you've got the love

Que ganas, Florence, tengo de verte el 14 de Diciembre en Brixton Academy. Por Dios, que llegue ya!

Y escribo porque me toca.

the end of the beginning

It is often said there is no money for all musicians. The self-expression, the new waves and the fact of being capable to think out of the box have partially fixed this issue. It is certainly impossible that the music industry would be able to generate the revenues it made no far than 5 years ago but it is also true that new business models have come across to make this show business more interesting than ever.

People tend to think the music industry is dead. If we go back on time and set our mind in 2004, we all would say they are absolutely right. CDs sales were falling to their lowest levels ever and two mega-companies such as Toshiba and Sony were unable to agree with the future of music. The next years of music in corporative hands? Yes. Both were deciding, actually fighting, which system was supposed to be the main platform hence the portable element that would digitally carry all these Green Day LPs you carefully collected during your childhood.

The reality is that music is everything but dead. The iPod first and Spotify lately have boost its importance and presence across the Globe. Considering the fact that the people who consume music or art is savvy, proactive and self-minded individuals, we could ensure performers and artist must not be worried going forward. These are some facts that support this point of view. Going to the nitty-gritty,

- iTunes has helped the music industry with a new innovative model of distributing songs and albums. Based on the iPod excellence, a superb device, Apple has manage to create, maintain and enhance a business model that has sold more than one billion songs over the last decade.
- artist are now obliged to give live concerts. More than ever. At the same time, no one would dispute this points is specially positive for all their fans. It is dead easy, or easier than before, to see a group live. The make most of its revenues by showing off their voice in front of their people. The outcome? Artists engaged with their public. The result: Loyalty as its best.
- crowd-sourcing as the way music is evolving. Your music, everywhere. iTunes allowed us to faster and cheaper access to multiple catalogues and songs. Companies such as Spotify allows us to access our music wherever we are, anytime.
- another argument in favour of this is that children carry and iPod with them all time. Music become part of its life boosting a forgotten subject such us the above-mentioned topic. Less laziness, more culture.

The benefits of listening and playing music are uncountable. It encourages creativity and helps children in non-developed countries to develop essential skills such as participation and teamwork. Taking the example of the work made by Carlinhos Brown in Candeal, Brasil, activities related to music are proved to help them staying away of drugs, alcoholism or crime.

As Churchill quoted once, this is not the end. Not even the beginning of the end. This is likely the end of the beginning of the music industry. We are spectators of a new way of how things are done within a market that has been monopolized by a few companies during the last 60 years. Therefore, we welcome the independent firms, brave artist such as Radiohead who come with new ideas and platforms like YouTube and Spotify, both concepts that have shed some light to all parties implied, either music promoters, companies and authors. In conclusion, the users should be more than satisfied with the result. A new path which allows them to listen to its preferred artist as easier, cheaper and simpler than ever.

religious driven

I sent this to my friend Julen, who runs a pretty cool blog in Spanish about poverty and the third world and I actually want to post it here as well.



The most developer countries, with highest standards of living are less religious. The poll taken by Gallup indicates that people living in richest countries care less or almost nothing about religion hence the affluence is a extraordinary indicator (ie. Sweden, Japan).

Sub-Saharan countries and less developed ones such as Indonesia and part of South America are very religious. In many of these countries the fact that they have to cling on something plays a fundamental role. They have no money, no food and and the education they receive does not reach a minimum standard at all.

However, there is another reading about the influence of religion. In the US 65% of their citizens think it is relatively important. Southern states are very religious. West Coast and North-Atlantic areas are less.

