The New Retro Soul: Our Interview With Larry g(EE)

Last week, we reviewed Larry g(EE)'s debut EP, Weekends, which will be released on December 9th, 2011. Today, we've got an interview with the man behind that awesome album. He sat down with us and talked about his unusual name, Weekends, his musical influences, his live show, and Tony Romo.

Thanks for speaking with us. How's it going today?
Doing great man. Had a great Thanksgiving weekend with family but I'm still recovering from all the food inhaled.

First things first: tell me about your name. I'm assuming it's pronounced Larry G?
Yes.

So what's the deal with the parentheses and the capitalization?
A couple reasons. The G had already been taken with Kenny G. and I wanted to do something that would catch the eye, for better or for worse in regards to reaction. I graduated with a degree in Corporate Communications/PR so I'm always trying to think of ways to stay on top of promoting this project. I guess the g(EE) is a form of branding?

Let's talk about Weekends, your debut EP. What's the reason behind the name?
I choose the title Weekends because a lot of the inspiration behind the songs were based off of random weekend nights in Brooklyn, NY. I spent a summer there in 2010 and started writing what would become this EP Weekends.

First Look: Girl Talk, "Oh No"

Man, don't you wish Girl Talk would release another album soon? Until then, here's something pretty cool: Wild Combination decided to produce a music video for the entire 2010 All Day album. They will be releasing a new installment of the video every Tuesday and Friday. Here's the first part, "Oh No:"

The Jackson 5, "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town"

From 1970, here's The Jackson 5 with "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town."

Enjoy!

Buzzcocks, "Ever Fallen In Love (With Someone You Shouldn't've)"

From 1978, here's the Buzzcocks with "Ever Fallen In Love (With Someone You Shouldn't've)."

Enjoy!

Top 15 Demi Moore Movies

Demi Moore's been having a rough go of lately, so we decided to celebrate her film career in this week's Ranked! column. Did your favorite make the list? Find out below!

Here are her fifteen best movies:

15. Disclosure

14. The Hunchback Of Notre Dame

13. Blame It On Rio

12. Mr. Brooks

11. Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle

10. Beavis And Butt-Head Do America

9. The Seventh Sign

8. One Crazy Summer

7. About Last Night...

6. St. Elmo's Fire

The Rock Wants To Be The New Eddie Murphy

They almost tricked me into wanting to see Journey 2: The Mysterious Island.

Until the whole "Pec Pop Of Love" thing happened.

Ramones, "Merry Christmas (I Don't Wanna Fight Tonight)"

From 1989, here's the Ramones with "Merry Christmas (I Don't Wanna Fight Tonight)."

Enjoy!

Dead Sara, "Weatherman"

From 2011, here's Dead Sara with "Weatherman."

Enjoy!

Super Mario On Accordian

Awesome job, Bulgaria!



[source]

Looking For A Reason To Buy An iPad?

You can use it to play video game theme songs!



[source]

Band Aid, "Do They Know It's Christmas?"

Guess what gang? From now until Christmas Day, in addition to our regular Song Of The Day, we'll also be playing a Holiday Song Of The Day. Double score!

And to kick things off here's 1984's "Do They Know It's Christmas?" from Band Aid.

Enjoy!

Joe Jackson, "Is She Really Going Out With Him?"

From 1979, here's Joe Jackson with "Is She Really Going Out With Him?"

Enjoy!

Arlo Guthrie, "Alice's Restaurant Massacree"

From 1967, here's Arlo Guthrie with "Alice's Restaurant Massacree."

Enjoy!



Happy Thanksgiving! Enjoy the holiday & we'll see you on Monday!

CD Review: Larry g(EE), Weekends

At Culture Brats, we get a good deal of music sent our way, which can be placed in three categories:

1. Absolutely dreadful crap.
2. Decent music, definitely worth adding to your library.
3. Music so awesome you have to stop what you're doing and share it with everyone you know.

While most of the music we get falls in the first category, we do a get a fair amount of decent music. But we rarely get any music that belongs in the final category. Larry g(EE)'s incredible music falls under that label. When he sent us his video for "Yo Mama," I fell in love with the song at first listen and forwarded it to half the people I know. And you know what? The rest of the four-track Weekends EP is just as good.

Weekends is chockablock with retro slinky sexy soul and R&B. It's music that makes you want to throw your woman down on the bed. Standout tracks include the aforementioned "Yo Mama;" "Camera Phone," whose "shake it like you're working my camera phone" looks to dislodge Outkast in the pop culture lexicon; and "Game," a great little "I'm through with you" number which happens to be my favorite song on the disc with its staccato horns and awesome backing vocals. And yes, I realize I just called three of the album's four tracks standout. It's that damn good!

