Did Coca-Cola miss its Olympic Target?

Coca-Cola has been an Olympic Partner since 1928 - the longest continuous sponsor of the games.  Leading into the games in Great Britain, music became a central theme for Coca-Cola as a way to engage young people.  Joe Beliotti, the company's head of music, called on Mark Ronson to lead the charge.  Ronson recorded sounds of athlete's from different Olympic sports (table tennis, archery, taekwondo and others) and used the sounds, with lyrics and vocals by Katy B, to create the Coca-Cola song, Anywhere in the World.  The song is part of the Move to the Beat ™, global teen focused Coca-Cola campaign that celebrates the beat of London 2012.  

A two minute "Move to the Beat" video debuted in February followed by the release of both a 4 minute and a one minute version of the feature (shown above).  To date, these three clips have been viewed almost three million times - not to mention the massive media on TV and online these past few weeks during the Olympics.  As an extension of "Anywhere in the World," Coca-Cola developed an online application within the campaign giving fans the opportunity to create and share their own beat using the music and the sounds of the games…anywhere in the world.

But based on my experience with the online application to "Create My Beat," I think they missed the mark.  There are two options presented when you go to the website.  You can either create without giving Coca-Cola access to FaceBook or you can sign in with FaceBook.  Coca-Cola would prefer you choose the latter so that they can access pictures, your timeline, friends, etc. and with the hope that it will also be shared.  But the real miss here is that the only thing you really do is allow access.  If access to FaceBook is granted, coca-Cola takes information and pictures from your profile and slots them into predetermined spots within their video.  They do give you the option of choosing from nine different sports themes and seven different musical genres to make the video, but outside of those two decisions, no other participation of creativity I needed.  And if you don't want to allow access to FaceBook, the experience is extremely generic to the point of feeling like you wasted your time.

I have been a part of many campaigns where user-generated content was encouraged - across all screens and on site as well as online.  What I have experienced through these campaigns is that fans like to create something that they can call their own - and share it with friends.  That is not the case here.  The application does all of the work and your participation is limited at best.  A much cooler and more integrated experience would (1.) allow you to choose from the background music provided, (2.) make Mark Ronson's recorded Olympic sounds available for samples and to (3.) allow the you to choose from slides or short video segments - provided by Coca-Cola as well as taken from the user's FaceBook profile.  This would allow you to "own" the creative process within the guidelines of the Coca-Cola application.  Maybe, courtesy of Coca-Cola, a link to your custom mix could be emailed once completed so it can be streamed or shared with your entire FaceBook community.  This experience creates more excitement and could potentially lead you to create and share multiple versions of the mix.  Coca-Cola chose the simple and easy way to "create and share" but doesn't allow the user to get emotionally involved or really even care about what they are doing or sending.

Even though I did not enjoy the creative experience, I did like the fact that on the "Create My Beat" home page, Coca-Cola shows how many people have shared their "beat."  It has a menu that allows you to search by "Everyone, By Me and My FB Friends, Athletes and Celebrities," and a drop down menu to search by "Nation."  According to the website, and to a report from IEG (a leading sponsorship consulting agency), over 3.2 million users have shared their "beat."  So I decided to see how the United States would fare if there was a medal for most "beats" shared.  I clicked on the drop down menu and selected the  United States, but something didn't make sense.  The counter said that in the United States, only 2284 people had shared their beat.  So I tried the United Kingdom.  Hmmm.  1059 from the United Kingdom.  How could there be 3.2 million beats shared when less than 3500 came from the U.S. and the U.K. combined?  Coca-Cola supports a lot of athletes, so I clicked on that button to see how many athletes around the world participated in this campaign.  Four?!  Mark Ronson went around the world meeting and talking with athletes - specifically working with 5 athletes to record the sounds for the song - and they have a total of four that have shared their own version?  Then I realized that I was getting sidetracked.  I wanted to find who actually shared these 3.2 million beats.  Going down the menu of counties, I clicked and saw some mind boggling results.  Sweden - 57.  Italy - 989.  Russia - 805.  Japan - 343.  China - 3,212,507.  What!? So of the 3,237,026 "beats" that had been shared,  99.2% of  them came from China??  They must LOVE creating their own beats.

Not only was I disappointed with the entire creative experience but now I was wondering if any of this sharing data was even true.  So I waited 24 hours to see how many more people might create and share their beats.  Globally the numbers went up less than 750.  Shares in the U.S. went up 43 and still only 4 athletes and celebrities participated in the process.  And China?  There was no change.

