Seeing Isn’t Necessarily Believing

Sure, CGI is everywhere in films today, but what about television shows? How much of what you see in those hospital dramas and comedies is actually real?

This video shows how many of television’s biggest hits use CGI constantly to enhance or change the background. It’s pretty fascinating to watch:

You’re A Smart One, Mr. Zonday

Tay Zonday had his 15 minutes of fame a couple years ago with the youtube phenomenon Chocolate Rain.  He then was smart enough to capitalize on that brief success a year later when Dr. Pepper introduced the new flavor Cherry Chocolate Pepper and he became the soda’s spokesperson.  Now another year later, Tay is making his online presence know again.  He has recorded himself singing the Christmas classic “You’re A Mean One, Mr. Grinch”

I have to give Tay a lot of credit is keeps finding ways to make himself popular online, without getting attested or being a jackass.  I also think he would be a great voice for Hollywood.  He would be perfect for doing movie trailers and voice overs.

Flight of the Conchords Crashes

One of the most brilliant shows to ever grace television, The Flight of the Conchords, has been cancelled after only two tiny little seasons. We first covered it way back in August of 2007, just after it premiered, which you can revisit here.

The show was probably too eclectic for most people, actually. In a faintly meta concept, the show revolved around two New Zealand singers named Bret Mackenzie and Jermaine Clement who perform under the name Flgiht of the Conchords – which is exactly the truth. Every week followed the boys as they struggled with girl problems and career problems, which then segued into amazing song/fantasy numbers.

Just watch this in amazement:

These guys are comedic geniuses who will be sorely missed. I’m not holding my breath for the rumored Conchords movie, either.

Music MVP 2009: Lady Gaga

For the last several years, the music industry has been on a sharp decline in every aspect. Sales are way down thanks to internet piracy. The music produced by established artists has been rote, by-the-numbers albums (we’re looking at you, Madonna). And new artists haven’t had a chance.

But 2009 seemed to shuffle the deck, indicating that we might be on the cusp of another music revival similar to what happened in 1991 with Nirvana. And while there have been some major players in this music revival – the amazing years enjoyed by Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus, and Kings of Leon must be mentioned – nobody was bigger or more influential than Lady Gaga.

As the year opened, Lady Gaga was riding the surprise success of “Just Dance” and the rise of “Pokerface,” both from her monstrous album The Fame. “Pokerface” continued to dominate throughout the early part of the year as Gaga fever ignited, propelling her next singles, “Paparazzi” and “Bad Romance”, into the stratosphere. By the year’s end, there was no doubt about who owned this year in music.

What impresses me even more than the songs, which are well written despite their dance-club aspirations, is the fact that Gaga has such a tremendous voice, insists on singing live, and can capably play piano as well. Gaga is not some white, weird Janet Jackson knock-off, nor is she Madonna-Lite. She is a fully-rounded performer who has pure talent and a raging, inquisitive intelligence. She is not to be underestimated.

 

This decade has been absolutely trashed by horrible rock music, gimmicky rap, and fifteen minute stars. It’s been a long time waiting for a performer that can actually demonstrate talent and vision; this year we were blessed with a few that showed promise … but Gaga, in the end, wins the battle for supremacy.

Her Morning Elegance

Merry Fucking Christmas

For those of you fuckers that don’t celebrate Christmas, Mr. Garrison has a special Holiday song for you.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbED9MnWmuQ[/youtube]

Star Wars OG Style

In honor or Ray’s Star Wars Acapella story, I bring you Star Wars Gangsta Rap. Despite the fact that rap sucks, this actually took some creativity and talent to make. Now we just need Yoda singing country.

The Last Of The Breed

                     

True originality and greatness are fading quickly in the music world.  As each year goes by, we lose more of musics great pioneers.  This year we have already lost Bo Diddley, Eddy Arnold, and Buddy Miles and most of the ones left are to old to continue to record new music or even play live shows.  Just over a week ago, however, I had an opportunity to see one of music last remaining music legends.  The night before Father’s Day, I went to the Fabulous Fox Theatre in St. Louis to see the legendary Willie Nelson. 

