From 1994, here's Ini Kamoze with "Here Comes The Hotstepper."
Enjoy!
Pod-Fascination: The 12 Best Podcast Episodes Of 2012, Part One
For the last few months, I've been recommending quality podcasts. In the spirit of the year's end, I'm highlighting the single episodes that I enjoyed the most. As I have mentioned before, I listen to primarily comedy podcasts, so there are obviously thousands of other episodes released this year. Leave your favorite episodes in the comments!
12. You Made It Weird With Pete Holmes Episode 46: Harris Wittels
Pete Holmes is funny in small doses, but who is funnier than Harris Wittels? This episode also includes the sociopath test, which is something I now use at parties.
11. WTF With Marc Maron Episode 238: Michael Ian Black
Marc Maron's WTF is often lauded as one of the best in-depth interview podcasts. I find it to be incredibly self-indulgent, and that's a good thing! Maron often reveals a lot about himself in the interviews, and likes to bring up the "tension" he feels with the guests. Nothing was more tense than his interview with Michael Ian Black, original member of The State, and one of my favorite actors/writers. They both bring up their resentment with each other and it is delightfully squirm-worthy at times. Also interesting is hearing Black's explanation of his "comedic persona," which is intentionally arrogant and obnoxious. How much of that is real and how much is put on for the public? It's hard to tell.
10. The Mental Illness Happy Hour Episode 60: Jamie Denbo
The best guests on the Mental Illness Happy Hour are the guests who are willing to "go there," in other words, dig into their childhoods, talk about the roots of their depression, and share their biggest fears and insecurities. Comedian Jamie Denbo (who happens to play Beverly in my favorite podcast, Ronna And Beverly) is such a guest. She brilliantly explains how her comedy is directly inspired by and is an outlet for her anxieties.
12. You Made It Weird With Pete Holmes Episode 46: Harris Wittels
Pete Holmes is funny in small doses, but who is funnier than Harris Wittels? This episode also includes the sociopath test, which is something I now use at parties.
11. WTF With Marc Maron Episode 238: Michael Ian Black
Marc Maron's WTF is often lauded as one of the best in-depth interview podcasts. I find it to be incredibly self-indulgent, and that's a good thing! Maron often reveals a lot about himself in the interviews, and likes to bring up the "tension" he feels with the guests. Nothing was more tense than his interview with Michael Ian Black, original member of The State, and one of my favorite actors/writers. They both bring up their resentment with each other and it is delightfully squirm-worthy at times. Also interesting is hearing Black's explanation of his "comedic persona," which is intentionally arrogant and obnoxious. How much of that is real and how much is put on for the public? It's hard to tell.
10. The Mental Illness Happy Hour Episode 60: Jamie Denbo
The best guests on the Mental Illness Happy Hour are the guests who are willing to "go there," in other words, dig into their childhoods, talk about the roots of their depression, and share their biggest fears and insecurities. Comedian Jamie Denbo (who happens to play Beverly in my favorite podcast, Ronna And Beverly) is such a guest. She brilliantly explains how her comedy is directly inspired by and is an outlet for her anxieties.
Giving Teen Witch The Recognition It Deserves
As we celebrate another New Year--that heady mix of nostalgia and the new, where we look back on what we've done with our lives at the same time as we plot our fresh start and a different hairstyle--it seems like the perfect excuse to revisit one of the best and most underrated makeover movies of the '80s. I'm talking about 1989's Teen Witch.
I'm sure this film was the inspiration for Sabrina, The Teenage Witch, but it really doesn't get the credit it deserves for a being a quintessential '80s teen movie. It really should be more well-known than it is. It didn't just have a spectacular makeover scene, it had a spectacular makeover musical number. Yes, that's right: this movie was at the top of its game when it came to the whole '80s trend of a film scoring its own songs and integrating them into the plot. "I Wanna Be The Most Popular Girl" is the song in question when teen witch Robyn Lively (Blake Lively’s step-sister, FYI) struts and fluffs her hair during a montage in which she is instantly accepted into the cool girl clique and tailed by a carload of boys rapping about how popular she is. Serena Van Der Woodsen, eat your heart out.
"I Wanna Be The Most Popular Girl" is up there with two other exclusive Teen Witch gems: cheerleader locker room chant "We Like Boys" and "Top That," a "Hangin' Tough"/"Informer" hybrid that's currently enjoying a minor wave of popularity due to its random blink and you'll miss it inclusion in a YouTube remix video, Sweet Brown's "Ain’t Nobody Got Time For That," even if it is just people asking "What the fuck?" when they see it. If you don’t know what I'm talking about, here’s the video and the Teen Witch scene in question:
I'm sure this film was the inspiration for Sabrina, The Teenage Witch, but it really doesn't get the credit it deserves for a being a quintessential '80s teen movie. It really should be more well-known than it is. It didn't just have a spectacular makeover scene, it had a spectacular makeover musical number. Yes, that's right: this movie was at the top of its game when it came to the whole '80s trend of a film scoring its own songs and integrating them into the plot. "I Wanna Be The Most Popular Girl" is the song in question when teen witch Robyn Lively (Blake Lively’s step-sister, FYI) struts and fluffs her hair during a montage in which she is instantly accepted into the cool girl clique and tailed by a carload of boys rapping about how popular she is. Serena Van Der Woodsen, eat your heart out.
