I've seen The Flaming Lips perform 3 times, all within the last year. But if you followed The Flaming Lips around last night, you could have seen them eight times.

The Flaming Lips set a Guinness World Record early this morning, breaking the record for most concerts performed in a 24 hour period by a performing artist. The group used their tour bus to travel to various cities that included Baton Rouge and New Orleans. This record was originally set by Jay-Z who flew on a private jet to 7 different destinations over the course of 24 hours. This was back in 2006.

Each performance was stripped of its gimmicks, lightshow and festivities that seemed to coincide with The Flaming Lips' performances for the last few years. Each performance was also 15-20 minutes only. Special guests included Neon Trees, Jackson Browne, Gary Clark Jr. and Grace Potter. 

Wayne Coyne issued a statement regarding the record:

"To be published alongside the man who ate 10kg of his own boogers, beside the woman with the longest toenails or perhaps even to be published beside an individual who has had maybe 1,000 cockroaches stuffed into their ears...that, to me, would be one of life's absurd joys."

The above statement may seem bizarre until you realize that this band has done everything strange from collaborating with ke$ha, released music on a promotional flash drive in a gummy skull, wrote a song for an episode of Spongebob Squarepants and even wrote a song that is 24 hours long. 

Today, Apple announced the iPhone 4S, not the iPhone 5 as I and thousands of others had speculated before. Stores have even started selling promotional iPod accesories.

I find the Apple announcements bittersweet mostly because I've never had a smartphone (I still don't have one) and I know far too many people who use theirs for games and not for business.

I'm not saying that my iPhone wouldn't have Angry Birds or FIFA '12 on it. It's just that I have a habit of getting my emails when its too late. I get about 60-100 emails a day, depending on what day of the week it is, and I can't get pop-up notifications on my phone that does just texting and phone calls. (unless someone knows something I don't) My solution is just checking my e-mail every five minutes. 

Once in a while, an important message gets overlooked and I find myself scrounging to pick up the pieces. For example, I found myself calling people in Los Angeles to confirm for a press spot at Deadmau5's concert tonight. I met Joel Zimmerman, the face of Deadmau5, backstage at Bonnaroo last year and saw him perform on top of a giant laser light display. The $2 million light show looks exactly like the custom imprinted toy called a Rubik's cube. It was quite a set.

Because I got the email last minute, I have to scrounge up batteries and a promotional flash drive for my camera before I head out. Oh, how an iPhone 4S will help me out so much right now.  

For someone who sees anywhere between 40-120 concerts a year, it's hard to say which one is my favorite. The majority of them have been good for some reason or another with only a few truly being disappointing. 

I do recall some of the better-than-average concerts, one of which was a band named Beirut at the Brooklyn Academy of Music back in 2009. Beirut can be best (and simply) described as an indie band that fuses Balkan folk with pop music of the Western world. The band is headed by Zachary Condon, who plays ukulele, mandolin and trumpet - among other instruments. The band hadn't toured much in those two years but will be back in New York to perform the 3,000 occupancy Terminal 5 for two nights this week.

Tickets went on sale back in June and I held off on buying them until Saturday. I bought two initially and then realized that two other people might want to go. But the show sold out. Which means that out of 6,000 tickets, I bought ticket #5,999 and ticket #6,000. What luck and timing I had!

The moral of the story? If you see something you like, buy it before it's too late. With the Holidays coming up, the last thing you want to face is the promotional t-shirt or promotional flash drive selling out before you purchase it. Shop early, shop confidently.  

While New York is bracing for Hurricane Irene, Los Angeles is preparing for a typhoon - of musical talent.

The 2011 Video Music Awards are happening on Sunday, August 28th and I frankly don't remember the last time I was this excited for an award show. Maybe because it's Adele's first VMA performance or maybe because it'll be my preview of Young The Giant before I see them open for Incubus at Jones Beach Theatre. But what has me really giddy is what will be happening after the awards.

At midnight, following Lil Wayne's televised VMA performance, Tha Carter IV will be made available on iTunes. Yes. The album that Lil Wayne had originally intended to release during the Holidays in 2010, then pushed to May, June and finally August will finally be released digitally. And from the look of it, it's going to be a huge hit.

