Category Archives: Minnesota

Notable stories from the Land of 10,000 Lakes.

Bathroom graffiti fail

Saw this graffiti in the bathroom at a favorite Minneapolis restaurant of mine the other night. I love how the progression of “metal” one-upping is silenced by the baddest band of all time…Hall & Oates.

Band Graffiti

Favorite band fail.

Minnesota’s “Chocolate Rain” gets award

A 25-year-old University of Minnesota grad Adam Bahner, better known as “Tay Zonday,” climbed the YouTube charts in 2007 and is now being acknowledged for it. Zonday is one of 12 winners of the second annual YouTube Video Awards, recognizing the top user-created videos of 2007. His song and music video “Chocolate Rain” has been viewed over 15 million times. Zonday recorded the video in his Minneapolis living room in a make-shift studio space made of two-by-fours and bed sheets.

 

Basic rules for creating a band name

Tim Mahoney

If your band’s best gig in the past year was at 11:45 p.m. on a Wednesday at O’Gara’s Garage and you really think that your cover of “Jessie’s Girl” sounds “just like the original,” then you already know you are a no-talent ass-clown and should just unplug everything.

Being in a band is tough. Marketing a band is even harder (at least it was before YouTube and MySpace). But most bands don’t consider the ramifications of their name. A bad name can sink a band. Would you ask your friends to go see The Asbestos Tampons? Do you want your girlfriend to say she’s dating the lead singer of SuperHeavyGoatAss?

Here are some basic rules for creating a band name:
1.) Don’t put the word “Funk” anywhere in the name. You aren’t “funky” despite what that 44-year-old drunk cougar dancing in front of your monitor says.

2.) Don’t use your real name unless you are freakishly good (i.e. Hendrix, Dylan, etc.). We already know you have lead singer disease; we don’t need to know what it’s called. It’s probably not a cool name anyway (ahem… Tim Mahoney). Try modesty. People like that.

3.) Don’t put a number in your band name because you think 3 Doors Down rocks. It worked for 311, Matchbox 20, 3rd Eye Blind, etc. but they are the exception. Numbers are retarded. Don’t do it.

4.) Don’t try to be clever and do a play on words. Examples of this unoriginal douschebaggery include, Statutory Grape, Chevy Metal, and Clusterfunk (they get a double word score on ass Scrabble). The only exception here was a  band back in the day called REO Speedealer. They were cool, but I don’t think they cared about getting “big.”

So you get the idea. A list of the newest worst real band names  was published recently by the Onion A.V. Club. Check it out.

Share with us some bad Minnesota band names. Got a rule for naming a band? Let’s hear that too.

Best Buy sells man a box of tiles

Best Buy Sells Man a Box of Tiles

Photo Source: The Consumerist

The Consumerist reported a story this week shedding light on some poor guy’s misfortune of trying to buy a Western Digital hard drive from Best Buy. What happened? He brought the hard drive home only to find it was really a box full of tile. Best Buy’s remedy to the situation was to send him home without a refund. Ouch! Western Digital or Best Buy better step to the plate and make this right or Christmas sales are gonna take a hit. I’ve heard of this happening before. Anyone else experience something like this?

Dick Enrico. The Marketing Machine

Dick Enrico at the Minnesota State Fair

Me and Dick at the 2007 Minnesota State Fair

Through blood, lots of sweat apparently (see picture), and tears, Dick Enrico has punished the competition in the world of fitness gear. He’s used a strategy not so different from other brands in the past: being in front of everyone and creating a memorable company image by casting himself in his commercials. Sure, he may look like the love child of Ron Jeremy and Gaucho Marx, but you have to admit, he’s memorable. Who do you think of when you are considering a new treadmill or weight bench? That’s right, Dick Enrico.

Steady television spots, bathroom advertising, and bobbleheads are an equation that made 2nd Wind Exercise Equipment roughly $80 million in sales last year. His strategy is simple: Be somewhere everyone goes … Restrooms. So when you are on the shitter feeding the fish, he’ll be there feeding you info about Elliptical machines. I’m totally okay with that.

A dry crack is a happy crack

The Crack Team

A dry crack is a happy crack? I'll say...

Okay, let me first start out by saying, “I agree.” With that being said, is this really the tagline you want for your company? I’m not sure how this copy is working for them, but if you have crack issues, click here or www.thecrackteam.com and tell them you have a wet crack. I’d be curious to hear their response.

Ronald McDonald with a LEGO boner

Ronald McDonald

I think it’s great that McDonald’s has cool stuff for kids to play with so Mom and Dad can finish arguing about wallpaper. The ball crawl, the Hamburglar slide, and LEGOs for the kids to (ahem) build with.

Some teenagers had some fun with this life-size plastic Ronald McDonald statue sitting on a bench in the McDonald’s by my house. I still appreciate juvenile humor, so I couldn’t help but laugh.

The best part of wakin’ up is cat poop in your cup…

 

 coffee and tea Ltd.
Coffee & Tea Ltd. (credit: coffeeandtealtd.com)

This family-owned coffee shop has been in business since the 1970s and its success hasn’t come through sheer luck. With a 100 year old roaster in the front window, you can smell the roasted beans. They sell coffee and tea varieties from more than 65 countries, including Rwanda and the Galapagos. They have succeeded by being passionate about coffee. If you are looking for a selection of coffee you can brew yourself, look no further than Coffee & Tea Ltd. in SW Minneapolis.

If you are searching for an example of creating a remarkable small business niche, look no further than Fluffy’s litter box. If you are really having a tough morning, maybe you should pour yourself a cup of Kopi Luwak. It’s made from red beans that have been eaten and pooped out by the Civet Cat from Indonesia. And while you might have to pay me to drink this stuff, Edina housewives are shelling out $420 per pound for this stuff at Coffee & Tea Ltd.