Late Weezer/Blink-182 Post

I guess I have a lot less free time now that I'm working. It's been weeks since this show, but I still think it was one of the best concerts I've ever been to.

Blink-182, Weezer and Taking Back Sunday played to a sold-out crowd at the Meadows on Sat., Sept. 29, and at least Weezer and Blink rocked it. Also, I got a press pass from the Bristol Press, so I got to take some sweet photos. The entire show was 15-year-old Freesia's dream come true.

The best concert of my life was probably Summercase 2007 in Madrid, when I got to see Bloc Party, the Arcade Fire, the Chemical Brothers, the Flaming Lips, Air, the Kaiser Chiefs, Lily Allen, James, etc. all over the course of two nights. However, this summer, I got to see my next top 3 concerts: Blink-182, of course, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Vampire Weekend at All Points West and also a last-minute show from Mates of State at Cafe 9, which was intimate and the best $3 ever spent.

Updates and thoughts on health care

I haven't blogged in nearly two months! Perhaps it's because I'm getting the hang of my new (well, kinda new) job at the Bristol Press, and when I get home after writing all day, I don't want to write any more. Maybe it's because it's the summer, and I have the relaxing mentality. It could also be because the internet at my house is really bad.

Anyway, here's what I've done this summer: worked, hung out, tried to catch movies and shows. I went to All Points West for one day this year - this was a much better decision than going all three days last year. We're getting old. But Friday was the best lineup. Jay-Z was a great last-minute replacement to the Beastie Boys, and I got to see two of my current favorite bands - Vampire Weekend and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs! It was fantastic. Before APW, I also saw Diana Krall, and later, I saw Sugar Ray for $5 - they played only their hits and covers. It was hilarious.

On a different note, I started getting these minor chest pains when I breathe in deeply today, and checking WebMD just makes me a hypochondriac. Also, it tells me to call a doctor, which I can't do until Sept. 1 because my insurance doesn't kick in until then. Central CT Communications, the company that owns the Bristol Press and New Britain Herald, makes employees wait 90 days until they're covered. I've got about three and a half weeks left.

This is the first time in two months I've begun to worry about not having insurance. And it made me think: Even with insurance, you have a ton of problems. The Bristol Press/New Britain Herald just switched insurance providers, and I know some people here are worried about their lack of a card from the new provider. Also, it's not really clear what's covered because we mysteriously lost the coverage book from our new insurance meeting. When I was under my parents' insurance, I always had trouble calling about things. I've been in support of universal health care since I heard about it, but really, recent events - that is, my being a 22-year-old without health insurance and joining the ranks of the many uninsured - I've come to believe that there is an urgent need for health care reform. Even waiting 90 days feels like forever when you're not sure if you're going to have to see a doctor. I can't imagine what it's like to wait indefinitely.

I'm not going into my thoughts on insurance yet. I'll save that for a time when I don't have a meeting in an hour.

Seriously, Cox Media?

I saw the Cox Media smarter advertising commercial for the first time today, and the entire time, all I could think was, Really?

The commercial, if you haven't seen it, is a direct attack at newspapers. It tells advertisers that cable advertising is "better" than newspaper advertising by taking statements like "People read newspapers" or "Newspaper advertising is affordable" and attempting to prove them wrong with statistics and claims that cable advertising is more effective, even if it is more expensive.

Really, Cox? Seriously?

First of all, the only reason why I watched that commercial and didn't change the channel was because I wanted to hear what they had to say about newspapers, and I wanted to see if they would argue against any other forms of advertising. They didn't. It was just about newspapers. Disclaimer: I am a full-time newspaper reporter. This is my first job after several internships at newspapers and working at my college newspaper. I've wanted to be a reporter since I was 5-years-old because I've always had a lot of newspapers in my house. My dad just really likes reading the news - we've always subscribed to our local paper, the Record-Journal, but he regularly picks up the Hartford Courant, USA Today and the New York Daily News for fun. We also subscribe to Newsweek, Time and Spin and pick up tabloids when they're interesting. Print media has been a staple in our household because it's readily available, and it's enjoyable to just sit back and read about what's going on.

Here's the thing. Any medium that uses advertising as a form of income is hurting because the advertising industry is hurting in this economy. When a business needs to cut costs, advertising is one of the first things to go. That being said, it doesn't make sense that Cox Media would target newspapers exclusively like they're a major competitor taking all their advertising. What is this, Pepsi vs. Coke? Also, the commercial even says that advertisers will use newspapers because advertising in them is affordable - that's true because newspapers need advertisements and want to keep prices attractive to buyers. Why doesn't Cox just make their advertising more affordable? And on that point, I don't understand why Cox needs to go after newspapers for more advertisements because they're a cable company. They pretty much have all of Meriden under their services, even if they're pretty bad. I have a ton of Internet connection problems at home, and when I ask around, other people in the area have the same problems at the same time.

On the Cox Media "Smarter Advertising" Web page, the list of related stories is about declining ratings for local news. What does that mean? Do they not want people to advertise through local newscasts? Are they just making an attack on news in general? It just doesn't make any sense.

So here are my reasons why newspaper advertising is better than cable:

1. You can't change the channel. Yes, you can turn the page, but there's usually a story or something on that page that keeps your attention for some time. The advertisement is right there, and a reader can't help but see it.

2. Your advertisements reach people anywhere. In the car, on the porch, on the beach, people can bring along a newspaper to read. Also, they read them in the bathroom. Commercial breaks are the perfect time to leave and go to the bathroom. While people do spend a lot of time in front of a television, they do have to leave at points, and they're not going to leave during their favorite show.

3. It's more affordable. Especially when businesses are struggling and cutting costs, it makes more sense to advertise in a way that's cost effective.

