A Blog by Del Breckenfeld | The Official Cool Factor

CORPORATIONS: CAN’T LIVE WITH ‘EM BUT CAN WE LIVE WITHOUT ‘EM?

November 13, 2009comment

CORPORATIONS: CAN’T LIVE WITH ‘EM BUT CAN WE LIVE WITHOUT ‘EM?

Interesting story came out this week - Countrywide Financial’s CEO, Angelo Mozila, asked a judge to dismiss the Federal Securities & Exchange Commission’s lawsuit against him for fraud and insider trading because (I will paraphrase this) he was worried that he couldn’t get a fair trial because everyone hates CEO’s and major corporations. Even though the judge denied the motion, research does show that a majority of American’s don’t like and don’t trust the big corporations because they blame them for the current economic crisis with their “profit at any cost, even if you have to break the law” attitudes. Furthermore, people believe that when these corporate kingpins break the law and are eventually caught, they will also try to lie their way out. But wasn’t it just a few years ago that these titans of capitalism were actually looked upon as “rock stars?”

To better understand this, let’s go back to the beginnings of corporations in America for a brief overview. According to Ambrose Bierce’s Devil’s Dictionary, a corporation is “An ingenious device for obtaining profit without individual responsibility”. Wow. True it is a legal construct, a charter have you, granted by the state to a group of investors to gather private funds for a specific purpose. Originally, charters were granted in the service of a public purpose, and could be revoked if this were not fulfilled. But that was in merry old England, and after the Revolutionary War, we the people wanted nothing to do with their customs anymore. Therefore in the late 17th Century, corporations became “for profit”.
Grumpier Old Men hd Asylum rip

Now let’s go back to the “individual responsibility” part. My dad always told me that a man’s word was the most important bond and I trust most women and men are brought up that way. Therefore, it’s easier on the conscious if we can blame our actions on the “corporate culture” instead of taking responsibility for our own deeds. Hey, nobody’s perfect, right? The quest for the almighty dollar is certainly understandable, particularly when you have a board of directors who answer to the shareholders who demand profitability above all else. After all, the shareholders really aren’t taking part in any wrongdoing themselves, especially when times are good (wink, wink). But when times are bad….well that changes everything. Corporate America’s thirst for more and more profits did bring us the housing meltdown, banking crisis, and just about everything else we want to blame on them.

But you know what?

They also brought us so many incredible things as well – some major corporation introduced us to the Beatles, Bob Dylan, Led Zeppelin and U2; brought us the Mustang, Camero and the Buick Grand National (okay that one’s important to me); jet airplanes, computers, Oprah, 60 Minutes, Star Wars, The Last Lecture, Google, MySpace, Amazon.com and allowed millions and millions of us to bring home a paycheck to take care of our families and allow us to pursue the American dream. I can go on forever but each one of us knows how they have enhanced our particular lives. And corporations really do so much good through their non-profit work to help the people that are less fortunate (granted there are more of us who need help more than ever because of the economic meltdown). Every once and awhile, a CEO and/or corporation pushes the envelope on profits which crosses the line into pure greed and that’s why we need oversight. But this is America after all, where we all theoretically have the opportunity to work hard to make ourselves a better life. And that includes Corporate America.

One more thing: Corporations also brought us our favorite brands, but that’s a topic I will have to take up in another blog.

The One movie download

@12:14 am

Author: admin

NATIONAL TREASURES – SEE THEM BEFORE THEY’RE GONE!

November 6, 20091 comment

My headline is not talking about the inevitable destruction of both manmade and natural monuments as depicted in the trailers for the movie 2012 (I apologize for the bait & switch). For the few uninitiated, the movie is based on the prediction of the world’s near-demise from the ending of the Mayan calendar in that year. Question: If the Mayans could predict the future, how come they couldn’t they foresee their own demise?

No, I am talking about the national treasures we have in our living Blues legends.

How to Make an American Quilt video

When I was growing up in Chicago, my band in high school learned about the legendary Blues musicians primarily through the recordings of British band like the Stones, Yardbirds and Cream who we emulated. The more we tried to be like our heroes, the more we discovered the artists they emulated, namely great Chicago Bluesman like Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Willie Dixon and their young protégé named Buddy Guy. One of the greatest moments in my life was when my band was asked to open a Muddy Waters concert, and we got to meet the greatest of the great. He had such an aura about him, but he was very cordial and encouraging to us nonetheless. Watching a primarily white suburban teenage audience react in such a frenzied way, I thought to myself, “So this is where it all began.” After that I became a dedicated Blues aficionado.

