Daniel Prager
Obsessed with the why, distracted by the how. Always thinking, and an eternal optimist.
Updates
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Presentation / thinking envy: The next 80% (manuscript) http://t.co/2P7qxBMG
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Something to strive for: "Reinstate the editor as visionary, and reader as stakeholder." http://t.co/RyKWKkPS
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What New Girl Says About the New Recession-Era Man http://t.co/n5Y51QWo via @zite
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LEGO Moleskine Notebooks. Impressive. http://t.co/A1mPSUFj via @technabob
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3D printing so hot right now: 2012 a Big Year for MakerBot – http://t.co/lJFdSgWy
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Band of outsiders Vader wins. Flavorwire » ‘Star Wars’ Characters as Style-Savvy Hipsters http://t.co/2WmckKNG
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Mediums don't "die", the best iterations rise to the top, while mediocre ones fall by the wayside. http://t.co/C1tJ88JM
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Co-sign: What BuzzFeed’s New Politics Team Is Doing Right | Mediaite http://t.co/6igEB6Zp
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@olivia what song was it?
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The fact that Subaru sponsors Portlandia makes me very happy.
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Coca cola shifts from measuring impressions to expressions. http://t.co/ouUTotan
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@okeefew rickyyyyy
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Hooray! “@KeithStoeckeler: #MerryNBA”
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Oh boy. "@PBSMediaShift: Demonstration of touchless control of smartphones and TVs http://t.co/pqtTzkdY (BBC News)”
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Social media in the 16th Century: How Luther went viral | The Economist http://t.co/2Guw7IFF
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More interesting than it sounds: Report on U.S. Work Commutes http://t.co/41lKrwrr
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Suhweet! RT @periscope "We created a PSD for the new Twitter brand pages. License free, so do with it what you want. http://t.co/FNhCpzSG"2 months ago from web | Reply, Retweet, Favorite
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The CardSharp, Cutting Edge Design (literally) and Beautiful Packaging. http://t.co/8c0AB3Vo
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Thoughtful -- A debate on engagement, the fuzzy metric http://t.co/4eAiWl3h via @zite
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Worth a read (even if you're not a designer) "Designing for learnability": http://t.co/RP5eGMuq
Profile
Experience
- Aug 2011 - PresentAssociate Digital Analyst / Periscope
- Jun 2010 - Aug 2011Metrics and Analytics Manager / Imagination PublishingMedia measurement, reporting, and analysis.
Client: Top CPG Company - Jul 2009 - Mar 2010Interactive Marketing Consultant / The Ocean AgencyDevelop and execute internet marketing strategies for a variety of clients, with a focus on social media marketing.
Clients: Nuts on Clark, Jameson Real Estate, a wide range of small to mid sized businesses across the United States. - Apr 2009 - Jul 2009Intern / Sports Media ChallengeI helped to aggregate sports blog stories for Sports Media Challenge, to be used on ESPN SportsCenter.
- Jul 2008 - Aug 2008Marketing intern, Blogger / Sports Media VenturesAlong with three other writers, completed a 17 day live Blog of the 2008 Olympic games with over 1500 unique visitors, to help launch www.sportsfanlive.com. Other PR and Marketing duties included collaborating with the head of Business and Sales for the site, Eric Herd, in coming up with creative marketing plans for advertisers. I gave two press interviews and pitched the site to sports bar patrons on a nightly basis.
Education
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2005 - 2009Kenyon CollegeBachelor of Arts in Psychology, Sociology
Additional Information
Posts
First. Weekend plans.
"Northern Grade" A Pop Up men's market. Sounds intriguing.
Second: A playlist.
Recently, on the Get Blue blog, they posted an analysis of check in data and illustrated how it was strongly correlated with box office success for the weekend of 5/27 to 5/29.
Here were the top movies by check-ins:
And how they correlated with Box Office Gross (r value of .95):
This is some pretty interesting data, and presentation. In March 2011 (the most recent data I could find quickly) comscore reports that 16.7 million smart phone users utilize check in services.
