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“The worst deficit comes from a recession, and if we can take the proper action in the proper time, this can be the most important step we could take to prevent another recession…

Such a bill will be presented to the Congress for action next year. It will include an across the board, top to bottom cut in both corporate and personal income taxes. It will include long-needed tax reform that logic and equity demand. And it will date that cut in taxes to take effect as of the start of next year.

The billions of dollars this bill will place in the hands of the consumer and our businessmen will have both immediate and permanent benefits to our economy. Every dollar released from taxation that is spent or invested will help create a new job and a new salary. And these new jobs and new salaries can create other jobs and other salaries and more customers and more growth for an expanding American economy.

By removing tax roadblocks to new jobs and new growth, the enactment of this measure next year will eventually more than make up in new revenue all that it will initially cost. By lightening tax burdens as the Common Market countries have done so successfully- and they have full employment and an economic growth rate twice ours – it will improve the competitive position of American business, encourage investment at home instead of abroad, and improve our balance of payments and will help make us all – individuals and as a nation – help us make the most of our economic resources.”

President John F. Kennedy, a Democrat
August 13, 1962

full text

How to be Seth Godin in four easy steps…

Step 1: Identify an ordinary object.
Like a faucet, or a door, or a car tire, or a picture frame. I’ll choose a plunger.

Step 2: Tell people how that ordinary object isn’t all that great.
Plungers are dirty and gross. Their only job is to shove poop down a plugged up toilet. Plus they stink when you’re done using them.

Step 3: Conjure up some statistic. Godin-Points for attributing your statistic to a well known organization.
According to the Federal Bureau On Septic Waste, only 1 out of every 1,079 toilet uses require the use of a plunger, which is like a really really small percentage.

Step 4: Tell people why you shouldn’t be like your ordinary object. Godin-Points for an ambiguous analogy of what they should be doing instead.
Bad marketing, like a plunger, forces a product down the throats of consumers while the market is already clogged with other products just like yours that no one really wants. A good toilet doesn’t need a plunger; it needs better water pressure.

Save. Publish. Shave your head. Relish the glory of Godin-Points. Hallelujah. Purple cow. Amen.

10. M. Ward – Hold Time
Scanning my Top 10 list this year, I’m noticing a lot of acoustic singer-songwriter types, and this early ‘09 release from M. Ward has been a nice, folksy, laid-back listen all year long for me. I truly enjoyed last year’s M. Ward collaboration She & Him, featuring actress-turned-singer Zooey Deschanel, and I found myself really missing the “she” a lot while listening to Hold Time. Nice to see her make a guest appearance on a couple tracks. Overall an intimate and well crafted album, great to accompany a cup of coffee and a good book.

9. Swell Season – Strict Joy
I have been craving new music from The Swell Season for the last two years, ever since the independent Irish flick Once graced the film world. The Swell Season is of course the collaboration of musicians-turned-actors Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová whom I’ve adored at length in other posts. The new album contains a polish and level of production that has been absent from their earlier work, which has both positive and negative ramifications. I don’t like that the increased production takes away some of the rawness and honesty intrinsic to the first record. But it is nice to see the growth and musical development that occurs when these two refine a record until it is absolutely perfect. If you loved Once and have a penchant for Irish accents, you’ll really like the cohesive set of tracks The Swell Season have brought with Strict Joy.

8. Editors – In This Light And On This Evening
Dark, introspective and industrial are words that come to mind when I think of this album. While Editors have never really steered towards “pop” in any sense of the word, In This Light And On This Evening makes a point to not allow any emphasis on lyrical hooks, and focuses instead on hard, driving rhythmic grooves, underscored by lead singer Tom Smith’s vibey and somewhat theatrical voice, all layered with guitar/synth melodies. It’s different, weird, and maybe a little creepy.

