I'm a music junkie. Spend more money than I really should on this addiction. Today I turned on the computer and hit random. Logged into my LastFM account to see my latest stats of my music I've listened to.
If you're not familuar with LastFM, it is a site that takes all the music you listen too on multiple devices and keeps track of what you've listened too. Now I have multiple MP3 players and computers with music on them. Trying to keep track of what you listen to was usually reserved for the device you're using.
I usually miss the monumental flips of the number of listens, kind of like watching the odometer flipping over on your car. Today though, I was luck to watch (or listen) to the counter flip over.
There're times I like to listen to a certain set of music, but today I was going to let the computer randomly decide what my 13,000 track was going to be. I was at 12998 when I looked at the LastFM site.
It is scarey to think that my computer knows my music taste, but there are times I've worried. The music it selected today I wasn't looking at the content but rather the artists them self.
#12998 - Elvis Costello
#12999 - Neko Case
#13000 - John Lennon
Right there those three performers easily sum me up in my top three favorite performers. I've seen Elvis at least a half a dozen times, Neko almost every year over the last ten plus years, sometimes multiple times each year. John Lennon is probably one of my all time favorite artists. Beatles will always top my list as favorite desert island band, but when it comes to the top and most influential Beatle to me, it was John Lennon.
#13001 - Radiohead
So to start off the next thousand listens, Radiohead jumps into the speaker. This would be easily my number two desert island band. Radiohead is by far the one group I do listen to the most these days. Another nice feature of LastFM is the ability to see your own personal music charts. Radiohead is the number one the group chart. Two of thier albums rank in my top ten listens. (If you're wondering, Neko Case's "Middle Cyclone" is number one.) Three songs in the top 15 listens.
The fall movie time is creeping upon us. One movie that I can't wait to see is the American version of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. It was and still is a great read, the Swedish version of the movie is fantastic! I'm hoping that the American version can live up to the hype. Here is probably the best trailer I've ever seen and I'm addicted to watching movie trailers.
With the above trailer being so captivating, it didn't take long for the Muppet's to come along and spoof the trailer and they did it in spectacular fashion.
Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog was an internet sensation directed by Joss Whedon. Staring Neil Patrick Harris, Felicia Day and Nathan Fillion. You need to watch it, and if you haven't, where have you been hiding. Just search for it or go and watch it instantly on NetFlix for the HD version. Or just go to the 2nd video in this post.
Here is part one of Dr. Horrible in its 8-bit glory! For those of you over 30, you'll remember all our games use to look like this. This was cutting edge graphics back in the day!
What do you get when you mix one of my all-time favorite TV Shows with one of my all-time favorite groups, let alone favorite song. The original video was directed by Spike Jones as a homage to 1970s crime dramas like Streets of San Francisco and Starsky & Hutch. This 1994 song, "Sabotage" came off the album, Ill Communication.
The video lost to Areosmith and REM in MTV's Video Awards but in 2009 won the category, "Best Video (That Should Have Won A Moonman)." The second video of the three in this post is the original video.
March 8th, a lady with a screen name of kataman78 posted on her blog this shot for shot mash-up between her favorite TV show and song. Check out below, the video she created as a tribute to her favorite TV show.
Battlestar meets Beastie Boys Mash-up
Here is the original video by the Beastie Boys
This final video is a mash-up of the two videos. Here you can see how the two videos work side by side. I'm impressed with the amount of work that had to go into this. Hope you enjoyed this as much as I did.
Sony has just released a new poster for a movie coming out this summer called, "The Other Guys." What great about this new style of promoting a movie, it basically combines a trailer and a movie poster. Now you have a Motion Movie Poster for today's digital age.
You can go to this website to see the poster. Unfortunately you can't turn it off, so every time you'd come to my website, the poster would start playing.
Set in New York City, "The Other Guys" follows Detective Allen Gamble (Will Ferrell), a forensic accountant who's more interested in paperwork than hitting the streets, and Detective Terry Hoitz (Mark Wahlberg), who has been stuck with Allen as his partner ever since an embarrassing public incident with his quick trigger finger. Allen and Terry idolize the city's top cops, Danson and Manzetti (Dwayne Johnson and Samuel L. Jackson), but when an opportunity arises for the Other Guys to step up, things don't quite go as planned.
It is amazing how just one performer can open up your eyes to millions of possibilities. I had just started college and one of my favorite local Minneapolis bands, The Replacements had just released the album, Please To Meet Me. I had been working in a music store for the last year or more and still hadn't mastered the knowledge of "great" music. On this album, they had this song called "Alex Chilton." I first thought it was a made up name or maybe someone the band knew. I then saw an album by Alex Chilton called High Priest. My knowledge expanded. First his solo work, then finding out he was in Big Star. I knew those songs. Then I found out he was the singer for the Box Tops when he was 16. I even knew those songs.
How can one guy who was so influential in the music industry stay so far under the radar? Let's start with the Box Tops. One song I had heard, yet didn't know who did the song as I was growing up was, "The Letter."
The Box Tops "Trains and Boats and Planes"
The Box Tops "Things Go Better"
In 1971 Alex join Chris Bell and Big Star was born. The music of Big Star is influential to the majority of main stream rock stars of the 80's and 90's. Even though they didn't have commercial success, all three of the early albums are in the Rolling Stone Magazine's all time best albums.
Big Star "Thank You Friends"
Alex reformed the band with fellow Big Star member Jody Stephens and Ken Stringfellow and Jon Auer. They did a concert and live album. Here is the track that you will remember Cheap Trick covering for the TV Show, That 70's Show. Here is the band live on the Tonight Show.
