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2011 was a great year of music that featured a long list of noteworthy releases. Here are the top albums that moved us the most here at Neurotic Media – the albums that echoed off of our walls daily as our computers fought each other to be heard. Todd usually wins that battle BTW (listens to hard core metal and such). But we do get to share and enjoy each other’s different flavors and diversify our tastes. So, here are our recommendations for the year – and feel free to share yours with us below too:
Above & Beyond: “Group Therapy” – This really covers the entire spectrum of electronic music. Above & Beyond are some of the best producers with their emotional hooks and catchy beats. (Earle Smith)
Adele: “21″ – Adele’s sophomore album showcases her timeless voice and her ability to cross the pond and dominate the charts in multiple countries with personal songs jetting straight from her heart. (Stephen Lam)
Architecture in Helsinki: “Moment Bends” – Sexy pop for smart people. This isn’t on Britney’s playlist. (Mazzy Solana)
AWOLnation: “Megalithic Symphony” – The most positive, spiritually sarcastic rock you will ever hear; even your mom will like it. (Mazzy Solana)
Bad Meets Evil: “Hell: The Sequel” – Eminem at his best. (Tim Kohler)
Beastie Boys: “Hot Sauce Committee Pt. 2″ – Hard to believe these guys put out their first album 30 years ago. This latest project finds their energy, rhymes, production and beats still going strong. It’s like a party for your ears! (Gary Eaton)
Colbie Caillat: “All of You” – This project shows the best of her husky tone, relaxing guitar and encouraging lyrics. (Ling Zhu)
Hayes Carll: “KMAG YOYO (& Other American Stories)” – A steady fixture on the Texas scene, Carll delivers an album full of exceptionally clever and insightful lyrics in his trademark slurry twang . The song “Hard Out Here” is reason enough to be on a best of the year list. (Gary Eaton)
Coldplay: “Mylo Xyloto” – This album strays a little from the original sound of Coldplay but you can still hear where they started and they stay true to their sound. (Stephen Lam)
Cut Copy: “Zonoscope” – Australian pop so good, you won’t realize you’re dancing too hard until you get pulled over. (Mazzy Solana)
Devotchka: “100 Lovers” – An amazing pop record, sounds like rock n roll Gypsies, a colorful canvas of melodies and song. (Shachar Oren)
Emery: “We Do What We Want” – Most bands in the Post-hardcore genre put out an album or two and fall off. Emery is different, they have continued to impress since 2004, and their latest album is definitely one of their best. (Todd Jones)
Game: “The R.E.D. Album” – Most know Game is lyrically talented, but the guest spots and out-of-this-world production make this album the best rap album of 2011. (Earle Smith)
Holy Ghost!: “Holy Ghost!” – This album is so sexy you would think Holy Ghost was French, but they’re from New York so it’s much funkier. (Mazzy Solana)
Lady Gaga: “Born This Way” – A mind-blowing sophomore album. (Stephen Lam)
Man Man: “Life Fantastic” – All life’s lessons in a single album. They literally tell you to punch your dad in the face if it will make you feel better. It’s like Rock for happy pirates. (Mazzy Solana)
Mister Heavenly: “Out of Love” – It’s not any secret that I love Islands, so I was pre-destined to love this album. Add Honus Honus from Man Man, Joe Plummer, and an occasional tour appearance by Michael Cera and you get this heavenly musical experience. It has a sort of old school feel but is still very relevant. Definitely has an Islands-y vibe. Saw them live this year and they were all wearing matching friendship shirts! (Becka Hardy)
Portugal. The Man: “In the Mountain In The Cloud” – A great alt-pop album, with fun musical tributes to the likes of Pixies, ELO, Supertramp and others mixed in if you listen close enough. (Shachar Oren)
Sick Puppies: “Polar Opposite” – An acoustic EP of some of their most popular songs. Allowed me to really listen to the words without the organized confusion of multiple instruments. (Earle Smith)
Chris Thile & Michael Daves: “Sleep With One Eye Open” – A fiery duo of acoustic masters playing traditional bluegrass songs with passion, speed, authenticity and technical brilliance. (Gary Eaton)
