Yeah Yeah Yeahs: video exclusive – AOL Music

Awesome Song yet again from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Debut single Year Zero.

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Pilar Incondicional | Unconditional Love on Vimeo

Home video of my little treasure, my seven year old daughter, Pilar. Shot in Buenos Aires, Argentina, it’s a visual and sonic snippet of our life with a great soundtrack…

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Radiohead 2009 Grammy Performance – 15 Step

Radiohead is just awesome!

SNL Bush Endorsement of McCain (Will Ferrell is back playing Bush)

SNL Bush Endorsement of McCain with Will Ferrell back as Bush. Hilarious!!!

Question For Sarah Palin: What is socialism?

I have good reasons to believe that she would not be capable of giving one legitimate answer. Here is why:

• For starters, she spent over 6 years in between community colleges until she finally got her Bachelor degree in communications-journalism from the University of Idaho, graduating in 1987. It leads me to believe that she knows little about political history and philosophy, much less about Marxism.

• “…back home, she has cheered the work of a tiny party that long has pushed for a statewide vote on whether Alaska should secede from those same United States. And her husband, Todd, was a member of the party for seven years.ties with separatist group.”

• “Sarah Palin charged the state for her children to travel with her, including to events where they were not invited, and later amended expense reports to specify that they were on official business.” Click here to read full article from Yahoo News.

If that’s not closer to what “socialism” really is, I don’t know what. So, NO, she could not possibly know the correct meaning of the word.

“Spreading the wealth” as the mainstream media is now adjudicating upon Obama with a ’socialist’ tag; was something he said while being inherently honest and from the heart. It’s plain silly to consider this a valid fact to base attacks on. Having said this, Obama was conjuring the notion and the image of the “land of opportunity” that America can be at home and abroad under the correct leadership. Please read this article by latest Nobel Economic Laureate, Paul Krugam, very much in favor of Obama’s economic plan:

Let’s Get Fiscal

It’s crystal clear that McCain’s campaign is once again attempting to pull off a gimmick by using Sarah Palin as their weapon of choice. They use her as a means to an end to associate Obama with the 60’s radical, Bill Ayers. Whenever, she pronounces “socialism” referring to Obama, the so-called “association” should come to mind. It’s a ruthless and dubious tactic, which clearly adheres to the low and shameful campaign that McCain has found himself running. The McCain I knew that did reach across the isle and was, in fact, a well rounded politician is gambling his way through these elections. The shame here resides in the fact that he is counting the cards instead of playing fairly. That’s the last thing that the American people need right now, poor judgement like that.

Of course the party will not have McCain himself throw such ridiculous insinuations out in the public. They use the poor “caribou barbie” girl, the former beauty queen pageant, or the little ignorant “gotcha” or “you betcha” saying Alaskan -nobody knows- Governor do their dirty deeds for them… Shame on them!

So, why the hell is she calling Obama a socialist?

Beats me!…

A Paradox For You: JOHN MCCAIN WAS ACORN’S ‘06 KEYNOTER!

What are the odds?…

For the full article go to: ACORN

There he goes again…

Alternative Rock Revival (Shoegazing)

Alternative Rock was the rock genre that came out of the late 80’s as a post product of punk, new wave, synth-pop, glam, classic, progressive, hard and blues-driven rock. According to the limited media coverage and its relatively small commercial effect and, in turn, success, it was portrayed as the “antithesis” to heavy metal. Although, some might argue this for several bands might have been very much influenced by it. Nonetheless, it defined a whole generation of devotees and followers like me. You might have heard terminologies from groupies and non-followers alike referring to it as alternative or experimental rock, noise pop, dream pop, shoegazing, grunge, dark-wave or even post-punk. Each of these so called music categories have their own distinct bands and sounds and, to my apparent belief, as of the ‘07 there is a bit of a revival going on. I will write this post about some of the most important and influential bands that defined this generation and also that I find particularly good. I’m gonna work in chronological order and will add some media that I have from past gigs and from the Web.

