Okay, so there's not much I can say about this that The Verge's Nilay Patel hasn't said sufficiently.
There are many things about my youth that have been ground into fine dust by a relentless online culture determined to use every emotion I've ever felt as a wedge into CPM advertising or a dubstep meme remix.
This is not one of them.
I think this may end up being my go-to when I have Marilyn Manson's cover of "Personal Jesus" stuck in my head and it won't get out.
Okay, so if I have two weaknesses, they're cellos and Matt Damon. (This is, of course, a ridiculous statement; I've openly declared numerous weaknesses, among them shoes, Reese's peanut butter eggs, and Adele's "Someone Like You." But cellos and Matt Damon are definitely in there.) And movie music, too -- I live for a good movie score, and John Powell's dense, driving main theme to The Bourne Identity adds a whole new level of understated tension to the action scenes. (Am I geeking out too much? Just enough? Just enough too much? Call me, John Powell).
Anyway. My point is that if you mash up the main theme to The Bourne Identity and Vivaldi's concerto for two cellos in G minor, I'm likely to... well, geek out much like I just did. Not so much that I actually bought the mp3, I'm afraid, but there's no reason you shouldn't.
Okay, so Britney Spears is my classic and ongoing thing. (No secret there.) Adele is my new musical girlcrush. (Haven't mentioned that one yet, but I'm sure it requires no explanation.) And now someone's gone and gotten chocolate in my peanut butter. Very exciting thing.
Britney Spears/Adele - Rolling Till The World Ends
Okay, so I have a confession: I really like "Call Me Maybe." Except maybe I don't. I don't ever seek it out, but when I hear it, it's always pop-y and entertaining, and I find myself bopping along a little, but then when it's over it's still in my head for DAYS. Not hours, DAYS. So I like it in the moment, but the way it repeats on me for days afterward is horrible. It's much like cajun food in that respect.
(Also, why is it crazy that she should give her number to a guy she just met? How else is he supposed to get in touch with her? "Hey, I just met you, and this is crazy, but you have really beautiful eyes and I'd like to make babies with you"? Yes, a bit forward. "I just met you, and in the interest of further communication I'd like to equip you with contact information"? That just makes sense.)
"Gangnam Style," on the other hand, is objectively awesome, because not only is it infectiously entertaining but it also comes complete with a dance that can be performed pretty much anywhere.
Okay, so I've long loved John Williams scores. He's actually why I wanted to play the piano professionally in the first place (although we saw how that turned out)--and while I've long loved his music, I'm not ashamed to say it was the score to Titanic that made me imagine myself behind that piano. Although we saw how that worked out.
So now, John Williams and the Chemical Brothers, although I've never had any real desire to make electronic music professionally. Maybe if John Williams really did get together with them…
John Williams/The Chemical Brothers - Galvanize the Empire
Okay, so I'm usually the first person to rant about the difference between a remix and a mashup (and don't even get me started on medleys), but this one's funny enough that it's worth bending the rules.
Siri "Rock God" commercial the way it is/Siri "Rock God" commercial the way it should be
BRAAAINS. BRAAAAAAAINS. "No, we have to wait for this kid who wandered off, even she's obviously too stupid to be anything but a liability!" "Hey, while we're in Atlanta, you know what we should do? Not pick up some guns and non-shitty vehicles!" BRAAAAAINS. "Hey, let's give the unstable chick with a chip on her shoulder a firearm and a high-up place to sit!" BRAAAAAAINS. "Hey, has anyone else noticed that we aren't actually seeing more than about two zombies an episode anymore? And we're spending most of our time inside? And pretty much all we do is talk a lot? Like, a whole lot?" BRAAAAaaeugh.
Anyway.
The Walking Dead/Growing Pains
Aww. It warms the heart, and then pulls it out and eats it.
Okay, so I was kind of worried about this Halloween. Thanks to the new "papers, please" immigration law in Alabama, the apartment complex down the hill from me practically cleared out, and I was convinced we weren't going to get any trick-or-treaters this year. Not to get all serious or whatever.
We did get a few, though, and they were actually in costume, which was nice, and in non-shitty costumes, which was extra nice, and they all actually said, "Trick or treat!" instead of just mumbling and shoving their bags at us (with the exception of two really little kids who appeared too intimidated by The Boy to speak up). Also, a puppy dressed as a pirate (OMG, y'all). Also, lots of leftover candy. Also-also, Fanta Zero and Bacardi Coco. So a good night, all told.
Also-also-also:
VV Brown/Bobby "Boris" Pickett and the Crypt-Kickers - The Monster Mashup
Happy Halloween, y'all. And since I know at least one of you was wondering: Amy Pond.
Okay, so I don't suppose it's actually a Rickroll if you know he's coming. Otherwise, I'd have to save this for April Fool's Day. But this is no prank--no, the sweet, dulcet tones of Rick Astley telling what he is and is not going to do can be considered nothing but a gift. So you're welcome.
Or, We Apologize for Interrupting This Interruption
Okay, so I know I promised that my new blogging gig wouldn't come between us, and it now seems time to come to terms with something: I'm full of shit. Just haven't been trying hard enough. Really sorry about that. I'ma fix that. See? I'm posting right now! Does that count?
