Making Advertising & Marketing Work!

This is my concluding post on Simplicity in Marketing

Why Experts Matter
A qualified corporate messaging process drives the dialog so that the visuals, language and information hierarchies are designed in concert with the product or service. Thoughtful design of content should begin earlier than many corporate executives and entrepreneurs believe. It isn’t just make-up to apply after the real thinking’s done. When experienced content designers are part of a strategic planning team, they can influence explanations for greatest success. They can provide the context to build the relationships between breakthrough ideas and the way they are expressed to the people who will buy them.

Whether homegrown or outsourced, your business needs a team dedicated to scanning for patterns and trends, and forging connections between ideas. They will also facilitate the integration across mediums that will bring together the systems, structures and processes in such a way that choices and solutions are connected, linked and cross-sold. A great marketing team is the liaison between the products of business and the minds of the consumer. It must understand both before it can serve
either.

Particularly in this tight labor pool, a competent external marketing partner can be as important to business success as financial and legal counsel. Assuming a venture has an innovative product idea and business model, a great executive team and enough financing to get traction, it still needs the packaging that will take it to market effectively. An experienced agency (like us) can provide critical bandwidth and brainwidth extensions to ensure that a company’s look, feel and messaging resonate the personality an enterprise wishes to own in the marketplace.

Blending Online and Offline Worlds
Although brands and identities must be integrated, many messages that work great in print suck on web pages. This is a topic onto itself, but here’s the top layer.

Print requires great attention to one-dimensional design and layout. Each view is a discrete canvas. Information elements are static and can explain and enhance each other predictably. Web pages, on the other hand, are a dynamic scrolling experience that place greater significance on navigational feel. Relationships between information components are fleeting.

Print can be visually stunning and still accommodate substantial text. It appeals to the eyes. Web pages are compelling for their interactive engagement as much as their content. They appeal to the hands. Why does everyone need to print stuff out? It is actually quite difficult to read online (never mind the iPads and the eReaders.)

The infinite navigational dimensions of the web, current bandwidth limitations and differing desktop environments mandate fewer and smaller graphics, shorter text and simpler typography. While effective print design is grounded in highly refined best practices, web design is still infantile, with huge upside for marketers who get the interactive value and simplicity thing figured out.

To be successful in today’s energetic marketplaces, companies must project a integrated message across all communication materials – corporate identity, packaging, advertising, promotions and web presence. Companies must quickly amalgamate all of their core messages into a single, powerfully unique selling proposition in order to convince impatient, value-minded consumers. But the approach must be optimized for the delivery channel. The implementation techniques are very different.

Why Simplicity is Paramount
Simple means clear, consistent and easy to find. It all starts with leaders who aren’t afraid to think independently. To explore and map new ways through unchartered physical and virtual spaces so that people, actions and events can be connected in creative, compelling ways. It ends with those same leaders being willing to hear and communicate truth. It involves calculated risks. It requires the insight and courage to involve communication specialists in the development of business strategy.

The leader’s objective is to build a “landmark,” not just become “scenery” in a target market. Landmarks are easy to spot, but often endure on the basis of considerable underlying complexity. They don’t necessarily have to be large in stature, but they must be unique in appearance. They are always enduring and prominent. They are obvious.

The return on simplification is huge. By providing the right information the right way at the right time, messages resonate and trigger responses that deliver actual sales and maximize valuation. By distilling content, leaders are able to spend less to build and sustain differentiated brands. Investing in a singular positive image that is optimized for each medium has leveragable impact across the company’s entire portfolio.

So go ahead: make your long, long story short and bring your brand alive.

Distilling Your Brand’s True Brew

This post is a continuation to my earlier post on Simplicity in Marketing.

Creating a Simple but Effective Blueprint
Distilling the real essence of your message is an intense process that requires quality input, an understanding of goals, analysis and tough decisions. It involves regimented facilitation, real-world testing and expert packaging. There is no magic off the-shelf blueprint that allows you to make the intricacy transparent. However, brand specialists and expert knwoledge can assist with the refinement process – providing the steering tools and structures to aid and accelerate it. Beyond packaging the ideas for ease of consumption, these objectives can enable your company to swiftly convert a business model’s strategic objectives into actionable and profitable milestones that drive momentum, orchestrate positioning exercises and test acceptance.

Most executives want their company’s marketing and advertising messages to be “stylish, sophisticated or professional ” and if possible, “clever.” too. This pasteurized checklist is at the heart of what is leading many competitors toward a fruitless state of uniformity. They’re all saying the same things and trying to lead the customer to the same conclusion.

Eager to demonstrate their “proof-of-authenticity,” many of these same executives are afraid to leave any spec for scrutiny or proof point out of their sales proposition. The extensive detail is perceived as validation. This “everything-but-the-kitchen-sink” approach is an easy way out. And, its net effect is usually the exact contrary of what was intended. This plain vanilla granularity just causes more puzzlement that doesn’t help in any sales conversion or market expansion. Besides, there is brand degeneration resulting from decentralized company silos – corporate divisions and operating units which propagate self-styled messages, positions and identities, often ill-timed, hastily designed and poorly executed.

Think Smart and Work Hard
Product Differentiation and Service Demarcation is often the result of simply noticing what your competitors have overlooked and providing that instead of everything else. Think of the Apple iPhone or Gmail. A lack of sacrifice represents unripe positioning.

If your message designs are based on what really interests people, and how they can talk to each other and make easy comparisons, you will find that you can say a lot less. Strive to find and use the language and questions that real people use.

