WagooMusic

Way back when (a.k.a. 2008) it was all the rage to offer people the chance to take over a brand’s profile photo on Facebook for a day or week.  and back then maybe a few thousand or ten thousand people may have been a part of your 15 seconds of photo fame.  Now, fast forward to today with a similar offer but one that adds 11,000,000+ people into the mix and you have a great example of how huge the world of social media is and what unique things it can offer.  

The fun arrives from our friend Justin Timberlake who is starring in a new film coming out at the end of October called “In Time” where people have to buy time to live beyond the age of 25.  Thus, the photo campaign theme is “every second counts” – with people submitting photos that best bring this idea to life.  

People simply visit the photo competition app on Justin’s Facebook Page or the separate photo competition page, enter a short title, a description explaining how the photo connects to the campaign theme and upload a photo.  Justin and his team will pick 5 finalists and votes on Facebook will select the other 5 finalists.  the winning photo will be used as Justin’s Facebook profile photo for the entire month of November, and all 10 finalists will be featured at a pop-up gallery at the Los Angeles premiere of the film – not too shabby exposure for any photographer wanting to grab some buzz about their work.  

Photos can be submitted until October 10 so no time to waste – every second counts.  :-)

After a decade full of sweet bottom-end grooves — War’s “low Rider,” Parliament’s “Flash Light,” Chic’s “good Times” — fat, funky bass lines began to dry up in ’80s.

Megabands from U2 to R.E.M. to Bon Jovi didn’t care a lick about the bass guitar. but Duran Duran — which plays the Citi Wang Theatre on Friday — kept the funk flames burning.

“when all I was into was angry white rock, Chic spoke to me,” Duran -Duran bassist John Taylor said from a gig in Chicago. “They were dressed in suits and velvet, but there was a rebellious spirit to the band. That’s what spoke to me, man. My punk-rock mind heard a bass line like ‘good Times’ and said, ‘I can do that.’ ”

Taylor was right, he could do that. Listen to “Rio” and you’ll hear his gloriously thick, thumping bass snaking through the perfect pop song.

And he can still do it. Duran Duran’s latest album, the mark Ronson produced “all You need is now,” mixes ’70s disco glitter with modern European discotheque glam. It’s a successful Duran Duran album.

“mark really wanted me to play like I played in 1982,” Taylor said. “He wanted to hear classic bass lines like ‘Rio’ or ‘My own Way.’ He wanted Nick (Rhodes) to only use the analog snyths he used to use. He wanted Simon (Le Bon) to harmonize just like he did when we began.”

Best known for producing Amy Winehouse’s “back to Black,” Ronson turned out to be a longtime Duran Duran fan. his respect for and understanding of the band’s “classic sound” fueled the return to form.

On 2007’s “Red Carpet Massacre,” producers/co-writers Timbaland and Danja erased the funk and fun from Duran -Duran. what remained were second-rate Justin Timberlake beats — JT guested and also helped with production — and wannabe Top 40 that sounded dumb and desperate.

“I knew I was there as a writer, but I couldn’t hear the sweat of my own playing,” Taylor said. “neither could the fans.”

The album was a bomb. It’s the band’s second-worst-selling disc, and critics generally hated it.

But the band is back. While not a runaway hit, “all You need is Now” has reached the Duran -Duran faithful. The boys’ 13th studio album, initially an iTunes exclusive, debuted at No. 1 on the iTunes Album Chart in 15 countries.

The title track is also the fattest, funkiest Duran jam since the ’80s.

“ ‘all You need is Now’ speaks to our crowd,” Taylor said. “I know it’s one of those real bargain-basement, self-help T-shirt slogans. but, but, it’s still a phrase that actually isn’t bad to say to yourself. There’s some psychology in there that fans picked up on. There’s a hook, sure, but there’s something bigger there, too.”

Duran Duran, with Neon Trees, at the Citi Wang Theatre, Friday. Tickets: $47.50-$125; citicenter.org.

Christopher Brewer’s remake of “Footloose” is a bit like the line dance his characters follow in one of their few successful scenes; one step forward, immediately followed by two steps back.

any progress that Brewer’s film made towards modernizing the 1984 Kevin Bacon classic was ruined by poor acting, overly sexualized characters and a seeming confusion over when the movie took place.

In Brewer’s defense, we have not seen a particularly successful dance movie since Flashdance (1983) and the original Footloose. that is, of course, with the most sincere of apologies to Step-Up 3D.

Footloose has the chance to be a bridge between generations as a dance movie, but it instead went in the direction of a movie with dance in it, an important distinction.

The casting of Kenny Wormald (Ren) and Julianne Hough (Ariel) would have been spot on. Both were dancers before they were actors, Wormald as a Justin Timberlake back-up dancer and Hough famously on Dancing with The Stars.

instead, Brewer asked them primarily to act and only secondarily to dance.

any chance at depth was defeated when two novice actors with dancing backgrounds were asked to carry a more profound plot. Even the usually sterling Dennis Quaid, as Ariel’s father and the town’s preacher, was spoiled by the inexperience of Wormald and Hough.

When the pair was allowed to just dance, they absolutely shone. Hough grabbed every male’s attention with her twists and turns, hair waving and Wormald dazzled the ladies with his almost Bacon-like swagger and fast feet.

Even if the two were talented actors, that would have been hidden by how sexualized they were. Never did Ariel’s outfit leave much to the imagination and the lasting image has to be Ren sliding his hands down Ariel’s impeccable legs, covered only by skimpy denim shorts, as the two grinded in a parking lot.

Wormald’s Boston accent was thick and impressive at times, but it disappeared for long portions of the movie. Confusion reigned when first Ren is teaching his friend Willard (Miles Teller, convincingly country) to dance with an iPod on and then not too long after, Ariel plays music for Ren from a cassette tape.

Brewer could not balance paying homage to the original 17 years earlier, and keeping his movie in 2011. he successfully modernizes the music (using country star Blake Shelton and others to bring it into the 21st century) and even fits in “Let’s Hear it for the Boy,” as Willard learns to dance.

But when Wormald exactly mirrors Bacon from 17 years earlier by stripping down to tight jeans and a tank-top and dancing by himself in a warehouse, it seems out of place and forced. and when 2011 Ren enters the final dance in a tuxedo almost identical to that of 1984 Ren, he just seems like an imposter amongst his classy, modernly dressed friends.

Footloose 2.0 could have been a hit if it embraced modernization, focused on the dance and let the attractive Hough and Wormald play to their strengths. instead, the movie got lost trying to bridge a 17-year gap.