First of all, let me pitch some band names and artists in the form of a “cloud” (see image above) so that you get a picture as to what this music style encompasses and is inherently composed of. As I like to call it, the global term for this genre is Alternative Rock, no tags or labels necessary. I’m gonna take a grounds up approach starting from the bands and some labels that laid the foundation, to the initiators, then the followers who solidified the scene. Finally, I’ll mention the last advocates, who put an end to this awesome music wave by outselling themselves or perhaps because it was an ephemeral wave in and of itself. A music wave that splashed down washing out too soon on the shores of both sides of the Atlantic for people to fully grasp its vivid and harmonious essence and impact. That’s why we are now seeing its revival. Go to the cloud above to see some of the band names and labels.

There you have the bands and artists I consider vital from this scene. Bands that laid the foundation and gave it its unique shape and colors. Most of these are personal favorites of mine: Pixies, Joy Division, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Depeche Mode, The Cure, Cocteau Twins, and The Jesus and The Mary Chains. My Bloody Valentine is considered the backdrop of Shoegazing, as is The Jesus and the Mary Chains of Noise Pop and Nirvana of grunge. David Bowie, by all means, is the most vital and single-most influential source of Alternative Rock. Let’s start with the beginnings. As you will see, there are some bands that I didn’t include because I simply don’t know them. Perhaps it’ll be appropriate to pick up on those. Refer to the “Shoegazing” wikipedia time-line to see the chronological order.

In addition to explaining the alternative essence of this music style, I would like to cover the nuanced aspects in terms of aesthetics and the cult-like following that emerged. People in general were very artistic in nature and sensitive in character. The name “Shoegazing” came up after some performers -specifically My Bloody Valentine’s leader, Kevin Shields- played live with guitar in hand and starring down at his shoes. It was kind of sad and boring but the true essence here relied in the music. It was cohesive with somewhat dark lyrics, noisy/edgy and at times dreamy guitars, jazzy drums, heavy bass, some pop synths, re-verb effects, and an all rounded experimental and definite approach. Punk attitude without Mohawks and spikes flirting with Andy Warhol’s pop-like imagery. Abstaining from wearing make-up and spandex, think of Kurt Cobain adopting Ziggy Stardust’s persona. It was almost as if urban fast paced city life suddenly met with suburban casual and polite livelihood. That’s exactly what it was, punk meets dumb and out comes grunge. As has been the case for many other rock styles and music scenes, it was almost an urgency that took place as a means for a youth to define their generation. In the end, we all need to be heard at a certain time of our lives, and we all ask questions in search of answers that have to do with equality, love and hate, society, and life in general. That’s why we feel compelled to belong and to feel comfort within. Alternative rock was the perfect antidote to a Western Society poised with larger than life questions and answers.

From Grangemouth, Scotland, Cocteau Twins was the first band that arouse with this rather shy and surreal sound in 1979. Having a passive aggressive approach, sound mixing was very detail oriented and a carefully crafted deed. In the form of atmospheric and melodic textures, it evoked melancholic emotions appealing to one’s own imagination. This band was very much into spacey driven guitar riffs alongside obscure bass pounding and jazzy pop drums. As if Brian Eno’s The Roxy partnered with Robert Smith’s The Cure for a darker and more organic sound. High tenor-like notes are delivered in such precise delight by the lead singer Liz Frasier that it’s just mesmerizing to the ears. I believe this band single handily invented the “shoegazing” sound and, to a certain extend, unleashed the right elements that shaped the form and gave it its unique colors right from the start. Key songs include Heaven or Las Vegas, Song to the Siren, Iceblink Luck to name a few. Cocteau Twins could not have achieved this if it wasn’t for their label:

4AD is a “British independent record label that was started in 1979 by Ivo Watts-Russell and Peter Kent, funded by Beggars Banquet Records, and is still active today.” It’s home to some amazing acts that include The Pixies, Bauhaus, The Breeders, Cocteau Twins, Dead Can Dance, This Mortal Coil, TV On The Radio, Stereolab, Blonde Redhead, among others. Back when I was 14 and living in Potomac, MD, I was actually introduced to it and its bands, (Pixies being at the core of it all), by my next door neighbors from Santiago, Chile.

