In case you were wondering what it might be like to attend The Gathering Of The Juggalos, artist Derek Erdman went, video camera in tow, and chronicled the Faygo-fueled masses’ trek into the deepest woods of Illinois. I… really don’t know what to say, although I really do hope that the guy cracking about breaking his parole for the purposes of making his pilgrimage was joking. [YouTube via The Awl] More »
Today’s Internet curio that should hold your attention for at least 10 minutes: Yooouuutuuube, a Flash-heavy site that breaks down clips frame-by-frame, shrinks those frames down, then creates a huge matrix of flipbooks, each going through the embedded video on its own timetable. It’s one of those sites with a lot of rabbit-hole potential, which is why I’ve decided to share five clips that look pretty amazing when put through it; feel free to share your own. More »
Earlier this month, I posted about (the band) Phoenix’s mix disc for the Kitsune series, briefly mentioning that I appreciated the inclusion of a track by Urge Overkill. Sadly, my mentioning of Urge Overkill brought out some of the band’s fans who have been oppressed by the scourge of popular opinion. I know it might not be cool—especially after hearing the cover of “Girl, You’ll Be A Woman Soon” for the thousandth time—but I’m here to stand up and say that I really like Urge Overkill, especially their 1993 desperate grasp at alternative stardom, Saturation. Sure, their albums for Touch and Go are probably more artistically credible, and the production is beyond glossy, but any album that has a tribute to All My Children star Erica Kane is one I’m going to appreciate and enjoy. Some of my favorite tracks beyond the cut.
I’d like to blame John Mellencamp, but I don’t really have an excuse for forgetting Don Covay‘s birthday on March 24. Better late than never, and I’d rather do something to expose Covay’s amazing catalog of music in the context of a celebration, and not in an obituary some day. A few selections are below the cut.
I spent a few hours this week digging through the boxes of CDs that haven’t quite made it to shelves since my move in January; from them I compiled aplaylist of music that I purchased in the late ’90s, back when I probably should have been investing in tech stocks or something that I haven’t really listened to since. At one point, I ran into a somewhat embarrassingly large collection of Pizzicato 5 discs.
Long Island-spawned Chrisette Michele’s second album, Epiphany, comes out in May, and thanks to the strength of the Ne-Yo-co-written title track–a not-quite-lament about a relationship gone wrong–I’m very optimistic. After the jump, the Ray Kay-directed “Epiphany” clip, accompanied by a chat that Michele and I had shortly after she shot it; we talk about how she got in the mood for the video, the album’s overall concept of breaking free from bad situations, and adjusting to working with other songwriters after penning her first album, 2007’s I Am, on her own. More »
Ever since the leak of “Love etc.”, my affections for the Pet Shop Boys have been revitalized; the performance commemorating their lifetime achievement award (or whatever they called it) at the Brits earlier this week really reminded me of how great they are. In that spirit, here are my five favorite Pet Shop Boys singles. (I have no idea why I’m restricting this to just singles, other than doing so restricts the possibility of me slapping my head later wondering why I forgot [fill in the blank].)
Lost in the shuffle over a whether or not Mark Mudd was threatening the life of Paula Abdul was the fact that someone auditioned for American Idol with a George Jones song about moonshine. And the related fact that Randy Jackson said it was a “great song.” Sure, Simon Cowell might not understand the appeal of music outside the Whitney Houston catalog, but there’s an entire segment of our American populace that enjoys hearing songs about backwoods distilleries, and that segment includes this part-time blogger.
Today marks a strange milestone in music history: It’s one day after the fourth anniversary of the death of Russell Jones (a.k.a. Ol’ Dirty Bastard or a number of other names) and one day before what would have been his 40th birthday. At this point, ODB may be remembered more for his general nuttiness (i.e. storming the stage at the Grammys) than for his recorded legacy. (The parade of posthumous albums didn’t help.) But in brief glimpses, the man was brilliant, or at least handled brilliantly. Some of his finest moments collected below the cut.
Happy birthday to Morrissey, who turns turned 49 today yesterday. To celebrate, we could go the easy route and throw some Smiths videos together, or even some of the highlights of his solo career. But what would Morrissey want for his birthday? What would make him happiest, and properly thank him for all the (emotional) misery and (musical) joy he’s provided over the years?