Years later, because of my occupation, I was able to meet many of the Bluesman that I held in such high esteem. While working on a project in Atlanta, the guitarist in my band, Manny Alvarez, found out that Homesick James was playing a local club. Not only did we witness a gifted performer and one of the last surviving musicians who knew Robert Johnson (some credit Homesick with writing “Sweet Home Chicago”), but we even got the thrill of meeting him after the show. Years later, when my wife Bettina and I worked together on the Fender Catalina Island Blues Festival from 1997 – 2001, we made it a point to showcase many of the great Bluesmen alongside many of the younger artists they influenced. Robert Jr. Lockwood (Robert Johnson’s stepson) played one of our acoustic shows and he was still incredible in his eighties. Of the artists I mentioned above, Muddy, of course, left us a while back, but Robert Jr. and Homesick just passed away in this decade. I felt so fortunate to see those artists and so today, I try to connect with the greats that are still out there.

At the Catalina Festival, we also had David “Honeyboy” Edwards, a man who was with Robert Johnson in his last days (read about it in his book “The World Don’t Owe Me Nothing”) and who is still going strong at ninety plus playing over 100 dates a year. Growing up, I learned just about every song Taj Mahal recorded so I made it a point to have him there. He is one of the most entertaining performers you’ll ever see, and he’s the “baby” of the bunch in his late sixties. Taj became a favorite at the Catalina Festival because not only because of his crowd pleasing performances, but also because he would hang out with his fans all day, and even after his show was over, he would proceed to the clubs to jam with the local bands until closing time. Oh yeah, he and Honeyboy also got to jam together at our show making for one of the Festival’s true (unplanned) highpoints. We had Buddy Guy, who was the “youngster” of the Chicago Blues scene, now in his seventies and better than ever. At the annual Fender sponsored event at Sundance, “Where Music Meets Film,” our featured performer Kenny Wayne Shepherd brought along the wonderful Hubert Sumlin. Hubert was Howlin’s Wolf’s guitarist who was such an influence on those young Brits: guys like Eric Clapton and Keith Richards, plus some pretty good American guitarists named Stevie Ray and Jimi. Kenny, like Clapton and Richards before him, always recognizes and pays homage to his influences. In fact, he has a fantastic DVD out entitled 10 Days Out: Blues from the Backroads which documents his travels to jam with the Blues greats. One last artist I’d like to recognize - I never had the pleasure of working with B.B. King, but I have seen him many times in concert and he is certainly up there with Muddy as far as legends, and although he is in his eighties, he still continues to showcase his remarkable skills in over 250 concerts per year.

If you have not seen some the artists I have written about in this blog, please, please see them, as unlike the national treasures that are manmade or natural, they will not be around forever – although to me, they are every bit as breathtaking to experience.

Mr. Baseball ipod

@9:25 am

Author: admin

Tags: Blues, Guitar, Music, Treasure

Doing Good Things for the Right Reasons

October 27, 20091 comment

After months of our TV screens being assulted by angry faces at healthcare reform town hall meetings, shouting head tea baggers and finally a Falcon that never actually flew but whose parents probably will be grounded for awhile, it was such a relief to learn that our TV’s have actually begun bringing us some good news in the form of an industrywide initiative aimed at inspiring viewers to give back to their communities. The creative force behind the iniative is none other than one of Hollywoods major charitable oraganizations, Entertainment Industry Foundation. I personally have had experince working with EIF and their chief executive Lisa Paulson on behalf on the company I work for, Fender Musical Instruments Corp. with our support of various music industry fund-rasiers so I knew this was a company that could pull off something as dynamic and massive as iParticipate. Inspired by the call for volenterism from both presedential candidates at a service forum in 2008, Paulson and EIF board Chairwoman Sherry Lansing decided to put their resources and know-how to the task.

How does it work?

Raiders of the Lost Ark full

Stars from the four major networks - CBC, NBC, ABC and FOX - taped public service announcements promoting service and voluteering. But here’s the real breakthrough - storylines scripted into the shows themselves incorporate a varity of causes calling for voluteerism. That’s not uncommon is the world of product placement, where millions of dollars are spent by companies to have their brands integrated into the show. But to have this done as a nationwide charitable initiative with paticipation by major networks, stars and studios is postitivley unprecedented. I know how important it is to support local iniatives in your own community and believe me, you can make a difference. I’m just not talking about working with EIF, but also in my local community where my wife Bettina is on the board of an amazing charitable oraganization called the Unforgettables, which enables low-income familes in the inland empire (approx. 60 miles east of Los Angeles) to give their children a dignified burial. That doesn’t sound like there would be a large need for voluenteers for this organization, but whether it’s due to the current economic downturn or not, the Unforgettables provided for 43 burials in our county in just the past month alone.