Since I am not that clever and have no time to study all theories about God (absolutely not interested), I would rather say I am agnostic, so I actually like this graph. It does explain many of the problems in the modern World. Some of them inherently related to the clumsiness of the governments running the countries marked in green.

it's all about gigs

gigs I would LOVE to see
- Arcade Fire. Probably one or the best groups of the modern history. Wait. They only have two cds. Does it really matter? More at the bottom of this post. Check out this documentary to learn more about them.
- Goldfrapp. Who loves Alison? me. A&E, honored song of this list.
- Mando Diao - note: I will not pay a ticket to see them as supporting act since they have been lately criticized because of their 'low profile' on stage when playing with Franz Ferdinand. Not worth seeing them live with another band. They seem to feel a bit awkward. But they are defo a champions league group. So one I have def to see.
- Madonna - Will see her in July in Barcelona with my friendo Otto von Bismarck, Koenig of Aia. Yaaaaaaaa!
- Scissor Sisters
- MGMT - Will see them at V
- The Killers - Will see them at V. I can't wait.
- Royksopp - Will see them this Saturday. Maybe Eple is well known but What Else is there is awesome!
- Basement Jaxx - I don't really like their music at all but I guess it will be good fun to lay down at Hyde Park while listening to hard techno. Got tickets for Wireless Festival in July.
- Fatboy Slim - Will try to see them at V as well.
- Razorlight - Not excited, perhaps there is a certain lack of emotions on his cds. They need to evolve. They have good songs though. Just a couple.
- Lady Gaga - I am sure she will come up with something completely different. Pop, etc but she is original. Isn't she?
- Lily Allen - Will see how it goes. I don't expect too much. At Vfestival.
- Katy Perry - I believe Hot n Cold is the best single after 3am in the morning.
- The Verve - Could not see them last year at V.
- Oasis - Will go to see MGMT this year at V, so I will likely miss it since they perform at the same time on the same day.
- Kings of Leon - mmmmm, hope they come to London soon.
- Keane
- Elbow - Great group. Slow rock.
- Interpol
- Kasabian - they are coming to London soon
- Orson
- Moloko - I have never stopped listening to them.
- Primal Scream
- The Cardigans - dedicated to the fellas who had to listen to 'good morning joan' every single day around 58 times per hour when we travelled around the US. Yes, LMU crowd-style, rock the one road.
- Ting Tings - will see them at V too. Actually, will pop up only to see 'Great Dj' and the other one. You know.

gigs I really wanted to go and liked
- HotChip - Will see them for my third time in May. Best group live ever.
- Franz Ferdinand - The gig was good. I expected more energy at the end. Though A-ha was coming to town to play the last song along with them but it never happened. Perhaps I was just dreamin' or had too much rhum the night before. Freaked out.
- Coldplay - Have been twice and both were pretty good. Shame the London one was in the O2 Arena, the worse venue for concerts. Being in Britain is also a pain in the ass when you are not standing. If peope sit down they feel like for some stupid reason they are not allowed to stand up. Slighly bizar for me to contemplate all the people behaving like at the cinema. Thank God (and the respectful TicketMaster) I will see them in Wembley in September and got STANDING tickets which is the key to have good fun with the yellow luftballons that show up. Yeah!
- Muse. No comments. Fucking brilliant. Probably the best moment at Vfestival - when they finished with Starlight.
- Stereophonics. There is only one way for a group to show off how good they are. And this involves obviously the art of singing a live concert. In Spain I have seen lots of crap. Stereophonics is, like Muse, an A-Band to see live. Superb.
- Air Traffic.
- Estelle. Well, I only went to the stage when she was singing in the right moment and at the right time. Guess what. Yes, she was performing 'american boy'. But what else do we want from her? Have you actually listen to any other song? Because I haven't...
- The Chemical Brothers. Just the visual show is worth it. So guess what happens when they arrive on stage. The-Mega-party.
- Duffy. Amy Winehouse and herself were playing roughly at the same time at V, so we went to check how the Welsh lady was doing and I pretty much loved it. Great voice and better songs.
- Scouting for girls. Yes, you are gonna say - you are such a girl! Well, we had good fun...
- Travis. Pure rock and better people.
- Alanis Morisette. Amazing voice.
- Underworld. Hardcore.
- U2. Never again. It is like going to MacDonalds. Will taste the same anywhere around the Globe.
- Ra Ra Riot - special mention to this young group from Siracuse, NY. I actually didn't know them but they are truly good. One LP only yet.

suggestions very welcome. neon bible for you guys.

brave enough

I am actually not brave enough to write in English. Yep. I admit it. I am shyyy. Anyway, I am off to Spain in a few hours for a week, so will take advantage of it and think about showing off my writing skills in the Shakespeare's tongue.