7. Doves – Kingdom Of Rust
If the Editors album was a little too dark for you, The Doves returned this year with a slightly happier, if still melancholy take on British rock. There’s some great orchestral overlays happening on this album that bring a sweeping, atmospheric tone to the entire record. I like this album for the purposefully crafted, cathedral-worthy anthems that are careful not to assume too much self-worth.

6. Pete Yorn & Scarlett Johansson – Break Up
This musician/actress pairing was a nice surprise for me this year. The first track “Relator” immediately called to mind the Mark Knopfler / Emmylou Harris collaboration from a few years ago (see their song “This Is Us”). And Scarlett doesn’t disappoint with her smokey, mysterious voice. The ScarYo pairing is a nice follow-up for those going through a little M. Ward / Zooey Deschanel withdrawal, but not quite as peppy. The record is laced with a tasteful dose of nostalgia; you get the feeling that if Break Up were a movie, it would be filmed with vintage, hand-held equipment resulting in that familiar homey, yellow-tinged, flickering roll of tape that documented all weddings and family events from the early 70’s. But Break Up is not a movie, you’ll have to listen to get the picture.

5. A Fine Frenzy – Bomb In A Birdcage
This is definitely my most “pop” choice of favorite 2009 albums, and like most pop records it just sucks you in and I can’t stop listening to it! Great hooks, great songwriting and smartly done. Highlights are definitely the lead single “Blow Away” and “Electric Twist”. I love that this record is able to maintain acoustic folk intimacy on an collection decidedly more upbeat than your typical singer-songwriter fare.

4. Bell X1 – Blue Lights On The Runway
Finally!! A new album from Bell X1! I was so excited for this to release this year, and I was not disappointed. The Irish trio swayed a little more electronic on this album, but underscored it all with great Brit-pop motifs and the modernized Talking Heads sound that I loved so much on Flock.

3. Paper Route – Absence
All Music says Paper Route Absence is “a perfectly adequate destination for fans of technicolor, atmospheric pop,” and I suppose that is an adequate description of this record. I find that the closer I get to the top of my best music list, the less musically insightful things I have to say about albums and the more my comments tend towards “OMG I JUST LOVE THIS ALBUM!” This is a brilliant record – musically complex, sonically layered, and inviting. Again, AMG: “Taking their cues from ’80s synth pop, new wave, and the bedroom electronica of the Postal Service, Paper Route make their full-length debut with Absence, an album whose quiet grandeur is reminiscent of Stars Of Track And Field’s Centuries Before Love And War.”

2. Regina Spektor – Far
Regina is back! And I would say she is back with stronger songwriting and more complex production that still maintains her signature quirkiness. The piano is still very present, which I love, and I think is what makes Regina’s music – you don’t hear a lot of piano-based female singer-songwriters. There are plenty of songs along the lines of “Better” and “Fidelity” – two of the last album’s highlight tracks – which continues to move her sound into a more progressive, pop-friendly realm. The ballad “Laughing With God” is an incredible, make-you-think track and definitely the deepest song lyrically on the record.

1. Phoenix – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
And here we are, #1 album of the year award goes to Phoenix! OMG I JUST LOVE THIS ALBUM!! All Music says, “Beyond containing the band’s best, most efficient songwriting, the album also stands apart from the first three studio albums by projecting a cool punch that is unforced,” and I would agree completely with that. There’s definitely a swagger in the music, but it’s underlying and not heavy handed. The record flows and builds easily, and while there are definitely great commercial-friendly moments (“1901″ for the Cadillac SRX), the softer moments lend way to great sweeping, epic climaxes that carry you through the entire album. I like a band that’s not afraid to show their stuff and give you a few instrumental tracks to prove that it’s not all about the lyrical hook. I love it when I can hear a track being played in a store somewhere, and I tag it with Shazam and go, “oh wow, that’s Phoenix isn’t it!” and then realize that it’s the LAST song on the album. Yes, this record is so good that even track #10 is worthy of airplay… what band in their right mind would place a radio-friendly song as the last track? A band who records an entire record of stellar, deliberate, best-of-the-year quality music.

