Going Whichever Way the Wind Blows

Part of my job is to anticipate macrotrends in the way marketers sell products. I'd like to think it's something I'm good at, but I'm not always sure; I completely missed how smart marketers have become in using impactful, new music in television advertisements. Earlier this summer Apple demonstrated a stunningly uncanny understanding of its target market (humanity) by introducing the new iTouch to the maddeningly irresistible tune of Feist's "1234." A song that shrugs off easy classification as a catchy, if simple pop melody and instantly becomes the soundtrack to your life for a few days. I have to credit that stupid iPod commercial with helping me catch a glimpse of what it must be like to be a crackhead.

Toyota is no stranger to effective advertising. It seems like only yesterday that the now iconic Prius became de rigeur for celebrities capable of purchasing infinitely more expensive vehicles. While the introduction of the Prius may have preceded the new, good music in advertising trend by a few years, Toyota has jumped on board with the Sequoia. To help sell the massive SUV, Toyota selected Pete Droge's "Going Whichever Way the Wind Blows" as the musical backdrop to a series of images evoking a spirit of adventure.

The song is arresting. Simple in structure and lyrically subtle, it is haltingly beautiful. Like a fine abstract painting, it asks politely for you to soak it in, mull it over, and make up your own mind. I like that.

Going whichever way the wind blows, Spacing on the road map, useless dots and lines

Toyota hopes that lyrics like staring into the rearview, leave it all behind will convince well-heeled consumers who can afford the Sequoia's hefty pricetag to buy the only vehicle that can take them to serene, exotic places that require careful introspection to be fully appreciated. This is not packing the kids into the CRV to head for Disney.

I find the song a gentle, stream of consciousness commentary on how I've lived my life as an adult, a sort of haphazard, aimless plodding that learns only by bumping into things, tripping, and getting back up. It's emotionally nomadic, just as likely to stumble into happiness as sorrow, and equally unable to make preparations for either.

A Return to the Flock

Six months ago I decided that the blog I'd kept for nearly two years had lost its way. Not that it ever really had one; in 24 months I'd covered everything from speaking in tongues to masturbating to Jazzercise VHS tapes (I've done both). When I woke up one day last summer and couldn't think of a single good reason to continue it, I deleted it.

I've been surprised to find that I miss writing - terribly, even. It was fun. It was challenging. It was cathartic. It was also infused with an insufferable amount of douchebaggery. Because I'd written as myself, I subconsciously vetted everything through a gauntlet of boner-harshing filters. The girlfriend filter. The family filter. The coworker filter. The end result was about what you'd expect when too many executives collaborate about the name of their software company. They'd head out for a weekend in some lodge 30 miles from the office and come back talking feverishly about the life-changing experiences they had while canoing. Then they'd show you a poorly-drawn sketch of a globe with the name Global 360 Technologies next to it and excitedly explain "the globe... it spins... Global 360... GET IT?"

This time it will be different. This time I will flex my winnowing creative muscle under the cloak of anonymity. Some housekeeping:

1. The name, Acrid Sheep - our culture is full of sheep. I am one. And that makes me acrid. Acrid Sheep.
   
   
2. The aim of the blog - to honestly, recklessly share the intimate details of my life in a way that feels right to me, and me only.
   
   
3. About me - I am 33, male, and share a home with my 41 year old cougar girlfriend in Atlanta, GA. Since I am sure I will be writing about her at some point, she will be referred to as Gertrude (Gertie, for short). Back when she was born, it was likely a viable alternative to her real name.

Enjoy.