I’ve seen a few horror films that have creeped me out, and one documentary that reduced me to a shambled mess, but this may the first documentary that gives me the heebie-jeebies (I had it once already as a kid, but I’ve heard you can catch it again, unlike chicken pox, but very much like cooties.)
I dare you to watch the entire preview. In fact, you must watch the entire preview.
As a self-proclaimed prankster, I have to admit I love it when musicians release their crossover tunes onto easy-listening stations, knowing full well that their CD is nothing like that one song. Unwitting grandmothers and soccer moms hear it and think, “What a pleasant melody,” so they head to Target to pick it up, and image their shock at the remainder of the album. (I wanted to go into a whole thing about grandmothers looking for LP’s and cassette tapes, but I thought it was mean and stopped myself.)
So what better way to express the level of shock value than by rating them with surprised grandmothers?
The latest culprit: Shinedown, with their album The Sound of Madness
"Well I never..."
A few other groups have done it in the past, like Rise Against and their album Siren Song of the Counter Culture.
"That's music?"
Green Day committed the act late in the game, on their CD Nimrod.
"What silly boys..."
Oh, and what can I say about Extra co-host, Mark McGrath’s, “humble” beginnings in Sugar Ray. For the record (clever pun!), their first CD, Lemonade and Brownies (juvenile pun!) looked like this:
Nicole Eggert of "Charles In Charge" and something called... "Baywatch"?
It was their second album, Floored, that pulled the bait-and-switch.
(SIDENOTE: Both of the above videos were integral to launching McG’s future career as a feature film director. So every time you see Mark McGrath mugging on Extra, you can thank him for making Lemonade=Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle and Brownies=Terminator Salavation possible. And McGrath <> McG? Do I smell a conspiracy? Nope. Just turds.)
"Hey, Hey..." is for horses...
This edition of Musical Musings is the beginning of something beautiful. No, they’re not going to all be about The (phenomenal) Monkees (you/I wish). Moving forward, I’m hoping and planning that they will be more coherent and thought-provoking than they’ve been, and much less pot-headed sounding (not that I was ever high when I wrote them… it’s simply reminiscent of my babble state, possibly brought on by my love of music and vast amounts of sugar-laced products).
AnyTheWho, here are some factoids (robotic-sounding facts that are in no way robotic) I just learned about The Monkees:
(thank you Helle1981, Veness, and WendyLAnderson!)
Not to brag, but I was quite the whipper-snapper at math in high school. In the honors program, A’s were the norm (there was one errant B in the third quarter of trigonometry), and I found out after graduation that my peers had a bet going if the valedictorian or I would score higher on the advanced placement test (more of them picked me than her… I earned a 5 out of 5, and I assume she did, too… but still… me > her).
Boasting does not become me, and since I’ve painted myself Just Sh–ty after claiming I was The Sh–, it’s time for me to deflect, quick!
So, yeah, math. It used to be pretty cool to “know” and “understand” how to solve problems without calculators, to me at least. It’s like history in that way – if you don’t learn from it, you’re doomed to repeat it. Well, maybe not, but my point is this:
Kids today have it easy.
Too easy? I wouldn’t go that far. In reality, does anyone really need to know how to _____ without computers? In reality, kids today need to know more about the birds and the bees, than tangents and cosines, or in other words, more about f—ing than functions.
Over the past year, there has not been 1, nor 2, nor 3, nor 4, nor 5, but at least 6 (!) math (!) teachers that have been found guilty of becoming involved with their students. That doesn’t add up. (Sorry, had to.)
(Keep in mind the St. in front of each prof’s name represents Sex teacher, not Saint. Did you buy it?)
BONUS!
Taylor Made In Heaven
I might be setting myself up for ridicule here, but I sure do enjoy the lilting voice of Taylor Swift. (I’ve talked about her before, and thus handed in my man card.)
I enjoy women singers in general, but the ones that write their own material… they really get through to me. My stonewalled heart crumbles for these ladies, so go ahead and pick away while my guards are down.
On that note (pun!), allow me to get to my latest musing…
While watching the music video for Taylor’s new song, You Belong With Me, I was reminded of another (though not-quite-as-lilting) songstress… Avril Lavigne. Namely, her tune Sk8r Boi kickflipped into my brain.
Both songs deal with the same idea of a guy with the wrong girl and the right girl is right in front of you, but at second glance (the visual as opposed to the aural), I was reminded moreso of a different diddy: Girlfriend (which in turn ripped off the Rubinoos’ I Want To Be Your Boyfriend, but I digress).
Both videos feature multiple performances by the singer with different colored hairstyles, and in each video, their alter egos fight over a boy. (Christina Aguilera did the same thing in her Candyman video, as did Britney Spears in Toxic, although they weren’t competing with themselves. I think Mariah Carey did it once, too, but that’s where I’m drawing my line of research.)
I guess what I’m trying to say is two things:
Didn't intend for this image to be so creepy...
"I said C U L8R, Avril..." - sk8rmunki (my old desktop background)
Play him off, cat piano!
