Posts
This blog will cease to exist in the coming weeks - or at least will just sit idly by while the sands of Internet time wisp it away.
May 8, 2009
A quick update
With the North Dakota Legislature finally adjourned, I will now get back to updating my blog. However, I am moving to a new Web site on WordPress.
February 9, 2009
Jaydiohead
*Update: Looks like some of the Youtube videos of Jaydiohead have been taken down because of copyright violations. More to come later...(2/25)
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After all the writing I do about politics, I sometimes forget how much I actually love to write about music/pop culture. (Seriously, the daily drum beat of tax figures and political rhetoric can drive a man insane). Anyway, a friend of mine introduced me today to the newest in a long list of DJs ripping off Jay-z's Black Album and mashing it up with another notable album. Everyone, meet DJ Minty Fresh Beats. Simply put, dude has done us all a favor by combining Jay-z's requiem album with some of Radiohead's greatest songs (Optimistic, Paranoid Android, etc...)
The Spawn: Jaydiohead.
Check out the following for your pleasure:
Sick, huh? I've written about the changing nature of music and how independent agents out there can make long-lasting sonic impressions, usually to the chagrin of the original artists. But what's usually surprising, especially when these mash-ups work - evident with Jaydieohead and DJ Danger Mouse's The Grey Album - is that it makes the original creative piece that much better. Here's to EMI having a sense of humor...
So this is from a paper I wrote for an American Music and Literature class I took a couple years ago while at the University of Nevada. Figured it was slightly relevant:
Some call it the most important technological revolution to occur in decades. It is fundamentally changing American culture – from the way Americans read the news to the way they listen to music.
They are calling it Web 2.0, a word associated with phrases such as “blogging,” “user-generated content,” and the “democratization of the media.” And this so-called revolution is having a profound effect on a multi-billion dollar music industry that has enjoyed continuous success throughout most of the 20th century, that is, until a college freshman by the name of Shawn Fanning decided to make a pesky file-sharing program called Napster in 1999. The rest is history.
They are calling it Web 2.0, a word associated with phrases such as “blogging,” “user-generated content,” and the “democratization of the media.” And this so-called revolution is having a profound effect on a multi-billion dollar music industry that has enjoyed continuous success throughout most of the 20th century, that is, until a college freshman by the name of Shawn Fanning decided to make a pesky file-sharing program called Napster in 1999. The rest is history.
This digital revolution (another one of those phrases) is also taking place just as one of the world’s youngest musical genes, hip-hop, is picking up momentum and coming into its own rite around the globe. It’s a brave new world out there. The music industry is fiercely trying to figure out how to maintain profits in light of the mass exodus from the record store to the digital store – amid an ocean of digital pirates who steal and swap songs in the Internet’s underbelly. And as music becomes easier to share, through Internet mediums like online radio, YouTube, and podcasting, artists are sprouting up all over the world –such as overnight success and underground hip-hop producer DJ Danger Mouse – all becoming new-media Horatio Algers. Bands are figuring out new ways of marketing themselves, like rock outfit OK Go’s self-produced YouTube music videos, by avoiding the muscular (and expensive) marketing power of the major record labels.
The next big thing for music isn’t white rappers or multi-million dollar pop-princess machines. No. The next big thing is the way Americans – and the rest of humanity – will produce, obtain and listen to music for years to come, all of which will fundamentally change the type of music everybody listens to.
Other examples of Jay-Z's "99 Problems" and "Dirt Off Your Shoulder" getting creative makeovers:
January 2, 2009
Hometown blues...
A column idea that never really became a column:
The Associated Press ran a story about Las Vegas’ slumping economy on Friday. It was another example of the troubles my hometown is going through during these turbulent economic times.
Record unemployment. One of the nation’s highest foreclosure rates. And the realization that an economic downturn is materializing as fast as the hordes of multi-billion dollar projects that essentially sprouted from the sun-drenched sand.
"This recession destroys the illusion of prosperity," Nevada historian Michael Green told the Associated Press. "And I believe some of our prosperity was an illusion."
