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Saturday, June 21, 2003 I Like These Records, Do You Like These Records? #006: Shudder To Think - Pony Express Record (1994, Epic). 
Richard Linklater asked Wedren to write a "Creed-style" song for the upcoming film The School Of Rock. Here's a demo (4.43 mb). posted by Linus | 11:42 AM Friday, June 20, 2003 No War,But Music!! Some Japanese people eat hot dogs really, really, really fast. Other Japanese people sing strange, a cappella renditions of songs by Slayer (4.40 mb). ENJOY!! Finally, a speed metal answer to B. McFerrin and that guy who made those weird noises in the Police Academy movies. Check out more of these tracks (Maiden! Stevie Wonder! Helloween) here. Pretty much the same stuff up here (+ Metallica's "Creeping Death"), along with some fun Dokaka riffs like "HaHaHa,I can sing more talented crazed technicaled than you!!!!!" posted by Linus | 6:51 PM So I'm checking my bSTATS (tm) and I noticed some traffic coming through from this site. Further investigation reveals that "Eppy" posted a link to Albini's wiffle ball rants, citing the following source: "(via Quo Vadius [sic], which is really quite good, i.e. it links no less than 5 interviews with David Lee Roth)" Thanks! Maximumfuntimes, indeed. posted by Linus | 11:59 AM Maximumfuntimes. Another way to increase blog traffic: someone posts a link to your blog on a mailing list for David Foster Wallace. Man. The kids were all up in the QV on Wednesday. posted by Linus | 9:18 AM Bjossi's leathery materials and a pdf. posted by Linus | 7:47 AM Thursday, June 19, 2003 William Grimes said the lemon gnocchi was "bitter and intrusive". "Wylie Dufresne" says that it is in fact "delicious".  ??????
posted by Linus |
12:09 PM
Seek and Destroy. Or, if you prefer: Damage, Inc. Or: Trash 'Em All. 
posted by Linus |
10:11 AM
I Like These Records, Do You Like These Records? #005: Afghan Whigs - Black Love (1996, Elektra) 
Remember when Dulli hosted 120 with Donal Logue? That was awesome. They did stuff like re-enactments of scenes from Scarface, The Godfather, and At Close Range. Man. Now we've got dork-boy in a subway tunnel on the retitled Subterranean. Sure, the videos are still good, but there's no more of those crazy mix-em-ups. I want these guys back - I want Matt gazing at his shoes while trying to interview bands, firing references like a mad dash through AMG (Great non-120 Pinfield moment: he was on TRL the day after Sinatra died and he tried to convince Daly and the throng of crazed teens that Frank was indeed "punk"), or Dave talking about Joy Division and introducing Banshees clips. Or, how about Jancee Dunn? Or Thurston Moore!! So yeah, Black Love. The entire Whigs catalog rocks, and I may like Congregation and Gentlemen a bit more, but this album appears to be underrated by many (the link above - "lumbering and unmelodic"?? -, Bob C., etc.). posted by Linus | 8:38 AM Wednesday, June 18, 2003 Comedian. posted by Linus | 8:43 PM 6. posted by Linus | 7:41 AM Tuesday, June 17, 2003 Make a record here. Then head over to the forum where Albini posts about wiffle ball. posted by Linus | 7:00 PM Making an impact. [From emails exchanged last year between David Armstrong, a former English teacher, and employees of The Coca-Cola Company, as reported in Harper’s Magazine, July 2003, p. 24-26.] To The Coca-Cola Company, The slogan for Dasani mineral water contains an egregious error. The tag line is "Treat yourself well. Everyday." The word "everyday" is an adjective that is used to describe things that are routine or ordinary. "Everyday concerns" or "everyday life" would be two examples. Your slogan should read: "Treat yourself well. Every day." In this case "every" is an adjective modifying the noun "day." This is a popular construction which is also used in such phrases as "every week," "every time," "every breath I take," etc. I would also argue that the phrase "Every day" by itself is somewhat unsubstantial as a full sentence. I will defer, however, to your superior knowledge of the language of mass communication. I do believe, though, that it would behoove the Dasani division of The Coca-Cola Company to make an attempt to appeal to the grammatically sophisticated beverage consumer by modifying your advertising to correct the aforementioned error. Respectfully submitted, David Armstrong -------------------- Thank you for contacting The Coca-Cola Company, Mr. Armstrong. We appreciate the opportunity to address your concerns regarding our new slogan for DASANI, "Treat yourself well. Everyday." Advertising slogans aren't always constrained by the traditional conventions of formal writing; compromises are quite often made to develop a more effective message. When forming the new slogan for DASANI, we considered both "Everyday" and "Every day." After subjecting both versions to testing, we decided to use the more impactful adjective form, rather than the adjective-noun phrase. Since "Everyday" is not an actual sentence and isn’t part of a complete paragraph, we do not feel it is necessarily confined by the same literary bounds as formal writing. We value feedback from our consumers. Your comments have been shared with the appropriate management here at the corporate headquarters