Dictionaraoke

Now here's a genius idea somebody had. I think I heard one of these songs a long while ago, and thought it was brilliant. Today I tripped over an entire site full of 'em.

What the fine folks at Dictionaraoke have come up with is the blend of karaoke music with the mechanical hilarity that is the computer voice of online dictionary pronunciations. So head on over and check out the wealth of musical comedy at Dictionaraoke. You'll be glad you did.

At-the-co-pa. Co-pa-ca-ba-na.

Chapped Jesus

Hey folks.

So a while back, when I was rich, I bought a nice car stereo from Crutchfield, one that let me connect my iPod directly to the car speakers. It was pretty sweet, just sit down, jack in, and boom, I'm listening to my own music AND charging my iPod. Well, these 115 degree North Carolina days have taken their toll on my system, and it's fucked. So I've had nothing to listen to for a while.

The other day I decided to turn on the radio--I must've been desperate, 'cause I can't stand radio djs of any genre. So I'm flipping through the channels, and come across a station where I hear the word "Jesus"--whups! Time to keep going! But something about the guy's voice made me come back. He was rambling on and on about the same sorta thing these guys always do, but there was something about the way he would get out a sentence and then quickly quote the chapter and verse he was referencing, rushing it almost under his breath. I was fascinated and listened all the way into work.

I wrote down the website they referenced, and yes indeedy, they had mp3s of the speech or preach or whatever you call it, available for download as long as you registered. One fake name and dummy GMail account later, and I had 'em. I plan on cutting them up and making some musical mashup out of them for an album I plan on coming out with later (more on that upon request from my legion of fans, if indeed you're out there.) In the meantime, I did a quick edit and just took a section of this guy's rave-on and cut out everything except the breathy chapter and verse. Listen to it here.

Now please somebody fix my stereo.

Expanding On FaberFabe

So my buddy Nick Faber recently blogged about a song he wrote. For some reason, the sparse Kraftwerkian tones and catchy rhythms resonated with me, and I felt one of those epiphanies that you always read about, where the crazed oil painter has a burning idea in his soul, and the Muses will not be satisfied until he whips his brush across the canvas, emptying his energies in the creation of his masterpiece. So I had this idea for a music video I wanted to make, using antique clip art. Four days later, and here we are. With the permission of Mr. Faber, I present "Clap My Hands": the music video.

This was fun to make. Used my new copy of Photoshop to edit the pix, cutting out backgrounds and separating out parts and whatnot. Used Soundtrack to translate the mp3 into a usable AIFF. Final Cut Pro did most of the video editing, with a few bits (like the writing scene above) animated in Motion. All in all, a fun project which I'm fairly proud of. And all inspired by the fine creativity of one Nick Faber. Thanks, Mr. Fabe!

Rappin' Disaster

Okay, this is probably the most embarrassing thing I've done since...well, the LAST time I recorded a rap. And that was a loooong time ago, when my friend Tim and I wrote a rap about "Fratty Baggers", the fratboys who would hide their beer in paper bags like winos---not because they didn't want you to know they were drinking, but they didn't want you to know they were drinking cheap beer. (Bad for their rich image, I guess.)

Anyhoo, this little ditty was born out of a email that one Jeff Scronce sent around to me and a coupla pals. Jeff linked us to this site, featuring a guy rapping about the Federal Emergency Management Agency. It was amazingly stupid and funny. Ethan Kaye then responded by saying

Sounds like that old-school 80's hip-hop. "My name is XXXXX
and I'd like to say..."

Well, for some reason I found that inspiring, so in the next fifteen minutes or so I wrote the following lyrics:

My name is *FEMA*, and I'd like to say,
I can rap about disasters in a *MILLION* ways!
Hurricanes, tornados, and a big ol' flood,
Fema gonna be there in yo' neighborhood!
Dolin' out cash for b-boys and b-girls
Helpin' y'all while the turntable twirls

The F is for "Fresh", 'cause we're cool like dat,
The E is for "Excitin'", 'cause we're the hot cats,
The M is for "Da Most", most from coast to coast,
And the A is for "Awesome" like butter on toast!

Wave your hands in the air, 'cause you know we really care!
Whoop-whoop! Whoop-whoop!
The roof! The roof! The roof has been repaired!
Whoop-whoop! Whoop-whoop!

Problem is, when I got home, I was still thinking about the stupid thing. Aaaaaaand I ended up recording it.

And here it is! The cool thing about Box.net is you can either download it or play it right in the browser! (You can also get the file here.)

