How Far Can You Stretch a Brand?

This question has been on my mind for a while, and it came to a head yesterday when I took my kids to see “Star Wars: The Clone Wars”. Now, I have to add a disclaimer first: Going into the theater, I had very low expectations of this movie…I knew it would be lame because it looked lame. I was just totally unprepared for how lame it really was.

Let me give you a run down of the movie:

1 hour and 3 minutes of robots and clones shooting lasers at each other, some from point-blank range.

35 minutes of totally unenlightening conversation that either a) has little to do with plot or character development or b) does little FOR plot or character development

15 minutes of unenlightening conversation WHILE clones and robots shoot lasers at each other.

5 minutes of jedi dueling (featuring no more than 3 acrobatic stunts usually characteristic of jedi dueling)

5 minutes of real plot development

Yep, that makes about 2 hours of completely mind-numbing emptiness, that will have you checking your watch from the 20 minute point, onward.

And what’s more, I’ve seen better CGI animation on PBS Kids TV Shows…we’re talking a range of 3 expressions on people’s faces, and movements that couldn’t be more stiff if they were on a classic Hannah-Barbara cartoon.

But I digress…to my first point.

How far can you stretch a brand? It seems George Lucas is intent on keeping the Star Wars brand alive, and he’ll do just about anything to keep it current, even if that means throwing a stupid plotless story together and completely destroying what Star Wars meant to us first generationers for our kids. How many more stories can you really drag out of this trilogy Georgie? And why are you so intent on building the brand around characters that 1) don’t have as much draw as the original Han, Leiah, and Luke trio, and 2) are fundamentally tragic: Anakin turns to the dark side, Obi-Wan dies at the hand of his Paduan, and Yoda never really sees the fulfillment of the prophecy he talks about for hundreds of years.

Frankly, you can only go so far with a brand before you start killing it, and Friday, George Lucas broke ground for the grave-site soon to be labeled “Star Wars”.

Living la Vida Indie in Chicago

Ok, so it’s been about a week since I blogged last. Well, I have a good excuse: I spent the week in Chicago speaking at a conference on journalism and mass communication (for which one of my presentations will be on YouTube soon…I’ll post later).

When I go to conferences, I like to take a break and sightsee…looking for fun, lesser-known places to enjoy. It’s part of the indie lifestyle, I guess. This time, however, someone living the Indie lifestyle found me. As I was walking down “Magnificent Mile” a young woman with a pen and a pad of paper stopped me and blurted out, “I’m writing a poem and I need a line–What are you waiting for?” Stunned by this, the only thing I could say was “I’m waiting to go home.” Her response, “Perfect!” and she walked off…

Reflecting on it the rest of the day, I couldn’t help but think: that was the most random thing I have ever seen. Kudos to the pedestrian-accosting, poem-girl.

A Boy and His Tiger

And so it goes with God. These words will now haunt me. The last words that Pi Patel utters in Yann Martel’s triumph: Life of Pi. I was enraptured by Martel’s story-telling, his thought-provoking philosophy wrapped into the most beautiful language I have EVER read in novel. But the ending…the ending, that’s what will keep me awake at night. I won’t tell you the ending, but I will say this: Life of Pi is a must-read. And if you want the real experience, listen to it on your Ipod–Jeff Woodman (the narrator) is nothing short of brilliant. Martel’s book–a thoughtful and riveting adventure about a shipwrecked boy stuck on a boat with a Bengal Tiger–is a never-ending stream of up and down, tragedy, triumph, chaos and order. I have never read such a beautiful fictional story in my life–in fact, I couldn’t help but wonder if it were true. I’d like to believe it’s true, after all, I think that’s how Pi Patel would want it. That is the brilliance of this book. You feel like you know Pi. You feel like it was real.

And that’s all I’ll say about this boy and his tiger. You’ll have to read it to experience it.

Ok, maybe I’ll say just one more thing, Martel’s boy and tiger made me reminisce about another wonderful story about a boy and his tiger:

Early Review of Breaking Dawn

So apparently, a lot of people are finding me through Google looking for early reviews of Breaking Dawn, the 4th installment in Stephenie Meyer’s wildly popular vampire novels.

