I want fuckloads of diamonds. I heard people die while they're trying to find them.

I've been really warming up to Lily Allen recently. It's always hard to like celebrities' kids when they first start producing stuff. But I think it was a combination of finally seeing the video of "Smile" (who hasn't ever wanted to pay little hooligans to smash a boy who has wronged you's record collection?) and liking the sense of humor as well as the various juicy gossipy things surrounding her (weight, miscarriage.) I admit that latter factor is terrible-- why should reading about her insecurities on my People.com newsfeed make me like her music more? Shouldn't it stand on its own? I think it does, though. I think what it did was convince me to give her stuff a chance, and I've been pleasantly surprised ever since. I think she has a nice style, too. Except the whole tennie-runners with dresses things.

"The Fear" is the first single off her recently released album, It's Not Me, It's You, which I haven't had a chance to listen to the whole way but is getting good reviews. The song is about celebrity culture today, but is easy enough to pick up gems that not only relate to your life ("everything's cool as long as I'm getting thinner") but also make you feel very naughty for sniggering at (ie, see the title of the post. Hilarious.) The video is also good- has dancing presents.

• Lily Allen ~ "The Fear"
• "The Fear" Video
• Buy album

"Creator of iconic Obama portrait arrested"

I've been casually following this story (read the article) for the last few days, and since I've posted some of Shepard Fairey's art (the Obey guy) on here before, I thought I'd take a sec to address it and see how others feel. The basics are that Fairey admitted to using an AP photo to create the Obama piece that you couldn't avoid seeing for the last year or so, and AP has decided now (after the inauguration) to step up and demand compensation. I'm not sure about the legal wranglings about all that-- frankly, that will have to be settled however they settle it. Considering how much money both parties have, I would expect some kind of settlement or agreement.

The thing about the arrest is that Boston police arrested Fairey on charges having to do with graffiti. My attitude toward graffiti is ambivalent- and I make a clear distinction between so-called "street art" (at its basics, more often found in gentrified areas) and graffiti/tagging (including such species as dumbass graffiti and scary gang tagging). The law sees both as vandalism, which, admittedly, it is, and I figure if you get caught, you need to face the consequences, whether or not you feel the charges or the law itself is fair. Social contract and whatnot. But Fairey is a well known commercially popular artist and a public personality strongly associated with street art culture if only for his conceptual influence; clearly they could have arrested him a long time ago, or at any point during his career. Now seems awfully convenient. I don't believe "artists" are above the law, but the timing is way too blatant. Ah, cops. If AP hadn't brought Fairey to national attention, the arrest wouldn't have happened. Meanwhile, who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? Apparently the Boston PD is too busy to find out and stop all the other crime.

The other issue I think is interesting is that because Obama's campaign and the consequent beatification (it's getting out of hand; the man is a politician and will have to face a reality that is not in good shape), imagery such as "Hope" played a massive role in the face of the campaign. Fairey helped Obama's marketability, and it seems like bad form for AP to be throwing a hissy-fit now. On behalf of the original photographer, I don't know what to say, but if there is any settlement, it should be between the two individuals. Of course, this is not how copyright works.

I like Fairey's stuff. I think kids who are all about Obey are obnoxious, but his prints and designs are good, pop-commercial pieces. I especially like his Joe Strummer prints, (aw hell, I might as well post it here again; I mean, it's pretty fucken sweet) and I'm interested to see how this pans out.

.5 V-Day Mini Mix: And Good Riddance.

Well, since it's halfway to Valentine's Day, I thought I'd post a mini-mix that I slapped together awhile ago and never posted. Enjoy :) (A reminder, if you click on any of the links, it brings you to a playlist where you can listen to all the songs in the row, and download any of them.)

• [The Adicts] Steamroller [Buy the Complete Singles]
• [The Smiths] Girlfriend in a Coma [Buy the Singles]
• [The Offspring] Why Don't You Get A Job? [Buy the Greatest Hits]
• [The Vandals] My Girlfriend's Dead [Buy Hitler Bad, Vandals Good]

an excuse for another picture of joe

I realized Joe hasn't been around here much lately, but if you need to fill in the blank spaces in your library, P-Motion has got the Joe Strummer discography up right now.

• Mad Linkage: Joe Strummer Discography at p-motion

Lux Interior Dead at 62

The godfathers of psychobilly, having coined the named by taking the term from a Johnny Cash song, the Cramps are really the ones who do it perfectly-- the majority of those following in the psychobilly footsteps could never duplicate the perfect marriage of sounds that the Cramps achieved. And almost none of those bands had a lead with that old school NY punk voice that could achieve those Elvis acrobatics with their voice. In much the way everyone fails to ape the Misfits (who came after the Cramps started their monster movie vintage brand of fun), nobody is able to duplicate the level of violent, sexual, campy vibe and subject matter that the Cramps managed. Read more from the mtv obit.

