
But, parade your single in Gossip Girl? Really?
I've never had a problem with popular TV shows taking their soundtrack from good bands. The OC did it, Gossip Girl is doing it and many other shows have done it. I actually think it's great that more people out there are getting some good music from their TV shows. Now, that's one thing, there's a music supervisor, they pick your track, pay royalties, done.
At the end of today's episode the Yeah Yeah Yeah's newest single was playing in the back, and instead of cutting to titles we got to see a mini-ad telling us the music was provided by the mentioned band and the album was available. This is the Yeah Yeah Yeah's we're talking about. Not the Jonas Brothers. It's supposed to be punk. Not teen pop.

If bands are brands and you have to be careful what you surround your brand with, because it becomes part of it, this is definitely something to look out for.

This is only another sign that the term indie was not only manufactured but in fact has not existed in 20 years.

Sven.

2009-04-02T05:46:00.000-07:00

Lo de ayer ya ni lo comentamos. 3-1 contra Honduras. Qué pena.

Pero me da más pena es que en México seguimos pensando que el técnico siempre tiene la culpa de lo mal que juega la selección. Vivimos en un engaño. ¿Nunca se han preguntado que puede ser culpa de un sistema que práctica la FMF y la prensa deportiva en México? Ésta última, que se dedica a inflar a jugadores mediocres. Y los equipos que dedican a pagarle demasiado a jugadores mediocres.

El resultado de un sistema mediocre es un equipo mediocre.

Nery Castillo es el ejemplo perfecto de un jugador que no se merece llevar la camiseta de la selección. Nunca estuve de acuerdo con lo que hacía Hugo cuando dirigía al Tri, pero ahora entiendo porqué estuvo peleado tanto tiempo con Nery y le costó tanto trabajo llamarlo. Hugo será muchas cosas, pero también es una persona que cree, practica y exige disciplina, y Nery no la tiene. Ayer entró en el segundo tiempo a cometer faltas, a pelearse con los Hondureños y hasta con sus propios compañeros. No pasa el balón a tiempo, todo lo quiere hacer solo. Este tipo no se merece la verde.
Así como Nery, muchos jugadores mexicanos viven en el conformismo y en la mediocridad porque al pensar que en México son héroes, están calificados para medirse ante cualquiera a nivel internacional. El caso de Omar Bravo, que llegó a España a hacer el ridículo para que luego lo regresaran con laureles a México, y seguramente más caro. Rafa Márquez, el Gran Capitán, que pierde la cabeza en los juegos más importantes. Leandro, que nadie sabe qué hace en la selección.
México ha mejorado en la exportación de jugadores. Márquez, Giovanni, Salcido y Vela son sólo algunos. Pero nos falta. Nos falta que nuestros jugadores se midan con equipos competitivos a nivel de liga, que "sufran" un poco y se vayan ganando un sueldo cada vez más alto.
Francia no ganó la copa del mundo hasta que logró tener un equipo lleno de jugadores que eran estrellas en las ligas más importantes de Europa (España, Italia, Inglaterra). ¿Cuánto más vamos a esperar para aprender la lección?

Aguirre.

Aguirre me gusta, siempre he dicho que la selección nunca ha vuelto a jugar el futbol que jugó con él. Tal vez era el equipo o las circunstancias. Pero el caso es que el entrenador importa. Importa la estrategia e importa la mentalidad. Ha quienes dicen que México acaba de dejar ir a uno de los diez mejores entrenadores el mundo (Sven), pero tal vez eso sea un hecho subjetivo de pensar que no todos los entrenadores están hechos para todos los equipos.
Aguirre es mexicano, ha lidiado con la selección mexicana, ha lididado con equipos mexicanos, sabe manejar al futbolista mexicano y viene de tener una carrera en España que seguramente lo ha hecho un mejor técnico. Esperemos que el Vasco cumpla.

The best time for creativity.

2009-03-30T09:31:00.000-07:00

A few days ago, one of our professors surprisingly stated that working in advertising is not exciting enough to grab you like it did to him back in the day. I brutally disagree. I think (although it may be a cliché) that this is the most exciting time to work in anything that involves ideas and communication. Call it advertising, branding, content, production, entertainment, digital engagement. Whatever. With the economy being what it is and "consumers" loosing faith in spending, the game just turns more interesting; we have to be smarter about how much we spend in advertising and communications, but we also have tools we didn't have before that enhance messages that go directly to the people we're trying to reach. We have realized that it's not only advertising (what you say) that affects a brand, but the way it behaves (what you do) is as important. Packaging, logos, store displays, retail architecture and design, web design, events, these are all things that are open for creative companies to concept around with. Twenty years ago you made an ad and put it on TV or on a national magazine to reach a small percentage of people inside a much bigger audience. Millions of dollars where unnecesarily spent trying to reach people by the frequency system. Today, nobody wants to spend that much, so we carefully choose the media that's most adequate for the idea and the brand, we make the media part of our communication, it plays a bigger role. So we don't create headlines or TV ads, we create ideas that live anyhwere. Like John Hegarty said when he was here last year: "The best media is the one between someones ears." And today's world enables the use of the mind so much better. You can't get away with writing a great TV ad and walking away like a super-hero anymore. Maybe you'll get an award for it, but you will do a better job when you make that TV ad make sense inside a bigger integrated idea.
It's a more interesting world, more complex, more options, with more chaos and less money. This is the perfect place for a creative mind to work in. I read in Time magazine this morning an interesting article about how with the end of ER this week we close an era in entertainment when big networks with big shows, big ratings and big money ruled. But it opens a door to smaller shows in smaller networks and cable, and this means better quality and filtered content, where your TV options are not only the big names anymore but you have the option of choosing your entertainment by what interests you. Proof of this is not only TiVo, cable and digital TV, but websites like Hulu.
This is the world we are living in today, and it's an exciting time to come up with great ideas for everything that can touch people's hearts and minds. So yes, this is something you can be passionate about.

Hola, hablo español.

2009-03-27T09:14:00.000-07:00

Después de haber vivido casi dos años fuera de México y haber escrito este blog completamente en inglés, y después de tomar la decisión de que a partir de este verano me convertiré una vez más en residente de la Gran Ciudad de México, este espacio se convertirá en uno bilingüe. Todavía habrá posts en inglés pero empezaré a incorporar algunos en español y con temas más mexicanos (si, la política es uno de esos temas, ¿qué chiste tendría hablar de México si no hablas de su chiste más grande?)

Por lo pronto, ojalá y gane la selección mañana.

Why CD's matter(ed)

2009-03-24T19:04:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday I heard a Depeche Mode song I hadn't heard in years. It was Personal Jesus. Yeah, I know, the typical Depeche Mode song, but nonetheless a good one.
The song triggered a trip down my memories to remember how I got really into the band after buying a CD during a trip to Phoenix when I was about 15 years old (I'm talking about a compilation, the original song was included in "Violator", 1990.)
It got me thinking on how the CD culture, or the album culture, something we are losing if not lost already, was an enhancer of people appreciating and knowing about music. I wonder if generations who start getting into music today will be as musically savvy as past, since they always seem to get a surface glance at bands by downloading only the songs they like and missing out on the album experience.
It got me thinking about how when I listened to the song I instantly thought about that Phoenix trip. Maybe I can't remember when I and where I bought ever album I'd ever bought in my life, but there's not a chance that I could remember at least when I downloaded a certain song.
It got me thinking about how because I bought that album I got into the band and went back and bought their past albums.
I am guilty. Up to this point I have gone mostly digital. I uploaded a large part of my musical collection to my computer and that is now my musical source. But I have to say, the album experience was an essential part of my musical education. And it's something that we cannot afford to loose.

Curious Enough.

2009-02-03T05:52:00.000-08:00

I finally went to see The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Maybe a coincidence, that same morning I had a breakfast conversation with a friend about how it's fine for some movies to just entertain. Not all of them have to be extremely artistic and not all of them have to be groundbreaking. Some of them can just entertain. Which is the first thing any movie should do anyway.

In that spirit I went to see Benjamin Button, and I enjoyed it. There's an interesting story (about a man living life from old to young) and there's good acting. Some might say it's a bit long, I agree. But the movie keeps the viewer engaged for the most part.

SPOILER ALERT- If you have not seen the movie, stop reading.

