Contributors
Rachel L. Newman
Ms. Newman serves Davis Brand Capital in the brand strategy group, where she has led global trend and consumer insights work. She reads cultural curiosities for their broader implications, and writes about contemporary and popular culture for Unbound Edition.
Articles by Rachel L. Newman
The Buddy System
Each Buddy System song has an animated story linked to it. The Athens, Georgia-based band believes that their music and animation are of equal importance, neither taking a back seat to the other. Rather, they are “inextricably linked, each image synced up with a sound, like the two are playing a game of Mirror and forgot who had been leading and who had been following.” “Return to Horse Mountain” is about a Satanic horse cult that must be defeated. Watch out for that unicorn!
Etsy.com: Crafting a Movement
Since Etsy.com was launched in 2003, the online marketplace “for buying and selling all things handmade” has changed the way people consider, create and consume handmade products.
The BPA
The Brighton Port Authority (BPA) is Norman Cook, the artist formerly known as Fatboy Slim. BPA's fictional history purports a substantial word-of-mouth reputation along England’s south coast from the 1970s to the mid-1990s. A “loose-limbed jamming unit” that gathered a wide assortment of musicians into a ramshackle recording studio, the BPA was legendary for both its music making and multi-day warehouse parties. Thanks to East Sussex music lecturer Dr. Randolph Seal’s decade-long search for the BPA’s lost tapes, the gems from this era of collaboration were recently found and remastered. “Toe Jam” was the first track remastered in “full stereophonic sound.” It features David Byrne and Dizzee Rascal. The whole collection, ostensibly named “We’re Gonna Need A Bigger Boat,” has yet to be released in full.
Pavement
The one-and-only Pavement covers the one-and-only School House Rock. Happy Thanksgiving!
Elbow
Manchester’s Elbow have been recording grand, anthemic music since 1991. While they have enjoyed a large fan base for many years, they only recently have begun receiving international media attention. Earlier this year, Elbow won the Nationwide Mercury Prize for their 2007 album, Seldom Seen Kid. It was selected over, among others, Radiohead’s highly regarded In Rainbows. “Grounds for Divorce,” the first single off the album, recently was featured in the trailer for the Coen brothers’ Burn After Reading.
Santogold
Santogold, a.k.a. Santi White, is a singer and songwriter currently based in Brooklyn. Her self-titled debut solo album was released earlier this year to much critical acclaim.
MC Yogi: Obama ’08
Regardless of your political persuasion, it is difficult to deny that brand Obama made participating in the political process cool again. MC Yogi is just one of many who took Obama’s voice, messages and logo, mashed it up and made it their own. The result: a malleable, inspiring brand that was expressed in myriad unique ways by the people, for the people.
A Reason to Believe
In brand strategy we talk about the necessity of giving people a reason to believe. That intangible aspect of a brand that causes one to pause, consider and ultimately feel right about their choice. People are turning out in droves this election to support their political brand of choice, their reason to believe. Whether it’s Obama/Biden or McCain/Palin, there is passion and belief in the intangible aura that surrounds these candidates.
Number of the Beast
MUAHAHA! As you open your virtual trick-or-treat bag today, please allow UE to give you a generous handful of AWESOME. Why loll around to the likes of Monster Mash when you can totally rock out to Iron Maiden? Sure, the video quality isn’t as sharp as we’re used to these days, but what can one expect from a video made in 1982? A video, no less, for the titular track of one of the greatest heavy metal albums of all time. A video that incorporates frenetic stage lighting, consistent use of the smoke machine, guitar solos that can peel the paint off cars in addition to fire, brimstone, the Wolfman and Godzilla. Happy Halloween!
TV On The Radio
TV On The Radio has been together for seven years, recording several EPs and two full-length albums before receiving critical acclaim in 2006, when Spin voted TVOTR the Artist of the Year and Rolling Stone voted the 2006 album Return from Cookie Mountain the fourth best album of the year. TVOTR is known for its unique sound that blends free jazz, soul and dance beats with falsetto vocals and often dark, sometimes politically charged lyrics. Last month, TVOTR released a new album, Dear Science. “Golden Age” is the first single. Dear Science already has received rave reviews, calling it “shit-hot thrilling music that’s also brainy, ambivalent, and more engaging for it.”
