Saturday, May 30, 2009

Kill the Troll

Seth Godin alerted me to this great blog post outlining a very logical strategy for anyone selling anything online. If you have any sort of commercial website, you should read this.

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Handful of Dust

A guy, a bar, a jukebox and a girl. Nice blog post I stumbled across.

I wonder how many old-school jukes are still chugging away in dusty bars around the world. I dropped my share of quarters for Stones' B-sides back in the day. It'd be nice to know that's still happening.

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Serena Ryder

Really nice rendition of Springsteen's "Racing in the Street" by Serena Ryder.

This is likely my favourite Springsteen song.

Some guys they just give up living
And start dying little by little, piece by piece
Some guys come home from work and wash up
And go racin' in the street


Saturday, May 16, 2009

Artificial Owl

Artificial Owl is a website dedicated to abandoned man-made stuff scattered around our planet. Fascinating.

Hard to explain why an old, rusting boat sitting on a beach automatically develops a sense of mystery. Perhaps it's a simulated alien archaeologist experience, discovering ruins while imagining the past.

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

The Madoff Affair

PBS' Frontline examines the sordid career of Bernie Madoff. Watch the entire show online. Also - career timeline and 3 investor's stories.

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Pink Floyd

42 years ago today, Pink Floyd performed an innovative surround-sound concert that essentially became a blueprint for the idea of a "rock show" - a multimedia spectacle marrying the music to a greater sensory experience. Here's a Wired article with the details.

Although my affection for the punk and new wave scenes derailed any interest I had in Pink Floyd back in the mid and late seventies, over the past couple years, I've developed a sincere appreciation for Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon", "Wish You Were Here" and "Animals" albums.

I feel a bit silly at this point, sitting in the dark with headphones on, soaking in the music like some high school kid - but here I am. The only thing missing is a black light and some pot.

Sunday, May 03, 2009

Trent Reznor

Quite decent 40 minute YouTube interview with Trent Reznor. Among the topics covered - the future of music distribution, "Year Zero" as a television drama (that idea's not dead), NIN as a "brand", and advice for emerging artists within the current WTF? music industry climate.

The interview's interesting because he's completely pragmatic and honest about his position, available resources and options. I quite enjoyed this.