04/07/2024 10:38:53 AM 
Simon examines one of the most unique cultures in America by looking at the lives of a diverse array of characters trying to rebuild their lives three months after Katrina.
Music, quite rightly, given the contribution New Orleans has made to American music, is the center of Simon's story and almost a character in its own right. The show features famous New Orleans musicians Dr John and Kermit Ruffins.
Kermit Ruffins
Beyond music, Simon has a keen eye and ear for detail and seeks to blend the factual with the fictional. He also wants to make it feel right and authentic to the place. as proved with "The Wire", he has an incredible ear for local dialogue and works hard to get it New Orleans right. He described the process in a recent interview on NPR's Fresh Air.
" One of the things we did right away, in addition to Eric [Overmyer], we brought in Tom Piazza and Lolis Ellie— who are local writers — as ballast to try and make sure the writing staff and the writing room had strong local representation. But at the same time, I wouldn't have wanted everyone in that room to be from New Orleans even if we could have managed that — because in some ways, the city's very seductive. And you can fall in love with a lot of its charms and idiosyncrasies and not be asking yourself the hard questions that drama sometimes requires. And so, actually it was the dynamic of people from New Orleans interacting with George Pelecanos or David Mills in the writer's room, who are outsiders and who are acquiring the culture cold. That's really what gave the piece more gravitas and what helped us ground it."
David Simon is clearly a darling of the critics and is certainly the man to get New Orleans noticed again, with HBO a favorite of the cultural elite it might just have the right ingredients to propel New Orleans back into the conversation, but it remains to be seen if mainstream America still cares about the city that's the birthplace of much of its culture.
Posted by Ed Cotton
03/25/2010 03:02:06 PM
As the demographic axis of the Western world has shifted, those who made music an integral part of their lives, now have the cash to enjoy their passion with style.
This means they can eat, wash and sleep in a comfortable bed all in sight of the concert stage.
This is a trend that's happening at all the famous music festivals around the world, but Bonnaroo seems to be selling the ultimate experience
Total Access from Bonnaroo on Vimeo.
Via Uncrate
Posted by Ed Cotton
09/07/2024 05:50:12 PM
Interestingly, Spotify's app is not available yet in the United States.
Could Apple's iTunes be planning to launch a subscription service to rival Spotify?
Posted by Ed Cotton
09/03/2024 10:40:04 PM
Instead of trying to imagine what the future might be like, take a look at the BBC's online coverage of the US Open.
You will see a blend of Tweets, text messages and reporting to provide the reader with a textured overview of the day's play.
It's the mixing of different sources that creates an interesting feel and one that's better than reading any one of the single sources alone.
Posted by Ed Cotton
08/17/2009 09:39:01 PM (4)
(4) Could it be that brands are becoming just like Bill Clinton or even "The Terminator" in that they are impossible to destroy or they are covered in a thin coating of Teflon?
Take this story from Game Informer. (According to a reader survey)
- X-Box consoles have a failure rate of 54%
- Only 3.8% of X-Box owners would not buy another X-Box because of this
Note- This is not your typical shoddy low sample magazine research- the base is 5,000 responses.
It's amazing that people can put up with over half of these consoles failing and still love the brand enough to keep buying it.
What's so special about this brand?
Posted by Ed Cotton
08/08/2024 09:05:33 AM
Food Inc explores the impact of the industrialization of the US food system on people and animals, End of the Line covers the plight of fish in the world's oceans and The Cove focuses on the dolphin slaughter in small town in Japan.
I got the chance to see The Cove last night and it's a great film centered on the creator of Flipper and explains how a change of heart led him on a mission to release dolphins from captivity. This mission takes him to a small town in Japan where dolphins are acquired for aquariums and the ones that remain are slaughtered.
The problem with many documentaries is that fail to get their point across in a compelling way and end up preaching to the converted, The genius of The Cove and Food Inc is that appreciate and understand the need to expand the audience for the issue beyond the small band of activists. They do this by making the issues very clear and compelling and in the case of The Cove, adding a huge element of drama.
While these films will never capture the box office of Up, they are still must see movies that cleverly use social media as a tool for promotion and a springboard to activism.
The success of these films is proof that there's no substitute for good storytelling as a way to breakthrough in the attention war. Seeing a film about dolphin slaughter is not most people's idea of an entertaining Friday evening, but The Cove got me to pay attention, listen and to take action, which is no mean feat.
Posted by Ed Cotton