That said, the Cramps have always been a band that I appreciate and respect but for all that can't sit through an entire album. But once you find the tracks you like, the rest is easy enough. Here's my favorite Cramps song from my favorite Cramps album, Stay Sick! Enjoy!

• The Cramps - Bikini Girls With Machine Guns

Hump Day Happy: Oscar Season Edition

Well, embedding is disabled, but take a look if you're not familiar with it, because, frankly, I think this woman deserves an Academy Award. And when I say Academy Award, I mean the special one they create for television roles after seeing this stunning performance (and that shopping bag action.)

• Father Ted on the Greeks

don't look now but i secretly like the (relatively) new spinnerette track.

Don't get me wrong- I'm still not impressed with the group. Brody Dalle's voice is processed to the point where she could be anybody (and, really, she could), and the songs aren't anything new. They're pop-- catchy hooks and well-placed "heys!"-- and listening to them makes you think, well, I guess this is what Courtney Love would be doing right now if she wasn't so busy being Courtney Love. Influences sited on the band's myspace include Roky Ericson and Black Flag, which are about as present in these tracks as warm weather is out here right now. (Frankly, it seems like Brody heard Mr Ericson and said, OMG he thinks of demons, and I sing about personal demons; we're twins!)

I would place these tracks ("Ghetto Love" and "Valium Knights"- the former being superior) under predictable but danceably grungy pop; "Ghetto Love" has a good heavy beat and "Valium Knights" is a more produced Distillers track, like if the Strokes had gotten to it. (But don't bother with the lyrics.) If it wasn't evident before, Brody Dalle feels like the vehicle, by virtue of her voice, for some better-than-standard pop, so don't expect too much.

Check it out, you might find something you like-

• Ghetto Love [skreemr]
  
• Valium Knights ["]
  

Some croonin for your Tuesday

As promised, though slow in coming, a little more Bing for ya! Bing Crosby is the premier male vocalist of ever, and don't let anyone try to tell you otherwise. Unfortunately, his fame nowadays is mostly around Christmas time, but Bing Crosby is definitely an all-year-round kinda guy. Every music collection should have a little of Der Bingle. Face it: having the Rat Pack on the jukebox makes you classy. Can't really argue with that. Having Bing on there? Makes you a classy motherfucker with good taste. A little bit on how awesome Mr Crosby was-

One of the first multimedia stars, from 1934 to 1954 Bing Crosby held a nearly unrivaled command of record sales, radio ratings, and motion picture grosses. He is cited among the most popular musical acts in history and is currently the most electronically recorded human voice in history.

Crosby is also credited as being the major inspiration for most of the male singers of the era that followed him, including Frank Sinatra, Perry Como, and Dean Martin. Yank magazine recognized Crosby as the person who had done the most for American G.I. morale during World War II and, during his peak years, around 1948, polls declared him the "most admired man alive," ahead of Jackie Robinson and Pope Pius XII.

Also during 1948, the Music Digest estimated that Crosby recordings filled more than half of the 80,000 weekly hours allocated to recorded radio music. Clarinetist Artie Shaw described Crosby as "the first hip white person born in the United States" [source].

This tracklist has a lot of famous standards that are essential listening, including "Birth of the Blues," "Along the Santa Fe Trail," and "Yes, Indeed!" one of my favorites. The disc is off a wonderful collection that C got for Christmas a few years ago, and at $25 for three discs of great music it's not a bad purchase at all. I've never seen it in stores; I believe it's a UK product, but it is available through amazon.com.

• Vocal Innovators and the Jazz Connection

Favorites from the LIFE Archive: Walter Brennan

left | right | All | Wiki

Gift Ideas for Valentine's Day

I don't make a big deal out of Valentine's Day, but like any holiday, it's up to you to decide whether or not you do something. Most holidays I consider an opportunity to have a little fun, and while some of these gifts are a little on the pricey side, you might see something that inspires some ideas. Everybody says that you shouldn't wait til Valentine's Day to show someone you appreciate them, but since you've hopefully been appreciating that/those someone/s (be it friends, significant others, family) all year round, you might have the time to do something a little special- even if it's stealing flowers from the park or drying out some old roses and putting them in a milk bottle or baking cookies for your friends.

