Emerge Trends Weblog

RIP Rauschenberg

Emerge Trends — 2008-05-13T13:28:26Z

One of the giants of American art died Monday night at 82 years old. Robert Rauschenberg was among the most influential and prolific American artists working during the 20th century. With work blurring the lines between painting and sculpture, not to mention prints, photographs, musical compositions and even choreography, Rauschenberg was an artistic polymath and a hero to EMERGE. Today is a sad day indeed...

Read more here

Here are some our favorite pieces:

Posted by James Friedman

Have You Heard This B(r)and?

Emerge Trends — 2008-05-06T18:36:29Z

With all the talk of the demise of the music industry, EMERGE's trip to Coachella a couple weeks ago had us thinking that music is very much alive and well. Hundreds of thousands of music lovers gathering for a weekend in the middle of nowhere was pretty inspiring...

Yet, it also got us thinking about the role brands play and will play in this evolving space. Sure, Starbucks has it's label and few tours happen without some corporate underwriting, but a recent article suggests that this is just the tip of the iceberg. Will we be seeing more partnerships like that between UK chart-toppers Groove Armada and Bacardi?

Or are we going to see something even more unprecedented. Some folks are pursuing new integrated deals in which investors advance money to artists through partnerships with management, taking a stake in 270 degrees of their output (everything but publishing), thus avoiding conflicts of interest and promoting higher rates of return for both artists and management on physical and digital releases, licensing, sync placements, touring and merchandising. Radiohead sort of set the tone for this by doing deals in various territories and selling In Rainbows online as well, but expect much more to come from the likes of This Is Music, who have just sold a share to ie:music, best known for their integrated deal on behalf of Robbie Williams a couple years ago.

Posted by James Friedman

"Pirate Radio"

Emerge Trends — 2008-04-30T19:13:13Z

Ok, so just like most everybody else who noticed, EMERGE thought that Clear Channel's new Erockster HD radio channel probably should have avoided calling itself pirate radio for its launch during Coachella weekend. That minor complaint aside, this might be the coolest thing the corporate behemoth has ever done.

Helmed by friend-o'-EMERGE from way back when Tyler Malin and Eric Szmanda (aka Greg Sanders on CSI), ERockster is a pretty excellent tweak of the classic radio format. The website has lots of blogs and social networking functions that we're not totally enamored with, but the playlists are great and growing quickly to the tune of 1000 songs per week. Best of all, listeners can log in and help influence playlists by giving their feedback, thereby addressing some of the principle complaints leveled at Clear Channel, which has historically consolidated playlists across its multiple stations, thereby erasing regional peculiarities and homogenizing the radio listening experience.

Launching on HD channel 2 and rolling out on three stations nationally, in LA, DC and Philly, Erockster will syndicate 2 hour blocks on FM stations beginning in May. This may just be the first step in a radical reimagining of radio...

We might just have to get an HD radio now. In the meantime, EMERGE will be checking the stream online...

Read the press release here
Read the snarky review over at Idolator

Posted by James Friedman

A Few Thoughts on Coachella

Emerge Trends — 2008-04-29T15:58:03Z

After years and years of hearing about how great this annual festival in the desert is, EMERGE finally went out to Indio, California for this year's Coachella festival. We had a blast over all, saw some amazing performances, went to some killer afterparties, hung with great people, and didn't get much sleep. Here are some of our thoughts, fresh off the red eye flight home from LA:

1. Coachella is really white: It's probably not just the programming of the festival itself but also the cost of tickets and accommodation as well as the fact that it takes place in an extremely posh part of the country. Whatever the reason, the throngs of punters in every stage we visited were overwhelmingly young and caucasian. The same complaint could be leveled at indie rock as a whole presumably, but coming from NYC, EMERGE was struck by the conspicuous lack of people of color amongst both the audience and performers.

2. Girls, put on some clothes. In the age of amateur papparazzi, webcasts, youtube and relentless videography of everything, we were pretty surprised by the number of ladies who seemingly left home for the festival in nothing more than a bathing suit, some sneakers (sometimes motorcycle boots), and a backpack. Sure, drunk dudes love you, but your mothers would be appalled. Plus it gets chilly once the sun goes down. (see photos below for more...)