The Truth is Out There
Let your hair down for a second: When you visualize the triumph of your business, is it based on the way things ought to be or the way things really are? The act of arranging information for simplicity then becomes an act of brand and market insight.

Amidst a flood of new age propaganda and mega-efficient delivery mechanisms, human communication is still very much grounded in some enduring truths, and the maxim that those who do not learn from history are destined to repeat it is indeed one of them.

While technology is changing exponentially, the hearts of the people using it are inflexible to transform. Most of what’s being sold today as new insight is merely the rediscovery of knowledge we’ve had for centuries but perhaps not acknowledged. The trick is to admit it and leverage it to your advantage. Candor is a guiding principle and Authenticity provides understanding that transcends spin and packaging. As experience counts, you could also learn from the marketing gray hairs who’ve been through a business cycle or two.

Give What the Audience Wants
To see sales patterns and develop a marketing message that incites a desired result, start with age-old human nature, not cold corporate logic. Hence, the content of your brand message must communicate genuinely in the language of the intended audience. For a brand or image to break through the information overlaod and market sauration, it must be based on what the target audience perceives as indispensable and relevant to them. What they want to know and need. Not what you feel is imperative or exciting to them.

Technology can help and create exhilarating opportunities but it can also overwhelm us with choices. Codifying, collecting and making everything accessible in nanoseconds is less important than describing how it’s used – the application context. Instead of speeds and feeds or the rate of data, concentrate on describing your brand’s spirit and how it relates to your audience, reflecting on the people connection and your brand’s heart.

If you wish to harness technology efficiently, improvise all the time and focus on the things that happen behind the patented breakthroughs. Recognize that the real goal for the technology is for it to be as transparent and useful as possible.

Content is still the King (and the Queen too)
Content is and has always been the language of customers. And as mentioned earlier, remember to always communicate from the intended listener’s point of view, not your company’s. Start your brand messaging where employees and customers meet, work backward from their needs. By the way, cracking the code on your customers’ needs and priorities can’t be accomplished “inside”. The key lies outside your business and perhaps outside your industry.

If all else fails, revert to the inevitable and basic questions of your customer: How is your product useful to them? What value does it provide? What’s truly in it for them?

In this sense, your content should be much more than words, pictures and voices. It should evoke emotion – a deeper connect. It should be simple, insightful and compelling. And, it is perhaps Content - the one thing one can't teach a computer to generate, so there is a uniquely human dependency. Respect that. After all, the content you develop is what will help you bond with your customers and if driven right, help you achieve world-class results.

Websnacker's Essential Post-Grunge Alt Rock Hits

This post should have been up by Sunday but alas, a lousy ISP and a harried client had kept me busy for the last 2 days and I could make time for this post only today. Anyway, what I have assembled this time is a high octane collection of rock hits, mostly post-grunge, hard alternative with a tinge of heavy metal and art rock. If you are an alt rock fan, I’m sure you’ll love it.

This is what you’ll get to hear…

The Mississippi post-grunge rockers – 3 Doors Down’s “Duck and Run" from their 2000 debut platinum album 'The Better Life', the subtly melodic Splender’s "Yeah, Whatever" from their best selling 1999 debut album, 'Halfway Down the Sky' and the Pennsylvania band Breaking Benjamin’s massive billboard hit "The Diary of Jane" that had the unique distinction of being the fastest peaking rock single of 2006, eventually reaching #2 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, #4 on the U.S. Modern Rock Charts and simultaneous airplay at more than 100 top radio stations across America and Canada.

In 2004, pop diva Anastacia added an edgy feel to her music which she called "sprock" a mix of pop, soul and rock and released a self-titled album that helped her increase her popularity beyond America. “I Do”, an enjoyable collaboration with Sonny Sandoval, P.O.D’s lead vocalist was proof of the new sprock feel that blended well with her Tina Turner-ish appeal. I have added this cos it has great lyrics besides a nice tune.

Similar fav additions include Texas rockers Seven Channels’ “Breathe”, Hoobastank’s radio hit “Crawling In The Dark” and Bush’s “Little Things” a billboard hit from their super-successful 1994 album, 'Sixteen Stone' though it was not as accepted as their other hit “Glycerine”. Did you know that Bush was a UK band originally from London and not an American band as many strongly still believe. It is also worthwhile to know that the D2, the popular Bulgarian group used the same guitar riffs that are prominent in “Little Things’ in their 1999 breakthrough hit "I Can't Stop Loving You".

From the original purveyors of classic grunge, I have added Candlebox’s “You” - a vintage hit from the Seattle grunge scene of the early 90’s taken from their 1993 self-titled debut that peaked at number 7 on Billboard's album charts, Florida’s ex-grundig-ger’s Cold’s rock ballad “Cure My Tragedy” from their third and commercially successful Billboard #3 album 'Year of the Spider', Puddle of Mudd’s Billboard #1 hit "Blurry" from their 2001 album 'Come Clean' and the Chicago based new age heavy metal band Disturbed’s “Stupefy” from their internationally acclaimed 2000 debut album 'The Sickness'.

You’ll also find Live’s immensely popular "Lightning Crashes" from their 1994 breakthrough album, 'Throwing Copper', Fuel’s no. 1 hit “Hemorrhage (In My Hands)" from their album 'Something Like Human', the San Francisco alternative rock band Third Eye Blind’s "Deep Inside of You” from their second album, 'Blue' and the Grammy-nominated Tonic’s highest charting # 1 Billboard single "If You Could Only See" from their debut album, 'Lemon Parade'.