Seriously. I can't say enough good things about the disc. Buy it the moment it comes out. Larry g(EE)'s Weekends is music you won't be able to stop singing in your head and will make you wonder why the hell you don't hear him on the radio.

Larry g(EE)'s Weekends will be released on December 9th. Until then, you can download the first single, "Yo Mama," for the price of your email address and zip code.

CD Review: Tender Mercies

I took a listen to a new debut album recently, the self-titled Tender Mercies, released October 24th this year, and I'm really enjoying it. The songs on Tender Mercies feel like they should have been around for years - and a few of them actually have.

Jumping into this album is like jumping into the history of the band because this is really a story about music written, played, loved, and never recorded. Band members Dan Vickrey, Charlie Gillingham, Patrick Winningham, and Kurt Stevenson had met and collaborated, then moved on to other projects. Vickrey and Gillingham joined Counting Crows and some of their original Tender Mercies songs even ended up on the Counting Crows' tour set list, just in case you were wondering why some of these songs, including "Wiseblood," "Four White Stallions," and "Mercy," sound so darn familiar. Twenty years later, the band members reunited and finally recorded the tracks found here.

This is absolutely Americana without irony, and the influences of folk, rock, honkytonk, and bluegrass are clear but the alt-country sound is entirely modern. All of the tracks feel very genuine, punctuated with acoustic and electric guitars, violins and keyboard, the songs sound perfectly balanced yet somehow spontaneous. The lyrics and vocals are heartfelt, running from spirited, such as "Ball and Chain," to the sorrowful "Almighty Trial." My absolute favorite track is "Angeline" and I also loved the simplicity and hopefulness of "Heavens Know." But I have to say I was happy with everything on this album and it really feels like it was a long time coming.

I predict that Tender Mercies is going to pop up as a new darling on Triple A radio stations everywhere, with some serious ear worm potential. If you're a fan of the alt-country, Americana sound this is definitely a solid addition to your library.

The Ultimate Christmas Sweater

This would be the PERFECT thing to wear to the office Christmas party this year!



Unfortunately, you can't buy them right now. It has to be voted into the rotation at Threadless or something like that. So go vote!

Hannah Vs. The Many, "Muse"

From 2011, here's Hannah Vs. The Many with "Muse."

Enjoy!

First-Person Tetris

In America, you play Tetris.

In Soviet Russia, Tetris plays you! (click the groovy television)



Why yes, that was a Yakov Smirnoff reference! Because at Culture Brats, we're always up on the latest trends.

Movie Review: Level Up

Are you ready for something fun and smart to watch with the kids? Then check out Level Up (Cartoon Network, November 23rd, 7:00 PM).

Level Up deals with three teenagers: a jock, a rebel, and a geek (only a a princess and a basketcase away from a full-fledged Breakfast Club). Though they are not friends in real life, they play as a team in the online video game Conqueror Of All Worlds, unbeknownst to each other. After they accidentally open a portal that allows the monsters and bosses from the game to enter the real world, they are forced to band together in real life in order to save their town.

Level Up is a lot of fun. The FX in the film are surprisingly good for a television movie and are on par with much of the stuff you'd find in theaters. Although some of the characters are more two-dimensional than others, the dialog is clever and makes up for some of the more cliched character traits. If you or your kids are gamers, you'll find plenty to love. My favorite scene in the movie is when the three guys are trying to use their weapons in the real world for the first time and have no idea how to do so because up until then, they've always manipulated them by clicking a mouse. And even if video games aren't your bag, there are plenty of pop culture references to hold your attention while your kids watch the movie, with nods to Jaws, Scooby, Friday The 13th, WarGames, and others.

Level Up is a great little movie. I loved it, and so did my daughter. Cartoon Network is producing a television series based on the characters in Level Up, so this looks like the start of a great franchise.



Level Up premieres on Cartoon Network on Wednesday, November 23rd at 7:00 PM ET.

Soul II Soul, "Back to Life (However Do You Want Me)"

From 1989, here's Soul II Soul with "Back to Life (However Do You Want Me)."

Enjoy!

DVD Review: God Bless Ozzy Osbourne

Ozzy is different things to different people: the lead singer of Black Sabbath, one of the most important bands in the history of heavy metal; the guy with the very successful solo career in the '80s and '90s, thanks to albums like Blizzard Of Ozz, Diary Of A Madman, Bark At The Moon, and No More Tears; the man responsible for Ozzfest; the doddering and incoherent patriarch of The Osbournes; and as the husband to the lady on America's Got Talent and The Talk. God Bless Ozzy Osbourne, a new documentary now available on DVD, shows that all of these are just pieces to the puzzle that make up Ozzy Osbourne.