What if made an apology? What about a gift? What about a mashup gift? What about Notorious B.I.G. and Tom Petty?
Pair those overly-familiar guitars and that damn “can’t-eject-from-brain” hook with the radio-glossed truth-isms of Kelly Price and “Shiny Suit Era”-heyday tag-team of Ma$e and Biggie (sans The Artist Then Known As Puff Daddy) rapping about their rich man problems though, as those master mash-uppers The White Panda have done in their latest creation, and you’re talking something we could blast on repeat for days.
Marrying Biggie with White folks’ music will never lose it’s novelty awesomeness.
More to come, I promise. Thanks for hanging around.
Okay, so Friday was a sad, sad day. It was the final launch of the space shuttle Atlantis, and with it the final launch of the space shuttle program. It was also the final launch of manned NASA space flight for the foreseeable future, as (due to financial and program mismanagement and general stupidity) our next shot will likely be at a few nearby asteroids about a decade from now. Frankly, it bites. More on that tomorrow.
Today, though, a tribute to belivin' and not stopping and, I'm assuming, getting motion sick.
Okay, so it's late--my blog actually turned seven last Tuesday. But I do have a reasonable excuse for holding off the celebration. Until now. And that celebration begins... now.
In honor of me, I give me the gift of five great tastes that taste great together.
The Beatles/Joan Jett/Cypress Hill/House of Pain/Rage Against the Machine - Mash Together
Thanks for sticking with me. Regular posting to recommence in three... two... one...
Okay, so I'm a romantic at heart. All you need is love. Love is all you need. I don't believe that there's any particular "one" for everyone, but my feeling is that out of 6,775,235,700 people (and counting) on the planet, pure statistics say there's probably at least one person out there who'll be prove entertaining, fulfilling, and tolerable. Which raises the obvious question: Why have Debbie Harry and John Mayer never recorded a duet together?
Norwegian Recycling/Take That/Usher/John Mayer/a bunch of folks - Recycled Romance
Those crazy kids. You know, The Boy and I are together because of a pair of skilled and knowledgeable matchmakers. Maybe some people just need a good nudge. (And John, maybe a little less frank and racially-tinged discussion of your nethers with national nudie mags--good advice for us all, really.)
Okay, so news gets worse, not better. There's a point where miraculous discoveries are made and every crumbled house is a potential gift. Then there's a point where that's not realistic and every house contains either nothing or worse. It sounds fatalistic and depressing, I know, particularly coming from someone who didn't have as much as a broken window from the weather, but the death toll topped 300 today and it's just a lot.
K'naan/Matisyahu/Akon/Michael Jackson/The Fugees - Songs of Hope
God bless the families and friends who've lost loved ones, the ones still working for loved ones, and the volunteers trying to help make it better.
Okay, so for some reason, folks are hating on Willow Smith, probably because of her connection to the rather wacky Will Smith family. Maybe because of her interesting sartorial choices. Maybe because her debut single centers around the incisive lyrics, "I whip my hair back and forth/I whip my hair back and forth/I whip my hair back and forth/I whip my hair back and forth/I whip my hair back and forth/I whip my hair back and forth." It hardly seems fair--she's just a kid. But still, if we're looking purely at the "I whip my hair back and forth"-to-other lyrics ratio...
Okay, so I can't think of a time that could better use a dose of the world playing beautifully together. And nobody says it like lolcheerio33 in the comments for this video: "It's not a Youtube Symphony without a toy piano, a saw, a beat-boxer, and a storm trooper."
The whole world / Internet Symphony No. 1: Eroica
I can't decide if my favorite is the little-ittle girl behind the timpani or the en masse harp glissando at 2:50. No idea when the next open auditions are, but I figure I should start getting Abbey in shape now.
Okay, so I have a breakdown and/or analysis of Tuesday's State of the Union on the way, but one thing already sticks in my mind: That speech is so much less fun when you know there won't be any references to human-animal hybrids.
Thom Yorke/Talib Kweli - The State of the Union
And as a note--just because our current president isn't a babbling numbskull in the style of our last president doesn't make the Wounded Warrior Project any less in need of support. Any suggestions for a Barack Obama-themed SOTU drinking game are very much welcomed.
Okay, so this is so cool to me that I feel like I should save it for a special occasion, but it's also so cool to me that I couldn't not share it. So here's something inspirational for the ultimate Mashup Monday.
Okay, so I just got back--just got back--from an open-mic night at a really fun new-ish venue here in town, and the only thing that still sticks in my mind is that during one song, a friend of a friend leaned over and started singing "Smooth Operator" into my ear. And it was. It totally was. For the rest of the song, I kept expecting the guy to bust out with, "Coast to coast, L.A. to Chicago..." Later, said FoF noted that that's one of the worst things that can happen to a songwriter--you're up on stage, and halfway through the song you realize you're actually singing someone else's song. At that point, all you can really do is segue into the other song, pretend it's an homage, and then go back to what you were singing. I don't think this guy realized he'd borrowed from Sade, but I'll never forget it.
Anyway, that's why Sade (via Señor Coconut) is sharing screen time with Vanilla Ice. And God bless them both.
Vanilla Ice/Sade - Smooth Operator
My contention is that, in the end, the common musical denominator is "Smells Like Teen Spirit," but that will take further research.
