(this post was originally written in 2010 for flairification, a blog I retired a year ago)

Do you see “Its” or do you see “Thous”

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been very impressed by the quality of the discussion that is happening around the topic of Social CRM. The momentum has been building for years, and it appears that we are about to see wholesale adoption of significant marketing via social media. As @jowyang’s The Fifteen Classes of the Social Business Software Suite points out, the tools needed to provide the infrastructure for these interaction campaigns are here and ready to be deployed. @Armano’s Digital Embassies: A Blueprint For Community Engagement provides a clear guide to assist businesses as they begin to determine how to best align their resources. And @jasonfalls’ Six Questions To Jump-Start Your Content Marketing Plan offers a fantastic lens to identify a businesses true value proposition in our deeply connected world.

When I read what these guys have to say, I’m encouraged that maybe – just maybe – we can get it right. The harsh reality of the situation is that few will. Constant Contact may be an amazing company, but when I heard their ad on the radio offering social media marketing services to the masses, my skin began to crawl. This is how social engagement is going to happen for the majority of businesses “Just add water!”

I’ve even seen the offer presented to my own agency:

1. Jump on Twitter
2. Start a blog
3. Buy a spam email list
4. Broadcast incessantly via all social channels possible
5. And on
6. And on
7. And on
8. …

It’s the natural way to assimilate new ideas – we try to frame them in reference to the known. So when it comes to marketing, broadcast is good and automation is efficient. It makes sense to those who have been shouting their message for ages. In this new day, however, what works best are practices that are built on communication principles which pre-date the age of advertising.

Martin Buber, Photo by Paul Schutzer, Israel 1960 – Life Magazine – c/o benatlas.com

Before focus groups and target audiences – just before the onslaught of mass marketing via television and radio – Martin Buber, an Austrian born Jewish philosopher, published the seminal work on social engagement, I And Thou. To summarize this classic, which was first printed in 1923 as Ich Und Du, every interaction that occurs between one human and another will either take place as an “I-It” encounter or an “I-Thou” encounter. An I-Thou relationship is transcendental; it places the value of the participants in highest esteem and sanctity. Conversely, in an I-It relation people are treated as objects or things (targets audiences?).

Buber was not without critics, many of whom claimed that his Dialogic Principle was too simple – placing every interaction into one of two possible categories. A valid argument for sure, yet judging marketing practices/messages through an I-It and I-Though filter will be essential to all modern brand/consumer interactions. An I-Thou conversation is to be treasured, for you are fortunate to be in the presence of one another. I-Thou relations create beneficial circumstances and outcomes for both parties involved. Read Edelman’s definition of social engagement and listen for the ring of I And Thou:

“Social Engagement” is a continuous set of interactions, communications, and participatory behaviors between individuals seeking meaningful connections to others. For organizations, this leads to a more engaged community, loyal customers, stronger brand affinity, and measurable outcomes which demonstrate mutual gain for all stakeholders.

As the tools of social interaction become more powerful and offer greater automation, what will separate one business from the next is the measure to which they are committed to preserving the human component of these relationships. Businesses that maintain the heart of social engagement will be the ones that truly connect with their brand communities and reap the significant rewards available through our always-on, always-connected society.

Children, “garbage in, garbage out.” That was a common mantra in geekery way back in 1984, when your dad was programming voice command-robots at Texas A&M University, but it still applies now. With each day, you gain more independence and we – you and I – move into more of a trail guide/traveler relationship over the parent/child one we’ve been in, but I want to be sure that you understand one important truth:

Don’t listen to crappy music.

As I lay here at 2AM, chasing sleep to no avail, the chorus of Lora Brannigan’s “Gloria” will not let me go. It is relentless.

I wish I had never tricked my parents into letting me watch Flashdance on HBO back in 1983. I wish that I hadn’t listened to Dallas’ 97.1 KEGL, The Eagle the summer before when Brannigan hit the airwaves at least once an hour followed by Bonnie Tyler’s “I Need A Hero.” There is no escaping this menace. I even tried replacing it with Mungo Jerry’s “In The Summertime” but all the voices in my head are calling Gloria.