God Bless Ozzy Osbourne is more or less a love letter from Jack Osbourne, Ozzy's son, to his Dad. But this documentary is anything but lovey-dovey. While Ozzy is painted as a man who rose from nothing to become an extremely successful singer/entertainer, it also shows a man who was seldom there for his five children, who was addicted to drugs and alcohol, and who often did outlandish things backstage (when Motley Crue's Tommy Lee thinks you're too extreme, you might have a bit of a problem). Along the way, we see Ozzy's childhood home, old pictures, and are treated to interviews with Randy Rhoads, members of Sabbath, his family, Lee, Henry Rollins, John Frusciante (Red Hot Chili Peppers), Paul McCartney, and Ozzy himself. Directed by Mike Piscitelli and Mike Fleiss (who has somehow managed to be involved with this, the TV show The Bachelor, and Eli Roth's Hostel), we learn about Ozzy's battle with dyslexia, the cereal boxes of cocaine that were delivered during the recording of Sabbath's Volume 4, the song that made Ozzy want to be a singer (The Beatles' "She Loves You"), and the reason he was so incoherent on The Osbournes (he was stoned out his mind the entire time; in current interviews, where he is clean and sober, he sounds like an entirely different person). The documentary is over two hours in length, and you also get a charming and sweet Q&A with Ozzy and Jack that runs around 19 minutes, as well as eight deleted scenes that clock in at 14 minutes total. That's a lot of Ozzy!

God Bless Ozzy Osbourne is a great little film, perfect for anyone who's a fan of Ozzy, rock n' roll, or VH1's Behind The Music. Jack Osbourned said his goal with God Bless Ozzy Osbourne was to highlight who Ozzy actually is, not the rock star or the guy from The Osbournes. I'd say he succeeded.

All aboard!

First Look: AWOLNATION, "Not Your Fault"

Here's AWOLNATION's new video and it's pretty freaking cool.



BTW, they're MTV's PUSH Artist of the Week.

New Music Releases: Kate Bush, Mary J. Blige, And Chris Cornell

Here are this week's new releases by '80s and early '90s artists. We've compiled this list to the best of our abilities.

Artist: Kate Bush
Title: 50 Words For Snow
Release date: November 22, 2011
Rebirth or Reissue: Rebirth
More information: Seven new tracks.

Artist: Mary J. Blige
Title: My Life II: The Journey Continues (Act 1)
Release date: November 22, 2011
Rebirth or Reissue: Rebirth
More information: Seventeen new tracks.

Artist: Chris Cornell
Title: Songbook
Release date: November 22, 2011
Rebirth or Reissue: Reissue
More information: Seventeen career-spanning tracks performed live.

[images]

CD Review: Kelly Carpenter, Passages

Unrealistic as it may be I have an image in my mind of what it means to be a "grown up." This image is purely out of the '50s, (regardless that I wasn't born anywhere near that era, some things you just inherit) and it involves hosting a dinner party, with beautiful settings, chic cocktail attire on all attending, soft yet intelligent music, and sophistication sprinkled liberally throughout.

According to my inner vision I have not quite achieved adulthood yet. I've made it through the beers and bar-b-que milestone with flying colors, but while we have attempted a few dinner parties they have not met my poor, preconceived notions. For one thing, I never seem to make it into a cocktail dress, just dust-spattered jeans, and I always panic about the music.

However, I think I've solved at least one of those problems.

Reagan Youth, "Degenerated"

From 1984, here's Reagan Youth with "Degenerated."

Enjoy!

First Look/Listen: Anjulie, "Stand Behind The Music"

Looking for something to listen to on a Friday afternoon? This just hit my inbox. It's Anjulie with "Stand Behind The Music."



And when you get done listening to that, make sure you check out the past two songs we've featured as our Song Of The Day: "Yo Mama" by Larry g(EE) and Abby Holden's "Ginger Pubes Are Amazing." They both rock!

Enjoy your weekend!

First Look: The Naked And Famous, "No Way"

I love this band. I also love their videos. So I'm psyched The Naked And Famous have teamed up again with Special Problems to release the following video for "No Way:"

Larry g(EE), "Yo Mama"

I don't care if you ignore everything else that comes out of my mouth today, stop what you're doing and give this a spin!

From 2011, here's Larry g(EE) with "Yo Mama."

Enjoy!