The title of this blog comes from a chapter in my book that was inspired by the late great CEO of Fender, Bill Schultz, who encouraged us to support local and national charities utilzing Fender’s resources, but never to promote Fender - he told us, in others words, if you’re going to do it, do it for the right reasons.

For more information on how you can volunteer in your community, go to: iParticipate.org

@9:41 am

Author: admin

Tags: Charity, Doing Good, iParticipate

What Makes a Great Brand, or Should I Say, a Brand Great?

September 25, 2009comment

The current issue of Business Week Magazine features their choices for the “100 Best Global Brands.” Little surprise that they rated Coca-Cola at the top, which got me thinking how does a brand like Coca-Cola still remain so strong after more than 100 years, plus is able to extend its brand to such successful off-shoots as Diet Coke and Coke Zero without diluting it (pun sort of intended)? My previous boss at Fender, Ritchie Fliegler (who left to start his own firm, Fearless Marketing) and I always admired the mantra ”If you can’t be the first, be the best.” Coca-Cola was certainly among the first mass produced soft drinks, and they remain the best selling, and to a majority of consumers, the best tasting. And once your brand becomes synonymous with the product, you have won the ultimate battle for the consumers mind. “Xerox a copy of this.” “Hand me a Kleenex.” These are other examples of brands that are so powerful that they become the generic description of the product. In my own world, most major guitar companies have a slightly different version of the Fender Stratocaster guitar which people will still undoubtedly refer to it as a “Strat.” However, both “Strat” and “Stratocaster” are registered trademarks of Fender Musical Instrument Corp. and technically cannot be used with another brand. No matter - in the public’s mind, that’s being the first, and the best, and the only description they know.

Redemption: A Mile from Hell release

The second key to a great brand is a pesky competitor nipping at your heels. That makes the leader work harder to sustain or build market share, and forces
the competitors to find new and creative ways to do their best to chip away at the leader’s supremacy. For instance, Hertz dominated the rental car business with Avis always a distant second. That’s until Avis launched their famous “We’re Number 2, We Try Harder” in 1962. Think about it; Ford vs. Chevy; Fender vs. Gibson; Coke vs. Pepsi - you get the picture.

Speaking of Coke vs. Pepsi, let’s put the above examples together by going back to the 1940’s and 1950’s, the golden age of the diners and drive-ins. Coca-Cola became so popular that “Coke” became generic for just about any caffeinated soft drink. Pepsi-Cola, almost as old as Coca-Cola but always the bridesmaid, was
finally frustrated enough to launch a campaign that urged and almost begged consumers to “Say Pepsi, please!” In 1985, after Pepsi showed major gains in cutting into Coke’s market share, Coke actually fought back by launching “New Coke,” shockingly changing the age-old secret original formula in one of the major marketing blunders of all time. New Coke immediately fizzled and “Classic Coke” was re-launched because after all, the customer is always right. Eventually the “Classic” was dropped and the legendary drink reverted back to the original good old Coca-Cola and, of course, climbed their way back to the top.

Black Dawn movie full Magnum Force голова болит секс

Lawman dvdrip

The moral of the story is when it comes to great brands - being the first and/or the best, is the most desirable position to be in. But being second ain’t so bad either.

@8:59 am

Author: admin

Tags: Branding, Coke, Fender, Gibson, Marketing, Pepsi

Kanye, Serena and Joe - The New Uncool Factor in America

September 17, 2009comment

The origin of the word cool, comes from the Middle English cole, from the Old English col - which translated in Modern English meant to cool it or chill out. Therefore, based on that, the recent tactless lack of civility on the part of Kanye West, Serena Williams and Joe Wilson was by definition, very uncool. It just seems that our society is becoming more and ruder to one another. Sure, there have always been rude drivers, co-workers and neighbors because it takes all kind of people to make a world. However, the type of rude behavior we are experiencing today goes well beyond anything I have previously witnessed in my lifetime. It could be the economy, with so many people out of work, home foreclosures because of lenders impropriety, two unpopular wars that are dragging on, and an erosion of the middle class which is leading to a drop in our standard of living across the board, that makes Americans feel powerless and in some cases, lash out at what they perceive to be the culprits.

