Brand New View

London's Olympic Cultural Showcase

A Reuters article describes the cultural showcase that London Olympic Organizers will have underway in the 12 weeks before, during and after the Olympics. London has been hosting similar cultural events since the 2008 Beijing Olympics concluded, but the pace picks up dramatically this summer. The range of talent is vast, with participating artists from all over the world (including Chinese artist Ai Weiwei). The sheer magnitude of this undertaking is impressive and underscores a key Olympic theme: the bringing together of different people and cultures in celebration of excellence. Detractors argue this is pretentious, expensive and unnecessary. Alternatively, one could also say that no other mega-event in the world gives license (or has the legitimacy) to bring such a unique collection of talent together.

Also, I will be participating in an author's event today at the University of Oregon bookstore. This is yet another event as part of the tour supporting my new book, The Olympic Games Effect, which includes interviews and book talks in Asia and Europe and North America. I hope to see you somewhere along the way!

Coca-Cola's New Olympic App

Following on to my April 19 post about Samsung's Genome project on Facebook, the march of innovative digital media uses continues. An article from TheGuardian highlights a few interesting new apps, including one inspired by Coca-Cola that used the sounds of athletes to make an Olympic Games song. Most apps in this article are not Olympic Games-specific, but they are interesting and indicative of the dramatic changes that have taken place the last 4 years. It will be interesting to see how other Olympic sponsors use digital and social media for London 2012.

Oops!

According to an article in Rolling Stone Magazine, London's Olympic organizers asked The Who's manager if Keith Moon would be available to play as part of the Olympics closing ceremony. He would be part of an ensemble of famous British musicians. Certainly, the request could be considered an honor, and he would be a fantastic drummer to have. Unfortunately, Keith Moon has been dead for 34 years so it is unlikely he will be able to participate (although if he does it will certainly make for one of the most memorable closing ceremonies in Olympic history). Somebody in London somehow missed out on this in their research of famous alive British musicians. Of course, it is quite possible the person responsible is also under the age of 34. But they would still have to be living under a rock not to be even peripherally aware that one of the world's most famous rock drummers departed this planet decades ago.

Noise

What a week. Three big events, three examples of outrageous communication undeservedly overshadowing the work of others. Congressman Joe Wilson's outburst of "You Lie" during President Obama's healthcare speech to a joint session of Congress either demonstrated he has impulse control issues, or he was cynically seeking his brush with fame. My opinion is both, but it's just my opinion. Reflecting the perverse nature of US politics today, Wilson's lack of decorum and respect generated over $1 million in campaign contributions for his democratic challenger, and another $1 million dollars his own campaign. Moving over to sports, Serena Williams' profanity-laced tirade against a line judge in her semi-final match against Kim Clijsters cost Serena her chance to play in the final (not that she would have gotten to the finals anyway since Clijsters was clearly the better player that day). Sadly for Clijsters, her victory took second position to ongoing talk about Williams ridiculous, unsportsmanlike outburst. To add insult to injury, Williams was fined a paltry $10,5000 for her verbally abusive and embarrassing tirade and will apparently be allowed to play in the doubles final today. While Venus should not be penalized by having her teammate disqualified, the tennis association should seriously consider more aggressive penalties against Serena, perhaps by preventing her from playing in the next grand slam, or some other similar penalty. The good news is that Clisjters went on to win the US Open, confirming that her victory over Williams was not a fluke. Finally, in the world of entertainment, last night's MTV Video Music Awards saw Taylor Swift win the first award of the evening for best female video. Less than a few seconds into her acceptance speech, Kanye West took the microphone and said, effectively, that Beyonce's video was better. A stunned Swift clearly felt awkward and her moment in the spotlight was tarnished. Fortunately, Swift was invited back onstage later by Beyonce (who had just won her own award for Video of the Year), to finish her acceptance speech. 

In all three situations, three accomplished people saw their moment overshadowed by the petulant behavior of others, tarnishing the respect they should have otherwise enjoyed and deserved. Noise isn't communication...it's just noise.

Just Plain Odd

A headline caught my eye today. A newswire report said that Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards claims he snorted his father's ashes (cremated ashes, not cigarette...) after he died in 2002. That's just weird. Weirder still is speculation that Keith himself actually died about 30 years ago--but that may explain why he looks like the walking dead on stage these days. We all know that rock and roll is the land of the extreme and excessive, but snorting your dad's ashes? Of course, this is Keith Richards we're talking about...the poster child (senior citizen) for rock 'n roll bad behavior. You have to wonder what goes through a guy like Richards' mind as he is preparing to snort his dad's ashes--"oh, this makes sense", "hey, what a great idea...after this, I'll boil my cat and make feline whiskey...". If nothing else, Richards' reputation as rock's certified looney remains intact.

In a related story, actor James Doohan's ashes are being sent into space. Doohan played 'Scotty' on the original Star Trek TV series from the 1960s. The good news for Doohan's family is that Keith Richards has not qualified for astronaut training school.

Bono

I saw U2 live, by accident, in the late 1980s when they played a free concert at the Vaillancourt Fountain  outside the Embarcadero Center in San Francisco.  It turns out the band was filming a sequence for their Rattle and Hum tour.  The concert was terrific and surprising, particularly since it was held around the lunch hour. Seeing business people in their suits descend from the surrounding office tours and filling the courtyard was a sight to behold.  I had been a U2 fan for a couple of years at that point.  I thought Bono was atypical for a rock star...he lacked pretension (yet exuded genuine enthusiasm).  Fast forward to 2007 and we all know Bono as more than a rock star (and U2 continues to crank out great music...)...he has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for his tireless support for debt relief and aids eradication in Africa.  His 'red' campaign this past year is recognized almost everywhere.  He just wrote a terrific article for Newsweek Magazine in which he talks about Europe at age 50, pondering what the next 50 years could bring.  The answer lies partly, he says, in Africa.  Europe has a historic opportunity to do for Africa what the U.S. did for Europe with its Marshall Plan following World War II.  Bono has trascended his generation and his profession, much like John Lennon did nearly 40 years before.  His energy is limitless and the world is a better place because of him.

Starbucks and Paul McCartney

Starbucks seems like it has been all over the news recently, particularly due to Howard Schultz's internal memo of a few weeks ago regarding the company's efforts to regain its mystique and magic after 15 years of frenetic growth. At this week's annual shareholder's meeting, Schultz discussed Starbuck's latest move: the signing of Paul McCartney to its Hear Music label.  Starbucks has been selling music for years and, more recently, having lesser-known artists represented on its label.  But the signing of Paul McCartney is a very different and significant event.  McCartney is a legend, of course.  Even as he enters his mid-60s, he continues to write, record, and tour and appears not to have aged much since the Beatles heyday.  Although other artists sell more records than McCartney these days, he is still a huge money maker for any company, not to mention a true music icon.  Is Starbucks' signing a good thing for both?  Time will tell.  Is Starbucks departing from its core brand?  That is hard to answer as well.  Had they not been involved in music the past several years, then this announcement would be a surprise.  But Starbucks has crafted an image around more than coffee and music fits in nicely with it.  This is certainly fun to watch as two venerable brands reshape themselves.