EPIC FU blog

EPIC FU LIVINGROOM SERIES: Jarrod Gorbel

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 19:44:01 -0800

Mark your calendars! This Sunday, June 21st at 7pm PST, EPIC FU is kicking off its Live Livingroom Series event with Jarrod Gorbel of The Honorary Title. Jarrod will be giving us a sneak-peak of his highly anticipated upcoming album (still being produced as we speak!). We'll also have a Q&A session and autographed giveaways too! Definitely a must-see for fans old and new.

RSVP on Facebook

Jarrod has appeared on Carson Daly, Steven's Untitled Rock Show, One Tree Hill, MTV Subterranean. His songs have been featured in Greek, Real World, Good Luck Chuck, and The Haunting of Molly Hartley. And he's been written up by Rolling Stone, Alternative Press, and others. We're really happy to have Jarrod play the inaugural event since he was the very first musician to appear on EPIC FU (back then called JETSET) - seems fitting.

» This article continues

mos def acapella on the streets of japan

Tue, 09 Jun 2009 17:23:46 -0800

This is a great series of videos from Current of Mos Def busting some acapella verses from songs on his new album. Embedded above is a verse from "Casa Bey" and after the jump are two more. He's promoting his new album The Ecstatic, which comes out today. From what I've heard so far, it's a great album.

» This article continues

another awesome music video that legally isn't allowed to exist

Sat, 06 Jun 2009 15:06:31 -0800

YouTube user avoidantconsumer recently posted a mashup video that combines scenes from 80s brat pack movies with Phoenix's "Lisztomania". In the video's description section, she simply says, "this song just struck me as 80's movie-ish. so i made it happen."

» This article continues

Conan's Mushroom Kingdom Set

Fri, 05 Jun 2009 02:22:18 -0800

Image Courtesy of Serious Lunch

Does Conan's new set look familiar? That's because it's the Mushroom Kingdom from Super Mario Bros. The guys over at Serious Lunch caught the coincidence, and Kotaku got the scoop on the backdrop. When they asked Nintendo of America President, Reggie Fils-Aime, if he would send a cease and desist, Reggie said "No. For Conan, we'll let that one slide."

epic fu plans -- need your feedback!!!

Tue, 26 May 2009 02:25:33 -0800

NOTE: the main discussion around this blog post is taking place on Mix. Please go there to participate!

Zadi and I spent a lot of time the past two weeks thinking about what the next iteration of Epic Fu needs to be and how we can do it. Then we had another conversation tonight and it all changed... for the better.

It seems like the longer we make the Epic Fu web show, the more it becomes clear that there is a vast but disconnected sea of people who have a passion for the way global culture is influenced by what is happening on the web. We tend to be the ones who are a couple steps ahead of our friends and families, the ones that the people in our lives look to in order to find out what's coming next.

» This article continues

d-nice documents the homeless emcee

Fri, 22 May 2009 02:37:36 -0800

A sad story about a clearly intelligent and thoughtful human being who has suffered a great deal and made many mistakes. D-Nice, yes, that D-Nice, is a talented videographer and editor who has over a dozen videos posted on Vimeo as part of his "True Hip-Hop Stories series." For any fan of hip-hop, it's a nice journey. Also, I'd like to know what camera/lens he is using, because I absolutely love it.

Update: Just noticed that the camera is indicated on the Vimeo video page. It's a Canon EOS 5D Mark II, same camera we just used to shoot a tv commercial (yes, it's an SLR!).

metal gods

Wed, 20 May 2009 22:16:32 -0800

Metal Gods, a new film by Matt Porterfield, follows the lives of two damaged teenagers living in a Baltimore suburb. We follow Sean and Jenny's life routine over the course of a week, revealing who they are as they're thrown together by a sudden act of violence.

Quiet complexity comes to mind when I look at the test footage. It'll be cool to see the finished film, which begins shooting this summer. You can make a donation and contribute to the production of the film.

Check out some of the casting test footage with Sky Ferriera, who plays Jenny in the film.

amazing street performance!

Sun, 17 May 2009 15:41:13 -0800

Dub FX, the brilliant performer using beatbox and loops on the street in Bristol, UK.

Filmed by Ben Dowden

daichi is a beatbox legend in the making

Fri, 08 May 2009 01:21:10 -0800

The Beatbox Battle World Championship recently held an open-submission contest for the competition's "wildcard" category via YouTube. One of the people that answered the call was 18-year-old Daichi from Japan. With 687,000+ views in less than a month, this guy is sure to build a strong name for himself within the hip hop community. Check the video for proof.

tommy sparks will get you dancing

Thu, 07 May 2009 17:40:54 -0800

We are big fans of the twisted mind that is encased within Eric Wareheim's rainbow sprinkle-dipped skull.

Yeah... that didn't come out right.

We love Eric's work (We interviewed him and Tim Heidecker previously on EPIC FU) and this particular music video, She's Got Me Dancing by Tommy Sparks showcases the amount of craziness and creativity three minutes can contain. It makes you fall in love with the song even more.

» This article continues

xeni jardin is online culture personified

Thu, 07 May 2009 17:20:02 -0800

We had the privilege to hang out and talk to Xeni Jardin, and I have to admit I was a little nervous. I'd talked to her at industry events and social gatherings, but it's not often that Zadi and I spend time with people who, like us, have such a vast knowledge of the web and its culture going back ten or more years. There is something special about the people who came of age with the first Internet boom and worked online during the transformation of the web from a tech curiosity into a mainstream cultural force. Luckily for us, she is completely charming and down to earth, and considering her efforts over the past two years with Boing Boing video, we had tons of common experiences.

