I hate headphones. I remember when the Sony Walkman was introduced, and everyone got one. My dad took me to the now-shuttered Tops Appliance City in Edison, NJ, and I got one from a competitor. I worked fine. My friends and I would sit in our bedrooms every Sunday night and listen to Dick Clark’s Top 100 and other music countdowns on our Walkmans. We would report our thoughts and predictions to each other over our Radio Shack walkie-talkies.
Cat Chain Shark, NY Aquarium
I could not stand having the music blaring directly into my ears. I took the headphones and put them slightly above or below my ears. Usually below. I could hear “Eye of the Tiger,” “Don’t You Want Me” and “Beat It” just fine. I have never outgrown this habit.
During the countless Zooms we sit through, I do the same if I am in the office. If I am remote, I use the speakers on my MacBook. For the record, I have had several iPhones. I have never once used the AirPods. I am thankful people use them. Keeps things slightly more pleasant on our subways. Much better than when people blast their music on their mobile devices for all of us to hear. Hint: we do not want to hear it.
A few days ago, I did the “Meet the Sharks” tour at the NY Aquarium, Coney Island. Chance our tour guide handed out headphones. He mentioned that if you stay close to me, you might not need them. But several camp groups are visiting, and it can get loud. Plus, there are fans, and we are going into some areas with louder equipment. I did my best to stay close. But everything he mentioned made me put on the headphones. I had to place the headband over my NY Yankees hat and push the speakers just below my ears. All was well. I heard it all and learned a lot. Toward the end of the tour, we handed them back and walked into the touch tank. I got to pet several cat chain sharks.
Jaws’ Little Sister, NY Aquarium
I have always been fearful that they have not been disinfected. Sometimes they give headsets in plastic bags that you tear open and attach to the device. Usually, you can keep or trash those when you’re done.
I have taken many tours with the Tenement Museum, New York, NY. It has walking and indoor apartment tours. They give out headsets. I never use them on the indoor tours. The educator usually speaks loudly enough. As for the walking tours, I stay close. Occasionally, I have had to wear them my way. I am outside in NYC. It is loud.
Bottom line, headphones have a purpose. But between the sound directly penetrating your ears and my worries about whether someone has worn them before me, I will do my best to use them only as needed and in my way.
Last night, I saw Paul Simon at the Forest Hills Tennis Stadium. A few days ago, I was at Yankee Stadium. Just before that, I saw Lenny Kaye in the Loft at City Winery, Human League with Soft Cell and Alison Moyet at Radio City Music Hall, and Kim Deal at Pier 17. Future shows will be at the Beacon and Garden. Speaking of the Garden, we all know Taylor Swift married there on July 3.
Paul Simon at Forest Hills Tennis Stadium
All shows brought their expected crowds. We had the aging hippies, the artsy and all-black-wearing new wave and goth crowds, and, of course, those of us decked out from head to toe in our NY Yankees apparel. It didn’t help. They embarrassed themselves by allowing the Twins to pound them. Seems to be a trend. George and the Stick must be rolling around in their graves.
Yankee Stadium
Many of us have felt the Garden shake during performances by The Who or felt connected to Bono. We’ve come to a new understanding of the world while listening to the top-notch songwriting and skills of the Cure and Depeche Mode. We ached that Siouxsie Sioux only did a few shows and did not come to NYC.
Lenny Kaye at City Winery Loft
But did you ever wonder what the arena feels like? We know what the Stadium feels. It wants the Yankees to bring home that trophy. It’s been far too long. Sure, these venues are concrete and steel. But do they have feelings? Do they have a sense of what’s happening inside them? Does the Garden ever say to Radio City Music Hall, I wish the Human League were on my stage? I doubt the Stadium talks to Fenway Park. They hate each other. Or maybe they complain about the fans or certain players?
Human League at Radio City Music Hall
Forest Hills Tennis must have been happy to have its local Forest Hills High School boy, Paul Simon, performing at its arena. Although the schoolyard in “Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard” is never officially named. Per the lyrics, it is in Corona. I have been to the schoolyards; it is believed to be. As I was listening to him perform it, I wondered how many people in the venue had ever traveled to the yards he meant. What does that schoolyard think?