By now it’s safe to say that almost everyone has heard about keyboard cat (or should it be Keyboard Cat, like a proper name). Within a few more days, it will be equally safe to assume that everyone will have heard of the above contraption called the katzenklavier, or in English, the cat piano. Okay, maybe that meme won’t hit as big, but it doesn’t make its concept any less shocking.
Basically, the way it works was this:
Cats (or picture kittens to make it more horrific) are arranged according to the tone of their meow (or in this case, whine… not to be confused with “case of wine” which of course would go well cheese, and mice like cheese… um, what was I talking about?) Then their tails are stretched out and fastened underneath each of the device’s keys, and under each key – a nail. I think you can figure the rest out.
Don’t worry. They’re barely in existence anymore. Only singers like Miley Cyrus and groups like the Jonas Brothers still make use of them.
And speaking of brothers, it’s about time to get to the Worst Song You May Ever Hear! (Not to be confused with Worst Band Ever!) Performed by the Wilburn Brothers (and oh, will they) in 1959, Knoxville Girl isn’t just bad… it’s wrong.
(via Heartless Doll)
Passed Away After 59 Candles
An 80’s staple and a 90’s thumbtack (and a 2000’s bottle of correction fluid), filmmaker John Hughes was influential (Kevin Smith and Judd Apatow site him as such), omnipresent (he released at least two pictures a year for awhile there), and iconic (see below).
For those that grew up with his films, the majority of his earlier works stand out in our memories mostly because of the songs associated with them. With his passing at the age of 59, let’s synch up his celluloid hits and misses with their synonymous Billboard hits and misses.
MOVIES NAMED AFTER SONGS
MOVIES THAT HAD MEMORABLE THEME SONGS
I know there’s plenty of other tunes in his movies to choose from (such as Danke Schoen and Twist and Shout for example), but these are the most direct songs associated with these films.
Thank you, Mr. Hughes, for the fond memories. Not so much so for the Flubbers.
(P.S. You were thisclose to being featured in one of my The Sh– To Just Sh–ty posts. Bullet dodged, my friend. Farewell, and well done…)
It’s funny that I was confusing this band
called Hedley with this band
called Deadsy when I heard this song by Hedley (seriously fuck Universal Music Group and their disabled embedding!) and confused it with the stylings of this song by Deadsy:
At least I didn’t confuse either band with this group
or these odd orange guys (if you only watch one video on this page, make it this one):
INTERESTING FACTS
So many comments, so little time. (See below*)
A couple months ago, I showcased my friend/boss Paul’s top five punk covers of 80’s rock bands, but I feel he missed out on some other fine remakes by focusing solely on the punk versions.
I didn’t and still don’t agree with his number one selection, and although two of his choices made my top ten list, he’s little bit out of touch with the alternative music scene of late. I’m not claiming to be any wunderkind either, but here are ten of my favorite reinventions/redos/remakes/reboots… whatever it is that Hollywood calls them.
Let me know in the comments if I missed any.
10) No Doubt – It’s My Life (original by Talk Talk)
Probably the last good song No Doubt made, and will ever make, and it’s not even their own.
9) Seether – Careless Whisper (original by Wham!)
Cool video. Not sure if it’s official.
8) Alien Ant Farm – Smooth Criminal (original by Michael Jackson, duh)
Paul put this at #5 of 5. See where I rank it. I think the leader singer’s weirdness in the video puts me off, but the homages to MJ’s life bring me back.
7) HIM – Wicked Game (original by Chris Isaak)
The original is a haunting song. HIM is a haunting band. Win.
6) The Ataris – Boys of Summer (original by Don Henley)
The Ataris once said in an interview I don’t feel like relocating that they wanted to remake this song to point out the creepiness inherent in it. I never noticed it was creepy until they mentioned it, and that made me love both versions more.
5) Nonpoint – In the Air Tonight (original by Phil Collins)
The gorilla says it all for me.
4) Disturbed – Land of Confusion (original by Genesis)
Likewise, the puppets say it all for me.
3) Orgy – Blue Monday (original by New Order)
This isn’t really my kind of music (neither version). And the fact that I dig it despite that speaks volumes.
2) Marilyn Manson – Tainted Love (original by Soft Cell)
Who am I kidding? The video sold me. Chyler Leigh, Mia Kirshner, and Jaime Pressly will cancel out Manson every time.
1) Limp Bizkit – Faith (original by George Michael)
I make no apologies for this. I had a weird story happen over the course of listening to this song, and for that, it gets number one. And now for the comments on the pic at the top of the post:
* COMMENTS
“I don’t know who pulls off the leather better. I’d bet it’s a tie.”
“Is George Michael smelling his armpit?”
“Why does Fred Durst look like one of my uncles now? They even wear the same jacket!”
“Why do I get the feeling these two have awkwardly bumped into each other using the restroom.”
“something-something… at least he’s wearing a glove!”
Finis.
Let me know if I’m crazy or not for catching this coincidence…
The video of Michael Jackson’s hair catching on fire is released the same day that a bridge catches on fire in Hazel Park, Michigan.
Video for those out of the loop:
BONUS COINKYDINK:
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