2 posts and columns on Yankee Doodle Dandy

Van Natta Takes Playlist CEO Job, With New Investment by Pittman

in News on November 10, 2008 at 9:00 pm PT

Former Facebook exec Owen Van Natta will take the CEO job at a music discovery site called Playlist, a move that had been speculated last week, after he did not end up taking another position as head of MySpace Music. Van Natta’s arrival at Playlist was not the only news for the Palo Alto, Calif.-based start-up–former AOL exec Bob Pittman’s Pilot Investment Group is also investing an undisclosed amount of money in Playlist, and Pittman will join its board. The site, which has been called Project Playlist, had previously raised several million dollars. The new round of funding super-sized that, sources said, hovering at about $18 million. “Discovery around music is exploding on the Internet,” said Van Natta to BoomTown, in an interview this afternoon, giving it as his main reason for joining Playlist.

Happy 4th of July!–Digital Doodle Dandy and, Of Course, Fireworks!

in News on July 3, 2008 at 9:00 am PT

Here are two videos to enjoy tomorrow, as you stuff your face with hot dogs and play with firecrackers (remember, it’s all fun and games until someone loses an eye!). The first is the most excellent James Cagney as George M. Cohan in “Yankee Doodle Dandy” and the second is a lovely fireworks montage from 2007 in Selma, North Carolina.