The Most Creative Music Videos of All Time…? June 19, 2009

I grew up on music videos. MuchMusic, MTV were my after school entertainment and I loved watching videos that stepped outside of the lines and pushed the limits of music video creativity.  I’m talking about those videos that weren’t just about the artist but about making a unique video that really made you think.

So to those creative musicians and the video directors who worked with them to make it all possible, I salute you. Thanks for not making just another garbage video and for taking risks.

Here is my list of the top 5 music videos of all time. All of these videos are clever clever clever and unique. They have done something that hadn’t been done before in any other video and that is why I like them.

5) Artist: Madonna

    Video: Ray of Light

Why is this video great?: Madonna has always been an originator. The queen of reinvention has had some great videos over her career but when she made a comeback with her album of the same name, after some disappointing albums, she made her presence known in a big way, snagging the Video of the Year award at the MTV VMA’s in 1998. The “Ray of Light” video is a simple concept but visually it is stunning! I can’t even picture how else this video would look like if time wasn’t sped up and people weren’t moving at the speed of light.

4) Artist: Blur

    Video: Coffee and TV

Why is this video great?: This has to be the cutest video ever! How much do we sympathize for the missing milk carton? The audience is put in its shoes and we feel sad when he is lost but happy when he finds a female companion to keep him company in heaven. Too cute!

3) Artist: Blink 182

    Video: Always

Why is this video great?: Blink 182 have always had goofy videos but this one showed their maturity as artists. The idea of splicing the screen into three to represent all three of the band members after the same girl at different times was original and well done, especially since at the end of the video she didn’t choose any of the Blink 182 guys and decided on someone else.  

    

2) Artist: Radiohead

    Video: Just

Why is this video great?: Of course one of the best alternative bands in the world would have equally alternative videos to match. Of all the great Radiohead videos, this has got to be the best. Maybe the best part of this video is its ambiguity. At the end when everyone is lying on the sidewalk and no one knows why, you can imagine what the man said to the other people and it can be anything you want.

1) Artist: Korn 

    Video: Freak on a Leash

   Why is this video great? The aggressiveness of this video coupled with its unique concept make Korn’s “Freak on a Leash” my favourite video of all time. The video’s concept of a bullet passing through objects and coming through the bullet hole-filled room where the band is playing is brilliant! I love the dark undertones in this video and Todd McFarlane’s animation is the icing on the cake.

I grew up on 1990’s alternative rock and remember seeing a pattern in all rock videos at the time. When I watched “Freak on a Leash” for the first time, I was pleasantly surprised to witness a video that that didn’t follow the traditional rock music video formula. 

Runner ups:

Artist: The Bravery

Video: Honest Mistake

Why is this video great? The concept was simple but clever and who doesn’t like an elaborate domino sequence?

 

Artist: Incubus

Video: Drive

Why is this video great? Ok, so there is a little bias here. Incubus is one of my favourite bands and I had to include this video that put them on the map for the mainstream. The band drew all their own drawings for the video and the idea of including an escher inspired hand drawing itself was brilliant.

 

Artist: Michael Jackson

Video: Thriller

Why is this video great? One of the most expensive videos ever produced, when the music industry was actually a viable business and Mikey was the biggest artist in the world, it just doesn’t get any bigger. The video is a reflection of the music business and the celebration of the music video at the time and the zombie dance sequence is a classic!

 

There are so many videos that I’ve seen over the years, that I would have put on this list but that would be a very long blog post. So, if you think of any other goodies that I didn’t include, let me know!

It’s Time to Stop Annoying the Facebook Friends With Twitter Updates June 12, 2009

My sincerest apologies to all my non Twitter-using Facebook friends…for annoying you with all my Twitter updates.

I removed the Twitter application from my Facebook profile, that automatically updates my Facebook as soon as I update Twitter.

I don’t want to continue annoying my Facebook friends who didn’t ask to be bombarded with my status updates at least three times per day.

Secondly if they wanted to have a constant news stream of my life then they would follow me on Twitter, which is updated much more frequently. I don’t think Facebook should be used in the same way Twitter is used. They are completely different social tools and as much as Facebook wants to be Twitter it should just stick to what it’s good at; sharing photos and events. 

Facebook tried to evolve into a Twitter-like news stream, but if you ask me, Twitter was created for that very reason, to share Facebook- like status updates with people who were actually interested in knowing more about you. Since then Twitter has evolved into many other uses, but that’s a whole other blog post. 

That is what’s so great about both of these tools; they have different functions and the people who follow you on Twitter are not necessarily your Facebook friends and vice versa.

It also didn’t make sense to combine the two since such a small percentage of my Facebook friends use Twitter, so in order to keep the number of friends on Facebook, I’ve decided to keep Twitter and Facebook separate. 