I think there’s more to it than that.

Our country has faced extremely difficult times in the past such as the great depression, world wars and 9/11. But in those instances we were able to overcome these life changing events because we came together as a nation and therefore emerged even stronger than before. Why are we facing this crisis so differently by verbally abusing one another? In the case of Kanye West, Serena Williams and Joe Wilson, the targets of their wrath came from different ethnicities. So were these outbursts racially motivated?

I think there’s more to it than that.

Let’s take the town hall meetings to discuss healthcare as an example. The angry faces we witnessed time and time again were most often made up of members of the same race shouting down whoever opposed their views. And I believe that’s the first key. I feel what we are witnessing is a lynch mob mentality where people are emboldened by strength in numbers, and many times motivated by fear, they get caught up in the emotions of the moment. But that doesn’t fully explain the rude behavior of Kanye, Serena and Joe who went it alone (although Wilson did have his fellow Republicans surrounding him). Because of all the social networking, coupled with the 24/7 media blitz from cable and broadcast TV, we are witnessing a universal form of lynch mob mentality. Talk show hosts like Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck know that the more controversial they become, the better the ratings. That’s why they, along with many other hosts, are becoming more and more hysterical in the condemnation of the other side: name-calling, accusations and outbursts are all part of the ratings game. But this is not just one political party because on most talk shows, it’s good theater to have opposing sides square off, and who wins doesn’t matter as long as you can shout over your opponent. With this constant barrage of uncivil conduct and downright rudeness spewing across the internet, TV, cable, and all other media and social networks, it’s no wonder than everyone, from celebrities to the common man, feel it’s perfectly okay to shout down anyone they disagree with – but it will never be acceptable, in this time or any time. If we look to history for the answer we would learn that if we all just chill out for a moment, and realize we are all in this together, we should be able to find a common ground to be willing to work this out together. Then, as we always have in the past, we can overcome almost anything - ratings be damned.

Kicking the Dog dvd

голова болит секс

Ben-Hur psp Street Trash ipod

Coda: When people faced these types of immense challenges in the past, each generation had songs meant to lift up their spirits and make them believe that things would get better: “Happy Days Are Here Again,” “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” “If I Had a Hammer,” “Imagine,” “Everything’s Gonna Be Alright,” “What’s so Funny About Peace Love and Understanding.” Too idealistic? Just maybe that’s a good start.

@11:28 am

Author: admin

Tags: Kanye West, Outbursts, Rude, Serena Williams, Un-Cool

My Long and Winding Road With The Beatles

September 9, 2009comment

Wayne’s World on dvd

Red Dragon psp

The big day has arrived with the second coming of the “British Invasion” as The Beatles remastered records are released, and the much anticipated The Beatles: Rock Band game also hits the stores. There have been countless articles and blogs written about this being the entertainment event of the year, so I can’t add much except what the band has meant to me personally.

Approximately one month before that historic Ed Sullivan show that introduced the Beatles to over 72 million viewers, I got a glimpse of them on Jack Parr’s TV Show. He talked about this phenomenon and grainy as the footage was, I was hooked – particularly on the bass played by Paul McCartney. I knew that’s the instrument I wanted to play and I did eventually become a professional bassist, plus I still have my original 1964 Hofner violin “Beatle” bass, just like Paul’s.
When I did see the first Ed Sullivan performance, or as I like to call it, “The big bang that launched a million bands,” I along with all the other boys in my school tried our best to comb our shorn locks down as far as they would go over our foreheads to approximate the Beatle bangs of our new heroes – BTW – the girls (or “birds” in our new English slang) did take notice and that was point after all.
In high school, I remember roughhousing in our park district pool when the lifeguard shouted out, “Hey Beatle, get out of the pool!” I have rarely been more proud.
The drummer in my high school band, Jim Hunt, and I drove to Toronto in the dead of winter (and slept in his Volkswagen beetle to boot) to see John Lennon – we never caught a glimpse of John but we did see his billboards proclaiming “The War is Over if You Want It – Happy Xmas, John & Yoko.”
When writing my school newspaper’s music column, I pulled an April Fools joke by creating a fake interview with Paul McCartney where he stated that he had just quit the group. In less than a week, Paul actually did announce he was leaving the band and I became an instant celebrity – if only in my school.
My band Gambler signed a record deal with EMI – The Beatles’ label.
For my 30th birthday, EMI/Capitol gave me a complete set of Beatles’ recordings on vinyl which I still cherish today.
I got to meet Ringo (charming as ever), and almost met Paul. It was in a receiving line for charity fund-raiser he performed at but when I reached out to shake Sir Paul’s hand, someone pushed me out of the way.
I got to strum George Harrison’s famous Fender Rosewood Telecaster guitar that he played at their last concert on the roof of Apple when the late Delaney Bramlett brought to my office (George had gifted it to him after playing on tour with Delaney & Bonnie).
I was on the original team at Fender when Harmonix brought Rock Band to our company, and therefore one of the privileged to know about the Beatles’ version in when it was the works. However, I couldn’t tell anyone, even my family, because we had a Non Disclosure Agreement.
I have learned almost every Beatles’ song on my acoustic guitar and even wooed my future in-laws in Norway by performing “Norwegian Wood” and leading a sing-a-long of “Yellow Submarine” (maybe that’s too much information).