3. While all sorts of hipster publications, from The Fader to Anthem to Flaunt Magazine all threw parties at Coachella, some fared better than others. The Fader and Anthem's day parties got high marks- especially Anthem's utterly bonkers Fiesta De Las Fiestas, the Flaunt events at the Horizon Hotel were marred by noise complaints and an aggressive police presence, which effectively killed the party spirit. In a town of gated communities and tourist hotels, party people need more secluded locations to throw a rager.

Check out the Anthem Fiesta on Last Night's Party (some of this is NSFW!!!)

Posted by James Friedman

Green Air

Emerge Trends — 2008-04-22T16:32:31Z

So it's Earth Day and here in New York, it's one hell of a fine spring afternoon. Which has got EMERGE thinking about the glut of green-oriented things going on these days. We really dug much of the enviro-themed NY Times Sunday Magazine from a couple days ago, and we're flush with pride for our friends over at Green Air Radio, which launched on twenty six stations nationwide today.

As the name suggests, Green Air is first and foremost a radio program devoted to news, information and entertainment of an environmental nature. Their motto is "your renewable source for sustainable information," which is surely more jargon heavy than the content, which is created by a crack team of young people with quite a bit of experience working in radio and television. With an accompanying website and blog, Green Air promises to be more than just a radio show. Keep your ears open for the Green Air Minute on CBS Radio affiliates...

Posted by James Friedman

Big Boi Meets Ballet

Emerge Trends — 2008-04-14T15:49:00Z

Big Boi of Outkast fame is teaming up with the Atlanta Ballet for a groundbreaking collaboration that hopes to bring hip hop audiences into the world of classical dance and the world of classic dance to new audiences that have traditionally disdained what is widely perceived as a very old and very white art form.

This article is a great read and makes EMERGE wish we could jet down to the dirty south to catch the premier.

"Big" premieres at the Fox Theater on Thursday, April 17

Posted by James Friedman

Cutting Edge: Highlights of the Week

Emerge Trends — 2008-04-14T15:43:23Z

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Articles
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Twitter - A Teaching and Learning Tool
Cutting Edge Abstract:   It's debatable how useful a tool like Twitter is for communication. That's because we haven't figured out how to use it yet.
Why it's important: Is Twitter a unique tool for communication and how will we start to see it being used? How are you using Twitter? What about Twittervision?

Can a Swimsuit Be Too Good?
Cutting Edge Abstract:   Officials muddle over their options for fairness as records begin falling due to a single high-tech suit.
Why it's important: How does society accept technology in athletics?

The Next Giant Leap For Mankind
Cutting Edge Abstract:   NASA is back at it and we have a tentative plan to go to Mars. But first we're going back to the moon.
Why it's important: After this TED talk by Stephen Hawking it's not surprising that Americans should want their tax dollars spent on space travel. Is 15 cents a day enough?

Hot thin roofs
Cutting Edge Abstract:   The solar energy market is making some rapid advancements that have the potential to change how we make energy.
Why it's important: How will technology coupled with advocates like Al Gore making presentations like this one at TED going affect climate change? Is the energy crisis tantamount to our parents' confrontation of civil rights?

Microtising - Logo carved onto human hair
Cutting Edge Abstract:   A researcher used a focused ion beam microsocope to carve his school's logo on a human hair.
Why it's important: What's the market for micro branding?

The Vitamin Myth
Cutting Edge Abstract: Americans spend $7.5 billion a year on vitamins and it's surprising how easily they can be misused and become harmful to our health.
Why it's important: Are vitamins part of our quick fix, pill popping culture and how much of a contribution to our health do they really make?

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Videos of the Week :
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Guerilla Marketing - La Dispensa

Cardboard Tron

Lifted - Pixar

Luke Arm

Air Bear Street Art

Sqeeze Me

50 Greatest Comedy Sketches

Titled Room

Flight of the Conchords Ep 3 Hiphopopotamus vs. Rhymenoceros

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Webbies of the Week :
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39 Creative Flash Designs

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Tools
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Qik - Stream live video fast to the world. Right from your phone.

Pitchfork TV

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Architecture of the Week
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Sky Farms

Archisuits

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Links to Keep You Informed Until Next Issue:
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InfluxInsights.com
ThisIsClutch.blogspot.com
Toggle

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Pictures of the Week:
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What Hands Can Do

Who Needs a Truck?

