Post number 5!

Movie reviews may be the quintessential article in all things pop-culture. Despite being all opinion, movie reviews always seem to be wildly popular among readers.

For the final installment of "I Wish I Had Written That" I've picked out a movie review by Tom Long of the Detroit News on Date Night. This is a great review, as it executes everything a great review needs.

Excerpt #1

Fey may be the funniest person alive right now; she's certainly one of the most successful funny people alive. With her TV powerhouse "30 Rock" packing more chuckles in a minute than most shows do in 30 and her nation-rocking Sarah Palin impersonation poised to rule the next presidential election cycle (don't kid yourself, the Fey factor may alter American history), she's everywhere and we're undoubtedly better for it.

I really like this excerpt because it's not really about the movie, but why you should see the movie. Long writes about Tina Fey in a way that entices you to check out the film. By focusing on Fey, he is able to get his point across for why you should want to see the film without discussing plot lines, or jokes made in the film. The thing about reviews is you want to discuss the film, but not in a way that would ruin it for someone whom hasn't seen it yet. By talking about how funny Fey is - not necessarily in the film, but in the other things she does, it'll grab the reader's attention.

Excerpt #2

As a result "Date Night" never pretends to be a great film. It's a series of quickie jokes built into a predictable storyline, goosed consistently by Fey and Steve Carell. It offers nothing beyond silly entertainment and the opportunity to recognize one's own self in far-fetched circumstance.

Knocking down films is just part of a film critic's job. However since it is all opinion-based, you have to go around doing it in a polite-manner. This is what's going on in this excerpt. A lot of people do go into films - even comedies - ready to witness top-notch film making. Long reassures us Date Night isn't the greatest film we will ever see, but we will see lots of entertainment and funny moments. Lots of critics will write a review toward films as if the director was aiming for the film to be Oscar-worthy. I remember watching this documentary Heckler, which was about film critics, and this one actor was talking about how he saw a critic totally bash the film, Piglet's Big Movie, and called it juvenile. Well no duh it's juvenile, it's a kid's cartoon film. Long does a great job by realizing Date Night is not so much about the story, but the jokes Tina Fey and Steve Carell deliver.

Excerpt #3

The far-fetched circumstance at hand involves husband and wife Phil (Carell) and Claire (Fey) Foster, New Jersey suburbanites who try to break the monotony of family life with a date every week, usually to the same dull restaurant.

I picked out this excerpt because it's the first time Long reveals any plot details in the film, and this graf comes halfway into the review. In the review's entirety, he reveals hardly anything that happened. The most in-depth things he goes in about are all things you can see in the trailer. There's a fine line between what the reader does and does not to read in a review. Of course writing a review on a film is much easier when you go highly in-depth to what happened, but the best critics write a review while barely touching the surface of the plot.

Well, that's all I got this week. Enjoy your weekend!

Post #4

For this installment of "I Wish I Written That" I have found the holy grail of all blog posts. The king of all blog posts. If there was a blog post equivalent of Daniel Day Lewis' acting skills, this would be the blog post. Okay, maybe that's an outrageous statement to make, but I really love what Christopher R. Weingarten of Rolling Stone Magazine wrote recently on the Rolling Stone website. He connected my two favorite loves, Bob Dylan and hip-hop music. The blog post is called: "Is Bob Dylan Hip-Hop’s Godfather? His Ties to Beasties, Roots, More."

Not only does it contain my all-time favorite musician and my favorite genre of music, but it goes more in-depth into something I had touched on before. Just the title alone is going to catch a reader's attention. It'll attract the so-called Dylanologists and the hip hoppas to spark some kind of debate, therefore generating user comments.

Excerpt #1

Is this the very first rap song ever? Dylan’s rollicking “Subterranean Homesick Blues” predates hip-hop’s labyrinthine rhyme schemes, anti-authority philosophy, pop-culture obsessions and street-level turns-of-slang; distilling bohemian counterculture, war paranoia and the ongoing civil rights struggle into a two-minute barrage of fascinating wordplay. At once political and pop, “Subterranean Homesick Blues” was Dylan’s first Top 40 single.

Excerpt one is the first supporting point in Weingarten's thesis. I'm sure we all know when throwing down an agrument, your first point has to be super strong and Weingarten accomplishes that by going straight to 1965's Subterranean Homesick Blues. If one is to study the uprising of hip hop in the 1980s (I know hip-hop culture started way back in the 70s, but I'm talking about that burst into the mainstream), it contained all the elements Weingarten mentioned in that excerpt. Then for bonus he throws in the factoid about the song being Dylan's first Top 40 hit. Weingarten manages in his first point to present a strong argument, prove he knows his Dylan, and shows that he understands hip-hop music as well. Bravo!