If the Mayans are wrong, you could be laying in bed a dozen years from now with “Pontoon” or “One Thing” stuck on repeat.

Don’t let this happen to you.

I’m out of words now…

Some folks aren’t fond of ad industry awards, and I’ve been on their side throughout my career, but a couple of studies over the last few years have changed my thinking. It turns out, advertising that is awarded for it’s creativity performs better for clients than non awarded work. How much better? Check out this little nugget from James Hurman:

Hurman’s ‘The Case For Creativity’ is almost impossible to get in the US, fortunately he’s posted a significant portion of it on SlideShare

For me, that was a major revelation. Professional persuaders are hired to help people communicate to make their efforts (either business or non-profit) produce real benefits. But that wasn’t the big revelation, that came when pulling together our household recycling one morning. There are three folks in my house with a Y chromosome, me and my 11 & 13 year-old Goonies:

In an attempt to improve their hygiene and the fragrance of our home we encourage these two to pick out their own soap, shampoo, deodorant, etc. So what do these two children of the future choose? The same brand that my grandfathers bought 40 years ago:

It’s no coincidence that Old Spice consistently wins Cannes Lions for their work, specifically the 2010 Cannes Film Grand Prix. I’m pretty sure all of the Jones boys want to smell like “the man your man could smell like.” Or maybe we just want visible abs, that would be nice.

I’m out of words now…

Whole Brevity Thing – Hill Country Mixtape

We’ve packed up the family truckster and headed out on another Jones family vacation. We’re touring the Texas Hill Country, and a fresh soundtrack was needed. Here’s the Whole Brevity Thing Hill Country rundown:

1. White Trash Story / Casey Donahew Band
2. $50 Dollars and a Flask of Crown / Bleu Edmondson
3. This Time Around / Randy Rogers Band
4. She Left Me for Jesus / Hayes Carll
5. Bread & Water / Ryan Bingham
6. The Prettiest Waitress In Memphis / Cory Branan
7. The Galway Girl / Steve Earle
8. 40 Dogs (Like Romeo and Juliet) / Bob Schneider
9. 4th of July / Shooter Jennings & George Jones
10. Whiskey River / Willie Nelson
11. Up Against The Wall Redneck Mother / Jerry Jeff Walker
12. That’s Right (You’re Not from Texas) / Lyle Lovett
13. George’s Bar / Pat Green
14. The Everclear Song / Roger Creager
15. Crazy Eddie’s Last Hurrah / Reckless Kelly
16. Weed With Willie / Toby Keith
17. White Trash Story – II (The Deuce) / Casey Donahew Band

[download the .zip]

I’m out of words now…

Whole Brevity Thing Summer 2012 Mixtape

Another ode to summer. Here’s the rundown for the Whole Brevity Thing Summer 2012 Mixtape:

1. Naked Kids / Grouplove
2. Some Nights / Fun.
3. Cannibal Queen / Miniature Tigers
4. Hell-bent and Heart-first / Cory Branan
5. Your Famous Friends / The Henry Clay People
6. Gold On The Ceiling / The Black Keys
7. The Nights of Wine and Roses / Japandroids
8. Comeback Kid / Sleigh Bells
9. Unconsolable / Ambassadors
10. Late Nights / Brown Shoe
11. Gotta Go / Oberhofer
12. What a Drag / Bear Hands
13. California / Delta Spirit
14. 1957 / Milo Greene
15. Ho Hey / The Lumineers
16. Little Talks / Of Monsters and Men
17. Sebastian / Reptar
18. Love For Long / Jenny Owen Youngs
19. Stay at Home / Yellow Ostrich
20. Bootstraps / Drew Grow & The Pastors Wives
21. Heavy Chevy / Alabama Shakes
22. Booty City / Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears

[download the .zip]

I’m out of words now…

People of the Internet, I love Instagram real hard. The proof is hard to deny – I posted 1,285 photos in 2011. It’s just so easy to grab a moment of your life and share it with friends, and just for kicks, you can add a little faux depth of field or funky color style to the shot as well. On top of that, the app has very little feature-bloat, and a brilliant connection to Foursquare’s location database, so you can tie the photo and place together for posterity.

