The other day while soldering through an awesomely unplanned holy-crap-there's-so-much-funny-shit-online video clip binge I arrived at one with the chunky and horribly over-coloned title: "Saturday Night Live: Update: Bjork". Of course that was enough to tell me that someone on the SNL apparently had the balls to try and do a Bjork impression on Weekend Update. "Good luck with that one," I thought, as Hulu graciously served me up some perfectly streamed, unobtrusively advertised goodness.
And then as the the first moments rolled I realized that it was Kristen Wiig sitting there next to Seth that little Bjork-when-she's-all-girly outfit and I thought, "fuck, this is going to be awesome." And it so was.
Kristen Wiig has been steadily lighting up SNL for some time now but it's only in more recent days, with the departure of Amy "God-Your-So-Perfect-and-Hot-and-Funny" Poehler, that her screen time has been so copious that you get to see how goddamn versatile this woman is, jumping around from spot on character to way-way-way-different-yet-still-totally-spot-on character.
I'm going to go ahead and say (type) it here folks, she's got what it takes to join the Will Farrell, Mike Meyers, Christ Rock, Adam Sandler, Etc. Etc. club. Check these clips out and if you disagree, post your comments and I will take your ass down.
Showing posts with label BEAUTIFUL. Show all posts
Showing posts with label BEAUTIFUL. Show all posts
Modest Mouse's "Custom Concern"
As perfect songs often do, this one just lept up at me with relevance anew.
I mean, holy fuck! I've been listening to this song for the better part of 10 years and never before has it been as poignant as it is for me, and for a good chunk of the country I imagine, as right fucking now.
If hopefulness and hopelessness were to collide, head on, it would sound like this.
I mean, holy fuck! I've been listening to this song for the better part of 10 years and never before has it been as poignant as it is for me, and for a good chunk of the country I imagine, as right fucking now.
If hopefulness and hopelessness were to collide, head on, it would sound like this.
My Top 10 ALBUMS OF 2008 in Alphabetical Order
20 Minute Loop - Famous People Marry Famous People
Beck - Modern Guilt
Faraquet - Anthology 1997-98
The Gutter Twins - Saturnalia
Juliana Hatfield - How To Walk Away (Limited Edition) [CD1]
Marnie Stern - This Is It and I Am It and You Are It and So Is That and He Is It and She Is It and It Is It and That Is That
Nine Inch Nails Ghosts I-IV
The Submarines - Honeysuckle Weeks
Talkdemonic - Eyes At Half Mast
The Uglysuit - The Uglysuit
Beck - Modern Guilt
Faraquet - Anthology 1997-98
The Gutter Twins - Saturnalia
Juliana Hatfield - How To Walk Away (Limited Edition) [CD1]
Marnie Stern - This Is It and I Am It and You Are It and So Is That and He Is It and She Is It and It Is It and That Is That
Nine Inch Nails Ghosts I-IV
The Submarines - Honeysuckle Weeks
Talkdemonic - Eyes At Half Mast
The Uglysuit - The Uglysuit
DEAR BURN TO SHINE, WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN ALL MY LIFE?
Every now and then something (a band, an artist, a movie, etc.) comes along that makes you think to yourself, "Goodness, why on earth haven't I heard about this before?" Such is the case with Burn to Shine, the live music DVD series curated by Brendan Canty, former Fugazi drummer.
You'd think I would have known about a bunch of videos put together by the guy who's band I've been a fan of since I was 13 that happen to feature some of my favorite bands of all time. But you know what? I didn't have clue about this until yesterday.
That's how much worthwhile shit there is out there, I suppose.
Anyway, the setup for Burn to Shine is simple. Pick a city and take 8-10 of the best, independently-minded bands from that region. Then rent a big old empty house that's about to be destroyed and film the shit out of everyone playing live.
The resulting film, at least from the clips I've seen, is as intimate as most of us are ever likely to get with some of the best bands making music right now. Here are just a few clips which prove that point beyond a shadow of a doubt.
Good luck scraping your jaw off the floor.
Sleater-Kinney - Modern Girl
At any given moment in my life, I could probably call five different bands my absolute "favorite." Sleater-Kinney has stuck around in that list just about longer than any other since I first heard them back in 2001, and this video right here should tell you why.
The Shins - St. Simon
The vocal harmonies on this song have always brought a tear to my eye. So watching The Shins nail it -- just absolutely nail it -- in a space that small, with sound that good, is, I imagine, like watching your kid win the spelling bee. Just fills you with pride.
Eddie Vedder - Can't Keep
The lead singer for another one of my favorite bands of all time tearing through one of their tracks on a goddamn ukulele. Wow.
Wilco - Muzzle of Bees
Holy mother of god they got Wilco! Not only that, they got THE WHOLE BAND! And they crammed them into a tiny little room and convinced them to play MUZZLE OF BEES! Yeehaw!
You'd think I would have known about a bunch of videos put together by the guy who's band I've been a fan of since I was 13 that happen to feature some of my favorite bands of all time. But you know what? I didn't have clue about this until yesterday.
That's how much worthwhile shit there is out there, I suppose.
Anyway, the setup for Burn to Shine is simple. Pick a city and take 8-10 of the best, independently-minded bands from that region. Then rent a big old empty house that's about to be destroyed and film the shit out of everyone playing live.
The resulting film, at least from the clips I've seen, is as intimate as most of us are ever likely to get with some of the best bands making music right now. Here are just a few clips which prove that point beyond a shadow of a doubt.
Good luck scraping your jaw off the floor.
Sleater-Kinney - Modern Girl
At any given moment in my life, I could probably call five different bands my absolute "favorite." Sleater-Kinney has stuck around in that list just about longer than any other since I first heard them back in 2001, and this video right here should tell you why.
