I saw these on vixyish's page. It's two high schools (I think in her area). Shorecrest High School Video class did something called a libdub then challenged the rival high school to do a better one. How amazing are these? I don't remember doing anything this cool in high school. Although, I am feeling nostalgic about high school after watching these. Wish we were having a Saturday night gathering! I actually have something to show!

( click to see the youtubes )

Saw this on ohiblather's LJ. :) Since we aren't getting together this Saturday I'm going ahead and posting it. :) :) :) Put if on full screen if you can, his expressions are so cute. His nose is itching or something, but he won't stop playing to scratch it. He's also *really* good at ukulele!

Cuz we aren't meeting on Saturday!! Darn it!!

Source: www.vimeo.com

Another repost from Toaster's Facebook page. This is truly stunning.

"Reading a newspaper, I saw a picture of birds on the electric wires. I cut out the photo and decided to make a song, using the exact location of the birds as notes (no Photoshop edit). I knew it wasn't the most original idea in the universe. ..."

We went to a Terry Gilliam panel where he showed clips from and discussed his upcoming movie The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. The movie looks like it will be truly fantastic - visually stunning with a glorious story. (See video clip at the very bottom.) Anyway, at the panel he talked a lot about what went into making the movie - I taped most of that part, pausing during the airing of the clips. Then he took questions. One of the questions was asked by zarathud, who won something. I am working on getting videos up and out. Anyway Gilliam was incredibly friendly and enthusiastic, and we enjoyed the panel very much. I do remember a lot of his stories and can share...

The next day we went to a Monty Python panel by Gilliam and Innes, which I found fascinating. It was a a not-so-Tragical History Tour of Innes and Gilliam's induction into Python and what they did there. I kind of knew some of the history from books/shows I'd seen on Python, but it was interesting hearing them describe their friends' personalities, some of their exploits, how they got together, how they got popular, how the got to America, and especially how laid back the BBC was about what they put on the air. Apparently they worked for a kids show at one point, and one of the show's "bits" was "And here's a naked man in a chair!" Unfortunately, what I remember most is an Orson Wells clip. Thankfully I taped as much of the panel as I could. OH-the panel was late starting so audience members got pulled up on stage to entertain us. One had a squeaking breast and the second did yo-yo tricks to rival Tommy Smothers. And at the end of the panel Terry gave the complete Python to the first person who could tell how many syllables were in the title of his new movie. Inspired by syllables, Innes recited a funny haiku then gave another Complete MP to the first person who could name the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band's first album.

FInally, we went to see Neil Innes play songs from his new album. At the end of that he came back for an encore and played Brave Brave Sir Robin and another song from Holy Grail that never made it into the movie. Then he made my night by doing a medley of songs from The Rutles!!!! Squeeeeeeeeee!! Afterwards he was selling CDs. We bought one, which he autographed along with my Rutles DVD. He even posed with me for a picture. I believe I told him I loved him and babbled a bit, which he graciously accepted. Then, when I wished him a safe flight home he thanked me and KISSED ME ON THE TOP OF MY HEAD!!!!!!!!!!! (On our way out we also passed Adam Savage from Mythbusters, the cast of MST3K's Cinematic Titanic, and Jackson Publick - who called Monkeys over to talk to him since he remembered Monkeys from previous cons. They were just hanging out for the show cuz they are cool like that.)

Neil Innes plays ukulele, too. Waiting in line for the Neil Innes/Terry Gilliam Monty Python panel. John played ukulele while Lori played Gravulous. Monkeys was working on "I'm a Lumberjack" :)

Am I In Love? I must be in love! Ever seen the Rutles?!?! Dirk Nasty was played by Neil Innes. He also did the music for it. Oh - and he was the guy singing Brave Brave Sir Robin in MP & the Holy Grail. Sooooooooooo cute in the Rutles movie. Seriously - check out some pictures of him from the 60's. *sigh* Anyway, not only was he super sweet to sign my Rutles DVD, he kissed me on the top of my head. Squeeeeeeeeee!

There is an awesome band called ArcAttack that plays music using two giant tesla coils. They let me lick one of the coils while I was in my red shirt for one of my many deaths. When I asked, I promised not to really lick it, but he said go ahead if I wanted to - it was coated with something protective so I wouldn't damage it and as Monkeys pointed out it had to be pretty clean.