On August 5th, IEG sent out a tweet titled "Expressions Top Impressions" with a link to the Coca-Cola "Create Your Beat" website touting the over 3.2 million shares.  I assume they didn't realize at the time that over 99% of the created beats were from China.  IEG then sent out a slide that tracked the Social Media Performance of the Olympic sponsors.  Coca-Cola was #1 in Top Performers and Highest Status while taking 9th in Greatest Potential.  I assume they are counting the "Create Your Beat" online application in their numbers.  But if they are - that would seem to be inaccurate.  I don't have statistics on Twitter mentions, FB mentions, Pinterest, Tumblr and others, but I assume the almost 3 million YouTube views are a part of the overall equation.  Maybe all of the YouTube plays are from China too? 

Coca-Cola is the #1 soft drink around the world…and for good reason.  They are no doubt a tremendous sponsor and supporter of the Olympics.  They are creative, philanthropic and have gone to great lengths to be very environmental during the Olympic games.  But this "creating and sharing" music initiative was a total miss and I now find it hard to believe any of the statistics attached to them or the games.  

  http://www.coca-cola.com/theolympics/en-US

Can Pepsi's Uncle Drew Face the Music?

On May 18th, Pepsi MAX posted a video on YouTube titled, "Uncle Drew."  Being that sports are a major cornerstone of their branding, they set out to have a little fun. 

The five-minute video from Davie Brown Entertainment features NBA Rookie of the Year Kyrie Irving disguised as a sweatshirt-wearing, pot-belly-sporting elderly man named "Uncle Drew" (a guy who basically reminded me of Grady from Sanford and Sons) who's attending an outdoors basketball game where his nephew is playing.  When one of the players goes down with an injury, Uncle Drew takes the court and stuns everyone with a flurry of crossover dribbles, dunks, and three-point baskets, taunting his opponents all the while.  You may have seen a shorter version of this video during the NBA Finals.  After getting such a strong response over the first few weeks of its viral release, Pepsi MAX felt they had no choice but to find the media budget to do so. 

In the first two weeks, it grabbed almost 7 million views on YouTube and is at almost 13 million as of today.  If you have yet to see "Uncle Drew" - check it out here.

Pepsi also is quite strong in their music play.  Nicki Minaj was recently brought into the fold with Pepsi - signing a seven-figure endorsement deal with Pepsi expected to include an international commercial and a gig as the face of a new natural soda called "Pop" in fourth quarter.  They also recently announced a partnership with Twitter that includes a series of pop-up concerts that Pepsi will announce to its followers no more than two weeks before they are scheduled. The concerts will be live-streamed on Twitter and users will be able to post the songs they want to hear the artist play.  Katy Perry kicked it off a few weeks back performing on Jimmy Kimmel in advance of her Part of Me movie release.  There will be another concert at the end of July and then again at the end of August - with yet-to-be-determined artists.

So why not have Pepsi / Pepsi MAX take the Uncle Drew concept and pair it with music?  Maybe film a "documentary" on the writing and recording process for a new band?  An argument between the lead guitarist and the lead singer ensure and the guitarist quits.  Who better to step in, strap on a guitar to help finish the track but the drummer’s accountant / engineering looking dad - Hunter Hayes. 

Or…

When the lead dancer / choreographer for a state champion dance team is injured during practice, who is there to save the day, but a custodian - think Breakfast Club - who is really Justin Bieber or Nicki Minaj's choreographer -  Laurieann Gibson.

Or…

Prior to an orchestra’s grand performance, the featured soloist walks off the stage.  The conductor motions to a young usher in the house and invites them up on stage to take their place.  This could be a pianist, violinist or vocalist who is a child prodigy, a teen or maybe even Uncle Drew himself - with Kyrie Irving yielding his part to a "rookie of the year" in the music world.  Who in the house would ever think this usher could take the place of the featured performer?

There are quite a few logistics and adjustments that would need to be made in any of these suggestions to pull them off - but taking this idea and branching it into music - in all formats - could result in some tremendous results.  Pepsi fans across the country - or even the world - could begin sharing “What Happens When…" video segments featuring music.

Being a music lover and a Pepsi drinker all my life, I wanted to take the tremendous idea and execution of Uncle Drew and match it with my passions.

