Tuesday, April 28, 2009

The Kindness of Strangers

Like Blanche DuBois, I can confidently say that I’ve always relied on the kindness of strangers. I will willingly slurp up any drink that’s bought for me, crash out on any couch available, and take travel tips from lazy-eyed hostel dwellers (NB: this mantra isn’t recommended for everyone). And, for the most part, it’s a strategy that’s worked for me; yes, I’m fully aware that I might wake up in an iced bathtub sans kidneys. But usually, I’ll just end up underneath a Nova Scotia underpass with a bunch of gregarious Australian backpackers, a purple grill, and a collection of noteworthy (if not hazy) stories. It’s a risk that I’m willing to take.

But then there’s the flipside, the jarring reality that the great unknown isn't always populated by bleached-blonde, kiwi fun-seekers. Take, for example, Edarem, Youtube’s newest – and potentially creepiest – starlet. Now, he is probably what your mom had in mind when she cautioned you about strangers. But don’t believe us – check the videos below.







(just forward to about 2:30 in that last video)

Now, despite that fact that he resembles a hybrid of …


… and …


… We’ll give him the benefit of the doubt. Mostly, he’s just a lonely coot who shares strangely perverse relationships with his dogs, possesses an uncanny singing ability, and films himself scratching his back with a toilet brush. Get your mind out of the gutter: there’s nothing that suggests that he’s a ephebophilic sexual deviant-vampire – his status as a registered sex offender notwithstanding. Honestly.

I don’t think that I’ll need to take a cold shower ever again.

Saturday, April 25, 2009

Does Hawaii Top That?

Two clips that epitomize the 'so bad it's good' phenomenon we've come to associate mostly with the 80s.

Teen Witch (1989)



Hard Ticket to Hawaii (1987)



I can imagine this altercation between the film's editor (Bill) and its producer (Jack)-

Bill: But why would we he have his back turned for so long while he puts down his gun? What if we just cut back to him after Rowdy throws the frisbee for Colleen like a dog?

Jack: You mean before the zoom-in for the 'great ass' line?

Bill: Yeah.

Jack: You're fired. Oh, and Bill.

Bill: Yeah?

Jack: You've got a great ass.

Bill: Gross.

Thursday, April 23, 2009

auto-tune the news.

I'm sorry if anyone finds this annoying, but I am going to continue posting any pertinent auto-tune themed videos I happen to stumble across.



The world just seems like such a less fucked up place when it is perceived through auto-tune. SHAWDAY!

Also, if Katie Couric ever decides to end her career as a news anchor, I think she could fairly easily become a pop/R&B sensation.

Henson's 11

Thanks to /Film for featuring this awesome Youtube mashup by Kat Reilly.



I would totally go see this movie in a heartbeat, and it's making me even more excited for the Jason Segel-scripted new Muppet movie that is in the works now.

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

a baby crying into auto-tune? yes please.

I fucking love auto-tune. You would think the whole phenomenon would have gotten tired and played out by now, what with T-Pain, Akon, Kanye, Lil Wayne, and pretty much everyone else in the pop or R&B world just completely abusing it, but I still just get such a kick out of it. I actually just bought an Antares AVP-1 Vocal Producer recently that has a live, realtime, auto-tune function and it is just mind bogglingly fun to play with. But what happens when you combine auto-tune with the normally annoying sound of a baby crying?



I'd say throw some drums and some funky synth lines over this, and all of a sudden this little guy's pain and anguish has just become a bumping summer jam.

Monday, April 20, 2009

Someone's got a kaiser blade up his butt (some folks call it a sling blade)

I knew I should have been all punctual and posted this video when I heard about it the day after it occurred in my hometown two weeks ago, but shut up! I've been like, busy and everything (scratches neck, looks up and away). Anyway, almost 2 million views isn't quite Susan Boyle numbers yet, so maybe a couple Action and Actioners haven't seen this video of career asshole Billy Bob Thornton trying to usurp Joaqin of his recent corner on the crazy actor turned musician market.