Eddie Vedder: “Ukulele Songs” – Heartfelt lyrics and an acoustic sound make this album excellent for those quiet, reflective moments. Classic Vedder. (Tim Kohler)
But wait, there’s more! Here are a few additional notable releases we liked this year:
Battles: “Gloss Drop” – This album sounds like two (or more) robots having sex: math rock at its finest while still being ridiculously dance-y. (Mazzy Solana)
The Civil Wars: “Barton Hollow” – Absolutely (and truly) breathtaking. (Gary Eaton)
dEUS: “Keep You Close” – A wonderful new record from this Belgian band, which sort of picked things up where Radiohead left it after ‘OK Computer’ and been running with it ever since – this new album is the best since their mid-90’s debut, a strong, fun, innovative rock record. (Shachar Oren)
The Ghost Inside: “Returners” – This album actually came out in 2010, but I didn’t find out about it until this year. These guys are definitely one of the best hardcore bands to come out in the last 5 years. (Todd Jones)
Hooray for Earth: “True Loves” – I know what you’re thinking, and I don’t just love this band because of the name. (Becka Hardy)
Sondre Lerche: (self titled) – A fantastic release from one of today’s strongest alt-pop writers, in the tradition of Aztec Camera, Prefab Sprout, The Beatles. Unmatched vocal range, beautiful writing and composing, he just makes every complex song sound so easy and effortless. (Shachar Oren)
Silkie: “City Limits Volume 2″ – Most dubstep that comes out is released as singles or EPs, and even when an artist releases a full album it’s rare that I can listen to the entire thing end to end. Silkie expertly weaves jazz and funk influences throughout the album but still manages to stay true to the dubstep roots. (Todd Jones)
Stinkahbell & Psy:am: “Don’t Tell Mum About Ibiza EP” – Two highly anticipated up and coming dubstep producers. They’ve both put out some good tracks this year, but their EP together really set the bar for what they need to do in 2012. (Todd Jones)
STRFKR: “Jupiter” (Remastered) – I didn’t discover the dance party that is STRFKR until more recently, so I missed out on the original release of this album. Luckily, it made its way to me in the form of this re-release this year. Highly recommended if you’re into the synth-pop thing! (Becka Hardy)
Earlier this week I was on the phone with a new business contact, a pote
ntial client to be exact. We were talking about his business, how we might work together, etc.
As often happens, the conversation turned to the universal appeal and power of music and he quickly said “It’s the most popular thing in the world.” I told him that was a great line and that I’d probably have to use it at some point in the future.
The person I was speaking with went on to explain that he couldn’t take credit for the line, that he had in fact heard it in an interview with Donald Trump. He said when Mr. Trump was asked “What is the most popular thing in the world?” that he gave a one word answer “Music.”
Sure enough, I found a clip online. Not sure how I missed this but it’s from 2004 in a sit down with Ali G (a character played by Sacha Baron Cohen). In true comedic form, Ali G goes on to argue that the correct answer is ice cream. Sorry Ali G, I’m going to have to side with Mr. Trump on this one.
(Gary Eaton – VP Sales / @garyeaton)
I ca
n remember during my 7th Christmas, I received a big wheel. Boy was I ecstatic! So much so, that I was allowed a one day reprieve by riding it throughout the house as soon as I got it – attempting donuts and all by applying the plastic brake as hard as I could! The reprieve lasted three minutes…
To me, Christmas isn’t about receiving gifts; it’s about celebrating the birth of Christ, being thankful that I have the ability to put a smile on the face of someone else – and make their holiday as joyous as it was for me when my grandparents put one on mine that day.
Christmas has a special place in my heart and I have an appreciation for what drives my Holiday spirit and creates joy in my life: It’s by far the music! Hearing a favorite Christmas song, or remembering a specific place or event when a Christmas song comes on – there’s no substituting that. The power of music makes the holiday season an enjoyable one for me every year.