The Shins - St. Simon
The vocal harmonies on this song have always brought a tear to my eye. So watching The Shins nail it -- just absolutely nail it -- in a space that small, with sound that good, is, I imagine, like watching your kid win the spelling bee. Just fills you with pride.
Eddie Vedder - Can't Keep
The lead singer for another one of my favorite bands of all time tearing through one of their tracks on a goddamn ukulele. Wow.
Wilco - Muzzle of Bees
Holy mother of god they got Wilco! Not only that, they got THE WHOLE BAND! And they crammed them into a tiny little room and convinced them to play MUZZLE OF BEES! Yeehaw!
By Far The most wonderful email I've received in Ages
From: Luke O'Reilly
hi Folks,
Today, Tuesday July 2nd 2008, U.S Citizenship and Immigration Services emailed me "welcoming the new permanent resident". The legal firm representing me confirmed my "Green Card" approval.
Seven years ago I first arrived in San Francisco. Five years ago I returned here to work for Havok. In the five and a half years I've been in the United States I've broken bones, completed triathlons, partied more times than I can remember (and quite a few times I definitely cannot), witnessed some incredible natural beauty, musical and artistic talent, and athletic ability, experienced dizzy highs and sickening lows, and, most importantly, met so many amazing people and continued to enjoy the friendship and support of so many others.
I'm spamming you because you're one of those people. :-)
Le grá
(lucky) Luke
[EDITOR'S NOTE: Our dear friend Luke was so goddamned excited when he wrote this email that he flubbed the the date. Today is actually Wednesday, July 2nd, 2008, and that's just awesome.]
hi Folks,
Today, Tuesday July 2nd 2008, U.S Citizenship and Immigration Services emailed me "welcoming the new permanent resident". The legal firm representing me confirmed my "Green Card" approval.
Seven years ago I first arrived in San Francisco. Five years ago I returned here to work for Havok. In the five and a half years I've been in the United States I've broken bones, completed triathlons, partied more times than I can remember (and quite a few times I definitely cannot), witnessed some incredible natural beauty, musical and artistic talent, and athletic ability, experienced dizzy highs and sickening lows, and, most importantly, met so many amazing people and continued to enjoy the friendship and support of so many others.
I'm spamming you because you're one of those people. :-)
Le grá
(lucky) Luke
[EDITOR'S NOTE: Our dear friend Luke was so goddamned excited when he wrote this email that he flubbed the the date. Today is actually Wednesday, July 2nd, 2008, and that's just awesome.]
NOW THAT'S A MAN'S FRU FRU PUFF!
My good pal Steve is kinda girlie. He wears girl jeans, loves girlie shows like Top Chef* and uses all sorts of girlie bathroom products like Neutrogena and Nivea. To that end, when ordinary bar soap became passe’ about 6 or 8 years ago Steve made the big body wash jump in huge and awesome way. That’s right folks, he bought a FRU FRU PUFF. You know, one of these things:
Now, any self-respecting man would not be caught dead (in the shower) with one of these things, but how the fuck else are we supposed to wash our MANLY MAN parts? A wash cloth? GROSS. A sponge? WEIRD. Friends, the feminine conspiracy that controls our country’s bath products industry has given us no masculine alternative to the Fru Fru Puff… UNTIL NOW. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the AXE DETAILER:
Leave it to those Marketing wizzes at Axe to de-Fru Fru the Puff and make it all gristly and testosterone-y so that I can clean my bits and pieces and without fear of emasculation.
Dudes, if you’d sooner wash your balls with a handful of nuts and bolts or something resembling a goddamn monster truck tire than one of those pansy fluorescent things, get your AXE DETAILER right here while supplies last.
*More about this soon, just you wait.
Now, any self-respecting man would not be caught dead (in the shower) with one of these things, but how the fuck else are we supposed to wash our MANLY MAN parts? A wash cloth? GROSS. A sponge? WEIRD. Friends, the feminine conspiracy that controls our country’s bath products industry has given us no masculine alternative to the Fru Fru Puff… UNTIL NOW. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the AXE DETAILER:
Leave it to those Marketing wizzes at Axe to de-Fru Fru the Puff and make it all gristly and testosterone-y so that I can clean my bits and pieces and without fear of emasculation.
Dudes, if you’d sooner wash your balls with a handful of nuts and bolts or something resembling a goddamn monster truck tire than one of those pansy fluorescent things, get your AXE DETAILER right here while supplies last.
*More about this soon, just you wait.
So, I'm supposed to come up with the ultimate Corporate tchotchkie...
... and you know what? I fuckin' did. Here it is:
Come on people, am I right or am I right??
Come on people, am I right or am I right??
We Sing the Body Electric!
Yesterday evening, as I sat waiting for my compatriots Jeremy and Nick to join me for a sunny beer and some food at Chow on Church and Market, I read a brilliant article about how the union between man and machine, oft portrayed by pop culture as a negative and potentially armageddon-inducing alliance, can and should be viewed instead as something altogether positive and perfect; a true and right way for us humans to unlock our potential glory.
Interstingly, the article quoted something I remember reading a long time ago and haven't really thought about since: Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass, particularly Title 19 and its opening line "I sing the body electric."
So, I'm going to cut right to the chase here and tell you that this article kicked my ass all over the place. Oddly enough, as I considered what it would truly mean to sing my body electric, I instantly thought of this MOTHERFUCKING BLOG--the particular meeting of man and machine that has been stewing in my head for so goddamn long that it's literally painful.
And so it is thanks to Time Magazine's combined review of Iron Man and Speed Racer (I shit you not), that I give you, this deplorably beautiful blog.
Godspeed!
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