Although this is a great tool for some, I came to the conclusion that it’s not right for me. Some people, like me use Twitter for business and Facebook for more personal use. While others are all business or all personal on both. Depending on what the purpose of you using these tools are then consider how and why you share the information you do.

WordCamping it in Chicago June 8, 2009

 

WordCamp Chicago

 

 

Day one was amazing! I had high hopes before arriving in Chicago, but WCC ‘09 has truly blown me away. The organizers did an amazing job on selecting speakers who appealed to all the developers, bloggers and designers in the room. 

 

At the conference

 

 

I thoroughly enjoyed Micah Baldwin’s highly entertaining talk on Building Online Influence and Doug Hanna of Automattic’s slides from the Showcase and for letting me know about the kick-ass site I Can Has Cheezburger.

 

Morton's Steakhouse

 

 

After the conclusion of day one, there was an official WCC meetup at Morton’s Steakhouse, supposedly one of the best if not the best steak house in the city. After trying some of Matt Mullenweg’s steak, I would have to agree, the steak was so tender and fell right off the bone, but it was the gourmet mac and cheese that did it for me. I have a rule that if macaroni and cheese is offered on a restaurant menu, I must give it a try. I’m a little obsessive about finding great mac and cheese.

 

Matt Mullenweg surrounded by the WordPress fans

 

 

After meeting some new people from the Chicago area, it was time to go back to the W Hotel for some zzz’s. 

 

W Hotel Lobby

 

W Hotel Lounge

 

The Lobby Bar

 

My hotel room

Cool quote on the wall

 

 

 

 

 

Day Two

The second day was equally fantastic. Unfortunately I missed Jim Turner’s presentation on Business Blogging but saw Matt’s State of the Word address. A few new announcements were made about MU, BuddyPress and iPhone apps.

 

Matt giving his State of the Word Speech

 

 

After the conference wrapped, I had a few hours to kill so I took a tour around the city and found myself in Nordstrom’s for their annual shoe sale and Macy’s where I couldn’t resist the urge to pick up a few Ben Sherman pieces. So much for travelling on a budget.

 

Chicago Skyline

 

Shortly thereafter, it was time to head back to the Midway Airport for my Porter flight back to T.O.. I must say, it was my first time flying with them and it was such a delight. It was such a stress-free flying experience and I highly recommend it.

That’s all I have to say about WordCamp Chicago ‘09 for now. I had an amazing time, made some new friends, become better friends with some acquaintances and the weekend has made me more excited about planning another future WordCamp Toronto!

WordCamp Day One June 6, 2009

A recap from last night. After checking into my hotel room, I went to Carnivale to meet up with some friends and made some new friends from Indiana and Colorado. 

 

In this picture: Micah Baldwin, Jeremy Wright, Me, Aidan Nulman, Jim Turner, Jane Goodwin

Great decision by Micah Baldwin to pick the restaurant, the guacamole and raspberry mojitos were delicious!

After some great conversation, I decided to head back to the hotel for a good nights sleep so I could be rested for the first day of WordCamp. 

 

 

Aidan and I

 

 

So, now I’m just waiting for the first speaker to start and I’ve already heard a song performed about being a blog star. Ahh, let the geekdom begin.

…And now my top ten best movies set in Chicago June 6, 2009

In honour of my visit to Chicago this weekend. Here is my top ten list of the best movies set in the windy city.

If you have some other ideas, feel free to comment.

 

 

10) My Best Friend’s Wedding

 

 

 

 

 

 

9) Road to Perdition

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Fugitive

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

7) Chicago – not actually filmed in Chicago but Toronto

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6) The Blues Brothers

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5) High Fidelity

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4) While You Were Sleeping

 

 

 

 

 

 

3) The Break Up

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2) Home Alone

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1) Ferris Bueller’s Day Off

Off to the Windy City for the first WordCamp Chicago June 5, 2009

Ironically, it’s not the weather that gave Chicago its name, but rather the city’s politics…or so the story goes. 

So, here I am waiting for the flight in this über nice airport lounge. I’m off to Chi-town for the weekend to attend WordCamp Chicago, to learn how to be better at my job I suppose. Not really actually. I love attending these events. This will be my third time at a WordCamp including WC Toronto which I co-organized in ‘08.

 

Porter Lounge

 

 

I can’t wait to meet a new crowd of WordPress geeks like me, who thrive off of learning what the latest and greatest in digital innovation is and the newest in best practices for the web.

 

So this weekend, I’ve got my camera in hand and good walking shoes, so look out for my posts and I will keep you updated.