From outside America, I have added Finland’s Poets of the Fall with their 2006 hit – “Gravity” from their triumphant second album 'Carnival of Rust' and Australian nu metal art rockers - The Butterfly Effect’s "Take It Away" from their 2001 self-titled debut EP that remained in the Australian top 20 charts for almost a year.

The hard to find North Carolina’s Far Too Jones’ 1996 hit "Falling Back Down" from their 'Plastic Hero' EP and “Need To Know”, a small hit from the little known Indianapolis alternative band – Transmatic are reader requests that have been pending for quite awhile now.

Go ahead, download and enjoy the aural energy!!

19 tracks in playlist, average track length: 4:01
Playlist length: 1 hour 16 minutes 21 seconds

1. Three Doors Down - Duck And Run (3:50)
2. Anastacia - I Do (Feat. Sonny From POD) (3:00)
3. Breaking Benjamin - Diary of Jane (3:23)
4. Bush - Little Things (4:24)
5. The Butterfly Effect - Take it away (4:40)
6. Candlebox - You (4:56)
7. Cold - Cure My Tragedy (a letter to god) (3:55)
8. Disturbed - Stupified (4:33)
9. Far Too Jones - Falling Back Down (3:12)
10. Fuel - Hemorrhage (In My Hands) (4:00)
11. Hoobastank - Crawling In The Dark (2:55)
12. Live - Lightning Crashes (5:25)
13. Poets of the Fall - Gravity (3:56)
14. Puddles of Mudd - Blurry (5:03)
15. Seven Channels - Breathe (3:47)
16. Splender - Yeah Whatever (3:40)
17. Third Eye Blind - Deep Inside You (4:10)
18. Tonic - If You Could Only See (4:23)
19. Transmatic - Need To Know (3:09)

Free Mp3 Download - 98.6 MB Zipped Folder – Multiupload link -
http://su.pr/5NgTV1
(links to Rapidshare, Megaupload, Deposit Files, Zshare, Hotfile and More)

IF YOU LIKE EM, BUY EM!!
at your nearest record store or check out www.emusic.com, www.itunes.com or www.amazon.com

Why Simplicity is the New Marketing Paradigm

New age businesses are pumping out new ideas and knowledge at an unprecedented rate. As our recent marketing assignment for a radically new product would vindicate, the new age chant seems to be - more, better, faster, louder and most importantly simpler (think Twitter).

For marketing and design professionals, simplicity might well be the decade’s greatest differentiator. It’s the timeless power to do more with less. To be heard at all amidst the electronic chaos, let alone be clearly understood, a brand’s marketing communications must refine and talk the essential truth as plainly as possible.

Have you ever noticed how there now seems to be a “time” for every business and technology idea, and when that time comes, the idea springs into the minds of several people simultaneously? The next big thing emerges overnight. From categories like social media networks, niche portals and concepts like trending topics, social buying, to the fancy fonts and the reds and greens to prop up corporate identities. What’s up with that?

With millions and millions of people receiving indistinguishable data and stimuli, should it be any surprise that many have the same epiphanies at about the same time? This phenomenon gives overnight birth to entire industry spaces awash with venture capital and generous seed money. It also paralyzes decision-makers.

Consumer Minds are more Saturated (and Confused) than ever before.

Business information is doubling every three years. That’s about twice as much stuff every 1000 days. And, the web-centric among us are now bombarded with something like a billion different URLs. Researchers tell us there’ll be ten times that many in two years.

Let’s face it; we’re all developing internal defenses to guard against the blight of buzzwords and boilerplate verbiage. The sheer volume of media available and density of communications is making many potential customers indifferent, if not immune to even the most persuasive value propositions.

Stuff all looks and sounds the same. It’s all mission critical. It all improves shareholder value. And it’s all “e-this” and “i-that”. Even the once refreshingly clever names of techie start-ups have become astonishingly analogous.

Our adaptive brains automatically discount the predictable. The vagueness and overkill is bad news for people who need to promote and sell technology products and services. So they throw more up against the wall in fruitless efforts to see what will stick. Case in point is the scam-tainted, overvalued IPL: It was relatively easy for flush new mobile companies to drop millions of dollars for mundane IPL ads, but what will any of them really accomplish?)

Let’s Just Cut to the Chase

The solution is Simplicity. Simplicity is the result of making the intricate clear. It greatly improves the performance of information. The cost of confusion is greater than the task of making things simple. Simplicity reduces advertising and public relations expenditures.

The key to message simplicity is painfully obvious: focus. Selectively exclude messages and media, which matter less, so that attention is given to those that matter most. That’s it. You need read no further. Just as simple a concept as losing weight for cheap: eat less, exercise more. Duh.

Okay, like weight loss and fitness, simplicity is also a great paradox, an absurdity because achieving it is known to be very hard work. Intuitively obvious. Practically difficult. And sometimes, you need a little coaching to provide the requisite inspiration and discipline. So where do you start? I’ll tell you soon.

Websnacker's Saturday Night Fever

Free Mp3s - Awesome Club Hits from the World Over

This is first post after a long break and what better fun than some exhilarating dance music to listen and jive on.