As for now, the app is only available on the iPhone, but that won’t be the case for long. I seriously doubt this is the first time you’ve hear someone wax on about Instagram, but I’ve fallen deeper in love with the app due to my new best friend, Timehop.

At some point early last year, I signed up for Foursquare & 7 Years Ago a service that would send you a daily email listing all of the places you checked-in on the same day a year before. The idea was kind of fun, and I enjoyed getting the daily flashbacks. The service has since changed it’s name to Timehop, and included connections to Facebook and Instagram profiles. The Instagram integration has blown me away, no longer do I occasionally open Timehop emails, I ALWAYS open their messages.

Instagram lets you capture a moment on (digital) film, Foursquare drops the pin in the map, Timehop gives both of those of those items exponential value through daily reminders of friends and memories. To see what I mean, take a look at what Timehop reminded me about in my morning email. Here is my version of January 31, 2011:

Who doesn't love decision trees? #Appforum11 presentation with Paul Strack and Amy Bradley-Hole

A year ago, Sarabeth and I were in Las Vegas with Paul Strack and Amy Bradley-Hole to give a presentation about the little that we know about helping businesses serve customers through social channels. The opportunity to share a few learned lessons was awesome, and so was the rest of the day. Let’s continue with the timehop, shall we?

We had a wonderful dinner at Mon Ami Gabi. Allow me to introduce you to the Tequila Smash.

We ate on Mon Ami Gabi's patio, under flames to knock off the chill.

Mon Gabi Ami's patio looks out on the Fountains of Bellagio. Musical Theatre #VegasBaby

After dinner, we headed back to our hotel for Cirque Du Soleil's The Beatles Love

Photos were not aloud inside the theater....so this is the best I could do.

The show was incredible. Sarabeth and Amy post-Love, on the floor....

...under the colors of the queen, taking pictures of the ceiling, of course.

Joneses #VegasBaby

Amazing people, opportunities, food and shows. A really great day from a year ago that I got to relive this morning. I really like this future.

I’m out of words now…

My friends were fantastic, here’s what they had to say: (oh, and by the way, the video of the on-air segment can be seen at the bottom of this post)

I’m out of words, now.

Whole Brevity Thing 2011 Mixtape

Not so much a list of the best songs of 2011, more of a set of songs that I really enjoyed last year.

1. Lost In My Mind / The Head and the Heart
2. Abducted / Cults
3. Midnight Life / The White Panda
4. Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh / Say Hi
5. Badaboom / Tapes ‘n Tapes
6. Otis (feat. Otis Redding) / Jay-Z & Kanye West
7. Lee Majors Come Again / Beastie Boys
8. The Whip / Locksley
9. Eleven / Mirah & Thao
10. Whirring / The Joy Formidable
11. Helena Beat / Foster The People
12. Hey Mama / Mat Kearney
13. We Should Fight / Ezra Furman and the Harpoons
14. I Got a Thing / Hanni El Khatib
15. Stomp and Holler / Hayes Carll
16. Lonely Boy / The Black Keys
17. Tongue Tied / Grouplove
18. Touch the Beach (Kanye West x The Avett Brothers) / No Pets Allowed
19. I Missed You (Acoustic) / Joshua Radin
20. Calamity Song / The Decemberists
21. The Civil Wars: Barton Hollow / The Civil Wars
22. So Whatcha Want Loser (Beastie Boys x Beck) / Ugly Lovely
23. Red Solo Cup / Toby Keith

[download the zip file]

I’m out of words now…

TGIM! - Spring Break When You're 38

We’re taught early in America, that March carries an oasis of irresponsibility. From our first day of school until our last we’re trained to expect a break from the norm just as the weather begins warming up. It’s awesome, really…until you get a job. Then brutal reality hits. Sure you practiced the hiatus for at least 13 years, some extended the workouts through grad school tacking on another 6-8, but now the party’s over.