Anyway, they played at the Mad Scientist Ball again this year and IT WAS A BLAST. This year they set up some cage thing between the coils and in-between songs the would pull people out of the audience (usually attractive and scantily clad females, but not always) and lock them up to dance in the box. I wish someone had posted a picture of them getting Dr. Satan (from some horror movie) in the box. I haven't House of a 1000 Corpses to know who he was dressing as, but he had big metal shoulder things AND HE WANTED IN THE CAGE BETWEEN THE TESLA COILS. Wha??!?!? But the audience chanted "Dr. Satan!" and ArcAttack relented and let him in the cage so long as he promised not to stick anything out of the cage and not to move. The host was sooooo funny. He said things like "Dr. Satan looks very conductive!" and "This is a good test of the Darwin Awards." and "Only at Dragoncon can something like this happen." He also got the audience to chant "Do not move! Do not move!" But after they shut Dr. Satan up in the cage people started chanting "Move! Move! Move!" so the host laughed and pointed out that the friends who chanted FOR him to get into the change were same people now chanting "move!" Anyway, here's the best video I found so far to give an idea of what they look/sound like, but they are a million times better.




Here's another very short video. Look very carefully and you can see there is a person in that box! I like how people are swaying along with the song in this video; you can kind of get an idea of how fun the host can be. He actually speaks for some time between songs sometimes and can rile the audience into a bit of a frenzy... FOR SCIENCE!




This was their set up for last year. I like the new set up better and would LOVE to be inside that box. But you have to hear their version of the Doctor Who theme or, as Peter David (?) said, "you haven't lived."

Watching Terry Jones' Medieval Lives - he interviews these guys in the "Minstrel" episode. How awesome are they?!?

The Retromodern's husband posted this to his Facebook. United really did break his guitar, and as they did nothing to help him in regards to their damages he decided to write songs as revenge. The video is hysterical. I love props on sticks more than anything else on the planet. (Slight exaggeration, but I love props on sticks.)

I have massive self doubt when it comes to expressing myself in public. Is this an okay music review?

GREAT CD! I can listen to it over and over, catching new meanings or sounds with each revisit. Excellent musicianship – the drumming ROCKS, the various strings and their arrangements are outstanding. While somehow maintaining an overall sense of unity, there is a lot of variety to the songs-from flat out rocking, to dark melodies, to world music, and more. Lindsay is a master lyricist. I have had all the songs stuck in my head at some point, and I’m thankful!

Also - buy the new Lindsay Smith CD Beautiful Life. It seriously is outstanding - I haven't taken it out of my car's CD player since I got it.. I wish I could write a good enough review that actually expresses how great the CD is.

Argh. I'm going to go fold some laundry.

Yeah, I laughed. I probably shouldn't have, but come on! NPH said he was fine, so it's okay!

The Tony Awards are on - hosted by Neil Patrick Harris!! YAY!! I have always loved watching the Tony awards because it's probably the closest I will ever get to broadway, so in some small measure I get to feel a part of it. I make sure to get out to as many of the school plays as I can muster, and I own many soundtracks and musical scores which I have memorized and sing loudly in the shower, so I have some knowledge sometimes of the plays being honored, at least. But I don't know who half the people are. That doesn't matter. This is how I get to meet them.

However, when I saw Bret Michaels walk out during the opening I got confused then CRAZY EXCITED by this:


I did NOT know about this new musical.

CONSTANTINE MAROULIS!!!!

And here's a great review from Spin
Rock of Ages — the arena-rock jukebox musical that mixes songs by the likes of Bon Jovi, Foreigner, and Journey with a story about "dreaming big, playing loud and partying on" — just opened on Broadway. Even though I had heard good things, I was skeptical that it was going to be a total cheesefest peppered with jokes about Aqua Net and Bartles & James.

Turns out that's exactly what it is. Which is to say, awesome! Here are seven reasons why it's a must see:

7. The follow your dreams/true love conquers all plotline is as thin as a Whitesnake groupie's g-string -- and it works. Set in the ‘80s in L.A. ("If a fella had a dream and a decent amount of hair, there was nowhere else to be"), it follows Drew (American Idol's Constantine Maroulis), a wannabe rocker working at a club on the Sunset Strip that's set to be demolished to make way for a Footlocker. His love interest Sherrie, a small town girl (living in a lonely world, if you know what I mean) and struggling actress, breaks his heart when she has a one-night stand with Stacee Jaxx, the sex god lead singer of Arsenal, a.k.a, the most awesomest band ever. What ever will happen? Will Drew and Sherrie finally get together? Will they save the club? Will they actually sing Def Leopard's "Rock of Ages"? You'll have to buy a ticket to find out.