“Are You An Innovator, Imitator, or Idiot?” – SEO

Since I’m a soon to be Marketing professional (getting my degree next year being 6 subjects away from graduation,) and vey keen on the Internet, I’ve been getting very hands-on with everything Internet Marketing related: Internet trends, Web 2.0, Search Marketing, SEO (Search Engine Optimization), Interactive Marketing, etc. By far, the best source of information and learning that I’ve come across in the past year on this rather broad field has been Aaron Wall’s SEObook

This guy knows how to get a message across with a rather unusual humility and a very intuitive approach that is enticing and plain all enjoyable to pick up on and read. I find amusing how he is picking up and using very technical Marketing concepts and quoting professional adepts and masterminds like Philip Kotler. He even threw in on one of his posts a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) Analysis technique when starting a new blog. It’s almost as if he dug into his old college books, wiped off the dust from their covers and simply went over the basic Marketing 101 concepts and subjects. Nonetheless, he is achieving a very well-crafted final product with this unconventional but rather clever approach. What’s more, I have now come to the realization that Marketing knowledge and know-how is reshaping to a great extend the way we perceive and approach the Web for business or commercial purposes. By taking full advantage of this, Aaron has achieved greatness becoming quite a personality in the SEO “niche.” His unique and sincere approach to SEO is just unbelievable. It gets overwhelming whenever I go in to read his posts and can’t seem to get enough of it.

I would like to comment on Aaron’s Sept. 24 post:

Are You an Innovator, Imitator, or Idiot?

I hope this becomes part of the Marketing 2.0 lingo, if you will; the new 3 I’s of Marketing. So clever and to the point.

“Buffett once told me there are three ‘I’s in every cycle. The ‘innovator,’ that’s the first ‘I.’ After the innovator comes the ‘imitator.’ And after the imitator in the cycle comes the idiot.”

-Theodore Forstmann, quoting Warren Buffett.

There you have it. It was none other than Warren Buffett who came up with this.

Of course, the Innovator would be the most ideal, but an imitator like Microsoft or Google were when they first started could have its rewards indeed. Being an idiot, which happens from time to time, means being an idiot, plain and simple.

I’m very happy that I’m part of this digital era of ubiquitous trends that the Internet is at the core of. How Search Marketing and On-Line Trends are defining new ways of making business whatever your industry or niche might be has no boundaries, sky is the limit. Being part of this wave feels great more so than being convenient. Wouldn’t you agree that contributing to this immense “cloud” is being an innovator more so than being an imitator? I believe that as long as your voice sounds fresh and you are “dynamically” creative, you are an innovator indeed.

Obama Clearly Won the Debate

It amazes me how the media just doesn’t acknowledge and accept the fact that Obama clearly won last night’s debate. I only get CNN and FOX News Channels through my cable service here in Argentina, which, lets just say, are more on the conservative and traditionalist side, but still. I would expect CNN to be less neutral and more sincere about it all. At least they could say that Obama had strong points and nailed his questions with precise answers. I was very happy with his performance, he surely outdid himself. In the case of McCain, a totally different outcome… it was more of the same and his answers were vague in content and depth. I’ll leave it at that…

Fox News Channel, I’m not even gonna go there…

I’ve been going through some blogs like HuffPo and, I’m getting a very optimistic sense of relief. I just wish the media would be more open to freedom of speech and have a sincere approach towards it all. It’s the less fortunate undecided people that follow these news channels as opposed to going on line to read what other people like them are saying. The Web might have a massive reach but, unfortunately, not everyone is into Blogs and other News Sites that act fair and right when it comes to politics.

AFL-CIO’s Richard Trumka on Racism and Obama

I didn’t wanna let this video to go unnoticed on WordPress or not be part of my blog. Due to the historic nature of these presidential elections, I felt compelled to add this video of a Steel Workers Union leader who had some crucial factors to point out. This is one of those videos that one needs to go back to from time to time for reality check purposes. It’s one of those things that pinches you somewhere where it hurts and makes you see things in a different and more clear light.