Until then - as Pepsi says - "Live for Now."

State Farm's "Journey"

I found myself chuckling again the other night at the State Farm "Journey" commercial.  In the ad, a State Farm agent is on the phone with a customer telling him how accessible they are as a company.  This leads to the following exchange:

"You name it , we're here, anytime, anywhere, any way you want it."

"That's the way I need it."

"Anyway you want it."

"All Night?"

"All Night."

"Every Night?"

"Anyway you want it."

The early 40's male customer on the line then enlightens anyone who wasn't quite getting the exchange.

"We just had ourselves a little Journey moment there."

"Yup."

I love how this is presented.  It speaks to me (I also saw them in '83 - just not in Fresno), I certainly know the lyric and it hits the target on how accessible State Farm is as a company - online, on the phone, through an app, 24/7, etc.  And they do it in such a way that no one is made to look stupid or foolish - unlike their ad where the husband is on the phone with an agent at 3 a.m. when his wife "catches" him talking to (who she thinks) is another woman.  The other bonus here is that even though this ad may not be targeted to kids, because of the rejuvenated success of "Don't Stop Believing" over the last several years, even my kids recognized the audio tag at the end as Journey.  State Farm reached the kids and me - whether they meant to or not.

It got me to thinking on how State Farm could build off of this concept.  Carly Rae Jepsen has everyone from Jimmy Fallon and USA Miss America contestants to Barak Obama and the Abercrombie & Fitch guys covering her hit single "Call me Maybe."  With that in mind - I began to search for different lyrics that might be able to take the concept to the next chapter.  Instead of covering one song - State farm could use lyrics from both new and established artists to move the campaign into a series.  They are the lead sponsor on the Enrique and J-Lo tour this summer featuring Wisin & Yandel - maybe there is some fun to be had there as well. 

 

On the other hand, would "Call Me Maybe" work here in some way?  You never know when you will need the help of your insurance company - and if it's a new relationship and State Farm wants their customers to feel comfortable - then this could be an option.

"Hey, I just met you and this is crazy,
But here's my number so call me maybe
It's hard to look right at you baby,
But here's my number so call me maybe"

I would also have to think that if a customer is calling State Farm - it usually isn't because something good has happened.  Life is tough - but State Farm is there to help.  So possibly Bruce Springsteen could lend a lyric or two?

"The times are tough now, just getting tougher
This old world is rough, it's just getting rougher
Cover me, come on baby, cover me"

Or to change up the demographics, a straight forward message from Blondie could do the trick. 

"Call me (call me) on the line
Call me, call me any, any anytime
Call me(call me) I'll arrive
You can call me any day or night
Call me!"

The Journey lyric and exchange in the State Farm commercial opens up so many possibilities.  They need to be a direct fit and not feel forced but I am sure there are plenty of State Farm customers out there that have ideas and lyrics they could contribute.  And if they don't like that idea - maybe agents from across the country do their own video snippets to "Call me Maybe" and join the craze.  Whatever the choice - have fun with it. 

I am just wondering what obvious lyrics I have not thought of yet...

J-Lo's BRAND New Video

Jennifer Lopez recently released her new single, "Follow the Leader" featuring reggaeton stars Wisin & Yandel.  I really like the song but the video doesn't play like a music video.  It has action (a good chase scene around Acapulco), J-Lo sports a large Dragon Tattoo on her back as well as the word "Lideres" on her neckline and she does a good amount of gyrating on a rooftop - so what' not to like??!

The distractions.  It plays more like a brand video than a music video.  "Follow the Leader" begins with J-Lo and Wisin Tweeting back and forth…on a Blackberry.  Those are still cool?  OK - I have seen different mobile devices used in music videos so I guess I can give this a pass.  Next up is the Remy Martin being poured pool-side.  The bottle is positioned just right so the label can't be missed.  And the Under Armour warm up suit that J-Lo zips up before her adventure around the city - certainly looks great on her.  A Degree deodorant billboard takes center stage in the next scene and makes SEVERAL repeat appearances toward the end of the video.  Pepsi also gets some good positioning in the background and a wall advertisement for a snack bar gets a good slow motion look as well.  Oh - and don't miss the Dodge Ram truck they happen to need to jump over during their chase through the city…and it looked so nice and clean!!  Tired yet?  I am.  There are a few other brands that get a visual shout-out during this 5 minute clip but I am already tired of writing about the brands I have already mentioned. 

