WHAT DRECK HATH JOSH SCHWARTZ BROUGHTETH?



The Internet is in for a surprise, albeit a really crappy one. Uber-schlockster Josh Schwartz gave us The O.C. and we forgave him. He gave us Gossip Girl and not only did we forgive him but we kind of watched. Pretty regularly, actually. But now, his new online series Rockville, CA looks so awful (see the trailer above) that there's simply no room to forgive. Not even if he calls me before Yom Kippur [Jewish inside reference here].

I'VE BEEN SICK, THAT'S WHAT!



I know I was on a good streak back then but you know, you get a really obnoxious cold that won't go away and productivity is OUT THE WINDOW. Gone.
K, we're back. Here we are--Arye, 1. Nose, 0. But granted that's after Nose like won for days in a row.

In the meantime, until we get our blogging chops back, here's a lil' something to whet the appetite. I've been listening to Uglysuit's "And We Became Sunshine" a few times today. I quite enjoy this track--maybe it has something to do with their esteemed label is going the way of the, um, general music biz.

Listen to The Uglysuit - "...And We Became Sunshine"

MIX FOR FRIENDS, VOLUME IV



Good afternoon, special friend.

This fine day greets you with Mix For Friends, Volume IV. Yes, like Huey Lewis' prophecy, Four! 'Tis a special day indeed, so rejoice!

First, take the link below and download it.
http://www.sendspace.com/file/gdqtlf

Then simply drag the whole Mix For Friends, Vol. IV folder from your desktop and into your iTunes. Look at you! You're in the 21st Century of Rock. For optimal enjoyment, please sort it by the Album tab at top (that will give you the order of the album that I intended: beginning with Florence and the Machines' "Dog Days Are Over" and ending with U2's "Get On Your Boots").

Some of you may notice that there is a healthy serving of new-wave/dance pop songs on this mix but I can't apologize for my taste. I can only share it with you in the hopes that you too will enjoy it. I hope that is the case.

Today marks six years in the Hebrew calendar since my dear father passed away. It's hard to believe that this much time has passed. In fact, so much time has passed and so many things have changed since then that it feels like it happened in a previous life. But in truth, it's all right here, post after post. I started this blog six years ago as an outlet for cathartic expression after losing Dad. And so Bring Back Sincerity is six years old. This is thirty-seven years in blog years.

I have the memories with me, both vibrant and real. But after having dinner with my family this evening--sisters, brother-in-laws, nieces, and nephews--I realized that some of the younger ones have never met my dad, which is strange and surreal. His own grandchildren don't know him. And this is when I reached the truly unfortunate conclusion that my children will only know my father by name. Which when considering how close we were is, for a lack of a better term, truly sad.

Their connection will only be in blood and legacy. Interactions will only happen by way of a cemetery visitation. His accomplishments will simply be another story excerpted from the history books. How does one prepare for that inevitability? Pictures and stories won't help. Frankly put, this is just how it is.

THE WORST AD CAMPAIGN OF ALL TIME


Sadly, Bob's too old to enjoy the "Pepsi for life" clause of the contract.

When people find out that I work in advertising, they immediately ask about my thoughts on Mad Men. I like it. But then again, so does the whole entire galaxy. No big scoop here.
And while I'd prefer not to espouse on advertising in great length, there's something so inherently depressing/awful about the new Pepsi campaign brought to you by the ad agency TBWA / Chiat Day that I simply have to comment on it.

The premise of the commercial above--not the overall campaign--is that there's nothing new under the sun. Or as Greg said in an email:

"Isn't the message of that commercial depressing? it's saying nothing really changes... right? there will always be wars. there will always be fat funny dancing white guys. there will always be sell-out musicians. things may tweak a little, but not by much...

Hi-lighting the lack of real progress this country has made in the past 30 years is an interesting strategy, but maybe more suited for an alcoholic beverage. Not a "refreshing" soft drink."

Right-o, Greg. And let us note foremost that Dylan is featured because he is identified as the voice of his generation. But the truly misguided decision here was passing the torch to Will.i.am, the songwriter and producer of "My Lumps," "Let's Get Retarded," and "Pump It." This is the kind of mistaken over-compensation that only white men in an post-Obama world would make. Of all the people to represent our voice, please Lord, do not make it the man who co-penned "London Bridges."

But this commercial is only the beginning of the problem. Pepsi's current slogan "Refresh Everything" means what exactly? Why not simply "Refresh?" And is this "Refresh" as in a web browser refresh? Or "Refresh" as quenching? Color me confused. It's an empty randomness of two words from the English language masquerading as something significant and inspiring.

And interestingly (I'm not done here), as Stuart Elliott of the New York Times points out Pepsi was the choice beverage of Nixon and the Republicans back in the day which makes this new appropriation of free-spirited independence (both in retrospect, and in the present) and the Obama campaign even more bizarre.

It's been awhile since I reacted so strongly to anything advertising but the false promise purported by this patriotic can of fizzy bubelech feels so disingenuous that it's enough to further reinforce my love for Coke.

Or maybe it's just that I hate Will.i.am so hard.