I love Michelle Obama laughing in this picture

Right now I'm doing something that people on the Internet used to do a lot more of, informal reciprocal linking. An example of that would be Bob links to one of Susan's post for good reasons and without any prompting from her, and when Susan finds out that Bob's linked linked to her post, she finds something of Bob's she'd like to link to at her blog. People used to do that automatically back in the day.

And I'm not talking about link farms, web rings, etc. I'm talking about the honest exchange of links without one party pushing the other to do anything. But as more people came online and more marketing schemes came about to formalize reciprocal linking, people began to do it less. Also, I think as more people came online, the web became less about community building and information providing and more about trying to get hits at your blog or website to become famous. JMO.

Checking my stats (the lowest they've ever been because I don't post enough), I saw a lot of hits from Parade Magazine to my article about the music industry and the California band Gooding. It turns out a Parade writer interviewed the band, which is a good thing since Gooding deserves attention.

While poking around at Parade afterward, I discovered this great photo of Michelle Obama. It happens to be in a post by the same writer who linked to my music article.

This picture is from one of the White House Nerd Proms, the one last year. It shows here genuinely laughing at something Jimmy Kimmel's saying. The article at the Parade link, however, covers an amusing exchange between the First Lady and Kimmel in a PSA about her program FNV, (Eat your Fruits and Vegetables) a campaign to brand vegetables the same way junk foods are branded to sound cool to youngsters. The FLOTUS appeared on Kimmel's show last week.

This year's Voice on NBC will drive you to drink

Every year or each season, I post on NBC's The Voice because I think it is the best vocal competition on television (Sorry, American Idol). This year the singers are exceptional and are giving each other one of the best runs for the effort yet. However, I'm just getting around to posting about this season because I've been preoccupied with a few brick and mortar projects.

Seriously, it's harder than ever to decide who to vote for after performances, which is why I've said this season could drive people to drink.

Last night Rob Taylor of Team Christina and Deana Johnson of Team Adam Levine were voted off, so it's down to the the final eight, and here they are:

• Team Christina: Kimberly Nichole and India Carney  (My favorite: Kimberly)
• Team Adam: Joshua Davis (My favorite: Joshua was my favorite on Adam's team already, but I wouldn't peg him to win, but he's talented.)
• Team Blake (Shelton): Megan Linsey, Hannah Kirby, and Corey Kent White (My favorite: Megan)
• Team Pharrell (Williams): Koryn Hawthorne and Sawyer Fredericks (My favorite: Depends on the song)

If it were up to me, the competition would boil down to Kimberly and Megan, but I think Sawyer or Corey have a good chance given the strength of the young girl vote with these shows.

This doesn't mean that I don't enjoy watching performances by all of these performers. I do have two, however, who are the least likely to move me emotionally, and that's Corey and Joshua. I give Joshua the edge. I'm a fan of people like James Taylor and Paul Simon, though, so if he puts out a recorded a memorable song of his own, I may buy it.

Below this paragraph, I've posted some of the performances that I've really enjoyed so far.

Kimberly Nichole killed it as usual on Monday night, but I'm posting her song from the previous week because it's one of my favorite songs, "House of the Rising Sun," partly because it's about New Orleans. Has anyone else noticed how often New Orleans or Louisiana's popped up this season? (The contestant from New Orleans, Tonya Boyd Cannon, went home during the last of the battle rounds, but Rob and Megan also have Louisiana roots.)

For Meghan, I'm posting two videos and another by Little Big Town. First, here's Martin Linsey's performance from last night, a cover of Marc Broussard's "Home."

Here's Megan Linsey's cover of "Girl Crush." While I do like some country music, I had not heard this song before, which was originally recorded by Little Big Town. I enjoyed it not only because of Megan's outstanding performance, but also because of the song's lyrics. They struck me as far above average in depth and complexity.

After the show, I listened to Little Big Town's version, and I preferred Megan's cover, so I bought it. All I can say is that Megan must have grown up listening to a lot of soul/R&B music.

