The Best

Dodge/Chrysler
It’s almost cheating when you have Clint Eastwood in your ad. This spot was very similar to last year’s Chrysler commericial with Eminem and “Lose Yourself.” I thought that one made me want to buy American, where Clint embodied the American spirit. My only knock would be that it felt a little long and over dramatic. We get it, we’re in a recession and we need to support the domestic auto industry to boost the economy.

Fiat
Thank god it wasn’t J-Lo. Regardless of what the ad was for, it did its job. Sexy, mysterious and held your attention for the duration. Do I think they made a good ad? Yes. Will I ever buy a Fiat? No.

Volkswagen
Playing the dog/animal card is a little too easy and didn’t really think the training montage lived up to previous standards. But what turned me around was the call-back to the Darth Vader ad and the dude in the Tatooine bar making fun of what he just saw.

Samsung
Samsung has had a great campaign against the iPhone. Love all of the previous ads mocking the Apple fan boys waiting in line for the latest release and this was the grand culmination. And it had The Darkness in it. Can’t go wrong with The Darkness.

The Worst

Budweiser
What is the point of advertising? To sell your product. Anheuser-Busch has roughly a 50% market share of all beer sold in America. They do not need to market their shitty beer during the Super Bowl. People who like Bud and Bud Light are already drinking in because they love a cheap and watered down product. Yet, every year Bud and Bud Light spend millions on horrible commercials that are neither funny, creative or convincing. Using “Runaway” will not make you cool. “Here We Go” is the stupidest tag line ever. When prohibition ended I guarantee Budweiser was not the first thing folks thirsted for. I just don’t understand it. At least there wasn’t a new Miller Lite “Man Card” ad…

Coke
Seriously, who likes those polar bears? Your grandmother. Hey, don’t worry, just have a Coke and everything with be OK! We’re on the verge of extinction but nothing a frosty soda pop can’t fix.

Tax Act
I would have loved to sit in this creative pitch meeting. “OK, for our tax season software, how about a kid running around trying to piss but can’t find a bathroom. But wait! He jumps back in the pool from which he came and urinates in the pool with a hug smile just as his sister jumps in!” No one had the balls to say, “Uh, dude, that’s kinda gross, not funny and way off base for our product.” Instead, nothing. This is what we get when dumb people try to be edgy.

Audi/Honda/Kia/Chevy
Car companies really swung and missed this year. Audi went for a Twilight theme ad since, you know, all those thirteen-year-old Edward Cullen fans have the cash to drop on an A8. Honda tried to go cute and nostaglic but Matthew Broderick’s revamped Ferris Bueller impersonation felt flat, especially since it was released early online. Chevy had a decent concept with their trucks and owners surviving the 2012 apocalypse, but then went for the cheap dig at Ford by saying one of their owners didn’t make it. Awkward! The ad could have easily worked without the barb. Then there was Kia, which again started interesting with the Sandman OD’ing on the guys dream. He racing around, rocking out to Motley Crue (cause all Kia drivers love 80′s metal), doing manly shit, then it spirals out of control when he crashes into his wife’s dream and steals her back from prince charming. Sorry Kia, but no man dreams of romantically rescuing their wife. The idea was that the dream was an enhanced bitchin’ version of a normal dream, not a pathetic representation of real life.  Clearly, that ad was written by a woman.

One of my favorite songs. I loved it in 1994 and the track still holds up. I would have loved to attempt a pop version true to the original, but wanted to take it in a different direction and have fun with the arrangement. Ace of Base, my all-time favorite Swedish band.

Credits

Produced and recorded by N. Evans at Third Bedroom Studio
Mixed and mastered by R. Little
Additional production and instrumentation by R. Little

Artwork by N. Evans

“The Sign” written by Jonas Berggren
Original recording produced by Denniz Pop, Douglas Carr and Jonas Berggren

Countless articles have been written about Lana Del Rey and the hype/backlash has only gotten bigger since her appearance on Saturday Night Live.

So why are people so mad? People say she’s fake. A persona. Just another figment of a record label’s imagination out to steal hipsters hearts and money. And part of it’s true. Lana Del Rey isn’t her real name, but as for the rest of it? Who the fuck cares?

Lady Gaga is a fake persona. Madonna is a fake persona. Nicki Minaj is a fake persona. People don’t seem to call them out. So if it’s not that her persona is fake, maybe it’s what she’s trying to fake that has people up in arms. The hipster/indie community kills its young. The holier than thou ethos of the trendsetting elite doesn’t like that someone is trying to steal their swag without cutting their teeth in Brooklyn basements. Lana Del Rey is what every struggling indie artist wants to be: successful.

People may choose to play the authenticity card, but what this is really all about is jealousy. She thought of the idea first. She got a record deal. She executed well crafted songs custom made for Gossip Girl and your boyfriend’s bike messaging mixtape. She got to play SNL. She got the look you wanted for her “Video Games” clip and has over 24 million views on YouTube.

[The other unspoken element to this situation is that people on the Internet are just plain mean. Lana is an easy target. It's easier to pile on than develop informed opinions on your own. Just because you might not like or agree with something, doesn't mean it's the worst thing in the world. It means you have different tastes. Hyperbole gets overused. Try to become a better critic and move on.]

The whole ‘Hood Lolita/Gansta Nancy Sinatra’ thing worked. It’s a angle. Lana is marketing herself. Whether it came from her brain or from someone else is irrelevant. And really, the controversy is only helping her. Everyone is playing right into her hands. So if you’re really so outraged by her mere existence, just ignore it.

So what about the album? Well, it’s pretty much what you’d expect having already heard “Video Games” and “Born to Die.” The instrumentation is minimal built on beats and samples with a monotonous tempo and steady key for her smoky vocals. Even though songs blur together after a while, she and her producer have created a signature sound that will probably be emulated by J-Lo in five months. Think 808s & Heartbreak Kanye meets Supremes-era Diana Ross. The lyrics rely heavily on nostalgia, name-drop references and slick one-liners. It’s transparent and shallow and harder than it looks.

Sure, it’s calculated, but it works. Don’t hate the player, hate the game.

Credits

Executive Producer: Victoria Harnish
Associate Producer: Stacy Gillis
Sound Engineer: Neil Evans
Designer: Jeanne Abboud

I know nothing about Cuban music or Latin rhythms, but I know this record is fantastic. The album is comprised of new arrangements of existing Rodrigo y Gabriela songs and they sounds completely fresh. Horns, percussion and electric guitars fill out the songs and bring the original acoustic tunes to life in a whole new way. More than anything, Area 52 is a masterpiece of musicianship and a window into a genre that most have little familiarity with.

HMS EVANS

HMS EVANS is all about classic cars and boat restoration. The banner evokes the checkered flag, banners, and tire tread. The scripting font is reminiscent of styles used on the sterns with boat-naming. With the busy graphic, the clean tag line brings balance to the logo.

Parallel Bars

Playing with font and the literal name of the band, this logo for Parallel Bars is quirky and flexible for various mediums.

Chef Diesel

Chef Diesel is an all-encompassing brand, so the logo needs to convey a lot. The distressed effect on an athletic font is strong and masculine. The black and white color scheme keeps the logo clean and the accented chef hat is a nod to the culinary origins and interest.

Lunatic Dreyfus

Simple and clean, pretty much the exact opposite of Lunatic Dreyfus. Inspired by the classic Los Angeles Dodgers “LA” logo. Also used with a nautical star and orange.