The Sprint\/Nextel merger looked good on paper.\u00c2\u00a0 But the attempted combination of two incompatible technologies eviscerated Nextel’s magic, and its draw, its push to talk feature used by blue collar workers moving the goods and performing the services of America.\u00c2\u00a0 Is there any way to save the company?<\/p>\n
Many people believe Nextel should be spun off.\u00c2\u00a0 Until that point, Sprint is relying on advertising.\u00c2\u00a0 And what a doozy their spot is.<\/p>\n
Doug Morris complains that everybody wants to make a buck on the back of the music business.\u00c2\u00a0 What I find even more interesting is that all the innovation arises outside the industry’s hallowed halls.\u00c2\u00a0 Guitar Hero didn’t come from Universal.\u00c2\u00a0 Nor did this spot.\u00c2\u00a0 You can make a record in five minutes, put it online in ten, but what is usually purveyed is the most hackneyed crap, made by committee for a market to the point where all its soul has been sapped.\u00c2\u00a0 Miss the new hit record and you’ve missed nothing.\u00c2\u00a0 Miss Nextel’s roadie commercial, and you’ve missed some good laughs.<\/p>\n
I caught it during the World Series.\u00c2\u00a0 When I experienced that Chevy Chase\/Christie Brinkley ad so many times, not only do I hope she remarries Peter, I cannot for the life of me remember what product they were hawking.\u00c2\u00a0 As for the ads behind home plate…\u00c2\u00a0 If Fox shouldn’t be ashamed of itself, Jim Carrey certainly should.\u00c2\u00a0 Who cares about his next flop movie?\u00c2\u00a0 As for the game itself, it started at 10 PM on the east coast!\u00c2\u00a0 You should have seen the fans, not only did they have on their beanies in the frigid weather, they were dozing off as the game neared its almost 2 A.M. completion time.<\/p>\n
But the game itself, baseball, survives.\u00c2\u00a0 Despite MLB trying to kill it with these made for TV spectaculars, that leave kids asleep and out of it and offer tickets priced so high you’re surprised a blow job doesn’t come with each and every one.\u00c2\u00a0 When the Devil Rays’ manager created the five man infield in the ninth inning, I was stunned to experience something I’d never seen before, despite this being a game played by rules, unlike the calcified music game.<\/p>\n
Yes, the Devil Rays lost.\u00c2\u00a0 They were the beneficiaries of a good call, but also the cold air kept one of their long balls from going into the stands…\u00c2\u00a0 It all seemed so much more fair when the Fall Classic was played during the first week of October.\u00c2\u00a0 But it was fun to watch, and the most memorable non-game moment was the Nextel ad, "What if roadies ran the world?"<\/p>\n
Don’t complain that the actors are not as grizzled as real road dogs.\u00c2\u00a0 Just stay to the end, until the final laugh.<\/p>\n
If only we had this creativity in the music world…<\/p>\n
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