6. You get to drink cans of Coors Light while sitting in a red velvet chair in an 85-year-old Broadway theater. Forget those tiny plastic cups of warm Chardonnay you have to down in the lobby of those other snooty Broadway shows. At the Brooks Atkinson Theater, vendors walk down the aisles hawking cold six packs like they're at a Mets game.

5. It's the best use of an American Idol alum ever. For a guy who came in sixth on the fourth season of the reality show, Constantine Maroulis sure landed a plum gig. And he's good. His soulful voice is perfectly suited to Mr. Big's "Be With You" and Warrant's "Heaven," and he's charming in such an adorably dopey kind of way that you can't help but root for him. You just know David Cook is angling to be his understudy.

4. It offers a virtuosic version of the hair metal superstar. Hollywood's attempts to do ha-ha hair metal have always fallen short -- either you have Marky Mark's Rockstar (which took itself way too seriously) or Rainn Wison's The Rocker (which didn't take anything seriously). But James Carpinello's portrayal of Stacee Jaxx, the strapping, bleach-blond Arsenal frontman ("Ladies love him, guys want to be him and his band hates him"), is perfect mix of homage and parody. Stacee's eyes are too blue, his pants are too tight, and his ego is too big. He's like the Terminator of ‘80s frontmen: a mix of Bret Michaels, Axl Rose, David Lee Roth -- but a better singer than all of them. If he had existed in the ‘80s, hair metal would still be at the top of the charts.

3. It reimagines “I Can’t Fight This Feeling” as a gay anthem. In the second act, two of the most macho characters in the cast (one of whom is wearing a shirt that says “I Love Boobies”) lock eyes and break into REO Speedwagon’s lovey-dovey piano ballad. The coupling may be the show's biggest shock, but the lyrics speak for themselves: “I can’t fight this feeling any longer/And yet I’m still afraid to let it flow/What started out as friendship, has grown stronger/I only wish I had the strength to let it show.” Add playfully melodramatic dance moves from the dream ballet in Oklahoma and you have pure Broadway gold.

2. It stars a guy who's better at being Jack Black than Jack Black is. Mitchell Jarvis, who plays Lonny -- the club's sound guy and the show's narrator (the Puck of this mid-80s night's dream) -- is such a frighteningly good Jack Black impersonator that I wonder if the show was actually supposed to star Black and Jarvis just filled in at the last moment. Jarvis' over-the-top facial expressions (the dramatic single eyebrow-raise, the goofy lip-pucker) and amusing, but oddly graceful, dance moves (the woodland sprite leap, the mischievous pole spin) are straight out of the Tenacious D handbook. Of course, people who aren't familiar with the D will just think Jarvis is a comic genius. And that's just fine with me -- he's fantastic.

1. If you start singing along, your seatmate will smile at you instead of shush you. During the tearjerking ensemble performance of Poison's "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" (Bret, you used to be so deep!), I couldn't help but join in on the chorus. The lady next to me -- a tanned brunette from Dallas who admitted she had tickets to the next six performances -- flashed me an approving grin and raised her battery-powered cigarette lighter. Misty-eyed, we swayed together in our seats and sang. What can I say? It was the heat of the moment.

Neil DeGrasse Tyson just said that Pluto had it coming! LOL!
Ha!! Some 5th graders sent him hate mail over Pluto's demotion!! One of the kids said to write back in printing because he couldn't read cursive!!! OMG - love Neil. :) :) And New Mexico is refusing to recognize the demotion. In New Mexico they write a resolution (whereas this and whereas that) stating that w/in their borders it's still a planet!!!

I can hear Monkeys practicing the Tetris theme song on his ukulele right now.

I got tagged over on Facebook to write 25 random facts about myself. I posted it a couple of days ago, but tonight I decided I'd put so much time into that I should stick it a few other places. Plus, i love reading other people's versions (their 25 things) so I figured I'd spread it around.
( this was actually kind of fun to write )

I saw this over on Libra's LJ and just had to share it. Whoever storyboarded and did the costumes/gadgets for this video was genius. Want!

Take On Me: Literal Video Version


I love my friends! Saturday YouTube night - this was one of my favorite items shared...

Listen to at least the musical solo towards the end where they narrate what the people are saying, especially the waitress and the guy with the pipe wrench. I'm gonna kick some a$$ with my own pipe wrench.

