Facebook to YouTube to Movies, TV and My iTunes....

Best way to find something you like?

Stumble across it...

I don't know about you, but have you ever come across a song, movie, picture, website e.t.c that you really like purely by chance?

Well I have...

Example - everybody keeps talking about this new Libra ad thats on television where a guy arms up with Pads and becomes 'Wonderboy Man' and protects his living room with his magical guitar, jumping abilities and himself from the invisible pad ninja's...so I decided to YouTube it - for your viewing pleasure here :)


Anywho, after watching that I decided to watch another one of their ad's where a girl is playing guitar on the roof of a building, the girl turns out to be Chelsea Wheatley, so I YouTube her and find this clip off Rockwiz of her and the lead singer of the Presidents (of the USA...Lump?...no? okay...) after a little more searching I discover she's in a band called the Gingers whose music, as it turns out isn't half bad...I'm not going to buy any of it but I'm just trying to make a point...

This isn't the first time this has happened to me.

Now this might be a stupid statement, because it's so obvious but I believe that movies & TV especially (which is why I'm using movies/TV specifically in this example rather than listing any other forms of media - whatever it makes sense in my head) play a significant part in influencing our taste in music/lifestyles/fashion e.t.c and so it should, other wise some mo-bitch would be out of a job.

Many a time I'll be watching one of my favourite TV shows or a movie and hear a song, love it, Shazam it (best iPhone/Android (yeah yeah I believe in diversity) App ever) and download it purchase it...

To give you an idea, I went through my Purchased Playlist on iTunes (thats right iTunes and thats right...PURCHASED) and found the music I have purchased because I heard it on a TV show/Movie and listed some of them below...

• 3 Rounds and a Sound (Blind Pilots)- Californication
• Gimmie Shelter (Rolling Clones/Rolling Stones) - Entourage
• Open your eyes (Snow Patrol) - The black Donnelly's
• Teardrop (Massive Attack) - House
• The Man Comes Around (Johnny Cash) - Dawn of the Dead/My Best Friends Girl
• Nasty Letter (Otis Taylor) - Public Enemies
• Jumper (Third Eye Blind) - Yes Man
• All Along The Watch Tower (Jimi Hendrix) - Watchmen

Let me just add, damn you iTunes Genius - Genius manages to cut out all that exploring and just tells me what I like and have to buy (so I do - some of my cousins will be pleased to hear this...I buy my music, but its okay! I got $200 worth of iTunes cards for $100).

Problem for me is I like the exploring!....I LOVE it when I hear a song and only can remember half a sentence of the lyrics, punching it into the Google and spending an hour trawling pages and YouTube trying to figure out what song it is...sometimes I fail, but most times I succeed (thankyou Google) and feel like a modern day Sherlock Holmes - and it feels good.

Best idea for music purchasing ever? - iTunes on iPhone? I think so...

I digress...I make a bad habit out of it...back to movies e.t.c if my dad had a dollar for every time that he'd play me a song...say while we're out and about which I would immediately hate only to later hear it during a movie or TV show, buy it and not stop playing it he'd be driving a Ferrari California...

I think all I have done here is opened my own eyes and realised how much of slave to new medias influence on lifestyles I have become, not to mention extremely impressionable - well played marketing guru's...well played...

I take comfort in knowing you are too, even if you refuse to believe it
TomC