Of those 16.7 million smartphones that use check-in services, the demographics break down like so:
58.5% of Check In subscribers are 18-34, fairly evenly split between Male and Female (48% / 52%)Essentially: 15,508 18-34 year olds, "checking-in" accurately correlates with weekend box office.
Let's think about these implications --
Eventually, Checking-in could predict, with some accuracy, how people spend their time and money. But first, we need to answer why people check in, and how. We are starting to begin to answer those questions now.
But this got me thinking -- I wonder if there are other digital actions that correlate with box office revenue? I bet website traffic does.
Let's look at traffic to the respective websites of the previously mentioned movies, in the month of May:
The Hangover (9,964 Check-Ins, 86 Million, Visits peak 5/26 - 5/28)
- A traffic spike over the opening weekend
Kung Fu Panda 2 (7,078 Check-Ins, 47.8 Million, Visits peak 5/23 - 5/24)
- Traffic spike week before the opening weekend.
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (3,417 Check-Ins, 39.6 Million, Visits peak 5/19 - 5/21)
- Traffic spike two days before opening.
Something Borrowed (2,175 Check-Ins, 1.86 Million, Visits peak 5/05 - 5/06)
- Traffic spike two days before opening.
Bridesmaids (1,216 Check-Ins, 9.4 Million, Visits peak 5/12 - 5/13)
- Traffic spike two days before opening.
The movies which received the most check-ins from 5/27 to 5/29, and grossed the highest amount, also saw website traffic peak.
Across all the movies, traffic peaked days (Tuesday, Wenesday, or Thursday) before the opening weekend.
So what does all of this mean?
- The same kind of analysis that was done for these "check-ins" on Get Glue, could probably be done for website traffic, impressions or a variety of other digital quantifications of buzz.
- To me, the Check-In behavior reflects signficantly more action (these people have spent money to see a movie), but other measurements can predict trends in a similar fashion.
- It is fascinating that such a small subset of the population, sending 26,000 Check-Ins, can accurately represent the the movie going public.
Wonder if any studios are asking questions like --
Was the drop-off in Check-Ins similar to the drop-off in revenue after opening weekend?
Hmmmm....
You could order a house from a Sears catalog from 1908 to 1940.
447 Different Models were available.
Including this guy -- "Modern home number 102" . A ten room residence:
This is what the home looks like today:
It is pretty incredible that someone could order their home from a catalog in the very recent past.
What's more:
"The ability to mass-produce the materials used in Sears homes lessened manufacturing costs, which lowered purchase costs for customers. Not only did precut and fitted materials shrink construction time up to 40% but Sears’s use of "balloon style" framing, drywall, and asphalt shingles greatly eased construction for homebuyers."
Beyond just selling WHOLE HOUSES through a catalog, innovations in design and manufacturing elevated the concept of a modern home.
"Central heating not only improved the livability of homes with little insulation but it also improved fire safety, always a worry in an era where open flames threatened houses and whole cities, in the case of the Chicago Fire. Indoor plumbing and homes wired for electricity were the first steps to modern kitchens and bathrooms."
What happened to the concept of the modern home? Why did Sears phase it out?
"Sears began offering financing plans in 1916. However, the company experienced steadily rising payment defaults throughout the Great Depression, resulting in increasing strain for the catalog house program. The mortgage portion of the program was discontinued in 1934 after Sears was forced to liquidate $11 million in defaulted debt. Sears closed their Modern Homes department in 1940. A few years later, all sales records were destroyed during a corporate house cleaning. The only way to find these houses today is literally one by one."
There many lessons to be learned here about brands being responsible for moving society "forward", and interesting parallels to our current housing crisis. It would also take someone much more intelligent than myself to adaquately research and explain these relationships.
There is something inspiring about the impact of the Sears modern home on society.