and will certainly be taken into consideration as we move forward with our future plans. Joy Industry and Consumer Affairs The Coca-Cola Company -------------------- Dear Joy, Thank you for your prompt and informative response to my email message. I do appreciate you taking the time. I must confess, however, that I am not completely satisfied with your answer. I fail to see how the adjective "everyday," which has a completely different meaning than the phrase "every day," is more "impactful." (By the way, "impactful" is not listed as a word in any dictionary that I am aware of. Was this neologism spawned by the person who hatched your Dasani slogan?) You say you chose the "adjective form," as if you were choosing between two versions of the same thing – but the similarity is purely superficial. Your slogan may as well read "Treat yourself well. Ordinary," or "Treat yourself well. Commonplace," because that is what it means, given the error. You say that you have subjected both versions to testing. I assume that means that you conducted focus groups, and that none of the invitees caught the error, or that the few who did were drowned out by the majority that found the totally irrelevant adjective "everyday" to be "impactful." Are we then to assume that poor grammar and abuse of the English language make for more effective marketing? If this is the case I have a couple of suggestions for future slogans you may wish to consider: "Coke. Its the real thing." "All ways Coca-Cola." "Coke add’s life." Would you use such slogans? I wouldn't think so, and yet you defend your error on the grounds that "Advertising slogans aren’t always constrained by the traditional conventions of formal writing." Surely there must be limits to this unpoetic license. In closing, I am surprised that a firm such as The Coca-Cola Company does not want to extend its high-quality standards to include the language used to promote its products, and I anxiously await a decision from your superiors regarding my request. Best regards, David Armstrong -------------------- Thank you for your reply. We truly appreciate your feedback regarding our slogan for DASANI, and I will share it with the appropriate management. As for the word "impactful," this is simply the noun form of "impact" with the suffix "-ful" added to the end in order for it to be used as an adjective. Words with suffixes are typically not in the dictionary. Rich Robinson Advertising Specialist The Coca-Cola Company -------------------- Dear Rich, It has been a few days since our email exchange and I have yet to hear from your executives. You had promised to share my concerns with them, and I would have thought that the issues I raise were sufficiently urgent to warrant immediate attention on the part of your superiors. I would appreciate an update on the status of my request. Your fine and reputable firm needs to act swiftly to repair this grievous attack on the English language, one which I have now seen plastered on the sides of buses, on billboards, and in numerous other public locations. Have you considered the effect of your nonsensical "Treat yourself well. Everyday" Campaign on the nation’s schoolchildren? How do you expect them to fare in their English courses when subjected to a barrage of advertising with no respect for the rules of the language? And what of those who are learning English as a second language? Should they be told that standards apply only in the classroom an not to Corporate America? In these days of increased scrutiny of corporate behavior, you would do well to ensure that your "messaging" has a positive impact on society. I submit that you are conducting a campaign that is offensive to those of us who care about the language and harmful to those who are attempting to master it. In closing, although I appreciate the creativity of your comments that "Words without suffixes are typically not in the dictionary," I believe that if you research this further you will find that many words with suffixes are in fact in the dictionary, and that words that are not words are not. Warm regards, David Armstrong posted by Linus | 6:26 PM Monday, June 16, 2003 Fun with Roth. #006: This one starts a bit slowly - by Roth standards - with a sameness from other stops on this glorious press romp, but then it really takes off when he starts riffing on regrets, his father, and NYC. And I hope someone filmed his chess lessons with Mr. Gufeld. DVD that up right now please. posted by Linus | 5:47 PM Fun with Roth. #005: A vastly superior scandal, if you ask me. posted by Linus | 5:10 PM Resume Detritus. #006: 
From an "HR professional" in their list of job responsibilities: "Organize company socials such as Friday beer bashes." posted by Linus | 2:20 PM Goon. This is the headline Matt went with for this article: ROWLING LOSES CONTROL: 'HARRY POTTER' TURNS VULGAR WITH OFFICIAL 'BOOGER', VOMIT-FLAVORED CANDY; BUBBLE BATH, DOLLS, DVDs, LEGOS, TOOTHBRUSHES... Oh, that Drudge. You know what he is? Blogger. Total blogger. Bloggerbloggerblogger. And he will always be a blogger. posted by Linus | 8:43 AM Sunday, June 15, 2003 Fun with Roth. #004: -- which I highly recommend -- posted by Linus | 4:26 PM |
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