Now there's one thing that the movie is missing. A good ending. Or a better one. It actually has that better ending embedded in the film, except that it's not the ending.
Generally a good ending is based on the fact that the pinnacle of the movie has just happened. After that all you need is a resolution, and that can be as quick as Casablanca or as long as The Return of the King.
I think the ending in this film came when the daughter is reading the postcards Benjamin sent after he left. That was the most emotional part of the film. She's reading the birthday cards and you're seeing the images of him traveling around the world. A good resolution after that could have been when he visits Daisy for the last time, narrated by Daisy herself and finally ending with the fact that they found a boys back pack with a book that had her name on it. And we never see him as a little boy. Actually, that's when the movie lost me, those last 10 minutes of seeing him go younger. We know that, we know he's going to die as a baby, we might as well not seen that and end the movie at the pinnacle. With the boy sequences the audience cools down from that emotional moment. You can even feel it inside the movie theater, the way people react by the end and the feeling in the ambient is not the same as when that emotional moment happens.
A good ending is hard to get, and most movies usually have it in there. It's all about editing or knowing when's a good time to stop.

What I learned from Super Bowl 43.

2009-02-01T20:37:00.000-08:00

There's a funny thing about the Super Bowl, it's the moment in which everybody seems to like and care about advertising. Not only that, but it's the moment in which everyone turns into an ad critic.
I've never been a die-hard football fan, I used to follow football much more about 8 years ago, but I still watch the Super Bowl every year. The only difference now is that I actually get to see the "famous" commercials, since back in Mexico we don't get to see the same commercials.
This year I went to a Super Bowl party. But it was a non-ad people Super Bowl party, which I thought could be interesting. It was. I could see first-hand how people react to ads. Real people, real ads. No over-analyzing, no judging, no awards, just reactions that take a second, gut reactions, which I think are the ones that count the most.
This is a dangerous thing, to see what people really like, and maybe even disappointing. You realize that they don't like the same stuff ad-people like, and they like the stuff that we would right away condemn.
Last year, the Brandcenter brought the people from the USA Today Ad Meter to speak, we all realized (and they made it clear too) that comedy is mostly what works at a Super Bowl. And animals seem to work pretty good too. Maybe it's the Super Bowl's environment (friends, TV, beer, guacamole) that makes people pay more attention and hence react better to funny stuff. We would say, "it's the same kick in the groin joke", and it is, but funny enough the Ad Meter was topped by an ad featuring, yes, a groin joke, which by the way was consumer generated. Now, I don't really want to get into the whole "shit, consumer generated advertising is better than..." because it's a quick judgement and even the idea of having a contest to make consumer generated ads to go into the Super Bowl came from an agency.
It reminds me of that FedEx commercial that listed the top 10 things you need to have in a Super Bowl commercial, of course kick in the groin and animals where there (bonus points for dancing animals.)
Everyday we break our heads thinking how to make things different, and every time we see something like the stuff that people like in Super Bowl ads we say it's all been done before and that no one wants to see it again. But in the end we find out that people do want to see it again. And here lies a dilemma, and I don't think we should keep doing the same stuff over and over, but then you realize what people like and... well, are we speaking the same language?

Here's that FedEx commercial.

The Jesus and Mary Chain reborn.

2008-12-04T06:07:00.000-08:00

I have not made a post in over two months. It's been a busy semester. And I could not help writing about something this morning, even if it is a short entry (there will hopefully be more over the winter break.)
I don't know how late I am to this band, I have not been up-to-date in musical development in the last months but I just discovered how great Atlas Sound is. And from the fist moment I heard a lot of The Jesus and Mary Chain in them. It's worth giving it a try. If you have you can call me out for not keeping up, if you haven't, do so.

The many faces of irresponsability, part II.

2008-09-10T19:49:00.000-07:00

A few months ago, right after Cannes to be more accurate, I wrote a blog entry with the same title exposing the oh-so-talked-about issue of JC Penney’s “Speed Dressing” ad.
Today, after the scandal, we are shocked (well, not really) again to hear the news about a Lion being taken away from TBWA/Paris for an Amnesty International print ad against the Chinese Government (Olympic themed.) The reason? Media buying. Apparently the ad only ran once, with the intention to be entered at the festival. Only that the running date was after the Cannes entry deadline.
Again, the issue of “fake” or “ghost” ads strikes back. Ads that are only produced to be entered in award shows. Agencies have been doing this for years, and now even clients do it. Cannes Lions 2008 “client of the year”, Procter and Gamble, has used award shows to test creativity. The ad dubbed “interview” by Tide (where a guy in a job interview is interrupted by a talking stain in his shirt) was a winner in the 2007 edition of the festival, and had a minimal media buy then, it was until it won the award that the client decided to run it with more frequency until it reached the Super Bowl and became very popular. Apparently P&G did the same thing this year with Crest’s “You can say anything with a smile.” Expect the TV ads to be seen on more popular media after they won awards.
The controversy around “fake” ads only gets worse. Leo Burnett India won a Gold Lion for an ad for a brand that wasn’t even on their client roster, Luxor Highlighters.
Is it enough to run an ad once in a cheap place where no one will see it to believe it’s legit and submit it to award shows?
Saatchi & Saatchi’s ad for JC Penney almost cost them the account. The ad was apparently made and submitted by a production company, Epoch Films, although it credited Saatchi people including ECD Gerry Graff.
How stupid are we as an industry (and our industry is conformed not only by agencies, but by third parties such as, yes, production companies) that in the middle of a credibility crisis from both the public and our clients, we play around with brands just to get an award. Gawker.com makes no mistake when calling advertising an "award-obsessed" industry.
The problem is that we let other people play with brands. In the Saatchi case, Epoch Films is a production company that has worked with them in the past. Probably at some point, either the director or somebody from the creative team had ideas that could “look cool” and not be presented to the client. That is, they're meant to be done for the following things: a) Use it in the directors reel/portfolio, b) Use it in the creatives portfolio, c) Use it in the production company's reel, and d) submit it to award shows. The latter carries a certain amount of risk due to client interference. Now there's two ways to deal with this.

1. Since most awards shows require "approval from the client" for every submitted piece, you can go to your client and say in a very political way, "look, we bust our asses here doing everything you ask us to do, and we have this ad that we took the liberty of shooting, it didn't cost you anything, in fact we split the costs with the production company because they really liked the idea, and we want to submit it to award shows, you only have to sign and run the ad once in the cheapest media space possible."
That client may or may not sign the release, depending on his conscience levels. If the client is honest and smart he'll say "no, stick it up your ass, you're fired, you don't give a damn about the brand, you only care about award shows." Which by the way, is what most clients think about creatives. The other type of client would say "what the hell, I already have you do everything I want, go win your stupid awards, I don't give a damn about them, go kiss each others asses and when you come back I'll have you doing the same stupid stuff that I've always asked for."
2. You can skip the client part, talk to a buddy at the award show or create some fake release form and "ta-dah", you've got yourself a shortlist and most likely a winner, because if you're going through the trouble of creating a ghost ad with no client approval it better be as good as to win something. Then you can have the bad luck Saatchi had when a little thing called YouTube spread the ad online until it reached some guy in Texas who works for JC Penney and went, WTF?
There's a third way, which is never to do ghost ads. But that's stupid isn't it, how would we get those awards?
Our industry can be hugely irresponsible, we play around with brands like it has no consequences. Whether we like it or not, when we are empowered with brands we are given a huge responsibility. And I'm not saying we should do what the client says, but we have to be honest about our job, which by the way is not winning awards. Awards should merely be a consequence of great work, not an objective.
Everybody has bad clients and everybody has to get through them, and a campaign that wins awards despite everything is a million times better than the one created as a ghost. It is a very dangerous thing that with the industry being so unpopular there's people gambling with brands. These actions have consequences.
There is light at the end of the tunnel, go trough this years Titanium and Integrated Lions winners. Go through the work of agencies like Droga5, Crispin, Goodby (who has the policy of not entering work to award shows), and others who care more about good work and less about Lions, One Shows, Clios, et al. Awards are not wrong. They are a necessary thing for agencies seeking new business and for creatives seeking career moves. But an award is no longer enough to judge work, it’s the whole story, where it came from, how it came to be and how it is delivered that matters. In the words of Mark Fenske “Our job is to make clients and brands famous for the right reason.”

Lollapalooza 2008 Review.

2008-08-07T09:43:00.000-07:00

Lollapalooza is a great festival. Idiots complain about its corporate backup and stuff, I guess there's some people that just can't see anything good in life. If you have over 100 bands in three days of music, located exactly in downtown Chicago, why again is it that you are whining about?
The great thing about Lolla is not only the fact that it has a great environment and very well organized but its very well located. You are close to anything you need in the city like hotels, restaurants, nightlife, public transportation. That's what makes Lolla the most convenient of the large music festivals.

As for the bands, this is what I saw.

Day 1. Friday, August 1st.