One of my all-time favorite songs is "Thirteen." This song would be on every all-time list of favorite songs. I still can remember when I first heard it. Here is Big Star's "Thirteen"
I bring my ode to Alex back around to The Replacements. Thank you to Paul Westerberg for showing me the light in this amazing man.
Thank you to Alex Chilton for influencing some of the greatest bands of my generation and for all of the wonderful music you made, which had an influence on me.
Here are the lyrics to The Replacements song, "Alex Chilton."
If he was from Venus, would he feed us with a spoon? If he was from Mars, wouldn't that be cool? Standing right on campus, would he stamp us in a file? Hangin' down in Memphis all the while.
Children by the million sing for Alex Chilton when he comes 'round They sing "I'm in love. What's that song? I'm in love with that song."
Cerebral rape and pillage in a village of his choice. Invisible man who can sing in a visible voice. Feeling like a hundred bucks, exchanging good lucks face to face. Checkin' his stash by the trash at St. Mark's place.
Children by the million sing for Alex Chilton when he comes 'round They sing "I'm in love. What's that song? I'm in love with that song."
I never travel far, without a little Big Star
Runnin' 'round the house, Mickey Mouse and the Tarot cards. Falling asleep with a flop pop video on. If he was from Venus, would he meet us on the moon? If he died in Memphis, then that'd be cool, babe.
Alex Chilton was only 59. He died of a heart attack in New Orleans today. He is so associated with the Memphis sound and as the Replacements sang, "If he died in Memphis, then that'd be cool..." No matter where he is right now, that place just got a little bit cooler!
I've been taking photos. Up until now, I've not done much with them, but now I've purchased a new computer and new editing software. So I've decided to start putting them on display.
I decided to create my own screen saver from my favorite photos. As I take new photos or start going through my older photos from years past, I'll edit them and add them to this folder.
Click on any of the photos and it will take you to my photo album where you'll be able to see a large version and a short description about the photo.
It is always sad to see one of your favorite musicians pass away. It is even harder when they commit suicide.
Singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Mark Linkous has committed suicide, his publicist confirmed to Rolling Stone last night. Sparklehorse released four albums during their time together, he also produced Daniel Johnston's album Fear Yourself. Last year he collaborated for Danger Mouse and created one of my favorite albums of 2009 called Dark Night Of The Soul. The good news on this album, EMI Records has settled their lawsuit against Danger Mouse and the album will have an official release later this year.
“It is with great sadness that we share the news that our dear friend and family member, Mark Linkous, took his own life today,” reads a statement from his family. “We are thankful for his time with us and will hold him forever in our hearts. May his journey be peaceful, happy and free. There’s a heaven and there’s a star for you.”
Danger Mouse & Sparklehorse “Revenge (featuring Wayne Coyne)”
If you ever feel like the way out is to kill yourself, there is help out there. Call the suicide hotlines. They do help! It is the first step and the biggest step you can take.
National Suicide Hotlines Toll-Free / 24 hours a day / 7 days a week 1-800-SUICIDE 1-800-273-TALK 1-800-784-2433 1-800-273-8255
People grieve in different ways. For me, I like to celebrate the their life. Mark was an incredible musician and brought me happiness when listening to his music. Even though his lyrics can be dark in nature, his music always brought an emotional response, whether it be good or bad.
Sparklehorse "It's A Wonderful Life"
From the album It's a Wonderful Life. Video directed by the Quay Brothers. Produced and mixed by Mark Linkous. Lyrics by Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan. Mark plays drums, guitar, optigan, backwards midget voice, and sampler. Adrian Utley plays kitty cat guitar and fuzzy ending bass. Tom Waits sings and plays big seed pod, metal things, and train.
Take a bunch of famous comedians who've lampooned the presidents on Saturday Night Live = Chevy Chase, Dan Aykroyd, Dana Carvey, Darrell Hammond, Will Ferrell and Fred Armisen
Mix it all up with one comedian who lampooned a president in his Living Colour days = Jim Carrey
Funny or Die has done it again with another fun video. The common thread for all these people getting together is the Main Street Brigade. Here is something about the MSB from their website.
For centuries, in cities across the US, the fire brigades have been groups of civilians who rush to respond in emergencies, protecting lives and property. Sometimes professionals, and often just responsible neighbors, they have been willing to act, and stick their necks out, for the benefit of their communities.
Today, we all know family members, friends, and co-workers whose lives has been detrimentally affected, if not completely devastated, by the dramatic downturn in our economy. Our communities have been damaged by layoffs, foreclosures. We all know people whose incomes are being eaten up by sudden increases in interest rates on their credit cards. While the arsonists escape on their corporate jets, we are inhaling the smoke.
The Main Street Brigade is a rapid response team, nationwide, that can be activated to protect our communities against just this kind of devastation.
Right now, we are ALL vulnerable to the big banks, CEOs and Wall Street institutions whose irresponsibility and risky behavior caused this economic crisis. Our vulnerability is being increased by the fact that when our government proposes an agency with sound measures to protect our interests, the arsonists are pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into lobbying and advertising to prevent that protection from being implemented.
Today, our work is to support the formation of the Consumer Financial Protection act, and protect our families and communities.
As we go forward, their will be other actions we can do.
Here are the three videos, the first is the main skit, the second and third are behind the scene footage. With all these great comedians, you know the backstage area will be rip with humor.