Balls Out: Our Interview With Steel Panther's Michael Starr

It would be easy for detractors to write Steel Panther off as a joke band, a parody. But what's often lost in the discussion is that they're a damn talented band. Listen to the music. Check out the vocals. This is something you would've dug back in the '80s. Yeah, you with the Warrant t-shirt that you pretend to wear ironically.

Steel Panther just released their second album, Balls Out, which perfectly sums up the affair. With tracks like "Weenie Ride," "It Won't Suck Itself," and "17 Girls In A Row," you know what you're getting before you hit Play. It's a funny, sexist, and immature album, but it's awesome as hell. As Michael Starr proclaims below, they're hoping to "bring back having a good time." If this album is any indication, they're gonna make that happen.

I got to sit down with Starr, Steel Panther's outspoken lead singer. We talked about the new album, bad press, touring with Motley Crue and Def Leppard, whether metal's making a comeback, and sex.

How's it going today?
Good man! Just hanging out looking at some fucking stuff on the Internet.

Cool. Your sophomore album, Balls Out, came out November 1st. That's an awesome title. Is that a personal motto of yours?
Well, it's actually been coined by race car drivers. You know, they're "balls out" around the track and I think it really relates to what Steel Panther is all about. We don't leave anything on the table. We're balls out.

Were there any other titles in consideration?
There were. Several, actually. One of them was Sloppy Seconds.

That would be great!
Yeah, it's pretty cool. And then we were thinking about Smells Like Number Two.

And Tongue Punch In The Fart Box. That's about it. I think Balls Out's the best.

CONTEST: Go Bowling With Avril Lavigne!

PHOTO CREDIT: AvrilLavigne.com

What's up, Brats?

We've got an exciting contest for you today!

We're giving two Culture Brats readers the opportunity to go bowling with Avril Lavigne in New York, courtesy of Picksie! Yeah, you read that right. Enter to win a ticket for you and a friend to hang with Avril Lavigne at Lucky Strike bowling lanes in NYC to bowl and celebrate the launch of Picksie 2.0.

Sound cool?

Here's what you get:

• Tickets to the invite-only event for you and a friend!
• Food!
• Open bar!
• Free bowling!

Feeling lucky? First, the rules:

1. Winner and guest must be 18 years or older.
2. Winner is responsible for supplying his or her own transportation to Lucky Strikes Bowling Lanes on 42nd Street in New York City. We're not providing airplane tickets, bus tickets, cab fare, or subway tokens. We're only giving you tickets to the event.
3. Contest ends at 12:00 PM ET on Monday, November 21st, 2011.
4. The event is on November 22nd, 2011 from 7:00 to 10:00 PM.

Ready? To enter, all you have to do is send us an email with Avril And Picksie in the subject line along with your name and age.

Good luck!

And if you win, send us an autographed bowling pin, ok?

DVD Review: Placebo, We Come In Pieces

I live in a very musical home, populated with lots of instruments and lots of albums and lots of sound. Where music tastes are concerned, my husband and I have a broad area of overlap (because otherwise we couldn't stay married, der: Music is a deal-breaker) but we come from pretty different musical backgrounds and approaches. I put Placebo's We Come In Pieces into the DVD player as he was getting ready for work one morning and about halfway into the first verse of "Nancy Boy," the man was shaking his moneymaker.

His moneymaker does a lot of things, but it isn't prone to freely and easily shimmying. I perked up and paid closer attention to the television. Something was happening.

Let me just say up front: I typically hate concert videos. I'm irrationally annoyed by them and I cannot precisely convey why. Which, you know, is awkward since I'm a writer and using my words typically buys some groceries around this joint.

By the second track on this disc, I was sadly wishing I was at this show. Or any Placebo show, really. By the third track—and this sounds crazy to even me—I'd forgotten that I wasn't. I was so taken with it that it was easy to fall into the band's performance and lose myself exactly as if I were seeing them live.

Maybe that's part of the reason I typically don't like video performances: You aren't sold, not the way that you are when there are a press of bodies around you and sound echoing off of everything; you don't get the distinct privilege of letting your whole life go and enjoying the music wholesale and minus distraction. Usually when I'm seeing a band perform on film there are a dozen other things in my brain clamoring for purchase. Not so with We Come In Pieces, which documents Placebo's Brixton Academy show in September of 2010. I plugged in before I realized I was doing so and I was rapt until the second to last song in the set, when it occurred to me with a startle that I'd not moved since the second song, "Ashtray Heart."

Abby Holden, "Ginger Pubes Are Amazing"

From 2011, here's Abby Holden with "Ginger Pubes Are Amazing."

Enjoy!

Damn You, Target!

They tricked me into discussing their ad on Culture Brats by exploiting my weaknesses: 8-bit graphics and Gwen Stefani (yowza!):

Do Nirvana And The Strokes Owe It To R.E.M.?

