Tesla Covers Girl Talk

Tesla coils, that is.

Here's a pair of Tesla coils covering Girl Talk's "This Is The Remix."



[source]

The Muppets Have A Hangover

Here's the second trailer released this week for The Muppets. And it's another parody!

Gaga Does Idol

You've probably already seen this, but I've been babbling on and on about Lady Gaga so much this week I figured, why stop now? Here's her performance of "Edge Of Glory" from American Idol:

Finally! 8-Bit Done Right: A Video By Goldfish

A good song and a healthy love of video games ta'boot!

I love this video.

Tripping Daisy, "I Got A Girl"

From 1995, here's Tripping Daisy with "I Got A Girl."

Enjoy!

Concert Review: Glee Live! 2011 Tour

Ironically, the night of the season finale of Glee, a night I had fully expected to spend sedately eating cookies in front of the TV, I unexpectedly ended up at Glee Live!, the concert which just kicked off its tour. First off let me explain that I like the show, a lot, but I would never call myself a fan of the intensity of most Gleeks out there. I don't follow their every move or write love notes to the characters. I wasn't even sure going into the show whether it would be a remake of the TV show but Live!, or if it was going to feature the singing talents of the cast in another venue than their acting roles.

Glee Live! is all about Glee the show. It is a towering monument to the fans. So much so that I'm going to forgo using the actors' real names in lieu of their characters', which were carefully preserved throughout the performance. Santana threw out attitude and Britney still had all the best dumb lines. Yes, Artie even stayed in his wheelchair (until he sang "Safety Dance" where he can miraculously walk, just like the dream sequence from the show.) The concert opened with Journey's "Don't Stop Believing" and continued through almost all of the show's most popular singing renditions, including Gaga's "Born This Way," Britney's "I'm A Slave 4 U," Beyonce's "Single Ladies," Aretha Franklin, and Queen. The Warblers even made an appearance with their own set of songs. And Brittany and Mike got to showcase their prodigious dancing talents. I was interested to see how the actors fared onstage without the benefit of additional off-screen editing but the cast did very well. There was a quaver here or there (Kurt) but the high energy of the cast made up for any missteps. Mercedes has a HUGE voice; much larger than you can tell from TV. Rachel's voice is just as pure as you imagine. After a well-timed encore, the concert ended fittingly with Queen's "Somebody To Love."

DVD Review: Primal Scream, Screamadelica Live

It's only in retrospect that I realized how big a year in music 1991 was. It was my senior year in college, and I spent much of that year listening to Metallica's Black Album and the newest Skid Row and Great White albums. I remember going to parties where EMF, Jesus Jones, and the DiVinyls were playing, and the big concert draw in town was Garth Brooks. A couple little bands from Seattle released some albums that year you might have heard of, but at the time they didn't hold a candle to Achtung Baby or that crazy Michael Jackson video where everyone’s heads morphed together at the end. The single most important musical event of the year for me was the release of Use Your Illusion I & II, which I stood in line for at midnight to buy. I had no idea that a week later a Scottish band would be putting out a modern masterpiece: Screamadelica.

It was years later that I picked up Screamadelica at a used record store in Tempe, AZ, on a whim. I was by myself and driving up to Sedona to hike for the day, and wanted something new for the ride. It was a leap of faith, really; I'd never heard the band, just heard of them. I was probably halfway there when the first chords of "Movin' On Up" burst from the speakers, and for the next 45 minutes I was utterly mesmerized. The music was at once progressive and timeless, straddling the chasm between rock and club effortlessly. You could just close your eyes and escape into your head with it, although I thankfully chose not to do that on an Arizona highway. I saved that for the hours and hours of listening that followed.

And now, 20 years later, Primal Scream is releasing a new concert video, Screamadelica Live, in which the older but still spry band plays Screamadelic in its entirety (although not in order), as well as a host of other songs.

Um, yes please.

Just A Few Signs You Might Be Old... I Mean A Child Of The '80s

Here's one of the super fun things about getting old: you can reminisce with people even older than you and laugh at the silly kids who have no idea what you're talking about. Never mind it's the kind of laughter that makes you end up crying because you realize you're old.

Some of the things I remember that my kids have NO IDEA what I'm talking about:

1. Turning the dial on the TV to get different channels.
2. Recording TV shows on a cassette recorder so I could at least hear the audio of the show when I had to miss it.
3. Actually using my hand to roll down the window in the car.
4. Sitting in the back of a station wagon facing backwards. "Hi jerk in the car behind us!"
5. Being enough of a teacher's pet to be allowed to go to the office and make mimeographs. Mmmm. Loved that smell.
6. Taking a nap in the van and actually laying down.
7. Typewriters.

Quiet Riot, "Metal Health"

From 1983, here's Quiet Riot with "Metal Health."

Enjoy!

They Don't Even Need To Be Comfortable

Sometimes simply playing video games isn't enough.

Sometimes you need your video games to function as furniture, too.



[source via here]