#love the idea of Jimmy weaponizing advertisement

[rynnthefangirl]

Albuquerque, 2011

Kim is driving on I-25 when she passes by a billboard for Desert Spring Dentistry - your best life begins with a smile!

She’d been wondering what the billboard would say now, had dreaded seeing it despite intentionally taking the route that she knew it was on. And it really was just perfect. The perfect blonde model with the perfect blinding white smile, on a perfect blue background, with the perfect empty slogan promising that the key to a good life was just to put on the brightest and fakest grin that Desert Spring Dentistry has to offer. Echoes of an advertisement from nine years prior of one James Morgan McGill, Attorney at Law. Blue suit, blonde hair, white grin, fake, fake, fake.

Honestly, it was fine. Amusing (comforting?) even, how the universe finds these ways to bridge the past and the present. Or maybe she’s just being melodramatic, seeing Jimmy in random dental advertisements.

Besides, it’s not the worst thing to be up on that billboard.

In those dark and blurry weeks after leaving Jimmy and the law, she’d distracted herself by bouncing all around Albuquerque, checking in on her former clients, making sure they were settled and happy with their new representation. She’d watched as the Saul Goodman advertisements began popping up in earnest around her, on commercials, park benches, newspapers. And on her third trip down I-25 South to meet with yet another distressed former client and explain why she was no longer available for legal services, she saw it. Saul Goodman— Better Call Saul!— towering down upon her from the exact same billboard where Jimmy McGill once dressed up as Howard Hamlin in a scheme to kick start his legal practice.

She’d nearly pulled over, to give herself a second to process the sudden sick feeling in her stomach. But she hadn’t, she’d kept driving, Jimmy’s ad still swimming before her eyes.

He hadn’t been wearing the outfit they’d used in the scam— whether because that’d be too on-the-nose or because it was off-brand for Saul Goodman, Kim didn’t know— but the shirt and tie were blue, and she knew that was no coincidence. No more than it was a coincidence that of all the billboards in the city of Albuquerque, Jimmy chose that one.

She could practically hear him calling out to her from it, voice dripping with spite and that same poisonous optimism he’d had after Chuck.

You see, he was saying. I’m doing fine. I’m thriving! What happened means nothing to me!

Howard means nothing to me.

Chuck means nothing to me.

You mean nothing to me.

She had gone and picked up the divorce papers later that day.

[rushingheadlong]

POP IN THE SUPERMARKET

Conveyer rock - is it all a hype? Colin Irwin looks at pre-packed pop and talks to the men behind new bands Queen (left) and Merlin

Hype. An ugly, unpleasant word frequently recurring in rock circles. 

Up in the boardroom of a vast record company the fat cigar brigade are scratching heads. Binn and Batman have come up with another surefire hit and they want somebody fresh to market it. They ponder a few names and finally decide on one with slight but clear sexual connotations - suggestively camp. 

Name settled, they work on the people who will be in this new band. They might be able to find a ready-made group to fit the bill but better to mould their own. There's a singer who has been around for a few years. 

He's not great but he knows how to throw himself around a stage, has a hairy chest and can hit the high notes. Give him a new name and he'll do. Somebody knows a lead guitarist who can play a bit and looks good. They can advertise for the others. 

They'll work out a sensational stage act, rig them up in some flash gear, buy them the best equipment and arrange a string of appearances in some influential venues. Plunge a few thousand quid in launching them with advertising and posters and "They'll be the biggest thing since sliced bread," chief fat cigar tells his underlings. 

Session musicians are employed to record the single and being a Binn and Batman special the radio stations label it "chart bound" and play it twenty five times a day. Seeing the glossy photos in the bop mags the kids gather up their pennies and buy it. 

VOILA, stars are born - or manufactured. An extreme form of hype. 

There's also a cliché commonly used in the business about people who have been around for many years and finally make it. It's called talent-will-out. An idealist phrase but there is still a popular belief that if a band is truly talented enough it will win through in the end. 

Yet even the greatest band in the world need a bit of pushing in the first place. When a record becomes a hit it's not always that easy to distinguish between hype and talent-will-out.

If a record company spends astronomical sums of money promoting a band, is it hype? Or is it a legitimate and necessary weapon in the music business? The argument is that the BBC's ever-tightening playlist and the effects on the industry of the three-day week have made it harder than ever for a new group to make it - talent or no. Without a big money machine behind it there isn't a hope. 

The situation is illustrated by two energetic new bands, who both look like breaking. 

Big money has been spent on Queen and Merlin, who have had new singles released during the last month. 

