BloggingStocks http://www.bloggingstocks.com BloggingStocks http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/media/feedlogo.gif BloggingStocks http://www.bloggingstocks.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[Bob Dylan's Very Citigroup Christmas]]>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/09/30/bob-dylans-very-citigroup-christmas/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/09/30/bob-dylans-very-citigroup-christmas/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/09/30/bob-dylans-very-citigroup-christmas/#commentsFiled under: ,

If you're a sixties-style artistic purist, you may want to skip this bit of news -- or at least take a couple tranquilizers first.

Bob Dylan's upcoming "Christmas in the Heart" album will be made available online to Citigroup rewards program customers one week before it hits stores. To be fair, Reuters reports that "Dylan, 68, will donate his proceeds from the Columbia Records release to charities that feed the needy. "

But still. Citigroup and Bob Dylan as partners? It's hard to argue that it's anything other than tacky, although the album does have some fantastic songs on it: "All I want for Christmas is a $700 billion bailout", "A Christmas Overdraft", "The Three Stupid CEOs" (featuring Vikram Pandit on the ukelele and Ken Lewis on the obo) and "God Rest Ye Merry Foreclosure Victims."

Dylan's decision to partner with Citi is puzzling. On the one hand, we can hardly accuse him of greed -- all the money's going to charity.

But it does raise questions about the legend's judgement. Couldn't he have found a less polarizing company to partner with?

Bob Dylan's Very Citigroup Christmas originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 30 Sep 2009 17:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Bob DylanBobDylancChristmas songsChristmasSongsWed, 30 Sep 2009 17:40:00 EST<![CDATA[Like a complete unknown: 20-something cops didn't know who Bob Dylan was]]>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/08/16/like-a-complete-unknown-20-something-cops-didnt-know-who-bob-d/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/08/16/like-a-complete-unknown-20-something-cops-didnt-know-who-bob-d/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2009/08/16/like-a-complete-unknown-20-something-cops-didnt-know-who-bob-d/#comments
Readers of this space know that in the undergraduate courses I teach in political science and public policy, I try to instill a healthy dose of economic, political, and cultural history in the students.

I do this because it's important for students to learn lessons from the lives and the decisions of citizens from generations past and to argue, contrary to a prevalent fad, that wisdom from past generations is very much relevant today. Or, as I put it to the students, "History did not begin in 1981."

Continue reading Like a complete unknown: 20-something cops didn't know who Bob Dylan was

Like a complete unknown: 20-something cops didn't know who Bob Dylan was originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 16 Aug 2009 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Bob DylanBobDylanDylanlong branchLongBranchnew jerseyNewJerseysingersSun, 16 Aug 2009 17:30:00 EST<![CDATA[End of the world: Bob Dylan shillin' for Cadillac]]>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/10/23/end-of-the-world-bob-dylan-to-shill-for-cadillac/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/10/23/end-of-the-world-bob-dylan-to-shill-for-cadillac/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/10/23/end-of-the-world-bob-dylan-to-shill-for-cadillac/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Bob Dylan's fascination with Cadillac (NYSE: GM) can be traced back to his first album, Freewheelin' Bob Dylan. In "Talkin' World War III Blues," Dylan imagines driving a Cadillac through Manhattan, declaring it's a "good car to drive, after a war."

Now, the singer has signed on to star in a multi-platform marketing campaign for the storied brand. The campaign will be tied into the Theme Time Radio Hour, Dylan's respected XM Satellite Radio (NASDAQ: XMSR) show. The theme of tomorrow's episode, the launch of the campaign, will be the Cadillac.

By now, the irony of '60s musicians cashing in on their anti-establishment image by shilling for The Man is old news. I do often wonder, though, why virtually every rock/pop song used for commercials seems to come from the '60s and '70s. Just how effective are these ancient tunes in reaching potential customers, for whom these songs are as old hat as Rudy Vallee's were in my childhood? (Yeah, I'm old.)

While Dylan has shown the courage to evolve his music gracefully, producing some of his most appealing tunes in what would be the twilight of most careers, this won't do much to enhance his image. The incongruity of attempting to use his scruffy, roots image to rebrand Cadillac seems a bit clueless. I can't imagine playing "A Hard Rain's A-gonna Fall" or a similarly mournful tune about injustice, on the CD player of a Escalade.

End of the world: Bob Dylan shillin' for Cadillac originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 23 Oct 2007 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>bob dylanBobDylancadillacDylan Cadillac adsDylanCadillacAdsgeneral motorsGeneralMotorsgminthenewsxm satellite radioXmSatelliteRadioxmsrTue, 23 Oct 2007 14:30:00 EST<![CDATA[Warner Music gets lucky break]]>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/04/26/warner-music-gets-lucky-break/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/04/26/warner-music-gets-lucky-break/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/04/26/warner-music-gets-lucky-break/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

It was twenty years ago today... well not exactly, but it was 1987 and five of the world's most influential musicians came together to record a b-side for George Harrison's "This Is Love" single. Harrison , along with Tom Petty, Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison, and ELO's Jeff Lynne, recorded "Handle with Care" and created supergroup history. You may not remember the Traveling Wilburys, or even have known those artists were involved, but in 1988 their album Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1 reached #3 on the Billboard albums chart and sold more than 2 million copies.

For more than 10 years that album along with the follow-up two years later, have been unavailable. This summer Rhino Records, an imprint of Warner Music Group (NYSE:WMG), will re-release both Traveling Wilburys albums as well as bonus video material in a special reissue set. It's an interesting re-issue for this summer, not because it does not deserve to be re-issued, but because it is part of the re-issuing of George Harrison's post-Beatles career by his estate (here is the press release).

Warner caught a lucky break with these reissues because most of Harrison 's material reverted to EMI (he was originally with the London-based label as a Beatle and a solo artist). It was assumed that these two albums also reverted, but those assumptions were obviously wrong.

This reissue will do quite well because it was a collaboration between five talents and received such high praise upon its initial release. By comparison Harrison's solo material was often hit or miss.

Continue reading Warner Music gets lucky break

Warner Music gets lucky break originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 26 Apr 2007 18:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>bob dylanBobDylanemigeorge harrisonGeorgeHarrisonjeff lynneJeffLynnerhino recordsRhinoRecordsroy orbisonRoyOrbisonthe beatlesTheBeatlestom pettyTomPettytraveling wilburrysTravelingWilburryswarner musicWarnerMusicwmgThu, 26 Apr 2007 18:29:00 EST