Michael Clayton movie full

Along Came Polly Killer Bean Forever dvd качественное порно

As a marketer by profession, I look at The Beatles as the ultimate example of lifestyle marketing. Most boys in my generation wanted to look like them, be in a band like theirs, and boys and girls alike were influenced by their style, politics, spiritualism and even their philanthropic and humanitarian endeavors. My only career has been in the music business and I owe my passion to those four guys from Liverpool. I hope that all this focus on The Beatles brings back wonderful memories for my fellow baby boomers, and for the new generations discovering the band’s magic for the first time, I hope they experience some of the joy and inspiration that The Beatles’ music has brought to me over the years.

@9:39 am

Author: admin

Tags: Release, Remastered, The Beatles History

Placing Brands in Songs - Old School Style

August 28, 2009comment

Companies are all to happy to pay big bucks to get their products and brand names in front of millions of potential consumers through product placement in movies and TV shows. Even better (and more $$$) is if the star mentions the product in what’s commonly referred to as a “text placement.” Though most viewers realize that this is a “paid endorsement,” it doesn’t seem to bother them as it’s better to have the message inside the property that be interrupted by an obnoxious commercial. Script writers are constantly put on by producers to write these products into the action because product placement underwrites a portion of the production costs. And music artists don’t want to be left out in the cold so another sign of the times is “text placements” of products and brands in songs. Just a decade ago, it would be hard to imagine a Beatles’ song used in a commercial like the recent one for retailer Target that actually changed the spelling of the Beatles classic “Hello Goodbye.” to “Hello Goodbuy” to mirror the campaign. I reported in my book The Cool Factor that teen apparel company Candies paid Fergie an estimated $4 million to write their brand into her album. And the list goes on…

In the “old” pre-placement days, artists would incorporate brands into their songs because, well, they worked well in the lyrical theme and helped enhance the image they were trying to convey. To follow are my top ten favorite non-paid “artistic” brand placements. (NOTE: I left out automobile brands because the Beach Boys alone would have enough for their own list and country artists would have a second top ten list made up of Chevy and Ford pickup trucks)

Wayne’s World move

1. Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels “Devil With a Blue Dress On” – mentions the perfume brand Chanel # 5 to get the point across that the female subject was classy and they wanted to portray her as “The finest girl alive.”

2. The Kinks’ “Lola” - in the original version, Ray Davies sings about a club where “You drink champagne that tastes just like Coca-Cola.” Unfortunately, the BBC refused to play that version so Ray rerecorded the lyrics and Coca-Cola became Cherry Cola. Kinda like a brand placement in reverse.

Lawman dvd

3. Johnny Rivers - “Summer Rain” – Johnny wanted to capture the essence of 1967 as the “Summer of Love” which was epitomized by one of The Beatles’ all-time greats and so he sang, “The Jukebox kept on playing Sgt.Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.”

4. Captain Hook & the Medicine Show’s “The Cover of the Rolling Stone” – This band’s lament was an unbridled attempt to get on the cover of the famed Rock Magazine and guess what? Three months after the song was released, dadgummit – they made the cover!

