I thought this episode from The Current Podcast about the use of humor in advertising was cool (and very clever). Andrew Robertson is the guest and is responsible for the “You’re Not You When You’re Hungry” campaign for Snickers. The emergence of AI driven technology means that everything is becoming automated and robotic in our industry, but humor is distinctly human and might be a way to gain an edge on the competition. It’s certainly a way to get people to like you and we all know that likeability is a key component in success.
With that sentiment in mind, here are some other things I have enjoyed lately:
Jane Weaver – She’s a veteran musician from the UK who has been writing songs and playing music across a variety of genres for close to 30 years with her bands Kill Laura, and Misty Dixon (featuring the tragically departed Badly Drawn Boy collaborator Dave Tyack). Her recent solo material is incredible and I really love her last two albums. Unfortunately, I had a hard time finding physical copies in the United States but was able to eventually snag a copy of “Flock” from Octopus Records in Bushwick Brooklyn a few months back. Her latest album, “Love in Constant Spectacle” has proven even more difficult to find in the states but I was able to grab a copy from Elephant records in Winchester, England (there must be something about shops named after animals).
The NBA Playoffs. Go Celtics. Jrue Holliday is a menace.
I read Disco’s Out, Murder’s In: the True Story of Frank the Shank and L.A.’s Deadliest Punk Rock Gang by Heath Mattioli and David Spacone on on my recent trip to London after picking it up at my local book shop (which is also my local coffee shop – I love Topos). The book tells the allegedly true (but almost certainly fictionalized) story of a gang of punks in LA in the early 1980’s and the violence (and “murder”) they wreak on the surrounding area. This book had been in my Amazon cart about a year ago but never purchased. While flipping through the book at Topos I read about how their style was sent into a more aggressive and militant direction by listening to British bands like Criminal Class and the Strike. The same thing happened to me; streetpunk and pushups are a tantalizing combination for disenfranchised teenagers. It’s a fun read but you can tell fairly early that the narrator, Frank the Shank, is mostly full of shit. I have been told that none of the old heads in LA seem to know much about this crew (LMP – La Mirada Punks), and it seems improbable that a string of stabbings at every punk show in 1980s LA would have gone unnoticed by both the punk scene and the local news. Still, it’s a fun read.
Devin Haney vs Ryan Garcia – Garcia has irked me for years with his incessant internet bullshit. More recently, Haney has irked me with what I perceive as unwarranted arrogance. This fight is a perfect example of why I love boxing: it had bravado, drama, and exceptional skill from both combatants. I can’t wait to watch them do it again.
I saw Madness live for the first time at the Hammerstein Ballroom in Manhattan. They were one of my favorite bands when I was a tweenager, but chances to see them eluded me unless I traveled to London or Coachella. Thrilled to have finally caught them live, they were excellent.
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