"I Wanna Be The Most Popular Girl" is up there with two other exclusive Teen Witch gems: cheerleader locker room chant "We Like Boys" and "Top That," a "Hangin' Tough"/"Informer" hybrid that's currently enjoying a minor wave of popularity due to its random blink and you'll miss it inclusion in a YouTube remix video, Sweet Brown's "Ain’t Nobody Got Time For That," even if it is just people asking "What the fuck?" when they see it. If you don’t know what I'm talking about, here’s the video and the Teen Witch scene in question:
Song Of The Day: Martha And The Muffins, "Echo Beach"
From 1980, here's Martha And The Muffins with "Echo Beach."
Enjoy!
Enjoy!
Holiday Song Of The Day: Greg Lake, "I Believe In Father Christmas"
From 1975, here's Greg Lake with "I Believe In Father Christmas."
Enjoy!
Enjoy!
Song Of The Day: Sigue Sigue Sputnik, "Sex-Bomb-Boogie"
From 1986, here's Sigue Sigue Sputnik with "Sex-Bomb-Boogie."
Enjoy!
Enjoy!
Top 17 '80s Holiday Songs
This post originally appeared on Culture Brats on December 19, 2011 but we're bringing it back today because we're in a giving mood. Happy holidays!
Here are our favorite '80s holiday tunes:
17. They Might Be Giants, "Santa's Beard"
16. Alison Moyet, "The Coventry Carol"
15. Bob Rivers, "The Twelve Pains Of Christmas"
14. Ramones, "Merry Christmas (I Don't Want to Fight Tonight)"
13. Spinal Tap, "Christmas With The Devil"
12. Stevie Nicks, "Silent Night"
11. Eurythmics, "Winter Wonderland"
10. Sting, "Gabriel's Message"
9. Billy Squier, "Christmas Is a Time to Say I Love You"
8. Bob And Doug McKenzie, "The Twelve Days Of Christmas"
7. Wham!, "Last Christmas"
6. The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl, "Fairytale Of New York"
Here are our favorite '80s holiday tunes:
17. They Might Be Giants, "Santa's Beard"16. Alison Moyet, "The Coventry Carol"
15. Bob Rivers, "The Twelve Pains Of Christmas"
14. Ramones, "Merry Christmas (I Don't Want to Fight Tonight)"
13. Spinal Tap, "Christmas With The Devil"
12. Stevie Nicks, "Silent Night"
11. Eurythmics, "Winter Wonderland"
10. Sting, "Gabriel's Message"
9. Billy Squier, "Christmas Is a Time to Say I Love You"
8. Bob And Doug McKenzie, "The Twelve Days Of Christmas"
7. Wham!, "Last Christmas"
6. The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl, "Fairytale Of New York"
Judging A Book By Its Cover: The Carrie Diaries
The CW is wiping away the lipstick mark left behind by Gossip Girl's XOXO sign-off and replacing it with orange eyeshadow and blonde curls. The Carrie Diaries is set to be unlocked in January, with 19-year-old AnnaSophia Robb stepping into Sarah Jessica Parker's Manolo Blahniks to play Carrie Bradshaw, falling in love with her first Mr. Big--Manhattan--in 1984.
With nothing to go on but a couple of glossy teaser trailers and some press pics, let's pre-emptively judge The Carrie Diaries by its proverbial designer cover, shall we?
So, this is supposed to be Carrie Bradshaw circa 1984, is it? I don't think so. Even the abysmal Sex And The City 2 got Carrie's '80s look about right, managing to capture how an SATC fan might imagine she'd look back then: a little like Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction and not Serena Van Der Woodsen in Gossip Girl.
With the possible exception of editor Larissa Loughton, who promisingly sports hot pink earrings and glittered lapels in the trailer, anyone hoping for some well-researched, meticulously constructed, larger-than-life fashion don'ts will probably be more disappointed than Samantha Jones when she met that hot priest. I mean, I wore more embarrassing and dated outfits back in 2000 than what the CW's version of Carrie wore in 1984. A metallic hanky top with beaded fringing and Spice Girls platforms immediately come to mind--yep, I was a slave to fashion at the turn of the millennium and, incidentally, Sarah Jessica Parker was one of my idols.
With nothing to go on but a couple of glossy teaser trailers and some press pics, let's pre-emptively judge The Carrie Diaries by its proverbial designer cover, shall we?
So, this is supposed to be Carrie Bradshaw circa 1984, is it? I don't think so. Even the abysmal Sex And The City 2 got Carrie's '80s look about right, managing to capture how an SATC fan might imagine she'd look back then: a little like Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction and not Serena Van Der Woodsen in Gossip Girl.
With the possible exception of editor Larissa Loughton, who promisingly sports hot pink earrings and glittered lapels in the trailer, anyone hoping for some well-researched, meticulously constructed, larger-than-life fashion don'ts will probably be more disappointed than Samantha Jones when she met that hot priest. I mean, I wore more embarrassing and dated outfits back in 2000 than what the CW's version of Carrie wore in 1984. A metallic hanky top with beaded fringing and Spice Girls platforms immediately come to mind--yep, I was a slave to fashion at the turn of the millennium and, incidentally, Sarah Jessica Parker was one of my idols.
First Look: This Is The End (NSFW)
Top-notch comedic cast, all playing themselves? Color me intrigued.
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