(Earle Smith – Neurotic Media Production & Merchandising)
Music is clearly an important part of the Holiday season. It’s the one time of year when millions of us all across the nation are living our lives to a shared or similar soundtrack. And with those “songs of the season” come memories.
As a personal example, every time I hear one particular Holiday song, I am immediately taken back to my Indiana childhood, probably around the age of 8 or 10. In this instance, the memory is of gray winter skies, snow on the ground and me standing in the hallway (in my pajamas I might add) looking into the living room with the Christmas tree in full view.
The song that evokes these memories is “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” by Glen Campbell. The funny thing is, it’s not my favorite Christmas song – it’s not even my favorite version of this song. But it is one that has some of the most powerful, vivid memories associated with it.
I’m sure you have your own examples as well. These types of experiences are one of the reasons why Holiday music can be such an effective part of a brand’s promotional strategy. There’s an opportunity to tap in to the nostalgic holiday memories of consumers and/or create new memories for them as well. I don’t know if the value of that can even be measured, but I do know that music moves all of us – especially during the Holiday season.
(Gary Eaton – VP Sales Neurotic Media / @garyeaton)
Do you feel shy and nervous to sing karaoke even though you always wish to go to the karaoke place?
I was
always wondering why my colleagues feel too shy to sing karaoke while they are quite confident in speaking in public. In contrast, I am quite open in karaoke but shy to speak much in public. The answer is that American karaoke is quite different from Asian karaoke. In normal American karaoke, you need to sing to everybody, all the friends and strangers in the public room. And everybody is staring at you when you are singing. However in Asian karaoke, only your friends can listen to you in a smaller but private room. Inside this separated room, there are always bigger screens, fancy spinning lights, drums, bells and computers. When you sing, your friends can find many ways to get involved, support you and enjoy themselves even though your singing skill is not that good. So no worry for them if you miss the notes or can’t reach the high pitch!
If you still feel a little nervous even in Asian karaoke, then pick the song “Jingle Bells” first. We have tried this song several times and it brings most fun every time. Everyone, old and young, men and women, American and non-American can sing this song with you. Interesting enough, everyone just can’t stop clapping hands or even dancing in lines with its rhythms, especially when it comes to “Hey jingle bells, jingle bells.” Can’t believe it? Try once during this Christmas holiday!
(Ling Zhu – Neurotic Media Developer)
When I was getting started in the music business, one of my first assignments was to go through a large box of cassettes from a record label that specialized in Christmas music. For the next few weeks, all I did was listen to their holiday music and write reviews and descriptions for each project.
Little did 
I know that this assignment was an indicator of things to come. As it turns out, Holiday music makes for a significant business for record companies and brand partnerships. In fact, I went on to work with holiday music on an almost year-round basis (try to contain your jealousy please). Over the years, I’ve created a long list of branded holiday compilations that have gone on to sell millions of copies.
One of the most important lessons I’ve learned along the way is this – when brands are working with Holiday music, one of the keys to success is this three-word motif: Know your audience.
If you are looking to appeal to a broad demographic base, it’s often best to use traditional artists such as Bing Crosby, Nat “King” Cole, Dean Martin and other similar performers. Those artists have provided a seasonal soundtrack for multiple generations. The warmth of the Christmas spirit is deeply rooted in nostalgia, tradition and family. Classic Holiday recordings from legendary artists are often as relevant to a twenty something as they are to grandparents, simply because we’ve all grown up with this music.
Seasonal tracks from contemporary artists can certainly be an effective strategy – particularly if your target audience is a younger demographic. Just keep in mind that newer material does not have the historical track record to make an emotional connection with older consumers. There simply aren’t many memories associated with a new song. I have seen holiday promotions fail by brands choosing contemporary music over traditional artists. By choosing a specific newer artist(s) the brand limited their appeal to a very small niche group. At face value it may seem that using a current artist is a compelling choice for the Holidays – and it can be – just be sure to consider the full spectrum of dynamics when making these decisions.