Brands and partnerships make their way into music all of the time.  My issue is honesty and engagement.  I don't believe that J-Lo truly cares about or uses most (if any) of these products on a daily basis.  She is a spokesperson for L'Oreal, Gucci, Venus and Love and Glamour.  But none of those brands make it into this video.  So what is she really selling us?  We want to believe that she uses and cares about these products…but it just comes off like a money grab.  I say that because I see no way that the brands in this video were really written into the story with much thought.  And if these are brands that Wisin &Yandel support on a daily basis - sorry - J-Lo is front and center in this video and I'm not thinking about them.  If the goal was for each of these brands to be IN a J-Lo video - then mission accomplished.  But I just don't see this as a realistic way to enhance the brand, drive sales  or strengthen engagement - especially at the rate we are pelted with brand images.  Are music videos moving in this Brand direction?  In the first 2:42 seconds of this video, no less than 10 different brands appear on screen.  For the next 1:18 - no brands appear at all.  The last minute of the video must then be reserved for that Degree billboard which appears five times directly above her head.  The final shot features J-Lo suddenly wearing a baseball cap (not sure where it came from) with the logo LL for Los Lideres…which happens to be a clothing line "Inspired by Wisin & Yandel."  Maybe J-Lo is just turning herself (as well as her music) into an audio billboard for her friends. 

So where is the engagement?  Degree was most prominently featured in the video so I thought I would check that out.  A quick search took me to J-Lo's "blog" at www.jenniferlopez.com where there is a picture of J-Lo in front of a Degree backdrop and a "The More You Move, The More It Works" Team J.Lo static picture.  It tells me to visit them on Facebook, but I can't click through on the FB icon because it isn't a live link.  So I scrolled further down where it told me that "Today's post is brought to you by Degree."  So " J-Lo-and-behold" (sorry, I couldn't resist) I am able to click on that logo as a live link.  It takes me to the Degree Facebook page featuring a Degree 30 second commercial about women wearing bells for a day to remind them of how much they move…but no mention, image or likeness of J-Lo was visible.  (J-Lo loves a lot in her video - maybe she should have worn the bells.)  This to me is a total miss.  There is no consistency to the campaign or the visual touch points.  OK - Degree is in the video and Degree is featured in J-Lo's blog on the website, but there is nothing controlled by Degree that has image and likeness of J-Lo.  Does she support the brand or not? 

So maybe I am still missing something.  Taking away the engagement side of this (which should be 75% of the program IMO) I asked my 11 year old daughter to come in and check out the new J-Lo video.  She likes J-Lo, watches AI every once in a while and liked her last song…so she is a fan.  Here are some of the questions and responses I asked her afterwards. 

Hey Carly - did you like the video?
"Yes"
What so you remember about the video?
"They were texting, there were a lot of flips and jumps and I remember a red truck."
Do you remember any products that might have been seen in the video?
"I saw a  Degree sign, her hat at the end (Los Lideres) and she was wearing a warm up suit."
Do you remember what they were texting with at the beginning of the video?
"Nope"
It was a Blackberry
"Aren't they old?  Why would J-Lo use something that is old to text with?"
Does the use of these products in the video make you want to use any of them? 
"Not really." 

At one point in "Follow the Leader," J-Lo sings, "Tonight we belong to the music."  Unfortunately, a more realistic lyric would be, "In my video - did you see all of the brands?"

Brands.  They need to be authentic to you and believable in what you do.  Without that - engagement will be little to none. 

Funny thing…if I had never seen the video I still would have really liked the song. 

When the Planes Stood Still

At The Riviera Theater in Chicago - 1994

Some songs are instant hits on the radio, some take time to develop before they gain mass appeal and others seem to pop up out of nowhere.  These left field hits also fall into different categories.  Afroman had "I Want to get High" but it was labeled as a novelty track.  Cee-Lo Green released "Fuck You" - which I understand was never even slated to be released as a single to radio but was quickly edited and became the radio-friendly smash "Forget You."  But every once in a while through events that happen nationally or internationally, a song attaches itself organically that helps bring definition to what has happened.  It is as though the song was written for the event itself even though it was written under a completely different context. 