Queen's record, "Seven Seas Of Rhye," is already moving swiftly up the chart, while Merlin's "Let Me Put My Spell On You," is doing well enough to suggest it might follow suit. 

There is no suggestion that either band is a manufactured or manipulated product in the sense of the Monkees. They play the music on their own records entirely themselves and they are both hard at work on the road. 

Yet the question arises as to whether they would be doing quite so well without the resources of big companies behind them. 

In the case of Queen it's Trident Audio Productions and EMI and for Merlin it's Cookaway Productions and CBS.

The one common factor is that money and backing has been provided because the companies have a solid, unshakeable belief in the artists they are promoting. They are indignant about any suggestion of a put-on or that there has been any attempt to con the public. 

Listen to Merlin's producer Roger Greenaway for half-an-hour and there is no doubting his faith in their ability. "They are going to break, I know they are. I'm convinced the record will be a hit."

Nobody's saying exactly how much it has cost to launch either band. "Over a period of months between £5,000 and £10,000" has been spent on marketing Queen by EMI while the figure for Merlin is even vaguer. "A bit, but not a vast amount. Not a fortune by any means."

"Seven Seas Of Rhye" is Queen's second single and was recorded as part of the album "Queen 2" which has just been released. Things started to move for them about a year ago when they recorded their first album for Trident, who have a distribution contract with EMI. 

An advance was paid to them to help with the immediate costs of putting them on the road. 

Review copies of the album - about 400 of them - were sent out to everyone who might conceivably have any influence on the record buying public, from discos to the national press. Copies were personally distributed to radio and TV producers and extensive advertising space was bought in the trade papers. 

The launch for Queen was more concentrated than most artist are entitled to expect. 

Trident were completely behind them from the start and found them their American producer Jack Nelson. EMI promotions men Ronnie Fowler and John Bagnall decided they had a product with an exceptional chance of success and they went all out to exploit it to the full. 

Says Fowler: "Every record we release we work to a pattern of promotion. When I went round with the album it was normal procedure. It becomes un-normal when people start phoning you - that's when you put more effort into it."

Bagnall adds: "It became obvious after a week or so that it wasn't standard promotion that was necessary. We did a more complete promotion job than usual on Queen because we thought they were going to make it.

"They're all good-looking guys and I did a round of teeny papers and all the girls in the office swooned over them. Brian, the lead guitarist, had made his own guitar and a couple of the nationals picked up on that. It was good, gossipy stuff."

Queen's publicity machine was working from all angles because they were also getting external promotion from Tony Brainsby's promotion office. 

He had been involved with them from the time they had been trying to get record producers interested. The intensity of it all paid off when they were invited to do a spot on the Old Grey Whistle Test. Radio Luxembourg latched upon the single "Keep Yourself Alive" and played it regularly. 

Their first tour, supporting Mott the Hoople, got the full works. Local press was saturated with releases about this new band which was shortly coming to their town, elaborate displays were arranged at the front of the house on the night of the concert, local disc-jockeys were informed, and window displays were made in about 200 local record shops. 

"Trident and EMI committed themselves right from the start to this band, to make sure they had a PA which was better than other bands had and to make sure they had the right clothes. Some of their outfits cost £150 each," said Bagnall. "Spending money on a band isn't hype. It wasn't being flash or extravagant for the sake of building an image. It was making sure that everything else was as good as their music."

Not so far removed from the attitude towards Merlin, although it has been on a smaller scale in this case. 

The first Merlin tour, still underway, is rigorous. They are playing ballrooms and colleges all over the country on a lengthy round. 

An ambitious project for a new, unknown band, but it has already been successful in that it has launched them as a name people now know. A full-page advertisement was bought in the MM. That's the sort of treatment you might get if you're Bowie, or Ferry, or even Mick Ronson. But Merlin?

They have only been in existence in their present form since last May. 

They emerged as a result of discussions between Alan Love and Derek Chick about the possibility of forming a band with definite commercial appeal and a glamorous stage act. The idea reached fruition via a band called Madrigal, who had for some time been working the same circuit as Mud before "Crazy" broke for them. 

Madrigal disbanded but reformed with the same drummer and bass player, and Love as singer and Chick as manager. A couple more young musicians were found to join them and Chick started the usual hustling to get them going. 

In due course they came to the attention of Cookaway, and Roger Greenaway was hastily summoned to take a look at them. He had already seen Madrigal and when he saw the new model he immediately saw a big future for them. 