Of course, each situation is unique and there is no one-size-fits-all answer. If you are considering holiday music as part of your brand strategy, we’d be happy to discuss options and possibilities. Please feel free to give us a call 404-688-6858 or email us if you’d like more information.
(Gary Eaton – VP Sales & Marketing)
My thanks to everyone who participated in this Friday’s party and raised a toast to Neurotic Media’s past, present and future – you truly helped make 11.11.11 a Friday to remember!
Thanks to all – employees, clients, partners, investors, friends, family, and colleagues – for celebrating our success. You have been a part of this journey and we thank you for your ongoing support.
I want to take a few minutes and share Friday’s experience with those of you who could not attend. Below are highlights from my speech, accompanied by pictures from the party.
Before Neurotic Media
Before I founded Neurotic Media I majored in music – something most people tell you to never do. When I first started recording and interview artists in college, I could have never imagined working with the likes of Tori Amos, County Crows, Nick Cave and Greenday, may it be via live recordings, on-air interviews, or promotional work. I fell in love with the trade, and I decided to try and build a career in music.
My first experience with the internet as a music promotion channel was when I was working for Ichiban Record: We had one PC with a 14K modem, and we used to stand in line to send emails to radio stations, publicists and retailers about our new releases. It took ages! Remember AOL’s “Welcome, you’ve got mail” messages? This was 1995.
In the late 90s, I was fortunate enough to work for Amplified Holdings, a digital music pioneer, where I had great mentorship from the likes of Frazier Hollis, Jim Swindel, Wayne Parker and Russ Chandler, and an opportunity to learn a lot about the start-up and high-tech business. We created the first-ever business-to-business digital one-stop service. And then the bubble burst…
2001
This year presented the opportunity to strike out on my own, and I invited Peter Jennings (on right – and yes that’s me on the left), who worked with me at Amplified Holdings previously, to join me and found a company. One of the most common things people ask me is how we came up with the company name.
Well, we came up with a couple of hundred names on a whiteboard – this and that “…Tech” and this and that “…it” – and it all sounded boarding, contrived, and too techie.
We wanted a name that is entertaining, fun, and catchy – and represented the feel of the times. And in mid 2001, well, I think we were ALL very neurotic, weren’t we? And so we went with Neurotic Media… We set out to try it for three months and just see if we could make it work.
2002
Six month into it in 2002, not only did we make it work, but we were launching our own Neurotic Media platform – using four old personal computers! The DB servers were called Itchy and Scratchy. One of them is used by Todd as a door stop to his office (picture on right).
This was also the year that I got rid of my hair. I felt like I was no longer working the creative side of music and I had to talk to investors. I needed to look “serious” and I foolishly believed back then that a short hair cut was the ticket.
2003
By 2003, we were working with the four major record companies – UMG, Sony, WMG and EMI – syndicating promotional downloads through major portals including MSN, AOL and Yahoo. This was a marketing function and we established ourselves as a strong B2B music service.
2004
This year is when Apple launched the iPOD and re-launched iTunes, and marketing dollars started shifting away from marketing syndication on portals to placement and promotions through download store – which in short order became iTunes, Amazon and Napster.
It presented a challenge – the marketing dollars were shrinking… but because we built enough trust with our main clients, our clients asked us to basically design an “iTunes in the box” system that they can use with their entire catalog to support private-label solutions. Record companies started sending us millions of songs to host instead of a handful or promos, and asked us to build a robust stores system – an enterprise class system. Part of this change involved shifting our business model into a Software as a Service model.
The shift started with some of our marketing portals. For example, MSN partnered with Prince’s label to build a co-branded Prince/MSN store for Prince’s new album, and hired us to build it. A representative from Prince’s record company called daily, for a few weeks, for details about the build-out and the user experience. He worked with Peter and I closely to get it done, and we spent hours on the phone with him…. We learned later that all those calls we received were actually from Prince himself! Since we were both huge fans, we found that story exciting and a bit frustrating too (we wish we knew it was him when we were talking to him!).
2005
We spent the year building the new platform that the record companies had asked for in 2004. It took us over a year to build it.
