EPIC FU blog

sarah's rave reviews!

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 03:22:32 -0800

With The Dark Knight opening this weekend...which you all are going to LUV...I've got superheroes on the brain. So, I checked out some superhuman entertainment that you might want to check out too!

During the writers strike, Joss Whedon was very vocal about his frustrations. But, instead of just complaining he did something about it, something very creative and awesomesauce. He got some of his talented and well-known friends like Neil Patrick Harris, Nathon Fillion & Felicia Day to make Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, a mini-series exclusively for the interwebs.

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artist of the week: photographer alexey titarenko

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 03:20:14 -0800

Untitled, (Woman on the Corner), by Alexey Titarenko

The works of Alexey Titarenko hang in many museums around the world, but thanks to the web we get to see them whenever we want, and we get a chance to experience the painterly and haunting photographs from his Black & White Magic of St. Petersburg series. More images after the jump.

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epic spotlight: those dancing days

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 03:10:56 -0800

Those Dancing Days is 5 young women: Linnea Jonsson (vocals), Rebecka Roifart (guitar), Cissi Edraimsson (drums), Lisa Pyk (keyboards), and Mimmi Evrell (bass guitar), who got together in 2005 to play music while they were still in high school. The band, which hails from Stockholm, Sweden, was just recently signed to Wichita Recordings, home also to bands like Bloc Party, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and Peter Bjork & John. The singer's voice (and hair) is amazing, and its plain to see that the girls have a great time making music. Their video for "Run, Run" is super cute and fun to watch as well.

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disasteradio!

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 15:56:08 -0800

Thursday's credits music comes from Disasteradio, also known as Luke Rowell. Hailing from New Zealand, Disasteradio is a one man band with just his computer and the internet. His track, "Awesome Feelings", proves that you can never go wrong with the cowbell and synthesizer combination. The music video was created by Simon Ward and Don Brooker. Simon posted a bunch of behind the scenes photos from the video shoot.

You can buy Disasteradio's CD, Visions, from A Low Hum for $12.

awesome: radiohead's "house of cards" video

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 10:34:49 -0800

Radiohead's new music video, directed by James Frost, for "House of Cards" was created using all kinds of neat technology instead of cameras. Lasers were used to scan Thom Yorke, a party scene, and a cul de sac to gather three-dimensional data about these objects. The data was then rendered and manipulated to produce this amazing video.

This is not the first time Radiohead has done something outside the box. Last October, Radiohead initially released their album "In Rainbows", online through a pay-what-you-want system. This was after they finished out their record contract with EMI... so essentially, Radiohead served their own FU to the record industry. Word.

Look for a "Making-of" video and more after the jump.

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behind the scenes: show links

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 05:42:45 -0800

For every episode of EPIC FU that goes up, a master text document is created with all the show descriptions, keywords, and most importantly, links. Since we distribute the show to several different websites, this file comes in handy when it comes to uploading the actual episode: the accompanying information can be quickly copied and pasted from the master text document. We do this because we feel that it's important to give people a place to find the videos and artists we feature on the show- giving credit where credit is due!

the mind of danny tanner

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 04:51:36 -0800

Why am I so fascinated by Full House mashup videos? For some reason the ridiculousness of the show's content itself lends itself to poignant and hilarious remixes. This one by YouTube user bents75 attempts to "tap into the most primal thoughts of father extraordinaire, Danny Tanner."

You may also get a kick out of the last Full House mashup I posted a few months ago.

(via Spout Blog)

is autism a stage in evolution?

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 03:46:57 -0800

Please watch this video. It's been around the 'net for a while. It's the story of a man named Daniel Tammet, who can do calculations to 100 decimal places in his head. He has been diagnosed with a form of autism, but one with a relatively mild affect on the way he handles social interaction. Typically autistics have trouble relating to other people and things in their environment, but can demonstrate an ability to focus on single tasks. This rarely manifests itself as true savant-like abilities, but for a while now I have started to wonder whether the escalation in autism diagnoses over the past 30 years is a result of environmental effects on children, or whether this is nature experimenting with us to take us to the next stage of evolution.

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buffy vs. batman

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 03:36:30 -0800

Is Buffy better than Batman? OH NOES, I say! RedEye's "Best Superhero" Tourney is down to the Elite Eight. This past week the Sweet Sixteen matched up The Batman vs. The Vampire Slayer. Not only did Buffy take down the Dark Knight, but she did so fairly significantly...37.7% to 62.3%. With 6276 total responses to this pair, more than any other match up in the Sweet Sixteen, the Buffy fanboys & girls were making a statement.

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lyrics born is the BOMB

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 06:46:13 -0800

Can I count the number of ways I love this song and video? Lyrics Born is our Epic Spotlight for this Thursday's show, and if you like hip-hop with a party flavor this jam could be your summer anthem. Another great jam submitted to us by Adam Wallenta, aka Illusemcee, who's rapidly becoming a regular resource for the latest in indie hip-hop.