Excerpt # 2

Three years later, the boys would sample Dylan’s “Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues” for their “Finger Lickin’ Good” — a clearance that would ultimately cost them $700. Mike D told Boston Rock, “He asked for $2,000. I thought it was kind of fly that he asked for $2,000 and I bartered Bob Dylan down. That’s my proudest sampling deal.” Their upcoming Hot Sauce Committee Pt. 2 is set to feature another sample of Dylan, a spoken word bit where he talked about the Boys on his satellite radio show.

Another connection of two of my favorite artists in this post - Dylan and the Beastie Boys! Awesome. I always knew about the Dylan references in the Beastie Boys songs Weingarten brought up, but what I didn't know was the story he added on at the end of the point. Obviously it'll be interesting to me since I'm both a fan of Dylan and the Boys, however that kind of story can appeal to any music lover. Why? The fact that they not only managed to clear a sample, but cleared it for only $700. Now, this all took place back in the early 90s, and today clearing samples is a lot harder and way more expensive. I'm surprised someone like Dylan even cleared a sample of his since. But maybe he feels guilty about the fact he stole a ton of people's songs in the early 60s.

Excerpt #3

In the second episode of his Sirius Satellite Radio program, Theme Time Radio Hour, Dylan dropped a gravelly rendition of the LL Cool J classic. Naturally, LL Cool J was totally honored, and told TMZ, “That blows me away… What he needs to do is call me and let’s do it together. I encourage everyone to get out there and buy Bob Dylan’s records”

This, I love. If you've yet to hear Dylan's take on Mama Said Knock You Out, then you're really missing out. Of course containing this in an argument about Dylan's connection to hip-hop music is a good move even though it really doesn't prove anything besides Dylan liking a song because it will make a lot of readers laugh. And if you can get the reader to laugh, they'll have a better memory about your blog post. I also loved that Weingarten included LL Cool J's quote about Dylan, because I never heard that before. I always thought Dylan needed to do another collaboration with a rapper, so if those two can hook up and actually make it happen, that would be awesome.

Well that's all I got for you this week. Scatter off now and go listen to Bob Dylan, Yo!

I Wish I Written That #3

As someone currently involved in the radio industry here in metro-Detroit (I intern at 93.9 The River), when the announcement came Dick Purtan would be retiring, it was the shot heard around the metro-Detroit radio community. All that was being discussed about that day in the office was Purtan. Purtan undoubtedly deserves the talk, as he is legend. Forty-five years on air for Detroit Radio is a tremendous accomplishment. He could have probably gone somewhere else - somewhere bigger; but no, here he stayed and became one of the most beloved and recognizable voices around.

So for this week's post I of course selected an article about Purtan's last day, which is today, March 26. The article being spotlighted is by Susan Whitall of the Detroit News, and the article is entitled: "Purtan wraps up 45 years on air."

It should be noted that not only is this a good article, but Whitall's speed of getting it online ready for viewing was pretty fast. The article was posted at 11:27 a.m., just a couple hours after Purtan's show was over.

An article about Purtan is going to draw a reader's attention fairly easy and they'll want to hear the story of the last day and what happened at the station, etc. Presentation is the big key in writing about it and Whitall nails it.

Excerpt #1

Dick Purtan left the airwaves just the way he started, with "a little song, a little dance, a little seltzer down the pants," quoting the famous line from "The Mary Tyler Moore" show as he wrapped up a 45-year career on Detroit radio.

This is the lead from the article. I really like it because it's not really her voice, she gives us how Purtan went off, what he said. Some writers may have tried to start the article off with their own narration of the happening or maybe start it off with Purtan's beginnings in Detroit Radio back in 1965 and build up to the final day. Whitall understands what's important and cuts right to the point - Purtan's exit. The most interesting article about Purtan's departure isn't going to be his beginnings, isn't going to be his history, it's going to be how he went out, what he said and what he did. The lead is the most crucial graf in an article and Whitall succeeds in making the reader continue on to the next one.

Excerpt #2

But he was funny, and hit the ground running with a wild show with mile-a-minute quips. His voice has rarely been absent from the Detroit airwaves since.

On the air today, Purtan noted the glut of media trucks, and he said he was stopped on his way in by the Ferndale police. "He said, 'You didn't think we wouldn't escort you in today, did you?' " Purtan said.