Litte Big Town: "Girl Crush"

Finally, I would remiss if I did not post Koryn Hawthorne's moving, soulful cover of Ed Sheeran's "Make it Rain." She threw her whole existence into that performance and sounded like she was channeling Mahalia Jackson and a few other gospel greats.

And one more thing, Reba McEntire's new song, "Going Out like That," is one for the playlists. She sang it on last night's show. I like it when I first heard it a few weeks back.

Is Justin Guarini supposed to be a Prince figure in this Dr. Pepper commercial? (Video)

Okay, so you may recall Justin Guarini as the runner-up to Kelly Clarkson in the first season of American Idol, and then, unfortunately for him, that horrid movie called, From Kelly to Justin. But did you recognize him in this Dr. Pepper commercial featuring him as "Li'l Sweet"?

I'll tell you who I thought of when I saw it, especially when you throw in the falsetto singing Li'l Sweet uses; I thought of His Royal Purpleness, Prince, and I wondered if this was Dr. Pepper's way to leverage Prince's appeal without having to pay the mega-star. Of course, Prince would never do anything as silly as the Li'l Sweet commercial. Silly, but cute, too, I add.

I'm happy Justin has some work.

What do you think?

Bruno Mars Performs Uptown Funk on The Voice (Video)

If you saw The Voice finale, then you know that Damien came in fourth, Chris Jamison came in third, Matthew McAndrew second, and Craig Wayne Boyd won. Now, on to the performance I enjoyed most: Bruno Mars, of course. Although I definitely enjoyed seeing Jennifer Hudson performing with Damien and Fall Out Boy with Matthew as well.

Bruno Mars and his band cut up with his latest hit "Uptown Funk." He wore gold curlers in his hair taking us back to the days of black men wearing their hair "processed" (conks) and later Gheri curled.

Actually "Uptown Funk" is a Mark Ronson release featuring Mars. So, I guess both of them channel an old school mix of funk and soul into new jams. Obvious influences that I see and hear are James Brown, Michael Jackson and the Jackson 5 (mostly in the dance), KC and the Sunshine Band, Kool and the Gang, Earth, Wind & Fire, etc., basically any older group with a great horn section. The look of the band is also reminiscent of Morris Day and The Time, but The Time also referenced back to Motown groups and James Brown when they performed in the 1980s.

For those of you who have not seen the official video for that neo-soul jam, I'm posting it after The Voice performance video.

Official Uptown Funk musical video.

If you were around in the 60s and 70s loving the soul and funk of that era, you'll fall in love with this song and video. It doesn't make me wish I were "young again." It makes me smile a lot and wish I were out dancing right now at a retro club.

Pharrell's subtle Ferguson message on The Voice Results (Video)

Last night during live results on NBC's The Voice, singer songwriter Pharrell Williams, best known for the hit "Happy" these days, gave a quiet wish for justice in Ferguson, for Mike Brown's family. Performing Louis Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World" with his team, DaNica Shirey and Luke Wade, he changed the last line of his performance from "And I think to myself what a wonderful world" to "And I think we need justice to unfurl."

His team was safe tonight, btw.

You can watch the whole video performance of "What a Wonderful World" on the YouTube video at the end of this post, but I took a Vine of it once I realized what had happened. Within minutes the Vine loop count was up to more than 1000. So, I guess other people noticed the entertainer's quiet activism as well or did not notice it and that's why so many people looped it.



On Monday night, after Ferguson prosecutor McCulloch took forever to tell us why the Ferguson Grand Jury had decided not to indict Officer Darren Wilson for the killing of unarmed teen Mike Brown, Pharrell posted this tweet expressing disappointment in the decision.

I'm heartbroken over the news of no indictment in Ferguson. Let's all pray for peace.
— Pharrell Williams (@Pharrell) November 25, 2014

His #Ferguson tweet has been retweeted more than 10,000 times and received replies of both support and a little anger. Some of the anger was about the tweet itself and some came from people who just don't like Pharrell.

Then tonight, about two hours before The Voice went on the air, he tweeted a post that echoes the thought of his lyric change for "What a Wonderful World." Perhaps that was a hint to fans about what he planned to do.