The Sears Modern Home --
1. Moved society forward
2. Helped define what it meant to own a modern home.
3. Supply chain innovation
4. Made a process that had numerous disprate parts both customizeable and uniform, selling directly to a consumer.
5. Richard Nixon was born in one of these houses.
Hmm. Sound familiar (Minus number 2 and 5)? Are we talking about Amazon / Facebook / Apple / Zynga / Groupon right now? Or Sears in 1908?
The new challenge, is to take this process a step further --
How can a brand do all of these things listed above, and, in the process, improve the quality of life for not only for its customers, but the planet as a whole?
Oh, and not be part of a global financial meltdown and depression.
If Sears could sell full homes out of a catalog in 1908, brands should proably be able to make the world a more secure place while also making a profit. Here's to optimism.
For more read:
1) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sears_Catalog_Home
2) http://www.searsarchives.com/homes/
All photos are also from these two sites.
This is a really neat excercise for understanding your target / customer / whatever you feel comfortable calling the people you are selling a product to.
Image via
Now, you can market to customers "in flow". Maybe even give provide them with something useful, when they need it! The unfortunate thing, is, as a marketer, it is much eaiser to shout, than it is to be useful in an opportune moment.
I know it isn't realistic to completely stop shouting, but at the very least let's make these shouts useful or entertaining?
The barriers to distribution have theoretically collapsed, let's create something worth spreading and find the right moment.
That was fun.
I love when ideas or trends group themselves into themes. Today I came across an advertising campaign, a Research and Development product by the New York Times, and reactions to a news story about Apple gathering iphone user location. There is a common thread in all of these stories. Yup. You guessed it, "Collective Engineering."
Faris, in his post about the New BMW EVolve advertising campaign, almost wrote it as an aside:
"And the collective engineering data the it creates will be used to continue to develop the next generation of BMW Electric Vehicles."
Collective engineering is a fantastic way to describe the practice of putting your customers data to use. Not only to fulfill business objectives, but to design and build products that provide even greater utility.
1) Here is the EVolve advertising campaign:
Collective engineering element --> Uses data from current BMW owners to discover if they are EV ready. That data, about how much owners drive for example, will be utilized in the development of future BMW vehicles.
2) Cascade, By New York Times Research and Development.
Collective engineering element --> Helps the New York times better understand the value of a Tweet, how stories spread on social networks, and identify key influencers by topic in a visually simple and stunning format. This data will (hopefully) be utilized to create news experiences that are better tailored and more relevant to individuals and curators alike.
3) The Apple Location debacle. I guess this is conjecture, but I have to believe that Apple is tracking location data on its Iphone users to determine how to make its services better, not only for some sinister purpose.
Collective engineering element --> By collecting location data, Apple can provide better services (especially in terms of allowing users to utilize LBS faster).
A side note: There is no viable explanation as to why the data is stored on the phone for 10 months. Gulp. I'm going to choose to believe their only goal is to improve the quality of their product.
Have you seen interesting examples of "collective engineering" lately? Do share.
Ted Williams on the left. He started to upstage his brother, I think he did alright. Supposedly, in his day, you could just write to players and they would send back an autographed picture.
As you have probably heard by now, Google has chosen to install high speed internet in Kansas City, KS (Story from NPR below):
I'm really excited about the idea of a brand creating long term value through infrastructure investment. Obviously, I can't be totally sure what Google's ultimate aim is, but I hope Kansas City, KS becomes a case study for the economic power of top internet infrastrucure. If this goes well (economic growth in Kansas City, KS), the government may invest more readily in installing high speed internet across the US, with Google winning the coveted contract.
Currently, the US ranks 15th in internet broadband penetration. So this seems like an apt problem for Google to address:
I love the idea of brands growing economically by investing in infrastructure. Especially in places that are suffering both socially and economically.
