Is the Recession Killing Hip Hop Culture?

The Wall Street Journal had an intersting piece last week on how the recession has impacted hip hop culture – specifically the culture of bling:

After years of starring in rap-music lyrics and videos, “bling” is losing its ring…The recession is cramping the style of hip-hop artists and wannabes – many of whom are finding it difficult to afford the diamond-encrusted pendants and heavy gold chains they have long used to project an aura of outsized wealth.

In an attempt to keep up appearances, celebrity jewelers say rappers are asking them to make medallions with less-precious stones and metals. Some even whisper that the artists have begun requesting cubic zirconia, the synthetic diamond stand-in and QVC staple.

Hip-hop luminaries with the cash to keep it real are appalled. Bling aficionados fret that the art of “ice” is being watered down.

Read the full article here.

How the Greatest Movie One-Liners Of All Time Can Inspire Your Business

Gene Stark has written a nice piece for Australian Anthill Magazine about how businesses can improve the return on their marketing investment by taking some advice from great movie one-liners:

It’s not called the silver screen for nothing. Improve the return on your marketing investment using these unforgettable classics to find, attract and retain customers.TV advertisers have only 30 seconds to build rapport with their intended target audience and tell the whole story. The first five to 10 seconds are critical. Headlines in newspapers and magazines grab attention and are the deciding factor in whether the article is read or not. “On the average, five times as many people read the headline as read the body copy,” said David Ogilvy, the father of modern advertising.

When talking about movies we recall funny, shocking and, in general, unforgettable scenes. However, we most remember and repeat the “one-liners” – the headlines, the movie positioning statement equivalent. They encapsulate the brand and propel the movie into the Hall of Fame.

The following greatest movie “one-liners” are memorable and hence will provide unforgettable advice that is simple, useful and, most importantly, fun.

Read the full article here.

The Future Forecast For 2009

Each year the World Future Society releases their annual “top forecasts for the future” list. It’s not as funny as a top ten list by David Letterman – but it’s thought provoking nonetheless.

Top 10 Forecasts for the future:

10. Access to electricity will reach 83% of the world by 2030
09. The middle east will become more secular
08. Urbanization will reach 60% by 2030
07. The race for genetic enhancement will parallel the space race
06. Professional knowledge will become obsolete almost as quickly as it’s acquired
05. The world’s legal systems will be networked
04. College majors and future careers will be more specialized
03. The cars’ days as king of the road may soon be over
02. Bioviolence will become a greater threat as technologies become more accessible
01. By 2030 everything you say and do might be recorded.

[via WFS]

Ksubi: Lest We Regret Pop-Up Store

Last week, Australian fashion/streetwear label Ksubi launched Lest We Regret, the first in a series of concept pop-up stores in Melbourne. The pop-up store is located at Don’t Come (the Schwipe gallery in Melbourne city) and has taken over half of the gallery space for 12 weeks. The store will stock the latest from the Ksubi range, along with one-off and exclusive pieces. The concept stores are anticipated to launch nationally, with Brisbane and Sydney soon to follow – and there are whispers the project will go global. Each new location will feature an original interior concept designed by the Ksubi collective to reject accepted retail practices and to make a statement on the impermanence of retail. Lest We Regret features 120 glass jars, suspended from the ceiling with wire, containing shredded Quarterly Economic Activity Survey’s from the Australian Bureau of Statistics – a not so subtle nod to the woeful economic climate…and kind of ironic given the price tag on Ksubi threads.

[via Highsnobriety]

Civil Unrest Manual

If the global market meltdown continues, you may need to take heed of this advice from the street. Spotted in London by SuperTouch.

Say Hello to Frugality

The Australian share market lost $56 billion in value today after a horror session on Wall Street over night pushed stocks to an all time low. While a lot of Australian commentators have been busy scribing their best doomsday scenarios (reminiscent of the scenes above), it was refreshing to read a piece on Treehugger quoting David A. Rosenberg, the North American Economist for Merrill Lynch:

“As far as I know, there are only two ways to eliminate debt. You either walk away from it, which people obviously are doing, which is why we got these write-downs and these foreclosures, or you pay it down. I think people [are going to start paying down debt]. That means that the savings rate is going to be forced higher. This, again, is going to be very, very disinflationary. It means that fashions are going to change. It means frugality is going to set in. We’re going to be living in smaller houses, driving smaller cars and living more frugally. It’s not going to be the end of the world; it’s going to be a necessary process to truly embark on getting the balance sheets down to more comfortable levels so that we can actually embark on the next cycle”.

While this is a non-consensus viewpoint, it’s simplicity holds true. To think that the current economic crisis may slow our culture’s escalating acquisitiveness with a more sustainable frugality gives me a warm fuzzy feeling.

But, if you still can’t find the bright side in the market meltdown – then scope out my favourite blog ju jour: Sad Guys on Trading Floors. It lives up to it’s title and turns the economic crisis into one of those clever internet memes. Lots of funny pictures of Gordon Gekko-types looking stressed with even funnier commentary. Hell, when life gives you lemons, you just gotta make lemonade!

[via Treehugger]

How Michael Jackson Brought Down Wall Street aka The Fed Bailout Explained

If you’ve been scratching your head trying to make sense of what the hell is going down on Wall Street and why it’s impacted the global economy (credit default swaps?), Radar Online’s editor-at-large, Choire Sicha, has written a brilliant piece explaining the Fed bailout:

“So, you know how you like to buy songs on iTunes? There’s so many different songs. Some of them are awesome, and some of them are lousy. And you only get a little audio preview of a song before you buy it, so really you dunno if it’s any good before you buy it.

That is what a share in a company is like. You know it might be good? But really you don’t know what’s going on behind the scenes.

Now, imagine how great it would be if you could sell back your mp3s to iTunes! Like, you could buy a song when it was really unpopular, and it’d be like 29 cents. And then when it was really popular—like some Kanye jam was getting lots of radio play—it’d go way up to 99 cents. Then you could sell it, and you could keep the profit.

So that is basically the stock market, where they sell shares, except in the stock market, you’re buying a little bit of a company, instead of on iTunes, where you’re buying a little bit of a rapper or a band.”

Trust me, it only gets better. Educate yourself and find out how Michael Jackson brought down Wall Street: The Stock Market and the Bailout for Kids.