Being a fan…I’m flattered you’re coming here. But, since I don’t have any inside-access to the publisher or to Stephenie’s publicist, and thus, do not get an early review copy…all I can give for an early review is this:

“I’m sure it’s going to be drop dead fantastic.”

And yes, you can quote me on that….and then if you happen to meet a publicist for Stephenie, tell them to send me a book…and I can give a real review.

Oh…and if you don’t like my vague and disappointing “review”…here’s a “just as disappointingly-vague” review of the book by Stephenie Meyer herself:

10 Albums better than Viva La Vida

Ok, I’ve blogged my discontent with Viva La Vida already, but as I delve into new or recent offerings by Indie bands, I can’t help but think that in spite of the lack of name recognition, they’re better than the new Coldplay album.

Perhaps this is the mark of a band that has officially shed it’s “indie-ness” that it can produce music on the basis of its name rather than on the basis of its talent (I can be harsh here because prior to Viva La Vida, I was smitten with the brilliance of Coldplay’s music…especially their last two albums).

So, in that vein here, in no particular order, is my list of Indie albums that are far more worth the $10 or so than Coldplay’s album (You might call this the 10 CDs I wish I would have bought instead of Viva la Vida):

1. Barcelona - Absolutes: I don’t care that this album was released a year ago, it’s only now that it seems they’ve started really marketing it on the Indie circuit. Fantastic album. Haunting harmonies. Singable melodies. And a freshness that defies the copy-cat-dom of mainstream music

2. Death Cab for Cutie - Narrow Stairs. It’s like they didn’t even miss a beat from Plans. It’s contagious, to say the least.

3. Weezer - Red Album: I know what you’re saying, it doesn’t belong on this list, might even be a slightly different genre of music. Well, not Weezer’s latest. It has incredible depth, both musically and lyrically. Check out “Miss Sweeney”…fantastic emotion for a song.

4. Polyphonic Spree - Fragile Army: I am usually loathe to say anything good about this band, because their style is so overwhelming that it bowls me over and makes me never want to listen to music again. Not this one. It’s diverse…at least, to the extent that Happy-Shiny 60s Power pop can be.

5. Iron & Wine - the Shepherd’s Dog: I’ve already blogged that this album is a major breakthrough. It’s infectious, and it’s better than the coldplay album.

6. The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter - A cheeky pick by me here…but still, not a bad album…

7. Wolf Parade- At Mount Zoomer: I don’t know what it is about Wolf Parade. It might be their spacey tunes mixed with classic Oingo Boingo guitars but I like it.

8. Ferraby Lionheart - Catch the Brass Ring. If you’ve never heard of Ferraby Lionheart, they have a breezy Beatles sound, with a lead singer who has a down to Earth but memorable voice. For a really nice selection of downloads, check them out on music.download.com. “The Ballad of Gus and Sam” is Indie Perfection.

9. A Fine Frenzy - One Cell In the Sea: I’m a sucker for a good piano piece, this one has plenty…and this mention is in spite of the copy-cat “airy” voice she sings with.

10. Arcade Fire - Neon Bible: Yeah, I know this one came out last year, but it’s still one of my favorite Indie albums. I’ve been listening to it for a year, and I’m still not tired of the haunting rhythms, the moving melodies, and the downright perplexing lyrics.

In the ‘Twilight’ of a Comic Convention…

So, early reports are that the cast set to immortalize Stephenie Meyer’s characters in the upcoming Twilight movie made a special appearance at San Diego’s “Comic Convention”…the report details that hundreds of teenage girls in the audience shrieked and squeeled to get their first peek at the movie and its stars.

Forget about how Twilight fits in with the likes of Trekkies and Star Wars nuts…WHAT were teen girls doing at a comic convention?

The next Indie band to make it big on the radio is…

Barcelona.

Every once in a while, you catch a glimpse of an Indie band that has made it through the experimentation and exploration of their tastes and has finally settled on a style that fits them (or has finally decided to do what everyone else is doing…which one is it? You decide.).

Barcelona’s new offering “Absolutes” is on a Decemberist’s-Picaresque breakthrough. I’ve been following them a little, off and on, but this latest album marries Indie-ness (intelligent lyrics, nice use of flowing piano and guitar, experimental beats and rhythms) with a set of contagious harmonies that are sure to have radio stations drooling. With a Keane meets Snow Patrol formula, they’ve got some truly singable songs. Colors, bound to be the first radio single, is fantastic, as is First Floor People.