Clockwise from top Left: Valentine Fondant & Cutter Kit [Williams-Sonoma] | Copper Cookie Cutter Heart Set [Williams-Sonoma] | "Flowers and Sparrows" Day Bag [Lux de Ville] | Sweet Heart Vase [J. Mendicino] | Clean Cartoonists' Dirty Drawings by Craig Yoe [Amazon.com] |

A Kick In The Head Playlist 01/31/09

Playlist:
1. Ain't That A Kick In The Head (Dean Martin)
2. Noise Annoys (The Buzzcocks)
3. I Gotta Know (Wanda Jackson)
3. Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It) (Beyonce)
4. I'll Walk Along (Dinah Shore)
5. You'll Never Walk Alone (Adicts)
6. We're Coming Back (Cock Sparrer)
7. Time Was (Duerme) (Xavier Cugat)
8. Cindy (Alternate Version) (Ricky Nelson)
9. Queen of the World (Claudette)
10. Yer Still Blue (The Slackers)
11. Sick Boys (Social Distortion)
12. That's Sabotage (Glenn Miller)
13. Harvest Moon (Jason and the Scorchers)
14. Police On My Back (The Clash)
15. Brazil (Helen O'Connell)
16. I'm Telling You Now (Freddie and the Dreamers)
17. Blueberry Hill (Gene Autry)
18. This Old Heart of Mine (Is Weak For You)(The Isley Brothers)
19. Cyrano De Berger's Back [Rehersal Version] (X)
20. Sweet Lorraine(Glenn Miller (voc: Artie Malvin))

Looking Ahead from Freezing-Land

1. It is so darn cold in Maine.
2. Another radio show again, this time on Saturday 10-11 am EST. Hopefully, playlists will be posted here again.
3. Reel Big Fish concert review coming soon. Once I stop being lazy.
4. Possible an Andrew Bird concert review soon-like?
5. It is still so fucken cold here. So much snow.

In the meantime:

James Jean at the Jonathan LeVine Gallery

As you guys know, I really love James Jean's work (you might recognize his Fables covers)- it's beautiful, exquisite, and never lacking in some element that is both exciting and puzzling, especially the strange mix of innocence and sensuality found in the details.

He's got a show down in Chelsea right now, and a few friends and I braved the cold (complicated by my complete inability to remember streets) to go see it. If you're in the area (I don't have any info about other shows in other cities, sorry!- but you can see all the pieces at his website), I strongly encourage you to check it out. It's one thing to see his stuff online, another to be able to step right up to it and see all the strokes and detail, full size. Some of my favorites were Vanity and Willow Horse.

INFO

• 529 West 20th Street, 9E New York (between 10th and 11th Aves)
• Tuesday through Saturday, 11am to 6pm
• Til Feb 7

The Beard Revolution

I'm not a huge fan of beards (yeah, I'm talking to you, guy waiting for the L train), but I was recently introduced to Australian band The Beards, who, as they say in their song "Beard Revolution," are determined to bring the beard to the forefront of facial hair culture. With songs like "A Wizard Needs a Beard" and "It Only Takes a Fortnight" and "No Beard No Good,"a separatist bearded anthem, it's easy to see that these guys are hardliner beard proponents, and they spread the message with what they call "bearded folk rock." Their influences, listed on their myspace, include "ZZ Top, The Beatles (during their bearded era), Kram from Spiderbait, The Bearded BeeGee, Abraham Lincoln, basically anyone with a decent beard."

The songs are absurd and clever, and from the sound of some of the live tracks they have on their page, they sound like they put on a fun show. There are six songs available for listening on their page. My favorite is "Beard Revolution," with lyrics like "My friend Eddie's got no beard, he wants to grow one but he can't!" (poor Eddie) and "A Wizard Needs a Beard," which lists various groups required to have beards, including "bearded thugs."

• Listen to the Beards on Myspace
• debut album available at cdbaby
  

Pretty Cookies!

This photostream has been torturing me for the past ten minutes- scroll down to see one of my favorites ("cookies iced with pale pink almond royal icing and crystal sugar") and then check out the rest at her flickr page. The artist/baker is a lady in Philly whose favorite ingredients are "flour, butter, sugar, [and] love," and the cunning detail put into her creations is stunning. You can purchase the products at her store. And don't miss the amazing sushi cake!

"dripping with mantra-like positivity"

[*quoted from Billboard]

Who is Jason Mraz? A name I always heard and saw ads for, but knew nothing about. Despite the similar singer-songwriter surfer-wear laidback image, turns out he is not like Jack "destroy the world by making the most boring music ever" Johnson.

Rather he has had a fabulous single out for awhile, "I'm Yours." And even after C played it maybe 20 times in a row at one point during the Taiwan trip, it's still a good song. The melody is simple and infectious. The instrumental accompaniment is likewise unadorned and perfectly underlines Mraz's disarming vocals. All in all, a sweet little sunshiney feel-good anthem that I highly recommend giving a listen.

Of course I haven't checked out his other stuff. I suck. But enjoy this anyway, it has become one of my top songs in the recent past (yet another undefinable period of time at Noise Annoys, where relative time goes to die. . .)

• Jason Mraz - "I'm Yours"
• Check out the video where Jason Mraz goes on the best vacation ever or something
  
• Buy the single

Dawn Penn - You Don't Love Me (No, No, No)

Hey everyone, I hope you guys are having a great, fun, and safe start to the new year- almost back up on a regular schedule. I'm back in NYC (it's cold) (and the internet is working ! for now) and will be starting the semester soon, so I will have settled back in and broke out the old external HD and more regular posting will resume. As noted before, things are a little rough in the world of posting mp3 files, so the amount of actual albums posted will still be kept to a minimum, but stick around for more single tracks and links to vids.