As we enter into the holiday season, all I wish for is a wonderful world where equality reigns supreme.
— Pharrell Williams (@Pharrell) November 26, 2014

The Voice: America saves Damien, Pharrell saves Sugar

When America didn't save Sugar Joans (Pharrell's team) on NBC's The Voice, I became concerned that people may not vote for soul singers this year, including the talented Louisiana native Damien (Adam's team). But the votes came through for the natural.

As far as Sugar goes, Pharrell saved her, so cool. But despite being a tad surprised that America didn't, I admit I had some concern for her safety.

She slayed Aretha Franklin's version  of "I Say a Little Prayer for You," but it may have been the wrong song for the show's demographic. That and I think wearing that Pharrellesque hat the week before made her look like the Wicked Witch from the Wizard of Oz. People may have shied away from her unusual look.

Also, while Pharrell may be trying to bring back the 1960s in music ("Happy") and fashion (He had on love beads, even, and kept talking with his hands together and bowing his head like any minute he was going to say "Namaste."), the old school song he assigned Sugar plus the flower-child styling made her performance look dated.

One more thing, Pharrell may not have noticed, but the voting crowd seems to like a competitor less when a judge makes over her excessively, which he does with Sugar.



All that said, that girl Sugar can sing. But so can her teammate DaNica Shirey, and it's possible the vote was split between the two soulful singers, giving DaNica a slight edge. She sang Joni Mitchell's "Help Me," and really did it well. Of course, Mitchell's lyrics and music are fantastic, too. I'll always love Burt Bacharach and Aretha, but Joni Mitchell's "Help Me" has transferred better across the years than Aretha's arrangement of "Say a Little Prayer."

Shock of the night, Blake said he'd never heard "Help Me" before. Say whaaahhhht!



Some viewers may have been shocked that Elyjuh Rene went home because he did a wonderful job with Sam Smith's "Latch," however, he may have exhorted the audience to support him one too many times, interrupting an otherwise lovely performance with "Come on!" I find that annoying, and maybe other people do, too. I also think people don't vote against braces.



America also saved Anita Antoinette of Jamaica (Gwen's team), who has a really high lovability factor. She performed Meghan Trainor's "All About That Bass," with the reggae revved up. But the first person saved on Gwen's team was Taylor John Williams. That did not surprise me at all. That boy has star all over him when he's performing, and he put his own spin on "Stuck in the Middle with You," the Stealers Wheel classic.

The Blacklist: Now 'No Sugar in My Coffee' is stuck in my head (Video)

Yes, I did watch the season two premiere of The Blacklist on NBC last night, and naturally, it was only predictable in its hotness, but now I've got "No Sugar in My Coffee" by Caught A Ghost stuck in my head. You may, too: "Don't want no sugar in my coffee. It makes me mean, lawd! It makes me mean."

It's not a bad earworm to have. The song is from the Los Angeles trio's debut album/CD Human Nature.

The group, fronted by songwriter/producer Jesse Nolan, features singer/percussionist Tessa Thompson. Now, that was a surprise for me. I loved her in the BBC's Copper as Sara Freeman but had no idea she could sing.
On drums, Stephen Edelstein.

 Nolan says group's name reflects the idea of "being filled with the spirit of the past." That's appropriate. Something about its sound reminds me of the group War and other 1960s and 70s R&Bish rock bands.

  

The Blacklist was not the first TV show to feature "No Sugar in My Coffee," however. Apparently, The Vampire Diaries, which I do not watch, used the song last year.

I will not be doing a recap of tonight's episode; however, in case you missed this NY Daily News article about the show, James Spader (Red Reddington) says his character's true motives for inserting himself into the life of Agent Elizabeth Keen (Megan Boone) will be revealed this season. I'll believe that when I see it. The show is a notorious tease, and I suspect Spader is as well.

