The BQE - Sufjan Stevens

Just wanted to give everyone who is a Sufjan fan the heads up about his instrumental album The BQE. Maybe some have heard it already or don't care, but it came out last week, and I have been enjoying it all morning.

Not to diminish his eerily beautiful and emotion filled vocals, or his expansive and vivid song writing skills... but the star of the Sufjan show for me is the musicality of his arrangements. You often can't tell if a Sufjan song should be played at a house party or a funeral. But, either place is a perfect fit. The music alone provokes the release of a spectrum of emotions, and often continues build in intensity throughout the entirety of a piece.

Well, The BQE takes his time tested and mother approved skills and expands them across an entire album, with out all those pesky lyrics getting in the way.

An apparent homage to the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway (and maybe Hoola-hoops), the entire album emits a clear vision of movement, busyness, loneliness and excitement. When you hear it, you'll know what I'm talking about.

It's done in a way only Sufjan could, or would do. However, this album takes the man from Detroit to another level of credentials and status that normally wouldn't befall even an indie artist. It puts him on a pedestal that will allow his next tour to be in Symphony Halls and Opera Houses, not smokey and small night clubs. The BQE brings socialites and hipsters alike come together to appreciate and explore the same music.

Apparently there is also a film that accompanies the album, or vice versa, you can check out bits and pieces on Youtube, or get the entire film when you buy the album. Here's a sort of trailer to give you a taste:



Check it out.

Do you like to Travel... by plane... for cheap?

Awesome deal!!! >> Check out this offer Southwest Airlines has going on for the next 48 hours.

$25 for a short flight, $50 for a medium, $75 for a longer flight, and $100 for flights over 1000 mi.

It only counts for travel Dec. 2 - Dec. 16, 2009 and Jan. 5 - Feb. 10, 2010, but you almost can't pass this up.

Denver in skiing season. New York for Christmas shopping. San Fransisco for... San Francisco.

Get online and buy them now before the deal is done.

Jim Barnthouse, of Arch Observer informed me of this.

Get on my horse...

The Diesel, Scott Lichtenauer, sent this to me yesterday, and I'm sure I'm late to this viral gem, but I thought I'd share anyway.

WARNING >> ANIMATED HORSE WINKIE MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR ALL AUDIENCES.



Sweet Lemonade!

Brings me back to the good old days where this graced a majority of out time in our dorm room.



Usually preceded or followed by Curve Ball and a lot of Collegehumor.com

The Fun Theory - Piano Stairs

I work in the advertising industry and one of our biggest segments over past few youtuberific facebooktastic years is social media. So, user or company generated content that will be passed virally around the blogosphere, email and of course social networking sites and micro-aggregators like Twitter. Ideally they are produced at a fraction of the cost of TV and are seen by more people than the series finally of Friends in like 5 minutes.



The problem is noone has perfected it yet. There is a delicate balance in this medium of people not wanting to be marketed to and wanting better and more interesting online content.

Plus there is an argument being made that, aside from a brand touch by seeing a logo, there is no payoff for companies. Are consumers converting from viral video to purchase or at least brand awareness at rates that make it worth it? Or does the normal Youtube user go from a branded video strait to a video of a cat bathing itself in the kitchen sink, and forget everything that came before it?

I say it is worth it. Indubitably. Unequivocally. If nothing else, it shows that a company understands their customers. Where they are, what they are doing. That says a lot in the minds of the general population. Second, a well done video or app will direct individuals to websites where purchasing, more information and further brand impact can ensue. And lastly, it's cheap. It should be anyway. And if something doesn't work, change it, evolve it, take it down, put it back up. We live in a world of immediate gratification, corporations need to get in on the chaos. Let consumers tell you what they want either through views or comments and be open to changing to oblige.

Here's a good example of a video, campaign, idea that is shareable, socially aware and delicately but seamlessly branded.



Volkswagen. like a whisper right there at the end. But the company's long established brand makes sense here. It doesn't feel forced as it would with even another car company like Ford or even BMW.

I don't know if it is tricky editing, but I love the old guy (see photo above, or 1:23 in the video) who is going for the stairs. That guy is awesome, he'll probably play Chopin all the way up.