Brave New(s) World: Future of Journalism Summit May 29, 2009

 

At the one of the breakout sessions entitled The New Journalism Toolbox

Out of the many lessons I learned at the Brave New(s) World Summit on the future of journalism held at Centennial College on May 28, the most important take away from the day could be that the newspaper is not dying, it is evolving. 

An elite group of news reporters, journalism professors, students and other media gathered for the day long summit to discuss concerns over the changing print journalism industry and how the web is shaking up the traditional business model.

It seems these days, anyone can be a citizen journalist and can spread messages instantly from their mobile device but does that water down the message and even though we may get our news faster, is it accurate and which source should we trust? How can we make money from putting news online? All these questions were answered, or at least discussed at the summit, with keynote speaker and successful publisher, professor Jeff Jarvis, author of the best-selling book, What Would Google Do?

 

Our discussion notes from a breakout session.

 

As we enter the unknown territory of Web 3.0, it’s important to discuss the impact the web is going to have on jobs. That’s why I think some of the most important decision makers, critical thinkers and influencers didn’t hesitate to participate in the Summit. Representatives from every local and national media outlet  participated in the breakout sessions including: Mathew Ingram, Communities Editor for the Globe and Mail, Amber MacArthur, new media specialist for commandN.tv and CTV/CP24, Kris Reyes, Citytv News reporter.

 

Some of the participants from the Brave New(s) World Summit

 

So where do we go from here? Well it was said that people thought the radio was going to make kids deaf and the television was going to make us dumb, and the internet? Will it kill the print publication? No, there is room for both. We just need to adapt by being “small, agile and lethal.”

 

For a summary report of the conference, keep checking back in the next few days as people upload and add information to the blog. http://bravenewsworld.wordpress.com and http://www.centennialcollege.ca/thecentre/summit

Chromeo Have a Very Important Message About Washing Your Hands May 20, 2009

How kind of Chromeo to spread the message of washing your hands to not only the hipster kids but children seven and younger. The electronic duo made an appearance on my favourite childrens show Yo Gabba Gabba in March (pre-H1N1 madness) to teach kids the importance of washing your hands.

 

 

Look out for our own video on washing your hands. I’m even experimenting with Glo-Germ, a product that shows you were all the microscopic germs are living on your hands under black light.

SpinTO: A Party for a Good Cause May 19, 2009

 

photo taken by Martin Ringehahn

 

Raising $15,000 to date for the Toronto People With AIDS Foundation, SpinTO was a helluva party that brought together the cycling, tech and gay communities of Toronto to celebrate the Friends for Life Bike Rally from Toronto to Montreal. 

 

In spite of it being the Victoria Day long weekend, people came out in droves to buy raffle tickets, bid on the silent auction items, dance, watch some burlesque performances, dress in drag and have their picture taken in Rannie Turingan’s photobooth. 

 

Congrats to the organizers on a successful event!

 

 

Kelowna and I in the photobooth at SpinTO - photo taken by Martin Ringehahn

Will Pay-what-you-like Concerts be Successful? May 11, 2009

 

 

I didn’t realize I was at a free concert until I was leaving the show, as arrogant and ignorant as that sounds. It wasn’t until my guest who had given me the extra ticket pointed out the pay-what-you-like boxes stationed at the exit of the Kool Haus, that I figured out everyone in attendance didn’t have to pay a cent to see the show – if they wanted.

 

K-os, a Toronto hip hop artist passed through Toronto with his YES! Karma Tour recently, a show that was partially sponsored by Rogers urMusic. They covered the basics of staging a cross-Canada tour of this magnitute to allow the fans to pay for what they think the concert should be worth.

 

K-os is putting on his YES! Karma tour for free in hopes that fans will pay for what they think the should be worth.

 

The pay-what-you-like idea has been used in the sale of music on the internet by the likes of Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails, but has rarely been applied to concerts. K-os is the first artist in Canada to try out the concept of watch the show first, pay later.

 

Was it a success? 

 

My observations: Very few people stopped to talk to the people stationed by donation boxes called ‘karma’ boxes and fewer people actually made a donation. Sure the idea of a pay-what-you like concert might be progressive, after all shouldn’t we pay for what we think the value of a concert is and not what promoters tell us it should be worth? In the end however, concert-goers and even hardcore K-os fans will take advantage of a ‘free’ concert and the show will receive less in revenue than if they were to charge a flat rate for the show. 

 

I guess that’s why they call it the Karma tour, since K-os is giving something to his fans, wouldn’t it be fair to get something in return?

 

My final comment: Without Corporate sponsorship, pay-what-you-like concerts will not be money making ventures.

 

 

 

 

 

 

So to all those people who didin’t pay for the concert, you better be careful or the Karma Police will come after you.