Kenna-The Black Goodbye EP
It seems that anytime somebody mentions this guy, it’s one of two things. He’s the son of Ethiopian parents, and two, his story is told in the book Blink by Malcolm Gladwell. I must admit, that I too learned about Kenna a couple of years ago by reading the aforementioned book and also, the fact that he opened up for Dave Gahan on his solo tour a few years back. You’ve heard his music, I’m almost sure of it, unless you don’t own a television. The inability of music marketers by dropping the ball, and not knowing what niche Kenna would carve, spelled immediate disaster for his first album. Fast forward a couple of years and here we are, I caught him at SXSW and was a bit upset by the fact that I caught the end of his set.
Kenna-Out of Control[mp3]
Kenna-Better Wise UP[mp3]
Here’s the Wiki Chapter Overview of the Kenna Chapter in Blink:
Chapter 5: Kenna’s Dilemma: The Right — and Wrong — Way to Ask People What They Want
This chapter focuses on another part of the decision-making process — the context in which a judgment is made. Gladwell employs a number of examples and case studies, most of which are drawn from the world of marketing and focus groups. His chief contention is that in many situations, people will make the wrong snap judgment if they are being asked to decide something that is outside of their range of knowledge. Also, Gladwell demonstrates that removing a problem from its normal context makes it very difficult for people to make accurate decisions.
In short, he argues that focus groups often fail to return accurate assessments because they both stretch the limits of the participants’ expertise and remove the product assessment decision from the normal context in which it would be made. In two instances that Gladwell cites — evaluations of musician Kenna’s potential for Top 40 radio success and the infamous blind taste tests between Coke and Pepsi — focus groups and experts reached starkly different conclusions in different settings. He asserts that to be effective, market research must match as closely as possible the environment in which the consumption of a product — whether it is rock music or soda — will actually occur.
This chapter focuses on another part of the decision-making process — the context in which a judgment is made. Gladwell employs a number of examples and case studies, most of which are drawn from the world of marketing and focus groups. His chief contention is that in many situations, people will make the wrong snap judgment if they are being asked to decide something that is outside of their range of knowledge. Also, Gladwell demonstrates that removing a problem from its normal context makes it very difficult for people to make accurate decisions.
In short, he argues that focus groups often fail to return accurate assessments because they both stretch the limits of the participants’ expertise and remove the product assessment decision from the normal context in which it would be made. In two instances that Gladwell cites — evaluations of musician Kenna’s potential for Top 40 radio success and the infamous blind taste tests between Coke and Pepsi — focus groups and experts reached starkly different conclusions in different settings. He asserts that to be effective, market research must match as closely as possible the environment in which the consumption of a product — whether it is rock music or soda — will actually occur.