It is in the best interest of brands and their agency partners to form these types of relationships, where brands can provide tangible social value and sustain long term growth. Stuff like this makes me think its possible. Am I naive? Probably. But examples like Google make me think that profit does not always have to arrive at the expense of the poorest parts of society. Maybe smart marketing can spurr economic growth in a way that actually benefits society as a whole.
I'm ready.
If Aol's Project Devil is being lauded as innovative, I think we have a long way to go.
I've been on a Northern Europe kick lately --
Mores -- DOUGH'NUT SHORT | TILT SHIFT SURF SCHEVENINGEN on Vimeo.
A side note -- When I was 4, I went to Scheveningen. I wish I remembered more of it, or could go there now.
I do rember that I went here (Elfteling) and got stung by a bee.
More Northern European inspiration --
"Swedish Melancholy at Its Dirtiest" -- Ugh. Stop being so cool Sweden.
This is not to make light of any of these disorders, but rather to show the power of good design. View them all here.
I think this one is my favorite:
Based on a PEW research study of online Americans that make of $75,000 a year.
I would love to see data broken down by purchase category. But this is helpful to think about. Just another reminder that internet users want userful information from brands, rather than fluff. Unless that fluff is hilarious, awe-inspiring, and makes you look cool when you share it. Then fluffs okay. But at one point does that fluff become entertainment? That's a discussion for another day.
Read the full breakdown on Search Engine Land.
Excited to dig into "The New Capitlaist Manifesto" by Umair Haque.
Nylon guys and Esquire do a great job of making me feel culturally informed. So thanks.
Oh, and the only drinking diet coke on weekends thing is going pretty well (But it's only week 1).
Of course, one of the best parts of Sunday may have something to do with a certain someone, who is currently immersed in Freedom by Mr. Franzen.
Such is life on a Sunday. Thanks for being interested in my goings-on, if you aren't, well, I apologize. You might want to check out Ogilvy's "Notes" from SXSWi if you're looking for something neat.
This is my first Slideshare, based off of a report I did for work a little while ago. If this goes well, there will be more to come. Hope you find this interesting, or at the very least, reinforce what you probably already know. Don't worry, it's short. Here goes nothing.
I love the idea that inspring more Likes or Comments can be correlated with different outcomes, perhaps all "engagement" isn't all the same after all. But you knew that already. Let's keep investigating shall we?
Photos
Posts
This is my super-fun, foot-tapping, cubicle-dancing summer playlist. these are also the songs that i blast with my aviators on over my prescription glasses (hot, i know) and windows rolled down (a necessity for me since my air conditioning is busted). so, enjoy friends and here are a few notes on a few tracks:
track 1: this trio is blowing up. you probably know ‘pumped up kicks’. great song, but i’m way more into ‘helena beat’.
track 3: i listen to this song at least once a day. damn you, atlas genius, for getting your trojan in my head (had to do it).
track 4: oh. em. gee. she’s back.
track 7: i vividly remember listening to this album for the first time 2 summers ago when i lived in a yurt… in idaho. oh, the glory days.
track 9: make sure you check out the sound of arrows music video for the single “magic”. get ready to smile uncontrollably. i promise. here: http://bit.ly/mLkqKh
Caption: “We’re on vacation, soo relaxed right now.”
Finally, please, please tell me your summer tracks. i love nothing more than finding new music to dance to in my cubicle.
“Here is a nice mix of music for a feel good Friday. There are some songs that most will be familiar with and some that you may not be to familiar with, but I hope that they all put you in as good a mood as I get while listening to them. Not much else to say as the music pretty much speaks for itself.”
Submit a playlist! If you’re a super stalker, you can also follow The Playlist Project on Twitter and Facebook. If you like this site, we are always hungry for playlists!
This playlist starts slow but gets real wacky by the end. Not exactly a wake up playlist, but maybe a post-breakfast need to get going. Or maybe even a pre-pre-game to get you in the mood to start lazering keystone ice.