It's Michael Jackson's 56th Birthday: Recall his Pepsi Commercials? And now Janelle Monae (videos)

Today is the incomparable Michael Jackson's birthday. He would have been 56 years old. I must have known this subconsciously because I started writing this post about his 1984 Pepsi Generation commercial before I recalled that today is his birthday. And then I discovered that his brothers performed today at Tom Joyner's Family Reunion show in Orlando, Florida, in Michael's honor because it's his birthday.

Next I noticed that Janelle Monae has done what appears to be a Pepsi-associated video, which is also a street scene in which she surprises street musicians the way MJ "surprised" child dancers in his commercial for the soda giant. Pepsi posted the video to YouTube a few days ago. I've embedded it at the end of this blog post, but I'll have to investigate whether there's an intended connection between MJ's 1984 commercial and her recent video. Soul Bounce says the video is part of Pepsi's #RealBigSummer campaign. It's well-known that Monae counts MJ as one of her influences, and Pepsi owes a lot to Michael because his endorsement helped the company gain on Coca Cola in the cola wars.

The Leftovers' Promotional Song, Retrograde by James Blake (video), and What is The Rapture?

If you're haunted by the song played in HBO's promotion of its new drama The Leftovers, I'm not surprised. James Blake's Grammy-nominated song, "Retrograde," has that eerie, otherworldly, and soulful wail that may appeal to those with mystical leanings. And the video for the song seems as apocalyptic as the premise of The Leftovers itself. The story focuses on a small town years after the world experiences a "rapture-like" event.

Rapture-like means that the event in the television show will not be quite same event as the Christian belief it alludes to, "The Rapture." The Rapture is a prophecy in the New Testament of the Bible that some sects of Christianity embrace (usually sects who believe in a literal interpretation of scripture). But even among literalists or fundamentalist Christians, the Rapture doctrine remains controversial.

If you've ever watched movies about the Christian apocalypse featuring Armageddon and the Antichrist, then you may have already heard of The Rapture. Also, if you're old enough to recall the popular Left Behind book and movies series of the mid 1990s, then you may already be familiar with the concept or belief. But if you've never been to a church that teaches this prophecy,

The Voice Crowns Josh Kaufman as Season 6 Winner

From the beginning, from the blind auditions on NBC's The Voice, I've preferred Josh Kaufman, but, as I said in an earlier post, I honestly thought the younger demographic of The Voice would select Christina Grimme. The voters proved me wrong, however. They chose Josh, and that was fine by me. When Carson Daily announced Josh as the winner, I applauded in my living room.

Josh's coach was Usher, so this win breaks Blake Shelton and Adam Levine's streak of alternating championships. The most charming element of Josh's story on the show is that Adam cut him during the Battle Rounds, so Usher stole him. He should have been with Usher all along, in my opinion, because Josh Kaufman is a soul singer.

While he deserved to win, it's possible a technical problem at iTunes helped Josh. Due to a glitch with the online music store, his rendition of Adele's "Set Fire to the Rain" was not available for purchase, so to be fair, the show's producers tossed out all of the contestant's iTunes sales for the finale. Those weighted votes were not counted.

Below these last paragraphs, I've posted video of Josh's performance of Adele's song in the finale. And below that video I've posted his performance of Stevie Wonder's "Signed, Sealed, Delivered" and his duet with Robin Thicke singing "Get Her Back," from tonight's show. That duet was much better than his duet with his coach, Usher, last night of "Every Breath You Take."

As for Grimme, who came in third, and Jake Worthington, who came in second, they're also set career wise for now. Adam said that he will sign Grimme to his label, and Blake will probably open doors for Worthington as he has for some of his other contestants.


Josh Kaufman sings "Signed, Sealed, Delivered"


Josh Kaufman sings duet with Robin Thicke, "Get Her Back."

Usher and Adam Levine Cover D'Angelo's "How Does it Feel" aka "Untitled," also Grimme vs. Jena Irene--- What? (Video)

Yes, last night on NBC's The Voice, the three finalists performed (Christina Grimme, Josh Kaufman, and Jake Worthington) quite well, but seriously, two of the show's judges stole the night. Usher and Adam Levine covered D'Angelo's "Untitled (How Does It Feel)," and um, what can I say but, "Damn! That was sexy." The women in the audience went out of their minds, screaming. I'm surprised panties didn't rain down on the stage.