Do the venues have favorite artists? Do they prefer the classic rock, goth, or pop crowds? Does it give off feelings that enhance or hurt the show? Does it get excited when one band does three or four nights? I saw Billy Joel’s residency at Madison Square Garden a few times. Does the Garden kick back into Billy’s coming tonight, and will we have his awesome crows? What does it think when Robert Smith takes the stage with the Cure, and they play in darkness vs. the more top 40 shows that light up the place? Does it prefer bands that really honed their craft to those that are marketing projects created to sell tickets and push downloads? Maybe I need to ask it. It might laugh at me. Or whisper back its thoughts.
Some of us remember the phrase, “All politics is local,” used by former House Speaker Tip O’Neill throughout his career. His dad reminded him of that in the ‘30s, after he lost his first election while running for a seat on the Cambridge City Council. He took his own neighborhood for granted. It has been said to be a great learning experience for him. For me, too.
Let’s jump out of politics and go to PR. Trust me, as a long-time practitioner who started in NYC’s government, the profession has its politics. The key thing to remember is that all good PR is local. It is the best way to build. We will jump from Staten Island, New York, to Edison, New Jersey, other parts of the USA, and end in Sicily, Italy.
Fresh out of college and while in grad school, I started volunteering on local and city-wide political campaigns in NYC. I landed my first job as a staff member in NYC, moved on to the mayor’s office, and then went into the private sector. I watched each candidate and elected official fight it out and reach an agreement on local issues. It could have been infrastructure, for example, which district would get money for new sanitary and storm sewers or better bus routes.
After leaving politics and joining a tech PR firm, I represented the former Consumer Electronics Manufacturing Association (CEMA), now the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA). I was involved with this great organization for many years, both representing them and sponsoring their press room.
Composed of leading electronics makers, such as Bose, Panasonic, and Sony, which, along with others, made great audio equipment for cars. There was a time before you used SiriusXM or your iPhone to get your music in your vehicle. You pumped up your Caddy, Jeep, Nissan, Ram, Vette, Toyota, etc., with great speakers and cassette players. Then we moved onto CD players and theater systems in the cars. The car audio market was huge.
We sent local car audio experts across the country to explain why you should upgrade your vehicle with their equipment rather than rely on the dealer models. Our spokespersons traveled to top and secondary cities and did local newspaper, radio, and TV interviews. They popped into the local auto shows.
I remember when we had high-end cars with great sound systems and a spokesperson lined up outside of CBS’s studio in NYC. The story went national.
Years later, I worked for Vonage, the company that brought internet telephony to consumers. We first launched local area codes in NYC and Edison, New Jersey. One of my roles was to write the press releases when we launched in new locales. I wanted to interest the local writers. Sadly, in today’s world, many of those great folks are gone.
Vonage Device
Having watched some companies launch locally by saying, “We are now in Dallas, New Orleans, or San Diego…” I tailored the copy to make it sound like we were part of those cities. As soon as the releases crossed Business Wire and I personally emailed them to local reporters, we got coverage. Even better, retailers called and asked if they could sell our products in their stores. Civilians called to ask whether we were opening a store in their neighborhood and where to send their resumes. The service was sold online, for the most part. But we did sell the devices that connected to the service in local and chain electronics stores. So, we did our local thing, which may have helped local stores increase their revenue and the number of people in the workforce.
Jumping to marketing tactics in Sicily. I recently returned from Sicily. I highly recommend it. The sites, people, food, and drinks are incredible. During my tour, I was fortunate enough to visit Savoca, where Francis Ford Coppola filmed several scenes from “The Godfather.”
While walking to the church where Michael Corleone and Appolonia wed, I saw a great local marketing tactic put into play by my local guide, a wonderful woman of British and Sicilian ancestry. She joined us for three days. Her intimate local knowledge was incredible. But her skills in helping people in small towns stood above it all.