It’s hard not to blame the city itself for what ultimately happened to it. Greed and ignorance was abound for the last decade.
There’s no better example of Las Vegas’ explosive and insatiable appetite for the bigger and the glitzier than Boyd Gaming’s Echelon project, a nearly $5 billion, 5,000-room complex that sits on the land where the now-demolished, and more modest, Stardust casino stood for decades.
The only problem is the company, in the throes of the credit crunch, stopped construction on the project last summer only 12-stories into it. It’s now a shell of a building that stands in the shadows of other resorts that are seeing declines in tourists and revenue.
The hints of an economic collapse became more apparent over the course of 2008. A favorite restaurant suddenly shuttered. A strip mall down the street, completed but without a single business setting up shop. Unkempt lawns on the lots of foreclosed homes in the neighborhood.
In many ways Las Vegas seemed to encapsulate what this country became over the last two decades: obsessed with the decedent and blind to the consequences.
McMansions growing like weeds on the outskirts of town. Hummers on every corner. And materialism treated as a virtual religion.
Which is why coming here to North Dakota continues to show me that not everything in this country went awry in the last 10 years. Sure it’s not as glamorous, but at least the people here had the good sense to buy things they could actually afford.
Hopefully that virtue finds its way back into the collective conscious of this nation.
The Associated Press ran a story about Las Vegas’ slumping economy on Friday. It was another example of the troubles my hometown is going through during these turbulent economic times.
Record unemployment. One of the nation’s highest foreclosure rates. And the realization that an economic downturn is materializing as fast as the hordes of multi-billion dollar projects that essentially sprouted from the sun-drenched sand.
"This recession destroys the illusion of prosperity," Nevada historian Michael Green told the Associated Press. "And I believe some of our prosperity was an illusion."
It’s hard not to blame the city itself for what ultimately happened to it. Greed and ignorance was abound for the last decade.
There’s no better example of Las Vegas’ explosive and insatiable appetite for the bigger and the glitzier than Boyd Gaming’s Echelon project, a nearly $5 billion, 5,000-room complex that sits on the land where the now-demolished, and more modest, Stardust casino stood for decades.
The only problem is the company, in the throes of the credit crunch, stopped construction on the project last summer only 12-stories into it. It’s now a shell of a building that stands in the shadows of other resorts that are seeing declines in tourists and revenue.
The hints of an economic collapse became more apparent over the course of 2008. A favorite restaurant suddenly shuttered. A strip mall down the street, completed but without a single business setting up shop. Unkempt lawns on the lots of foreclosed homes in the neighborhood.
In many ways Las Vegas seemed to encapsulate what this country became over the last two decades: obsessed with the decedent and blind to the consequences.
McMansions growing like weeds on the outskirts of town. Hummers on every corner. And materialism treated as a virtual religion.
Which is why coming here to North Dakota continues to show me that not everything in this country went awry in the last 10 years. Sure it’s not as glamorous, but at least the people here had the good sense to buy things they could actually afford.
Hopefully that virtue finds its way back into the collective conscious of this nation.
December 8, 2008
What I write when I have writers block...
So this next post is essentially something I wrote while at work and suffering from writers block. It happens sometimes, and the best way to fight it is to just start writing something. Anything. Eventually something comes out that makes sense. I wrote this while at my desk in the bowels of the North Dakota state capitol:
If this job has taught me anything, it's that life does not revolve around work. A career is a singular point in a man's life, but it does not envelope all of it. Personal growth, exploration, relationships and happiness are key – and by far more important – than anything a career choice, or even an opportunity, might provide. Still, a career can provide happiness with the knowledge that something good is coming out of that work.
But am I doing everything I can to make this a worthwhile experience? Am I looking at every angle or taking advantage of every opportunity? Is this really what I want to do with my life?
What I do know is that I do not want to turn out like my colleagues in the state capitol. One has been here since 1985 and has occupied the same windowless office ever since. The other has worked here since 1998, before that she worked for the Bismarck Tribune as a courts reporter. I am (kinda) positive that they love what they do. I think. Either way, they are interesting people, but I do not want to strive for that in my life.
