I Just Read About That…

SOUNDTRACK: CIAN NUGENT-“My War Blues” (2012).

I’ve never heard of Cian Nugent before (pronounced KEE-en).  He’s an Irish guitarist (his guitar playing reminds me of José González).  And this is a cover (but not really) of Black Flag’s “My War.”  What it really is is a solo acoustic guitar workout that is inspired by the riff of “My War” (there’s no vocals).  I love Black Flag and I can say that if I didn’t know that bit of information, I would never have guessed a connection.  But having said that, this song is an inspired workout.

He plays some wonderfully dissonant slow notes as the song opens.  From there, it picks up speed as Cian tests out some new variations.  And then he gets into the solo section, sounding like an inspired Richard Thompson, he plays one of he meanest acoustic guitar solos I’ve heard in ages.  At times angry, at times jaunty, and all the while keeping the beat on the low strings.

I’m going to have to check out more by this guy.

To hear this track, check out NPR.  You’re one of them.

[READ: May 15, 2012] “First Atlanta and Then the World”

This article comes from the archives, one of three monthly suggestions from my work that I enjoy checking out.  It’s a brief history of the rise of Coca-Cola from small idea to global behemoth.  But, and here’s the kicker, it comes from a local publication: The Georgia Historical Quarterly, so there is no (real) politicking in the article.  There’s nothing about global hegemony, there’s nothing about high fructose corn syrup and nothing about obesity (it was written in 1987, back in less politicized days).  And I have to say, this made it more fun to read.  Not because I have any vested interest in promoting the worlds’ most recognized brand, but because the Coca-Cola story is pretty fascinating.  And it’s interesting to read it from a local perspective.

I don’t know how scholarly The Georgia Historical Quarterly is (since it’s on JSTOR I know it has certain aspects of scholarship—it’s not just a booster for Georgia), but the tone of this article is very light, very fun.  It makes for an interesting read.

We learn about John S. Pemberton, an Atlanta pharmacist, who created the formula (and the logo) for Coca-Cola.  He sold the product to pharmacies and even advertised it. It did okay, but he couldn’t make ends meet and sold his interest in the product before he died in 1888.  It was Asa Candler, another Atlanta pharmacist who became sole owner in 1891.  His investment was $2,300.   Candler was an excellent advertiser and promoter (he also removed the trace amounts of cocaine that were in the original recipe) and the company flourished.  By 1898 the market expanded across the United States into Cuba and Hawaii.  It eventually stopped selling itself as a  medicine and became “the pause that refreshes.”

In 1923 Robert Woodruff (also from Atlanta) took over.  The company had been a little slack by that time but Woodruff worked on cutting costs and enabled the company to thrive through the Great Depression.  By 1930 it was bottled in 28 countries.  Coca-Cola even followed soldiers to War in 1941, and there are many images associated with the War and Coke.  By 1950, Coke was so successful it made the Cover if Time Magazine (in what is now a pretty disturbing image, although maybe not so much back then).  The article continues to the present day.

When I commented above about the scholarly level of the writing, it was really these final sentences that made me raise my eyebrows:

Coca-Cola has prospered beyond the wildest dreams of the obscure pharmacist who mixed the first batch of the magic syrup.  Now it reaches into the far corners of the earth, but its taproot runs as straight and true to an Atlanta that had barely risen from its own ashes and started reaching toward the stars.

(Can’t you just hear the swelling strings).

The last 11 pages contain images from the archives of Coca-Cola.  And they are pretty cool.  This is what excited me about the article.  As a historical business Coke is fascinating and really interesting.  Jokes aside about the writing it is a true local success story and the images and marketing are a real part of that.  I especially like the photos of General Eisenhower and Vice President Nixon drinking Cokes.  What’s funny is that the pictures are pretty much people doing every day things, but in the context of history, it’s a fascinating look at the success of a company.

If you have access to JSTOR, you can read the article here.