I'm really glad that everyone enjoyed the Bing Crosby post, and I realized that, in spite of my deep deep love for Der Bingle, I haven't posted many of his non-Christmas albums. This is a crying shame, so I hope to post a Crosby album/collection of tracks real soon.

But for something a little different, here's Kingston-born Dawn Penn doing the now oft-sampled "You Don't Love Me (No, No, No)." I'm pretty sure this is the 1994 version (the song debuted in 1967.) Dawn Penn's vocals are hauntingly refined over a great beat, along with some brass interludes- perfect rocksteady fun for you kids. If you enjoyed dancing to the Sister Nancy track I posted awhile back, you'll have a great time with this one. Check it out!

• Dawn Penn "You Don't Love Me (No No No)"
• Video on Youtube

Taiwan

Hey everyone. I hope your holidays were awesome! I'm in Taiwan for two weeks, so posting is on a little vacation. The connection here is pretty touch & go, so I'm about to try to upload some pics and see if that works. Been very busy eating a lot, eating some more, (delicious pastries!) and getting my wisdom teeth out (tragic hold on delicious pastries!)

found on Flickr

Myvintagevogue's photostream for tons of fashion and vintage pics. The above is from the b&w celebrities gallery-- gorgeous b&w of golden age actresses. Below is from the 1950s set. Lots to look at!

Ben Templesmith's The Presidents of the United States

which we reported earlier this fall, is now available for pre-order on Amazon, though I'm not sure when it's actually being released. To get all hyped up for it, check out Mr Templesmith's blog, which has scans of the likes of TR, FDR, Filmore, and others. They're looking really great, and I can't wait to see the book when it comes out!

White Christmas [1992 edition]

In looking for album images, I've found that there are in fact two White Christmas albums, this one and this one here, which I'm posting here because I think it's a lot better. Granted, it's the one I grew up with, so there's massive personal bias, what sets it apart is the warmth and nostalgia that comes from its format: it's a recording of a radio show, and the album includes Bing's jokes and chatter. If you read the reviews, some people don't like that, and to them I say: You are probably communiss. Anyway, this one also leaves out the ethnic novelty songs, which, while they have their own charm, don't quite measure up to the content of this 1992 edition. The dialogue is fun, the arrangments "bouncy," and you get 15 tracks of Crosby in his popular element.

• Bing Crosby ~ White Christmas [1992]
• Buy

LIFE photo archive hosted on Google

This is a great resource for photos, especially for candid shoots. Search format/start page here. I'll try to post some favorites as I explore the archive.

The photos are also available for purchase. It's pricey, but if you can find a way to buy it without the frame (I'm not sure if this is an option, I really wish it would be), these photos would make beautiful personalized gifts. The photos themselves are of good quality; if you have a good printer and some nice photofinish paper, it might make a fun gift to go with a nice frame from a vintage or thrift shop to go with it.

Bing & Bowie

The tradition Bing & Bowie posting, this time with mp3s.

• Bing & Bowie - Peace On Earth/Little Drummer Boy [w. dialogue] [skreemr]
• Bing & Bowie - Peace On Earth/Little Drummer Boy [song only] [skreemr]

Shrek the Halls [2007]

As with the Shrek movies, the charm and hilarity is in the details, including one of the pigs flying around the room singing Ride of the Valkyrie, Puss' inability to ignore small balls and just the fact that it's ANTONIO BANDERAS, and how darn cute everything is. The plot and message are what you would expect, but it doesn't lose the more "adult" jokes of the films (especially at the start with the holiday rush, the cross-dressing wolf, Gingi in general.)

• Watch online via videostop

BABIES!

Gift Ideas: 5 Jewelry-Things!

I meant to put this up before Cyber Monday since most of these sites were having sales (this being the first year I'd even heard of this Cyber-Monday thing), but Final Paper Deadline Tuesday prevented that from happening. Still, you can at least browse the websites and see if you like anything :]

From left to right: Orange Earrings from KnitKnit @Etsy | Heart Attack from LuckyLooLoo | Happy Robot Earrings from Shana Logic | Mexican Loteria Charm Necklace by Sweet Romance from Pin Up Girl Clothing | Handy Girl Necklace Set (of 3) by Girls With Tools from Shana Logic

National Geographic: Best Science Images of 2008

[Clockwise from left: squid suckers, the Bible references charted, Mediterranean diatoms, an excited string.]

You don't have to be a science-y person (as I call them) to appreciate these images. A number of these photos have been colored for reference, and they all represent patterns found in the natural world; the results are stunning. Check out the gallery here.