Light Graffiti

Catch The Moment

Written by Ken Fisher for EMERGE

Posted by James Friedman

Tenori-On-Tour

Emerge Trends — 2008-04-11T15:09:18Z

Ok, so normally EMERGE isnt' really that interested in the gear-obsessions that drive people to sell organs for an iPhone or to discuss the relative merits of granular or analog-modeling synthesis. However, we are interested in technologies that take esoteric- dare I say nerdy- processes from outside dark rooms filled with cables and doodads and turn them into engaging performances. AND, as our devotion to Daft Punk's Alive tour last Summer indicated, we love a good electronic music performance that transcends the dude-behind-a-laptop paradigm.

Hence EMERGE's fascination with the Tenori-On-Tour, a live product demonstration tour showcasing a really interesting little gizmo from Yamaha that looks like this:

Basically, this is similar to the much more homespun Monome machine from a couple years ago, allowing users to customize a grid of pads to control their music software, and translate some of the normally unseen aspects of electronic music production into a visual language of blinking lights and patterns. To really find out what's going on here, EMERGE is going to check out the New York stop of the tour on April 16 and we encourage any curious folks to stop by the SAT in Montreal on April 11th or 1015 Fulsom in San Francisco on the 18th. The demos will include a presentation by Tenori-On inventor Toshio Iwai as well as performances by top-shelf button-pushers including Robert Lippok, Sutekh, Pole, Safety Scissors, I Am Robot And Proud, and Nathan Michel. Best of all, attendees can enter a raffle to win their own Tenori-On and rest assured that there will be many other music geeks and gadget freaks there to attend what is basically a glorified version of the infomercial...

Posted by James Friedman

Get Buck

Emerge Trends — 2008-04-09T15:42:03Z

Normally, EMERGE hates just reiterating a bit of info we got in an email, but every once in a while we need to make an exception. Now is just such a time.

Note, these are just stills. click links below to see video

For a few years now, we've been buddies with some of the folks at motion graphics powerhouse Buck. Just yesterday, we got news of some recent work they've done for clients like Toyota, Fuel TV, the NBA, and the Vancouver Olympic Committee. What's more, they've also launched a new site and posted a brand new reel, which is damn fine if we do say so ourselves. That tune in background? That's "Fa Fa Fa" by Datarock...

Also, take a moment to check out their making-of documentary for their recent work on Toyota Corolla here. It's a pretty fascinating peek behind the curtains, into the process of creating a design- and story-intensive spot.

Posted by James Friedman

Unlike

Emerge Trends — 2008-04-07T18:38:51Z

Apologies for the long silence. EMERGE was on holiday, catching a bit of late season snowboarding out in Colorado... We got lucky. Two feet of fresh powder and next to no crowds on the slopes. We don't mean to brag, but it's the best excuse we've ever had for not updating the site for a few days...

Berlin rooftops

EMERGE's favorite nightclub, Panoramabar

With the advent of user reviews, blogs and web resources like Superfuture the travel guidebook our parents used back in the days (Frommer's Europe On $10 A Day, we're looking at you) feels less than totally relevant. Sure, there are things like Time Out's The Other Side Of guides or Monocle's 2007 Top 50 but Unlike is something a bit different. Launching with Berlin, but promising more cities to come, Unlike presents search functions, specialized guides focused on art collections, vintage clothes hunting, and architecture, events listings and much more. So if your idea of tourism includes checking out the hottest young galleries, coolest shops and maybe a demonstration of a new type of synthesizer, Unlike is the guide for you. As they say themselves:

unlike.net looks at the most personal, treasured locations, events and urban themes, capturing the spirit of life’s journey: in the club, in the shop, in the restaurant, at the gallery.

unlike.net is the definitive city guide in motion, it’s where experiences are shared, styles are formed, and ideas accelerated. unlike.net offers a fresh perspective that reinvents the city guide for the 21st century.

Available whenever and wherever you need it. unlike.net is more than a simple guide, it?s where guests become locals.