I first entered the gates of Lollapalooza 2008 on Friday around 3:15 PM having missed both Rogue Wave and The Go! Team (I still regret not going to the latter) because I couldn't leave work as early as that.

The 1st band on my list was The Black Keys. Pure rock n' roll, one guitar, one voice, and a drum set. That's it. After overcoming a bit of trouble with the voice in the 1st song (which was curiously Girl On My Mind, one of their biggest hits), which we couldn't really hear, the set was pretty good. The sun was up, it was very hot, but the Black Keys managed to pull it off. They played the Bud Light Stage on the north side of the festival, that I have to say, was the stage with the best sound.

The Black Keys.

From there I was ready to fulfill my dream of finally seeing the great Chan Marshall (AKA Cat Power) play live. And I was disappointed. She had it all, the Playstation 3 stage, one of the nicest in the festival, a large group of people (which sadly shrank as the set went by), good sound and a good band. I don't think her set was well chosen. Even though she opened up with Naked If I Want To, included in her latest Jukebox, but also part of 200's The Covers Record. From there she went downhill, playing only a few old songs which included Lived In Bars. She sang two lines of The Greatest before the band went jamming wild to finish off the set. She has a great voice, she has the songs, but that day she didn't have the audience. I'd rather see her perform a solo set.

Chan Marshall AKA Cat Power (in red) playing at the Playstation 3 stage.

After that it was back at the Bud Light stage for more guitar-powered rock and roll with The Raconteurs. Does everything that Jack White does has to be so good? Pure energy, while the sun was starting to hide behind the buildings of downtown Chi-Town, The Raconteurs rocked with perfect live versions off their two albums. Steady As She Goes and a kick-ass version of You Don't Understand Me with Mr. White on the piano while Brendan Benson took care of the guitar, stood out from the rest of the set which was energetic and overall good.

The Raconteurs. Brendan Benson (left in green) and Jack White (right, wearing black).

Quickly drag your ass from the Bud Light stage all the way to the other side (about a 10 to 15 minute walk) to grab a good spot (if possible) to see Radiohead. Even though I wanted to be there as quickly as possible I couldn't help stopping in the Citi stage to see CSS (Cansei de Ser Sexy) who were leading a massive party. I was lucky 'cause I got to see them play Music Is My Hot Hot Sex. Enough to dance for a while and continue my pilgrimage to the AT&T stage.

Radiohead is the best band in the world. Having said that, everything in this festival cannot be compared directly with Radiohead because they compete in a different league. It wasn't the best show or set I saw during the weekend, but it was the best band I saw during the weekend, if it makes any sense. About 80,000 people witnessed what was the biggest headline of the festival. Even though I got there about 20 minutes before the show and considering that there were people sitting down to grab a spot since like 2PM, I wasn't bad located. In a very British way at 8PM sharp Radiohead opened up while the crowd went mad. The set was great overall, they played 2 hours, and not a lot of shows these days surpass the 90 minute line. Sometimes it was a bit slow, but hey, that's just the way In Rainbows works. Speaking of which, they played the album almost entirely. I enjoyed the show very much but, I would have loved much more power in the sound. I could hear the guy behind me talk, and he wasn't even yelling. Maybe that didn't help the crowd to really connect with the band. Highlights included The Bends, Fake Plastic Trees and Everything In It's Right Place played while a firework show went on, There There, Optimistic, Idiotheque, Paranoid Android, No Surprises and Lucky. Weird Fishes, Bodysnatchers and Reckoner were probably the best songs out of the new album. Even with the low sound, it was a great show.

The crowd before Radiohead started playing with Chicago's skyline at the back.

Radiohead.

Very tired after the 1st day of Lolla, I go t a good night sleep and rested enough to hit the second day of beer and music.

Day 2. Saturday, August 2nd.

I kicked the day off with en vogue MGMT. It was surprisingly crowded, I know they are the cool band of the moment, but I never expected this many people. The good thing is, they delivered. Unfortunately the sound didn't. Again with the sound. Nevertheless, MGMT is powerful and goo on-stage, and as my festival-buddy said about Andrew VanWyngarden, "he has a lot of Wayne Coyne in him." Which is funny, since David Friddman (Flaming Lips' producer) was behind Oracular Spectacular.

MGMT

A funny thing that tends to happen in almost every festival is how surprised you can be about a band that you are only going to see because "it's what's playing at the time." And that was the case with me and Explosions in the Sky. We grabbed a couple of beers and laid back at the Bud Light stage, where there was a lot of people laying on the grass listening to 3the perfectly executed post-rock instrumental music of Explosions... It's one of the moments I enjoyed the most, and I never expected it. They are awesome live, if you ever have a chance to see them don't miss it.

The crowd listening to Explosions in the Sky

Urge Overkkil is a great band that plays good, simple music. No pretensions, just plain simple. And I did enjoy their show, especially when they played Our Life Is Not A Movie Or Maybe and
The Latest Thought. And although my companion didn't agree, I saw some of Jarvis Cocker in Will Sheff.

Okkervil River

Back in the Bud Light Stage it was the moment to experience one of the finest musical moments in the weekend. In fact, it wasn't going to get any better than this. Broken Social Scene is amazing when they play live (and on record). I personally consider Kevin Drew and Brendan Canning (along with producer Dave Newfeld) to be some of the biggest musical geniuses of our time. They brought along the large crew, about eleven musicians on-stage, Amy Millan (from Stars) included. They opened up with the instrumental Pacific Theme followed by a sick version of Cause=Time. The set was heavy on Brendan Canning's album, part of the Broken Social Scene Presents series, and there was some of the previous album from the same series, the Kevin Drew one. It didn't really matter what they played, when the music is so good you enjoy whatever they throw at you. I would have loved to see a longer set, since they only gave the band an hour. A longer show would have given us the chance to listen to Superconnected, Almost Crimes, Lover's Spit, Stars and Sons, Ibi Dreams of Pavement and other greats from You Forgot it in People and their eponymous third album. But in the end, they were definitely one of the best three acts I saw in the whole festival.

The whole gang. Broken Social Scene at the Bud Light stage.

We killed an hour drinking beers after immersing ourselves again through the crowd gathered in the Bud Light stage to see Wilco. While the south part of the festival was in the middle of mosh pit crisis with Rage, the north side was enjoying a nice, smooth and friendly Wilco show. A good show I might add. People were enjoying it and having a great time, and really, it's Wilco. They remind you how simple (at least on the surface) music can be enjoyable and made to sing-along to. I am trying to Break Your Heart made an unexpected early set appearance and was very well received, although the high point was Shot In the Arm. By the time Wilco was finished I realized I was a bit drunk and had to go rest it to avoid having a hangover on Sunday.

Wilco suited in Nudie (even though it's hard to tell in this picture)

Day 3. Sunday, August 3rd.

The final day of a festival has this vibe of people not wanting to let go of it, but at the same time too tired to keep going. And I guess that in paper the last day was the least attractive, at least for me. But the festival closer Kanye was something I was expecting since the beginning. And no, I didn't care missing Nine Inch Nails for Kanye. More on that later.
Tired and aching I started the day splitting between the Black Kids and Perry Farrell. Now, why Perry Farrell you might ask? Because while I was still in the Citi stage watching the Black Kids my friend calls me and tells me Perry is playing Jane Say's with... Slash. And I couldn't really miss that. Plus, the stages were next to each other.

Perry & Slash play Jane Says.

The man himself

Back to the Black Kids, they are good, I really hope the keep it going and deliver a good second album (I know they just released the 1st, but the 1st is always easier), and they do it really good on stage. Of course, I'm Not Going To Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You turned the place into a big party. Really cool.

The Black Kids

We then headed to the Bud Light stage for a nice and kind of flat Iron & Wine show. Not too many highlights but not too many low points as well. Enjoyable and not too much to talk about this one.

Walked all the way back to the south stage, AT&T for Gnarls Barkley. The options were that or Love & Rockets who probably not a lot of people knew and I only know three songs of. So we made the decision to see what Gnarls had. And they don't have a lot. OK, they are good on record, good for partying. But that's it, there's nothing more they bring to the party when playing live. Nothing ever happens. Still, I had a good time while dancing to Crazy and Gone Daddy Gone.

Gnarls Barkley

We headed back north to see the National and we did see the last two Love & Rockets songs which were rather good.

The National have a great album. But they still need to learn the stage. Especially Matt Berninger, who sometimes thinks he's Ian Curtis. But he's not. And he's not Paul Banks (Interpol) either, so he has to build a charisma of his own. They need a strong frontman. Nevertheless the music was good. The sound took a while to get there, but it did. If they keep it up we might be looking at one hell of a band in the next few years.

The National

Again, walked all the way south.