Former R.E.M. bassist Mike Millis had the following to say when asked by Scotland On Sunday if R.E.M.'s impact has been as widespread as the Beatles:

"We maybe changed US rock, over time – we forced mainstream radio stations to open their playlists to music they might otherwise not have been interested in playing. Would Nirvana and the Strokes have happened without us? You can never know."

For this week's Your Say Hump Day, we want to know if you think he's right. Would Nirvana have been nearly as popular without R.E.M. paving the way?

[source]

First Look: D&D Sluggers, "Six"

Check it! A new video from D&D Sluggers!

I Am The Avalanche, "Brooklyn Dodgers"

This ended up in my inbox yesterday. Pretty cool stuff.

From 2011, here's I Am The Avalanche with "Brooklyn Dodgers."

Enjoy!

Top 20 Michael Jackson Songs (Nos. 1-5)

For this week's Ranked!, we decided to take a look at our favorite Michael Jackson songs. But we weren't content in just examining his solo career; the songs he did with the Jackson 5 were game as well.

When all was said and done, we picked our twenty favorite career-spanning songs.

Did your favorite make the cut?

Find out below!

Here's the top five:

5. "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)"

Top 20 Michael Jackson Songs (Nos. 6-10)

For this week's Ranked!, we decided to take a look at our favorite Michael Jackson songs. But we weren't content in just examining his solo career; the songs he did with the Jackson 5 were game as well.

When all was said and done, we picked our twenty favorite career-spanning songs.

Did your favorite make the cut?

Find out below!

Here are Numbers 6-10:

10. "ABC"

Top 20 Michael Jackson Songs (Nos. 11-15)

For this week's Ranked!, we decided to take a look at our favorite Michael Jackson songs. But we weren't content in just examining his solo career; the songs he did with the Jackson 5 were game as well.

When all was said and done, we picked our twenty favorite career-spanning songs.

Did your favorite make the cut?

Find out below!

Here are Numbers 11-15:

15. "Remember The Time"

Top 20 Michael Jackson Songs (Nos. 16-20)

For this week's Ranked!, we decided to take a look at our favorite Michael Jackson songs. But we weren't content in just examining his solo career; the songs he did with the Jackson 5 were game as well.

When all was said and done, we picked our twenty favorite career-spanning songs.

Did your favorite make the cut?

Find out below!

Here are Numbers 16-20:

20. "I'll Be There"

First Look: Dynasty Electric, "Electric Love"

Dynasty Electric debuted a new video yesterday. Love this band!

Movie Review: Melancholia

Last week I spent some time scratching my head over the On Demand practice of releasing movies for viewing on or near the date that they would be opening in theatres. Wouldn't this lessen the demand for big screen releases? Or would it whet the appetite of film lovers around the world, igniting a firestorm and creating a buzz for a smaller picture that might not have received such attention? Whatever the case, I suspended my disbelief and hit the On Demand button to watch Lars Von Trier's Melancholia, a disaster movie that packs as much wallop emotionally as it does physically.

It's the story of Justine, a young bride in the beginning stages of a crippling depression, a burden so heavy that she can barely put one foot in front of the other to drag herself from place to place. Her lucky groom Michael, played with simple warmth by Alexander Skarsgard (meow) is as befuddled as he is misguided. Thinking that he and Justine can muddle through this episode with some encouraging words and a wedding at a grandiose castle (owned by Justine's sister Claire and her husband John), his increasing desperation to keep a hold of his sinking wife during the nuptials is hard to watch.

On her way through the castle doors, Justine turns and spots an unusual star in the sky and asks her amateur astronomer brother-in-law John (played by the always fun to watch Kiefer Sutherland) what it is. He misidentifies it as a star in a well known constellation before becoming engrossed in the more pressing issues of the evening which include watching the night's festivities implode along with Justine's just hours old marriage.

The Disposable Heroes Of Hiphoprisy, "Television, The Drug Of The Nation"

From 1992, here's The Disposable Heroes Of Hiphoprisy with "Television, The Drug Of The Nation."

Enjoy!

First Look: Katy Perry, "The One That Got Away"

This video came out Friday afternoon. Do you know if this song hits #1, Teenage Dream will be the album with the most #1 songs ever?

New Music Releases: Slash, R.E.M., and Wall Of Voodoo

Here are this week's new releases by '80s and early '90s artists. We've compiled this list to the best of our abilities.

Artist: Slash
Title: Made in Stoke 24/7/11
Release date: November 15, 2011
Rebirth or Reissue: Reissue
More information: Twenty-one live songs that include tracks with Guns N' Roses, Velvet Revolver, and from his solo career.

