My Word Is On The Line...

Here's the deal: If there's one thing my thousands dozens of online friends, blog readers and Twitter followers know, it's that my taste in music is incomparable and that my opinions of music might as well be recorded as fact rather than personal belief.

Ok, that was two things.

Regardless, I like to tell myself that people appreciate my opinion of "good" vs. "garbage" music.

I'm not a huge fan of mainstream music, so I often tend to listen to musicians who, in my opinion, have talent but will need some time to improve. Sometimes these musicians reach mainstream status (for example, I first started telling people to listen to the rapper Wale in the summer of '07... which isn't that early, but early by South Dakota's standards). Other times, these musicians simply become one-song wonders, floating aimlessly through the void of my 14,000+ song iPod.

One rapper I've been talking about for awhile now is Add-2, a rapper from Chicago. I first started listening to him after he connected with me on Twitter (that story can be read here...) around Christmas of '08 and I was telling people they should be listening to him about 2 days after I gave his mixtape, "A Tale of Two's City, Vol. 2" a thorough listen. Since then, I've talked with him quite a bit on Twitter, shared his music with everyone I can, and actually do consider him a "friend" (at least in the sense of connecting from South Dakota to Chicago through Twitter on a semi-regular basis).

One of the reasons I respect Add-2 so much is because he's one of the few rappers I've listened to who has found the difficult-to-find balance of clever, witty punchlines and serious and enlightening insight on heavy topics and issues. Whether he's discussing a date that gets out of control (with hilarious results) in "Locker Room Stories" or taking an introspective look at the issues facing the youth of inner-city Chicago in "Chicago Kids," Add-2 shatters the stereotype of what most people consider to be "mainstream" rap. You won't find much "money, cars, clothes" from Add because that's not where his head is. He's focused on better things and bigger dreams. As he puts it in his fantasticly retrospective "Starter Jacket," "I hope the game don't change me, when I change the game."

Which brings us to the point of my post. Sometime in the near future, Add-2 will be releasing "Tale of Two's City, Vol. 4: Better Days." I don't believe I have heard a single song off of this effort, but I will put my firmly-established and nationally-respected musical reputation on the line when I say that "Better Days" will be an all-around fantastic album. I will be surprised, if not shocked, if this album isn't the last one Add-2 makes before a major label locks in a record deal with him (if he chooses to go that route).

So there you have it. I give you my word that this album, when it does come out, will be worth your valuable time. Mostly if you're a rap fan, but probably even if you aren't a rap fan. For now, I'll connect you to Add-2's MySpace page so you can sample some of his stuff for yourself.

Enjoy.

P.S. - I'll throw in two of my favorites from Add below. The first is called Superman. I advise you to stick around 'til the 3rd verse. That's when things get crazy. The second is the afore mentioned "Starter Jacket."



Here's "Starter Jacket"

My Writing...

Well everybody, I'm about 10 days away from my wedding. If I could accurately describe how excited I am, I'd try. Unfortuantely, at this point, that would be a pretty fruitless effort. We'll just say I'm jacked beyond belief.

I realized that, after the wedding is over, I will have much more "free time" than I've had the past three months. Because when you are trying to pull off an elaborate wedding with only three months to plan it, you don't really have much free time.

I have decided to invest a much larger portion of this free time into my personal writing. For which reasons, I'm not yet entirely sure. I partially want to collect my poetry and a short story or two into a small book that I'd sell at what I believe to be a fairly low cost. I partially want to write a book that couples my writing with my future wife's excellent photography skills. And I partially want to work for Marvel Comics in some capacity in the next few years and, whether I'm an editor or a writer, I will need to have demonstrated a skill set in the craft of writing.

I have written a few short stories at this point, but the one I've probably worked hardest on is currently languishing in my computer's back alleys of folders and files. If I know you and you have ANY interest whatsoever in reading this short story (titled "Little Lucy"), leave a comment with your contact info and I'll most likely send it your way. I'm beyond the fear of sharing what I write (which is a good start), but haven't determined the best platform/avenue for sharing it with larger groups of people. For now, I'll share it through this blog and see if other people are interested from there.

As a warning, "Little Lucy" is by no means a pleasant story to read. It's pretty violent, pretty graphic, and somewhat terrifying. Just ask Hugh Weber. He's read it. He was...caught off guard. He swears the title character was based on his daughter. That's only 5-10% true though.

Like I said, leave a comment or hit me up some other way (email: mike.billeter at gmail.com, Twitter: @mikebilleter, etc.) and I'll most likely share it with you. However, if I don't know you and have never heard of you, I might not share it. Since it's not published yet, I'd rather wait to share it with complete strangers until I've had a chance to get it published somewhere online or in print.

Thanks everybody. Expect more writing (and personal thoughts) on this blog soon.

-Mike


Photo ("Shadow of a Writing Hand") c/o john norton. Thanks john!

On The Loss Of Innocence...

I don't believe I've shared this poem on my blog yet, so I thought I'd throw it on here. I hope this kicks off a consistent return to my favorite blog written by me. The poem was written for a writing group. The topic was the cosmos. This is what I came up with. Some of you may have read this awhile back when I linked to it on Twitter. If that's the case, feel free to skip this post. Either way, I'd love to hear your feedback if you feel like sharing. Just leave a comment below. Thanks.

Twinkle, Twinkle...

The time was such a simpler one
when "Twinkle, Twinkle" had songs begun...
And up above our spirits ran,
or sometimes flew, with Peter Pan.
Straight on til morning, to Neverland,
imaginations never banned.