On the journey to see how Kanye was going to take over the world we passed by the MySpace stage where Mark Ronson was playing. Now, you can say all you want about Mark Ronson. But live, he's nothing but about having fun. And that's good. He had a very big band playing, plus inviting different vocalists to sing. Kanye, by the way, was backstage. I got there right when they were performing their version of Just (from Radioheads' The Bends), and the vocals were by Alex Greenwald from Phantom Planet. Yes, the ones from that song California. Yes, the one from the O.C. Yes, Mark Ronson invited the whole band on-stage. Yes, they played the O.C. theme song. And it was so funny and weird, that it was amazing. People went crazy, partly because they thought it was ridiculous and partly because (and you should accept it too) they really like the song. After that Mark Ronson and his band returned to perform Valerie (by the Zutons) while people danced and had fun. A lot of people were walking by at this point, it was only like 15 minutes before Kanye began. The sound of Mark Ronson's band was amazing, and even though I was having a good time I had to leave to grab a good spot for Kanye, so I left shortly after their rendition of The Smiths' Stop Me.

Mark Ronson and (part of) his gigantic band.

And then the magic began.

I have never been big on hip hop. It's not that I don't like it, it's that I don't know a lot about it. I know the basics, but nothing too deep. But I know Kanye, and for that you don't have to be an expert.
This was probably one of the best shows I've seen in my life. The man is amazing in front of a crowd, he really knows how to manage the stage and the people and his intensity and energy are unbeatable. With a 90-minute hit-packed set Kanye ruled Lollapalooza. And the idea of regretting being there and not north with Nine Inch Nails never crossed my mind.
Kanye does hip-hop like a rock band. There is a DJ, but there's also a band, and a large one. Needless to say is that the best moment of the gig was when they sampled/played a version of Don't Stop Believing by Journey (which by the way must have been the most covered band in the weekend, Gnarls Barkley gave their rendition of the same song andGirl Talk sampled Faithfully for a wrapper.)
When Kanye was done we were all left wanting more. You can't get enough of this guy.

Kanye closes Lolla at the AT&T stage.

All in all this was a great festival. Great bands, great moments. I hope next year's line-up keeps building, but after lining Radiohead, Kanye, NIN and Rage, there are big shoes to fill.

The Talented Mr. Hoffman.

2008-07-24T08:12:00.000-07:00

I saw Charlie Wilson's war recently and found it to be a fine movie. It has a good story, good acting and great dialogs. I really enjoyed it. But the high point of the movie is definitely Phillip Seymour Hoffman's acting. Hoffman was not only nominated for an Academy Award that he should have won for this role, but actually is one of the greatest actors of our time, and sadly, many times unappreciated by most.
If you take a look at his career we're talking about a guy that hardly gets a leading role, and when he does, like in Capote, he pulls an amazing job and takes the Oscar home. But even in films like Almost Famous and The Talented Mr. Ripley he helps the entire story playing natural, supporting role characters with brilliance.
I'm going to let the man talk for himself. This scene out of Charlie Wilson's war may well be the finest piece of acting he's ever pulled in his entire career. It's funny, intense and acted with such a natural skill that makes me think that Gust Avrokatos (Hoffman's character) may be one of the best created characters I've seen lately. Enjoy.

* I cannot post the youtube video for some reason so just click here to see the video *

When I grow up I want to be like Jarvis.

2008-07-17T08:17:00.000-07:00

Think about it. He's very well read, a great writer, a great songwriter, very stylish, probably has a killer musical taste and knowledge, not to mention hanging with very interesting music and arts people from the UK and the world. I mean, in everyday terms, Jarvis is the man.

He not only lead Pulp, one of my favorite bands and arguably the best band in Britain during the 90's. Yes, the same 90's of Britpop (which Pulp is a huge part of) and the same 90's dominated by bad pop and grunge. Britpop was the best genre out of that decade and Pulp was the best band, so screw you Damon and Gallagher's.

A few weeks ago I was working on an entry about the greatest songwriters of our time and realized that maybe he is my favorite one. As "our time" I mean mid 90's forward. And there's been a lot of great ones, that's why I now finally publish my list.

There's been many great songwriters in the history of music. But only a few of them stand out to influence the newer generations of musicians. And every era of music has one of these virtuosos of songwriting.
Songwriting isn't only about putting nice words into a verse. That's writing.
Songwriting is the ability of mixing the perfect words in the perfect melody. Sometimes the words are awesome, even poetic, but when put in a song they feel forced. Music and poetry are not the same thing. That is why good writers not necessarily make good songwriters and vice versa. I don't see Jack White writing a perfectly well written poem, book or novel (maybe he could), but he sure as hell can write songs, good songs.

In the future, these songwriters will inspire the coming musicians. As they have been inspired by the great songwriters of the past. To name a few of the old lions:

Bob Dylan (arguably the greatest)
John Lennon
Leonard Cohen
Nick Drake
Ray Davies
Morrissey

My list of the best songwriters of our time.

Jarvis Cocker
Elliott Smith
Jack White
Ryan Adams
Connor Oberst
Damon Gough (Badly Drawn Boy)
Thom Yorke

I might have forgotten some names, if I do come up with more I'll post them. Until then, enjoy.

What do you do when you conquer the musical world?

2008-07-16T08:43:00.000-07:00

A solid fourth album.

That's what Coldplay did. Yes, I like Coldplay. Is that wrong? Maybe it is to some Pitchfork-loving people who don't wander outside what the Bucktown reviewer tells them (and believe me, I like and respect Pitchfork, but I don't trust them blindly on everything.) They've been throwing stones at Coldplay ever since A Rush of Blood to the Head, and so has all the "hipster/indie" tribe. Why do we feel that when a band starts being successful (in this case, very) they are stolen from our pick-up conversations and we suddenly loose a step of coolness by saying we like a band that everyone likes. What is son wrong with big bands these days?

I love Coldplay, I think they're a serious band, a band that everyone likes, with their own style that maybe they have exploited too much (but who hasn't, not everyone is Lou Reed, and believe even Lou can get pretty boring around the 80's.)
I mean, they make good songs. Commercial? Maybe. Easy to listen? Yes. But, is that so bad? Sometimes we tend to over-analyze music and we don't realize that it's just about enjoying it. If you are doing that it doesn't matter if they went commercial or starve to death, you either like it or you don't. So, don't hate Coldplay for what they are, hate them if you really don't like the way they sound.

Viva la Vida is a good album, maybe not their best, yet good and consistent in most times. I do have to say that Mr. Eno's hand behind the controls is evident, and while adding some The Edge-like guitar reefs every now and then, the band maintains their own sound, the one they have been building up, and perfecting, since Parachutes. For the most part the songs are very Coldplay, except three tracks that run longer than 6 minutes, quite unnecessary and out of their style. But, good try.

I will see them live next Wednesday at the United Center in Chicago. From my two previous experiences with Coldplay live I'm expecting a pretty good show. I'll tell you all about it. Until then, Viva la Vida.

Too many kids (and keys).

2008-07-08T11:47:00.000-07:00

A few months back my younger brother wrote to me if I had heard of the Black Kids, which I rapidly took as a typo and assumed he was referring to the Black Keys, whom I obviously know and like a lot. But he wasn't.
Shortly after that e-mail I saw him and he asked me again, emphasizing that he wasn't referring to the Black Keys, but to the CMJ praised band out of Florida that once again, and to prove everyone else that DIY is the way today, became known through the Internet, more specific through MySpace.
The Black Kids, who by now I have heard a lot of, play amazing, simple, fast, guitar-garage rock. And they are unpretentiously good. Really worth listening to. Their debut album is yet to be released (I think this month) and it's called Partie Traumatic. But you can get a taste of their songs on their web or MySpace pages.

Enjoy.

And BTW, not to be confused with the Cool Kids.

The many faces of irresponsibility.

2008-06-26T07:38:00.000-07:00

So by now you must have heard about the infamous JC Penney ad called "speed dressing" and that some have dubbed as a cheer to teen sex, which I believe to be an overreaction. Nevertheless, I do agree that a company like JC Penney would never do it deliberately. It just doesn't fit the brand. That's the way things are in this business, it might be good for say, Harvey Nichols, maybe, I don't know. But not JC Penney.

Just to put you in context, just in case you are not familiarized with the ad it won a Silver Lion in Cannes. Then the client stated that it was an unapproved ad and even Saatchi NY (JC Penney's agency) said they had nothing to do with it, even when Saatchi employees, and even Gerry Graf are credited in the ad. Although the entrant company is not Saatchi, it's production company Epoch Films.

Here's the ad and below the credits as they appear in the Cannes Lions 2008 winners.