2009 Honorable Mentions
I listened to these albums a fair amount this year, but not enough to place them in the Top 10 of 2009:

• U2 – No Line On The Horizon
• Five For Fighting – Slice
• Bluetree – God Of This City
• Muse – The Resistance
• Royksopp – Junior
• British Sea Power – Man Of Aran
• Owl City – Ocean Eyes
• The Decemberists – The Hazard

I forget sometimes how fortunate I am to have the job I have, and to do what I do in the music industry. Most of the time it’s all emails and meetings and conference calls with sales reps. Boring stuff.

But then there are days like yesterday.

Two years ago a small independent film called Once burst out of Dublin, Ireland starring Glen Hansard (lead singer of Irish rock band The Frames) and his musical collaborator Markéta Irglová. Shot on a shoestring budget (only $160,000), the film featured the pair as struggling musicians and included original music written and performed by Hansard and Irglova. It was a simple but beautiful story that went on to earn $20 million worldwide and earned Hansard and Irglova an Academy Award, a Grammy nomination, and international stardom. The two musicians now tour and perform as a duo called The Swell Season.

This week I was in California for a music presentation with one of our accounts. We do these a couple times a year featuring artists from all across the Warner label family, and it’s a cool opportunity for me to see a lot of various artists perform in one setting. The most exciting part for me – The Swell Season was on the docket to play the showcase. I have been looking forward to this for two months!

And so the time finally came yesterday. About midway through the showcase I selected for myself a spot right at the foot of the stage. A label guy got up in front of us and went through the story about Glen and Markéta and the movie – everything I just told you. And then, the words I had been waiting for, “Please welcome The Swell Season!” And then he gestures behind us! I hear music. We all turn around to see Glen, strumming on his guitar, and Marketa both standing at the back of the room side by side – no mic, no lights – as they launch into one of their trademark songs. And so begins the most incredible, intimate, unassuming, amazing acoustic performances I have ever seen in my life.

After a couple songs Glen explained how he believes stages separate an artist from the audience and creates a line of divison that shouldn’t be there, and that when he can he likes to play right in amongst the audience so that there can be a true connection. The set was necessarily short and direct, and simply amazing. They closed with their Grammy nominated song “Falling Slowly” which I captured below. There’s a lot of ambient noise, and there are plenty of better live recordings on YouTube, but this one is mine and I like it a lot:

After the set I wandered outside the club, pretending to be checking my email on my phone, but knowing Glen and Marketa had to catch a plane that evening. In general I don’t care too much about meeting artists, but there are a few that I have always wanted to meet. And so as Glen and Marketa were walking out the door I did my best to nonchalantly thank them for playing and told them how much I enjoy their music without coming across like a total goob. I’m sure I didn’t accomplish that, but they were kind enough to humor me with a little conversation and a picture before getting in their car and jetting off.

Yesterday was without a doubt one of my Top 5 music related experiences of all time. Hard to capture in words and really poor-quality video, but it was great and was a good reminder of why I work in music.

If you haven’t before, check out the soundtrack from Once. Keep your eyes open for the new album from The Swell Season releasing October 27th.

My wife likes to paint things. She’s a much better artist than I’ll ever be, and I like that the walls of our house get free custom artwork. Every once in a while artists have to go to art stores to get supplies, such as canvases and paints and brushes. We have a great art store about 5 miles from our house that offers crazy good deals on canvases and a selection of paint colors that would make the snobby little kid from your 4th grade class, who was so proud of his box of 96 Crayola crayons, speechless. This weekend was cause for one of those trips to Jerry’s Art Store.

Now, when Steph goes to the art store I usually go with her. My self-appointed job on these trips is to manage expectations. I have but one goal when we go to Jerry’s: To get in, and get out, as fast as humanly possible… otherwise, I will get a call from my bank the next day asking why I have charged $14,000 in paints and brushes to my account.

