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Tuesday, April 30, 2002

Happy Tuesday Folks ~

Since I recommended a movie and some poetry yesterday, I figured I'd include a couple links to some music today. I'm a firm believer in the creative powers of music. You can actually control the type of ideas you're creating by altering the style of music you're listening to while brainstorming.

Want some crazy ideas? Try listening to a Dr. Demento collection or Weird Al Yankovic. Need to get a little introspective and allow your ideas time to percolate? Mix in a little Mozart.

Here's a current mix of what's playing in the Idea Guy's jukebox. All four of the featured artists are currently unsigned bands. I figure we struggling creative folk should help each out as much as possible. PLUS ~ if any of you readers happened to be big-time recording industry moguls (or perhaps just want to buy a few great cds) you should contact these incredible artists...

Alex Bach
She's a mix of Sheryl Crow and Sarah McLachlan. You may have heard her song "Miles To Go" as background music during some of the viedo footage of the September 11th tragedy. Although her music has a pop sound, her lyrics are too cutting and insightful to drop her in a category dominated by Britney and N*Sync. Alex consistently tops the MP3.com website as a frequently played artist. Check out her website for song samples ~ check out MP3.com to listen to full versions of songs from her cd ALEX IN CHAINS.

Sarah Fimm
As long as I'm comparing artists to Sarah McLachlan, I figure I need to include this lady. This artist blends a McLachlan-esque style with Tori Amos' harder edge. There's also a bit of Alanis Morrissette blended in, but frankly I think if Fimm met Morrissette, Alanis would hide under her bed. Sarah Fimm's first cd is titled COCCOONED, and on it she sings about some dark stuff, but there's an almost mythical feel to her work. Scream, Sexual Animals, Red Paper Bag, and Valhalla are a few of my favorites.
The other thing I appreciate about Sarah is that she is truly a mistress of marketing. I contacted her to let her know I enjoyed her music and she quickly nabbed my address and sent me a box of cool promotional stuff; posters, press kit, an autographed photo, and even a couple promotional CDs with 2 full-version songs to pass along to others who might like her music. I handed those babies out to a TON of people ~ but I still have a couple left. Send me an email with your mailing info and I'll send the remaing discs to the first three people who email me. Who says there are no free lunches? Okay, it's not actually a brown-bag "lunch" ~ but there IS a song called Red Paper Bag on the cd. :)

Alice Peacock
From the harder edged alternative tunes of Sarah Fimm we move to the almost folkish style of Alice Peacock. This lady can WRITE... and her voice ain't bad either. Frankly, I just found out about her myself. My friend OTTER lent me her cd REAL DAY and I fell immediately in love with the music. She sounds a bit like Lisa Loeb, and her songs Cracks and Daggers and I Hear You Say just reinforces the association. Although... Something Else has kind of a Sheryl Crow flavor to it. A totally-tasty mix of music. Check her out!

And finally... lest you think I'm a sexist and only listen to female artists, I've saved one of my favorite new bands for last.

X-Rated Cowboys
The Cowboys' HONOR AMONG THIEVES cd is a lot of fun to listen to. From Rear View Mirror to Rock Star, you get the feeling the feeling they write an sing about stuff they've experienced ~ which makes the music all the more interesting. Then you have the songs Misfortune and Forever, which they could have written about anybody. I know I could identify with the tunes. Misfortune has a very creative turn of phrase that has stuck in my head since the very first time I heard it --

"Don't know why the call it misfortune,
...hits me everytime."


How clever is that? I love it!
Lead Cowboy Quinn Fallon and the rest of the band also has a sense of humor ~ I laughed out loud when I heard The Cowboy Song!
"That Damn Cowboy Song" ~ listen to the song's intro and you'll get the joke. :)

What do they sound like?
Hmmmm.... I have a hard time putting my finger on that. They remind me of a blend between a quieter Clash and the 80's alternative band X. They've got their own sound you've just got to hear for yourself.

That's the hardest thing about being creative in ANY genre... finding your own voice.

Monday, April 29, 2002

Good Morning Thinkers...
Hope you had an incredibly creative weekend!

I've got a couple things for you this morning:
I'm a huuuge Indie film-fan and I saw an awesome film on DVD last night.
The Tao of Steve
Go rent it (or better yet buy it and help support the indie filmmakers... and the Idea Guy!)

Also, can I just say (of course I can -- it's MY blog!) that I love DVDs?
I just got my first player and really enjoy the DVDs that include running commentary by the directors, actors, etc. My pattern now is to watch a film twice in a row -- I watch the film as a person would "normally" watch a video, then I immediately watch the whole thing again with the commentary switched ON. It's like watching the movie WITH the people involved in making the film. It's very cool ~ I hope they keep this as a standard bonus in every DVD on the market.

The second item I want to post is a link to a really cool poet I stumbled across through Blogger links.
SchoPoe
My favorite two poems today (I switch favorites just about everyday) are Coffee is for Closers and I Write.
Visit this creative site and let me know what you think!

Have a great week!

Friday, April 26, 2002


Think product placement in movies and tv shows has gone too far?
You ain't seen nuthin yet!

I would normally write my own headline for this, but the original is just *so* good...
Armageddon Approaches: The Trade(Mark) Of The Beast


Wednesday, April 24, 2002

Inspiration, trivia, research, history lesson ~ today's link qualifies as all these things and more!
Historical Inventions

Tuesday, April 23, 2002


The Tom Peter's website has a new interview with Robert Sutton, the author of Weird Ideas That Work one of the cool books on my own library shelf. :)

Click here to read the interview

Watch for a review of the book (coming soon!) on my TOOLS page


Based on the previous two postings, I thought this link was especially appropriate:

Copyright Law for Webmasters



Monday, April 22, 2002


It's about time!

Copyright Awareness Week



I can see both sides of this argument,
but I must say I end up on the side of "free linking."

There are plenty of password protection utilities that can be employed if you truly wish to bar someone from information you have posted.  Our phone numbers are listed in public books unless we pay an "unlisted" fee ~ I think web info can be treated the same way -- use an access control feature (you can get one for free on any freeware site) and implement it to bar unwanted visitors.

What do YOU think?

Google runs into copyright dispute




This could be very cool...
a REAL Thinking Cap?




Hey there ~ just a reminder that you can STILL checkout my personal list of creativity-themed internet bookmarks by visiting my FREE IDEAS page:
http://www.dontheideaguy.com/ideas00.htm
And checking out the Backflip.com link.

...Access to my personal list of links is still FREE ~ but the offer could end at any time!

:DON!

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DON the IDEA GUY

The Idea Department | PO Box 26392 | Columbus, OH 43226 | Phone/Fax (614) 340-7910
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