Check out the other galleries, too, including the one showing Giant, Unknown Animals Found Off Antarctica (9" sea spiders, yikes! and the intriguingly named stareater) and Best Wild Animal Photos (including what you probably won't be eating for Christmas dinner-- read the description-- and the law of the jungle.)

"Orphan Earl" (The My Name Is Earl Christmas Episode)

"Orphan Earl" [via hulu]

Next item on the list: Earl must help the victim of a scam he started years ago and that Joy and her friends have been carrying on since.

Christmas With the Rat Pack

Pure class and an awesome cover design, to boot.

Christmas with the Rat Pack [rar] | Buy | Tracklist

Vintage Christmas Pinups!

& More!

Cold!

According to that source, this song was debuted by composer Frank Loesser and his wife at one of their parties. The rights were sold to MGM, who used the song in Neptune's Daughter not once but twice-- sung by Ester Williams and Ricardo Montalban and the other by Red Skelton and Betty Garrett. I have the former linked down there. Loesser won himself an Academy Award for the song. On the sheet music, the female is "The Mouse" and the man is "The Wolf." Gives new meaning to that "Say, what's in this drink?" line, huh.

• Ricardo Montalban & Ester Williams ~ Baby, It's Cold Outside
• Dean Martin ~ Baby, It's Cold Outside
• Leon Redbone & Zooey Deschanel ~ Baby, It's Cold Outside
• Dinah Shore ~ Baby, It's Cold Outside
• Homer & Jethro feat. June Carter ~ Baby, It's Cold Outside
• Homer & Jethro feat. June Carter ~ Baby, It's Cold Outside SKIT!-- don't worry, Johnny rescues her in the end

Van Johnson dies at 92

10 DVD Gift Ideas

Because we here at sayNA want to help you out this holiday season :) These DVDs are fancy, quality cinema, and oh-so-pretty. And guess what? All under $50! (The links go to Amazon, but if you're interested in any of these, check out half.com & Amazon Marketplace, too.)

1 & 2. Godfather Part I & Part II, Coppola Restorations

3 & 4. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy & Smiley's People

5. Hellboy II: The Golden Army, 3 Disc Special Edition

6. Burn Notice, Season 1

7. The Complete Thin Man Collection: The Thin Man / After the Thin Man / Another Thin Man / Shadow of the Thin Man / The Thin Man Goes Home / Song of the Thin Man / Alias Nick and Nora

8. The Premier Frank Capra Collection: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington / It Happened One Night / You Can't Take It with You / Mr. Deeds Goes to Town / American Madness / Frank Capra's American Dream

9. Rio Bravo: 2-Disc Ultimate Collector's Edition: Features

10. John Wayne-John Ford Film Collection: The Searchers Ultimate Edition / Stagecoach Two-Disc Special Edition / Fort Apache / She Wore a Yellow Ribbon / The Long Voyage Home / They Were Expendable / 3 Godfathers / The Wings of Eagles

Feel Good Holiday Movie: Last Holiday

Okay, so maybe a movie starring Queen Latifah and LL Cool J about a woman with three weeks left to live might not be everybody's cup of tea, but I have always found Queen Latifah to have an extremely pleasing on-screen presence ("It's clear that Queen Latifah is a proper, old school movie star - the camera loves her and her constantly upbeat screen persona is extremely likeable") and this movie, if it sounds remotely like your kind of thing, is a sweet-natured feel-good holiday movie. (I have not seen the original, starring out favorite, Sir Alec Guinness.)

Queen Latifah's character, Georgia Byrd, is a wallflower department store clerk who is incapable of carpe diem'ing her life; she cooks gourmet dinners that she does not eat, and she has a crush on a co-worker (LL Cool J) that, despite his reception, she cannot act on (though she keeps using her store discount to buy bbq grills from his department.) When she finds out she has only weeks to live and that her health care will not cover the operation, she pulls all her money from the bank and embarks on her dream vacation to a luxury hotel where her favorite chef, played by Gerard Depardieu, cooks. It's not the most unpredictable plot ever, and as you can expect, Queen Latifah teaches people lessons (like how real people order food) and is very charming, but if what you need is some light holiday fare for a slow afternoon, this is perfect.

Last Holiday (in parts, Youtube):

Bettie Page dies at age 85

Read more.

On this Day in History: Rat Pack Member Sammy Davis Jr Born

Stay tuned this week for some Christmas cheer from the Rat Pack!

"I swear I could almost smell the honeysuckle blossoms."

"That's me. Barber."

So I'm writing a really shitty paper that is absolutely driving me crazy on John Ford's fabulous My Darling Clementine (Fox, 1946). The movie is great. Henry Fonda is great. The above sequences are great. So are most of the other ones. My paper is not. Oh well.


this is on a completely unrelated note, but anyone have the soundtrack for that fabulous animated movie Anastasia? this one here?

Happy Repeal Day!