Type Of Entry: Product & Service
Category: Retail Stores
Title: SPEED DRESSING
Advertiser: JCPENNEY
Product/Service: JCPENNEY RETAIL STORES
Entrant Company, City: EPOCH FILMS, New York
Country: USA
Advertising Agency, City: SAATCHI & SAATCHI, New York
Country: USA
Executive Creative Director: Kerry Keenan
Copywriter: Craig Love
Art Director: Shayne Millington
Agency Producer: Zamile Vilakazi
Account Supervisor: Natasha Williamson
Production Company, City: EPOCH FILMS, New York
Country: USA
Director: Mike Long
D.O.P/Lighting Cameraman: Stephen Blackman
Editor: Joe Guest
Other Credits: Agency Executive Producer: Colin Pearsall / CCO: Gerry Graf

How stupid are we as an industry (and our industry is conformed not only by agencies, but it includes third parties such as, yes, production companies) that in the middle of a credibility crisis from both the public and our clients, we play around with brands just to get an award. Gawker.com makes no mistake when calling advertising an "award-obsessed" industry.

Now the problem is that we let other people play with our brands. Turns out the production company that did this ad has worked with Saatchi many times in the past, working on, yes, JC Penney ads. Probably at some point, either the director or somebody from the creative team had ideas for the brand that could look cool and not be presented to the client. That is, they're meant to be done for the following things: a) Use it in the directors reel/portfolio, b) Use it in the creatives portfolio, c) Use it in the production company's reel, and d) submit it to award shows. The latter carries a certain amount of risk due to client interference. Now there's two ways to deal with this.

1. Since most awards shows require "approval from the client" for every submitted piece, you can go to your client and say in a very political way, "look, we bust our asses here doing everything you ask us to do, and we have this ad that we took the liberty of shooting, it didn't cost you anything, in fact we split the costs with the production company because they really liked the idea, and we want to submit it to award shows".
That client may or may not sign the release, depending on his conscience levels. If the client is honest and smart he'll say "no, stick it up your ass, you're fired, you don't give a damn about the brand, you only care about award shows". Which by the way, is what most clients think about creatives. The other type of client would say "what the hell, I already have you do everything I want, go win your stupid awards, I don't give a damn about them, go kiss each others asses and when you come back I'll have you doing the same retarded stuff that I've always asked for".

2. You can skip the client part, talk to a buddy at the award show or create some fake release form and "ta-dah", you've got yourself a shortlist and most likely a winner, because If you're going through the trouble of creating a ghost ad with no client approval it better be as good as to win something. Then you can have the bad luck these guys had when a little thing called You Tube spread the ad online until it reached some guy in Texas who works for JC Penney and went, WTF?

There's a third way, which is never to do ghost ads. But that's stupid isn't it, how would we get those awards?

Now the speed dressing ad is ranked number one in Creativity's top 20, although they do mention that it's a controversial "supposedly fake" ad. Anyway, this is not the first time Creativity features ghost ads. Here's another example of an ad done by the same production company for the same brand and that never ran. I first saw this on Creativity's top 20 some months ago.

I'm not going to go into the moral issue of the ad, whether the kids are too young or not, or if it directly condones teen sex and if that is bad or not. That is another issue. The one I'm trying to touch here is the fact that the industry can be hugely irresponsible, we play around with brands like it has no consequences.
Whether we like it or not, when we are empowered with brands we are given a huge responsibility. And I'm not saying we should do what the client says. But we have to be honest about out job, which by the way, is not winning awards. I've said it before and I'll say it again, awards should merely be a consequence of great work. Work that's been approved and that's been out there to communicate with people.

Everybody has bad clients and everybody has to get through them, and a campaign that wins awards despite everything is a million times better than the one created as a ghost, no matter what the creative says. It is a very dangerous thing that with the industry being so unpopular there's people gambling with brands. These actions have consequences.

Here are some links to other articles on the matter.

Creativity Online article here.

Ad Age article here.

Gawker.com article

The rebirth of the concept.

2008-06-25T10:08:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I wrote a rather aggressive entry about the Cannes 2008 winners. And I stand by it. I just want to add that although there is a concept crisis in traditional media (print, TV, radio...) I have recently been reviewing the work awarded with Titanium and Integrated Lions, which if you don't know what they are, here's an accurate description from the Cannes Lions site:

"As introduced in 2007, one jury will judge two different types of entry - Titanium entries for breakthrough concepts and Integrated entries for state of the art integrated campaign entries.

Integrated Lions and one Integrated Grand Prix will be awarded to the highest standard state of the art Integrated Campaigns using three or more different media.

Titanium remains in its purist form and stands for breakthrough ideas. It’s for work that is provocative and points to a new direction. It’s for work that “causes the industry to stop in its tracks and reconsider the way forward”.

Titanium entries are not restricted to a set number of executions or types of channel and there is no limit to the lengths of execution or the media used.

The jury may award Titanium Lions and a Titanium Grand Prix if appropriate to entries in this section.
You don’t have to specify whether you are submitting to Titanium or Integrated when entering. All campaign entries will be considered by the jury for Integrated Lions or Titanium Lions.

There are no categories in Titanium and Integrated Lions. The idea is everything, whether it’s for a car or toothpaste, telecommunications or charity, big budget or low budget."

It must be added that the Titanium Lion GP is also the award that carries the most points with it. Here's the Lions point chart.

Titanium Grand Prix: 12 points

All other Grand Prix: 10 Points

Titanium Lion: 10 points

Gold Lion/Design Lion/Integrated Lion: 7 Points

Silver Lion: 5 Points

Bronze Lion: 3 points

Shortlist Position: 1 Point

These are clear examples of work directed to real people with engaging messages and innovative thinking. Plus, it creates communication and culture. This is the future, this is what we must be learning and thinking. It doesn't matter if it's a TV ad, a print ad or a web thing, a great idea will live anywhere, and will outlive any media.

Take a look at the GP's and winners in the link below. It's also worth taking a look at the short list and while you cannot see the entries on the Lions page, you can go to each agency's website and look for the case study there.

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE WINNERS.

The death of the concept.

2008-06-22T18:19:00.000-07:00

Well, the worst happened. We are now officially living an era in communications in which to communicate has been forgotten and it's all about the cool for coolness sake.
I'm no expert, and I don't want to sound arrogant here, but the supposed best creatives of the world, those who make up the Grand Jury at Cannes, have decided (for all of us) that the Cadbury Gorilla from Fallon London is the best piece of communication made for film this year. The best. Along with Halo 3. There was a tie. But still, the best. Wow. Let me recap here, it's 60 seconds of a Gorilla playing the drums (I think I'm quoting myself from a previous post) to a Phil Collins song (the sarcastically best detail of the ad), and then the tag line says "a glass and a half full of joy". So there's no connection to the product, they are saying nothing. It doesn't communicate anything! And when we've come to a place when we don't do the one thing we are supposed to do in an ad, we are really fucked as an industry. You can be boring as hell, but you always have to communicate something. The best ads are those that communicate, and are fun, entertaining, relevant, memorable and innovative. But the first requirement is to communicate something.
This ad could have been a dancing bear and it wouldn't have mattered. It could have been for Sprite, and still the same. The same happened to a lot of this years print winners, awards are being given out to whatever is cool, no matter what the concept is. Hell, it doesn't matter if it even has a concept. There's clearly a big crisis in advertising these days. And the funniest thing of all is that the only ones not aware of it are those involved in advertising. While we are all padding ourselves in the back with our awards (which by the way no one cares about, not the client, not people), there's a world changing out there by the minute. And I hate to sound so old school in here, but this is about talking to people, not creatives, not advertisers. Communicate messages to people to make brands famous. That's it. Everything else comes extra. Awards are cool, they're actually awesome, and everybody loves them, plus, like it or not, they might be the only way to measure creativity. I agree to all that, but awards should be part of the process and not the end of it. I hate to hear "this agency is client driven... Oh, these guys are really creative driven... Such and such agency is strategy driven..." Bullshit. Who is consumer driven? I hate that word, let's say, people driven? Who cares about not what the client says, not what award shows say, but what people really like and want. And it's not about giving them the power or doing entirely what they say, we're supposed to be the experts here, but it's about stopping to patronize them and begin an engaging communication process.

These will illustrate my point better.

