Nice Fish Films | Michael Sean Wright

This week Dr. Tony Shore of ObviousPop and I cover the latest news in music and tech.

We review some of the "big deals" of last year, the RIAA says goodbye to MediaSentry and artists reach out to their fans for show bookings.






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The seconds tick down on yet another year. A year that for many, will be remembered as a transitional time. We had high expectations of wonder for what turned into a season of great re-alignment. Most of us paused to ponder the significant economic shifts. Some noticed the "instafying" of the info-flow. Media outlets tried to stay relevant by covering Twitter. The music biz stuck to old thinking. As a collective, we studied the DOW, sought solace in social media and fought over little things.

The end of the year seems more like a comma to me rather than a period. What will the new administration bring with regards to a new way of re-thinking government? Will the Large Hadron Collider finally be fixed and reveal hidden dimensions of reality? Who will outlast the credit crunch? Are we finally realizing that we are not defined by our possessions? Who will still be viable in the social-net scene 365 days from now? 2008 was a year of great questioning for me. I'm finding new tools of info retrieval. Beyond RSS, real-time web services and the label of the semantic web lays the smart-group data collective. My Universe grew as I got to know some BIG thinkers this year. I'm genuinely hopeful that we will use our new tools to challenge each other more in 2009.

The only guarantee we have for the coming year is that things will be different. The canvas is before us, what shall we paint?

Humbleness became a more valuable asset this year. Once mighty omni-corps fell before us and apologized for not changing sooner. Today there is no excuse for hiding innovation. Walk in courage next year knowing that once infallible titans of industry got it wrong - really wrong. Fear not that your ideas are different. Be bold in the understanding that great contribution is controversial only to those who are afraid of change.

Charles Darwin overcame great sea-sickness to discover great wonders. His questions were bigger than the pain of the exploration. His drive was questioned by the majority. Why shouldn't we just take the status quo as "good-enough?" Because "good-enough" isn't Truth, "good-enough" is not what we are meant to settle for. On one of his long voyages, he took time to write to his sister. Perhaps not feeling physically well, he shared the hope that drove him:

"We have in truth, the world before us. Think of the Andes; the luxuriant forest of the Guayquil; the islands of the South Sea & New Whales. How many magificent & characteristic views, how many & curious tribes of men we shall see. What fine opportunities for gelology & for studying the infinite host of living beings. Is this not a prospect to keep up the most flagging spirit?"

Indeed!


msw

This week Dr. Tony Shore of ObviousPop and I cover the latest news in music and tech.

As 2008 wraps up, we decide to go "Freewheelin'" with no set topics, just open conversation of what's on our minds.






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This week Dr. Tony Shore of ObviousPop and I cover the latest news in music and tech.

The RIAA has announced a cease-fire in personal lawsuits just in time for the Holidays. U2 cashes out stock from LiveNation, NoiseTrade wins big and all the breaking news of the week. We run down the stories that touched our world in 2008. Don't miss our predictions for 2009.






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If we’ve learned anything from 2008 it’s that everything can change in the blink of an eye. Seismic shifts in politics and wall street happened in a flash. A sense of surrealism took hold, the unbelievable became the norm. Every journo, pundit and potificators of culture will analyze 2008 in minute detail, each with their own spin. Although the seconds are ticking down to the dawn of a new year, each passing moment brings for me a new revelation.

The year is continuing to kick out breaking news. We’ve covered the RIAA declaring a cease-fire on individuals. The story broke on Friday with some fine coverage on CNET and The Wall Street Journal. It seems like we may be close to the end of business as usual in the music industry. I monitor the happenings, developments, stumbles and miscalculations of the music biz because it is a study of what not to do in the social media era. Ignore consumers, alienate fans, stick to old-world practices and watch your fortresses crumble. Those that innovate will succeed. 2008 gave us possible solutions to connecting artists in a more cohesive community with their audience. NoiseTrade came on strong this year. They bill themselves as “Fair Trade Music.” Before Radiohead reported their success with the pay-what-you-want experiment, NoiseTrade was empowering artists with widgets that offered fans a easily understood way to encourage patronage. They rightly won Mashable’s Open Web Award for music.

Social media is influencing everything today. We’re becoming more aware of the socialnets because the old-guard news outlets are falling all over themselves to report on the shiny new tech toys. We are still tapping on wires, they just have different names now. This was the year when Twitter became the “Kleenex” of micro communications. The info-flow is now trackable, in real-time because millions of people are putting their insta-thoughts on public timelines. Louis Gray is correctly debating whether Twitter will go mainstream, Guy Kawasaki tells Robert Scoble that his world is now Twitter centric .

The adoption of open-source is becoming more widespread, we no longer have to suffer isolation when trying to figure out how to cook a great meal, install software, experience hic-ups with tech. The community is assembled and is willing to share their knowledge. FriendFeed, for me became a trusted real-time knowledge base. We become stronger when we help and ask for assistance. Marc Canter told us that someday the web will be live and open. 2008 was the year the I saw that dream actually coming true. Scoble burns away the remaining hours of 08 trying to implement his perfected real-time info-flow.

I am a documentarian by vocation. It’s my challenge to observe and reflect broad concepts of reality. I became hyper-active in several emerging social net communities this year. I wanted to silently observe the changing landscape but was drawn into the conversation. I’m an often bewildered by what passes as “mainstream” I am not a populist, the “crowd” is often wrong.