But it’s never really over, is it? I mean, the hope of Spring Break always lingers, right? It has to, I’m 38 and I still get antsy as February ends. So, last week as my kids were enjoying legally skipping class I decided to join them for the last two days of their Spring Break. We loaded up the family truckster and headed out to the Ozark Mountains. It was awesome and I’ll post about the full trip later on, but this post is about the essential ingredient to any Spring Break’s success: The Spring Break Mixtape.

Because we pulled the trigger on the trip at the last minute, I didn’t have the time to properly produce a masterpiece. We hit the road empty handed, save Sarabeth’s Indigo Girls / Shawn Colvin / David Wilcox mix & my Littlest Goonie’s Dr Dre / Jackson 5 / Zac Brown Band concoction. Once we settled into our cabin in the woods and I began grilling our dinner, I remedied the situation with a stream-of-consciousness-songs-on-my-iphone-only production. Friends, I give you:

Thank God It’s Mixday – Spring Break When You’re 38
1. Light of the Morning / Band of Skulls
2. Howlin’ For You / The Black Keys
3. How You Like Me Now / The Heavy
4. We Should Fight / Erza Furman and the Harpoons
5. There Goes My Love / The Blue Van
6. Flathead / Fratellis
7. Everlasting Shine Blockaz / Wick-it the Instigator
8. At 1 AM / The Subways
9. Post Acid / Wavves
10. Someone’s Daughter / The Whigs
11. The Whip / Locksley
12. Life Coach / Fang Island
13. American Music / Violent Femmes
14. Lonely Is The Night / Billy Squier
15. Everybody Wants Some!! / Van Halen
16. Finest Worksong (Mutual Drum Horn Mix) / R.E.M.

[download the .zip file]

I’m out of words now…

The NBA has canceled the Dunk Contest and is instead moving forward with a NBA/Kia commercial.

I would have loved to have had a warning like that instead of wasting any emotion thinking that there was actually a competition in Saturday night’s nonsense. Here is the punchline:

All of the build-up to see the league’s favorite new star (kind of) jump over the Official Car of the NBA. That stunt has been done to death, and I do mean the product placement as well as the dunk. Here’s a flashback from 2005:

Did you see that Skywalker actually jumped over the car instead of the front bumper of the Official Car of The NBA? The most imaginative competitor of the night, in my opinion, was clearly The Washington Wizards’ Javale McGee:

Oh well, at least the infomercial the NBA conned us into watching was entertaining. Now if you want to see a real dunk competition, here’s a one man dunk competition named Kadour Ziani:

I’m out of words now….

Fanboy name calling be damned, I love Southwest Airlines. Spending a few hours with them today is serving to reinforce that fact. Unless I have no other option, I’m committed to travel by air with them alone. I really love having my flights actually fly. There have been too many times that I’ve been stranded by other airlines, and when that happens to me, SWA is frequently the hero that finds a way to get me to my desired destination.

But that’s not what has made Southwest part of my brand identity. (Nor is it the bonus Bloody Mary that was just handed to me by the flight attendant.) The reason that i love them is this: free SkyMall catalogs! God bless Southwest for giving me a whole catalog dedicated to things that I don’t need. I mean, just look at this:

Really? Someone is going to see that and think *Oh my gosh, that is exactly what I’ve been looking for to (a.) keep me from losing my phone (b.) finally get that job with the FBI (c.) hold my corsage at prom!*

Awesomeness aside, SkyMall isn’t the reason either. My connection with Southwest started long ago in South Texas.

From the time I was 10 until I was 15, Southwest was my gateway to my dad. Every other weekend I would jump on a plane in Harlingen or San Antonio and fly to Dallas to visit him. Life had broken apart my family and placed hundreds of miles between us, but in just a couple of hours we would be together because of the magic of this little airborne carpool known as Southwest Airlines. After a few months of this travel routine, I became friends with the folks that worked the weekend shift at the gate. They knew me and took great care to make sure that I boarded early and got to where I needed to go. Gate to gate they were my surrogate parents. (Remember the good old days when you could go to the gate to meet your relatives/friends when they landed? I miss that.)

