The Lynx Effect

I work in Marketing. I get that male orientated health and beauty products need to be aspirational. Hence Gillette have the Mach3 and the Stealth and the Turbo.

Lynx are normally good at coming up with these names. Phoenix. Dark Temptation. Impulse. They're names with numerous connotations.

And then there's "Music Star".

I get that being a famous musician is aspirational to a lot of young men, in the same way that being a film star or a footballer might be. But is that the something you want to associate with a body spray?

I know musicians. When they've been on stage performing, they're hot, sweaty and sticky. There's nothing wrong with this, and God knows I'd be drenched in sweat if I'd've been performing on a hot stage for an hour. But does that have the right implications for a deoderant?

Maybe it's just me, but when I put on deoderant after I shower I want to associate it with:
- Not sweating
- Smelling nice

Maybe I'm wrong, but "Music Star" just sounds like the byproduct of a lazy marketing meeting.

"OK, guys, we need a new name. Something like Spartan or Warrior but not as obvious. What do kids want to be these days?"
"Err...music stars?"
"Screw it, that'll do."

Seriously, bad, bad name.

Just saying.

There's no place like home

I'm ambivalent about "Misfits".


I want to like it a bit more than I do. Partly because I know it's target audience is significantly younger than me (the early twenties market I wish I was still in), and partly because it's filmed in Thamesmead where I grew up.


Now, when I grew up there, there were always parts of town that were rough. And I know that since I moved away parts have got even rougher (I believe it was recently named the fraud capital of Europe).  However, it's both sad and entertaining to see the way it's portrayed as a dystopian-ghetto in Misfits.


But hey, that's not a new thing, as anyone who's seen "A Clockwork Orange" knows.


Still, there's no place like home, is there?

Suddenly I See

So this week I was treated to an incredible music experience - seeing KT Tunstall live in The Union chapel in Islington. 


It was incredible for two reasons: 1) She was absolutely amazing, and 2) the venue was gorgeous. If you've never heard of it (and let's face it, if you live outside of The big smoke, why would you have?) it a converted church, where the altar has become the stage and the pews are the audience. The acoustics are outstanding and the atmosphere is almost indescribable. If you ever get the chance, definitely go and see something there.


The first of the support acts was Rozi Plain, whose folk music wasn't entirely to my personal taste. She won me over however with her borderline-aspergers asides between songs. I saw her afterwards being completely normal, so I can only assume her whole stage personality is an act. If so, hilarious. She was followed by a guy called Sam Lewis who was a bit more my speed. Some nice chilled accoustic stuff.


Then KT Tunstall came on. Her set was brilliant and she's clearly one of the most talented musicians in the industry. Switching between the guitar and (occasionally the piano), she made incredible sounds with her loop-peddle, which she overlaid on top of each other to form a cacophony of awesome. She even did a song acapella with no microphone and we could still hear her at the back. Brilliant.


Oh, and she did a version of "The Black Horse and The Cherry Tree" which mixed with The White Stripe's "Seven Nation Army". If you can find that on YouTube, check it out.   

Jumping the dinosaur

Oh "Terra Nova", you were doing so well. Whilst somewhat lighter (and more family orientated) than "LOST", you had enough mystery to keep me going. As well as Papa Dragon...the only good thing from "Avatar". I was hoping that you had the potential to get darker as the season went on. 


But then you've gone and given the annoying little girl a pet dinosaur. What is this, an eighties cartoon? No-one wants to see Godzuki on this show!


Fingers crossed the dinosaur gets killed in the next episode. But not before mauling to death the youngest daughter.


Now THAT would be dark. 

Quote of the Week IV: A New(ish) Hope

This weeks "Quote of the Week" came from my friend Al's take on the absolute awfulness of The Only Way is Essex.


"I just don't see what's interesting about that show. There's nothing there. In fact, I'd be more interested in watching a show called 'The Only Way TO Essex' about the lives of the people who work at Liverpool Street station.'


It was very reem.

Travolta Fail

So after years and years of hearing it was the worst film ever, I finally saw "Battlefield Earth".


I'm not even going to joke about it too much, as it just made me feel dirty. My friend assures me the book is better, but I'll be damned if I'm going to read it now. 


As bad films go, it's nowhere near as brilliant as "The Room". Frankly, I was bored.


Although perhaps the reason the aliens aren't intimidating is because they're supposed to be giants but just end up looking like really tall drag-queens. Not that drag queens can't be intimidating, but John Travolta as a drag queen can't be intimidating.


Just saying.

Surprised!

This weekend mostly revolved around my friend Laura's surprise 30th Birthday party. After making my house the staging area for visitors on Friday night - we had a house full of secret guests she didn't know were coming down - it was also one of the main storage facilities for the veritable plethora of food that Laura's husband had bought for the evening.


So on Saturday the big night came and went off without a hitch. Despite a bit of a desperate panic that Laura was going to arrive before her parents and daughter, everything went smoothly, and I even got to practice my acting skills by having a fake phone call ("oh hi no-one") as a reason to let the people upstairs know that Laura had arrived - A Level Drama represent-yo.


So, all-in-all, a great evening. 


On an unrelated note, I found out that whilst drunk I know all the words to House of Pain's "Jump Around". Not embarrassing at all then.