So we went to the art store Saturday. I did a quick scan of the store – there was a children’s painting class taking up one whole corner of the building, blocking the Easel display. Good, one less area to worry about. I felt comfortable leaving the Papers section unattended – Steph was on a painting trip and trying to finish a project for some friends… drawing was not top of mind. I knew she needed a couple paint based markers, so I escorted her in that direction for a quick drop off while I headed to the Acrylics Paint section. I knew if I could somehow coral five or six shoppers into Acrylics, that would be enough commotion to make Steph want to skip that area.

I quietly pushed a shopping cart over to block one end of the Acrylics aisle and then spread a rumor amongst other shoppers of a “5-for-1 acrylics paint sale”. That seemed to cause the desired result and I ran back to find Steph, who by now had long ago left the paint markers. I raced down to Brushes And Knives to find her holding a 4-inch wide albino Qinling Panda-hair paint brush in her hand, eying it like Gollum at Mount Doom, with a $75.99 price tag dangling daintily from the handle. Frantic, I grabbed her arm and gently turned her towards some modestly priced palette knives while easing the Panda-haired brush from her grip. In disbelief I glanced down at a shopping basket she had acquired sometime in the last five minutes, half full of items not on our shopping list.

I can sense I am beginning to lose control. I plant an idea in Steph’s mind that we “should go look at the art books” over in the Books And Manuals section. This is always a safe bet, because while books tend to be more expensive items, she will rarely buy one and instead thumb through the pictures looking for future ideas. She gives in and I escort her away from Brushes, while suggesting to her that I go scout out vacancy at the checkout counter. I cannot deal with a line at this point. If we have to stand in line at checkout, she’s likely to wander back into Acrylics, and then there will be no hope. We have to walk right up to the cashier, lay down the cash, and get out of there before she has a chance to take in the counter displays.

The checkout line looks good. A beret capped 40-something is just finishing up his purchase, so now is the time to move in. I give the “I’ll be 1 second” gesture to the cashier, who acknowledges me from across the store. I head back to Books to find Steph… who is not there…. Oh good moogly googly, where could she possibly have gone? A feeling of dread overwhelms me as the truth begins to sink in…

Canvases.

Canvases is the black hole of Jerry’s Art Store. It’s seven solid aisles of nothing but stretched white linen. Sheets of canvas as large as pool tables. The walls are made of canvas in Canvases. It’s a maze designed to trap you in, and never let you go, until you have convinced yourself that, “Why yes, certainly I can take home this 7-foot x 13-foot monstrosity of wood and double-primed acid-free linen and conceive upon it a work worthy of Michelangelo’s praise and adulation!” No one ever returns from Canvases.

I hear rustling. “What do you think about this one?” a familiar voice calls out. “What one?” I respond, “Where are you?” I see movement in the far back corner. “I’m right here… I think this one would look good on our living room wall!” A canvas starts to move towards me – yes, move towards me – as though self propelled. Suddenly Steph pops out from behind the 9-foot tall ‘potential of art’, peering up at a canvas which is twice as tall as her. “Maybe it would go better in the stairway where the ceilings are taller,” she counters to herself.

I sigh, and select a more unassuming 2-foot by 2-foot canvas and suggest, “You know, I’ve always wanted something to go on that blank wall in the kitchen. Perhaps you could do something with this?”

I hand it to over, which distracts her long enough for me to guide her out of Canvases and towards the front of the store, where a line has developed at the cash register. Great. We stand there while Patricia and her four kids stock up on enough water colors to keep them busy for the rest of the summer. “You know, I’ve been wanting one of these,” says Steph grabbing an Artist’s Color Wheel from the counter display. “It will help me match colors.” The name of the game is now called appeasement. “Fine,” I say as I hand the cashier my check card and start emptying items out onto the counter.