Matthew Rosenberg

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To live in New York City is to embrace compromise. How else could we live as we do, cheek by jowl and in such limited spaces? I’ve heard countless brokers say, “Manhattan is an island, and they’re not building any more of it.” As hackneyed as that phrase may be, it is the reason why 20-somethings live with roommates; why dining rooms become bedrooms and foyers become offices; and why babies sleep in closets. For so many of us, living in New York City is a big enough pro that we are happy to overlook all kinds of cons.

Vivian S. Toy [via theworldofbunny]

Sometimes you just need a red convertible and Van Halen to get the girl.

Dance The Night Away by Van Halen via Spotify

Rosie Huntington-Whiteley shot by Greg Williams

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I like the dark part of the night, after midnight and before four-thirty, when it’s hollow, when ceilings are harder and farther away. Then I can breathe, and can think while others are sleeping, in a way can stop time, can have it so – this has always been my dream – so that while everyone else is frozen, I can work busily about them, doing whatever it is that needs to be done, like the elves who make the shoes while children sleep.

Dave Eggers, “A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius” [via emeraldaisle]

The Thinker of Tender Thoughts by Shel Silverstein

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Born after 2000 and weaned on smartphones, these kids are the first true digital natives. For many families, this gadget-savvy group that’s up on all things Web is the go-to source for information, giving Gen Z major influence over the household purchasing decisions and behaviors. This generation is also more brand aware than any before it (by age 3, a child can recognize almost 100 brands.)

Gen Z on JWT 100 things to watch in 2012. [via Milana]

We’re getting closer to the show, we’re building sets, and Madonna had no idea what she wanted to do. I’d call her and say, “Look, we’ve really got to know.” She called me the next day and says, “I’ve got it. I want to sing ‘Like a Virgin’ to a Bengal tiger.”

“What?” She goes, “A Bengal tiger.” And I go, “You mean like a baby one?” “No, no, full-grown.” “You want a full-grown Bengal tiger?” “A white one.” I go, “You want a white, full-grown Bengal tiger onstage at Radio City Music Hall? If it gets loose and kills Walter Yetnikoff, I’ve got a fucking problem. Come up with something else.” And she came up with the cake idea—she burst out of a wedding cake. So we had a seventeen-foot cake built.

It’s rehearsal the day before the show, and it’s time for her to do her number. She comes out in a wedding dress with nothing underneath it, and up the ladder she goes. I’m standing below and looking up. She figures out what’s going on, looks down, and says, “How do I look from down there?” And I said, “Pretty good to me!”

Les Garland - Co-Founder MTV

I Want My MTV: The Uncensored Story of the Music Video Revolution.

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Originally, MTV had started off advertiser-supported, which means we didn’t charge cable operators to carry us. But now we needed money, so we had to go back and tell them, “Pay us or we’re going to go out of business.” If we hadn’t gotten those fees, MTV probably wouldn’t be profitable today. John Malone, chairman of the biggest cable provider, ATC, decided he didn’t want to pay us a lot of money, and he needed negotiating leverage, so he got Ted Turner to start the Cable Music Channel. I’m not sure Turner realized he was the stalking horse, but he was.

And the day we went public, Turner announced CMC, right on top of us. So we went into the war room and decided a couple of things. We were going to go see John Malone at ATC and try to cut a deal. But first, we were going to start a fighting brand. A fighting brand is: Let’s say you produce coffee, and it’s a great coffee, and somebody starts a competitor. The best thing for you to do is start competitive coffee to fight with the new competitor and keep your big brand out of the fight. HBO started Cinemax as a fighting brand against The Movie Channel. Whatever The Movie Channel would do, Cinemax would do. And that really knocked the legs out from under The Movie Channel.

So we came up with the idea for VH1. Turner was going to be family-friendly, he was going to sell his spots cheaper, he was going to be free to the cable operator. So we came out with VH1 and we said, “We’re gonna be free to the cable operator. We’re gonna be family-friendly. We’re gonna sell our spots cheaper.” Whatever he was, we were gonna be. I think VH1 cost $5 million. It was the cheapest network ever done. I didn’t care if it got beaten up and its teeth knocked out in the fight. I just wanted to keep my baby—MTV—out of the fight. We didn’t care a bit if VH1 was good.

Bob Pittman - Founder of MTV

I Want My MTV: The Uncensored Story of the Music Video Revolution.

Hi. I'm Matthew.