1) Prior to being turned into a Kanye West beat this song really allows you to get absorbed into your speakers
2+3) Just a lyrical touch
4) If you don’t get the urge to clap, I assume you are a paraplegic
7,8) No words, just move
9,10,11,12) You should actually have a smile on your face walking into work, or you should be eating gallons of booze … Either/or.
My name is Michael from New York. I am a grad student. I am currently in a very shitty living situation and I find escape in my headphones. I am a white Biz Markie with a cuter smile. I am a male Fiona Apple. I am zach galifianakis’ long lost cousin. I might be another Baldwin brother. I am a human version of 12” inch Subway Meatball Marinara sandwich. I don’t feel like dancin’ when the old joanna plays, my heart could take a chance but my two feet can’t find a way.
www.lagulchamania.tumblr.com
Submit a playlist! If you’re a super stalker, you can also follow The Playlist Project on Twitter and Facebook. If you like this site, we are always hungry for playlists!
Oh, hello. I didn’t see you there. I’m Andrew Jackson, orange feline president extraordinaire. A little bit about me: I am the seventh president of the United States, I was adopted from the Seattle Persian Rescue and my nickname is “Old Hickory.” I have been known to leave small poops around the White House and my inauguration was no exception. You should have seen the state of the Oval Office on January 21st. I give frequent addresses, usually demanding more food and water for myself and my single constituent, a common barn cat named Molly. Like all democratic-republicans, I treasure state’s rights and, since I am from the south, I love me some Dolly Parton.
This playlist is one I like to listen to when I am giving myself a bath, chasing Molly or just lying around. I’m a big fan of Nina Simone and Radiohead, and I think the combination of the two is sublime. I hope you enjoy my music, and vote for me in ‘37! Van Buren is a twat.
Submit a playlist! If you’re a super stalker, you can also follow The Playlist Project on Twitter and Facebook. If you like this site, we are always hungry for playlists!
It’s dark when I wake up; I hit the snooze too many times each morning.
Yes, I eat
way too much pizza, and drink bottled booze
to Himalayan excess.
This repeats
each week right through the winter, while I wrest
or, really, try to wrest, control of ME
from withered hands of boredom.
I confess
to list’ning idly in my room to trees
that, leafless, windblown, scratch my windowpanes.
Some music, yes, that’s it, with sun and breeze
built in, like Lennon & McCartney’s “Penny Lane.”
That song we all know makes us think of summer
So check this out, I know winter’s a bummer.
Submit a playlist! If you’re a super stalker, you can also follow The Playlist Project on Twitter and Facebook. If you like this site, we are always hungry for playlists!
Sup from Denver, Colorado. My name is Maeve. Don’t even worry about the last name. I struggle with it, too. Mmmkay, enough with the awkward foreplay, let’s jump to it. Here’s a snapshot of my musical style, or whatever: I am pretty much a musical whore. I love anything and everything. Some more than others, obviously, but it is actually an impressive feat to aurally anger me, so, congratulations Los Lonely Boys.
I digress.
I decided to be a cheeseball and pick a cliché theme for my first ever playlist. Since it’s the first month of the year of double ones, I chose a playlist consisting of somma my favorite track ones. Gross, I know. But enjoy. Also, I take no responsibility if a track is not, in fact, a track one. Turns out the internet can lie sometimes. And, for shameless self promotion purposes, feel free to check out my social media self @maeveww, where I pathetically wait for Michael Cera to find/fall in love with me and/or Sophia Coppola/Thomas Mars to realize that I should be their personal assistant/nanny/cook/driver… Seriously, though, I am a great best friend.
Submit a playlist! You can also follow The Playlist Project on Twitter and Facebook! If you like this site, please contribute!
Katie Morton and Olivia Watkins have been living in San Francisco for… a while. Katie recently returned from a stint in Africa doing a fellowship for Kiva.org, a non-profit focusing on microfinance in the developing world. While in Africa, she found time to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro and rode around in matatus (Kenyan minibuses used for public transportation), where they play this song constantly. Katie lives in the Lower Haight and is working on turning her bedroom into a forest — please let us know if you have any foliage you’d like to donate to this cause.