For some reason I really like this passage. It goes from one of Whitall's first moments of her own voice and narration, right back into a great story Purtan gave about his ride into the station. I think that first graf in that excerpt really does the job and really sums up Purtan and his career. That is what he is known for after all, his quips. The mile-a-minute added description is also nice, because Purtan is quick-witted. Then that second graf does a great job of showing how loved Purtan was and how big of a deal him going off the air is for people. It's a nice touch to the article.


Excerpt # 3

Newly wed to Gail, whom he met in New York City, Purtan did a brief Army stint, then worked in Syracuse (WOLF) and Cincinnati (WSAI), where Purtan briefly added "concert promoter" to his resume, when he put up the money to book the Beatles in Cincinnati.

"They only needed $12,500 as a down payment," Purtan said. "So Gail and I, we pooled our resources and came up with $2,500. We went to four of the jocks on the station, who each put up $2,500. We sent a cashier's check for $12,500 to the promoter to lock them up. Then before they took the stage, we had to give them another $12,500."

Here's more good use of using Purtan's voice for telling the story, only this time it's about his past. It should also be noted that Whitall only started first talking about Purtan's back-story in the bottom third of the article. She kept two-thirds of the article solely for present-day storytelling, which is definitely the most engaging way to go about it.

I picked this excerpt because I think it's a great story to include in the article. I've never heard this story so I'm sure others haven't as well. This is the anecdote that will readers to go "oh, wow that's interesting." And to make it even better she used Purtan's voice to tell it and not her own narration of the story.

Well that's it for this week! Below is the video Whitall included with her article.

I Wish I'd Written That #2

I'm a frequent visitor to EW.com. I think they have phenomenal bloggers, are quick to deliver pop culture news, and manage to compile great "15 Best (insert some pop culture thing here) Ever" type lists.

Two of my favorite bloggers on there are Ken Tucker and Doc Jensen. Both are great at writing blogs providing provocative thought to television shows. Being a so-called "Lostie" myself, nothing gets better than Jensen's eight-page, essay-of-a-blog recap on Lost every week. I could write a "I Wish I'd Written That" post on those every week, but I'll spare you the pain of that.

For this entry, I'll go with Ken Tucker's latest blog post: '"30 Rock and 'Parks and Recreation': Poehler opposites, Fey-ry funny: Which show's attitude do you like more?"

For my first excerpt, I'm going with the title of the blog post. I know it seems like a cop out picking a title as an excerpt to decipher awesomeness, but come on, that title is riddled with too much awesomeness to just not talk about it.

First off, I know the title seems pretty lengthy; But, in the world of blogging, the title reigns supreme. The title of your blog post can make or break what kind of readership it's going to receive. Sometimes you just have to go with a long title to get the point across to why the reader should want to click on the title.

This title is very clever, playing off the names of the two stars of each show, Amy Poehler and Tina Fey. Having some wordplay is definitely going to get readers to investigate further and check out the article.

The other reason why the title is good? It addresses the reader and asks a question. The internet is full of people whom think they are smarter than everyone else, so therefore their opinion is the right one. These people will click on titles like that to just state their counterpoint to whatever the author has to say.

Excerpt two:

30 Rock is, like its title, very “New York,” granite-tough. Even when Fey isn’t onscreen, her comic tone — cutting; ruthlessness wearing the mask of whimsy — slices through most scenes, particularly anything involving Alec Baldwin’s Jack and his business dealings. It’s kind of amazing to me that Fey gets away with making such fierce fun of NBC corporate masters like GE and now Comcast/Xfinity, aka, Kabletown

This is why I like Tucker: his breakdowns of sitcoms. Anyone can breakdown a drama. Dramas are taken seriously and usually have more of a plot than a sitcom. People watch sitcoms to just laugh and usually not think about what exactly is happening.

In this excerpt, Tucker manages to not only give us a good explanation of what style of humor Fey brings to the table, but what kind of humor 30 Rock brings to the table. I'm sure many people have tried to describe the show to their friends before to convince them to watch it. I bet no one has come close to a perfect description of it like Tucker gives the reader.

He also brings the thought of how the show does not only manage to get away with making fun of the station it broadcasts on, but the corporate sponsors of the network as well. Observations like this will stick in a reader's head, and probably carry with them all the way to the bottom of the article where they can leave their comment on it.

Tucker gets bonus points for grammar usage in this excerpt. A semicolon and a hyphen in the same excerpt!? Well done sir! Those are things a lot of people often use incorrectly.