Greenaway says: "I'd been looking for a group of this type for three years - a young under-20s group who can present a good act. There's a lot more showmanship attached to bands now. I wanted an act with a slightly different approach. I was in New York producing the Drifters and I came back especially to hear them."

He quickly took them into a studio to see how they reacted there and among the tracks they recorded was "Let Me Put My Spell On You" which had been written by Greenaway in collaboration with Tony Macaulay. Like Queen, the best equipment and some fancy costumes were bought for them and the launching process was put into operation. 

My own experience of the Merlin project was a couple of weeks ago at Reading Top Rank - a bizarre mixture of precocious boppers, ageing teds, and stern-looking heavies. 

Posters and pictures of the group were plastered all over the place and by the time they eventually appeared late in the evening you had been informed quite thoroughly that Merlin had made a record called "Let Me Put My Spell On You."

Greenaway says of Love: "He's got star quality and he's a great charmer. The guitar player Jamie Moses has got a terrific potential too. I've worked with Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones but for me this guy at 18 is a better player than Jimmy Page was at the same age. He's the sort of player guys can follow - like Jet Harris - he had an incredible following with the guys."

He likens the Merlin launch to a military operation. The career of the group has been minutely planned since October. Accepting that it is almost impossible to get airplay for a new band on the BBC they decided the best way to break them was through a solid mass of live dates. 

The dates were booked, once again the best equipment, including a light show, was bought for them, and distinctive stage costumes especially designed. 

"By the time the tour has ended they will be a really tight band. We are getting support in the regions and you can break a record if you can get regional radio stations and disco plays. I believe this record is a hit and the signs are there. This is a ten-year job as far as I'm concerned."

Not that big money backing is any guarantee of success. 

One of the biggest projects of this type was the launching of young Darren Burn as Britain's answer to Donny Osmond. To their eternal credit the record-buying public didn't apparently want an answer to Mr Osmond and the campaign failed. 

The pop supermarket is not a new trend. The attractively packaged mass-produced record has been a part of the industry for a long time. The early releases of Love Affair, White Plains and Edison Lighthouse for example spring to mind. 

The whole thing is justified for the makers by the fact that they still become hits, thus proving there is a demand for made-to-order records. If the public is willing - or gullible enough - to pay 50p for music created in the boardroom. Well it must be OK.

The Merlin single is blatantly, unashamedly aimed at being a big hit - that seems to have been the one criterion in making it. It has all the ingredients and as the whole thing has been done with concentrated professionalism it will probably be a hit. 

Back to Roger Greenaway: "I don't want to present this as a Monkees type of image. It's not a manufactured group in any way - these guys have all been in other bands. 

"What Merlin are about is success - reaching people. It's so wrong for opposing people to criticise. If Chinn and Chapman go out to reach a particular market at the thing they do best, and they reach them, then they're doing their job. They've filled a gap.

"When this record happens it'll be called hype but we haven't hyped anybody. Not a vast amount of money has been spent on them. It would be silly to have a tour like this without some sort of advertising. All the money that has been spent on them so far has been towards getting them on the road. 

"It's expensive but it's minimal if you think of it as a along term thing."

It may be unfair to associate Queen with the pop supermarket. The group themselves were apprehensive about appearing on Top Of The Pops and the prospect of a hit record. 

They have always regarded themselves as an album band and were concerned about being connected with the chart groups. The fact remains that they have been on the receiving end of a giant campaign to create a best-selling single and album. 

The first album had sold far better than they had anticipated and there was great excitement around Trident and EMI as the second one was being made. Manager Jack Nelson came in virtually every day to play new tracks as they were completed and many discussions followed on which one should be released as a single. 

A special meeting was held between Bagnall, Fowler, marketing manager Paul Watts and a few others to discuss the approach to the release of "Queen 2."

"We talked about the possibility of boxing the album, and other various publicity and posters needed to produce an album we were convinced was going to be one of the biggest of the year. We set a high target for it. 'Seven Seas' isn't a housewives' record so with the daily shows like Edmonds, Blackburn and Hamilton, there's no chance of getting it played, we knew that from the start. But the weekend shows - Rosko, Henry, and D.L.T. - they all flipped over it. I took the records round personally because I felt so strongly about it."

The prime plug, however, is Top Of The Pops. If a record gets exposure on that there is a more than even chance that it will become a hit. He played it to the show's Robin Nash and a couple of days later Nash phoned him and asked him where Queen were. Later he rang back and invited Queen to do a session. 

The band weren't too sure whether they wanted to do it but eventually agreed although even then they didn't know until the last minute whether it would be used because they were half expecting a David Bowie film to arrive and take it's place. But in the end Queen were shown and "Seven Seas Of Rhye" moved dramatically from there. 

"A lot of people have invested an awful lot of time and money in this band but not as a hype," says Bagnall. "The only truth in the music business is that if a band isn't good, no amount of money will get them to make it."

Greenaway may be right that Merlin are one of the most exciting bands to merge since the Beatles. Fowler might be right that Queen are one of the best since the Who. But big business still remains one of the sadder aspects of the music industry today. 

----------

Huge thanks to the anon who brought this to my attention, since I’ve been looking for a copy of this article for ages now! 

Credit for the original scans goes to @Chrised90751298 over on twitter, though I stitched it back together into a single image for ease of posting over there. Open the image in a new tab to see the full-size version!

[cornholio4]

Wandavision latest episode

Spoilers, not for pro accords, anti Wanda or anti team cap

Not done with the latest episode yet but there things I. The episode I know are going to be twisted by the anti team cap and anti wandas

as Jimmy Woo pointed out saying Wanda radicalised and volunteered for hydra was an oversimplification, as if strucker went up to the twins and advertised they were joining a nazi terrorist group and not shield as they thought they were signing up for

calling Wanda a terrorist even as Monica and Jimmy try to defend her and I am sure the show wants us to be on her side

saying Wanda bringing him Vision's corpse back was against the already bad Sokovia Accords and against Vision's final wishes that he didn't want to be a living weapon, then what was Sword doing to his remains and why not have a proper burial for him? plus they said that since the snap they went to creating ai.... hmm...

it's obvious that she is suffering from grief and just wanted her love back, not saying she is acting rationally but she badly needs a good psychiatrist and help, I know they have a strong good point about people's minds being messed with (doesn't seem to be pleasant and I can't vault Westview residents if they hold a grudge when it's all over) and holding an entire city hostage but I don't doubt there is an outside force manipulating her

plus didn't agents of shield say creating ai was against the accords so pot meet kettle

not finished with the episode but I hope the show doesn't have Wanda as a final villain if there are one

edit: finished the episode now and Wanda states she has no idea how this started with the sitcom life so she maybe manipulated but the argument. And about controlling him is uncomfortable and goes into abusive territory, still hope she gets a chance to realise all this is wrong and apologises

[omegatheunknown]

AEW ALL OUT

Last of the all-hype pre-TV cards for AEW largely delivers, but ‘when are they gonna get to the fireworks factory’ looms over everything.

- Really need that weekly show, glad we’re not doing this again. Exhibition feel really knee-capped a couple of otherwise fine matches. Through the first four official AEW events I’ve noticed a sense of ‘well let’s wait for TV to see how they sort this out’ re: the women’s division, integrating the joshi, building up to matches outside of youtube, and the production hiccups. We won’t know until we know, but little has changed since Double or Nothing. - Production is still very work-in-progress, camerawork has this loose and improvisational feel that failed to capture a score of (one assumes) nice shots, entrance music is still way dialed down and it feels like a lot of themes lack anything resembling the ol’ glass shattering cue to incite a pop.

