Cuban Kicks Out Bloggers

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CubancaresblogFellow billionaire blogger (or, fellow blogger anyway) just kicked out all bloggers from the locker room of Mavericks games. Wow, Mark. Not very "Web 2.0" of you. Maybe he's just cranky because he traded the future of the mavs for old man kidd. I heard Jason Kidd takes respirator breaks in between quarters and sometimes plays with a cane.

The interesting "coincidence" is that the move was made after a blogger (and journalist for the Dallas Morning News), Tom MacMahon gave coach Avery Johnson shit for benching Kidd in the last minute of a close game. Story written, next day bloggers are banned. Unfortunately, Tom seems to be the only media member affected. Very interesting...

The Dallas Mavericks will not allow ANY writer into the locker room areas pre-game and post-game whose primary purpose is to blog no matter what affiliation. They may still represent their respective publication at games but will not be granted locker room access.

Furthermore, if a blog writer is coming to cover a game, the publication must inform the Mavericks PR staff they are sending a blogger. In order to enforce this policy, we must know this information.

We have gone this route because we did not want to give preferential treatment to any blogger, whether they are an individual or from a large media outlet. We just do not have enough room in the locker room, nor enough media passes to fairly accommodate everyone.

According to Mark, this rule will only apply to the NBA. The NFL, of course, should abide by separate, blogger-loving rules. In 2006, he said the following:

The NFL is making a mistake because this should be the time, because they're on the top of the hill, they should be finding easier ways to connect, because it really doesn't cost them any money, they're on the top of the hill. Everything's going great. As opposed to building a walled garden around themselves, that's a mistake.

Again, very interesting...

Tune In Saturdays: Elephant Parade

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ElephantparadeBrooklyn's Elephant Parade is a slowly-building, quiet two-piece. They're full of pretty little pop songs that would make themselves comfortable in Juno 2, or perhaps some Wes Anderson joint. I just love the simplicity of a couple folks seemingly singing to themselves in the both literally and figuratively named debut album, Bedroom Recordings.

From Culture Warrior:

Brooklyn loves its girl-boy power indie pop duos. If Matt & Kim are in the high-energy end of the spectrum, Elephant Parade is most definitely on the lo-fi end. Gracing us with soft guitar and strikingly fragile vocals, to say that Estelle, from Gainsville, FL. and Ido, from Israel, are minimalist musicians is an understatement

Not unlike artists like Jana Hunter, Elephant Parade’s arrangements and vocalization sometimes emote more than the actual lyrics or instrumental ability (and they’re obviously a talented twosome). Adding their guitar and piano, the songs left me with an incredibly earnest sense of loneliness and sadness. (I’ve recovered since.)

Home.MySpace.

Elephant Parade - Riding in Your Car (mp3)
Elephant Parade - Goodbye (video)

Neither here nor there...

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AirborneA few things going on around town...

CP+B picked up the Microsoft account, which probably signifies one of two things. Either MS is so far on the run that they've deluded themselves into thinking the advertising can save them, or maybe, just maybe, CP+B will have an opportunity to affect more than their communication strategy by breathing a little life into their product offerings. Either way, it'll be a lot harder to reinvigorate the blue monster than it is to sell a few cheeseburgers.

Modernista! launches their new site, or site of sites. It's so smart it pisses me off that I didn't think of it. The site is basically just a navigational overlay of their distributed content on the web. Greatness. (via Faris/Noah)

Airborne, the medication that is said to shorten the length of colds is apparently bullshit. Last week they settled a 23 million dollar lawsuit that said as much. Sales are unaffected. Let's not let a little thing like having a product "work" get in the way of a good marketing pitch. 

To work or workaholic, that is the question. That is the question...

Tune in Saturdays: Bon Iver

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BoniverWell, it's more Sunday now, but you know...stuff and all that.

Anyway, this week we have Bon Iver, the moniker of Justin Vernon, Wisconsin-based singer songwriter. It's a brilliantly quiet and introspective record that I haven't been able to stop listening to since I bought it last week. It even made it's way into my Obama video. It's perfect for those times when you need to be alone with your thoughts, or produce the next big campaign, or just need to catch your breath during your drive to lunch. This may sound odd, but it sounds like it was recorded...

From pitchfork:

The biographical details behind the creation of an album shouldn't matter when it comes to a listener's enjoyment, but For Emma, Forever Ago, Justin Vernon's debut as Bon Iver, exudes such a strong sense of loneliness and remoteness that you might infer some tragedy behind it. So, to skirt the rumor mill, here are the particulars, as much or as little as they might apply: In 2005, Vernon's former band DeYarmond Edison moved from Eau Claire, Wisconsin, to North Carolina. As the band developed and matured in its new home, the members' artistic interests diverged and eventually the group disbanded. While his bandmates formed Megafaun, Vernon-- who had worked with the Rosebuds and Ticonderoga-- returned to Wisconsin, where he sequestered himself in a remote cabin for four snowy months. During that time, he wrote and recorded most of the songs that would eventually become For Emma, Forever Ago.