Peter Jennings died tragically one month before our new platform was launched. This was a very hard period for us, a dark period. It was a different company without Peter, and it has been so since. But we knew Peter would want us to go on, and with the help of many colleagues, friends, and the hard work of many employees, we continued to forge ahead.
There were some bright spots too in 2005 as well: Todd Jones joined the team and brought enthusiasm, energy and deep understanding of the technology. My sister Hila also joined the team to help for a few years and made a big difference. We made it through. I was thankful to have the support of family, friends, and new colleagues during this tough year.
2006
In 2006 we took on McDonalds for a Pirates of the Caribbean value-add campaign for people who supersized their Mac. A lot of our employees indeed supersized their Mac because of their excitement for this promotion.
With McDonalds, we reached a million music downloads in one month – and that is when we knew we had done it right, built the right solution in the right way. We were ready for more.
2007
Work, work, work. Growth. We needed more resources and were lucky enough to get our first round of angel investment. Thanks to those investors who join us tonight for your continued support. Particularly Randal Foster, who is actually a “Founding Angel” having made his first investment as early as 2004 – thank you for believing in us that early and sharing our vision and enthusiasm for the space over the years!
2008
In 2008 it was more work and more growth, with more members joined the team including Evan, Abby, and Becka.
2009
We launched our open API developer lab, NeuroLinq, as the first-to-market API tool available openly for developers to prototype apps, widgets and sites within the music space. We launched several clients on this solution rather swiftly.
Mazzy also joined us at this time and added enthusiasm and sassiness that our team really enjoys.
2010
Tim joined our team as VP of Development and successfully brought our R&D and maintenance in-house. He also brought Ling on Board as a Junior Developer. We now had a full in-house development team for the first time. Earle joined us in 2010 as well and has been a great addition to the Production team.
We were still working in our old building. One day, I got stuck in the foyer with a broken door lock after a late night on a Friday. I had to call a locksmith to get out. As I waited several hours for him to arrive, I realized it was time… we had to move to better offices!
2011
We moved into our new office here at The Stoveworks building, which is a creative and fun space! People started bringing their dogs to work and I started to feel great about our company’s culture. My dog visits with me too sometimes.
Gary joined the company this year as well and has been heading up Sales. We established “Amplified Brands” this year as a service, and we also built first-to-market mobile/social/music technology that you all have access to tonight via the QR Code on our poster – this is about location-based marketing incentives using music as the reward.
We established a new brand for Neurotic Media this year – “music that moves” – because we have come to know how powerful our music is in driving customer behavior, and because we move millions of music downloads for our clients each year. It is a fun new branding message and it seems to resonate well with people.
Future
We have some fantastic innovations launching in the next six months, so stay tuned for those. Beyond that, we’ll build things that I can’t yet imagine. Our future is wide open and full of possibility. For now, all I know is that I get to work at a company where I can listen to music all day with people I love.
A New Tradition
Neurotic Employee of the Decade award was awarded to our Production Director, Todd Jones, for his diligent service of client needs and dedication to Neurotic Media since starting as an intern back in 2005.
Thank you Todd!
Neurotic Employee of the Year award was awarded to our Junior Developer, Ling Zhu, for her hard work and the ton of extra homework done right on a regular basis. Ling’s work ethic has been incredible since joining us a year ago.
Thank you Ling!
Thank you DJs Ari-El and Johnny K for the grooves, and thank you JK & The Lost Boys for the live music!
Additonal pictures are available on our Facebook page.
(Shachar Oren, Founder and CEO)
The leaves
are starting to turn yellow, orange and red here in Atlanta. The sun is setting a little earlier every day and the air is crisp. It’s Fall. Without question, my favorite time of year.