On Monday, September 10th, I was heading to Midway Airport in Chicago to pick up Ed Kowalcyzk from the band LIVE and Darren Eggleston, my VP of Modern Rock Promotion at MCA Records.  LIVE's new album V was being released the next day and Ed and Darren had been out on the road visiting radio stations as part of a promotional tour for the album's release.  "Simple Creed" was the first single released at Modern and Active Rock radio but it had been struggling to gain traction.  LIVE had charted 6 songs on the Modern Rock charts from its previous two releases including "Lakini's Juice" and "Turn My Head" from their 1997 release Secret Samadhi and "Dolphin's Cry" and "Run to the Water" from their 1999 release, The Distance to Here.   LIVE had a lot of friends at radio, so in anticipation of this release, MCA thought it was important to get up close and personal with radio again with the help of Ed - who was the band's lead singer and the band's most recognized personality.  This radio tour would hopefully keep the momentum moving forward on "Simple Creed" while also promoting the release of V.

Ed, Darren and I packed their luggage and Ed's guitar in the back of my Mini-Van and headed over to Q101 in Chicago.  The station had requested that Ed be on the air with Mancow but because of the travel itinerary, we were not able to get Ed to the station until mid-day.  Q101 was playing "Simple Creed" but they weren't really that excited about the track.  Ed settled in to record acoustic versions of a few songs from the album that would be re-played on Mancow the next morning.  He did a version of "Simple Creed" (which made sense since it was the current single) and a slower ballad called "Overcome."  Response at Q101 to both recordings was great and after Ed spent some time with the programming team, Darren, Ed and I headed out to grab lunch before taking them back to the airport for a flight to Minneapolis.  It was a quick trip in and out of Chicago, but one that seemed to be well-worth the time and effort. 

The next morning, after dropping off my daughter Kara off at day care, I stopped at 7-11 to fill up the car.  In order to listen to the playback of Ed's acoustic performance on Mancow, I left the car door open while I filled the tank.  I wasn't really paying much attention to what they were doing prior to Ed's performance, but I remember hearing Mancow say "Ed Kowalczyk from LIVE is here to play in studio but sorry Ed - we have a situation here in-studio.  Oh My God!  Oh My God!!  A plane has crashed into one of the towers at the World Trade Center in New York City."  Mancow could be very over-the-top and certainly pushes the envelope with his guests and morning show "bits," but this was different.  I could hear it in his voice and in the reaction of his team on the morning show.  I finished filling my car and headed back to the house instead of going into work.  When I walked in the back door, my wife was in the family room staring at the TV with our five week old daughter Carly in her arms.  "Have you seen this?!" she gasped.  She held Carly tightly as I gave them both a big hug.  We spent the next hour and a half following the events as they unfolded in front of us on TV.  We, collectively, were all there in some manner.  We remember where we were, what we did, who we called, how we felt and the incredible uncertainty of what would be next.

I finally left for the office around 11 a.m.  It wasn't long before I realized that I had no reason to be there.  A major portion of my job was to call on radio stations on behalf of my artists.  But radio was playing a different role today.  They were focused on updates, simulcasting their a.m. news stations and focusing on the local reaction of these events.  Was I really going to call them and ask about a song or talk about an upcoming release?  Not a chance.  As I drove home past O'Hare airport I noticed that nothing was taking off or landing.  This is an airport that averages a take-off or landing every four seconds and, at the time, was the busiest airport in the United States.  We live just north and east of O'Hare, so we are used to seeing planes take off or land every 90 seconds to 3 minutes.  It was almost too quiet in our neighborhood.  The skies were empty and it would be another four days before the majority of commercial airlines were approved to fly.

A good friend of mine, Jeff Murphy, was on the road in Stevens Point, WI the morning "the world changed."  He is a consultant for rock radio stations around the country and was in the middle of his fall Midwest trip.  I called him later in the afternoon to see what how he planned to get home.  "I haven't figured out yet how I am going to get back home to Texas" he told me.  Obviously there won't be any flights for the foreseeable future and there isn't a rental car in sight."  One of my radio clients, and a future client of his, was a group of stations in Appleton, WI - anchored by heritage rock station - WAPL.  Joe Calgaro was the Program Director and he had become a pretty good friend over the previous few years, as had his Music Director, Roxanne Steele and the Program Director of their Top 40 station, Dayton Kane.  "Murph, let me talk to Nancy and see how she is doing.  If it is OK with her, and you can get to Appleton, I can meet you up there tomorrow night, we can have dinner with Joe, Rox and Dayton and then head back to the house on Wednesday.  You can stay with us until this all gets figured out."  And that is exactly what we did. 