The Remains Of Vaudeville

I've been a fan of oldtime radio for a while now, listening to tapes of Jack Benny and Burns and Allen and whatnot since college. I've also read a lot of their biographies, and am currently making my way through the tales of Fred Allen. Allen has a lot of great stories about his vaudeville days, and it's interesting to think about a time in history when a person or group with a good eight-minute act could make a living for the rest of their life touring the various vaudeville circuits around the country. Of course, when radio came along, your fine polished act would be eaten up in a quick eight minutes, and then they'd say "what else ya got?"

Thanks to the existence of YouTube, we can peek into a little of what vaudeville was like and get aat least a taste of the unique vanished talent of that age. The picture accompanying this post is Mr. Wilbur Hall, who I had never heard of before today. He's performing a novelty violin solo act that is just amazing. You just don't see people doing stuff like this today. (And yes, he really is playing the violin here.)

I discovered that video after watching an incredible performance by Spike Jones and His City Slickers of a piece called "I Like To Sock Myself In The Face", but oddly enough, after being online for a year and viewed by over 45,000 folks, the uploader took it down sometime today. Anyway, here's another look at the weirdness and talent that is Spike Jones. Oh, and if you've never seen their classic short film for the post-prohibition song "Cocktails For Two", well check it out.

Some of y'all know I'm a huge fan of Cab Calloway. Through Cab, I discovered the amazing talent of The Nicholas Brothers, two of the best tapdancers that ever lived. Check out Cab and Fayard and Harold in this clip from Stormy Weather.

W.C. Fields got his start as a juggler, and here is his performing some of his old juggling act within the context of a larger movie. An amazing juggler who everybody knows as a movie comedian.

I was really hoping to find some footage from the movie "College Humor", which had some great vaudeville acts sandwiched in between scenes, but to no avail. Go out and rent it.

The Sound Of Violence

My birthday is coming up in two weeks. If anybody wants to get me something, this is a good option.

I'm not the world's biggest football fan (I like it, but I don't go out of my way to watch it) but the NFL Films music is just incredible. I used selections from this album to make all the DUAL DUEL videos this past month. It's just the perfect music to use for upbeat, driving conflict-oriented videos. Some of it is dynamic, some is cheesy, some is amusingly rooted in the 1970s, some is timeless. I love it all.

Sunset Crow

I stumbled across this video this morning via one of the zillion blogs I follow. It's amusing for a number of reasons.

1. It's by Mike Nesmith, a former Monkee who tried to tried to have an arty solo career. He's generally seen as a pioneer in the music video business, as his videotape Elephant Parts is regarded as the first music video product on the market. Here, Nesmith sounds like he's trying to do something in the Frank Zappa vein.
   
2. The video is remarkably dated, and has all sorts of classic 70s/80s images, like video mirroring, four-wheel skates, and backgrounds of trash bags with fans blowing over them.
3. The song is the basis of a legendary running gag between myself and my friend Ray. We had our own lyrics for the chorus, which make no sense to anyone but ourselves, but which I immortalize here for posterity:

Lucy and Ramona, and Sunset Crow
People on the street, trying to go for po
People on the street, going pretty slow
Lucy and Ramona, and their buddy Sunset Crow

I thank you.

YouTube Safari

It's a YouTube wanderin' day.

First, I thought about sharing this Spanish Le Tigre video with you, which amused me because the singer is hot and the dancing is hilarious.

Then somehow I got distracted when I discovered this old video of magician Fred Kaps. I have a Kaps Wallet (which is a great piece of magic apparatus) but had never seen him perform.

Then I thought about telling you about this wacky Bill Plympton animation. Very cool stuff. But I lost interest after a while.

But on the Plympton page, one of the "related" videos offered up was a Brazilian guide to anal sex. Oh, this is definitely the YouTube video to share with my readers, says I. BUT NO! One of the related videos on that page was a REMIX of the Brazil video, set to music. Yes, this is what I offer to you today. When I get home, I'm mp3-in' this baby and slappin' it on the iPod.

Soundtrack Meme

As inspired by BeaucoupKevin.com, a blog I read regularly.

You know the deal, standard "hit random play on iTunes and see what songs come up." This one is the soundtrack for your life, and being both a fan of soundtracks and the possessor of an 18,000+ item iTunes library, I thought it might be fun. Let's see how it goes, shall we?

Opening Credits:
"Maid Of Constant Sorrow" by Margaret Lyle Gravitt. A slow dirge-like fiddle version of "Man Of Constant Sorrow". Well that's a depressing start.

Waking Up:
"Father's Got His Glasses On" by Cab Calloway. Well, I do have to put my glasses on before leaving the house.

First Day At School:
"Don't Go" by Bypass Unit. Probably good advice. School was traumatic.