Starting with the UK 2003 dance hit "LA Today" of producer DJ Alex Gold and singer/composer Philip Oakey, you’ll enjoy Bob Sinclar aka Bob Sinclair’s astoundingly famous, Grammy nominated international chart hit of 2006 “World, Hold On”; Deepest Blue, the electronic British group’s club hit of the same name and the vintage synth-pop band Ganymede’s collaboration with Paul Parker on “Perfect Target”.

Dire Straits fans will love popular house mixer’s Deep Dish’s modern rendition of "Money for Nothing". You’ll probably be surprised to know that the house music team of Deep Dish is not european but an Iranian- American duo of Ali Dubfire Shirazinia and Sharam Tayebi who are now quite popular in the dance club circuit and now have several global hits under their label.

Other first-rate additions include Germany’s electropop import Ultima Bleep’s remix of their hit “Back”, Duran Duran’s 2007 hit “Falling Down" from the album ‘Red Carpet Massacre’ that was co-written by Timbaland and Justin Timberlake, Spanish dance rockers’ Delorean’s catchy “As Time Breaks Off” and an extended mix of euro popstars Munich Syndrome’s “Love & Dancing”.

For those new to Delerium, the outstanding Canadian electronic fusion band, you’ll like their partnership with Canadian songstress Sarah McLachlan on their worldwide radio and club hit "Silence" that was also featured on the hit soundtrack of 1999’s Brokedown Palace starring Claire Danes and Kate Beckinsale. On similar lines, you’ll savor Tiffany Lee, more popularly known as Plumb in her enticing remixed blend of electronica and dance pop on her 2003 club hit “Damaged”, taken from her award winning second album ‘Candy Coated Water Drops’.

As usual, I have also added some requests that include Phil Collin’s son – Simon Collins’ 2000 hit single “Pride”, Soulsavers mix of the 2004 Starsailor hit “Four To The Floor” that was featured on Daniel Craig's Layer Cake Soundtrack and Fred Falke’s remix of the Berlin indie electro band - The Whitest Boy Alive’s 2006 hit “Golden Cage” from their debut album ‘Dreams’. Incidentally, one half of the Whitest Boy Alive duo - Erlend Øye is also the lead member of the Norwegian alternative folk rock band - Kings of Convenience. So, go on, download and enjoy. If you like what you hear, send me a mail pls.

1. Alex Gold feat Phill Oakey - LA Today (5:54)
2. Bob Sinclair feat Steve Edwards - World, Hold On (Children of The Sky) (3:16)
3. Deep Dish - Deep Dish - Money For Nothing (7:00)
4. Deepest Blue - Deepest Blue (3:27)
5. Delerium & Sarah Mclachlan - Silence (Airscape Remix) (8:38)
6. Delorean - As Time Breaks Off (4:53)
7. Duran Duran - Falling Down (Freeks Main Mix) (7:11)
8. Ganymede - Perfect Target (With Paul Parker) (4:40)
9. Munich Syndrome - Love & Dancing (Even More Love Extended Mix) (7:25)
10. Plumb - Damaged (Club Mix) (6:49)
11. Simon Collins - Pride (3:32)
12. Starsailor - Four To The Floor (Soulsavers Mix) (Layer Cake Sdtk) (6:43)
13. The Whitest Boy Alive - Golden Cage (Fred Falke Remix) (8:28)
14. Ultima Bleep - Back (Club Remix) (4:26)

14 tracks in playlist, average track length: 5:53
Playlist length: 1 hour 22 minutes 22 seconds

Free Mp3 Download - 98.61 MB Zipped Folder – Megaupload link

THIS IS A NON-COMMERCIAL FAN MIXTAPE. IF YOU LIKE THESE ARTISTS, PLEASE BUY THEIR ORIGINAL MUSIC & PROMOTE THEM. You can buy original CDS/DVDs & Mp3s of the above artists at emusic, amazon, itunes, other online stores or your nearest music and movie retailer.

Friday Flashback - Goodness from the 80's

Terrific MP3 Hits from the 1980's for you to Download

Here’s some 80’s goodness for you to download and enjoy where I have also added a few specific requests apart from my favorites as usual. Starting with the lovely Annie Lennox -Eurythmics' 1986 hit “The Miracle of Love" from their third album ‘Revenge’, I have added the vintage funk band The Bar-Kays' re-release of their 1984 hit “Sexomatic” for its groovy soul flavor and the three-time Grammy Award-nominee Joan Armatrading’s UK top 40 hit "Drop the Pilot" from her 1983 album ‘The Key’.

If you are a fan of the new wave band “the Cars”, you’ll certainly enjoy Benjamin Orr’s 1987 radio hit “Too Hot to Stop”. Orr was the Cars’ bass guitar player and one of the vocalists behind many of their greatest hits including “Drive” and “Lets Go”. However, he is no more passing away in 2000. Other new wave additions include Jerry Harrison's (keyboardist + guitarist of Talking Heads) haunting “Man With A Gun”; British synth gay pop trio Bronski Beat’s 1984 anthemic hit "Smalltown Boy" and former Haircut 100 front man Nick Heyward’s 1988 hit “Tell Me Why” from his solo album ‘I Love You Avenue’

80’s rock fans will enjoy my addition of Billy Satellite’s 1984 debut Billboard Hot 100 hit "I Wanna Go Back", Pat Benator’s Grammy Award winning Billboard No.1 hit "Love Is a Battlefield" from her super successful 1984 album ‘Live from Earth’ and ex-Eagles Don Henley’s Grammy nominated all-time biggest hit "Dirty Laundry".