Also, Christina Grimme performed Elvis's "I Can't Help Falling In Love With You." Did that have anything to do with Jena Irene's rendition of the song on American Idol?


Here is the D'Angelo (born Michael Eugene Archer) version, which is rated "mature audiences."



As for the contestants, it's anybody's game, but I have a feeling it will be "YouTube sensation" Christina Grimme (Adam-coached). The girl can sing her little behind off, but I'm more likely to buy a song by Josh Kaufman (Usher-coached) because I prefer his tone. The country kid this season is Jake Worthington (Blake-coached), and he has as much chance of winning as the

The devil's coming round now honey: So, you want to write music for films? Start here.

Today I learned about writing for music libraries, which is considered a viable way of making a living. And it's all due to a promotional commercial for the TV show CSI.

The song with the lyrics "The devil's comin' round now honey, you better lock your front door," appeals to me. I've only heard it in the CSI commercial. What liking this song says about me, however, I don't know. It's dark, bluesy, and thrusting.

There's case, there's no way to embed the song that I can see, but

Christina Grimmie wins the night with a Drake song on The Voice, but what was up with Adam's phone number?

For the first time this season, I saw something unique in Christina Grimmie on NBC's The Voice. I never doubted whether this little girl could sing, but last night when she performed her take on Drake's "Hold On, We're Going Home," I saw star power. She transformed it into an acoustic performance on piano.

As usual, I enjoyed Josh Kaufman; however, his rendition of Kenny Loggins's "This Is It," didn't move me the way some of his other performances have.


Sisaundra Lewis sang Steve Perry's "Oh Sherrie", and naturally blew out the system, but catch her bow at the end. She bows like an opera diva or trapeze artist. It bothers me to no end. Nonetheless, the sister looks like a goddess.


Every one else performed well. Despite that, however, someone must go home. I like Delvin Choice's voice. It's powerful, and he reminds me of Jeffrey Osbourne of LTD who had success as a solo artist as well, but due to the style of music he prefers, I wonder whether he'll make it to the finals. There's nothing wrong with songs like "Bright Lights," but I don't think the larger number of voters who vote for contestants on The Voice, will vote for that style over some of the other styles that tended to be performed. Also, he doesn't seem to connect the way Josh Kaufman, for instance, does.

As far as Delvin's performance last night goes, that ending Adam had him do on Gary Clark's "Bright Lights Big City" came off as odd, no matter what Adam says. It seemed more like a mistake than the exciting flourish intended. Even Carson wasn't sure what was going on. If he'd been on stage for his big pause, it would not have seemed so odd, and I really didn't like Delvin asking the crowd, "Do you know my name?" Hokey.



Finally, what was up with Blake tweeting Adam's phone number on Twitter? I think Adam was actually pissed off and not pretending. I know that I would have been angry if it had been me. Even with a staff, I'm sure changing a cell phone number is a pain in the rear. So, was Blake drunk or what?

Josh Kaufman sings 'Stay with Me' and More on The Voice

Of course, I must download this rendition of Sam Smith's "Stay with Me" that Josh Kaufman performed on The Voice last week. This season has so much talent. My favorites include Josh (Team Usher), Delvin Choice and Kat Perkins (Team Adam), and Sisaundra Lewis and Jake Worthington (Team Blake), but I wish Sisaundra, who could sing a new world if she wanted to, would stop it with the theatrical gestures, physical flourishes. They make her seem more like a drag queen performing a female diva rather than a real person. It's possible that those are her natural movements, but for me they're distracting. I've posted video of her "New York State of Mind" performance below.

Devious Maid's Promo with Jason Derulo's Talk Dirty to Me

Here's the Lifetime Channel latest promotional commercial for Devious Maids. It features Jason Derulo's song "Talk Dirty to Me" featuring 2 Chains. I've posted the video for the single below the commercial, and as you might expect, the language in it carries a parental warning. The beat and horns hook the song.



The official video for the song.