I think this idea will work, and will be really interesting as it moves forward. And even if it doesn't, 7,000 people in one day are now aware that VW is trying to make the world a little more fun.

See more of the campaign here, in German. I guess the english site is not up yet.



Ogilvy tweeted this today, which is where I saw it.

"You're a mustache away from being one handsome devil..."

FAME a branding agency from Minneapolis chose a "dive bar" theme for an open house they put on. They did an amazing job with both design and copy.

I love when a company lets their creatives go all out for something non-client related. I see no better way of proving how you can propel a client's brand and culture than to dominate your own brand through design and culture.

The average client might be scared to try something new. Out of the box. I once had a client ask me not to use gradients for fear their customers might not be ready for that yet... true story. But if you can do amazing, fun, different, game changing work for yourself and show clients the results, they will feel much more comfortable. In fact, they will probably come asking for it.

Check out this whole integrated campaign:



















I saw this on Behance.net.

ORK City Neighborhood Posters - STL?

I saw these posters and prints on Uncrate today, and thought they were worth a share.



They are from Ork Posters. They're cool. Simple and almost novice typography manipulation, but it really works.

I just wish they had a STL version.

I want St. Louis get back on its game, reintroduce ourselves to the world as a place of popularity with a cool cultural vibe. Personally, I think, and I am one of the biggest critics I know, that STL is an awesome city.

In the last year I have been to Nashville, Chicago, Portland, Rome, Paris, Philly, NYC, Orlando, Kansas City and San Diego. After reflecting on each trip, each city, I look back and say, "That was awesome, but really, honestly, did I do anything different here that I do in St. Louis? Was I more cultured, was the food better, were the women more beautiful, did I have more fun?"

Obviously there were various check marks in the "Yes" category for multiple reasons (The Beach, Gniocci, Subways, Mountains, etc.). But in each place I always felt like, if I got past the touristiness and the shock of seeing things I'm not used to, I would do pretty much the same thing there that I do here. Plus I would miss a lot from STL as well.

Things like relatively cheap housing. Farms. Sold Out Baseball Stadiums where people come early and stay till the game is over. The Hill. Frozen Custard (I know its everywhere, but I have a distinguished palette in this regard). House design and architecture styles (plus basements, storage, brick, backyards, trees, etc). Food. We have great food, again with good quantities, and not so presumptuous an attitude or prices as other cities. What else? Free concerts under the Arch. Seasons. You know, Summer, Winter, Spring and Fall. They smell so nice in St. Louis. Sure they get old, but right when you're pissed off about them they change, and there's that sweet smell that makes you want to lay down wherever you are and stay there the entire day.

Anyway, we just need to communicate to the world what we know and they forgot. That we can compete in the culture war. We can create new things, be thought leaders, make art, win Superbowls and World Series and Stanely Cups, but most importantly, we need to come together as a city and MAKE IT HAPPEN. Maybe we'll get a city neighborhood poster. Or maybe we should be the ones creating posters of our own.

Here are a few more posters from other cities.

1980's Schnucks...

I as prowling Ffffound.com tonight and stumbled on something really familiar. Maybe familiar isn't the right word... nostalgic?

Check out this photo of Schnucks, circa 1980.



I wrote the other day about the pool I swam at growing up. Well, the pool was often preceded or followed by a trip with my mom to get groceries. I see this photo and I can smell the store. The bakery, produce and even the cleaning supplies.

Lots of things interesting about this time in history. First of all the style is awesome. That sort of Star Warsian modernism with the strange but constant addition of American Flags and Ferns. Most know how I love my orange, not the fruit, but the color, and this period was not stingy when it came to the swatch.

Something else to note, for all those who wonder why global warming "snuck up" on us or why BPA and the over abundance of plastics in our society is so predominant, take a look at the options for bagging your groceries as of 1980. Paper or.... Paper?

Anyway, thought it was a cool shot or a piece of my history, and probably yours as well. The next time I walk into Culinaria in Downtown STL (the newest in Schnucks design) I am going got take special notice of anything that carried over. I do think their logo is orange. Good call!

Want to see more 80's vintage stuff (ads, products, photos) check out this Flickr page. That's where the original photo came from as well.