Posted by James Friedman

Diddy Does WMC

Emerge Trends — 2008-03-25T13:32:33Z

A few years ago Diddy (aka P Diddy, Puff Daddy, etc) made a big splash at the annual Miami Winter Music Conference by making a few surprise appearances alongside legendary producer Felix Da Housecat and DJ Hell. There was a song called "Jack U" that Felix and Diddy had produced together and rumors were swirling around the industry that the hip-hop impresario was making a foray into dance music. No album seems to have materialized (though some videos on YouTube that appear to depict Diddy trying to buy ecstacy on the dancefloor in Ibiza have), but Diddy is heading back to the WMC this year after a two year absence. And best of all, he's posted a ranting and bizarre clip on YouTube announcing his party, which is couched as a battle between Diddy himself and a range of talents including big room dancefloor don Steve Angello, San Francisco tech funk phenomenon Claude Von Stroke, and the Bronx-based teen duo Martinez Brothers. It's an impressively tasteful lineup and a bizarre collision of the blindingly commercial ends of pop and dance music (Diddy and Angello) with some really significant underground talents (CVS and Martinez Brothers). Wish we were heading down to check this out on Friday...

Posted by James Friedman

Cutting Edge: Highlights of the Week

Emerge Trends — 2008-03-25T13:19:52Z

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Articles
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Urban Is the New Mainstream: Thoughts on Hipster-Hop and Black Creativity

Cutting Edge Abstract: A first person perspective on what the ad world is largely missing out on: multi-cultural targeting.
Why It's Important: This new breed of artist has tapped into something, a geeky kind of coolness that embraces who they are, but also gives the crowd permission to be left of center and be who they are -- comfortable in an uncomfortable urban gray area. Urban is not what it used to be. It's everyone now. Do we know our target or do we just stick to what we know?

Web Sites Let Bibliophiles Share Books Virtually

Cutting Edge Abstract:   "People tend to define themselves by their books, and they love to show off their book collections at home, I think book social networks act as an extension of that."
Why it's important: How long until we are going to be able to access and fully read all of our books via the web?

Controversial Art

Cutting Edge Abstract:   As part of the exhibition the artist tied a weak, sick and hungry street dog in the corner of a room. It died later that night of hunger.
Why it's important: How far would you go to express a social message?

Time Machine: CERN's Large Hadron Collider

Cutting Edge Abstract:   Have you ever heard of "traversable wormholes?" Well, soon you might start hearing about them, as the world's most powerful particle accelerator becomes functional this spring - unleashing forces, capable of distorting not only space (just like gravity distorts space around Earth), but also TIME.
Why it's important: "Einstein's Big Idea" airs this Sunday on KQED and gives us a look at how modern Physics came to fruition. What glimpse into next level physics will this particle collider give us?

You Weren't Meant to Have a Boss

Cutting Edge Abstract:   What's so unnatural about working for a big company? The root of the problem is that humans weren't meant to work in such large groups.
Why it's important: Chris Anderson also talks about the idea that companies struggle once they reach a critical mass, somewhere around 150 people. What is the best environment for workers to be most productive?

The Long Emergency - in case you've been sleep walking too. (2005)

Cutting Edge Abstract: A simple explanation of peak oil and the economic effects it will have.
Why it's important: This was written 2.5 years ago. How do we as a society value information and how often do we overlook smart and insightful ideas when they aren't popular.

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Videos of the Week :
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Time Lapse Photography using a DSLR

Gomi Style - DIY Cardboard Furniture Reuse Design

The Sad Truth About Relationships
<div>The Sad Truth About Relationships</div>

DJ Ramsey Scratch Tape Decks

BigDog Quadruped Robot Is So Stunning It's Spooky

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Tool of the Week :
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Mojo - OURTUNES IS REVIVED

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Websites of the Week :
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Bar Da Boa

Do The Test

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Self Improvement of the Week
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Zen Rules

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Links to Keep You Informed Until Next Issue:
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InfluxInsights.com
ThisIsClutch.blogspot.com
Toggle

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Pictures of the Week:
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380 Cockpit demo

Made of Apple

Gun Owners

Posted by James Friedman

Links Links Links

Emerge Trends — 2008-03-19T13:15:00Z

Apologies for going quiet on everyone the past few days... EMERGE has been busy and there hasn't been a whole lot exciting us other than reports we've seen trickling in from last weeks SXSW Festival on other blogs.

Here are a few links to things we've been digging:

Lyrics In Alphabetical Order Quiz
Can you recognize the song if all the lyrics are alphabetized with duplicates removed?

What Conglomerate Owns Your Favorite Organic Brand?
Thanks GOOD Magazine!!! Well worth considering, especially in light of WalMart's professed move into organics. Critics say the retail giant will eviscerate organic protections and alter the marketplace...