The show was an experience that’s hard to explain.  It’s wasn’t a concert that you stand and scream all night or jump around, he did get a number of standing ovations and ruckus applause though.  It wasn’t a concert that made you want to act crazy or dive off of the balcony.  Instead, it was almost like a religious experience.  As, you sat there you knew you were witnessing something special, something that you may never see again.  

When Willie first stepped onto the stage, the place went crazy.  He received a long and loud standing ovation from the sold out crowd and Willie acknowledged it even though he acted as if he didn’t know what the fuss was about.  The applause lasted until the first note of Whiskey River, and the crowd quieted and sat almost in amazement.  Willie never missed a beat, he played as many hits as he could cram into his 75 minute set.  He played songs he wrote that were made famous by other people.

 

He played songs that he wrote for himself himself.

He played songs that he didn’t write, but made famous.

 

And he played a few new songs, before closing the night with the gospel classic I’ll Fly Away. 

Willie’s guitar work was dead on and his slow, lazy vocal delivery was as beautiful as ever.  The best part about this concert was the fact that I finally got a chance to see another music legend (Chuck Berry being the other).  The worst part, is knowing that these opportunities are becoming fewer and fewer.  There just aren’t many left like Willie.  

I recommend to anybody who is a fan of music, don’t pass up a chance to see Willie.  If you can, take your kids.  Let them see a real artist at work, maybe they will learn to respect music more and listen to less shit like Fergie, Jay-Z, Rascal Flatts, or what ever shitty actress has a new album out next week.

Willie Nelson is simply one of the greatest songwriters, singers and performers to ever grace a stage.  He’s one of the few artist that has been able to transcend his genre of music and just be considered cool, by everyone.  He has dueted with everybody from Johnny Cash to Ray Charles and now even Snoop Dogg.  Willie Nelson is sadly the last of a breed.

R.I.P. Bo Diddley

                  

The music world has once again lost a legend. Rock n Roll pioneer Bo Diddley has died, after months of bad health. Last August, Diddley health problems began after suffering a heart attack. Three months later, he had a bad stoke that affected his ability to speak. After returning to his home in Florida Diddley health problems continued has he tried to rehabilitate from the stroke and heart attack. Diddley died in his home today at the age of 79.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASOwLFn9Mdg[/youtube]

Diddley was known the world over for his homemade square guitar, dark glasses and black hat, as he was his music. His trademark sound has influence many. You don’t have to look far to hear his signature rhythm of, bomp ba-bomp bomp, bomp bomp, in many of rocks great guitarists. The Who, Bruce Springsteen, Elvis Costello and Buddy Holly are just a few who were influence by Diddley.

Bo Diddley was an American original, but luckily his music will live on in every rock and blues guitarist that has followed. This impact on music began with a simple beat and continued through a passion and integrity that many of today’s artist couldn’t touch. Do Diddley’s originality and love for music will be missed, but fortunately he inspired generations and left us will hours and hours of great music and memories. Rest In Peace Mr. Diddley.

Here is a look at some of Bo Diddley’s best work.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgzn7VyoqEw[/youtube]

Here’s a medley of his hits, Road Runner/Bring It To Jerome/Mona

[youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=bMzCtNCJgyY[/youtube]

Full SPEED Ahead!!

After the Wachowski Siblings released the first trailers for their upcoming live action version of the seventies cartoon classic SPEED RACER, many movie fanboys spent far too many hours bashing the kaleidescopic visuals. Nevermind that most of these fanboys were yet to make an appearance as anything other than watery ejaculate when the cartoon was at its peak.

I, on the other hand, was a five year old boy during this time – thank goodness LOGAN’s RUN never came true! – and I know as well as anyone what made the cartoon work: THE CAR, THE CAR, THE CAR.

The characters were basically non-existent, the animation barely moved, and very little of the weekly story made any sort of sense. Yet, that damned car fueled the imaginations of an entire generation of boys in America. “What could you do if you had Speed Racer’s Mach Five?” we would ask ourselves. The answer was, as always, “anything we damn well pleased.”