Inspiration, anyone?
by geertdesager

The saddest thing of all is to see so many agencies doing ghost ads to win awards. And the worst thing is that there's people who think that this is fair and OK. I just had a recent discussion about this with a co-worker and they said that it was the only way of getting around the client, and the only way of doing good creative work. If this is the way the future generations of the business think we're in deep shit. It's an ethical thing, but the problem is that no one seems to think they are wrong when producing them, but everyone thinks they're wrong when inquired about their ethical nature. Sad thing is, big agencies, small agencies, good and bad and even the best do ghost ads. There's a handful of agencies that believe that the nature of this business is to communicate to people, and if a piece is not created for that purpose then there's no reason for it to live. Even if the client is stupid and the idea was the best one ever, they won't do it. Everyone deals with bad clients, everyone has to get around them. So the problem is that when in an award show a ghost ad wins, an ad that didn't have to go through every filter of the process, it's leaving out other ads that had to, and those have more merit. Ghost ads are the easy way out. If every agency did them, then we'd all have tons of awards. But that's not the point, is it?

The bottom line is we have to wake up as an industry. It's not that there is a creative crisis these days, it's that we're blind. There's more tools towards creativity now more than ever, more ways to communicate, and I really have to say that most of the web and interactive work awarded these days is really good, awesome in some cases. We only have to open our eyes and stop being so arrogant and self indulgent. We have to stop talking to ourselves and start connecting with people. Stop thinking that a complicated print ad is cool and arty because "you have to really work it to get it". This is not art. Disappointing to many but it's the truth. This is communication, and when art may be included into it, great. But communicating is more important. Let's see how long it takes us to wake up as an industry because we've been asleep for a while.

Nick Drake is alive.

2008-06-13T08:39:00.000-07:00

He reincarnated in the form of Alexi Murdoch, a Scottish resident of LA who I recently discovered by way of Pandora.

He has a similar voice and melancholy to Nick Drake, it's worth giving it a try. If you want to hear really really sad music.

Oh, Woody.

2008-06-02T07:33:00.000-07:00

I've always been a big fan of Woody Allen. I may not be a die hard fan, but I consider him one of my favorite directors, I like his style. And when it comes to Woody Allen there's no middle line, there's either people who love him or people who hate him.
Annie Hall and Manhattan may well be amongst my favorite movies, I even like his 90's era, like Deconstructing Harry, even Small Time Crooks made me laugh. And I've approved his latest movies like Melinda and Melinda, Match Point (which I think is one of Allen's best movies ever) and Scoop.
Now, I recently saw Cassandra's Dream, last year's movie starring Ewan McGregor and Colin Farrell, and I have to say that it has been one of the worst movies I've seen lately. The plot os so slow and irrelevant, it even makes the actors bad, a really strange thing about Allen, who can make almost anyone perform well. I had to finish the movie because I always like to see if anything happens, it never did. My wife left me alone with the movie about halfway through it.
Just a piece of advice if you were thinking about seeing it, don't. Or do and prove me wrong.

Not much has changed. From Mr. Whipple to Papa Johns.

2008-05-31T06:34:00.000-07:00

A few days ago we served as company to our friend Charles (AKA 'chuckles') as he ventured in a local bar's open stage night in which he performed a couple of songs plus doing a small stand-up comedy set. In the latter, 'chuckles' was talking about how the Papa John's pizza commercials always star the company's owner, founder and CEO (I would guess he is Papa John), and at the end of every ad he says "better ingredients, better pizza, Papa Johns".
Charles was so right. And I was sitting there thinking of all the times I had been annoyed by those commercials. Every time I was sitting in my couch thinking 'why do we need to see this guy? Why does he have to tell me anything? Who is he? I care about the pizza, not the CEO of the company. They make pizza, not insurance. So, why is this guy making the ad better? How, in their minds, can they think that by starring the company's president they will sell more pizzas? Why do I need an asshole telling me that they have better ingredients? If they do, don't I find that by myself when I order the pizza?

But at the bar, I found myself alone. Nobody seemed to care.

Maybe Luke Sullivan was the only one who found Mr. Whipple so obnoxious. Hell, maybe someone even liked Mr. Whipple.
And here's the big dilemma, the stuff that we find so annoying, all that we think shouldn't have been even thought of at an office, the stuff we say 'how can they pay someone to do that?'. That stuff, is being liked by people. And that's scary. It's scary that people like it as much as it's scary that there is a creative director out there approving this shit, and of course, clients who are buying it.
I guess that even though we find ourselves alone in our interests and in what we think is good and exciting work, we must keep pushing towards more quality in the concepts of advertising, and into a world where CEO's don't have to tell people what their product is like, but that we can show it to them in a cool engaging way. People may still not care, maybe they won't notice it. But we'll be happier. And less annoyed.

The Cadbury Gorilla

2008-05-28T08:50:00.000-07:00

What is all the fuzz about with the Cadbury Gorilla? When I first saw it about 8 months ago I thought it was very stupid. Then people began talking about it, blogs were being written, Creativity and other important publications were writing articles on it, and the I thought maybe I was stupid. But no. I couldn't be. It's only a fucking gorilla playing the drums. Oh yeah, and then it announces chocolates. At least I'll give them the sense of humor for picking the song.

So then I thought it was me who never got it, since I realized that the commercial won important prizes like the ANDY's, London, and now it won a gold CLIO. That pretty much lines it up for a metal prize in Cannes. Wow. But no, it wasn't me, I saw it again, and again and this is what I came up with.

It's a gorilla playing the drums trying to sell chocolates.

Alright, so advertising doesn't have to be all 50's style sell-the-product and talk about all the benefits for 60 seconds. I agree. But say something for God's sake. You have a brand, who is trying to sell chocolates, and they spend their air time and money on something like this? I just don't buy it.
Maybe it's me, maybe I'm too ignorant, maybe I don't know shit. But I'll dare to make a judgment by saying that those who have awarded this commercial or those "we're very creative" types who love it don't even know why they do it. "Because it's cool" they say. Cool? What's cool? Is this what we have come to? What is it doing for the brand? What is it doing for a consumer? Its' not even funny! I understand that there can be ads that just aware about the product and merely entertain, but at least they try to say something. How is a fucking gorilla helping the product?

I might sound old school. But this is another case of advertising done for advertisers. It's only for us nerds in blogs and judges in award show to see and understand. Real people, yes, the same ones who don't give a damn about advertising or how artsy and creative we think we might be, those people, they don't get it, they don't like it. And, sometimes sadly, they are the ultimate judges of out work.

Anyway, if you still doubt my intelligence, please see the ad for yourself. Don't be deceived, it might pull a smile off at first, specially when the animal starts playing the drums. But then, it's all vacuum.

No, you don't have to hate advertising.

2008-05-08T17:06:00.000-07:00

I've been hearing lately this quote that people within the business like to say, "you have to hate advertising to truly love it." Besides it lacking any sense it would be stupid for anyone in the business to think that way.
Earlier this semester we were sitting at a breakout session with Brandcenter board members. Important advertising people. And we are going around the room introducing ourselves and we each said why we are in advertising. Then a guy blurts out "well, I first have to say I hate advertising...", I'm sitting there thinking what a pretentious comment. Think about it, do you really hate what you'll be devoting your career to, do you really hate what you paid a large amount of money to go into grad school and learn?
To my surprise, this guy is not the only one who thinks that way, I've seen this motto in many blogs, and people think they are so cool and so interesting by thinking so. I will just say that it's very pretentious and makes you sound stupid.
We are not in this to save the world, or make art or find the answer to the worlds problems, although some of these may come as consequences. We are here to make brands famous and talk to people about them.

Airlines.

2008-05-08T06:27:00.000-07:00

Technology is making our life simpler. Everything in our lives seems to be easier. Think about it, technology is about comfort. You don't carry 200 CD's anymore, you carry an iPod. You don't have to go to the supermarket, you shop online.
The world seems to be turning into a more convenient and comfortable place. Everything is getting easier, except traveling.
My recent travel experiences have just confirmed my theory that while everything else in our lives tends to be easier, air travel tends to be more and more complicated.
It's not only the fact of having to arrive at the airport hours before your flight because of the lines, the security checks, in which is not only uncomfortable but invidious, the fact that you have to almost strip or that nothing can be carried on board anymore. But also the fact that airlines keep making travel more expensive and less convenient.
Most airlines don't even give you a meal anymore, they charge for it. And, are tickets getting any cheaper? No. You know how much an airlines saves just by cutting costs for food?
And now three airlines, as of May 5, have included the genius policy of charging for the second checked bag. So now if you want to take a second piece of luggage you will be charged 25 dollars for it. That is, of course, plus any heavy or size extra charges.
So while airlines keep cutting costs, giving us less and making our experience worse, we keep paying the same, or even more for air tickets.
I guess we'd have to call for a "no travel day", would it be possible? I don't really think so. They can't be fought, and that's the worst of it all. Conclusion, airlines are "the man", but we trust them with our lives.