And since 1992, every year around this time, there’s one album in particular that moves to heavy rotation on my playlist. There was no “hit single” or chart topping activity, but it’s remained a favorite of mine since it was released. Neil Young’s “Harvest Moon” is my annual soundtrack for Fall. Something about Neil’s trademark vocal delivery and the primarily acoustic arrangements just seem to speak to me on a personal level during this season. The production feels earthy, the guitars are crisp and the harmonies by Nicolette Larson, Linda Ronstadt and James Taylor are laid back, soft and gentle. For me, the Fall season just isn’t complete without several listens to this album in its entirety, especially the title track. If you’re not familiar with “Harvest Moon” you can click here for previews. Who knows, it may become a seasonal soundtrack of your own.
This speaks to something that is instinctive: Music is personal to each of us. It’s important. It matters. We’re all moved by music of some kind – we’re just often listening to different soundtracks.
How about you? Are there specific albums that move you this time of year?
(Gary Eaton – Neurotic Media VP Sales)
At the risk of dating myself (yeah, tough that), I want to share a little story from Lollapalooza 1994, when I got to interview Nick Cave for WRAS 88.5 and photograph him for a magazine I wrote for. Cave was an artist I’ve idolized since the late 80’s, I listened to anything he had released, and I was amazed by his lyrical talent, his musicianship, and his dramatic delivery. I expected to meet an idol. I had no idea what that meant, but I had high expectations. After all, he had developed a strong and unique “brand” for himself. I was green at what I was doing and I was very nervous going into this interview.
The interview went well: Cave acted a bit sheepish in the beginning, but loosened up as we went and got sarcastic and even foolish at times. He answered all of my questions with interest and I felt I had plenty to write about when it ended – about his experience on the road, his life in Brazil at the time, the latest record he released (Henry’s Dream), things of that nature.
When the interview was officially over, things got really silly. The Bad Seeds – Cave’s band – had been sitting across from us all along in the expansive green room in Lakewood Amphitheater, talking among themselves, drinking beers and entertaining several girls (no idea if spouses, girlfriends or groupies). Cave got up to join them and made his way to one of the girls, grabbed her by both hands, and pulled her down to the carpeted floor with him. They started rolling together on the carpet from one side of the room to the other like toddlers playing a silly wrestling match, while the band members cracked up laughing and cheered them on. So here I saw a new side of Cave: The band’s Jester. The party leader, hungry for attention.
I couldn’t quit put together why a man of his age and stature would behave with such adolescent playfulness. But something did click: He was a human being. He was no longer the mysterious persona behind the sounds, lyrics and images of his records. He was no longer the untouchable stage figure who belted out rock phrases and worked the crowd with strong theatrics. He was a human being, a person, someone who can come across as sensitive and childish on one hand and as a confident leader on the other.
This early experience helped me put “stars” in perspective and eased my way into many other interviews I conducted over the years. I still buy anything Cave releases of course, including the last two awesome Grinderman releases. He’s still at it, creating music and performing – and presenting the same “dark knight” (and I mean dark, not in the Batman sense of the word) brand of music to us. And I suppose I am still at it too, listening, observing, and writing about it.
(Shachar Oren, Neurotic Media CEO).
As someone that’s worked in the music industry for nearly 25 years, I’ve seen quite a few changes and trends. Over the weekend I was reading a piece in Billboard that highlighted some encouraging news: Sales of digital music in 2011 are up significantly compared to the same period in 2010. Of course, the overall trend for digital music sales have increased year over year, but the current jump is significant.
According to Billboard, Nielsen SoundScan estimates the increase in digital music sales by the end of 2011 may represent an additional $300 million of revenue compared to last year. Billboard states, “American consumers have purchased an additional 12 million digital albums and 90.5 million tracks on top of what they had purchased at the same point in 2010.” If these numbers are indeed met by the end of the year, 2011 may represent one of the most significant shifts in the music industry that any of us have witnessed.
That’s quite an exciting story! And it confirms something we all know: People are passionate about music! Here at Neurotic Media, we use the passion fans have for music to put the spotlight on our clients and help them achieve their business and marketing goals. This is what infuses us with passion and purpose in our daily interaction with our clients. Music can likely play a vital role in the marketing and promotion strategy of your business too. Let me know if you’d like to explore the possibilities.
(Gary Eaton – Neurotic Media VP Sales)
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