[original image]

(as if we need an excuse)

It's easy! There are no outfits to buy, costumes to rent, rivers to dye green. Simply celebrate the day by stopping by your local bar, tavern, saloon, winery, distillery, or brewhouse and having a drink. Pick up a six-pack on your way home from work. Split a bottle of wine with a loved one. Buy a shot for a stranger. Just do it because you can [from the Official Repeal Day website]

It's actually probably gonna be a quiet night for me (finals!), but I've got my heart set on some Winter Warmer. Cheers!

Celebrate by listening to some music--

• Dean Martin ~ Little Ole Wine Drinker Me [skreemr]
  
• Hank Williams III ~ My Drinkin Problem [divshare]
  
• Rum Runner ~ [myspace]

Roger Alan Wade's All Likkered Up is on sale for the holidays. Featuring "All Likkered Up" and "My Baby Loves Malt Liquor," some sayNA favorites.

or, celebrate by watching America's booziest favorite couple-- watch The Thin Man [9 parts, youtube]. Or watch some of that Nascar.

First Season Fresh Prince Christmas Episode

Cos it's deeply, deeply dope.

• Part I & Part II & Part III [youtube]

Will tries to bring the holiday spirit to his aunt and uncle's house. When the neighbors complain about his decorations, an old-executive power intercedes (cos Nancy won't let him do anything fun to the house.) Evander Holyfield makes a guest appearance. Check out the absurd decorator in Part II, who tells us that "the 90s are going to be all about. . . restraint."

Enjoy!

Here is what the guy playing Gambit in that new Wolverine movie looks like.

Um, yuck?
I'll probably see it anyway. . . check out the Comic Con trailer here.

Diggin' the new Beyonce Videos

Or maybe they're not new-- I can't keep up with the kids these days. Not sure how much I like the songs themselves, though "Single Ladies" is insidiously catchy. But I saw this first one of the plane ride back this weekend. A cool concept. The first few seconds make it look like a PSA about respecting your woman, either that or a male enhancement ad, but get past that and there's a cool, without being overbearing, look at gender double-standards.

• Beyonce - If I Were a Boy [youtube]
  

And the second, it's just fun to watch because Beyonce & her backup dancers are very good. Some of the Gwen Verdon-esque moves are a little wacky, but considering they're all wearing heels and probably corsets or control tops. . . Also, check out the now famous SNL sketch (I think this is it?)

• Beyonce - All the Single Ladies [youtube]

As for this whole Sasha Fierce thing, I'm really not sure what's up with that, but looking at that robo-hand she's got on makes it clear that she ran afoul of a Sith Lord she's possibly related to.

Oi! to the World

Kicking off the holiday season with our traditional Vandals' Christmas album post! Oi to the World features the title track, a crazy punk rock Tchaikovsky track, and one of my favorites, "Nothing's Gonna Ruin My Holidays."

• The Vandals - Oi to the World
• Buy from amazon.com

The Vandals will be playing 3 Christmas shows. Hopefully they won't last-minute cancel sans explanation a la 2007 Warped Tour.

Dec 19 2008 @ SLIM’S
San Francisco, California
w/Goodbye Gadget and Time Again

Dec 20 2008 @ House of Blues Disneyland
Anaheim, california
w/ the aggrolites

Dec 21 2008 @ House Of Blues
San Diego, California
w/ The Phenomenauts

Holiday time!

Hey everyone. Sorry for the long absence! This semester hit me a little harder than expected, and while it's still not over, I'll hopefully be posting more regularly, especially now that I get to start posting holiday tunes! So stick around for that! I'm in Florida right now for the holiday and away from the ol' hd, but we'll be up and running in the next week.

Also, I'm very happy to announce that Ken is back with a new, very pretty, and awesome blog-- Romantic and Square is Hip n Aware! A few other links have been updated in the blogroll, so check that out over on the right side; it's mostly small changes that resulted from the blolgger blitzkrieg of about a month ago.

The Gregory Brothers and Sarah Fullen: 75% Brothers, 25% Babe

Er, I started writing this last spring and never got around to finishing and now have done gone and forgot what I meant to say.... Oooops, there's the lazy me again. Sorry. And sorry that this is such as lazily done post.


The Gregory Brothers and Sarah Fullen:

Group from Brooklyn, playing soulish/folkish/rockish something. They are three brothers (Andrew + Evan + Michael Gregory) plus a female vocalist (Sarah Fullen) who shares the singing duties with all the brothers. They've come to our campus three times, twice last year, and are really nice people, and are awfully cute too. (Plus they sang me "Happy Birthday" this year when they were here, about 15 minutes before my birthday; it was a nice surprise. Score one in their favor.) I'm really bad at describing music but I highly recommend seeing them and listening to them; they are really enjoyable. You can listen to songs/watch youtube videos via the links below.

