08/19/2010
07/14/2010
07/09/2010
Can jazz stand on it's own?
You may or may not know that I am a passionate supporter of jazz - Canadian jazz especially. I host a show on CBC Radio 2 twice a week called Tonic - a show about the jazz family of music. The show cuts a wide swath in the music we play including jazz, blues, funk, R&B, Motown, Hip Hop and remixes just to name a few. I've certainly taken my lumps when it comes to the music we program for the show but it's a discussion I'm willing to have because it's healthy for jazz.
But here's a question that I'd like to hear your opinion on: can jazz stand on it's own?
I LOVE jazz but I know it's not everyone's cup of tea. Ke$ha isn't my cup of tea but I tolerate it because my kids crank it up on their iPods every now and then. But even though I'm passionate about pure jazz I'm also very comfortable giving jazz credit for the music it has grown into.
Nothing in life is static. Nothing about any genre of music is black or white. Like every other form of music jazz has evolved. It was never stranded on an isolated island like Galapagos. It was a gift to the world that became so many other gifts.
So for people like Herbie Hancock, Quincy Jones, Joe Sample, Richard Underhill, Brandi Disterheft and Lori Cullen jazz continues to be a challenge for music and musicians to push in all directions. In fact, if I could think of one word to describe jazz I would probably choose "challenge" because that's what jazz has always done - challenged boundaries. Jazz is a dfrnt.
So can jazz stand on it's own? Yes, I believe it can but it doesn't have to. To the purists I say "stay the course" and to the challengers I say "detour as necessary."
06/24/2010
06/14/2010
Müvbox - Think Inside The box
Take your standard french fry or ice cream truck, take the wheels off and add lobster. That's what MuvBox is all about.
Where is it written that food you buy on the street or at a festival has to be greasy and gross? Nowhere, that's where. So when I came across this concept called MuvBox from Montreal I thought to myself, "Well that makes sense!" Not only is this food vendor portable but it's able to make food that ISN'T hamburgers and hot dogs. MuvBox makes lobster rolls and wood fired pizza.
Not only do can you buy delicious food but you also have a place to eat it. Check it out. There are tables there for you to use. Smart.
One of my favorite meals in the Hawaiian Islands is something called a "plate lunch". You can find plate lunch along the road and in towns throughout the islands. They are set up in small buildings and in old buses (like Giovanni's Shrimp bus) but imagine if the Hawaiian's got ahold of this MuvBox concept? The possibilities are endless.
I think I'll get my hands on one of these MuvBox's and finally open up that BBQ shack I've always wanted to. I'm gonna call it "The Swine Diner and Fillin' Station". Make sure you stop by and set a spell...
06/08/2010
Think Differently and Positively.
via www.funmunch.com
If you were blind and could only earn money to live on through pan handling, how would you go about it? Click the link and read this short little story about a blind boy who had his sign (and life) changed by a stranger.
I'm a fan of creative pan handlers. I remember one pan handler I encountered in Vancouver who approached me and asked me for a $10,000 cheque so he could "save some wildlife or something" he quipped. "But if you can't afford that kind of commitment maybe you could give me $15 so I could get some dry cleaning done". He was filthy! I laughed my ass off. Needless to say, I emptied my pocket of change into his hand.
Life is all about context. There are so many ways to solve problems and make it a win / win for everyone involved. So take a moment to read the story about the blind boy and consider how you might make a small shift in the way you are doing things.
Think differently and positively. It could change your life.
06/07/2010
In defense of Nickelback.
Nickelback is a phenomena... but for unusual reasons. Rarely has there been a band that has received such incredible success yet so much disdain at the same time. Publications like Rolling Stone and Allmusic seem to revel in taking swipes at Nickelback whenever a new album is released. The band is regularly listed as the "worst band ever" in various polls around the world and joked about by Joe Q. Public when they spontaneously utter the phrase, "Nickelback sucks!" without having a real reason why.
I started thinking about this. Surely, trusted music critics saw something in Nickelback that warranted such hatred. And then I realized that all this criticism of Nickelback is just a form of mob mentality (a.k.a. bullying). Yup, I said it. No critic in their right mind would say that they are a Nickelback fan after so many other critics have gone on record saying the band is crap. That would be career (and reputation) suicide.
A dfrnt perspective
How could a band sell 30 million records worldwide and still be voted "The worst band in the world" by readers of The Word magazine in the U.K.? Clearly there's something happening here that needs some 'splaining. So I decided to shine the "dfrnt light" on Nickelback to give a brand new perspective to the phenomena that they've created.
Full disclosure: I don't personally own any Nickelback albums. They're simply not my cup of tea. My son has a few songs on his iPod though. That's the extent of our Nickelback consumption. I can appreciate what they've accomplished though and I'm not afraid to give them credit for their success.
So how can I defend a band that I'm clearly not a "dyed in the wool" fan of? Simple... I just look at the facts:- 15 years together
- 6 albums
- 5 platinum albums in Canada and USA
- 4 platinum albums in U.K. and Australia
- 6 countries with #1 albums (Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, U.K. U.S. Norway)
- They are a massively successful touring act
- They are a guaranteed radio staple
Here are some links for you to check the stats yourself:
http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:w9fixq9kldae~T5
http://bit.ly/cJjFk2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nickelback_discography
In fact, take a look at the Billboard Top 100 songs of 2001 and see how many artists are still around. Nickelback is at #23. http://www.musicoutfitters.com/topsongs/2001.htm
Why are they so successful?So why is Nickelback so successful if the critics hate them so much? The answer is simple: they actually like what they do and they're really good at it.