You may recognize Olivia from her first playlist for The Playlist Project. She is still working at Twitter and still living in the Mission, though in a new apartment that is sadly without roof access, and has recently developed (as of last night) a penchant for sequined hats.
A note about the songs on our playlist: We attempted to have the tone of the playlist be optimistic, but also realistic. 2010 for us was a pretty crazy year, but we’re hoping that these jams send us and whoever else listens to them into 2011 ready to make exciting things happen and maybe find some stability while we’re all at it.
Enjoy, and feel free to holler at either of us via the interwebs with your thoughts — we can be found on Twitter @olivia and @kdrechselm and via other media if you do some additional sleuthing.
(Katie)
(Olivia)
(Playlist)
It’s hard for me to describe just how much this project meant to me this year, especially between March and May. I had just lost my job, was questioning my ability to do anything interesting online and then this site came together. This site helped to restore my confidence, and is a constant reminder that the world was full of interesting and creative people who make building, discussing, (and yes, even selling) stuff on the internet fascinating. I appreciate every single person who visited the Playlist Project in 2010, all 9,764 of you.
Mostly, I really want to thank all of you that shared your lives and submitted playlists this year. I know that the site dropped off quite a bit once I began working full time, and when Hayley went back to school full time, but I’m still extremely proud of what you all helped to build.
More than anything, this site is an incredible resource for good music. Most “Best of 2010” only include albums or songs released in 2010, but the Best of 2010 list from the Playlist Project is made up of the songs and artists that mattered to people in 2010, regardless of when they were first released.
Out of the 660 Songs, these were the Top 3 Artists most frequently selected by playlist contributors —
A special thank you to these 5 contributors who drove the most traffic to their individual playlists —
Beyond these “Top 5”, I really want to thank each and every one of you for sharing your lives on this site.
Without Futher ado, a “Best of 2010 Playlist”. I selected a song from each individual playlist (all 49). Enjoy, and look back on the wonderful site you helped to create and sustain this year. Let’s do it bigger in 2011.
— Danny
Submit a playlist! You can also follow The Playlist Project on Twitter and Facebook! If you like this site, please contribute!
Submit a playlist! You can also follow The Playlist Project on Twitter and Facebook! If you like this site, please contribute!
You may remember an earlier post by our young friend Joesph (http://theplaylistproject.tumblr.com/post/606990934/josephleritz)
In his own words:
“Howdy everyone. Well i submitted a playlist a while ago and thought it was time for another. Last time I posted I was in high school. Now I am in college, I have matured so much…..”
I was driving home from college the past weekend, which is about a 2 hour drive, and needed some music to listen to. I decided to whip out some oldies. The whole trip from college to my house, then my house to college, I jammed out to some classic blues and R&B. I t was one of the most enjoyable drives of my life. I know that this is not a very interesting story for a playlist but….. I still hope that everyone will enjoy this playlist. Not only is it good for driving, it is also great for blasting it in your kitchen while cooking dinner and just enjoying life while the sun sets on a nice evening. I hope everyone enjoys it.
(This is Otis Redding and not Joe.)
Thanks for the update Joe!
Submit a playlist! You can also follow The Playlist Project on Twitter and Facebook! If you like this site, please contribute!
Every Friday, there is a deluge of weekend themed playlists. I’m looking to change that. Here’s a look back at my weekend, and the songs that went with it. After you read this post, if you’re feeling bold, I’d love for you to submit one of your own.
Friday September 24th —
After work, I headed to Oktoberfest in Lakeview. I bought the Groupon, which was 20$ for 3 beers, a brat, and the $5 entrance fee. The outdoor festival was packed with revelers. While I was disappointed by the lack of German costumes, I was impressed by the range of the cover band, effortlessly shifting between the Zack Brown Brand, Tears for Fears, and U2.