And yeah, we used the word “damn” at five years old. When Mom wasn’t around, that is.

As a long-term/ancient fan of the cartoon, I was filled with apprehension after watching the trailers. It seemed to me that the Wachowski Siblings spent too much time trying to emulate the crappy animation of the series – something that nobody fondly remembers or ever wanted to see again. Additionally, the Mach Five never really made much of an impression in any of the trailers … and as I’ve made clear, that’s the whole point.

Well, I am happy to report that they have fixed this little glitch with the new domestic trailer for the movie. Not only do we get to see the Mach Five in its full glory – complete with that “yawnk yawnk yawnk” sound we love so much – but we also get to see the characters interact on a personal level.

Here is the brand new trailer for SPEED RACER:

[youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=iWrPXlqyS8s[/youtube]

Here it is in HIGH DEF!

I think Susan Sarandon looks much better in the Mom role than I had feared. I also thought the action scenes made much more sense visually than I had seen them represented previously. While the plot still sounds like limp catshit, the Wachowski Siblings appear to be on the right track in capturing the feel of racing with this movie.

FULL SPEED AHEAD INDEED!!!

Stars Mocking Tom Cruise

Jerry O’Connell and Will Wheaton are my new hero’s.  They have taken Tom Cruise’s crazy Scientology video and made fun of it. 

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The Best Of Black Entertainment

In honor of Martin Luther King day, I thought I would take a look at some of the best moments in the history of black entertainment.  

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Renegade Television

One of the most perfect things ever broadcast over the waves of television was the first season of Wonder Showzen by the art/media collective known as PFFR. It didn’t last long thanks to the non-stop references to abortion, Hitler, and puppet sex.

The creators of Wonder Showzen have returned after a hiatus – presumably on the moon – with a (barely) animated show on Adult Swim called Xavier: Renegade Angel.

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An Epic Tale Of Sodomy

Long before Peter Jackson made King Kong or the Lord Of The Rings trilogy, he created another Epic tale.  A tale of sodomy.

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Happy Birthday, Jimmy Page

Jimmy Page is one of the greatest guitarist in the history of music and one of the most famous devil worshipers of our time and today he turned 64. Read more

The Ultimate Terror

Today marks the 34th anniversary of possibly the greatest horror movie of all time, The Exorcist.  The movie opened in theaters in 1973, on the day after Christmas and the theatrical movie experience shocked and terrified the world. 

The origainal trailer was one of the most effective movie trailers ever.  It gave you just enough that you wanted more and still scared the shit out of you.  Here is the original trailer.

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The Lost Whisper

Sofia Coppola’s Lost In Translation was a thoughtful but mostly inert meditation on romance and aging, which makes it head and shoulders above anything her father has done in 25 years. However, the film held sway over audiences thanks to Bill Murray’s complex performance, and a romantic little whisper at the very end of the film. That inaudible snippet – which has confounded fans for years – has finally been revealed due to terrific audio processing.

Check it out:

[youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=5MV7Sym8bIQ[/youtube]

Eric’s Top 5 Music Videos Of All Time

There have been alot of great music videos over the years, well not recently, so trying to pick my top five is very hard.  Some have had a huge impact on music Smells Like Teen Spirit or Welcome To The Jungle, but neither are great videos.  Others like Losing My Religion and Jeremy made an impact for being socially conscious.   Some are just bring back cool memories of our childhood.  Whatever the reason, music videos used to be a vital part of the music industry.  Here are my top 5 picks.

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Monday Night Metal 11-26

                   

This edition of Monday Night Metal is a tribute to Quiet Riot singer Kevin Dubrow, who was found dead yesterday.  Read more

Bow Your Head – Kevin Dubrow RIP

                   

The music world has lost yet another Icon.  Quiet Riot front-man Kevin Dubrow was found dead in his Las Vegas on Sunday.  The cause of death, of the 52 year old singer has not yet been determined. 

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