In the meantime, feel free to listen to Kings of Leon. They are good.

sunday shoots

Foto por love'em all. Flickr.

El Domingo es un día aburrido, por definición. El hermano pereza del Sabado. Alrededor del Este de Londres se han venido haciendo varios eventos gracias a un festival que todos los años organiza el council local. Conciertos, arte y ales se juntan con el rollo vintage, skinny y un poquito doggy que se uno huele cuando pisa Brick Lane y se toma un cafe en el 1001. Shoreditch es una zona animada y con muchísima vida los Domingos. Puedes ir de compras, de Sunday Roast e incluso de fiesta si el cuerpo todavía aguanta. Particularmente, a mí el bullicio de Brick Lane no es que me ponga los pelos de punta. Vale para curiosear, nada más. Para los outsiders, se puede encontrar algo diferente en el William the Fourth, por City Rd cerca de Old St. Decoración cuidada, buena comida, locals y gente guapa.

Para tener un tranquilo, placentero y auténtico Domingo londinense basta con acercarse a London Fields previo paso por Columbia Road y su flower market. Entre Hackney y Shoreditch Park, se llega estupendamente paseando por el Regent's Canal hasta el Broadway Market. Un mercado puro, sin Paellas y demás tonterias que uno encuentra en Portobello Road, por poner un ejemplo. La zona es enclave de artistas y gente relativamente bohemia. Date un paseito, tomate un buen roast-beef, elige un par de prendas vintage que han podido pertenecer a Paul Weller, curiosea los muebles que se venden a precio de saldo y termina en la mejor cafeteria de Londres (con permiso de Monmouth), The Gossip. Nunca vas a sentirte tan rodeado de te (sí, simples variedades de hierbas) en un espacio tan pequeño. La última vez que fuí aparecieron dos personas a recitar poemas para ocio y deleite del personal. Con un té de chocolate en la mesa, un puntazo.

Y para que el Domingo sea ya lo más de lo más, no os olvidéis de llamar a la puerta del estudio de Seamus Ryan cuando os paséis por el flower market. Os hará una foto de estudio por la cara. Sunday Shoot, flores, bocata, café y una buena siesta en London Fields para terminar. ¿Alguién da más?

reactive business approach

"Anyone who looks like sleeping, we wake them up to sell them things" - Ryanair CEO

una lager, por favor

Después de leer la típica noticia chorra del día en la que afirman que una tazita de café previene el cancer, me ha dado por echar un vistazo a las tasas de consumo del alcohol en Inglaterra. A primera vista, me vale con salir al pub de enfrente, dónde una fácilmente deduce que beben un poquito tirando a bastante. En el Reino Unido le dan mucha imporancia a estas estadísticas y, el precio de la pinta, es casi o más importante que el litro de gasolina. Por algo será que es el tercer país con mayor consumo de alcohol de Europa por detrás de Irlanda y Finlandia.

He aquí la dosis recomendada, la cual de primeras me parece ciertamente alta:

The safe daily guidelines for men have been set at 3-4 units; this is the equivalent of 1½- 2 pints of 5% beer/lager, or a large glass (250ml) of 12% wine.

Traduzco libremente, 1½- 2 pintas, cuatro cañas o dos vasos de vino spanish style.