As we walked to the church where Michael Corleone and Appolonia wed, we passed Dioniso, a great little store selling olive oils, spices, wines, and other great stuff. The store was not supposed to be open when we were touring Savoca. Our guide texted the owner and let him know she was bringing a crew of 45 people through town, and he might want to open. As we approached the store, we saw him opening the shop. She introduced us, and we did tastings and bought numerous items. He probably stayed open for just about an hour. He made many sales. Again, local marketing. Tell them we are coming and let them open; they will succeed.
Olive Oil from Dioniso
I remember so many calls from national reporters, particularly from the Associated Press or The Wall Street Journal, calling or emailing about things they read in the local news about the companies I worked for. I have seen this with social media. I run several sites for local organizations. We get thousands of visitors. Viewers of our work have increased donations of memorabilia and money, as well as visits to our location. Bottom line: start local and remember it will lead to growth.
Does Music Make a Difference When Shooting and Editing Photos?
By Mitchell Slepian
Hello, readers. As my regulars are aware, ninety-nine percent of the time, the images in my stories have been shot and edited with my Nikon camera. As Paul Simon sings, I like to take photographs. My Kodachrome sits on a table next to an old Nikon that was a workhorse and is now out of commission.
Sheepshead Bay by Emmons Avenue – Edited to Sir Elton
When shooting and editing, I always have songs in my head. One of my all-time favorite songs is “100 Years,” the opening track on The Cure’s “Pornography” album. It might be the darkest, most goth album of all time. I listen to it nonstop. Here’s a taste of Robert Smith’s (The Cure’s founder, lead singer, and possibly the best songwriter ever) lyrics. “It doesn’t matter if we all die. Ambition in the back of a black car.” I listen to lots of other great artists. Some are happier than The Cure. Of course, some are just as dark. Here’s a partial mix: Bauhaus, David Bowie, Billy Joel, Depeche Mode, Erasure, Sir Elton John, Joy Division, John Lennon (probably the best musician of all time), Led Zeppelin, Bob Marley, The Psychedelic Furs, The Smiths, Siouxsie and the Banshees, U2 and The Who. And the list goes on.
Red Flower – Edited to Sir Elton
It’s not unusual for me to have some of these lyrics floating through my brain when I’m shooting. “Confusion in her eyes that says it all. She’s lost control. And she’s clinging to the nearest passerby.” – “She’s out of Control,” Joy Division “Girl of sixteen, whole life ahead of her. Slashed her wrists, bored with life. Didn’t succeed, thank the Lord.” – “Blasphemous Rumors” – Depeche Mode “Back to the howling old owls. Hunting the horny back toad” – “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” – Sir Elton and “Before you cross the street. Take my hand. Life is what happens to you. While you’re busy making other plans” – “Beautiful Boy” – John Lennon. He always nailed it. They all do.
One can be sure the songs in my head while I am shooting affect how they are taken. I might adjust the ISO and F-stop based on how I am feeling. In case you were wondering, I do not listen to music on my iPhone. I hate headphones. I used to wear my Walkman’s headphones slightly above or below my ears. Sometimes I still do that with headphones when I am Zooming or watching things on YouTube. Songs always go through my head. It gets me through the days. Or as Robert Smith says, “In Between Days.” That’s on the “Head on the Door” album.
Bees Fetching Honey – Edited to the Cure
The other day, I was editing some images from Emmons Avenue, Sheepshead Bay and the New York Botanical Garden while listening to Sir Elton. Then I switched to a mix of The Cure, Echo and the Bunnymen, Erasure, and Psychedelic Furs, Siouxie and the Banshees. Erasure brings back memories of camp. The Cure, Erasure, and the Furs bring back old memories of dating and driving around in my old Caddy with the girls I liked. We usually listened to those bands. My first date was to see The Cure with Love & Rockets and the Pixies as the openers. We were too young to buy beer. We shared M&M’s. I still think about all of this when certain songs play.
The Hanging Flower – Edited to The Cure
Look at the images and see if you can tell the difference. This was written and edited to Led Zep’s “How the West Was Won.” With final touches while listening The latest from The Cure: “Songs of a Lost World.”
Mitchell's thoughts, photos, etc. 