Which brings me to: what do I do next? I'm not sure right now. Law school keeps popping up into my head and I'm actually considering going back to school to get a masters degree in business or economics. Or I could go teach. Write for another newspaper. Or not. I just don't know.
What I do know is that I'm North Dakota, which is about 1,400 miles away from everything I love. At least the airport has non-stop flights to Vegas. Regardless, getting out of this state is proving to be a more difficult task than previously thought. Of the many young transplants I've met so far, all of them say leaving North Dakota becomes harder with time. I'm not sure if they're content here, but from what I hear suggests they're here for the long haul. But I'm not concerned, considering I'm a goal-oriented person who is pretty good about keeping to schedules, which means I have about 9-or-so months left here.
What can happen in nine months? A child can gestate. Another can accomplish a year's worth of schooling. And Brian can maybe finally figure out what he's going to do with his life.
Whatever. I've got a deadline to meet.
If this job has taught me anything, it's that life does not revolve around work. A career is a singular point in a man's life, but it does not envelope all of it. Personal growth, exploration, relationships and happiness are key – and by far more important – than anything a career choice, or even an opportunity, might provide. Still, a career can provide happiness with the knowledge that something good is coming out of that work.
But am I doing everything I can to make this a worthwhile experience? Am I looking at every angle or taking advantage of every opportunity? Is this really what I want to do with my life?
What I do know is that I do not want to turn out like my colleagues in the state capitol. One has been here since 1985 and has occupied the same windowless office ever since. The other has worked here since 1998, before that she worked for the Bismarck Tribune as a courts reporter. I am (kinda) positive that they love what they do. I think. Either way, they are interesting people, but I do not want to strive for that in my life.
Which brings me to: what do I do next? I'm not sure right now. Law school keeps popping up into my head and I'm actually considering going back to school to get a masters degree in business or economics. Or I could go teach. Write for another newspaper. Or not. I just don't know.
What I do know is that I'm North Dakota, which is about 1,400 miles away from everything I love. At least the airport has non-stop flights to Vegas. Regardless, getting out of this state is proving to be a more difficult task than previously thought. Of the many young transplants I've met so far, all of them say leaving North Dakota becomes harder with time. I'm not sure if they're content here, but from what I hear suggests they're here for the long haul. But I'm not concerned, considering I'm a goal-oriented person who is pretty good about keeping to schedules, which means I have about 9-or-so months left here.
What can happen in nine months? A child can gestate. Another can accomplish a year's worth of schooling. And Brian can maybe finally figure out what he's going to do with his life.
Whatever. I've got a deadline to meet.
December 6, 2008
November 18, 2008
Journalism rant #1
I'll keep this simple. For now on, I'm going to talk about journalism on this blog because:
a) It's my career
b) I'm concerned about it's future
c) I'd like to stay in it
d) (The most depressing one) Journalism is dying because either those running it don't want to change or those in a position to change are too afraid/clueless/careless/lazy/? to. And when I say journalism I really mean newspapers because, let's be honest, they best represent American journalism.
Or at least used to.
So I'm just going to come out and say it: Kill the print product. Just kill it. The hell with it. What's the point anymore, unless you work in a smaller market (like I do) and can afford the astronomical cost of putting out a daily tangible product, spending the money on gas to deliver it and then starting all over again for the next day. People, people, the era of the daily miracle is dead. Welcome to the era of the facebook update. The Twitter. The podcast. The vlog. The nonprofit, Web-only publication that can cover your city as better as your newspaper and at a fraction of the cost (not to mention a better wage for those who are dedicated enough. NYT.) So let's start small: just get rid of the print product and throw any bullshit nostaligia you have for those "good ole' days" out the window. I'm tired of you trying to sell that. So Obama won the election and people went out and bought the print product? Funny, where were those people the other 700-some-odd days during the campaign? I know, not buying newspapers and likely reading the product online or not at all. An Obama election (under the best circumstance) happens almost never. I'm not going to do the math, but that doesn't present itself as a sustainable business model.
"Well, just hold on there son, you seem too young to be so cynical about your beloved industry," you might say.
Perhaps, but I know a thing or two about cynicism. I also grew up in Las Vegas, which is the equivalent of living a lie every time you drive more than a mile away from your house. Did you know that Nevada ranks among the lowest graduation rates in the country but conversely has the highest share of drugs/strippers/failed dreams/foreclosures per capita in the nation? I'm sure you didn't, because you likely treat my hometown like a trashy playground. (Not like I blame you, though).
Anyway, here's a little background about my journalism career (sans my wonderfully ingnorant stint in college journalism).
Ever since I started in the professional journalism world I've been surrounded by shitty news. Any 20-something in this business is in the same position. Idealistic, dedicated and worried over journalism and their future in it. My first internship was at Scripps Howard in Washington, D.C., in the Fall 2006. While the experience was unforgettable and priceless in its teachings, it also was an eye opener. The interns got to sit through teeth-gritting business meetings on a near weekly basis, which addressed the dire future the industry was facing. People actually left those meetings openly fretting over their jobs. I'm remember someone at one of those meetings hoping for a plane crash to happen outside the newsroom so that we could break the news and drive readership, and thus, profits.
Sick, huh? Welcome to journalism.
Next internship was with Stephens Media in Washington. More positive considering there were four of us (three full-time reporters and the intern). The only indication of the bad times in journalism was the fact that the intern actually replaced a former full-time reporter's duties (kinda) and that emptied reporter's desk would never be filled. (Background, that reporter left for the AP to cover the California state house for the Associated Press, which is no longer hiring).
Then came the Pulliam Fellowship in the Summer 2008. It was a great experience, like my other internships in Washington, but came at a time even more dire for the newspaper industry. We heard from experts at weekly lunch meetings about how the industry was crashing and burning. What we took away from it all: the biz is fucked. The higher ups promptly informed us that prospects for a post-summer gig were nil, but five of us were (thankfully!) hired in suburban bureaus. Which brings me to today. I live in Bismarck, North Dakota. I cover the state Legislature, and it's a great gig/opportunity. But I never stop thinking about where this industry is going.
So what do we do next? Ditch the print. Embrace the Web. And throw the old rules out the window. Oh yeah, have fun with the product again! That happened at some point in this business, right? Read about different journalism models. Experiment! Silence the curmudgeons and ditch the passionless.
People, this business isn't dead. From the way I see it, it's just getting started.
Beer-induced rant over. Send your thoughts this way if you want, I'll be sure to forward them on to those who'd be interested.
Cheers and chins up!
a) It's my career
b) I'm concerned about it's future
c) I'd like to stay in it
d) (The most depressing one) Journalism is dying because either those running it don't want to change or those in a position to change are too afraid/clueless/careless/lazy/? to. And when I say journalism I really mean newspapers because, let's be honest, they best represent American journalism.
Or at least used to.
So I'm just going to come out and say it: Kill the print product. Just kill it. The hell with it. What's the point anymore, unless you work in a smaller market (like I do) and can afford the astronomical cost of putting out a daily tangible product, spending the money on gas to deliver it and then starting all over again for the next day. People, people, the era of the daily miracle is dead. Welcome to the era of the facebook update. The Twitter. The podcast. The vlog. The nonprofit, Web-only publication that can cover your city as better as your newspaper and at a fraction of the cost (not to mention a better wage for those who are dedicated enough. NYT.) So let's start small: just get rid of the print product and throw any bullshit nostaligia you have for those "good ole' days" out the window. I'm tired of you trying to sell that. So Obama won the election and people went out and bought the print product? Funny, where were those people the other 700-some-odd days during the campaign? I know, not buying newspapers and likely reading the product online or not at all. An Obama election (under the best circumstance) happens almost never. I'm not going to do the math, but that doesn't present itself as a sustainable business model.
"Well, just hold on there son, you seem too young to be so cynical about your beloved industry," you might say.