Considered as one of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time by Rolling Stone, Robbie Robertson’s “Shake This Town” is a request from a friend and is a great song with brooding undertones. Other requests include the former Chicago front man Peter Cetera’s "Daddy's Girl" from the 1987 hit soundtrack of ‘Three Men and a Baby’ and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Jackson Browne’s “In The Shape Of A Heart”.

"Hold Me", a top 40 dance hit of Laura Branigan from her 1985 album of the same name and the 1988 Dance hit “I Want To Be Your Property” by the British act Blue Mercedes are personal favorites that I wanted to add in my last upload. Download and enjoy!!

1. Annie Lennox - Miracle of Love (4:33)
2. Bar-Kays - Sexomatic (12'' Mix) (6:25)
3. Benjamin Orr - Too Hot to Stop (4:19)
4. Billy Satellite - I Wanna Go Back (3:52)
5. Blue Mercedes - I Want To Be Your Property (3:15)
6. Bronski Beat - Smalltown Boy (4:06)
7. Don Henley - Dirty Laundry (5:36)
8. Jackson Browne - In The Shape Of A Heart (5:42)
9. Jerry Harrison - Man With A Gun (4:37)
10. Joan Armatrading - Drop The Pilot (3:44)
11. Laura Branigan - Hold Me (4:47)
12. Nick Heyward - Tell Me Why (3:48)
13. Pat Benatar - Love Is A Battlefield (4:09)
14. Peter Cetera - Daddy's Girl (3:46)
15. Robbie Robertson - Shake This Town (5:23)

15 tracks in playlist, average track length: 4:32
Playlist length: 1 hour 8 minutes 2 seconds

Free Mp3 Download - 84.7 MB Zipped Folder – Multiupload link - http://su.pr/2OxVCQ
(links to Rapidshare, Megaupload, Deposit Files and More)

IF YOU LIKE EM, BUY EM!!

What I Saw This Week – 10 Movie Reviews

Here’s a quick round-up of my midnight movie sessions (new and repeats) during the last 2 weeks with reviews, ratings and download links of all the good flicks (wherever possible).

No Mercy (Richard Pearce, 1986/Thriller) – Richard Gere asks smokin-hot Kim Basinger How’s Bayou? And without waiting for a reply, handcuffs her into a S&M swampy love thang in the Louisiana outback. Basinger always seems doomed to play the unintelligent lust objects of good-looking, ruthlessly self-absorbed men, and here’s another performance to add to the roster. Gere’s looks are far more intense than his involvement in this part. A generic couple-on-the –lam thriller with more atmosphere than suspense but still watchable just for the electric chemistry between Gere and Basinger. Jeroen Krabbé also makes a great villain. Websnacker’s Rating – ***

Free Download DVDRIP Video weblink - Stagevu

Planes, Trains and Automobiles (John Hughes/1987/Comedy) – A worn-out advertising executive travelling home for Thanksgiving falls victim to an off-beat salesman when their plane is diverted due to bad weather. With no flights, it’s up to the two men to zigzag across country using any available means of transport, including the back of a farmer’s truck in a blizzard. A great comedy starring Steve Martin and the late John Candy made by the Home Alone director - the late John Hughes. The Cinemag "Total Film" has voted this movie the 10th greatest comedy film of all time. Websnacker’s Rating – ***1/2

Fled (Kevin Hooks/1996/Action/ Thriller) – A 90’s remake of The Defiant Ones (1958) starring Tony Curtis & Sidney Poitier, this features Lawrence Fishburne and Stephen Baldwin as 2 prison escapees who race against time to find an incriminating computer disk that could either bring down the Cuban Mafia or get them killed –whichever comes first. Hunted by the mob as well as the cops, the fugitives realize that on either side of the law, they lose. Co-starring a hot Salma Hayek and Will Patton. Websnacker’s Rating – ***

Bogus (Norman Jewsion/1996/Fantasy) – When his mom dies, young Albert (Haley Joel Osment - Fifth Sense) is sent to live with his Mother’s friend, Harriet (Whoopi Goldberg). Albert also brings his imaginary friend along – a gentle Parisian named Bogus played with aplomb by the French Superstar (Gerard Depardieu). Part playmate and part guardian angel, Bogus leads Albert and Harriet through an enlightening experience of trust, imagination and emotional bonding. In spite of a big budget and big stars, this movie miserably failed at the box office and also earned a Razzie nomination for Whoopie Goldberg. Websnacker’s Rating – **1/2

Phenomenon (Jon Turteltaub/1996/Fantasy) – When an ordinary small town guy (John Travolta) is struck by a blinding light, he is gifted with amazing intelligence and godlike telekinetic powers. Though his newfound genius turns him into a celebrity, old friends start to shun him. But as his intellect grows, so does his understanding of humanity around him, and a compassion for those who fear the changes within him. Except for an ending that I didn’t relish, this is a great movie to watch that also stars Robert Duvall, Forest Whitaker and Kyra Sedgwick besides a splendid soundtrack featuring Peter Gabriel, Eric Clapton and more. Websnacker’s Rating – ***

Free Download DVDRIP Video weblink - Megaupload

A Shock To The System (Jan Egleson/1990/Thriller) – Michael Caine plays a New York advertising executive looking forward to his upcoming promotion. Everyone expects him to get it including his secretary, his co-workers and his wife. Not getting it would be…well… simply unacceptable. But his bosses pass him over because they say, he lacks the killer instinct. They are dead wrong. In this cold thriller, laced with wit and dry humor, Michael Caine lives out the fantasy that has probably been every junior executive’s dream at one time or another. Based on the novel of the same name by the British author Simon Brett. Will Patton, Elizabeth McGovern and Peter Riegert co star. Websnacker’s Rating – ***1/2