The Wackness
The always awesome Playlist blog discusses what some critics are calling "Juno for boys," a film set in 1994 NYC best known thus far for a make out scene between Sir Ben Kingsley and an Olsen twin. We're more excited for the soundtrack, which features everything from "All The Young Dudes" by Mott The Hoople to "Tearz" by Wu Tang Clan.

Obama's Brilliant Speech About Race
EMERGE is no great fan of uber-conservative nutjob Matt Drudge, but once in a while, his site comes with the goodness, as with this transcription of Barack Obama's landmark speech from yesterday.

Posted by James Friedman

Part Of The Weekend Never Dies

Emerge Trends — 2008-03-10T18:52:09Z

Several years ago, the cruelly underrated Belgian band Soulwax- led by the Dewaale brothers Stephen and David aka production/remix/dj aces 2manydjs- released an album called Any Minute Now, which they followed with a dancefloor remixes album called Nite Versions. Then they embarked on a number of tours around the globe bringing the Nite Versions to life by playing live at dance clubs and parties under the banner of Radio Soulwax, which also included 2manydjs sets behind the turntables. Also on tour was the always-popular-with-EMERGE filmmaker Saam Faramand, who documented all the hijinks along the way. The resulting film "Part Of The Weekend Never Dies" is making it's debut at London's Ether Festival at the Southbank Centre in April. Get thee to London and check this out. And in the meantime, here's our favorite Soulwax video. It's a riot...

Posted by James Friedman

Cutting Edge: Highlights of the Week

Emerge Trends — 2008-03-10T15:11:51Z

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Articles
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Antisocial: Social Networking is Just Another CB Radio

Cutting Edge Abstract:   What killed the CB radio was that moment when its annoyance factor exceeded its utility.
Why it's important: How close are social networking sites to reaching this point?

The Psychology of the Placebo

Cutting Edge Abstract:   A study by Daniel Moerman looked at 117 studies of ulcer drugs from 1975 to 1994 and found that the drugs may interact in a way you might not expect: culturally, rather than pharmacodynamically?
Why it's important: Do drugs (like anti-depressants) stop working if you know they are little better than a sugar pill? And do cultural factors, like our collective faith in a treatment, have a measurable effect on the benefits?

What I Learned in Jail Last Night

Cutting Edge Abstract: It's a lot easier to lose your freedom than one might think.
Why it's important: Is this an example of long tail

Steve Jobs on Apple and the iPhone

Cutting Edge Abstract:   "It's not about pop culture, and it's not about fooling people, and it's not about convincing people that they want something they don't. We figure out what we want. And I think we're pretty good at having the right discipline to think through whether a lot of other people are going to want it, too. That's what we get paid to do. "So you can't go out and ask people, you know, what the next big [thing.] There's a great quote by Henry Ford, right? He said, 'If I'd have asked my customers what they wanted, they would have told me "A faster horse." ' "
Why it's important: Can advertising play this role of figuring out what people want?

A machine that can look into the mind

Cutting Edge Abstract:   Scientists have developed a computerized mind-reading technique which lets them accurately predict the images that people are looking at by using scanners to study brain activity.
Why it's important: How will future technology be harnessed to visualize scenes from a person's dreams or memory?

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Videos of the Week :
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Traffic jam emerges for no reason at all

Pitchfork.tv - Videos Coming Soon - 4/7/08

Consumer Generate OOH

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Tools
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Documenting your party

Hyper Cities

WeEndure - for all you endurance athletes

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Events
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Outside Lands Golden Gate Concert

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Art of the Week:
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My Kid Could Paint That

Cutting Edge Abstract: News crews from all over were rushing to report on the adorable Marla Olmstead and her colorful canvases, calling her a "budding Picasso," a "pint-sized Pollock." Within a few months, she sold more than $300,000 worth of paintings. And then, just short of her 5th birthday, the bubble burst.
Why It's Important: If a child can make great abstract paintings, does this mean that modern art is itself a hoax, a high-culture con game?

Garfield Minus Garfield

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Webbys of the Week:
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Motion Portrait

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Architecture of the Week:
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San Francisco in 2108, a Hydro-Net City of the Future

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Links to Keep You Informed Until Next Issue:
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InfluxInsights.com
ThisIsClutch.blogspot.com
Toggle
ThisIsCuttingEdge (archive)

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Pictures of the Week:
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Posted by James Friedman