5. The Beach Boys’ “Surfin’ USA” – these surfer dudes sang “You see them wearin’ their baggies, Huarache Sandals too.” I grew up in Chicago and didn’t even know what they were singing about until I moved to southern California and found out from my wife that only true surfers would know what those were at the time – a Mexican made sandal with a characteristic woven top. The Man in the Iron Mask rip

Men of Honor movie full

6. Don Henley’s “Down at the Sunset Grill” – this song was a voyeuristic look at the street people who populate a stretch of Sunset Strip that passes in front of Guitar Center Hollywood. The restaurant, founded in 1957, was just another So-Cal burger joint, but after Henley’s song hit the charts, the eatery got a complete makeover as a tourist destination. Note: Hollywood Guitar Center manager Dave Weiderman has an amazing collection of guitars and Rock memorabilia in his second floor office which includes the classic and very collectable original sign. Honorable Mention: Arlo Guthrie’s “Alice’s Restaurant” is about another actual restaurant that was owned by a real woman named Alice, who opened it up in a converted church.

The Impostors ipod

Ratko: The Dictators Son divx

7. Don Henley’s “Boys of Summer” – Henley again captures another piece of California cool with his reference to a certain style of Ray-Ban sunglasses worn by the song’s elusive fem fatale, “You got your hair slicked back and those Wayfarers on.”

Clubbed movie

8. Steve Goodman’s “A Dying Cubs Fan’s Last Request” – partly due to my love for the loveable loser Cubs, and partly because I knew Steve growing up (he was a friend and mentor to me who introduced me to the recordings of so many great Blues artists), this song had to be included. Technically, he wrote this for the Cub’s broadcast station to be used but it really was meant as a heartfelt tribute. Sadly, Goodman died in 1984 from Leukemia, but the Cub’s did honor that last request and allowed family members to spread his ashes over the friendly confines of Wrigley Field. Honorable Mention: Steve Goodman “Go Cubs Go” which is the current theme song for the Cub’s WGN broadcasts. WGN had tried other songs including one by the Beach Boys (?) but the fans demanded Steve’s song be brought back and when the Cub’s do win, the fans stay after the game to sing the song in unison – a fitting tribute to Mr. Goodman!

9. Motley Crue’s - “Girls, Girls, Girls” – the song is a virtual world tour of famous topless bars and those boys ought to know: “Dollhouse in Ft. Lauderdale, Rocking in Atlanta at Tattletails,. Raising Hell at the 7th Veil.” And they didn’t forget the “Crazy Horse, Paris, France.” - do you think they got free lap dances after the song came out?

One Eyed King dvd

10. Steely Dan’s “Hey Nineteen” – even though they couldn’t bridge the generation gap through listening to music from the baby boomer era, the Steely’s proved that they could still get the (young) girl the old-fashioned way – by getting her drunk on “Cuervo Gold” and stoned on “Fine Columbian.” A rallying cry for old farts with money.

The Woods Have Eyes

I just had to add one more which demonstrates the creative use of a brand to enhance a song’s narrative: The Mamas & The Papa’s “Creeque Alley” – in their early lean years, the band doesn’t survive by maxing their credit cards, but rather by “Greasin’ on American Express Card.”

@8:58 am

Author: admin

Tags: Branding, Marketing, Text Placement

The Power of the Riff Compels Me - The Top Eleven Riffmeisters of All Time

August 12, 2009comment

In my speaking engagements to marketers, I often mention that just like a great song needs a great hook, every promotion needs its own great “hook” to build the campaign around. Usually I am talking about the chorus or repeated vocal phrase that’s the most memorable part of the song. But the hook can also be a great riff, sometimes so strong it threatens to overshadow everything else (I mean that in a good way). To follow are my personal choices for the top riffmeisters of all time.

1)      Led Zeppelin – With some of the greatest heavy guitar riffs every put to wax, this band has enough classic riffs to be their own top ten list. Some of their early songs were blues based (“Whole Lotta Love” was actually far too blues based as a court case determined it was lifted from Willie Dixon’s “You Need Love”) but they quickly moved into a class of their own with riff driven monsters like “Rock and Roll,” “Black Dog,” “The Ocean” and the most overplayed riff this side of “Smoke on the Water,” “Stairway to Heaven.”

2)      The Rolling Stones – Every bar band in the sixties and seventies cut their teeth on Stones’ riffs like “Satisfaction,” “The Last Time,” “Jumping Jack Flash” and “Honky Tonk Women.” Of course they continued that great run with later songs like “Start Me Up.”
3)      Eric Clapton – From “Sunshine of Your Love” and “Badge” (okay, that might have been George Harrison), to Derek and the Dominoes “Layla,” to his solo career’s riff driven hits like “Pretending,” Clapton has given us a lifetime of memorable riffs. Even when he covers other writer’s songs like J.J. Cale’s “Cocaine” and Robert Johnson’s “Crossroads,” EC makes the riffs his own
4)      Van Halen – Alright, our first American band! Led by one of the greatest guitarists of all time, Eddie Van Halen, who not only gave the band its moniker (with brother Alex), but also a virtuosic technique that seemingly came out of nowhere. Just think of “Running with the Devil,”, “Hot for Teacher,” “Panama” and “Jamie’s Cryin’” and you know why these So Cal boys made the list. Even when he switched out his blazing guitar for a keyboard, Eddie still gave us one of the catchiest riffs of all time with “Jump.”