Artist: R.E.M.
Title: Part Lies, Part Heart, Part Truth, Part Garbage: 1982 - 2011
Release date: November 15, 2011
Rebirth or Reissue: Reissue
More information: Forty career-spanning tracks.

Artist: Wall Of Voodoo
Title: Lost Weekend, The Best of Wall Of Voodoo (The I.R.S. Years)
Release date: November 15, 2011
Rebirth or Reissue: Reissue
More information: Seventeen career-spanning tracks.

[images]

Placebo, "For What It's Worth"

From 2009, here's Placebo with "For What It's Worth."

Enjoy!

First Look: Abobo's Big Adventure

On Wednesday, the trailer for Abobo's Big Adventure was released. It's "the ultimate tribute to the NES" and will be released for free in 2012.

And it looks A-W-E-S-O-M-E!



Psyched? Check out the official website for the game.

Jonah Hill Is Everywhere

Lately I've been haunted by Jonah Hill. Dude seems to be everywhere I turn lately - I even had a dream in which I was supposed to go out on a date with him, which is weird since I'm married. Anyway, Jonah's latest film, The Sitter, opens in a couple of weeks. And it's basically a remake of Adventures In Babysitting, but it's very R-rated. Here's the incredibly not safe for work red band trailer, that opens with an interview of Jonah with some of the kids:



They're saying it's not a remake, but that's it's "inspired by" Adventures In Babysitting, but y'all, there's a scene that looks like it's in a blues club. The Sitter is directed by the same man that brought us Pineapple Express, and features Ari Graynor, who is hilarious in Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist. Sam Rockwell is listed as having a part in the film, and I kind of love him. But overall, this trailer left me cold. You?

Car Party, "Please Me"

From 2011, here's Car Party with "Please Me."

Enjoy!

First Listen: Cee-Lo Green, "Anyway"

Here's the new song by Cee-Lo Green, "Anyway," which according to Stereogum was co-written with Wallpaper (the band responsible for the most excellent and aptly named "Fucking Best Song Everrr") and Rivers Cuomo (the man responsible for pissing off Weezer fans every 1.2 months):

BIGFOOT SIGHTING!!!

OK. Maybe not Bigfoot. But something equally as rare: an interview with Axl Rose!

The interview will air in full on Friday night's That Metal Show on VH1. But here's a few clips to get you psyched! (Or maybe that's just me.)

Axl Rose On Misconceptions

Socalled, "Work With What You Got"

From 2011, here's Socalled with "Work With What You Got."

Enjoy!

Zelda Never Sounded So Good!

Here's the theme from Legend Of Zelda performed on marimba, snare drum, cymbal, bells, timpani, and fucking triangle.

First Look: Duran Duran, "Girl Panic!"

Damn, Simon's looking hawt these days!

Heavy D & The Boyz, "Nuttin' But Love"

From 1994, here's Heavy D & The Boyz with "Nuttin' But Love."

Enjoy!

Book Review: The Cult Of LEGO

As a parent, I'm more guilty than most of forcing the toys and activities of my childhood onto my daughter. As a daughter, she has shown a remarkable degree of resistance. She has grown up in a different world than I did, surrounded by electronic stimulation I only dreamt of, and since she's only six she has no appreciation of the retro-coolness of Slinkies or Operation. To complicate matters, she has embraced the aspects of girliness a marketer could hope for: princesses, makeup, cute fuzzy animals, blah blah blah. And I'm not exactly the person I was when I was that age either; my patience for the games and toys she likes to play with is tested daily by my own roaming attention.

But there's one thing we both agree upon. LEGOs.

LEGOs are the perfect toy. Colorful, sturdy, infinitely creative, and utterly immersive. She and I spend hours recreating everything in the instructions and on the box, then exploring every permutation of houses, cars, and living things we can imagine. When dinner is called, I'm just as likely to be the one who calls, "in a second!" as she is.

We are members of the Cult of LEGO. And we are not alone.

Nowhere is this more clear than in a new book, the aptly titled The Cult Of LEGO (John Baichtal and Joe Meno), which explores the myriad ways in which LEGO has permeated our culture and become an obsession for brick lovers around the globe. Packed with articles, interviews, and images of some of the most eye-opening uses for LEGOs you've ever seen, it's at once both a fascinating exploration of how a simple little brick, properly assembled, can offer endless possibilities, and a testament to the diversity and ingenuity of the human imagination.

Dolby Rocks Yahoo!

