Tune In Saturdays: France Gall

Consider this the France Gall is the coolest person ever edition. I'm sure most of you have already heard of her, but I've just been picking up snippets here and there until I finally broke down and bought the album. It's fuckin' awesome in that pretentious "I'm so cool that I can get away with listening to french pop" sort of way. And, in case it's in question, yes I am.

France Gall - Poupee de Cire, Poupee de Son (video)

France Gall - La Rose des Vents (video)

France Gall - Baby Pop (not the greatest song, but most ridiculous video ever)

France Gall - Cet Air La  (mp3)

And last, but not least, perhaps the coolest song ever written...
France Gall - Laisse Tomber les Filles (mp3)

The invocation of innovation...

Never one to shy from a semantic debate, the blogosphere emerges again with a new question...

What is Innovation, really?

Digitas' Jon Burg, with a push from Crayon's Greg Verdino, has called for a simple one-liner, a single sentence description of the word. Innovation is...and the rest of us fill in the blank.

From Cam Beck, dictionary.com describes innovation as "something new or different introduced." Bleh.

I think for many people innovation in reality means the ignorance of what other people are doing. But maybe that's just me being cynical. I'd say it's as simple as solving problems in a significantly more useful way. Maybe that's a little boring, but fuck it, I'm allowed to do that from time to time.

Of course, to be an innovator, you'd have to solve problems in a significantly more useful way consistently.

UPDATE: Katie's having her own discussion on innovation. It's the goodness. Be sure to read Rob's comment, too. He's wrong, but at least he says it with conviction.

It's for them.

When it gets really busy, that's the time when it's hardest to remember who you're there to please. It's not your boss, or your client, and especially not yourself. It's the people that make your clients matter. If you keep that in mind, all those other things seem to fall in place a lot faster. And if they don't, you're probably in a situation you shouldn't be in. Either that, or you weren't listening hard enough.

Apple Enters the Widget Game

Please direct your eyes to the right side bar, just below my recent posts and above the twitter widget. You'll find my recent purchases from the greatness of itunes. With Google gadgets, Facebook Apps, and now Apple putting on their widget caps, these little buggers will be just about everywhere in fairly short order. I need a widget to tell me about new widgets.

Anyway, well done apple. Get 'em here.

http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/flash/myitunes/myitunes.swf?feed=WebObjects%2FMZStoreServices.woa%2Fws%2FRSS%2Fmyrecentpurchases%2Fartworkheight%3D53%2Fhtml%3Dfalse%2Fsf%3D143441%2Fuserid%3D119574169%2Fxml%3Fv0%3D7720&feedType=recent&cssPath=http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/flash/myitunes/styles/lightblue.css&local=143441

Tune In Saturdays:Ghostland Observatory

Sometimes you just gotta shake some ass. Luckily my Texas brethren, Ghostland Observatory, is there the to satisfy. A mixture of Daft Punk, CSS, David Bowie with a dash of classic rock and a little bit 'a Saturday Night Fever, there's little not to like about a band I should hate. But damnit, they're just too damn cool. The 80's are gettin' ushered back into style. Tight jeans, big belts, bright colors, it's all coming back.  Ghostland Observatory will be the soundtrack to this retro takeover. God help us all.

From Austin360:

"Although the fabric of its music is ornate, Ghostland is a humble duo. Turner, 28, crafts the jackknife beats and ephemeral soundscapes with synthesizers, drums and keyboards. Behrens, 24, howls and sings, prowling the stage with chest-length twin braids, projecting a clean-shaven androgyny punctuated with tight T-shirts and low-riding jeans. He plays guitar. The female fans pay close attention.           

Prince? Freddie Mercury? Daft Punk? All of the above."

Home.MySpace.

Ghostland Observatory - Sad Sad City(mp3)
Ghostland Observatory - Silver City(mp3)

Ghostland Observatory - Sad Sad City  (Awesome Fan Video)

Ghostland Observatory - Rich Man (Lala.com Video)

This Week in Stuff

I had some lunch with superstar blogger Cam Beck today. He brought up my lack of posting in recent weeks. So, now fully shamed, here I am, begging forgiveness, and posting again. But, I'm still a bit wrecked at work, so I'm hoping to kick it back into gear next week. For now, here's this week in stuff.

