Pop Culture Will Eat Itself

Sunday Music Spotlight – Said the Whale

Sean — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 03:54:10 +0000

Canada is very big right now. Despite the fact that their Winter Olympics lacked snow, and their women’s curling team choked in the gold medal game, they got a ton of positive international exposure. My guess is that British Columbia will have a bunch of new folks coming to visit in the next few months, and hopefully they’ll take the opportunity to check out the local music. One of the bands they should really see is Vancouver-based quintet Said the Whale.

They haven’t been around that long, but Said the Whale has made the most of their few years. Since forming in 2007 they’ve released two full-length albums and six EPs. Any way you slice it that’s a prolific run. It could kind of by forgiven if, while writing so many songs so quickly, there were a few clunkers in the mix. If not every song was up to the same standard. If, as so often happens these days, the albums consisted of two good songs and a bunch of filler. But they don’t. They’re good from top to bottom. Which makes it all the more remarkable.

This level of prolificity probably wouldn’t be possible if the band didn’t have two strong songwriters. Ben Worcester and Tyler Bancroft joined forces three years ago, and have added and removed band members over the years. Together they’ve written songs that cross genres and resist classification, ranging from bubblegum to rock, with the occasional ukulele ballad thrown in for good measure. It’s all good, and most of it is difficult to pin down, which keeps things interesting.

The band’s most recent album is Islands Disappear, released last year:

“Camillo (The Magician)”

The lead single from Islands Disappear sure has a catchy chorus. For some reason it reminds me of something Hall and Oates would have written. And I actually mean that as a compliment.

“Out on the Shield”

Videos
“The Light is You”

“This City’s a Mess”

Links
Download Islands Disappear
Official Site
Facebook
MySpace

Friday Night Video – She & Him’s “In the Sun”

Sean — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 04:12:19 +0000

Zooey Deschanel and I have a pretty one-sided relationship: I worship her from afar, she doesn’t know I exist. I’m ok with that though. I have a feeling meeting her would ruin it. In real life she’s probably not the manic pixie dream girl she plays in most of her movies. And I’m probably not that interesting to a big shot musician and actor. So it’s probably best that we keep our relationship at a comfortable distance. She can keep going on not having any idea I’m out here, and I’ll keep admiring her work a little too much.

On that note, she and M. Ward are getting ready to release their second album as She & Him. Volume 2 comes out March 23rd, and from what they’ve released so far it seems to pick up where the last one left off. The video for “In the Sun” shows the pair back in high school. Loner M. punches away at his phone and practices guitar, while popular Zooey dances with her friends and perfects the dying art of hula hoop. That’s right. Zooey. Deschanel. Hula. Hoop. Enjoy:

Via Pitchfork

Too Much Awesome: Christoph Waltz as Der Humpink

Sean — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 06:31:57 +0000

Christoph Waltz is awesome. He was completely deserving of his Best Supporting Actor Oscar for portraying Hans Landa in Inglourious Basterds. Eduard Khil is awesome too. His wordless singing has been all the rage on the internets lately, and still makes me laugh after about 25 viewings. So it stands to reason that Christoph Waltz + Eduard Khil = TOO MUCH AWESOME. Waltz did a bit for Jimmy Kimmel Live where he pays homage to the Russian singer:

How does Kimmel get folks to do these videos? He is truly one of comedy’s greatest heroes. Thank you Jimmy. Thank you.

Random Cover of the Week – Fiona Apple’s “Extraordinary Machine” on Cello

Sean — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 02:59:08 +0000

Y’all probably know by now how much I like covers played on unusual instruments. Typically it’s ukuleles or banjos, but this week it’s a cello. And it’s played expertly by Ben Solle. He’s joined by a somewhat creepy quartet of dancers. Just try to ignore them and focus on Ben playing Fiona Apple’s “Extraordinary Machine”:

via Launtromatinee

Trailer for Suck, a Vampire Rock Musical

Sean — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 04:12:36 +0000

If you’re a 14 year old girl (or just someone who watches ANY tv) you know that vampires are VERY hot these days. Between Twilight to True Blood it seems like all women are looking for in a man is a brooding countenance, pale complexion, and fangs. Whenever something gets this popular it’s inevitable that people will start making fun of it. And I say “Rock On”. In this case literally.