Excerpt # 3

Where 30 Rock is deeply skeptical about any kind of organized power-structure, whether it’s private industry or public policy, Parks and Recreation’s fundamental message is that pride, hard work, and engagement in civic affairs can be effective and humane.

What’s great is that

I Wish I Had Written That: Post #1

The article I bring forth to you today in my "I Wish I Had Written That" entry is a piece by Adam Graham of the Detroit News.

Graham is a music writer for the paper and is essentially that new-wave journalist more journalists need to become like in order to succeed in this face-paced society which journalism has suffered in so far. He understands the importance of Twitter, he maintains a wonderful pop-culture blog, and often uses audio and video (which he takes himself) to accompany his articles.

The piece that I will be taking excerpts from is called "Mike Posner renews local ties in CMU tour stop." As a friend of Posner and as someone who has even reported on him, I generally read a lot of features that come out about him. Overall I really like this feature because Graham manages to perfectly embody the type of guy Posner is, and I know Graham is being truthful in what he writes, because well, I grew up with the guy. However, let's get more specific.

In a few hours, Mike Posner will perform for more than 1,200 students at Central Michigan University's Plachta Auditorium, but first he needs a haircut.

Through Twitter, he's arranged for a friend of a friend to come to his hotel room and fix up his closely shorn locks, and $30 later the barber is on his way and Posner is stage-ready.

Social networking has afforded Posner more than a convenient way to get haircuts in college towns. Tonight's concert -- which sold out in less than two days -- was booked after CMU students started a Facebook group requesting the 22-year-old born-and-bred Michiganian perform on campus.

This is how Graham perfectly begins his feature. He focuses on what's made Posner so popular to begin with and connected it with the show he was covering. Posner's rise in popularity was primarily due to the internet and social media. Posner was highly active on both his Twitter and Facebook accounts to promote his music and get his friends to promote his music when he first really started. Graham successfully sets the scene for the reader while referencing both Twitter and Facebook. He also uses the interesting story about the haircut to make the reader laugh and instantly want more.

Following his haircut, he shows up for a sound check at Plachta Auditorium alone, the same way he comes into town.

"I don't need a babysitter to help get me to my show on time," says the singer, who bares more than a passing resemblance to Justin Timberlake.

After the sound check, he heads downstairs to a dressing room where a university staffer informs him there's a problem getting him the CMU basketball jersey he requested. A hoops fan, he usually wears a basketball jersey for the school he's performing at during the encores of his shows, but CMU couldn't round one up.

Since this excerpt also addresses the haircut, one would think that it comes directly after that last one. Nope. Graham manages to throw in a good amount of grafs on Posner's back story for those new to Posner. He manages to also keep those familiar with Posner and keep them reading to this excellent passage. One of the things I learned in feature writing that class that was of dire importance was quote selection. Graham's decision to include the quote about not needing a babysitting was great. It was good insight toward the fact that Posner does have his head on straight (he did graduate from Duke), and can manage his own life. Many artists need a tour manager, but when Posner hits the road, he's able to do it alone. Graham also decides to include the factoid about Posner asking for a jersey from every school he plays at. It's little things like that that readers would want to know. Graham probably collected a lot of information and quotes from Posner while hanging out with him for the show, and what he decided to use in the actual feature is what I really liked about the piece as a whole.

Posner skips the after party in nearby Alma and heads back to his hotel room with two high school friends in town for the show. The next morning he's off to Arizona for another performance, another crowd and another pair of packs of Trident.

Though he hasn't seen the movie, the jet-setter says his life these days is a lot like George Clooney's character in "Up in the Air," who spends the majority of his life in transit.

In "You Don't Have to Leave," Posner sings a line that sounds like it could have been written by Clooney's character -- "open up your eyes, I'll be in the sky" -- and which, for the students in Mount Pleasant the morning after the show, turns out to be true. By the time campus wakes up, he's gone.

This passage is just awesome for any pop-culture reader. A great reference to "Up in the Air," while getting a taste of what Posner's life is like. The reader learns the type of personality he has, while understanding why he has everything in him to become successful. I'm sure lots of people are interested in what artists do after shows cause living that kind of life is what people dream of. Rocking hard, partying hard, and meeting lots of female fans. Yet, Posner is not one to indulge into that kind of stuff, and often puts his music first and the social life that comes with it, second.

Graham is not a complex journalist, but a smart one. His writing is simple, so the average reader can enjoy it. He knows the right kind of content to use, he knows how to interact with his readers, and he knows technology. Those are three things I feel that all journalists need to master. As an aspiring pop-culture journalist, Graham is great journalist to learn from.

Here's the video Graham had accompany the feature: