Old media strikes back (a demographic study of one)

I have noticed phrases like “online is the way everything is going” a few times over the last week, both from advertising types and publishers. I had plenty of opportunity with the latter at the web 2.0 conference in Cape Town last week. Every time it’s said with a bit of gloom and wistfulness for the old days of television ads and/or the rustle of broadsheets on a Sunday Morning.

I feel sorry for these people because they obviously love the work they do and they feel the weight of doom and kids with iphones bearing down upon them. A good point in this weeks Digital Edge podcast was that media doesn’t work like that if you look at history. Cinema wasn’t killed by TV or internet piracy (in fact its pretty healthy),  There is far more broadcast footage being shot these days than ever before (its just going online more). And radio (if you broaden it to include podcasts) is actually thriving.

Based on my demographic study of one, radio consumption has actually shot up dramatically over the last year. It could be the rapid approach of middle age youth of course but actually think not. Audio is relatively cheap to produce so its quite easy to build shows around specialist areas of content (that old Long Tail thing). So rather listen to crap on 5FM during the day in the car I listen to downloaded shows. And if I have stuff to do round the house I often plug my ipod into the stereo to accompany it. It’s a great medium for multi-taskers (which is the main occupation of the noughties it seems).

My regular weekly consumption is something like this now:

Sunday:

• Download the (excellent) new Monocle Weekly podcast and listen to it lazing on the stoep (with coffee)
• Also use the BBC iplayer to listen to Radio 4 or Radio 6 while I read the paper

Monday:

• Download the Digital Edge podcast (listen to it while making food some point during the week)

Tuesday/Wednesday:

• Get the latest two episodes of Beats In Space via itunes (Tim Sweeney’s excellent space disco show on a New York college radio) I listen to this mostly while driving around.
• Also get the Media Guardian’s (UK) Tech Weekly podcast which again listen to while making food or doing the chores required to keep my crumbling Victorian bungalow from returning to the dust.

Thursday/Friday/Saturday:

• As most of the podcasts I follow come out earlier in the week if i need new stuff by this point i’ll pay a visit to Myspace and let a page stream tracks (DFA for example), Download Digital Planet from the BBC, or listen to Tiga (if a new episode is available) or Modcast.

And just to show its not only me living in this brave new world i’ve checked with my mum and she downloads The Archers (long running radio soap opera) to listen to while she does the ironing regularly.

So my advice to those weeping into their pillows about dying media is cheer up and transfer your skills (the new world ain’t that different).

How to look hip in 09: D.I.S.C.O

Disco has been the next big thing for a while now (since the late seventies possibly) but I sense a convergence is happening. So far this decade we’ve had Disco Punk (The Rapture/DFA), Deep Disco (Lindstrom) and now its time for Disco disco. That is a real revival of proper disco records from the underground right through to the Bee Gees (believe it or not they’re actually being played in hipster bars right now). ID magazine recently devoted an issue to D.I.S.C.O and Italo Disco (the cheap 80s italian version of Disco) is finally getting its long promised moment in the Rimini sunshine* (check out Heartbreak for starters).

Even UK mudfest Glastonbury has gone disco with a recreated New York gay disco being road blocked by exiles from the Arctic Monkeys, Coldplay or some other indie whiners.

This video clip is a must see:

Organisers of that tent from Horse Meat Disco hit the nail on the head in The Times (UK):

“When times are good, you could argue that people get turned on by darker, edgier music, such as drum’n’bass or electro,” says Jim Stanton, who started the iconic Horse Meat Disco in Vauxhall, south London. “As soon as life gets harder, people look for something more uplifting, which is where disco comes in — it’s an escape. The first big-haired disco moments happened in America during the 1970s, when there was a depression caused by an oil crisis.” From The Times

But for true trend “convergence” to happen the fashion crowd need to be in on the act. Box ticked. Last year’s collections were full of sequins, floaty satins and big disco barnets. My prediction is more Studio 54 inspired frockage across the imminent fashion weeks. We’ll maybe even get the long promised Halston revival in 09?

Shall I even mention J&B’s start a party disco ball ads? Beep Beep. Toot toot.

*Disclosure: the author has been DJing Italo disco records since 2002 – he’s now looking around incredulously for someone that will believe him

Big in 09: Afro-beats

Africa’s blip on the global hipster radar has been steadily growing thanks to a number of international musicians/DJs picking up on influences (and artistes) from the continent.

Vampire Weekend for me is the most notable example from 2008: their Paul Simonesque mix of ivy league preppyness and African rhythms have been a worldwide hit amongst indie kids/kidults.

In dance  the “world beats” scene driven by acts like M.I.A, Santogold, Radioclit and Diplo have been championing African sounds as part of a mix of influences that also includes Brazil and India.

The good thing about this movement is that it does involve African musicians rather than just pinching the influence wholesale (as has happened by some of the big names in fashion over the last couple of years).

Esau Mwamwaya, a London based Malawian has music blogs frothing (rightly) at the mouth with excitement. You can check out his excellent free mix with UK producers Radioclit here. As an aside they include a DJ Cleo track on the mix alongside Esau’s own songs.

South Africa’s very own Blk Jks have been championed by Diplo and appeared on the front cover of influential US music mag Fader last year. They’ve also just signed internationally to the much respected Secretly Canadian label with an EP out in March.

Another London based African to check out is Afrikan Boy (originally from Nigeria), who featured on M.I.A’s last album and has scored some underground hits on his own.

I think we’ll be seeing this trend develop over the next year and a half as the success of these acts opens the doors for others and we edge closer to the 2010 world cup (no doubt cool hunters for Puma, Adidas and Nike are already raiding South African youth culture for campaigns right now).