Suck seems to have a pretty conventional story, up to a point. A struggling band is taking their last shot at stardom, hitting the road playing dives for uninterested drunks. They need something to catch people’s attention and get them listening, saving them from having to get real jobs. That’s all pretty standard. The twist is that they all become vampires, and by doing so, get famous. Along the way the meet Iggy Pop and Alice Cooper. Honestly, this thing could be a train wreck of epic proportions. Or it could be a classic “so bad it’s good” cult favorite. Check out the trailer:

Suck played at the Toronto International Film Festival, but it doesn’t seem to have a wide release date set. For more information check out the movie’s official site.

Another Trailer for Iron Man 2

Sean — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 13:48:33 +0000

A second trailer is out for Iron Man 2, and while it still looks good, I’m starting to think it might suffer from a common action movie sequel disease: villain overload. Check it out:

Iron Man 2 swoops into theaters May 7th.

Sunday Music Spotlight – The Bamboos

Sean — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 04:41:51 +0000

Funk. I can’t think of another musical genre where the name so accurately and succinctly describes what it is. You can try to use other words to describe it, but none of them really fit. When it’s done right the only word that truly encapsulates the music is “funky”. If you don’t know what that means, just listen to The Bamboos and you’ll get it.

They may come from a land down under, but The Bamboos share more in common with James Brown than AC/DC. They have all the makings of a classic funk band: a killer horn section, soulful vocals from Kylie Auldist, a rock-solid rhythm section, and scorching rhythm guitar from bandleader Lance Ferguson. Together they mix originals with homages to funk pioneers and create music that practically forces you to get up and dance.

The Bamboos formed in 2001 and are already getting ready to release their fourth album, creatively titled 4, and it shows that the band is evolving into a true tour de funk. The albums are great, but their reputation is built on a live show that feature non-stop action, with one song seamlessly blending into another, forming one long soundtrack for an endless dance party. That’s fitting because that’s what funk bands do: they make you dance.

“You Ain’t No Good”

This track sounds like something you would find tucked away in a old box of 45s, collecting dust in someone’s basement. And I mean that in the best possible way.

“Typhoon”

It’s an instrumental, but that’s ok. It just shows that sometimes words would only get in the way of the groove.

Videos
“On the Sly”

“Hot Pants Breakdown Medley”, live

Links

Pre-order 4
Official Site
Facebook
MySpace

Trailer for Every Oscar Award Winner!

Sean — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 02:52:08 +0000

This is genius. It’s a generic trailer that points out the cliches and stereotypes that riddle Oscar winning movies. Funny stuff, and appropriate to watch during the Oscars:

A Trailer for Every Academy Award Winning Movie Ever — powered by Cracked.com

Sandra Bullock Accepts a Razzie Award

Sean — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 23:57:07 +0000

Love Sandra Bullock or hate her, you have to admit she’s a good sport. Bullock is up for a Best Actress Oscar tonight for her role in The Blind Side, but she’s already won a big award this week. Last night she received an award from the Golden Raspberry Award Foundation for Worst Actress for All About Steve. Typically folks who win Razzies don’t show up to give a speech, but Bullock did. And it was quite an acceptance speech. Check it out:

Something tells me if she wins an Oscar tonight her speech won’t be quite as funny…
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UPDATE: She won the Oscar, meaning she’s GOT to be the only person to win the Best Actress Oscar and Worst Actress Razzie in the same year. She’s certainly the only person to do that AND go to high school with my uncle…

Friday Night Video – Another Insane Video from OK Go

Sean — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 02:05:28 +0000

Whether you like their music or not, you have to admit that they make some of the most interesting music videos you’ll see. They’re most famous for their treadmill dancing to “Here it Goes Again”, but they don’t stop there. For their latest album, Of the Blue Color of the Sky, they’ve already had a cool techno acid trip for “WTF?” and performed “This Too Shall Pass” with the Notre Dame marching band. Now they’ve managed to top them all.

This is going to sound like hyperbole, but it’s honestly true: this is the best music video I’ve seen in the last 10 years. It’s not even close. The band enlisted some help from Synn Labs to build a giant Rube Goldberg Machine, timed to the music, to be in the official video for “This Too Shall Pass”. It’s a staggering work of ingenious engineering, and it was filmed in one continuous take. I can’t even begin to imagine the amount of planning, testing, and failing that went into this.