Also, Redd and Monkeys and I sang the real song while waiting for this to load. We got applause.

We saw Abney Park at Dragoncon this year, and I've been dying to post a video of them to share, but for some reason YouTube's been out every time I've logged on to try. This is my second favorite of their songs, but I chose it because of the dance she does.

( Lyrics to Herr Drosselmeyer's Doll )

Thanks to Toaster, a group of us checked out the PeelanderZ concert. They describe themselves as Japanese Action Punk. When a concert is delayed because one of the performers takes a fall from the stage and has to be wheeled out by EMS, you know you are in for something. The best part, as the blue suited musician rolled by us and got loaded into the elevator … he flicked everyone off. The crowd wooted in appreciation.

Anyway, we had no idea what to expect so at first we sat in the back, but the minute they began the show I had to get a closer look. The first song was called Mad Tiger (see video below). I know this because they held up a sign. You couldn’t understand them, so they used placards. The yellow guitar player would hold up a sign and yell mad tiger then the red bassist would repeat it along with the audience. (mad tiger) Suddenly, they pulled a guy from the audience who either was already in a tiger mask or quickly put on their tiger mask, and Tiger Mask took over holding up the sign. (mad tiger mad tiger) Yellow and Red ditched their instruments and picked up wash bins to play just percussion as we all yelled mad tiger. (mad tiger) A girl in pink walked on stage with another wash bin filled with various small percussion instruments and dispersed them among the audience jumping and yelling in front of the stage. (mad tiger mad tiger) The green drummer pulled out one of her drums and joined Red, Yellow, and Tiger Mask on stage. (mad tiger) Red and Yellow each pulled up an audience member and gave each their wash bins. Now Tiger Mask was leading the chant, audience members and Green were providing the percussion, and Red and Yellow were clapping along yelling mad tiger with the rest of us. (mad tiger mad tiger) Suddenly, every audience member with a percussion instrument and a few without, perhaps twenty people, were up on stage dancing, yelling, and clunking their instruments while Green, Yellow, and Red were in the audience running around. (mad tiger!) This went on for seven minutes, and it was amazing. I recorded it, but I was also jumping around and yelling, so my recording is a bit whacked. (mad tiger mad tiger)

Other songs included Ninja High School, which did have words but I have no idea what they were, S.T.E.A.K. Medium Rare, yelling the days of the week, Let’s Bowl, and 3 2 1 5. Those may not be the actual titles, but that was what was printed on the posterboard signs.

My other favorite part of the show also involved audience members being on stage. The band was playing along and singing when someone held up a guitarist wanted sign. An audience member volunteered and Yellow gave him his guitar, telling him to strum in a windmill fashion. We saw the kid ask what to do with his left hand, and Yellow just mimed to move it up and down the fret board. Then they held up a bassist wanted sign followed by a drummer wanted sign, and now three audience members were playing. The drummer lost the beat a few times, but they straightened him out, otherwise the guitar and bass sounded no different from the original band, and you could tell they were having the time of their lives rocking out up there. Yellow and Red pulled out people to yell into the microphones (one was in a StarGate Atlantis uniform, that amused me.) All the audience members with percussion instruments hopped back on stage, and we were back to a cram-packed stage of happy people yelling and dancing. Suddenly Yellow was dressed as a bowling pin and Red held up a sign saying Let’s bowl. Yellow ran the entire length of the venue, turned around to face us. Red held up another saying 3, 2, 1 that flipped around to say 5. We counted along appropriately, and Yellow charged back toward the stage. I couldn’t see what he was aiming for from my position, but he missed, so he tried again, and this time the audience went wild. He got back on stage, took off his bowling pin outfit, took back his guitar as the others phased back into their instruments, and the song ended.

I talked to Yellow the next day and told him how much I enjoyed his show. He said he had a friend in Pensacola and had played there a few times, so when they are back next Monkeys and I are going to go see them!! Yay! Meanwhile, I’m trying to find a YouTube clip to share. I’m thinking with this band you have to see them to really understand what they do.




LOVE THIS. Saw it live at Dragoncon.

I subscribe to Cake's newsletter. I don't know that I'll ever make it to one of their concerts, but it's fun to get the newsletter and see what they are doing. They have a carpool site! The links help people find other people going to the same show and hook up to ride together. How ecofriendlycool is that? I wonder if Barenaked Ladies do that? I know they do a ecofriendly bus/tour/promotion thing and sell recycled stuff, but I never noticed carpool comments. (Plus, with Ed being a pilot I find their conservation efforts a bit amusing...)