Saturday September 25th —
Gap is struggling to make a buck. Based on the huge success of their Groupon earlier in the Month, there was a special flash sale (announced on their FB page) for 50% on Gap denim from 12-3 PM in store on Saturday .
Obviously, after stopping at Peet’s coffee (where they were playing some Vivaldi), I headed over to Gap to pick up their top of the line “Selvedge” denim for $50 (regularly $100).
At Gap, they were playing some Neon Trees, Local Natives, Freelance Whales, and Miike Snow.
After a break, I met up with some friends at Happy Village.
The outdoor beer garden is incredible.
We then headed back to the apartment where I softly played Hoodie Allen, Two Door Cinema Club, Bruno Mars, Atmosphere, and E-Dubble.
Sunday September 26th —
Brunch at the Southern, with my Girlfriend and her parents for her birthday. Loved the alt country/southern rock that floated around the place while we ate our delicious meal. Definitely heard some Loretta Lynn and Ryan Adams.
What music floated through your life this weekend? I’d love to know. The full playlist is below, it follows the order of the weekend.
Submit a playlist! You can also follow The Playlist Project on Twitter and Facebook! If you like this site, please contribute!
As I ease into Fall I seek out songs with a little more substance. Summer is fun and fleeting, Fall is a bit more introspective and sincere (for me at least).
2010 summer anthems, your moment has passed, you have joined the likes of Smashmouth in the confines of drunken sing alongs. I’m looking at you, “California Gurls”.
Here are a few songs to get you excited about Fall. You know that longing look you give your sweaters after 8 days of oppressive summer heat? I’m looking at these musical nuggets with the same kind of longing.
Many of these songs appeared in the “Playlist” of GQ’s September issue, and were selected by Will Welch .
Enjoy.
Submit a playlist! You can also follow The Playlist Project on Twitter and Facebook! If you like this site, please contribute!
This is the playlist I’ve been listening to all year to make it through my rather tedious work-day. I’m a 24 yr old marketing assistant in the city of brothery love and mostly do data entry and billing for our office. Most of the songs do double duty on my “Walking to Work” playlist as well, and i think some of the early morning exultation carries over.
Submit a playlist! You can also follow The Playlist Project on Twitter and Facebook! If you like this site, please contribute!
This is a random mix of songs that get me going, make me happy and remind of good times. Some of these songs kick my ass at the gym, some make me appreciate all that I have, and some inspire me to live life with a zest for originality and discovery. I’m guilty of favoring beats/sounds over lyrics so if any of these songs say anything awful or depress you, I promise that wasn’t my intent - and quit being such a pussy.
Chris says, “I’m 25, I work for a PR agency, I’m a West Coast kid living in Chicago and giving it a whirl. My music tastes go across the board and, probably like most people on this blog, I think I find music before everybody else.” Find him on tumblr and on twitter.
Submit a playlist! You can also follow The Playlist Project on Twitter and Facebook! If you like this site, please contribute!
(Thanks Ryan!)
This is a great play list to sit back and enjoy a couple drinks after a long hard week at work and to get you ready for the weekend. A nice mix of old school and new school. So sit back, turn it up and enjoy the beats.
I’m half ashamed to admit that I enjoy Nylon Guys. The July issue featured some pretty interesting artists, and I put together a little sampler of songs from the artists they featured.
I’m a huge fan of Tokyo Police Club’s new album, and I’m excited to get to know some of these other bands better.
So. Who do you like?
DJ Dangermouse of Grey Album and Gorrilaz fame gave Vulture magazine his 100 essential songs for summer. He has impeccable taste. These are 15 selections from artists A-M. I will go through N-Z tomorrow. Enjoy!
Find the full playlist here.