Here's a clip of Thomas Dolby performing "She Blinded Me With Science" for Yahoo!:

The Go! Team, "The Power Is On"

From 2004, here's The Go! Team with "The Power Is On."

Enjoy!

The Brady Bunch... LIVE!

Old teen idols never die... they move to Branson, Missouri!



From the YouTube page: "The show includes a delicious brunch!" As if a live performance by Barry Williams wasn't enough of a selling point.

New Music Releases: Eric Carr, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds, And Manic Street Preachers

Here are this week's new releases by '80s and early '90s artists. We've compiled this list to the best of our abilities.

Artist: Eric Carr
Title: Unfinished Business
Release date: November 8, 2011
Rebirth or Reissue: Reissue
More information: Seventeen rare and unreleased recordings from the former Kiss drummer.

Artist: Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds
Title: Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds
Release date: November 8, 2011
Rebirth or Reissue: Rebirth
More information: Ten new tracks from the former Oasis guitarist.

Artist: Manic Street Preachers
Title: The Complete Singles
Release date: November 8, 2011
Rebirth or Reissue: Reissue
More information: Thirty-eight singles from the band.

[images]

Kirby Kaiser, "There's A Boy"

From 2011, here's Kirby Kaiser with "There's A Boy."

Enjoy!

CD Review: Billy Joel, Piano Man (Legacy Edition)

I am a huge Billy Joel fan. Or I was. I was rabid for the Piano Man's music all the way from my early single digits to high school. During college, I began to explore the alt rock explosion of the '90s and gradually and inadvertently weaned myself from the Piano Man. But even though I haven't belted out one of his tunes at the top of my voice in my car in a while, my love for Billy still runs deep. This is why I as excited when I was provided a copy of the reissue of Billy Joel's seminal album Piano Man (Legacy Edition) to review for Culture Brats.

Piano Man is an energetic and sometimes raw album featuring a young singer experimenting with his sound and his voice. Here Joel plays with gospel, jazz and even classical on the album while honing his signature pop piano style. Billy Joel has always been a storyteller as well as a singer and Piano Man contains three epic story songs: the western themed "Ballad Of Billy The Kid," "Captain Jack," and arguably his biggest hit and best known song, "Piano Man."

Along with the remastered original album, Piano Man (Legacy Edition) comes with the never before released performance that launched Joel's career.

Billy Joel’s first album was a disaster. Sometime after its release, while Billy Joel was famously slaving away in dive piano bars, he recorded a live session for a Philadelphia radio station. The standout was a haunting, energetic performance of "Captain Jack." In the wake of the session, the radio station started to play "Captain Jack," which became a big enough hit to get Joel signed to a major label. The result of this was the Piano Man album and the start of an astonishing career that has endured for decades.

It was the "mythic" Sigma Sound Studios performance that had me the most interested. Recorded in 1972, a young Joel seems both cocky and nervous, awkwardly playing up to the handful of people in the room. But it’s when the music starts that Joel truly shines. His talented piano playing is crisp and his band is tight. The songs are raw and vigorous, showing a range of Joel’s musical styles and influences. Three of the tracks have never been released on an album. As a long-time fan, it was a thrill to hear new music after all of these years.

It's truly a treat that this show has been unearthed, remastered, and released. It reminds me not only how talented Billy Joel is, but how much I love his music. Once again, I was singing in my car at the top of my voice.

Billy Joel Piano Man (Legacy Edition) is available now.

First Look: Grand Theft Mario

Yeah, I'd play it.

DVD Review: Peter Gabriel, New Blood Live In London

My immediate reaction upon hearing that another popular longstanding music giant is cobbling together orchestrated versions of their hits to serve up on a fancy plate to longtime fans is a big loud sigh. Normally, this is a sign that things are getting stagnant and that new ingredients are needed to spice up the stew and get people listening again. I start sweating, worrying that I'll be riding in an elevator one day with "The Girl From Ipanema" oozing softly through the speakers and then BLAM out comes a kinder, gentler version of my once face-melting rock anthem. Sad face all around.

Anyway, if there's anyone who might be able to pull something like this off with resounding success, it would be Peter Gabriel. Over the course of his career, the sixty-one-year-old former Genesis front man and solo dynamo has transformed himself from yellow flower wearing lunatic into a global music phenomenon. I was correct not to underestimate him.

Peter Gabriel's New Blood Live In London was filmed over two nights in March of 2011 at London's Hammersmith Apollo minus guitar, bass and drums and featuring the forty-six members of his New Blood Orchestra--and it is fantastic. I actually got up out of my seat to get closer to the speakers so I could soak up the new arrangements and further enjoy Gabriel's vocals which still make the hairs on the back of my neck stand at attention.