5)      The Beatles – Back to the Brits. The Beatles were undoubtedly the most successful songwriting team of all time. But part of that greatness came with their unforgettable hooks. “Day Tripper,” “I Feel Fine,” Paperback Writer,” “Ticket to Ride,” “Taxman” and “Come Together” are just a sampling of riffs that have become a part of their musical legacy. Even when they mellowed it out, the riffs were just as remarkable. With melodies like “Norwegian Wood,” and one of the most beautiful guitar riffs ever in George Harrison’s “Something”, who said great riffs had to be heavy?
6)      The Who – This band lead by the formidable Pete Townsend (who even makes acoustic guitar sound heavy with the way he attacks it), takes its quirky approach to rise to new levels of riffdom. “Happy Jack,” “My Generation,” “I Can See for Miles,” and “Pinball Wizard” set the stage for “Won’t Get Fooled Again” and “Baba O’Reilly” and arena rock was never to be the same again.
7)      The Kinks – The UK (it figures) band that started it all with “You Really Got Me” and “All Day and All of the Night” which launched a thousand riffs. But even if they put down the distorted guitars on later classics like the stunning “Lola,” they never lost their riffosity.

8) ZZ Top – That little old “blues” band from Texas would have secured their place on the all-time list with “LaGrange,” “Waitin’ for the Bus,” and “Tush,” but they didn’t stop there. Even when transforming themselves into a commercial powerhouse on radio and MTV in the eighties with “Legs,” “Sharp Dressed Man,” “Gimme All Your Lovin,” and “Cheap Sunglasses” they never forgot one of the rules of blues - the riff is always king.

9) AC/DC – The great bands of Australia are well represented by these guys. Way too many great riffs for this limited space. Even though many of their songs are based on a similar three chord riff – it’s still one heck of a riff.

The Day of the Locust video
10) U2 – This Irish band doesn’t play riff rock in the traditional sense. Sure, “Vertigo” has roots in classic rock, but the Edge found a unique way of creating brilliant guitar riffs in songs like “Beautiful Day,” “Where the Streets Have No Name” and “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” to the point that he’s almost created his own genre.
11) The Clash – This list doesn’t go up to “11” because of Spinal Tap, but because after I finished the list I realized I just couldn’t live with myself if the Clash weren’t included. If “Rock the Kasbah,” “Should I Stay or Should I Go?” and “Train in Vain” aren’t enough, they gave us one of the killer bass riffs in history on “London Calling.” I rest my case.
Divorce, Le movie full

The Hitcher ipod

@1:35 am

Author: admin

Tags: Guitar Playing, Riffs, Top, Top 11

This Park's For You!

August 4, 2009comment

When I was working on my book, I wrote in my first draft that in a typical day, we consumers are bombarded with an average of five thousand advertising messages. My editor replied that I couldn’t just claim that figure, I needed to back it up. I spent quite a bit of time researching that number and found out to my astonishment that the number is actually closer to ten thousand! With corporations trying to push their messages across in a myriad of ways that permeate almost every waking hour (wait until they find a way to reach us while we sleep) it’s no wonder that people embrace such means as TiVo, DVRs and satellite radio to block to out those unwanted commercials in the very entertainment mediums that were the the cornerstones of thirty and sixty second spots - radio and TV. So today’s corporations are forced to find new and creative ways to get their messages across.

Therefore, I wasn’t surprised when, due to the recent budget cuts in California’s park system, spokesmen Roy Stearns was compelled to reach out other partners for sponsorship funding. He evened mentioned the possibility (wishful thinking?) that Budweiser could step up for say, Malibu Beach State Park. But these financial woes are not exclusive to California, or the USA for that matter. After 80 years of noncommercial broadcasting, due to the global downturn, Vatican Radio the official voice of the Roman Catholic Church now runs 45 second spots (in five languages no less) for Italy’s largest energy company, Enel, mainly espousing the company’s dedication to clean energy. I guess Enel feels that even God can’t tackle global warming alone.