Lyrics' most recent album, "Everywhere at Once," features live band members and other Cali-based hip-hop producers like Jake One and Trackademicks. The awesome video for "I Like It, I Love It" was directed by Neon.

fu of the week: mortified

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 06:31:23 -0800

If you haven't heard of Mortified, it all began in 1990 when founder Dave Nadelberg found an old unsent love letter and shared it with friends. In 2002, he teamed up with Neil Katcher, formally formed Mortified and began sifting through thousands of people's forgotten diaries and photos in an attempt to "crack the lid off our cultural shoebox and expose our inner geek."

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FUcabulary: reflectoporn

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 04:34:49 -0800

I don't know where the hell Rick found this, but I think you can best classify reflectoporn as Internet Gold. Even the name -- reflectoporn -- it just sounds like something that can only exist because of the web. You never know what you might come across on eBay or Craigslist, do you? See if you can spot the porn -- more pics after the jump. Note: you can't really see anything, but if suggestive photos are not your bag, don't click through.

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the U.S. senate approves the FISA amendments

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 06:57:03 -0800

Originally uploaded by goldberg on Flickr

On Tuesday's show, Zadi mentioned that the Senate recently passed legislation approving amendments to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. These provisions strengthen the ability of intelligence officials to listen in on "foreign targets" and grant immunity to the telecommunications companies that cooperated with the White House wiretaps after September 11th. Most importantly, this bill weakens the Fourth Amendment of our Constitution. Many privacy advocates feel strongly about this issue because it gives the White House so much power when it comes to citizens' rights.

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behind the scenes: tired crew

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 04:47:11 -0800

Last week, we were doing a bit of brainstorming when everything kind of just came to a grinding halt.

The @w00d has arrived!

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 04:04:48 -0800

I'm so excited...and I just can't hide it! My life just became Epic. I am now a part of this kick-ass team. I am going to help Steve, Zadi & Rick make this show happen and keep up the behind the scenes vids, pix & general funness. Please friend me on MIX and/or follow me on Twitter and lets become BFF.

campfire roundup: has the web killed the radio star?

Wed, 09 Jul 2008 20:06:36 -0800

A few episodes ago we started a Campfire discussion which posed the question: Has the web killed the radio star? It was after we had visited KCRW, a local radio station that is head and shoulders above the rest when it comes to their technological savvy. The visit to the station made me an instant fan and had me quickly wondering where radio's future was headed.

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interview: second skin

Wed, 09 Jul 2008 20:05:14 -0800

On Thursday's episode, Zadi talked to Peter Brauer and Juan Carlos Piñeiro, the director and producer of Second Skin, a film about MMOs. The film goes way beyond the video game addiction that gets so much attention in traditional press and covers the social aspects of games, both virtually and in real life. World of Warcraft, Second Life, and Everquest create worlds where players can truly come as they are, or take on entirely different personas. Second Skin asks whether or not our lives are really becoming encapsulated inside these virtual worlds.

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artist of the week: the me nobody knows (tmnk)

Wed, 09 Jul 2008 20:04:50 -0800

Our Artist of the Week this week is The Me Nobody Knows, otherwise known as TMNK. His work is reminiscent of Jean Michel Basquiat -- except his styling is completely fresh. He takes his surrounding experiences and translates them on canvas, resulting in a body of work which is personal, rich, authentic, narrative and slightly melancholy.

There is more to my community than violence and drugs. There's beauty, and there's culture, and there are talented positive people, just like "me," that nobody knows.

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epic spotlight: time machine (again!)

Wed, 09 Jul 2008 20:03:14 -0800

Last Tuesday we chose Time Machine as our Epic Spotlight. Guess what? We're spotlighting them again this week. One of their other singles, "The Groove That Just Won't Stop", is another treat.

Time Machine hails from Los Angeles and, like Steve mentioned last time, is composed of emcees Biscuit, JetSetJay, and producer DJ Makealek. This song is a nice throw back to old school hip hop and makes me want to cruise around in a convertible with the top down. The video, which is actually produced in part by JetSetJay, makes use of stop motion and neon animations to take us through a night out with two of their friends. It definitely has my foot tapping.

iphone 3g launches tomorrow + app store

Wed, 09 Jul 2008 20:02:07 -0800

Apple fanboys get on your knees and slap that Steve Jobs tattoo on your upper thigh! Tomorrow we'll see the release of the iPhone 3G, a modest update to the original iPhone with faster internet, built-in GPS, and a cheaper price tag thanks to a $200 subsidy courtesy of AT&T.

I have to be honest. I'm mostly ambivalent about the release tomorrow, partly because of the forced in-store activation and partly because the new features aren't that tempting for someone who already owned the O.G. iPhone. The GPS sounds cool on paper, but the word on the street is the built-in GPS antenna is too small to support reliable turn-by-turn navigation. Whether or not I pick one up depends on how easily I can finagle a unit for use off AT&T's network. Hehe I wrote "finagle a unit."

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