Friday nights and Sunday afternoons were spent with Southwest. As I grew older the trips to Dallas to see dad became less frequent. We grew apart in the way that teenagers and parents do. Soon it was just a trip every month or so. Then it became a Southwest free roadtrip in my beloved GMC Jimmy, but to this day whenever I walk into one of these orange and blue cabins I feel at home and excited for what awaits me at my destination. It’s silly to connect with a brand in such a way, but I can’t help it, it’s my reality. My name is Bryan Jones, and I am a Southwest Airlines fanboy.

I’m out of words now…

(A note of disclosure that I’m honored to add: This year Southwest has become a social engagement client of mine. My views about these folks have long been biased due to them being a part of my family, but you should know that I’m paid to help them shine, so take my words with a grain of salt.)

It’s the sport of kings, better than diamond rings – football!

I really love football season. It’s an honest passion, I was raised in Texas and at some point during pre-school all male children are set aside and brainwashed with the need to hold a ball made of pigskin and paint eye-black on their faces. The girls are spared this indoctrination mostly because they have no time for it, given the endless hours of training they receive in aquanet bang-amplification.

Thankfully I’m not the only one who feels this way about football, and at some point in our nation’s history some very wise (obviously holy men) reserved the Sabbath as the day for the NFL to be on display for all to see. Rather than nap on Sundays, I revel in the slobber-knocking sanctity of multi-millionaires playing a boys game. As an advertising pro I’m doubly rewarded because of the ads that are broadcast during this window of awesomeness. “It’s research.”, I tell the family.

As I’ve watched the games this fall, I’ve been struck with how heavily the ads have relied on their soundtrack. As I’ve gone on record before, I’m a sucker for excellent song selection in tv commercials. Shacking up with another passion of mine, mixtapes, the following was born:

Commercially 2010

[download the entire mixtape via .zip file]

1. Evolve [Extended] / Kermit Quinn
2. Home (RAC Mix) / Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros
3. The Power Is On / The Go! Team
4. There Goes My Love / The Blue Van
5. Light of the Morning / Band of Skulls
6. Howlin’ For You / The Black Keys
7. Short Skirt/Long Jacket / Cake
8. Check Yo Self / Ice Cube
9. Come Home / Chappo
10. Say Hey (I Love You) [feat. Cherine Anderson] / Michael Franti & Spearhead
11. Paradise Circus (Gui Boratto Remix) / Massive Attack
12. Creep / Vega Choir

Just for kicks, see if you can identify the commercial that goes with each song.

I’m out of words now…

It’s an unwritten rule that when you take a family vacation to the beach, at some point you must get the family dressed up and head to the shore for the group pics. I used to dread this event. With. A. Passion. When the kids were younger I had to resort to scary big daddy voice in order to get them to line up and smile. I mean, smile at the same time. In the same millisecond. Instead of handing them a story to remember, I handed them a nightmare to run away from. It didn’t work out the way I wanted.

So we changed. We’ve only got a few years with these dearies before they leave our hive, so let’s not waste a chance for an awesome memory. Now we give the kids more freedom, and they give us this:

If you want to see the real photo essay of our trip, Sarabeth has a great series running here, here, here and here.

I’m out of words now…

]]> http://wholebrevitything.com/2010/07/21/polaroids-from-the-edge/feed/ 3 34.803099 -92.248271 34.803099 -92.248271 bryan jones DSC_0136-pola DSC_0034-pola DSC_0055-pola DSC_0088-pola01 DSC_0080-pola DSC_0146_2-pola DSC_0128-pola DSC_0192-pola02 DSC_0171_2-pola http://wholebrevitything.com/2010/07/21/polaroids-from-the-edge/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/WholeBrevityThing/~3/8IZ-NCrQqN8/ http://wholebrevitything.com/2010/07/19/being-malcolm-gladwell/#comments Mon, 19 Jul 2010 22:48:46 +0000 jones@extraawesome.com http://wholebrevitything.com/?p=1279 ]]> I am very thankful for Malcolm Gladwell. Thankful for his mind (the things that he finds fascinating) and his heart (the way he shares about those fascinating things).