Andrew Rose Gregory's website here
Gregory Brothers' Myspace here
Sarah Fullen's Myspace here

My Loony Bun is Fine Benny Lava! Blogger on the other hand. . . just looney

Hey guys- there may be a break in uploading music files, because as it turns out (or at least I'm pretty sure) Blogger didn't just randomly eat my post- I believe they flagged it for the music file; the file was also deleted over at Divshare, so I'm trying to figure out what's going on. No actual notices were given. Granted, it was a new release- specifically the new James Bond instrumental, but it seems like more than a few people-- and some amazing blogs that actually can claim to stimulate purchasing of music-- on Blogspot are having this problem, including Berkeley Place which got dinged on a post full of indie artists who had given their permission, Setting the Woods on Fire has been having trouble and may be retiring (?!?) (also, read his thoughts on the matter- as always, very well expressed), and many others. . . and I'm wondering if that's why Giant Robots Make Me Nervous has been MIA? (Which would be a fucking crime-- Does anybody know?!) Anyway, I'm just trying to figure out a way to sort this out/get around this, so stick around, I'll do my best to keep posting regularly- the alternative is to link to pages featuring other's files (ie Skreemr), but we'll see. I'd rather not post a link to a link and have Blogger (or whoever) follow it and kill it there.

For now, enjoy "Benny Lava"-- this guy has taken what some Bollywood lyrics sound like and subtitled a vid with them. As if the video itself wasn't funny enough. Enjoy :)

That Wacky Wacky Cold War

US Pilot Ordered to Shoot Down UFO

LONDON (Reuters) - Two U.S. fighter planes were scrambled and ordered to shoot down an unidentified flying object (UFO) over the English countryside during the Cold War, according to secret files made public Monday.

One pilot said he was seconds away from firing 24 rockets at the object, which moved erratically and gave a radar reading like "a flying aircraft carrier."

The pilot, Milton Torres, now 77 and living in Miami, said it spent periods motionless in the sky before reaching estimated speeds of more than 7,600 mph.

After the alert, a shadowy figure told Torres he must never talk about the incident and he duly kept silent for more than 30 years [read more. . .]

• Screeching Weasel ~ I Believe in UFOs
• And don't watch this South Park episode, my God.
  

heh.

[Original picture]

Request! Illegal Tender EP

• Louis XIV ~ Illegal Tender EP [sharebee]
• Buy

The Real Dilemma AND the Eternal Question

Are Fred Perry shirts sold on eBay for $20 and shipped from Thailand real Fred Perry shirts?

Whtie Kids Aren't Hyphy & Hipster Girl Vids

Ah ha, so I missed that a video for one of my favorite MC Lars songs, "White Kids Aren't Hyphy," was released, from what I can tell, in this past May's podcast. As always, fun and cheeky. Check it out!

This is the vid for "Hipster Girl." As you guys know, I hate them more than I hate six dollar PBRs. I'm with MC Lars on how L train girls (yes! It is on the L train that I first saw one of those nasty people who wear glass frames without lenses!) make no sense and how fixed gear bikes make no sense (no seriously, they don't-- until this year I thought that kind of bike was the kind of bike you learned how to ride a bike with because that's the kind of bike I had when I was a kid- I just said bike a lot, huh-) anyway, though it's unclear how Lars feels about them-- love em but don't get them?-- they're hot but they suck so I'll get with them anyway? (oh boys)-- contempt validates them?-- if you hate the things he's pointing out, you can cast your own shadow on the video (as I did) and consider it all insults. Yay negativity! And ps- after the fadeout, if you hate that fucking song from Donnie Darko as much as I do, stop the video.

Mid-October

Hey guys, it's been a busy week and shaping into a long night: midterms, helping friends move large Coke machines up Mt Doom stairs, more midterms, Dodgers not doing to hot (but it's only the 3rd inning! I have faith!), BLOGGER EATING MY POSTS BOO BLOGGER, and more midterms and papers. . . but I just wanted to stop by a moment and say 1) I will be responding to comments and requests as soon as I get a breather this weekend (so stick around for some Louis XIV goodness) and 2) this is the best thing I have read all week- maybe all month- after, of course, your comments:

"Loving" Bonobos Seen Killing, Eating Other Primates

"The second I read this, I thought: Oh good, finally!" said primatologist Elizabeth Lonsdorf of the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago.

I have to agree with Lonsdorf on that sentiment (though my reaction was "bhahahaaa" or something of that ilk), and she expresses, I think, the general opinion of all of us who did not trust those hippie-dippy love monkeys: "Bonobos being so peaceful never sat well with me," said Lonsdorf, who was not involved with the study.