But somehow in that sad affair,
of growing up, we left back there
our "how I wonder what you are."
And traded it for dates and cars
and jobs and beer and cheap cigars,
And science to explain these "stars."

And as a grown man, full of days,
too old to be once more amazed,
tears well up in my faded eyes.
Oh, "how I wonder" why I cry.
To know that innocence has died
and been replaced with Wisdom's pride...

And weeping softly, 'neath the black
expanse above my porch out back,
my voice sings out, though not quite far,
a song, long buried in my heart...
"Twinkle, twinkle little star,
how I wonder what you are..."

Photo ("Milky Way and Shooting Star") c/o Andrew Curtis. Thanks Andrew!

Creative Music Video-ing

My friend Joey Ryan and his band, the Inks, have decided to record and upload a new video of them playing their songs at various, cool locations every week. Simple, creative and (I'm assuming) pretty cheap, this first video definitely shows a fun side of the band and their ability to make great music without the need for stages, amps and sound systems.

Love what they did here and I'm definitely looking forward to the next one.




P.S. - This first video took place in the North Tower of the historical Landmark Center in downtown St. Paul, Minnesota.

Know Your Audience

I originally wrote this post for my work blog at ADwërks. Wanted to share it on here as well.

Yesterday, the graphically-talented Mike Hay and I were brainstorming and concepting for a client’s magazine ad we needed to create.

We spent about five minutes discussing cool ad concepts, fun design possibilities and creative, punchy copy that would stand out from the rest of the ads.

And then we came to a realization. We were creating an ad in a style we would like to see in a magazine. Unfortunately, we were not the magazine’s target audience. Once we realized that, our entire creative process shifted and we came up with an ad that was much more fitting for what we – and more importantly, what the client – wanted to accomplish.

As marketers, it’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking about what we do or don’t like to see. We watch commercials that annoy us and we vow never to make a commercial like those. We see billboards that appall us and we promise ourselves we’ll never make a billboard like that.

In short, we think of how we want to be marketed to rather than how the target audience should be marketed to.

Remember: As advertisers, we are not marketing to each other. We get paid to help our clients reach the customers that love (or will love) our clients’ products and services.

Personal opinions and viewpoints are essential to coming up with new and exciting ways to reach a target audience – just make sure you really are trying to reach the target audience and not your fellow marketers.

-Mike B.

How about you? Ever created the “perfect” ad only to discover it really wasn’t “perfect” for the intended audience? Can you think of any national campaign efforts that failed miserably at reaching the target market? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Photo ("our chunk of audience at the heretic") c/o Jhayne. Thanks!

My Brother, The Rapper

Sometimes you spend your whole life unintentionally influencing your little brother. Eventually you realize that he often likes the video games you like, he often likes the humor you like, he often likes the TV shows and movies you like...

And sometimes he even likes the music you like.

I'm not saying I helped create the legend that will someday be K. Billz...but I'm not saying I didn't either. Ladies and gentlemen of the Internet, I give you...

"Nugget Tuesday"

Why Sherlock Holmes Would Have Been A Great Marketer

This post originally appeared on my work blog at ADwërks, but I wanted to post it on here as well. Enjoy!

I watched Sherlock Holmes this past weekend and it led me to an eye-opening realization about marketing and advertising.For those of you who don’t know who Sherlock Holmes is, here’s Wikipedia to the rescue. Basically, he’s one of the world’s most widely recognized fictional detectives, he’s eccentric but brilliant, and he uses sound logic and deductive reasoning to solve seemingly-impossible to solve cases.

In the movie, they base Holmes’s ability to solve a case on the various “clues” he sees that most people would never notice. He recognizes a woman was previously engaged due to the small tan line around her finger. He deduces that a certain individual is a professor based on some chalk remnants near his collar.

The important thing to remember is this: NONE of the clues he finds are hidden. They certainly aren’t noticeable to the casual observer, but they aren’t hidden or invisible. The difference between Sherlock Holmes and the casual observer is that Holmes is always looking for clues.

So, as a marketer, are you Sherlock Holmes for your clients, or are you just a casual observer?

• A casually observing marketer runs a billboard for a client’s new product or service because “that’s just what we’ve always done.”
• A Sherlock Holmes marketer gathers clues by conducting marketing research which can lead to better, more informed decisions for the marketing campaign.

• A casually observing marketer simply reviews his or her client’s website analytics and sends a weekly report on Friday afternoon.
• A Sherlock Holmes marketer labors over each facet of a website’s analytics in order to best determine areas of improvement that could make the site even stronger.

• A casually observing marketer tells a client to “get on Twitter” so the client can send links to its website and keep its followers up to date on sales and promotions.
• A Sherlock Holmes marketer uses logic to help the client determine if social networking is the right path to take. Then the Sherlock Holmes marketer deduces how a client can best connect with customers to strengthen relationships, establish brand loyalty and inspire movements.

These are just a few examples of how digging a little deeper for your clients can produce great work and, more importantly, build a stronger relationship with your clients and their customers. Remember, the only way you can pick up on clues that will help you improve your work is by always looking for clues that will help you improve your work.

It truly is elementary, my dear Watson.

-Mike B.

Do you do work with the careful eye of Sherlock Holmes? Do you have any examples to share of a time when you went from casually observing to digging for clues and finding success like Sherlock Holmes? Do you think Robert Downey Jr. was as awesome in Sherlock Holmes as he was in Iron Man? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.

Photo ("Sherlock Holmes Statue") c/o shining.darkness. Thanks!