Perhaps, but I know a thing or two about cynicism. I also grew up in Las Vegas, which is the equivalent of living a lie every time you drive more than a mile away from your house. Did you know that Nevada ranks among the lowest graduation rates in the country but conversely has the highest share of drugs/strippers/failed dreams/foreclosures per capita in the nation? I'm sure you didn't, because you likely treat my hometown like a trashy playground. (Not like I blame you, though).
Anyway, here's a little background about my journalism career (sans my wonderfully ingnorant stint in college journalism).
Ever since I started in the professional journalism world I've been surrounded by shitty news. Any 20-something in this business is in the same position. Idealistic, dedicated and worried over journalism and their future in it. My first internship was at Scripps Howard in Washington, D.C., in the Fall 2006. While the experience was unforgettable and priceless in its teachings, it also was an eye opener. The interns got to sit through teeth-gritting business meetings on a near weekly basis, which addressed the dire future the industry was facing. People actually left those meetings openly fretting over their jobs. I'm remember someone at one of those meetings hoping for a plane crash to happen outside the newsroom so that we could break the news and drive readership, and thus, profits.
Sick, huh? Welcome to journalism.
Next internship was with Stephens Media in Washington. More positive considering there were four of us (three full-time reporters and the intern). The only indication of the bad times in journalism was the fact that the intern actually replaced a former full-time reporter's duties (kinda) and that emptied reporter's desk would never be filled. (Background, that reporter left for the AP to cover the California state house for the Associated Press, which is no longer hiring).
Then came the Pulliam Fellowship in the Summer 2008. It was a great experience, like my other internships in Washington, but came at a time even more dire for the newspaper industry. We heard from experts at weekly lunch meetings about how the industry was crashing and burning. What we took away from it all: the biz is fucked. The higher ups promptly informed us that prospects for a post-summer gig were nil, but five of us were (thankfully!) hired in suburban bureaus. Which brings me to today. I live in Bismarck, North Dakota. I cover the state Legislature, and it's a great gig/opportunity. But I never stop thinking about where this industry is going.
So what do we do next? Ditch the print. Embrace the Web. And throw the old rules out the window. Oh yeah, have fun with the product again! That happened at some point in this business, right? Read about different journalism models. Experiment! Silence the curmudgeons and ditch the passionless.
People, this business isn't dead. From the way I see it, it's just getting started.
Beer-induced rant over. Send your thoughts this way if you want, I'll be sure to forward them on to those who'd be interested.
Cheers and chins up!
September 13, 2008
I have my own blog for the Bismarck Tribune
So my newspaper here in Bismarck decided it would be a good idea to give me my own political blog. You can check it out here.
Tonight I'll be watching the season premier of Saturday Night Live. Tina Fey is apparently going to portray Sarah Palin. That's a sexy, reading glasses-bearing librarian fantasy overload just waiting to happen.
September 8, 2008
The NoDak: Of Prairies and Hooters.
So I'm sitting here in my new pad just down the street from the North Dakota state capitol wearing a beanie (it's not cold, it's just stylish). Right now, you might be asking yourself: "Brian, for the love of God, why in holy hell did you move to Bismarck 'it doesn't get warmer than 10 degrees in the winter' North Dakota?"
Well, I have a good answer for that, obligatory narrative device voice.
I'm not batshit crazy (like a fox!), despite what my lovely girlfriend/family/or fellow West Coasters might say. I have a job that is paying a livable wage covering politics in the Peace Garden (?) State. So that means, for now, I'm an honorary North Dakotan, which is actually legally possible in less than 60 days because NoDak is the only state in the union without a voters registration. Yeah, that blew my mind, too.
As a matter of fact, North Dakota isn't half bad. The people are nice and the stereotypes really aren't true (except the accent, which makes me secretly chuckle every time I hear it).
I mean, for the most part, the things I've grown to loath about living in Southwestern urban sprawl for most of life are here, too. Wal-Marts, Lowes, Best Buys, Malls, Applebees, Targets, adult bookstore emporiums (it's in Mandan). Yup, Bismarck is just like home.