Day X ipod

But back to Bud. If they did actually step up to underwrite Malibu Beach State Park - would that be such a bad thing particularly when the alternative is the beach becoming unusable, or worse yet, having to close? One thing I have learned living in Southern California is that people are pretty forgiving when it suits their needs. Last year, slugger Manny Ramirez came to the Dodgers and single handedly almost brought them into the World Series. This year he was caught using a banned substance and after a 50 game suspension, and little remorse on his part, the fans warmly welcomed him back to “Mannywood.” I guess all is forgiven as long as he brings home the World Series ring. Just last week, reports surfaced that he was using steroids while playing for the World Champion Red Sox. Would Boston fans have given up that magical season if Ramirez and David Ortiz had played clean - I hardly think so.

That got me thinking about difference in today’s heroes compared to yesterday’s. The recent celebrations around the 40th anniversary of man’s first steps on the moon proved that Neil Armstrong remains one of our greatest national heroes. But back then, he could have taken care of himself, and his family for generations to come if he would have taken that first step and simply uttered, “Budweiser - King of Beers! One small step for man……”

The Last King of Scotland release

@6:47 am

Author: admin

Tags: Advertising, Financial Problems, Marketing, Parks

What's With All the Fancy Titles?

July 19, 2009comment

Vampire Journals the movie I was recently reading a piece on definitions that the Pentagon uses for simple everyday things. For instance, can you guess what the Pentagon means when they use these definitions?

A) Water Intrusion B) Combat Replacement Evacuator C) Portable, Hand-held Communications Inscriber

NOTE: The answers to the above can be found at the end of this blog.

In the case of the Pentagon, by giving overblown descriptions to common items, I suppose their intention is to give them added value or importance. That reminds me of when I was in grade school and our teacher asked us to talk about our parents’ occupations. One classmate said his dad was a Sanitary Engineer and no one in the class, including the teacher knew what that was until he admitted, “Okay, he’s a garbage man!” Of course, everyone found that hysterically funny but actually, there’s no shame in that career, or any other career as long as you can support your family (legally). Then in high school, after a pretty messy spill in the lunchroom, I remember our teacher asking us to find the Lavatory Custodian. What? We found out that she meant the janitor. Of course titles were sometimes changed to create an air of, should we say, appropriateness? Prostitutes in the 19th Century were referred to as Ladies of the Evening, which became Call Girls in the next century and then most recently, Escorts. Pretty harmless huh?

Slaughter ipod Duplex buy

In these trying economic times, I can’t fault anyone for for attempting to elevate their qualifications by using titles that sound like they should be followed by “PHD.” But some I have heard lately sound a bit excessive to say the least. How about a bartender referring to himself as a Mixologist? A Nail Technician wasn’t enough a stretch for the women who do nails in the beauty parlor so now they refer to themselves as Nail Artists. Musicians used to be called artists but I guess because nail technicians are encroaching on that title, I heard a musician refer to himself as a Sound Designer. Remember when stewardesses were mostly women which was fine until men began joining the the ranks so they were collectively referred to as flight attendants? That made sense until they upgraded that to Cabin Attendants, not to be confused with the maids that clean the rustic lodgings in the Ozarks. Even the simple title “salesman” in no longer a worthy moniker. I was reading an excellent book by Ron Karr entitled Lead, Sell or Get Out of the Way, and he talks about salesmen coining creative titles like Senior Strategic Account Specialist. I was recently dining in a fancy restaurant and mistakenly addressed our “server” as “waiter.” He immediately corrected me by saying, “Excuse me, I am not a waiter, I am a screenwriter in between projects.” Sorry, that’s a different topic all together.

The Lost City dvd

Clunkers or not, used cars are no longer “used” but “pre-owned.” Even the lowly Port-a-Potty’s self esteem is apparently in need of a lift. I recently saw an ad for portable toilets for garden weddings referred to as Luxury Mobile Bathrooms. I guess they can charge more for those rentals even though they share the identical function. That brings me to my own occupation. Since I have had my first book published by a major publisher, by most standards I guess I am considered an “author,” which is also a pretty noble profession to many. However, even that just doesn’t sound lofty enough in today’s world so I guess I should start referring to myself as a Tactile Declaration Architect.

Deep Blue full movie

Breakdown full **Answers to the Pentagon’s definitions form above:

Rough Around the Edges: Live from Madison Square Garden ipod

A) Flooding B) Shovel C) Pencil (really)

@10:23 pm