Free Download DVDRIP Video weblink - Stagevu

The Last of the Finest (John Mackenzie/1990/Action/Thriller) – Frank Daly is the head of a close knit undercover police unit. When close to cracking down on a drug kingpin, he and his unit are suspended. But these are not by-the-book cops. Instead of meekly complying; they mount their own renegade operation. What Daly and his squad members discover shocks even them; the drug operation is being protected by the federal government. Though Daly and his men know they are over-matched, they refuse to back down. A good action film starring Brian Dennehy, Bill Paxton, Joe Pantoliano and Jeff Fahey.Websnacker’s Rating – ***

The Prophet/ Un Prophete (Jacques Audiard/2009/Drama) – This 2010 Oscar nominated French import is a gritty, blood tinged prison drama set inside a small French prison. Featuring an atypical Arab Muslim hero, it defies stereotypical characterizations and explores multiracial and multicultural tensions that seem to define present day Europe. With stellar performances from the lead stars, a superb supporting cast and an eclectic euro soundtrack, this is a first rate foreign cinema that validates its Oscar credentials. Websnacker’s Rating – ****

Free Download Video weblink - Stagevu

Miss March (Trevor Moore/Zach Cregger/2009/Comedy) – Unless you wish to see a cheap imitation of Ace Ventura by one of the lead stars (who are also the film’s directors), this is a third rated sex comedy of a still-virgin loser who goes into coma during his first sexual encounter and then wakes up after 4 years to find that his girlfriend is now a Playboy Playmate. Barring a few genuinely funny jokes (which are really few) and a cameo by Playboy founder – Hugh Hefner which incidentally earned him a Razzie, this is forgettable fare. Websnacker’s Rating – *1/2

The Order aka The Sin Eater (Brian Helgeland/2003/Horror/Thriller)– Considering the fact that this had Heath Ledger, Peter Weller and was directed by Brian Helgeland, the writer of terrific movies like L.A.Confidential, Bourne Supremacy, Mystic River, the Taking of Pelham 123 besides many more, I had great expectations on this horror mystery thriller. Alas, this is an insipid muddle of Vatican religiosity and gothic drivel with some absolutely ridiculous dialogues that had me dozing off. Skip it. Websnacker’s Rating – *1/2

Flashback Wednesdays - Free Music Takeaway

Hard to Find Mp3 Rarities and More

This MP3 download post is a friend request that’s been pending for a long, long time. Not that I have been slothful but digging them out has been a herculean task of epic proportions. I use the word ‘Herculean’ since I have a colossal collection of ripped MP3s of various genres scattered around several computers and hard disks besides hundreds of cds and dvds of assorted denominations. Rummaging this enormous digital library of mine assembled over the last 10-12 years in one go this weekend had indeed been a taxing experience albeit a nostalgic trip to my evolving musical tastes and I enjoyed every bit of it.

I am sure you’ll all love this special collection of pop, pop rock and new wave hits (many of which you’ll probably hear for the first time). But before that, here’s a little history lesson on what’s in store inside.

On top is the hit single “Every Beat of the Heart” by the British rock band Railroad Children from their album “Recurrence" which became a No 1 Modern Rock hit in the US and also a Top 40 Hit in the UK. I have also added music from 3 Scottish Bands that demand a special mention. Del Amitri, the pop-rock guitar band from Glasgow; Geneva, British indie band from Aberdeen and my personal favorite pop rockers - The Big Dish with their immensely popular Top 40 UK hit single "Miss America".

For those of you, who thought Rupert Hines was just a producer for great acts like Underworld, Chris de Burgh, Tina Turner, Bob Geldof, Thompson Twins, Rush and many more, I have added a hit number “Arrested by You” from his solo ventures. You’ll also find Bruce Cockburn’s appealing anti-war anthem "If I Had a Rocket Launcher" (#88 in the US charts), WHO’s frontman Roger Daltrey’s 1985 hit “After The Fire" (#48 in the US charts), Warren Zevon’s sardonic radio hit "Searching for a Heart" and American songwriter Robbie Dupree’s 1981 hit "Brooklyn Girls" which scaled at #54 in the US charts.

Not forgetting my New Wave bias, you’ll find Eight Seconds' 1987 top-30 single "Kiss You (When It's Dangerous)" from their full-length album 'Almacantar', Eddie & the Tide’s “One in a Million” from their 1985 album “Go Out and Get It”, the 1987 hit “Kick the Wall” by Jimmy Davis & Junction and the super hit “To Live and Die in L.A.” from the movie/ soundtrack of the same name by the progressive British New Wave band - Wang Chung. It should be remembered that the movie’s director William Friedkin (Exorcist) was so impressed with their music that he purposely sought out Wang Chung to score for this 1985 cop drama starring Willem Dafoe and William Petersen.

For rarities, I have added Nick Gilder’s “Sabotage”, the hard to find Prime Movers' "Strong As I Am",

Shriekback's "This Big Hush" and Red 7's "Heartbeat” from the atmospheric soundtrack of Michael Mann's “Manhunter” – a prequel to the “Silence of the Lambs” that also incidentally starred William Petersen plus 2 superb tunes namely Tim Feehan’s “Where's the Fire” and La Marca’s “Hold on Blue Eyes” from the equally rare soundtrack of the Charlie Sheen supernatural flick “The Wraith”. Download and enjoy!