Nickelback created their own success. They know how to write songs that they love, that radio loves and that their fans love. Chad Kroeger knows how to write a hit song. How many songwriters can do that? Not many.They also weren't afraid to get out there and do the work. In the early days, Chad himself was calling radio stations to talk to music directors about airplay. Not only did he ask... but he got airplay... and he followed up looking for rotation bumps and chart positions. Musicians don't typically do this kind of thing but Chad had a thick skin and determination. Chalk one up for tenacity.
The perfect storm
Chad Kroeger is an "outlier"; a phenomena that Malcolm Gladwell addresses in his book "Outliers". He explains that an "'Outlier' is a scientific term to describe things or phenomena that lie outside normal experience." In other words, for Wayne Gretzky to become the world's most incredible hockey player a perfect scenario had to be set in place. He needed the perfect parents, perfect community, perfect birth month, perfect opportunities and the perfect amount of support from a wide range of individuals. Bill Gates... same thing. Albert Einstein... same thing. Beatles / Nelson Mandela / Barack Obama... same thing.
Chad grew up in Hanna, Alberta listening to country and hard rock music. If you grew up in a small town, you'd know what that's like. Prior to Nickelback there was no "sound" that captured both country and hard rock... you know, "the sound of your small town". Chad's environment as a youth contributed greatly to what Nickelback would become. Hook laden songs with catchy melodies coupled with crunchy chords and a gravely voice were not the norm. In many ways Nickelback created a new genre of music that no critic has identified. So I'll just go ahead and identify it as "F150 Rock". It's music that you listen to in your truck whether you're a cowboy or a rig pig... and the girls like it too.
Yes, small towns have stories too and Nickelback captures those stories in their songs. Pull up some Nickelback lyrics and you'll see what I mean. These songs resonate with people just like Chad Kroger because in many ways he's singing their story. His brilliance is the way he can consistently tell these small town stories through song.
Resonate and prove it
To be successful (in business or music) you have to provide value that resonates with your customer. Radio has been a huge part of Nickelback's success. Radio was the loudspeaker that took Nickelback's F150 Rock to the people. The first huge hit for Nickelback was "How You Remind Me" back in 2001. Back then it probably appeared that Nickelback was destined to be a one-hit wonder but the world would soon see that this was not the case.
Nickelback was far from a one-hit wonder. They've proven over the years that they know how to write a song that resonates with both radio AND radio listeners. They have a community that includes radio, promoters, record label and fans that will virtually guarantee that their songs will receive attention.
On top of it all... the NEGATIVE press the band gets further boosts the bands brand and presence. I find it ironic that a huge part of Nickelback's success comes from the critics constantly berating the band when in actual fact all they are doing is rehashing the same old ridiculous story. Their rants are actually advertising that there's a new Nickelback album available.
Are the critics coming up with new angles or reasons why Nickelback is such a terrible band? No. They just put out a poll every now and then that lists Nickelback as one of the choices for "worst band in the world".
Can the critics resonate with people and prove that Nickelback is such a terrible band? Yes, they do resonate with people but they can't prove that Nickelback is a terrible band.
Can the critics sit back and weigh Nickelback against any of the other pop drivel that is currently on the charts and still prove that Nickelback is worse than anyone else? No (proof: see Ke$ha).
Are Nickelback coming up with new songs that resonate with their fans and get played on the radio? Yes.
Are they selling albums? Yes.
Do they have more real fans than detractors? Yes.
Do the detractors even matter? No.
Critics are like professional wrestlers
Critics are supposed to get your blood boiling. That's why they're called "critics" and not "supporters".
I can't imagine the amount of ink that has been used slamming Nickelback since the 2001 story in Rolling Stone where they wrote "If you're looking for originality, you might want a full refund instead of a Nickelback." Suddenly, critics around the world had all their work done for them. All they had to do was write a negative review of anything Nickelback released from then on despite what their fans thought.
I see it as the equivalent of Nelson on The Simpson's pointing at Bart and laughing "Ha-ha!". Rolling Stone said that Nickelback sucked, then AMG and so on and so on. No critic would want to be on the receiving end of that "Ha-ha!" so they just jumped on the bandwagon instead. Critic sheep explained.
And Nickelback still continues to write songs that matter to their fans. If I were them I might consider taking out a full page ad in the New York Times. Maybe they could license an image of Nelson from The Simpson's pointing at the reader laughing, "Ha-ha!" The caption would simply say, "To all our negative press: Thanks for all the free ink!" Love, Nickelback.
06/01/2010
Bugs are beautiful?
via postomania.ru
I have to admit... I'm not a big fan of bugs. Then again, I never saw them like this before.
Talk about dfrnt! Some of these photos actually make bugs and lizards and other creepy crawlys look "cute".
Yeah, I said it... "cute".