» This article continues

why piracy is winning against the studios

Wed, 29 Apr 2009 21:18:59 -0800

On this week's show we talked at some length about the firestorm of coverage and conjecture surrounding the conviction of the Pirate Bay founders on charges of aiding copyright infringement in a Swedish court. Warners, Fox, Sony, and EMI led the fight and hailed it as a great victory.

They couldn't be more wrong.

» This article continues

passion pit and "the reeling"

Wed, 29 Apr 2009 20:53:05 -0800

We've highlighted Passion Pit previously on EPIC FU, and we're compelled to do so again, especially since their latest single has been circulating the interwebs at breakneck speed.

The Reeling is a bit more polished than their breakout song Sleepyhead, but it keeps the style and emotion that makes the band unique. The video is pretty amazing as well. The raw rip and tear effect definitely held my attention as it took me from scene to scene.

» This article continues

brett gaylor RIPs it up with his remix manifesto

Wed, 29 Apr 2009 19:07:32 -0800

With all that's happening in online entertainment, it's inspiring to see people take more innovative approaches to making and sharing media. Case in point, Brett Gaylor, creator of Open Source Cinema.

Long-time videoblogger, web activist, and filmmaker, Brett's most recent project is an open source documentary about copyright and remix culture. RiP: A Remix Manifesto, focuses on the state of media in the age of free-flowing information. Featuring Girl Talk, Lawrence Lessig, Gilberto Gil, and Cory Doctorow, all influential media figures, the film is set to really delve into some serious issues.

» This article continues

get that dirt off your android with jaydiohead

Wed, 22 Apr 2009 00:36:21 -0800

Jaydiohead - Dirt Off Your Android from Andrew French on Vimeo.

In 2004, Danger Mouse coupled an a-cappella version of Jay-Z's "The Black Album" with tracks made from samples off an album by The Beatles' (commonly referred to as the "White Album") to create the mashup entitled "The Grey Album". Now, five years later, New-York-based producer Max Tannone (a.k.a. Minty Fresh Beats) has mixed Jay-Z vocals with Radiohead tracks to create "Jaydiohead".

You can get the album over BitTorrent, or preview all ten tracks at the Jaydiohead promotional site. I've also included a video of one of my favorites, "Dirt Off your Android", at the top of this post for your listening and viewing pleasure.

is twitter losing its intimacy?

Tue, 21 Apr 2009 16:44:55 -0800

Ashton Kutcher's Twitter page, with over 1.3MM followers

With all the recent hubbub around Ashton Kutcher vs. CNN in the race to a million Twitter followers, a lot of people are getting self-conscious about follower numbers. We've been using Twitter since Fall 2006, when only a handful of our friends were active on it. Over the years, and especially in the last six months, we have seen an explosion of Twitter users, to the point where I think we can safely say that Twitter has gone completely mainstream. If the Ashton vs. CNN thing wasn't it, then Oprah joining up a day later certainly sealed the deal.

» This article continues

artist of the week: modern history is made from youtube

Tue, 21 Apr 2009 13:46:30 -0800

Burn Down the Disco by Josh Poehlein

Artist Josh Poehlein is working on a series of photo collages called Modern History. Interestingly, they are made exclusively of screen grabs from YouTube videos. They are big, bold, and raw. And best of all, he is offering free links to download hi-res versions of the images, which can be used to make large prints of the work.

» This article continues

n.a.s.a.'s gifted trips out with kanye, santigold, and lykke li

Tue, 21 Apr 2009 12:47:22 -0800

When N.A.S.A.'s Gifted with Kanye West, Santigold, and Lykke Li came out in Feburary, we had just started our ten week break for the show and I was so disappointed we couldn't get this in front of people earlier. Even a couple of months later, it was so good we had to make it the spotlight video. This is the second time we've spotlighted a N.A.S.A. video. This one was created by Three Legged Legs.

» This article continues

we're nominated for two 2009 webby awards!

Mon, 20 Apr 2009 03:16:10 -0800

Re-blogged from the Smashface blog

Someone up there is smiling on us, because last Tuesday we woke up to discover that we were nominated for the Webby Awards on Online Film/Video for the third year in a row for EPIC FU. Not only that, we received two nominations, one for Best Reality/Variety Host, and one for Best Variety series.

In case you're not familiar with the Webby Awards, this is the 13th year of the event. The gala will be hosted by Seth Meyers from Saturday Night Live for the second straight year. Here's a snippet from their website:

Hailed as the "Internet's highest honor" by The New York Times, The Webby Awards is the leading international award honoring excellence on the Internet, including Websites, interactive advertising, online film and video, and mobile web sites. Established in 1996, the 13th Annual Webby Awards received over 10,000 entries from all 50 states and over 60 countries worldwide. The Webby Awards is presented by The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences.

» This article continues

super mario theme - laser cutter edition!

Sat, 18 Apr 2009 01:56:21 -0800

A while back, a man named James Houston combined old gadgets, computer peripherals, and an array of failed hard drives to create a motorized ensemble that performed a version of Radiohead's "Nude." Now, a guy named Jed from HackLab has written code that controls the motors of a laser cutter, allowing the machine to resonate specific pitches and carry a tune of its own. In the above video, you can see the machine performing everyone's favorite Super Mario theme.

James and Jed both show that music can truly be found everywhere and in everything. I can't wait to see what other cool musical things the d.i.y. tech world will build next!