What's wrong with the Oscars?

2008-03-08T06:34:00.000-08:00

Sorry, rhetorical question. I know the Academy Awards were like three weeks ago (or longer) and all the buzz is gone. But I'm just catching up with all the nominated movies I hadn't seen.
I saw "Into The Wild" yesterday, and I know it wasn't nominated for anything, and I'm not saying it should have, although I really enjoyed the movie. What shocked me though, was to remember the songs nominated for Best Original Song. There were three super corny horrible songs from "Enchanted", one song from "August Rush" which I honestly don't remember, and the song from "Once", that is not half bad, at least it was written by two very humble for-the-love-of-the-art musicians, who made a movie with two handycams, acted in it, wrote the song, sang it, and ultimately took the Oscar home.
But then I see "Into the Wild" and I realize what an amazing soundtrack Eddie Vedder co wrote and interpreted for the movie. And just to make things clear here, it's not just because this is Eddie Vedder we are talking about. Sometimes, people like soundtracks or scores by default just because they're written by a good musician. Sometimes they are good, other time they are not. And I'm not even that big a Pearl Jam fan. I mean, I like the old usual stuff, I saw them live once, which by the way was awesome, but that's it. I haven't really paid much attention to their last two albums. Anyway, I think grunge is dead, but that's the subject of a future entry.
Back to my point, regardless of who Eddie Vedder is and what he has done with his band, the outcome of the songs composed for "Into the Wild" is excellent. But when a bunch of kiss ass Academy members get together to vote music, (who said they know about music anyway, what do this guys know everything? It passes completely unnoticed.
While I listened to the songs during the movie, I realized that they were far better than anything else from the past year. This is yet another reason not to trust the Oscars. I take them as a reference and let's be honest here, I can't stop watching them, otherwise, what would I bitch about afterwards?

Is Microsoft finally fighting back?

2008-03-05T14:28:00.001-08:00

I just found out that Microsoft hired Crispin, Porter + Bogusky to be their new agency. Apparently the objective is to portray Microsoft as a cool brand, opposed to the way Apple has characterized ¨PC¨in their "I'm a Mac, I'm a PC" campaign.

Desperate measure from Microsoft that despite of being a much bigger company than Apple, they have never achieved the loyalty and coolness the latter brand inspires.

Anyway, it'll be really interesting to see what can Crispin come up with, and we might expect a good advertising war here, from two excellent agencies, TBWA/Chiat/Day LA (via Media Arts Lab), and obviously Crispin.

Can they bring a brand with no soul to life? We'll see.

Click here to see the article on Ad Age.

Gigs

2008-02-18T09:12:00.000-08:00

Heres is my complete list for gigs I must see before I die.

1. Radiohead
2. David Bowie
3. Bjork
4. New Order
5. Led Zeppelin
6. Belle & Sebastian

Here are some others I want to see, but are not yet a "must".

- Arcade Fire
- Cat Power
- My Morning Jacket
- Phoenix
- Bright Eyes

Here's some that were on the list, but I've had a chance to see.

- Bob Dylan
- Morrissey
- Paul McCartney
- Roger Waters
- Rolling Stones
- U2 (5 times)
- Depeche Mode
- The Cure
- Pearl Jam

Radiohead is coming to NoVa.

2008-02-18T08:58:00.000-08:00

I was recently making a list of the artists/bands I must see before I die. Radiohead was on top of that list. Two days ago I bought tickets for their May 11 show outside DC.
Why is Radiohead the number one on that list? Because I consider Radiohead the most important band in terms of their contribution and influence on music, from the last years. Yes, there's Grunge and Nirvana, yes there's Britpop, yes there's rock's revival in the early 00's with the "The" bands (The Strokes, The Vines, The Hives, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs... you get it.) But Radiohead has been an inspiration in some form or another to all the before mentioned.

I have to recognize they are not an easy-to-digest band. Some people have even told me that they've found it difficult to get into Radiohead. But their greatness is there, even though not being the mainstreams' favorite, they have influenced every band that has been inside or outside the mainstream since the early 90's.

But, if your not that into them or haven't found a way, there is hope. Here's the way to start out on Radiohead, and then continue going until you find that you've become a fan.

1. The Bends: This is Radioheads' best album. Everyone will say otherwise and even say OK Computer is one of the best albums ever (some critics and magazines have even named it THE best, above Sgt. Peppers and others.) But reality is, The Bends has never been topped. The band has evolved and changed, but this album remains as their greatest. The funny thing is, it's their easiest. So if you get through this one, and you will, you're on the right track.

2. OK Computer: A piece of art. A "must have". It's not as easy as The Bends, but in terms of production values it might be one of the best produced albums ever, courtesy of Nigel Godrich. This is the album that told the world "we're doing something different".

3. In Rainbows: Yes, from their two most famous, go to the new one. It's great and lighter than the ones I'll mention next.

4. Hail to the Thief: A little underrated, but still a great work.

5. Amnesiac & Kid A: I'm counting these as one because they are similar in some ways. Both are tough, weird, but include some great tracks and moments. These are the two albums for true fans, that's why they are at the bottom of the list.

NOTE: I'm not listing Pablo Honey, mainly because it's the least Radiohead album of all. Forget about Creep, they hate it, don't play it live and consider it the biggest mistake in their career.

What's new.

2008-01-31T19:10:00.000-08:00

I was talking to a friend today about how I've been kind of falling behind on new music in the last months. Since I got in the Adcenter (now Brandcenter), I've had little to no time to really research new music. Yes I still check Pitchfork and CMJ like twice a week, but I'm not in the look for new bands as I was before coming to Richmond. Maybe that explains why for the first time in years I wasn't able to come up with a best of the year list for 2007.
That said, I hear Vampire Weekend is coming up big now. I just started listening to them so I don't have a veredict yet. But I found this in Pitchfork today: Guest List is a section they do where every week a different artist or band is requested to fill an interesting questionnaire. Vampire Weekend is this week's band. Let's see what this New Yorkers have to say.

Click here to go to the article.

By the way, "In Rainbows" by Radiohead was my 2007 top album.

Dead Hard Drives and Pulp music.

2008-01-28T21:02:00.000-08:00

This morning I was informed that my computer's hard drive is dead, or at least dying. There is a big possibility that I might loose all my data. And what hurts me the most is the fact of loosing my 6,000 song music library. Too much technology trusting. I'm pissed and I can't think.
The worst part is that the last time I downloaded songs to my iPod I decided not to download my whole library so that means that I don't have my songs backed up anywhere. So my iPod right now has around 1,000 songs. The ones that made it.
One of those playlists is one by Pulp, one of my favorite bands and definitely one of the biggest bands of the so called 90's movement, Brit Pop. That means I've been listening to them a lot lately, it's almost as if they've helped me through this whole crisis.
From many conversations I've had with peers, there's a lot of people that don't know Pulp, either too well or at all. So here it is, the ultimate Pulp playlist, a good way to start liking this great band. Enjoy.

- Common People
- Do you remember the first time?
- Pink Glove
- Sylvia
- Joyriders
- Something Changed
- Babies
- Lipgloss
- Help the Aged
- Underwear
- Bar Italia
- Razzmatazz
- Like A Friend
- Disco 2000
- Happy Endings
- This Is Hardcore.

This should get you started. By the way, you'll commonly see the album "Different Class" listed as Pulps' best, or even in some "best albums of..." lists. Don't believe that, their best album is by far "His n' Hers".

The other 80's

2008-01-23T06:55:00.000-08:00

It's MLK day. After having breakfast I sat down to work for a while on some ad concepts. Sometimes when I get stuck I turn the TV on to clear my mind or just to have some noise around and then keep working. This morning I caught a VH1 Classic special called "The Best 100 Songs of the 80's". It was bullshit! George Michael, Nena, Falco? Come on! The people doing the reviews on the show were like people taken from The E! True Hollywood Story. A few good music critics participate.
Most people remember the 80's for one-hit wonders and that horrible sub/genre mistakenly labeled as "glam".
What the mainstream will never tell you about the 80's is that it was one of the most exciting eras of music. The so overused term "indie" was born back then. Except they didn't have a name for it so it was just "alternative music".
Yes, a lot of great songs from that time came from the mainstream, but this VH1 list forgot that in the UK Manchester was going on, and punk, and New York, and the CBGB. Todays music has more influence from the 80's than from any other era of music. That's why the 80's are so important, even though people only remember the worst part of it.