Check it out. It's an inspired, moving piece of work.

Home.MySpace.

Bon Iver - Skinny Love (mp3)
Bon Iver - Lump Sum (live video)

Obama in Dallas

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Although I can hate me some politicians with the best of 'em, I find politics to be one of those fascinating subjects I can still talk endlessly about. Unfortunately, being a Texan, I haven't really gotten to see the presidential process happen in a meaningful way. The race is generally long decided in the primaries and the state too deeply red to go blue in the general. But not this year.

And as such, I got to see the frantic, absurdly exciting scene when a candidate in one of our most historic elections came to Dallas yesterday. I caught some moments on my little flip video and I thought some of you may be interested.

It is a truly moving moment when a black man and a woman are vying to end the old, white man punchline of the American Presidency. At a time when our standing in the world is so obviously diminished, it looks like the American people are coming through. Or we just got lucky enough to have a person with the enviable ability to unify and energize.

You'll see video of the walk five floors up the parking garage to the end of a line that wrapped around for miles, people screaming and doing the wave as if Barack just happened to pass through in the middle of a Mavericks game in the late 80's, the introduction by Emmitt Smith and then Obama himself delivering his speech, although one I've heard mostly before (even if it was given without a prompter). But it had new meaning with the 17,000 screaming "fans" in attendance, not including the thousands more the fire marshal shut out of the building.

I don't want to drone on here, but it did have that intense feeling of something I'll still be talking about 30 years down the line. It's not just a matter of the man, but what he represents. I must say, it feels good to be for something in a time when it'd be so much easier to just be against someone else.

Sorry to get all political, just thought you guys may be interested.

The Future of Television is Bright

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Flying in the face of common sense and criticism, Les Binet of DDB Matrix has made a declaration, "The future for television advertising looks bright." While I don't really know anything about Les, I assume he's a pretty smart guy, but hopefully his opinion is backed up by more than he put in this slide show.

http://static.slideshare.net/swf/ssplayer2.swf?doc=les-binets-presentation2398

While the numbers can be questioned based on what study you're looking at, surely we can agree that there are still a shit load of people watching tv. So is it dead? Not so much. Agreed? Good. Les is disputing something that's not really being said (with the exception of few hyperbolic statements here and there). So we can get into what other studies say the decline is, how DVR changed the game, how the xbox and similar trojan horses are affecting viewing habits, how multimedia consumption affects attention, etc., but the bottom line is he missed the point. The argument seems to be that the future looks bright because things aren't changing enough to make up for a declining CPM, which I find questionable at best.

You won't find me advocating for the total removal of television from the marketing mix, but at the same time, now's not the time for us to feel comfortable sitting back on our laurels.

Check out the conversation over at Scamp's place...

(Reading back over the post, it does seem a little harsh. I think I'm getting soft in my old age. Sorry, Les. You're probably smarter than me and make more money, so you win.) :)

Tune In Saturdays: Glen Reynolds

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GlenreynoldsIt's been awhile since we've had a good shot of Dallas music around here, so I thought we could go to the guitarist of one of my favorite local bands, Glen Reynolds of Chomsky. Or formerly of Chomsky, I guess, considering they no longer exist. Either way, Glen takes a far less poppy route with his debut solo album.  In Between Days is a much slower, much quieter trip, but still manages to find plenty of interesting, unexpected moments.

From the Dallas Observer:

Old alliances aside, Reynolds' focus is now firmly on his solo material. The consistent quality of the songs on In Between Days bears out Reynolds' decision to pursue his own vision. Songs such as "I've Seen the Blueprints," "Hitchhike to Nowhere" and "We're So Far Away" are intricate and introspective mood pieces, much more akin to arty songwriters such as Joseph Arthur and Paul Brill than the pop/punk of Chomsky.

"I am inspired by fantasy, escapism and love," says Reynolds. "I love nature imagery and choruses that are as big as a walk-in closet in Frisco."

Those choruses are carefully and beautifully buried among the mellow grooves and delicate phrasing and are brought to life through the organic interplay of Reynolds' new group of players.

Glen Reynolds - Wonderland (mp3)
Glen Reynolds - We're So Far Away (video)

Career Builder Trades Good for Bad.

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Alright, one last post on the Super Bowl, and I'm done. Rightfully so, there's been a lot of chatter about the failed Career Builder ads by W+K. But, the failure seems to be as much an issue within the media department as the creative (although the final decision likely rested with CB). The absolute gem of the series, this minute-long masterpiece directed by Mike Mills, sat on the shelf in favor of the two poor-performing 30's. I have no doubt that W+K and CB knew the 30's were the lesser spots, but let them roll separately to satisfy their media needs. Too bad. This would have replaced Tide as my number one for sure, and I'd expect at least a top 5 finish across the other SB ad studies. Probably wouldn't have beaten that damn budweiser dog, but that's middle america for you.

And thus, you have seen an appearance from pretentious paul. Sorry about that. Enjoy...