Drake, Andre 3000, John Legend, Rick Ross and many other heavy-hitters join Dwayne Carter Jr. for 15 songs that feature radio singles "How to Love," "6 Foot 7 Foot" and "She Will." But everyday, new tracks from the album are surfacing - including "President Carter" which samples the president's inaugural speech and "So Special" featuring John Legend.

So, for all the Lil Wayne fans out there or for those who want to give this album a try, there are only a few more days to look for your promotional flash drive. It's a great way to have the album with you when you head into work on Monday.

Christmas came early for this good little boy.

Adrienne from the IT department gave me a new computer for work! And being behind about 4 years in everything technological (my phone has a touch-screen but not much past that) this is probably the most exciting technological moment of my life since I picked up DJ Hero. But one of the most fun things about a new computer is personalizing it how you'd like - taking off the generic Windows 7 or HP background and replacing it with images from your favorite webcomic or adding your favorite programs (Photoshop, Spotify, iTunes, etc.) And what is the best way to quickly and effortlessly carry programs and files from one computer to another? A promotional flash drive. Unlike using e-mail or programs like mediafire, promotional flash drives come in a variety of memory sizes, allowing anyone on any budget to carry up to hundreds of files at a time. Since using my promotional flash drive, my computer is more personalized. Home Sweet Home.

Q: What's 6 feet tall, young, once on two wheels and now on top of the world?
A: Aubrey Drake Graham.

Better known as Drake, Graham has been somewhat of a Renaissance man around the entertainment industry. Drake played pretty boy basketball extraordinaire James "Jimmy" Brooks on Degrassi: The Next Generation until season 7, shortly after his fictional character was shot and subject to a wheelchair. He was only 15 when he started the show.

Since his departure from the show, Drake made a valiant effort in music, releasing mixtapes and eventually his first LP Thank Me Later. The album instantly became a favourite among fans and critics, gaining radio-play and climbing charts worldwide. By the time Drake was 24, Drake had an album produced by the likes of Kanye West, Timbaland and Lil' Wayne. Thank Me Later sold over 450,000 copies in its first week.
So it's not a surprise that his sophomore release, Take Care, is expected to be just as big. While not much is known about the album except that it will be released on Drake's 25th birthday and that the first confirmed single is entitled "Headlines" the album is already being projected to do big.

But because the release is happening in October and still remains a mystery, perhaps we'll see some promotional products come out from this album. For example, Drake might want to take the same path that Linkin Park and Owl City have done and include a promotional t-shirt with album purchase. Or even go the more technological route like Lady Gaga, Portishead and The White Stripes did and put music on a promotional flash drive with a unique shape. Certainly a great collector's piece the famous musician could consider.

I wish Drake the best of luck on his upcoming release - who knows, maybe he reads the Motivators Company Blog regularly.

 

I haven't been able to sleep lately. And I have Nickelodeon to blame.

This week marked the official start of Nickelodeon's (specifically, Teen Nick's) new line-up change.

Announced back in March, the Teen Nick lineup now features reruns of shows that debuted in the early 1990s - Clarissa Explains It All, The Amanda Show, Kenan & Kel and a handful of others will air Monday-Thursday starting at midnight. Teen Nick is even airing my all-time favourite Nickelodeon show, All That. Classic characters such as Principal William Baines Pimpell, Pierre Escargot and the boys at Good Burger made for a phenomenal sketch-comedy show that launched the careers of its characters, including Kenan Thompson and Amanda Bynes.

Nickelodeon is inviting its fans to take to the Internet during its shows, encouraging fans to tweet using the hashtag #90sIsAllThat. The company hopes to get feedback and to connect with fans in this manner. Additionally, I think the folks at Viacom should release promotional products such as promotional pens and promotional water bottles announcing the dates and times of these shows. This will certainly hype up this programming change even more. I mean, who wouldn't want a promotional flash-drive with episodes of The Adventures of Pete and Pete or a promotional t-shirt with Randy & Mandy?

What is your favourite 90's Nickelodeon gem?