I post it for people who, like me, rarely listen to popular and hip hop music stations these days.

Brittnee Camelle vs. Melissa Jimenez: "Give It to Me Right" from NBC's The Voice

I'm a fan of NBC's The Voice; everybody who visits this blog probably knows that by now. And currently, the show's in the battle rounds stage. Tonight's best battle was Brittnee Camelle vs. Melissa Jimenez performing "Give It to Me Right," Melanie Fiona's song. (Fiona is a Canadian soul singer/songwriter.) The performance was hot as in sexy, and both young women, coached by Usher and the phenomenal Jill Scott, did well. So, well that I'll even excuse Usher for his use of the term "cat fight" when he talked about the battle.

But the best note came from Jill Scott to Brittnee. She told the young singer that as she listened to her with her eyes closed, she heard a story, but when she looked at her perform, all she was attitude, which was a distraction. Brittnee had a lot of chicken neck action going on before Jill gave her that tip. Jill and Usher agreed that vulnerability is a good thing.


So, who do you think won? Usher chose Melissa and Adam stole Brittnee, so both singers move on in the show.

As usual, I show my age when I write about this show. I had not heard "Give It To Me Right' before, so when the song started it threw me. All I heard was "Time of the Season" by the Zombies. That 1968 song was played often on the radio when I was a little girl and even a teen in the 70s. Fiona's song "samples it heavily," as Wikipedia says.

I've posted "Time of the Season" by the Zombies below this paragraph, and below it I've added Melanie Fiona's video for "Give it To Me Right."



Melanie Fiona's version



Thus ends my music lesson for the night.

Mali Music Performs Beautiful on American Idol (video)

Okay, this was the thing for me Thursday night on American Idol. This right here! Mali Music performing Beautiful. Props to J.Lo for getting him on. I first became aware of him when he performed on the BET Awards in 2011. I've posted the official video for "Beautiful" below as well. I love it, but the bass and drum line's similar, if not the same, to one used in songs by old school R&B artists such as in Frankie Beverly and Maze's "Before I Let You Go."

Vampire Diaries' Ian Somerhalder shares spotlight with pups in Mystic Krewe of Mardi Paws Parade (Video)

For all you young women and girls in love with Ian Somerhalder, I'll agree with you that the young actor is hot, but my feelings for him are more that of the older woman smiling at you screaming over him. In the video above you'll see a Times Picayune interview with the Vampire Diaries star. He was the king of the Mystic Krewe of Mardi Paws parade in Mandeville yesterday, March 9, five days after Mardi Gras. The parade features dogs in costume, and despite Somerhalder's hotness, the dogs stole the show.

I'm aware of this actor, even though I've only seen the Vampire Diaries once. I remember him in Lost, and I track him sometimes in my peripheral vision because he's from Convington, Louisiana, across the Lake Pontchartrain from New Orleans. Mainly, I notice him in the news because my dog receives medical care through the Humane Society in Covington, which is next to Mandeville. Somerhalder supports the shelter, so sometimes there's a banner with his name on a wall in appreciation or maybe pictures of him at an event. (Yes, I drive all the way to Covington for pet care, long story.)

I've been so out of the loop of local events lately that I didn't even pay attention to which celebrities were in parades this Mardi Gras. (My daughter filmed parts of Bacchus for me, including King Hugh Laurie.) I didn't expect to see Somerhalder on a float at the Endymion parade when I went last Saturday, March 1, the weekend before Mardi Gras. Of course, when I go to parades, I'm more interested in the bands anyway.

Somerhalder was Endymion's Grand Marshall. Even though I videoed him, I didn't recognize him. All I saw was a float with musicians on it that had the Vampire Diaries sign on the side. Later when I looked at the video, I saw the star.

He wasn't sitting in his GM seat, and that's why I missed him when the float went by. One of the musicians was in the seat instead, leaning over the side while Somerhalder was standing closer to the crowds, giving one of the musicians a hug. He didn't turn around until the float had moved past me.