*Pre-Card Casino Battle Royal (N/R) - I think we can safely conclude this format is not conducive to a good time. The shared entrances preclude individual pops and confuse the issue of when the action starts. I assume some of the women turned on each other on the ramp, but the entrances are so casual (and camera work so frenetic) everything is sloshed together. Match was subsequently very incoherent, barely got a shine out of talent like Jazz, Nicole Savoy, Big Swole and Faby Apache. Bit let down by who wasn’t there (Delilah Doom, Shotzi, random Joshi stars -- where’s Yuka at?) but it’s fun to chant ODB and see Ivelisse and Awesome Kong. - Mercedes Martinez as the joker was a moment and a good omen, hopefully she’s gonna have a run in the division. - I’ve seen Nyla Rose do some cool things but she didn’t look good for a lot of those twenty minutes.  Private Party v Los Gueros Del Cielo (***) - This is hands down the best ‘buy-in’ match from the first four shows, the bar is low but this killed. High energy flippy shit with some classic tag team reversal of fortunes. Private Party is a great find, and they have one of the few themes that sticks. - I love Jack Evans playing to the first couple rows with his trash talk, reminds me of Kevin Owens caring little that it doesn’t play on TV, he’s still gonna jibber-jabber. *Main-Card SCU v A Boy and His Dinosaur & Marko Stunt (**1/2) - SCU are relishing this curtain-jerking business, which I love. Scorpio Sky’s ascendance to ‘guy who can hang with consummate professionals CD and Kaz’ has had the odd side effect of making him into ‘guy who could have a singles run,’ though maybe that’s got a lot to do with how charismatic he’s been on BTE (doesn’t hurt that he’s 13 years younger than Daniels.) - Luchasaurus is a big big star. ‘Jungle Jack Perry’ (Thanks, JR) is probably also that. Really interested to see how their popularity shapes the tag division.  - I enjoy Marko Stunt on a gut level but the commentary team couldn’t plausibly dance around the fact that a guy his size needs to be literally Rey Mysterio for this match to have ended any other way, so it was a bit hard to buy-in all the way. Kenny Omega v PAC (***1/2) - With the lack of build, the lack of hype, the lack of story and the lack of history between these two, two of the best wrestlers in the world still managed to put on a surprisingly fluid exhibition, save a couple missed spots. A couple tremendous reversals and surprises sets up what could be a very nice feud with a bit of investment.  - Ultimately didn’t like it as much as Kenny’s match with CIMA, though I’m all-in on ‘the best bout machine’ having trouble establishing himself in AEW, the finish was brilliant. Darby Allin v Joey Janela v Jimmy Havoc (***) - Barrel spots, skateboard spots, weapons galore, whole lot of don’t try this shit at home... I mean this is exactly as advertised, if you’re going to do a schlocky hardcore match here’s how you ought to do. Three competitors keeps the pace brisk, and someone like Darby Allin, who has athleticism in abundance, allows for a different sort of holy shit moment than Janela or Havoc. Total deathwish. Best Friends v The Dark Order (**1/2) - Still really hard to make sense of the Dark Order as in-ring performers. They’re not stand-outs in either direction, and while I like the idea of the creeps, the gimmick has yet to gel. Grayson seems more than capable but Evil Uno seems a bit ‘local indie’ thus far. I may be being completely unfair.  - Huge pop for Orange Cassidy. Huge pop for the hands-in-pockets suicide dive. Hikaru Shida v Riho (**1/2) - I know there were some serious stakes here (A championship match for a very pretty belt!) but I really want to know something about either of these women aside from Riho’s extensive experience and Shida’s enthusiasm for swords. - Match was pretty good, really. Not as good as some of the 5 ✪ GP matches from the last week but that’s not super fair (Nor is imagining Konami, Kagetsu, Mayu or Hazuki in AEW. But imagine!) - Do I think either of Riho or Nyla Rose are a particularly exciting inaugural Women’s Champion? Not at this point. Cody Rhodes v Shawn Spears (**1/2) - After a summer of loving Cody matches, I... I mean I liked this match. Cody is sports entertaining as hell. I really could’ve done without Pharaoh getting spooked by the pyro, but Cody being extra-AF with his entrances is still fun otherwise. Spears’ taste in entrance gear has not improved all this time, and the song seems... at odds with what he’s presenting himself as. - Ultimately Cody wasn’t wrong. Spears is a good hand. He is zero percent a star held down for too long by the WWE. For every Cody or Juice Robinson there’s a bunch of Shawn Spears’. I guess that could sound villainous, but truth is a babyface. Maybe find Spears a tag partner? - DOUBLE A! ARN ANDERSON! SPINEBUSTER! NEVERMIND - FIVE STARS! Lucha Brothers v Young Bucks Escalera De La Muerte Ladder Match (****1/2) - Yikes.  - Dios mio. - Seriously, let’s keep these two teams away from each other for awhile, I want to see them live long prosperous lives. - Mask spot was brilliantly done. Penta’s trash talk was in peak form. The Young Bucks and ladders, name a more iconic duo. Classic ‘go for the belts or go for the insane stunt’ moment for the Bucks, who cannot and will never be able to help themselves. As good a ladder match as I’ve seen since Ladder War VIII, possibly since VI. Chris Jericho v Hangman Adam Page for the AEW Championship (***1/2) - Say what you will about latter-day Y2J and his dad-bod, he understands what he’s doing better than just about anybody, he’s one of the best wrestlers at-48 I can think of (certainly having a better year than Ric Flair had at the same age.) He put Hangman over huge. He put Aubrey Edwards (his backstage pick of official) over huge.  - Page did some cowboy shit and brought a horse down the ramp for his entrance, which also puts him over as the kind of big star who can do that kind of nonsense. - Jericho’s knockout elbow took a while to get over but I think we’ve solidified it with that blow to Page, it ends matches in a hurry, it’s a great reversal and Jericho can plausibly pull it off regardless of condition.  - Any doubts about the wisdom of strapping the title to Jericho have to have evaporated in the wake of this.