Clearly he's sorting out some personal things. I heard a rumour that they left the tour after this appearance, though I couldn't find any evidence of this on the Boxmasters myspace. Less surprising is the lack of any mention of this interview on the myspace, but I did notice that they're scheduled to be on Jimmy Kimmel tomorrow (Tuesday) night, so it's sure to come up then. I listened to a couple of the songs and I couldn't hear the 'cosmic' British invasion influence. The few songs ranged from laughably bad to halfway decent, though I'm assuming it's the cream of the crop from their six albums or whatever it was they made last year.

Here are some other things I love about this video:

-Billy Bob compares himself to Tom Petty. I wish Ghomeshi had hit back with "If Tom Petty started making films, would no one mention his music career anymore?"

-His non-sequitur monster magazine tangent... brilliant.

-How uncomfortable the rest of the band is throughout.

-Just when you think his horse can't get any higher, he says he grew up as a music historian and nobody's done what they're doing in the last 30 years (this point is accompanied by a half angry, full crazy eye twitch).

-How you can almost see the blood coming from Jian Ghomeshi's mouth from biting his tongue so as not to say that Billy Bob's acting past is the only reason he agreed to have the 'Boxmasters' on his show.


It's no wonder this so called master of the box has been divorced 5 times. Speaking of which, I would have liked to have seen Billy Bob's reaction if Ghomeshi brought up this period in his life:



Interesting tidbit: Billy Bob Thornton is still acting.

Another interesting tidbit: I fucking love 'Armageddon'

I'd also recommend checking out some other QTV clips, such as some cool acoustic performances by K'naan and Lily Allen, and a good interview with The Killers.

Friday, April 17, 2009

Do you like fishsticks? What about DVDA?

Last week's 'South Park' episode gave us another great addition to the ever expanding songbook of comic gold by Matt Stone and Trey Parker. With 'Lonely Planet' and 'Flight of the Conchords' enjoying recent popularity, some people are saying musical comedy acts are cool again for the first time in years (with 'Tenacious D' as a small exception), but these guys have been doing it successfully for almost 15 years now. And how many of those acts have an Oscar nominated song? (3-6 Mafia comes closest with their Oscar winning 'Hard Out Here For A Pimp' but are disqualified because I'm pretty sure the humour there was mostly unintended). With three feature length musical films under their belts, songs featured in at least two others, and 12 and a half seasons of an original series with musical gems like this one sprinkled throughout, I think people should motherfuckin' recognize!



I've listened to this song over and over for the past 7 days, and apparently I'm not alone as this youtube posting (one of many) is already at almost 1 million views. It reminds me of when I used to listen to Weird Al because I could enjoy certain pop songs I would never normally listen to and tell myself that it's because he's making fun of the performer. But unlike Weird Al's songs, 'Gay Fish' is an 'original' creation that sounds like any Kanye song, not spoofing a particular one (that I know of). I love the absurdity of the lyrics, but also just enjoy the song in all its pop-like glory.

As I've mentioned on this blog before, I admire these two guys for many reasons, particularly their autonomy and consistency they've been able to maintain with this show, not to mention the increasing relevance and immediacy as episode production periods get shorter and shorter (last season saw and episode with Obama winning the presidency that aired the night after the election, of course he was ahead in the polls for weeks, but I wonder if they had a contingency plan if he lost). Anyway, I think Trey and Matt's cars are metaphorically waxed to a blinding shine by now, so I'll just leave you with this song from Season 8, my favourite season which they happened to make in the same year as 'Team America', another accomplishment that can't say enough good things about, so I'll shut up now.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

play him off, keyboard cat.

You might think I am a sick bastard for finding humour in this video, but if you are not laughing hysterically by the time its over, then I don't know what to tell you. You are a better person than I am. Congratulations. Because this is one of the funniest things I've ever seen.

Saturday, April 11, 2009

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

The Dirty Mac

Since Rob is busy being a rock star in England, I thought I'd post this cool clip of these up and coming blokes.



I believe this performance was the only one by 'The Dirty Mac' and was the first time John Lennon played in public without The Beatles. It was for a TV special entitled The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus. Pretty cool stuff methinks.

Sunday, April 5, 2009

Santana shreds.

Hey everyone, I've been pretty busy on tour and don't always have access to the internet, but I thought I would leave you this absolutely hilarious video real quick just so you know that I haven't forgotten about you. There are a whole series of these shredding videos on Youtube but this is the best one I think. I want to meet the guy who edited these and shake is hand because he is a god amongst men.