I quickly realized how different my job was from Jeff's as we were making our way back to Chicago.  "Nope - I would take Drowning Pool "Bodies" of the air" I heard him say.  "Yup - "Shoot to Thrill" too."  It had not occurred to me yet that there were a lot of songs that needed to come OFF the air too.  During one of his calls with a classic rock station, as they were discussing "Jet Airliner" by The Steve Miller Band, I got a call from Darren - who was driving back to LA with Ed and was somewhere in Colorado.  V had been mailed out to radio to arrive on Tuesday, September 11 but we weren't sure who had taken time to even open up the full CD to check it out.  As it turns out, a number of radio stations had.  "Paul - I've had a few stations call me about "Overcome."  It's track 10 I think.  It is the song Ed played at Q when we were there on Monday.  Ed mentioned it to me in the car and how much the lyrics fit for what is going on right now.  I don't want to come across like we're promoting it, but I want you to reach out to your guys and just let them know that stations are starting to address this song." 

As I hung up with Darren, Jeff got a call from his boss, Alex Demers.  "What do you know about this track from the new LIVE album - Overcome?" he asked.  Jeff relayed the question to me.  "Why?"  I could feel my adrenaline pick up.  "Alex has had two or three stations call him about it.  What is going on with it?  Is it something you guys started?"  Jeff replied.  "It's not us" I said defensively.  "Radio is pulling this track from the album.  My VP has had a bunch of calls this morning too and it seems that as radio is being sensitive to what they are playing on the air, they have also found some songs that speak to the gravity of how people feel.  

It all seemed to be happening so fast.  As we drove through Milwaukee, Jeff started punching through different radio stations to see what was on the air.  One station was playing "Free Fallin'" by  Tom Petty.  We looked at each other a bit dumbfounded.  "How can they be playing that?"  Clear Channel had started a list of songs that they wanted their stations - in all formats - to pull from on air rotation.  The list was 165 deep and included rock tracks like "Jump," "Sunday Bloody Sunday," Aeroplane," "Learn to Fly" and even "Stairway to Heaven."  As Jeff punched through the different stations, he landed on Rock 102.1.  There it was - "Overcome."  I quickly realized that as emotional as it was to hear Ed sing it at Q101 on September 10th, I was not prepared for hearing it again under these circumstances.  Jeff and I were silent.  He stared out the window as I blankly watched the road driving south on I94.  Tears started streaming down my face as I listened to the lyrics.  Even though the song had been written years earlier - it was like it had been written that day. 

Jeff ended up staying a few nights with us before he could get his hands on a rental car.  He left mid-day on Friday and got home to his wife and his eight and two year old boys late Saturday night.  Darren and Ed got to LA sometime on that Friday as I recall - having left Minneapolis as soon as they realized there were no other options.

In checking on a few details for this entry, I ran across a story about the video for "Overcome" and thought it was fitting to include it in this piece.  Steve Rosenbaum, the CEO of Camera Planet had been filming the emergency response at Ground Zero.  During the days following the attacks, he heard "Overcome" on the radio and told his crew that he had to use it as the "Soundtrack to the footage."  In a later interview, he would say “I guess it's true about any piece of art that you can find a story that fits your needs if you look hard enough. I have trouble imagining what else that song was put on the earth to do, except to be put on the radio so I could hear it.” 

With the airplay and spotlight on "Overcome," Ed was invited to appear and perform on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno.  The single never charted higher than #30 at Modern Rock radio but it really was never intended to be even there.  The focus on this song took the air out of any momentum we had on "Simple Creed."  So after an incomplete mission on that first track and with "Overcome" being the focus track from V, the album never did produce another hit at radio and eventually fell apart.  As much as the country seemed to associate with "Overcome," there also came a point when people just didn't want to hear it anymore.  It was time to move on.  And with it, Live ended up as a musical casualty in the fall of 2001.  I had not listened to the song in over 10 years but took it back out as I started to write this entry.  Maybe it still hurts too much and maybe it's still too much of a reminder of that period in time.  Time does heal wounds, but music has a way of bringing the emotions right back to the surface. 

"Overcome" was an extraordinary example where a song came from nowhere - found by radio - and became more than anyone ever intended.  It won't be the last of its kind but it certainly was very close to home for me and still leaves a pit in my stomach.