We all remember ClownCo, the joint venture and "youtube killer" from NBC and Fox's NewsCorp. They've announced 100 million dollars in venture capital from Providence Equity Partners for a 10% stake in the company. For the math-challenged, that's a ONE BILLION FUCKING DOLLAR VALUATION ON A COMPANY THAT DOESN'T EXIST! Or, at least one without a name, a website, a strategy, or much of a chance to survive. By the time they actually launch, we'll be watching holographic video or something. Or maybe going outside will be cool again.

And, since all they've only proven the ability to manufacture money, NBC Universal decided to go ahead and bore us to death with Didja.com, ""the go-to destination for on-demand advertising content." Of course, they'll be social networking features and whatnot. And the audience will yawn through another me too product from a me too company.

And yes, CGC commercial contests are probably dead. But this ad with no chance of winning the Heinz Top This TV challenge is a giggle, and deserves some sort of consolation prize. If you're at work, I recommend you turn your speakers way up, call your boss into your office, and enjoy the laughter together. Hee Haw Marketing takes no responsibility for any ensuing harassment lawsuits or lost jobs.

And last, the bunnies are coming.  The bunnies are coming. Hell yes, the bunnies are coming. Two of my favorite spots of all time are bravia's balls and paint. On Monday, they shot the latest in the series in the big NYC. The spot is called "Clay" and somehow involves a shitload of carved playdoh bunnies. Can't wait to see what they do with them. All I can say, I'm gonna be pissed if it involves CGI. Faris got some cool shots, too.

That's this week's this week in stuff. You can tune in to next week's this week if there is a this week next week. Do it.

My New Favorite Kohl's Comment

John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Jr., Winston Churchill, and all the great orators in our history would be proudest and most inspired today after embracing the greatest comment I've ever received. Kohl's, I salute you for always hiring not only the best, but the brightest.

"IS FUNNY HOW GETTING FIRED FROM YOUR JOB FOR BEEN A LOSER MAKE YOU ATTACK PEOPLE AT A PERSONAL LEVEL. PEOPLE THAT MOST LIKELY YOU WOULDN'T NEVER SAY THIS FACE TO FACE DO YOU KNOW THAT IS ALSO A CRIME SLANDER I HOPE YOU HAVE PROOF OF EVERYTHING YOU SAY IN YOUR COMMENTS BY THE WAY TARGET SUCKS YOU ARE JUST A LOSER"

I may never write another word now that I am armed with the knowledge that there is a bar I could never even aspire to reach. Thanks, Grace.

Bank of America: The Parody

Such greatness.  My favorite comedian, David Cross, covers the now infamous, ear-bleed inducing Bank of America corporate butchering of One by U2.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KC4cn-GIeGM]

Tune In Saturdays: Orba Squara

I feel slightly dirty finding a tune in feature from a television commercial, even if this is a marketing blog of sorts. But, considering it was at least on a commercial for an apple product, I feel a little better, even as i type this out on my shitty dell.

I couldn't really find too much information about Orba Squara on the interwebs, besides the fact that a friend of a friend of this guy who has a friend that works for Apple got them a starring role in the iphone spot. And that's rather unfortunate. It's a safe bet that you'll see more folks writing about them fairly soon. Their debut album, Sunshyness, is so organically rich, I can't get enough. No overplaying, just simple acoustics, some hits and tats and whatnot. They seem quite similar to past tune in feature Page France, or maybe a more acoustic-y Deathcab, or Sufjan Stevens. Good stuff, though. I give them four high fives.

Home.MySpace.

Orba Squara - My Favorite Song

iPhone ad, featuring Perfect Timing by Orba Squara

The PlaidNation hits the Big D

The folks at Plaid make their final stop of the PlaidNation tour tomorrow (Friday) at 4pm at the infamous Bar of Soap (website). So, if you've got some laundry to do while we drink some beers, don't be shy about bringing it along.

I'm not sure which Dallas bloggers will make their way there, but I do know that you'll meet Daryl, Justice and Giuli from Brandflakes for Breakfast and Bill Green, the man behind Make the Logo Bigger. So do it already.