Songs That I Secretly Like so don't tell anyone

• My Drive Thru ~ NERD ft Julian Casablancas & Santogold

[link is to listen & download via Skreemr; right click & save] This was used for the new batch of Converse promos, and you can check out the vid here on Youtube. Why is it a guilty pleasure? Not sure, and it's not the song itself-- which is excellent-- but everything about me is saying it is. Maybe it's the overwhelming hipster cred that smacks you across the face. This song is the equivalent of that guy on the L wearing skinny gray jeans, colorful high-tops, art-rim glasses (WITH NO LENSES, douchebag) and a thin striped scarf. Maybe it's cos I still don't like that Julian Casablancas. Maybe it's because I need a new pair of Converse and I can't face facts. Maybe it's cos I don't like the direction the company is trying to go in. But goddamnit, it's danceable and catchy, even with those Julian Casablancas whingeing portions.

• Beat Your Heart Out ~ The Distillers

Sorry, Tim.

How We Feel About the New Clint Eastwood Movie

Jeffrey Donovan! In 1920s clothing!

Life Just Keeps Getting Better

Ever sit around and think things like, what are some of the most awesome things in the world? Ketchup. . . Bruce Campbell. . . United States Presidents. . . free delivery. . . Ben Templesmith. . .

Well wait for it folks, because somebody out there has combined two of the above and given us. . . BEN TEMPLESMITH doing US PRESIDENTS.

Just try to complain about that. And then watch some real & true facts about George Washington. Like how he'll save children. Just not the British children.

What I Did This Summer Vol II: Epic Road Trip

[click for more photos]

San Francisco to LA to Vegas to El Paso to Austin to Houston to New Orleans to Atlanta to Baltimore to NYC in a 1998 Nissan Altima and 12 tanks of gas and 1 speeding ticket. 3 people from SF to LA via SLO, 4 people from LA to Houston, 5 Houston to NOLA, 3 people from NOLA to NYC.

I'm the one who got the speeding ticket. Guess what the speed limit is in NC? 65. Guess the speed of traffic? 85. Guess who had the only CA license plates in radar gun-shot? Guess who broke out the drug-sniffing dogs like it was a big deal.

• Caught by the Fuzz by Supergrass

YOUR Berlin Wall

If you can't tell by the resumed posting, then the amount of times I've checked my facebook should tell you that I'm back at school and not doing what I'm supposed to be doing. So in that vein. . . check this out; everything about it is perfect and high-fucken-larious:

See the rest of the list, What the World Would Look Like If the Other Side Won the War, and more, at Cracked.com. As the lists there are the latest on my internet addictions list (you guys are still #1 though), I'll be posting more links in the future.

Speaking of silly. . . my new favorite silly Onion headline: Members of Twisted Sister Now Willing to Take It. Excerpt:

"I acknowledge that we promised not to take it anymore, but things change. The world is a different place today, and with that in mind, we would like to go on record as saying that, starting right now, we are going to take it," read a statement released by the band's lead singer, Dee Snider. "To clarify, we would still prefer not to take it, but as of now, taking it is an option that we would be open to. That is all."

Read & listen: Nabokov's "The Vane Sisters" & Girl in a Coma's "Sybil Vane Was Ill"

Nabokov's second to last short story, published in 1951. Features a device Nabokov said could "only be tried once in a thousand years of fiction." A fantastically unreliable narrator, word games, seances, planchettes, wacky women, and a paragraph to pay attention to:

     Speaking  of  old men, one should add that sometimes these
posthumous auspices and interventions were  in  the  nature  of
parody.  Cynthia  had  been on friendly terms with an eccentric
librarian called Porlock who in the last  years  of  his  dusty
life  had  been  engaged  in examining old books for miraculous
misprints such as the substitution of l for the second h
in the word "hither." Contrary to Cynthia, he cared nothing for
the thrill of obscure predictions; all he sought was the  freak
itself, the chance that mimics choice, the flaw that looks like
a  flower;  and  Cynthia,  a  much  more  perverse  amateur  of
misshapen or illicitly connected words, puns,  logogriphs,  and
so  on, had helped the poor crank to pursue a quest that in the
light of the example  she  cited  struck  me  as  statistically
insane.  Anyway, she said, on the third day after his death she
was reading a magazine and had just  come  across  a  quotation
from  an  imperishable  poem  (that  she,  with  other gullible
readers, believed to have been really composed in a dream) when
it dawned upon her that "Alph"' was a prophetic sequence of the
initial letters of Anna Livia Plurabelle (another sacred  river
running  through,  or  rather  around, yet another fake dream),
while the additional h  modestly  stood,  as  a  private
signpost,  for the word that had so hypnotized Mr. Porlock. And
I wish I could recollect that novel or  short  story  (by  some
contemporary  writer,  I  believe)  in  which,  unknown  to its
author, the first letters of the words in  its  last  paragraph
formed,  as  deciphered  by  Cynthia,  a  message from his dead
mother.

• Online text avail. here.
• Wikipedia tells you what's up with this story [*spoilers*]
  
• And download and listen to Girl In A Coma's "Sybil Vane Was Ill"