My Best Songs of the 80's List.
Songs are listed in no particular order.
- Hong Kong Gardens - Siouxie and the Banshees
- Killing an Arab - The Cure
- How Soon is Now? - The Smiths
- Love Will Tear Us Apart - Joy Division
- Age of Consent - New Order
- 24 Hour Party People - Happy Mondays
- Ceremony - Joy Division
- Blister in the Sun - The Violent Femmes
- This is the modern world - The Jam
- London Calling - The Clash
- It's the end of the world as we know it - REM
- Hounds of Love - Kate Bush
- Teenage Kicks - The Undertones
- Ever Fallen in Love? - The Buzzcocks
- Melt with you - Modern English
- Heart of Glass - Blondie
- Purple Rain - Prince
- The Killing Monn - Echo & The Bunnymen
- I Am The Resurrection - The Stone Roses
- Head On - The Jesus and Mary Chain
- Bad - U2
- Billy Jean - Michael Jackson
- Back on the chain gang - The Pretenders
- Teen Age Riot - Sonic Youth
- Wave of Mutilation - The Pixies
- Once in a lifetime - The Talkingheads
- A New England - Billy Bragg
- Boys Don't Cry - The Cure
- I Want Candy - Bow Wow Wow
- Jane Says - Jane's Addiction
- She Bangs the Drums - The Stone Roses
- Fight For Your Right To Party - The Beastie Boys
- Pretty In Pink - The Psychadelic Furs
- Where the Streets Have No Name - U2
- I Melt With You - Modern English
- Synchronicity II - The Police
- The KKK Took My Baby Away - The Ramones
- Need You Tonight - INXS
- Modern Love - David Bowie
- Road Runner - The Modern Lovers

These are not all the great songs of the 80's, there's a lot more songs I like, but this is a pretty decent playlist. If I had my way, I would have put the entire Smiths discography.

Meet the Brandcenter

2008-01-15T17:00:00.000-08:00

It happened. The formerly known as VCU Adcenter has now officially changed it's name to VCU Brandcenter. And we are a part of it. There has been a lot of talk about the name and building change, about what it means. I think all changes are for a reason. And most changes are good. I was telling one of my classmates this morning that maybe we don't experience the change as hard as other people due to the fact that we only spent 15 weeks in the old one. And we are young (hell yeah), it's easier to adapt. That said, I'm thrilled. Maybe the functionality of the place still has to be proved, and it will, and I'm sure it'll come good. But it definitely feels like the place for our kind of school. It feels like an agency. It has a creative environment. The previous building was old, small and felt like some random office space that was once a cool place to start an ad school, 13 years ago. That doesn't mean we didn't have memorable times in there, and there will be some things we will miss. There's nostalgia. But there is also a feeling of excitement towards the new era. Our class (2009) will spend the next 18 months in there. By the time we graduate 80% of what we'll remember will be inside these walls. I'm happy to be back in Richmond, start another thrilling semester, and be able to do it in a place like this.

This is advertising... as well.

2007-12-09T14:02:00.000-08:00

Cool way to advertise. Get Scorsese to do Hitchcock. Never better.

Client: Freixenet.
Agency: JWT, Spain.

This Christmas I'll vote for Chris Christmas Rodriguez

2007-11-29T20:00:00.000-08:00

Some years ago the great minds of Mother created the character to replace Santa Claus. This is genius. Watch the videos, it won't be a waste of time. I only posted one here, but there are around 14 in this website: http://www.wiggerl.com/ccr/

5 songs that make me happy

2007-11-13T09:00:00.000-08:00

If I'm ever in a bad mood, these are the songs I'd like to hear. Even better, these are the songs that I could start everyday listening to. Songs are displayed in no particular order.

1. Hong Kong Gardens by Siouxie and the Banshees.

2. Age of Consent by New Order.

3. I'm A Cuckoo by Belle & Sebastian.

4. Wouldn't it be nice by The Beach Boys.

5. Shower your love by Kula Shaker.

Best movies of the 00's

2007-11-11T17:33:00.000-08:00

I recently came across a magazine that attempted a list of the best movies made this decade so far. See, I love these topics for two reasons: One, since it's really impossible to say which are the best 10 movies, everyone else will have an opinion, which will make it fun because you can talk movies for hours. Two, because no one will ever agree.

The original list in that magazine was:

1. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. M. Gondry, 2004.
2. Kill Bill Vol. 1. Q. Tarantino, 2003.
3. Oldboy. C.W. Park. 2003.
4. Lost In Translation. S. Coppola, 2003.
5. TLOTR: The Retunr of The King. P. Jackson, 2003.
6. Ciudad de Deus (City of God). F. Meirelles, 2002.
7. Donnie Darko. R. Kelly, 2001.
8. Le Fabeleux Destin D'Amélie Poulain. J.P. Jeunet, 2001.
9. Requiem for a Dream. D. Aronofsky, 2000.
10. Memento. C. Nolan, 2000.

Here is my version:

1. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. M. Gondry, 2004.
2. The Royal Tenenbaums. W. Anderson, 2001.
3. Match Point. W. Allen, 2005.
4. Kill Bill Vol. 1 & 2. Q. Tarantino, 2003-04. (I'm counting these as one, as far as I'm concerned it's the same story.)
5. Requiem for a Dream. D. Aronofsky, 2000.
6. Amores Perros. A. González Iñárritu, 2000.
6. Little Miss Sunshine. J. Dayton, V. Faris. 2006.
7. The Squid And The Whale. N. Baumbauch, 2005.
8. Thank you for smoking. J. Reitman, 2005.
9. Hable Con Ella. P. Almodóvar, 2002.
10. Wo hu cang long (Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon). A. Lee. 2000.

New Guiness spot.

2007-11-11T10:25:00.000-08:00

Agency: Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO London.

Great Soundtracks

2007-11-11T07:19:00.001-08:00

I was watching High Fidelity this morning. I remembered how much I really like this film, it's one of my favorites. Anyway, it got me thinking about soundtracks. So, as Rob Gordon (originally Rob Fleming, in the novel) does I'll try my Top 5 Soundtracks of all time. Before I get to the list I have to say that the overall outcome of the movie does influence my decision to rank a soundtrack as great. Because a soundtrack is not only throwing a bunch of nice songs together in a film. It is using music to emphasize certain feelings and moods in the screen, and as Nick Hornby says, "Using somebody else's poetry to express how you feel is a very delicate matter."

5. Good Will Hunting. This is the type of soundtrack the guys from Thumbsucker and Garden State would have really wanted to make. The best thing about it is that this is not an "indie" film. Or at least it doesn't shout about it. That is probably the only reason I will not include Garden State in this list. They tried to so hard to put together a bunch of songs, make a movie and shout out "hey, I'm cool, I'm indie, look at me". Good Will Hunting just happened to mix a bunch of kick ass Elliott Smith songs with the Dandy Warhols, Al Green and even the Waterboys. Great.

4. Pulp Fiction. No comments. A classic.

3. High Fidelity. Well of course I had to include this one in the list. Great mix of classics like Velvet Underground, The Kinks and Dylan with Stereolab and even Stevie Wonder (who I have to say fits the film perfectly, and who doesn't like that song? Probably a guilty pleasure but I don't care.) Anyway, with all that music talk in the film it's hard not to get involved with the soundtrack. For those of you who haven't read the book, do so, the musical knowledge in it is worth the trip. And come on, admit it, you'd never heard of the Beta Band before.

2. 24 Hour Party People. This is a movie about one of the best musical periods of all time, Manchester circa early 80's. If you haven't seen the movie, see it. The soundtrack will come to you automatically. And while you're at it go further. The movie focuses mainly on Joy Division and The Happy Mondays. Good start for Manchester. After that do New Order, The Smiths, James, and all the way down to The Charlatans and The Stone Roses.

1. The Royal Tenenbaums. Everyone could mix Elliott Smith, Bob Dylan, The Ramones, The Rolling Stones, Nick Drake, Nico, The Velvet Underground, et al. But no one has done it with such perfection. The songs fit the moments and the story as if they were written for it. One of my favorite moments in films is when RichieTenenbaum (Luke Wilson) is inside the little tent in his room after his failed suicide attempt. Fly by Nick Drake is playing in the back. Then Margot Tenenbaum (Gwyneth Paltrow) walks in the room and they talk about their feelings towards each other. Until Margot says "Well Richie, I guess we'll just have to be secretly in love with each other and leave it at that." In that moment Ruby Tuesday by the Stones breaks. Do I really need to keep explaining why this is the best soundtrack of all time?

Halloween old lady @ Hanover St. Richmond.

2007-10-31T20:10:00.001-07:00

We checked Hanover street out tonight. Interesting experience. Any Richmond outsiders like me should check it out next year. Maybe you'll run into interesting types as the one pictured here. I guarantee you will. Take a camera, you never know.