4. It works. It's cost effective because it's affordable and works. People see advertisements. If they're inserts in the paper, they can't help but look at them.

5. It reaches more people than you think. Take my college newspaper, for instance. We had a circulation of 9,000, but a lot more people read it because it would get left on a dining hall or library table. I always pick up a newspaper and read it when I'm in a waiting room. I don't usually watch TV when waiting for something. Families share newspapers. Also, some classifieds in newspapers transfer to their Web sites. That means there are even more readers.

6. People need their news. People read newspapers because they want to know what's going on. Especially with local papers, it's usually the only place they can go to find out what's going on in their town. If there's a local election coming up, how else will they know about the candidates? And it's their elected local leaders who determine a lot of stuff that actually matters to them. They really don't need to watch another reality TV show.

7. People are attentive when they're reading newspapers. You actually have to read the paper to get the news. That means that they're focused on the page at hand. Can you really say that about someone whose TV is just on while they're making dinner or doing work?

8. People look for things in newspapers. They go through the classifieds to find things or look for jobs. They're looking for coupons. They're actively seeking out these advertisements. With television, it's the opposite. It's just forced on them, and, once again, they can change the channel or get up.

Here's the link to Cox Media's terrible rationale: http://www.coxmedia.com/GainesvilleOcala/advertisingmore.aspx?ID=DA_814852.

And here's the related article that showed up on the side bar when I went on the page: http://www.coxmedia.com/GainesvilleOcala/advertisingmore.aspx?ID=DA_1151368

Final Decision on Tinted Windows

Not worth it. Take a look at this video - it's their performance of "Kind of Girl" on Rock After Dark:

Yeah.
I wanted so badly to like them, I really did. Hanson's been my all-time favorite band since I was 10 years old, and they're a great favorite band for a number of reasons (post on this coming later). So when I heard that Taylor Hanson was doing a side project, the first thing I thought of was that time I waited in line to see them in New Hampshire (yes, I drove from Connecticut) and sat there for about six hours in a misty rain and had usual conversation with the regular Fansons. One mother said that she won a lunch with Tyler Hilton, who opened for Hanson a few years ago, and Tyler said Taylor would be better off doing his own thing. Um, after hearing Tinted Windows, I disagree.
Tinted Windows is a power pop superband that's made up of Taylor Hanson, James Iha from the Smashing Pumpkins and A Perfect Circle, Adam Schlesinger from Fountains of Wayne, and Bun E. Carlos, the drummer of Cheap Trick. It's a weird grouping, as the band admitted in a Spin interview. Because of each member's success in other bands, one would think they would gather some old fans for this new group. They might, but it's going to be hard because this sound is different from all their former groups, except for maybe Fountains of Wayne, which has a little more power pop. However, all the "Whoa-ohs" from Taylor and James sound very strained and just look weird coming from them. Even the song feels superficial, a song about "the kind of girl you can't get enough of ... whoa-oh." There's really not much to it, and it really makes you question the motives of these talented musicians from rather successful bands.
Because Hanson is my favorite band, I do wish Taylor the best of luck. Who knows? Maybe they'll catch on. All those bands do have dedicated fan bases, and there could be a market for shallow attempts at power pop where the drummer is way too good for the rest of the band. But for this Fanson, who does enjoy other music by the way, it's just not good.

4/19 - Of Montreal and Janelle Monae!

This show was so fun. As soon as Janelle Monae took the stage to open for Of Montreal, Toad's Place was just loaded with energy. In a recent Spin feature on her, she said that she's been blessed to have people be too afraid of asking her how she'll fit into the mainstream. We're blessed too. I like that she's different with her front-pushed hair and jockey outfits. Her music was dancey with a touch of Outkast and a whole lot of herself shining through. At one point in the show, she painted a picture on stage and handed it to the crowd.

As Of Montreal started their first song, I almost thought that Janelle outdid them. However, as they moved on with their set, they were incredible. Totally freaking out the bouncers. With their guys in stretchy pink costumes to hobbits to a tiger doing unspeakable things to someone else in a stretchy black costume, it was a crazy party on stage, and that party feel really spread to the crowd. Especially when they performed some of their more popular numbers like "A Sentence of Sorts in Kongsvinger" or "Gronlandic Edit," which are both very danceable with recognizable and repeating background beats, they got the crowd going. I was surprised they didn't play "Heimdalsgate Like a Promethean Curse" for obvious reasons of what might have been going on in the audience, but I was very happy with how much they played off Hissing Fauna as well as Skeletal Lamping. This was probably one of my top 5 concerts, and my boyfriend and I danced more than we ever danced before.

The Ting Tings - 3/16

I know, I know. Very late update on this concert. It was a busy month. I can't wait to graduate. Anyway, The Ting Tings put on a great show and reminded me exactly why they're one of my new favorite bands. From their fun dance tunes to their extra brass instrumentals done by girls in funky wigs, it was an all-around good time. Also, the fact that they picked Hot Tub as an opener to tour with them was a fantastic idea. I love girl-fronted bands, which is partially why I love the Ting Tings. I also love energy - another quality of the Ting Tings. And here's Hot Tub from Oakland, Calif., embodying all of that. I loved that they were three multicultural girls just rapping and rocking out.

2/20 P-Funk

I got down just for the funk of it. George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic had a show at Toad's place, and it was one of the most interesting Toad's experiences I've ever had. The show was good. At times, some songs dragged on repetitively, but really, that's what a lot of the crowd wanted. They just kept on dancing. And the crowd was so diverse in both age and backgrounds, which also made this interesting. George Clinton is the man. They played their hits. They played some covers. They added some soulful singers. Clinton's granddaughter came out to MC and rap about marijuana. P-Funk turned a concert into an all-out event, and they gave us the whole funk and nothing but the funk.