The Blues

so I was fooling around on Youtube and discovered something that in hindsight should have been obvious: a lot of the jams I like were covers of old blues songs. Some of the blues songs are better, I think, like "Going Up Country."

For example, "Black Betty" by Ram Jam. Or Leadbelly: vs

"House of the Rising Sun" by the Animals, and also Leadbelly vs

And "Going Up the Country" by Canned Heat and Henry Thomas vs

Funniest video I've seen in a long time: NSFW

so this is pretty great. It was related to some other video, God knows why.

Don't watch it at work, unless your work is very progressive.



I am glad these guys exist. They're like the Vengaboys crossed with Yin Yang Twins. Crazily, they're also Berry Gordy's son and grandson.

North Korean army getting funky

so here is the North Korean army getting funky.

Music Jam: Lana Del Rey is awesome

so the other day I asked a friend what music she was listening to, and she suggested Lana del Rey:

hot chick
raspy voice
sings about whiskey
i love it
she's my spirit animal

To me, that is a pretty good recommendation. So I checked her out, and she is great (and also the hot chick part is accurate.)

"Video Games" is my favorite so far.




"Kinda Outta Luck" has a very 60s vibe to me.


Somebody on Youtube suggested that she should do a James Bond theme song, which is a great idea.
She also kind of reminds me of the National.

I am officially out of touch

so I think that time has finally arrived: I'm out of touch. This person who I've never heard of has a song I've never heard, and it has 135 million views on Youtube. One would assume that means she's a big star?



I don't see why. The song is pretty blah. But I wonder if there's something else? Does her 135 million views mean she's more popular than artists with fewer views? That seems impossible. Maybe Youtube is so popular that it's basically like listening to radio for people, especially since MTV doesn't play videos anymore. Maybe there's people who are on here watching her song over and over. Or is there some way to cheat the system? That would be a pretty clever thing to do if you're a record company.

In any case, I like this video better.

Awesome new Beastie Boys video

so here's a new video from the Beastie Boys; or really, more of a short film. It's for their new song "Don't Play No Game That I Can't Win" from an upcoming album. I could watch a full movie of this. There's a bigger version on their site if you want to watch it in all its glory.

On smugness and religion

So not to talk about religion, but I was at coffee a minute ago in my building and overheard some young, overly confident dude in a suit debating at (rather than with) some colleagues. They didn't really seem to care.

He was going on and on about how the Catholic Church is the true church and Catholics are the chosen people, how so many wars have been fought against the Catholic Church, how all atheists are smug assholes, and how the church has never, ever made a mistake in dogma. Of course, it's hard to say somebody else is smug when you just said your religion is correct and has never made a mistake.

And I'm kicking myself that I didn't ask what about that whole thing where the Earth is the center of the universe and Galileo was convicted of heresy for saying otherwise? Maybe you could make the argument that it wasn't officially dogma, but I mean, close enough.

Hipsters on video

so for some reason, this 9 second video I made is one of the most popular one I have on Youtube, even more than ones that I consider way more awesome, like Massanutten Extreme, snowboarding down 13th Street, and Teddy getting tackled by a wolf at the Presidents Race.

It's of hipsters in Williamsburg. Enjoy?

On photobombing

so I just discovered my new favorite website, This is Photobomb, dedicated to, what else, photobombing. It's a hilarious site and a hilarious thing to do: even celebrities like Nathan Fillion and the dudes from Mythbusters do it. I went through and found a few photos of me on Facebook photobombing friends, check them out:

at bocce

on Halloween

hiking

and finally, EPIC TRIPLE PHOTOBOMB!

1860s tributes vs. today's tributes

So I was browsing Wikipedia and saw the above odd image in the discussion page for Abraham Lincoln. It's called The Apotheosis and was done in 1865 (after Lincoln's assassination) by an unknown artist. It reminded me of the terrible crying eagle pictures that appeared after 9/11, also by anonymous artists. Funny to see how corny sentiments continue through all eras. Although in my opinion the Lincoln/Washington is a bit more touching and less dumb than the eagles.

Music Jam: John Talabot - "Families"

so John Talabot is a Spanish techno guy, and I love this jam.Via Pitchfork.

JOHN TALABOT / Families (Ft Glasser) by Young Turks

Lots of what I've heard of him is good, it's sort of mellow, interesting electronic music. Great for putting on at work and cranking on stuff. Check out his Myspace too -- I like "Sunshine" and "Afrika" a lot.

It's baseball season

So here's a bunch of pictures of Pedro Serrano from Major League.

New York City no wave and post-disco

so I'm getting into the New York no wave/post-disco stuff from the late 70s and early 80s: ESG, Liquid Liquid, Bush Tetras, Konk etc. I made a playlist on Youtube if you are so inclined, below.

Any other jams you'd suggest? I didn't put on anything like A Certain Ratio since they aren't from NYC, but still are awesome.

I tend to like the more up-tempo stuff that isn't so jazzy. I want to have a dance party and play it all.

Discovering samples: Pharoahe Monch = Destroy All Monsters

so I always think it's fun when I'm listening to music or watching something and I notice that it's sampled in another song: better so when I'm not expecting it. It's like putting together a puzzle. For example, the other day I was watching Destroy All Monsters, one of the Godzilla movies where aliens take control of Godzilla and his monster buddies. I noticed that the main, recurring theme from the movie is sampled in the Pharoahe Monch song "Simon Says." Check it out. (There are some bad words in the Pharoahe Monch song.)

Chromeo - "You're So Gangsta"

so this isn't really a video, but it's the best I can find. I am loving this jam lately. Chrome-o-o-o-o-o.