19 tracks in playlist, average track length: 4:21
Playlist length: 1 hour 22 minutes 54 seconds

1. Big Dish - Miss America (3:56)
2. Bruce Cockburn - If I Had a Rocket Launcher (4:59)
3. Del Amitri - Buttons On My Clothes (4:05)
4. Eddie and the Tide - One in a Million (4:07)
5. Eight Seconds - Kiss You (When It's Dangerous) (4:05)
6. Geneva - If You Have To Go (4:07)
7. Jimmy Davis & Junction - Kick The Wall (3:38)
8. La Marca - Hold on Blue Eyes(The Wraith Soundtrack) (4:01)
9. Nick Gilder - Sabotage (3:56)
10. The Prime Movers - Strong As I Am (4:36)
11. Railway Children - Every Beat of the Heart (4:08)
12. Red 7 - Heartbeat.mp3 (4:20)
13. Robbie Dupree - Brooklyn Girls (3:26)
14. Roger Daltrey - After The Fire (4:37)
15. Rupert Hine - Arrested By You (5:07)
16. Shriekback - This Big Hush (Manhunter Soundtrack) (6:10)
17. Tim Feehan - Where's the Fire (The Wraith Soundtrack) (4:25)
18. Wang Chung - To Live and Die in LA (4:53)
19. Warren Zevon - Searching For A Heart (4:18)

IF YOU LIKE EM, BUY EM!!

Link deleted! Sorry!!!

Remembering Jake Speed & Buckaroo Banzai

Cheesy, Retro but Great Action/Comedy Movies That You Probably Never Saw

When you are schoolboy young, one of the greatest dilemmas is branding yourself so your fellow classmates, your extended circle of friends and let’s not forget, all the pretty girls look up to you. Having been bestowed with neither Greek godish looks nor an Olympian body plus a terrible case of amnesia with mathematical formulas, I engrossed myself instead with books, comics, rock music, horror, sci-fi, fantasy and action movies and some more books - escaping into my own MTV infused imaginary world of flying saucers, serial killers, supermen, giant robots, dungeons, dragons, man-eating aliens and dazed damsels in distress.

Often, I would be so awed by something I would have seen or read that I would almost bore my classmates to death and the central character (mostly a super hero or a maverick private eye) would stay with me for days or weeks until a new one would supersede with even more vigor and panache. “Jake Speed” was one of them. The name of the hero in an awesome B movie of the same name, I was obsessively addicted to it that it almost became my pseudonym at school. You could find it in my notebooks, my bag, my bicycle, my watch, my cap and even my lunchbox.

Now looking back; I smile with amusement and satisfaction, content that in spite of all my perceived shortcomings, I was happy in my own imaginarium. So, reliving those carefree days of school and college, I present below some of the great supermen/super hero and action/comedy movies (which you have probably never seen or heard of) that inspired me and hopefully would do the same to you as well!!

For your added advantage, I have also added actual video web links of the some of them for your viewing pleasure.

1. Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai (W.D.Richter/1984)– Cooler than James Bond, hipper than Indiana Jones and smarter than Conan the Barbarian, the fearless Buckaroo leads the team Banzai against the evil Dr. Lizardo and his slimy Lectrroids from planet 10. High speed, high-camp adventure spoof with one of my favs Peter Weller (Robocop) as the rock star/neuro-surgeon/super hero and a hilarious John Lithgow as his demented, scene stealing nemesis. Jeff Goldblum, Christopher Lloyd and Ellen Barkin co-star. A cult favorite now, this movie has inspired numerous movies, comics and spoofs the world over.



2. Adventures of Ford Fairlane (Renny Harlin/1990)- This movie starring the American stand-up comic Andrew Dice Clay as a maverick rock n' roll private detective is a weird diversion and certainly not for all tastes. Though made by the director who gave you massive hits like Die Hard 2, Cliffhanger and Deep Blue Sea, this was a box office dud in America. In fact, it won the 1990 Golden Raspberry for Worst Actor, Worst Picture and Worst Screenplay. It was also nominated for Worst Director and twice for Worst Supporting Actor. However, it evolved into a cult hit on video with distinct popularity across Europe especially in Norway, Spain and Hungary that continues to this day. Co-starring Priscilla Presley (ex-wife of Elvis Presley), Lauren Holly and Robert Englund (Nightmare on Elm Street)


3.Adventures of Sherlock Holmes’ Smarter Brother (Gene Wilder/1977)– In the spirit of mentor Mel Brooks, Wilder’s first directorial effort is all skits – many of them hysterically funny but with little continuity. However, there’s a unique sweetness in this period comedy as well as a sense of craft that’s often missing in Brooks’ caustic work. The cast which includes Wilder, the late Marty Feldman and Madeleine Kahn as a conniving femme fatale is delightful and fun to watch.


4. Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey (Peter Hewitt/1991)– Having completely missed the first part – Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure; thanks to a pen pal I got to see this exciting sequel first. Starring a young Keanu Reeves with great support from Alex Winter, Joss Ackland and William Sadler, this is a superlative sci-fi teen adventure comedy that hasn’t aged over the years though its not exactly superhero material. For those who have already seen it, the brilliant premise of Bill and Ted challenging Death to a game to win back their lives is a direct reference to the famous Ingmar Bergman film The Seventh Seal, in which a determined knight plays chess with the Grim Reaper in an attempt to save his life.