My video was not even worth uploading to YouTube. I only uploaded it to illustrate how fast his float went by. But there's better video on YouTube of Somerhalder at Endymion, such as this one here. But f you want to see the heartthrob speeding by my lens, here it is. Just remember that I've warned you, there's not much to see.

Prince appears: If I'm not watching New Girl on Fox after the Super Bowl, then I must be in a coma (video)

Nick And Jess Meet Prince! from "Prince" | NEW GIRL | FOX

Okay, it's like this. I am a Purple Hippie, a lover of all things Prince Rogers Nelson. People who really know me know this. Consequently, if I am not at the Prince concert in New Orleans during the coming summer's Essence Festival here in New Orleans, then I'm probably dead. Likewise, if I don't watch New Girl on Fox after the Super Bowl this Sunday, I must be comatose. And I have never watched New Girl. However, his Royal Purpleness, the one and only Prince, will be a guest on the show after the game, so you know where I'll be.

When I first saw the New Girl promo for episode "Prince," I didn't believe it was real because Prince did not appear in the promo. It was just Jess (Zoeoy Deschanel) and her friend CeCe (Hannah Simone) screaming like maniacs. But then I saw the promo with Prince, and I started screaming like a maniac. Seriously, he is only celebrity that can make me flip out and lose my mind like a 14-year-old. The show's writers must know a host of people act this crazy when it comes the megastar because the first clip in this post shows Nick (Jake Johnson) and Jess losing their minds in his presence and Prince anticipating it. Hilarious.

Here are two more promos. Very funny.

Prince Preps Jess from "Prince" | NEW GIRL | FOX BROADCAST

 

I'm surprised Fox has uploaded so many Prince promo videos on Youtube, but I'm glad the network did, and it's probably smart.

Prince Tells Jess Why She Can't Tell Nick She Loves Him from "Prince" | NEW GIRL | FOX BROADCASTING

Apple's New Poetry-Pumped iPad Air Ad: "You May Contribute A Verse" - "Your Verse Anthem" (Video)

Apple's New iPad Air commercial, "Your Verse Anthem," makes much of poetry, quoting the great Walt Whitman's "O Me! O Life!" As Fast Company notes, the speech that opens the commercial and continues with Whitman's poem comes from the 1990 movie Dead Poet's Society. The character John Keating (played by Robin Williams) says the following:

We don’t read and write poetry because it’s cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. And medicine, law, business, engineering--these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love--these are what we stay alive for. To quote from Whitman:

Oh me! Oh life! of the questions of these recurring, / Of the endless trains of the faithless, of cities fill’d with the foolish, / Of myself forever reproaching myself, (for who more foolish than I, and who more faithless?) / Of eyes that vainly crave the light, of the objects mean, of the struggle ever renew’d, / Of the poor results of all, of the plodding and sordid crowds I see around me, / Of the empty and useless years of the rest, with the rest me intertwined, / The question, O me! so sad, recurring—What good amid these, O me, O life? // Answer. / That you are here—that life exists and identity, / That the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse.

This beautifully done, 90-second commercial makes me curious about the person at Apple's ad agency who developed it. Is that person a poet? Poets have sometimes ventured into the ad business. Jane Friedman, for instance, mentions in the Whidbey MFA Panel podcast (audio) at Author MBA that poet Todd Boss of MotionPoems.com wrote ad copy for a while.

One thing I'm sure of is that Apple did not broadcast this ad to suck up to poets. Poets are a very small demographic and the genre itself is not as highly esteemed in popular culture as it once was.

Forbes Magazine also discusses the "Your Verse Antehm" commercial and its use of the movie. In addition, it points out that in ten days the Macintosh computer will be thirty years old. The writer connects the iPad Air ad to the iconic 1984 ad that introduced the Macintosh. You know, it's the one with the Big Brother figure on a screen speaking to the gray masses. The commercial ends with "And you'll see why 1984 will not be like 1984." The writer asserts that Apple's strategy is to remind consumers that when you purchase an Apple product you're not merely purchasing machinery; "you're buying an experience."

Lagniappe: I've posted video of the William's delivery of the speech in the Dead Poet's Society below.