Our college has started a carpool organization website, too. I'm proud of us.


Meanwhile, I'll be humming Cake songs for the rest of the night. I have a happy memory of sitting by the fountain at the Fine Arts Center chatting with Monkeys before class and getting stupidly excited by hearing some teenager singing Frank Sinatra. Go unknown teenager listening to music from 20 years ago. Reminds me of me being a Beatles fanatic in the 1980's. Speaking of Frank Sinatra, I have a theory that Frank Sinatra is actually about the background radiation signature from the Big Bang. The first part of the song, at least. (We know of an ancient radiation That haunts dismembered constellations A faintly glimmering radio station...)

Monkey's uke class got canceled tonight and replaced with a Delta Blues "guest artist" presentation. We were a bit grumbly about going to something at 6 pm on a Monday when we're tired and ready to go home. Am I glad we sucked it up and attended! It was more of show with a Q&A period afterwards and, man, was he friendly. Even more than friendly, he was talented! I need to get some Fred McDowell stuff because he talked a lot about the influence McDowell had on his own blues journey. He also spoke about and performed some music by Townes Van Zandt. He told the sweetest/saddest story about how he'd followed Van Zandt for years as he loved his music and eventually got the opportunity to visit with him backstage during one of his hour long "breaks" (Van Zandt apparently didn't follow rules or care what his audience thought so would disappear for an hour). He got invited to play with him at the next show and when he arrived was stunned to find Van Zandt had him on a special guest list thingy and he got to do the entire show with his idol. A week later Van Zandt passed away. Can you imagine the feeling knowing that had it been delayed one week you'd never had the chance to play with your hero?

Anyway, the guy makes steel guitars. He brought one in and it was so cool looking! He had three guitars he played with tonight: an old 30 year old acoustic guitar he salvadged from a trash can to show us what the old blues guys he grew up watching in Mississippi used. (He spoke of watching a film of Muddy Waters playing strings that were looped from the floor to the ceiling of a barn - they played with what they had and they made it amazing.); a nice looking guitar that he used for non-slide guitar playing (the Van Zandt songs, for example); and the electric one he made from what looked like found steel and he left unpainted to match his washtub he was using for percussion accompaniment. I loved the washtub! He said he used to go through one a week with the hard thumping but this one his friend found in barn and it's lasted all month. Old stuff = good sturdy workmanship, I guess. Anyway, he did about 7 slide numbers and WOW!!! Afterwards he talked about how to hold the slide, what makes good ones (hard steel for acoustic, doesn't have to as hard for electric), the strings (some raise them to prevent buzz sounds), stuff like that. Oh, and he talked about how after three or four songs once even the best of the old blues guys runs through his set rhythms the rest of the 12 songs on the album is pretty repetitive - which made me feel better because if *he* thinks that and he's amazing I don't have to think there is something wrong for me thinking that. So he gave some advice to anyone maybe planning on doing blues shows to prevent sounding repetitious. He gave a lot of good info and advice, actually. Sucks that I've already forgotten most of it! :(

I wanted to write down everything but it's all gone. He plays locally, so I'm hoping we'll get to catch him again as he doesn't sell CDs. He does have demos he gives to local clubs for bookings. Also, he will make you one if you ask him and will even do special requests/styles of music. So for those who wanted to go but couldn't make it - maybe one Saturday we could go to a blues show... :)

Found this on the Jackson Publick LJ - it is brilliant and you should just go there anyway but most of all I seriously don't know who to vote for - please help.

There is a Masters of Song Fu competition and all three are super talented, super cool, and I've even MET all three and know they are super nice. (Counting Paul and Storm as one, Monkeys pointed out i should say all four...)

I love the JoCo song because it really really reminds me of a tv theme song like Facts of Life or Gilligan's Island which is the goal of the competition. Paul and Storm's music isn't as original but the line about "we're just here to make dick jokes" [sic] cracked me up and after seeing them in concert it really does suit them. And Doc Hammer's is weird but really cool.


http://www.quickstopentertainment.com/2008/05/29/masters-of-song-fu-round-1-challenge-voting-begins/

I would (and ought to) put more thought in this post but I'm supposed to be getting ready for Wrath of Con. :) :) :)

Of course, if you listen to my husband's Podcast you have already seen this...