Daisy McCrackin, "I Think I'm A Ghost"

From 2011, here's Daisy McCrackin with "I Think I'm A Ghost."

Enjoy!

First Look: ParaNorman

Man, ParaNorman looks cool. But does it look too intense for the kiddos?

First Look: 21 Jump Street

The first trailer for the 21 Jump Street film starring Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum was released to the internet yesterday. It's a red band trailer, so it's a little bit naughty - maybe don't listen to it at work. Here goes:



I do appreciate that they made a crack about the guys looking 40 because, you know, they pretty much are. Channing's in his 30s. Anyway, I felt kind of "meh" about the whole thing. You?

Little Anchor, "Until Our Eyes Adjust"

From 2011, here's Little Anchor with "Until Our Eyes Adjust."

Enjoy!

First Look: American Reunion

The trailer for American Reunion hit the web yesterday:



This is (hopefully) the final installment of the American Pie franchise. While I loved the first flick, I don't think I'll be buying a ticket for this one.

How about you?

First Look: Kaiser Chiefs, "Kinda Girl You Are"

Man, this song rocks! But where's Rihanna?

Swing Out Sister, "Breakout"

From 1986, here's Swing Out Sister with "Breakout."

Enjoy!

Better Updated Fairy Tale: Once Upon A Time vs. Grimm

Two new shows debuted on TV this month, both claiming to present new twists on fairy tales: Once Upon A Time (Sundays, ABC) and Grimm (Fridays, NBC). Didactic Pirate and The Weirdgirl decided to weigh in to see which show has potential, and which is most likely to vanquished by its Evil Fairy Step-Network.

Didactic Pirate: Ok, my beloved Weirdgirl -- you and I were both psyched to watch the debuts of two new shows that claim to put some new creepy spin action on classic fable and fairy tales. In one corner, we've got Once Upon A Time on ABC, and in the other corner we've got the way darker Grimm on NBC. I definitely found one of them more appealing, by far. How about you?

Weirdgirl: I agree, DP. I was instantly hooked by the energy and tension of Grimm. I also like the characters they're developing. I think Once Upon A Time as a show is taking more risks but to be honest, they almost lost me when they carted out the dwarves.

Didactic Pirate: I agree that any show with actual dwarves faces some real risks. Let's go back, though: both shows take place in the present, but Once Upon A Time seems to be the one that's drawing more from specific fairy tales. The premise is that a single, fairly jaded woman named Emma (Jennifer Morrison, who was on House, right?) is a bailbondsman/person who ends up going to the little town of Storybrooke, Maine, which is populated by fairy tale characters -- literally. Snow White, Prince Charming, Little Red Riding Hood and her Grandmother, Rumplestiltskin, Jiminy Cricket, etc. Except that they all have amnesia and don't know who they really are. They think they're just regular people, with regular towny jobs. Morrison's character has a connection to them, and it looks like she's going to be running around solving mysteries. Like The Case Of The Really Dangerous Spinning Wheel or something, which doesn't really create a lot of suspense for me. So that's one show. How would you describe Grimm?

Weirdgirl: You forgot that Jiminy Cricket isn't actually a cricket anymore, he's a man. That had to be painful

Grimm follows the tried and true path of monster-hunting stories. Think Buffy, Van Helsing, Supernatural. Detective Nick (David Giuntoli) has been seeing things and when his aging auntie shows up out of the blue it turns out -- shocker -- he's descended from a long line of "Grimms." Grimms can see all the big bad wolves, trolls, et al, that are hiding among humanity and they've been profiling them for years in a big book of monsters. As Nick's aunt suffers failing health, he inherits her Grimm ability of sight and the family heritage of hunting the bad ones down. The twist is he's already a police detective so he should be pretty good at it, and that sort of legitimizes him running around shooting random people in the head. Oh wait, that's zombies.

AWOLNATION Does Leno

AWOLNATION played The Tonight Show on Friday night. In case you missed their performance of "Sail," here it is:

First Listen: Norwegian Recycling, "Paradise"

We've got a new song today from Peter Bull Enger of Norwegian Recycling! "Paradise'" contains bits and pieces from the following six songs:

• Coldplay, "Paradise'"
• Elton John, "Your Song"
• Britney Spears, "Hold It Against Me"
• Bruno Mars, "Marry You"
• DJ Sammy & Yanou featuring Do, "Heaven"
• David Guetta & Usher, "Without You"

Love the song? Download it (and all his other tracks) here.

Hanoi Rocks, "Ice Cream Summer"

From 1983, here's Hanoi Rocks with "Ice Cream Summer."

Enjoy!