But something peculiar caught my eye upon my arrival to this fair town a week ago. Of all the restaurant chains in all the world, Bismarck, population 60,000ish, has a Hooters. Now this is amazing for three reasons:
A). Reno doesn't even have a Hooters. Why does a city with about an eighth the people of Reno/Sparks and a fraction of the hookers/strippers per capita have a Hooters?
B). The last time this state voted a Democrat into the White House was in 1964. (That'd be Lyndon Johnson, brainiacs). This is heartland, USA. I know because they still don't sell booze in grocery stores. They even close the local liquor store on Sundays.
C). There are 10, count em' 10, Christian-themed radio stations here. Why any population would need more than two Christian radio stations (gospel and rock) is beyond me.
ANYWAY, things are going well for me up in the NoDak. My office is in the state capitol and I'm digging my newspaper, The Bismarck Tribune.
I'm still trying to get used to the Prairie - it's flatter than Kira Knightly out here. For now, it's back to enjoying HBO.
Currently reading: Fargo Rock City by Chuck Klosterman (Call it research).
July 14, 2008
The Real World
I started to apply for jobs today. It's a little surreal, but nonetheless, it's a necessity.
I've been here in Phoenix writing for the Arizona Republic for five weeks now. It's been a wonderful experience, complete with plenty of new friends. But like all good things, it'll come to an end in August (unless Gannett has enough money to offer us jobs at the end of this fellowship)
So for now, my future is uncertain. I could be anywhere six weeks from now. I could be back at my parents (although I love folks, I'm trying to avoid this option. I'm sure they feel the same way), I could be still holding down a job here in Phoenix (I'm hoping for this one) or I could be writing for an alternative weekly newspaper in northern Washington living off butter and noodles.
I don't know, and nobody else does either,
But there's something beautiful about this uncertainty in my life.
Why, you say, would I be happy about an uncertain future with no consistent paycheck?
Easy. This is the freest I'll ever be for the rest of my life. When I'm 50, married with children and fretting over my career, I will look back on this time in my life and smile: hot damn, I could have been anything back then.
Good thing is, I'm currently in that position.
I currently have no legal obligations. I have no children. I have no more school, unless I decide I want more of it. I have the benefit of being young - it's a power many of us in our early 20s tend to overlook, I think.
I can do anything right now. If I decided tomorrow that a career in journalism wasn't worth torturing myself over (and believe me, it's looking like that with every Romenesko post I read) I could take that blow. I could suddenly decide that my true calling in life was always cooking, accounting (not likely - I have a soul) or, hell, male modeling. Who the hell knows? (An aside, I think many young journalists tend to define themselves by their profession. Yeah, I declare that at the top of this blog - I'm a journalist, it's what I do. But I am not merely a journalist. I think good journalists are those of us who can define their lives through their experiences and not through the singular pursuit of writing about crap, but rather, experiencing that crap.)
But for the time being I'm going to enjoy the blessing it is to be writing for a major metro newspaper. And like everything in life, it won't last forever - even if I do wind up writing for it after this fellowship is over. So for now, I'm going to enjoy this strange liberation I've realized: freedom is knowing that your life is in your hands, and that the only thing that matters is knowing you gave it a good shot when all things are said and done.
June 8, 2008
Phoenix (It's caliente!)
So I arrived in Phoenix yesterday where I'll spend the next 10 weeks writing for the Arizona Republic.
First impression: This city is big. I mean, The View-era Star Jones big. I got lost twice while driving to my Tempe townhouse and had to switch my direction on the freeway three times. Expressways are a bitch. But I made it and now I start work on Monday.
Right now I'm in downtown Phoenix rocking out to musac at the convention center (free wifi) and trying to find something to eat. Unfortunately there seems to be few gastronomic choices downtown save for a crappy coffee stand and hotel fare at the Hyatt.
Other than that it's nice to finally be here. Can't complain about the new digs. My roommate has a dog, beer and DirectTV. It's tits. The heat, however, is already crushing. I'll keep you posted on my first day of work.
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