Once upon a time we relied on Nielsen Ratings to tell us what was popular on TV. Box Office reports guided our collective film interactions. Now we are looking more at what like-minded friends are taking in. Time is my most precious asset. The films I see are selected upon my exact interests in the medium as a tool for storytelling. I’m finding “smarter” recommendations on the social-tubes. Let the normies eat-up the latest blockbusting drivel, we are on a knowledge quest here. The year in film produced some original ideas like Man On a Wire , Synecdoche, New York but overall, it was not a great year in film. My favorite flick of 08 was Wall•E. It’s beautifully executed and a reminder that purpose drives life. I smile when thinking about this film.

It was only a few weeks ago that I began working with Peter Himmelman. I’m Directing his Furious World weekly live concert/ conversation. It brings together several BIG ideas for me. Great music, connection and using social tools to band together in community are the overarching themes. To have the opportunity to walk down this unknown world together is a joy. 2008 was the application of ideas for me. We are maturing in our use of tech options.

What was the biggest “story” of 2008 for me? It wasn’t the meltdown in the financial markets, the forced inevitability of political change or company A introducing exciting product. This was the year of us SEEING network differently. One of the great innovators in social-tech is Leo Laporte, he puts ideas into action daily. This year over 271,000 people watched his live streaming “24-Hours of the iPhone." These are truly staggering numbers. More people were watching Leo live than were tuned into MSNBC at that moment. Laporte has assembled his own DIY television network. His “netcasts” are heard by hundreds of thousands. He’s figured out how to make this social-net work. While you will see many stories of social-tool A, B or C in the year-end re-caps, they have forgotten the BIG story of the year. Leo Laporte changed the reality of what can be done on the socialnet.

Take notice: The Revolution has happened this year. It wasn’t Televised- it was streamed, for free.


msw

It's been a good week for music. Congratulations to NoiseTrade for winning the Mashable's Open Web Award for Music.

We will be talking about community tonight on Peter Himmelman's Furious World. The concert/ conversation begins at 7 PM PST. We look forward to a great night of music and community.

[ after show update: Thank-you to all who joined us, hope to see you next week.]

Watch the show below -

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This week Dr. Tony Shore of ObviousPop and I cover the latest news in music and tech.

We examine the year-end charts from Rolling Stone, Meta Critic and ObviousPop.






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Bonus: Free music - 8bit Jesus All My Internet Friends by Amanda French.

Part of the “job” of a Film Director is to construct our imagined reality into a reasonable experience. What we are charged with is the task of convincing you that what was once only in our minds could actually be. It is why we are driven mad when the saltshaker on the table doesn’t live up to what we saw in our head. Yes, even a seemingly common utensil has meaning in the story. Why did the couple choose that shape, that color? Was there an argument over this choice? Was the male agreeable to the purchase only to expedite an end to the shopping experience? Perhaps other dispensers reminded him too much of the shakers his Mother had, memories he would rather not recall in his “new” life. To us, there is symbolism and meaning in every frame, every object in the shot, every angle is selected to convey the indescribable- the complete experience.

I was informed from the Documentary Stanley Kubrick’s Boxes that Kubrick sorted through thousands of photographs of entryways before deciding that the door in his mind for Eyes Wide Shut would have to be constructed at Pinewood Studios. It’s an example of complete dedication to a vision, an uncompromising interpretation of imagination. A Director must clearly see things that are not yet there.

I see ubiquitous communication channels. I dream of tools that allow me to communicate really big concepts to small groups of people, tools that allow me to listen to great amounts of knowledge whenever I choose. I am closely watching developments in social media because interesting conversation nodes are becoming fully “tuneable.” I have set up channels where I can drop into info streams where really BIG thinkers are attempting to work out their imagined worlds.

Engineers, scientists and directors have a lot in common. We attempt to put shape to our make believe universe. Conversation sparks ideas, it’s the real-time wrestling of ideas that helps us focus to a perfected implementation. Creators of successful Social Network sites start with an understanding of their own grand world. They listen to what their users describe as their ideal environment and adjust the experience.

Christopher Nolan took a question, “What if I couldn’t trust reality?” and made the truly brilliant film Memento. The first time we experience the work, we're in the confused mind of Leonard who is incapable of forming new memories. A second viewing places us in the uncomfortable position of knowing the motivations of the other players. The film took on a life of its own through message boards, comment threads and interaction from the audience. We dissected meanings, inferences and explored our interpretations by examining clues Nolan left behind. I believe that only Nolan has all the answers to the mysteries of Leonard, he was cognizant to lead us to a place of questioning.

Technology is to empower our ideas. The goal of shaping a new communication tool is to re-interpret the hope of connection. We are no longer restricted by a singular interface. A film experience doesn’t just have to be an insular activity. Out of an exacting work can come many conversations. I’m encouraged to see Nolan embracing emerging tech as a way to foster connection. On December 18th at 6 pm PST, he is participating in a community screening of The Dark Knight via BD Live.

This event goes beyond a standard “chat” it assumes that we will be gathered in front of our home theaters, viewing the film in the highest available quality. It is the convergence of many minds who have not compromised the precise vision of excellence.

I’m seeing the application of tech becoming more like the exciting dream in my head. Now please pass me the Northwood Canary Opalescent Cactus saltshaker, my popcorn needs a little NaCl.

msw

We hope you will join us tonight for another special evening of live music and conversation with Peter Himmelman. The show starts at 7 PM PST.

Sit back and enjoy Peter Himmelman's Furious World an hour of rock and roll, ideas, and passionately ordered chaos.

» Read More

This week Dr. Tony Shore of ObviousPop and I cover the latest news in music and tech.

We visit with Duncan Freeman, President of Band Metrics and explore the "Google Analytics" of artist data. We celebrate Peter Himmelman's Furious World, the weekly live concert series from Santa Monica. Join us for the discussion of an ever changing music landscape.






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