Danny has been putting in some 9-5 work, Nick got really, really sick (seriously), and I went AWOL on vacation… and TPP has taken a back seat. I mean, it’s summertime—who doesn’t get distracted from their projects? Arguably, our tagline should now be, A Playlist and A Story… whenever we can get around to it. Plus, readers and friends, we need submissions. Drop what you’re doing, make a playlist and get internet famous.
Here are a few of the other distractions I’m up against during this cool Chicago summertime:
- Daily horoscopes that keep telling me crap like this: “You need to make a decision that will have a significant impact on the direction of your life, so take your time before choosing your path.”
- A long list of amazing summer shows and festivals in this great city
- An AC leak threatening to flood my kitchen
- Over 1,000 backed up items in my Google Reader
- Summer TV programming, not least of which is the return of True Blood, which I will be watching in the media room of my friend Tekilo’s building. (You think I can afford HBO?)
My favorite TV shows all feature excellent music selection, and True Blood features a lot of songs that are in my favorite rock’n’roll sub-genre: swamp rock. Here are some songs that I think could find their way onto the soundtrack this season, and the show would be made all the better. In anticipation of tonight’s new episode, get your short-jorts on, practice your accent, and laissez les bon temps rouler.
Hayley would really, really like to volunteer on the Gulf Coast. If you have the means to allow her to do this, contact her. Meanwhile, she’ll be summertiming in Chicago and documenting it here.
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Happy Friday. Here’s a playlist that will absolutely get your weekend started right. However you feel about the South, you have to admit some fantastic music comes out of there. Enjoy.
This playlist comes from this site. You can also download the entire playlist there.
Submit a playlist! The goal is to have a new playlist and story everyday. You can also follow The Playlist Project on Twitter and Facebook!
I guess I really am a Southern girl at heart, because I can’t stand cold weather. I have to be where it’s warm. After years of complaining about the D.C. humidity, I practically jumped for joy when we got a little bit of moisture in the air at my college in rural Ohio this spring – it felt so familiar, not to mention absolutely wonderful after the brutal winter we’d slogged through.
Now, in between frantic sessions of trying desperately to get hired somewhere in the district for the summer, I sit on my back porch with a book I’ve never read and soak up as much of the deliciously sticky and slow-moving atmosphere as I can – maybe hoping to make myself so sick of summer that I really won’t mind the chill when I move to New York.My backyard is overgrown with greenery (lots of poison ivy, so we never did much exploring) and tall, tall trees that stretch up to make a vividly verdant canopy above my head, filtering buttery sunlight through as the afternoon wears on.
And these afternoons remind me very specifically and viscerally of the first afternoon of senior week, as we thought it, when I and one of my best friends sat outside his apartment to finish our last assignment of college – a play, thank god – and we emailed it in as our friends came and went around us; my friend Emily upstairs was cleaning out her closet so I picked out a new dress, went home to sell my electric guitar to a good home with another good friend, came back with a six-pack of Magic Hat and returned to my Adirondak chair to enjoy the sun (it was too fleeting) and just-rained-last-night steaminess to the air, surrounded by best friends sketching, playing Civilization on laptops, selling the owl lamp, flitting about, and me in the middle of everything making a playlist – a hilariously perfect college afternoon.
This is the soundtrack to these afternoons – sweet and slow, heavy with possibilities.
Elisabeth (pictured, in shadow, with Emily and the infamous owl lamp) just graduated from Kenyon College and is spending the summer gathering the fortitude to move to New York and pursue a career as a playwright (Lord help her) in the big bad city. She has a baby Tumblr here, named for three of her favorite things in the universe.
Free Energy is a band from Illadelphia that is making some great music. This playlist is taken from one of my new favorite websites, Lost At E-Minor, and their side project, “My Secret Playlist”, where a new band uploads 8 of their favorite songs of the moment and explains why. See the full post of the playlist from Free Energy, and the description, at My Secret Playlist.
Submit a playlist! The goal is to have a new playlist and story everyday. You can also follow The Playlist Project on Twitter and Facebook!