5. Billy Jack (T.C. Frank a.k.a. Tom Laughlin/1971)– An amazingly popular film back in the early 70’s reminiscent of Shaft, I saw it 20 years later when I was in high school. Strong silent half-breed Billy Jack (Tom Laughlin) is the liberals answer to Charles Bronson – he protects women and minorities against greedy white bigots. Laughlin directed and along with his appealing co-star and real life wife Delores Taylor, wrote and produced under various pseudonyms. The movie is melodramatic and manipulative as hell but it works: you’ll be rooting for Billy Jack all the way. Apparently, this pic was a big hit then but spawned two terrible sequels.


6. Cloak and Dagger (Richard Franklin/1984)– E.T’s Henry Thomas plays a little boy obsessed with the adventures of an imaginary hero in this hitchcockian adventure mystery. When Thomas witnesses an actual murder, no one believes him. Dabney Coleman shines in the dual roles of Thomas’ father and the fantasy playmate. A great watch for all times.

7. Eliminators (Peter Manoogian/1986)– Here goes the story – A man who’s half man/half tank seeks revenge on a megalomaniac who wants to be Julius Caesar. On his journey, he enlists the help of a beautiful young scientist (who has single –handedly discovered matter transport), her foot-high robot, a conniving river guide and a kung fu master. Sound like Wizard of Oz? Wait. They have to invade the castle yet. Actually, the whole thing is quite amusing. If your dream is to see Bing Cosby’s granddaughter in a wet T-shirt, this is your film. This movie was also released as "Decapitron.



8. Jake Speed (Andrew Lane/ 1986)– A fictitious storybook hero comes to life to rescue the kidnapped sister of the heroine in this cult hit action comedy which actually failed at the box office. Silly light hearted rip off of a hundred other adventure films but made with pizzazz and loads of style, this slowly grows on you and proves its cult following. And if like me, you’re a fan for this kind of stuff, it may just be what you have been looking for. Starring Wayne Crawford, Dennis Christopher and John Hurt, this has music by X-files’ Mark Snow and was novelized into a book after the movie’s release.


9. Remo Williams (Guy Hamilton/1985)– Based on a series of action/adventure mass market books, this movie translates into good action/adventure fun. Fred Ward plays the ex-cop whose death is staged so he can be resurrected as Remo Williams, super agent for a secret agency. But Remo’s transformation isn’t complete without an unrecognizable Joel Grey in amazing make-up as an oriental master who teaches him how to dodge bullets. Thanks to this movie, we’ll always remember that at one time there was scaffolding around the Statue of Liberty. Director Hamilton also directed many James Bond features including Gold Finger.


10. Romancing the Stone (Robert Zemeckis/1984)– If you can buy red-hot Kathleen Turner as a mousy romance novelist, you’ll have no problem with the other implausibilities here in this popular flick. A fast paced comedic action adventure following Turner’s repressed writer from New York to South America where she meets Michael Douglas, a cocky, self-absorbed soldier of fortune. Danny DeVito and Zack Norman make amusing lowlife villains. The real gem in this mad cap treasure hunt is sexy, funny, irresistible Kathleen Turner and her electric chemistry with Michael Douglas. One of the best films from 1984.


11. Traxx (Jerome Gary/1988)– All the action of Rambo with all the humor of Airplane. Meet Traxx – this man has just blown away six terrorists, dynamited a drug smuggling compound and baked a dozen cookies; he’s a chocolate chip’ off the old ‘Rambo” block… so reads the DVD blurb and pretty much sums up what Traxx is all about. Starring the former American Top 40 host Shadoe Stevens in the lead, Traxx is a wacky comedy but with an acquired taste. Enjoy.

Please share your comments especially your favorites. I would really love to hear from you all or email me.

Saturday Ear Candy - Free Mp3s to Download

Free Music For the Weekend
Its been quite a while since I shared MP3s on this blog. So, go ahead and download the zipped MP3 folder and let my tuneful collection of awesome earcandy wash over you. Its mostly Pop-Rock with a little bit of Electronic Synthpop, New Wave and Alternative Rock. Nothing too heavy, just great tunes and very goooood muzik. Enjoy!

Abra Moore - After All These Years (3:52)
Adam Cohen - Hey Jane (4:00)
A-ha - You Will Never Get Over Me (5:38)
Beloved - Hello (4:18)
Beth Orton/William Orbit - Faith will carry (6:13)
Bjork & David Arnold ft Paul - Play Dead (4:04)
Boo Radleys - There She Goes. (2:19)
Breit Brothers - When Its Over (3:43)
Collective Soul - Needs (5:21)
Conjure One - Tears From the Moon (4:19)
Crazytown - Starry Eyed Suprise (3:44)
Cure - Burn (6:39)
DC Talk - Consume Me (4:50)
Deepest Blue - Shooting Star (4:14)
Del Amitri - Driving with the Breaks On (4:40)
Depeche Mode - Dream On (4:20)
Devlins - Almost Made You Smile (4:57)
Diesel - Tip of My Tongue (3:53)
Hooverphonics - Eden (3:33)
Wartapes - Dreaming of You (4.33)

20 tracks in playlist, average track length: 4:27. Estimated playlist length: 1 hour 34 minutes 4 seconds. Hear all of them and if you like 'em, share your comments please.

FREE MP3s Download link - 89.8 MB Zip File - http://su.pr/2KRcbD