Party like it’s 2009 - Economic Escapism for free.

As the Easter cliff-edge approaches (£Q1′09) an old trend returns. The Trends Research Institute reintroduces the theme: ‘The recession will fuel escapist revelry. It’s either that, or stay home and become really depressed’. 

You could say Economic Escapism is less of a trend, more of a reflex. According to the idyllically named Melody Brooke (a Texan therapist and compassionate relationship expert) ‘The escapist response is biologically programmed…’ it helps keep us in balance when things get bad.

Philip Graves of The Consumer Behaviour blog says in recessions ‘people cut back and reduce their spending significantly, but spending on escapist pursuits holds or even increases. People spend more on things like going to the movies, buying popular upbeat music, low-cost indulgences…’

So expect cinema attendance to go up - the livescience.com blog sites the box office success of comedies in hard times (you don’t have to go all the way back to Chaplin to prove that one).

We can expect lots more gaming - billsavings.com points to the fact that xBox 360 scored record sales on the Black Friday weekend.

All very interesting, but here’s the real trend: Today you can be the party monster of your dreams for free - if you have the right invites, vouchers and passwords… as well as a wirelessly enabled laptop.

With a Spotify invite and Hype Machine to guide you through the new music bloggersphere you’re already dancing. Google Video + Vimeo + You Tube leaves BBC4 & HBO the only reasons to have a TV license or cable subscription. iPhone users reading this will most likely be aware of the wi-finder app, and know that it can be set to actively scan for open nodes 24/7. Been into a ‘trendy’ restaurant chain recently? Wagamma, The Real Greek, Gourmet Burger world all have 2-4-1-or similar voucher schemes, and it’s eVouchers a-go-go with the internet the (viral) channel of choice - search for evoucher on google and you’ll see what i mean.

To end… who am I to resist a global trend? Goodnight Friday the 13th. The W.O.R.L.D. is full of M.A.G.I.C.  so let this be marked as the first insanely happy antidote to the credit crunch… think of it as the sound of Friday night reaching out for Monday morning. See you there.

The Sound of Arrows - M.A.G.I.C. (Mini-video) from The Sound of Arrows on Vimeo.