En base a estos datos, reflejo los datos del consumo medio semanal por habitante mayor de 14 años:

Año 86/87: 9,53 unidades de alcohol a la semana (4 pintas y media ó dos litros de cerveza)
Año 07/08: 11,53 unidades de alcohol a la semana (5 pintas y media ó dos litros de cerveza)

Vemos un crecimiento en el consumo de un 21% durante los últimos 20 años. Anotar que la tasa era incluso mas alta a comienzos de siglo. Fué descendiendo hasta el comienzo de la primera guerra mundial. Al finalizar esta aumentó vertiginosamente y volvió a caer hasta niveles de los años veinte. Se mantiene constante hasta el año sesenta, decada en la que comienza a subir hasta los niveles acutales. Es curioso que la media no haya aumentado debido a la cerveza y su consumo sino al auge en el consumo y distribución de bebidas espirituosas y vinos. El ultimo grupo en unirse y que incrementará en el futuro con toda seguridad, casi inapreciable ahora, es el de bebidas preparadas como Bacardi Breezer o Smirnoff Ice.

A partir de estos datos, el problema y gran lastre de las autoridades reside en la cantidad de habitantes que beben mas de 30 unidades de media a la semana, más de 10 millones de los denominados heavy drinkers.

En este caso, no me creo especialmente las noticias en las que insisten en el descenso en el consumo de alcohol por un aumento del precio. Creo que el hecho de beber alcohol si englobamos todas las bebidas de más de más de 4,5 grados representa un bien práticamente inelástico. Una persona clasificada como heavy drinker estará dispuesta a variar el tipo de producto que consuma en función de precio. A su vez, un moderate drinker no notará apenas el aumento en el precio, ya que no es bien que exija tener un alto poder adquisitivo para consumirlo.

Con todo esto, yo veo un problema de base, relacionado con la cultura. Nosotros en España bebemos, por supuesto que lo hacemos, pero vamos a tomar un pintxito o una tapita en periodos cortos de tiempo salvo fines de semana. Aquí van a beber y punto. Y con mucha más frecuencia entre semana. Es una forma de vida más o menos criticable. Los ingleses son felices y nosotros también disfrutamos de su cultura. Un Viernes a la tarde en Londres os aseguro que es una experiencia que merece la pena vivir. Si ya nos pusieran unos pintxitos de por medio, ni os cuento.

blur reunion

La noticia del día, sin lugar a dudas. Me he enterado mientras veía Sky News en mi pulcro gym. Song 2 sonará a tope en Hyde Park en Verano para ver quizás ¿el último? concierto de blur. Me hace gracia pero la única relación que me une a blur son las partidas jugadas al fifa 98 hace ya diez años. Desde entonces ha llovido mucho. Por ejemplo, no toco una consola. El caso es que este año me he propuesto ir a todos los conciertos que pueda y que el bolsillo me permita. Lo bueno de vivir en Londres es que todos los grupos se dan una vuelta por aquí y eso, precisamente ¡no tiene precio!

Por cierto, no viene a cuento, ¿por qué los ingleses no se cruzan en las escaleras y siempre esperan a que llegues arriba o abajo?

so far, so very good

Dice The Economist que Obama parece ir por el camino correcto. Da señales esperanzadoras y bastante positivas con el nombramiento de políticos y profesionales más pragmáticos que otra cosa. Parece que tiene bastante clara la idea de que ante un problema que se presenta como un amago de agujero negro es preferible aplicar lógica y mesura antes que girar radicalmente hacia un cambio ahora mismo imposible. En épocas de crisis los americanos, simplemente encontraran soluciones porque tienen bastante iniciativa y les enseñan a echarse la manta a la cabeza. A nosotros nos enseñan a no hacer nada durante dos meses y a esprintar como burros en dos semanas para hacer un examen que muchas veces no aporta apenas conocimiento prático. Seguiremos luchando por jornadas de 35 horas, jubilaciones a los 60 y huelgas inutiles mientras los paises vecinos y lejanos nos comen el terreno. Y no nos engañemos, no son emergentes. Son igual de listos, trabajan mas y encima son más productivos. Para España un so far, and not that good sea el gobierno del color que sea.