Suuns - "Pie IX" (Official Video)

Cold War Kids gone mainstream

Cold War Kids; Mine Is Yours

Finally pinning ears back to newly released (Jan 25^th) Cold War Kids album ‘Mine is Yours’, my anticipated thoughts materialised to be a little agnostic. Cold War Kids have built their reputation on spiky, loose-limbed music, illuminatingly detailed lyrics and a voice-might-crack-at-any-second singer who could sound simultaneously tender and unhinged. Like their distinctive cover artwork, they left the rough edges in - and played them as a strength. Fans that have grown to love Kids will most likely be disappointed by "Mine Is Yours," the California quartet's third record, where rough edges and sharp lyrics are scarce. Most others won't bother listening long enough to form much of an opinion.

Thirty seconds in, it's immediately clear there was a producer in the room. Commencing with an overplayed U2-esque intro, singer and lyricist Nathan Willett enters with some oh-o whoas, but he sounds reserved, checking himself. The band's spindly swing is glossed over, couched in echo. The melody is pleasant but ordinary. Unfortunately, the track is a harbinger: Over the disc's 45 minutes, Kids rarely do anything distinctive.

Songs such as "Louder Than Ever" and "Finally Begin" - which slide into catchy choruses - and the unmistakable hint of a Vampire Weekend guitar riff that propels "Broken Open" indicate that the goal of working with producer Jacquire King (Kings of Leon and Modest Mouse) was to craft songs that appeal to a larger audience. No surprise that some of Willett's most bland lyrics populate those tracks. And it isn't a case of subtle nuance, either. After more than 20 plays, only one song - "Cold Toes on the Cold Floor" - demonstrates any grit. "Somehow you manage to keep your sense of humour intact," Willet sings on "Skip the Charades." Cold War Kids fans will be well served to heed that advice while listening to this consistently uninteresting album; minus “Sensitive Kid”, ignoring the morbid lyrics it’s a definite favourite.  

HANDSOME FURS - CAN'T GET STARTED

How can innovation inform your overall brand strategy?

I stumbled across this article and thought i'd share..
 ELIZABETH SCHOFIELD

Innovation as a Brand Strategy

As it often happens, over a drink with Holition CEO Jonathan Chippindale, an enthusiastic conversation sparked about the ways in which brands can innovate. Jonathan comes from an impressive background of luxury consulting, and his work at Holition, a leader in augmented reality, specializes in creating memorable experiences for some of the world’s leading brands.

In our conversation, we discussed how brands must protect their heritage while continuing to be relevant, and how this fits into the challenges introduced by digital media. It’s no secret that legacy fashion and luxury brands have struggled to identify, define and take advantage of the opportunities in online marketing; it’s also no secret that it’s now necessary to do so. Remaining relevant is absolutely vital for continued survival and success in today’s climate, and it has become painfully obvious for some that the role digital plays within this atmosphere is critical. After all, perceptions amongst consumers are shifting, in part due to the recession, but also due to the abundance of information with which they are now empowered. This led our conversation to how, exactly, brands can choose to maintain relevance. The answer… is innovation.

The truth, of course, is that innovation has always been at the core of fruitful businesses. In any industry that is not a monopoly, competition exists. With a competitive environment comes the need to somehow distinguish your brand. Businesses need an edge to succeed. This edge is often the impetus for the brand to become established. For legacy brands, we can lose sight of this over the years, and the crux of the ingenuity behind the company becomes somehow watered down. Whether a brand’s success is initial, long-term, or both, profitability is based largely on maintaining an advantage over the opposition. If we look back at the most notable brands, we see an ongoing commitment to innovation in one of three main areas: Marketing, Product and Price. With regard to marketing innovations, brands reinvent and refresh all extensions of the brand image to drive aspiration and desire. Innovating on the scale of price can mean discounting or re-visiting the approach to pricing altogether. And finally, innovations pertaining to product advance the items themselves and convey value in the goods we purchase.

While many profitable brands innovate on all three of these categories consistently and gradually over time, there have been specific brands that have used their direct commitment to one in particular to distinguish themselves in the marketplace. In a three-part segment, Fashion’s Collective will take a closer look at each of these categories, how specific brands have innovated in these ways, and the implications on the overall brand strategy.

All articles are reviewed and copy edited by Gina Conforti

Walking down the aisle; I dislike supermarket ads.

We are all familiar with the typical “woman-by-the-stove” image of the 20^thcentury, but who would have thought that this representation of women has casually slipped into modern advertising, especially in the realm of supermarkets. In ASDA’s broadcasted adverts, see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3apKhUHn4oM for example, very often a fresh young mum is the main attraction, skipping up and down the aisles, shopping-trolley in tow, smiling smugly at the bargain prices. And, it seems this image is apparent everywhere; we only have to pass Iceland, and we automatically hear Kerry Katona’s famous “That’s why mums go to Iceland”. There is even an amateur song about this; http://www.4shared.com/audio/SDyyCOHg/Bennet–Mums_Gone_To_Iceland_E.htm, which advertises the opinion that Iceland is purely for mothers, and includes the lyrics “more cash Dada, give her more cash Dada”, as if we are still living in the dark ages and men are the classic bread-winners.

Admittedly, these offensive imageries will have stemmed from the 1980’s, where adverts such as http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKeEix_oPQk&feature=related featured simply women and children. It was almost unheard of that men could venture near supermarkets, as women’s roles in modern society had not yet been properly established due to significant male dominance. But –luckily, might I add­ – at the end of the day, views have moved on, so why can’t adverts.

In this current age of the newly-formed independent woman, men have set foot in supermarkets, which only makes these sexist adverts more confusing. Higher divorce rates, general equality, and an increase in popularity for women’s roles in the economic work force, have made man become more familiar with the concept of supermarket shopping, and so it is no longer seen as a place purely for females. Over time, the modern man has emerged, and there isn’t room in today’s society for the role of the traditional women, and we are not locked in the kitchen or chained to the stove.

Further more, Richard Hammond’s Christmas advert in 2009 for Morrison’s; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2DbXZIO2gY&feature=related is a great success. It manages to erase the wrongly perceived image of supermarkets which some held in the past, and lets men see that the old fashioned persona of women has long disappeared.

However, and very unfortunately, this is only one prime example in a sea of many. And, according to the majority of these supermarket adverts, it seems that it is not acceptable for a man to go grocery shopping. Are we not living in a day and age where men and women are equal? Looking at current advertisements, I would have to disagree. Sorry ladies, but it seems there is still a tendency towards male power.

Cocorosie; i get depressed in fancy hotel rooms

uncomfortable.