So, be listening for Barcelona on a radio station near you soon…remember, you read it here first.

Oh, and here’s a free download of one of their songs.

The band also has a “secret download” site if you give them your email.

What’s In a Voice?

I’ve been thinking about this one for quite some time…music, especially Indie music, is about more than just the music. It’s about the words. It’s about the singer. The genius of Indie is that each band has a distinct personality, that evades the normal “Write about the same thing” nonsense you hear on mainstream radio. For me, good music is about a nice combination of instrumentation AND voice work…In fact, I’ll take a good voice with so-so instrumentation over the opposite. If a song has a boring/horrible singer, I just can’t put up with it, no matter how good the music is. So, here’s my list of my favorite recognizable singing voices, in Letterman-esque descending style:

10. Claude, Anything Box: Raw. Emotional. I love how in one second his voice sounds innocent, the next, wild, untamed, and enraged.

9. Matthew Bellamy, Muse: Does anyone else in music express more emotion when singing? I defy you to find one.

8. Tori Amos: One of my all-time favorite voices. Haunting, simply haunting.

7a. Ryan Miller, Guster: His voice is simple and smooth…and easy to sing-along with, or maybe it’s his songs…

7b. Ben Gibbard, Death Cab For Cutie: Real is the best word I can come up with for Ben’s voice. It’s just plain real. Like you know him. Like he’s talking to you, rather than singing.

6. Harry Connick Jr. : Ok, deservedly, Harry Connick Jr. deserves to be on the top of this list, hands down. But first of all, he’s not Indie, and second of all…well I can’t think of a 2nd of all.

5. Johnny Boyd, Indigo Swing: (see comments for Connick Jr., Harry). Even more so, tragically, Johnny no longer sings for Indigo Swing. Which is odd…how can a band lose a guy commonly referred to as “The Voice”?

4. Rivers Cuomo, Weezer. Don’t know what it is, but I can’t get over the raw clarity and emotion of Rivers’ voice. My favorite example is on a live session their new song Miss Sweeney.

3. Steven Page/Ed Roberts, Barenaked Ladies: Rarely does a band have one good lead singer, let alone two. Ed is the charismatic voice, the accessible voice in a “You could be my best friend” sort of way. Steve is the powerhouse. If you’ve ever been to a BNL concert, you’d know what I’m talking out. He can simply BELT out some powerful melodies.

2. Danny Elfman, Oingo Boingo. Yes, I know the Elf Man left singing on the radio for singing…and orchestrating…on the big screen, but his voice is still one of the very best AND most unique in all of music.

1. John Linell, They Might Be Giants: I love John’s voice. It’s raw. It’s even nasally. But it’s unique, and I can’t help but listen everytime I hear it. I love pointing out John Linell’s voice in obscure instances…like the Dunk’n Doughnuts new commercials, and even on PBS Kids in between shows.

A Confession

I have a confession to make. I’ve been hiding it for a while. Even if you knew me well, you’d be clueless about this secret obsession…but now, it’s time to come out of hiding. I have to get it out in the open.

I like Arthur and his Friends on PBS.

There. I said it. Sure, you might say, “Well, it’s ok. You’ve got kids. You naturally watch things your kids like. Don’t sweat it.” I wish it were that simple. Arthur’s got this attractive pull that I can’t deny. Every episode has little humorous tidbits. Humor that only an older person like me would get…only, the humor doesn’t go too far, just like Pixar and Disney do it. A little sarcasm here, a little satire there. One of my favorite episodes is when Arthur and his friends try to write their own stories for a contest, and the episode turns into a parody fest, making fun of Beavis and Butthead, South Park (”Hey, you squished Buster!”), and Dexter’s Laboratory. But, since I couldn’t find that episode online, here’s another one worth watching.

So, I’m glad I got that off my chest.

oh, and I like Word Girl too.

Weezer Session

I’ve been a Weezer fan since day one…no, not one of those fans that wears the W shirt everywhere (only They Might Be Giants gets that honor), but I’ve enjoyed Rivers and Cos’ stuff for quite some time…

This live session is quite good…

http://music.aol.com/video/pork-and-beans-sessions/weezer/2150302