Gladwell’s latest publication, What The Dog Saw, is a collection of essays that he has written for the New Yorker. The content may not be new, but it carries a sense of timelessness about it. I think that is due to how much interest he has in the subject about which he is writing. He is highly passionate without being intrusive, a truly amazing feat, and he is careful without being reserved; equally impressive.

I’d like to show you what I mean. Take this article written in 1999 for example, True Colors. Do you see it, too?

I’m out of words now…

I blame @ghidotti

#LRTweetup killed my blog.

Before I gave myself fully over to the microblog, I was cranking out three posts a week to wholebrevitything.com, but then the 140-character miracle took over my social life, and I found a truer whole brevity thing. Okay, maybe it didn’t kill this blog, but I need someone/something to blame. I love to blog, but as far as time investment goes, Twitter is just way too easy.

I joined Twitter in the fall of ’07, but I did not really become an active user until the following summer when I got hooked on @Loopt. Loopt was the bridge that moved me from Facebook to Twitter. I went from tweeting once or twice a month to tweeting like ten whole times a week.

The Little Rock Twitter scene raised it’s head above water in the fall of ’08, and then really took off in the Spring of 2009 – I blame Lance Turner and his LR Twitter directory. Yes, back then, there were so few Little Rock folks using Twitter that Lance could house all of our names in a single blog post.

Soon, the idea of this crew getting together in person started churning and then this happened:

I jumped in with a two word commitment

I’ll save you the chronology of the next twelve months of this community’s growth, but that first night was an awesome experience of having drinks with a competitor, meeting amazing young talent, discovering how hilarious @robertblake truly is, and learning that there really was a person behind the pseudonym, @tsudo.

If it doesn't have a hashtag, it didn't happen

It has been very difficult for me to put into words how LRTweetup has crossed Twitter over from an online chat into real world relationships, so let me get all PowerPointy on you:

• This has turned my colleagues into my friends.
• This has nurtured kindred spirits out of profile pics.
• This has shot the hell out of Dunbar’s number.
• I have hired two people because I first got to know and trust them through this local Twitter community.
• This community have shown me real, tangible love and concern.
• My heart goes out to these folks when their lives get sideways, and I really do smile with them when they stumble into happiness. (however, I will never LOL)

It is surreal how real these LRTweetup connections have become. I feel very lucky to have found a place with these friends. Maybe I can get these folks to help me kick start this blog back to life.

I’m out of words now…

(ps. If you haven’t been following #LRTweetup Stories, I think that it would really be worth your time to do so.)

There was no reason to fear that something bad would happen, her body was very strong and healthy. The problem was with me – I had no power to control the situation. I could make sure that she was in safe surroundings. But that night, that was all that I could control, and I was not prepared for such a realization.

The reason that this day has had a similar feeling is because yesterday I spent the day in two different – and I cannot stress how different – hospitals with a broken child. My little angel had fallen to the ground while playing a game at church and when she reached for the ground to brace for the fall, her arm twisted awkwardly causing three major fractures. I was standing nearby when the accident happened so I scooped her up as quickly as I could and within moments I was holding her in the back of a dear friend’s minivan as we raced across town to an Emergency Room. With every bump in the road her pain intensified and each scream was soul-wrenched. I was helpless to ease her pain, and with each wail, I lost a day of my life.

I did what I could – I stroked the tears from her face, I held her body as steady as possible, I called the ER to let them know that I was bringing in a badly injured girl. None of it was enough. She was in incredible pain and she desperately wanted it to stop, but Daddy couldn’t make it stop.