Falling In Love:
"Creature Feature" by Stone 588. A song from a horror movie soundtrack. Very slow and mournful. Probably fairly accurate, considering my love history. The funny thing is, I picked the picture for this post by just looking up "soundtrack" on Google; I thought it might be too morose, but it seems to be quite an appropriate picture so far.

Fight Song:
"Cry Cry Cry" by The Staggers (cover of a Johnny Cash song.) I've never gotten into a fight, but I probably would cry if I ever did.

Breaking Up:
"I Can Dream, Can't I?" by The Andrews Sisters. I still have wistful nightmares about my breakup with my One True Love. Miss you still, Leesa.

Prom:
"Just Cut That Out!" a soundclip from Are You Being Served?, spoken by Miss Brahms. I did cut prom out; never went. (Big surprise, huh?)

Life:
"The Show Must Go On" by Luther Wright and the Wrongs (cover of the Pink Floyd song from The Wall.) Unfortunately, so true.

Mental Breakdown:
"I'm Gonna Follow You" by Pat Benatar. Hilarious.

Driving:
"Theme to American Bandstand" Whaaa?

Flashback:
"Uncle Disney" by Patterson Hood. Weird. I was never a big Disney fan, so I don't really have much to flash back to, just the old Robin Hood movie starring a fox and Phil Harris.

Getting Back Together:
"New York, New York" by Francis Albert Sinatra. Does this mean I should move?

Wedding:
"Theme to Electrawoman and Dynagirl". I'd marry Dynagirl. And I have as much of a chance marrying a fictional character as I do a real live breathing human being.

Birth of Child:
"I'm Sorry, I Haven't A Clue" episode from 28-11-05. Yeah, I have no clue why this meme thinks I'll ever have a child.

Final Battle:
"With A Little Help From My Friends" by The Beatles. God knows I won't ever make it on my own.

Death Scene:
"I'll Tell Me Ma" by The Chieftains with Brak. I hope I don't die before my mother. (See "Life" above.)

Funeral Song:
"Twentieth Century Fox Fanfare" Hilarious.

End Credits:
"Fire And Rain" by Me First And The Gimme Gimmes (cover of James Taylor). Oh god, probably the most accurate song choice in this whole experiment. A fast-and-heavy punk version of a classic folksy song by a Chapel Hill hippie. Absolutely perfect. I am dichotomy.

That's the end of the meme, but just for good measure, the next song that came up was "Dr. No's Fantasy" from the Dr. No soundtrack. There's something appropriate in that for something.

Night, kids.

Kid Koala

I've liked Kid Koala for years, ever since I was introduced to the great animated video for his version of "Basin Street Blues", but I had never seen video of him actually creating his music. Now, thanks to WFMU, I have. This is just amazing. So fluid, so smooth, so confident in his moves. There's a lot more KK stuff on YouTube, including what appears to be a multi-part expansion of the WFMU video that starts here..

I've tried my hand at turntablism back in college. I'd include an mp3 example here, but it's far too embarrassing to see the light of day. Let's just say that this art, like most things, is even more impressive when you try your own hand at it and discover how truly accomplished and talented one must be to create works like this.

It's A Man's World

James Brown and Luciano Pavarotti. Amazing.

One Turntable And No Microphone

Christian Marclay is an amazing sound artist. He toys and tinkers with turntables and records, and produces some amazing sounds. I particularly love the way he cuts up multiple albums and sticks them back together as vinyl collages that can actually be played, resulting in a wild look and some intriguing rhythms.

Check out a brief documentary of Marclay here.

PS: After you watch that, watch the new iPhone commercial. Notice anything similar?

PPS: Better version of the iPhone commercial (including an HD option) available now from Apple.

PT Scarborough Is A Song

ptsias
Originally uploaded by TedHobgood.

So last Friday, PT and I were hanging out over at my friend Jackson's, and Jackson being the musical fellow that he is, and PT being the off-the-top-of-the-head guy that he is, it was decided that some music needed to be made. Jackson set up some mics and grabbed his geetar, and commenced to strummin'. PT plopped in front of the vocal mic and made up a song on the spot as the music flowed from Jackson's fingertips. It was (of course) hilarious.

Here we have the first hit single off of PT's debut album, Freedom of Batchelorism. This is a catchy little number entitled "Trashman's Trophy".

Only available through the unique mind of PT Scarborough.

Mashin' It With Grandma Flava

This is an excellent mashup of Public Enemy and Herb Alpert, with an excellent video. Grandma bakes a cake, punctuated by fly b&w graphics.

Pretty much everything the Evolution Control Committee does is great, though. I first learned of them through the amazing Rocked By Rape, and was hooked. Download their mp3s, and buy their albums. I did.