Update: Unfortunately the Youtube video has been removed -”This video is no longer available due to a copyright claim by Lakai, Ltd.”.

But we found another feed on myspace: see below the line.

Just in case they pull this feed and create a digital marketing case study, the music in question can be found here on last.fm or type “M83 Lower Your Eyelids to Die With the Sun” into the search box at http://www.seeqpod.com

You can also get it here on iTunes (Australian store)

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This is great work. Why?

It redefines a category.

That’s what great (sonic) branding does. It doesn’t try to stand out by yelling at you louder than it’s competitors. It does so by daring to express it’s own unique voice in a unique way.

Back in my skating days most vid’s used punk and hardcore soundtracks, now the skating “sound” tends to lean to fast rock and variations of hip hop. More a soundblur than a soundtrack.

Being different is normal.

Some observations about the use of music in the US presidential campaign.

Obama’s gone down the hip hop road and is encountering some problems.

Unlike any presidential election before, the power and influence of music — and hip-hop music in particular — may prove to play an interesting role in a presidential election. Whether you like it or not, the hip-hop culture could possibly create a sea change in perception in how we see the presidential candidate in a way that no stump speech can do.
Read the article on Adage.com

Yes hip hop is perceived as edgy and young, and hip hop does appeal to some people.
The problem is that people and particularly young people get very suspicious when “old people” try to be cool and appropriate youth culture.

The second problem is that hip hop/rap music is not just a style of music but a whole musical sub-culture. Obama has to do two things:

1. Convince the kids that he “fits” Hip Hop culture and
2. Counter negative perceptions of hip hop culture.

Hillary’s branding is much simpler albeit less exciting. She has or rather her audience has chosen Celine Dion’s “You and I” as her theme song.

The real problem with “You and I” isn’t that it was sung by a French Canadian — the real problem is that, like most of Dion’s oeuvre, it’s just a crummy song. Superficially, it sounds like “music,” but it isn’t really. It’s just the product of a well-paid advertising agency’s successful formula for producing persuasive — and mildly sedative — background noise.
Via Hillary’s tone-deaf campaign

Hillary’s theme song gets my vote.
Yes it is bland, yes it is generic. But then so is Hillary (not necessarily a bad thing). She’s safe and so is this song.

So which one’s more effective and what would Michael Jackson think of all this?

Well it’s the end of an active year and the beginning of a great new one with many exciting developments, thoughts and ideas in the pipeline.

A big thank you for checking in to this humble blog, there’s more to come.

Also a shout out to our friends in the biz over seas especially Noel at Intentional Audio Identity and Brian at Rumblefish, Rona at Sound-Strategies and Julian at Sound Business for the link sharing, insights and enthusiasm.

Cheers

Marcel.