When we rushed into the reception area of the ER, I expected to be met by a team of trauma nurses, not an admissions clerk who was solely focused on keeping the situation calm. As Elizabeth screamed, we filled out the appropriate paperwork and then stood alone in the empty waiting room…just waiting. I studied the place trying to find the right doors to tear off of their hinges so that my daughter could receive medical attention. Eventually we were taken to an exam room where a group of polite nurses, and an attending physician let us know that their hospital could not take care of my daughter, and that we would have to move her to Arkansas Children’s Hospital.

Our time at ACH was a blur of compassion and healing. Many doctors met with us to determine what had happened and what would be best for her restoration to full health. We consulted with the anesthesiologist and wheeled Elizabeth into the surgery center. One of the state’s top pediatric orthopedic surgeons performed the operation, and within a span of four hours our family was on our way home.

Now after a day has passed, Elizabeth is resting well and her three broken bones are healing. My healing is taking place in a different way. I think that I’ve been broken for a while and this window into the reality of control (or lack thereof) may make things right. With that, I’ll say goodnight.

I am exhausted. I had no idea how tiring not-ripping doors off hinges and not-strangling people could be.

I’m out of words, now..

Nick Drake

Your reaction to the discovery of Nick Drake’s music may have been different than mine. I had always been a music lover, but this was different music. This music was organic, and it was real. The words that he sang were his words. The music that he played was written by his hand. Not only that, but the music was delivered bare – stripped of production – without gimmicks and layers to hide behind. This music was what I needed to wash away the taste of Lita Ford and Vanilla Ice.

I found Nick Drake through a David Wilcox bootleg tape that had been passed around my college campus. At the end of a trip to see Wilcox perform live, I walked up to the stage following his show and talked to him as he packed away his gear. I didn’t want to be a fanboy that gushed about how wonderful his performance had been (and it was incredible) so I asked him about Nick. I wasn’t just trying to be cool, I really wanted to know who Nick Drake was. This was B.G. (Before Google) and the answer to every question wasn’t available at your fingertips.

Wilcox’s eyes lit up when he answered, “Nick Drake was an amazing musician. He was a dreamer living in a world that didn’t have room for dreamers. He was run over by the train that he couldn’t stop.”

Beck covers Which Will originally recorded by Nick Drake.

I’m out of words now…

(not-so-hidden easter egg)

Fearless Fighters of Foo

I love that are selfless men in this world ready to fight foo at a moment’s notice. They don’t ask why. They don’t do it for glory. It’s just about people helping people. Foo needs to be fought, and they are the chosen ones for the fighting.

Paramore covers My Hero originally recorded by Foo Fighters.

I’m out of words now…

(not-so-hidden easter egg)

Whole Brevity Thing - Summer '07

While loading up the magic phone with music for this unexpectedly awesome weekend, I discovered a mixtape that never made it to the blog. It was a sad realization. (I held the tears at bay with a promise to post it over the weekend) I’ve been listening to this playlist all day, and it still serves. I hope you enjoy this two-year step back in time. …

[download whole brevity thing - summer 2007 mixtape]

1. Be Your Husband / Jeff Buckley
2. Searching for the Ghost / Heartless Bastards
3. Hospital Rooms Aren’t For Lovers / Bear Colony
4. 10 A.M. Automatic / The Black Keys
5. Baby Fratelli / Fratellis
6. Hang Me Up to Dry / Cold War Kids
7. Side with the Seeds / Wilco
8. Faberge Falls For Shuggie / Of Montreal
9. Forget Myself / Elbow
10. 23 / Blonde Redhead
11. Naive / The Kooks
12. Back to the Life / Spoon
13. We’re from Barcelona / I’m from Barcelona
14. Fake Tales of San Francisco / Arctic Monkeys
15. Lazy Eye / Silversun Pickups
16. 7/4 (Shoreline) / Broken Social Scene

For the rest of the mixes available via whole brevity thing, here’s the link: original soundtrack

I’m out of words now…

Go West

Jumping back into the series known as Ode to Saving Silverman with a nice little cover of a song off of the soundtrack to Pretty Woman.

William Fitzsimmons covers King of Wishful Thinking originally recorded by Go West.

I’m out of words now…

(not-so-hidden easter egg)