I found this video last night when I was supposed to be working on my paper. It makes me really happy:
I never knew much about the Marx Brothers, and I had no idea they were so musically inclined. I think my favorite is Harpo, not only because he was really good at harp but because he does everything in pantomime. :)
Pete Townshend’s birthday was 2 days ago and I FORGOT! I blame my midterm.
HAPPY LATE PETE DAY!
I found this video awhile back; not sure why no one else seems to have seen it but I find it HILARIOUS. Old Man Pete is such a spazz! I also think it’s funny how excited he is about that videocamera (he took it on stage with him???).
Vlog of a rockstar:
If you (and by you, I probably just mean me) yearn for more silly Pete footage, this Pete birthday tribute [2014 edit: the video is private now! so sad…] is pretty awesome, aside from the unnecessary subtitles. I never really associated the word “cute” with Pete Townshend, but this video manages to make him seem pretty darn cute. Awwww.
In my opinion, there is no cooler actor alive than Jack Nicholson. Or ever, for that matter. He just beats them all. I’ve seen a good number of his movies, but still on the to-watch list are The Last Detail, The King of Marvin Gardens, Psych-Out (crazy 60s psychedelia), Carnal Knowledge (risque 70s sex movie), and The Witches of Eastwick (morbid 80s chick flick?). I don’t think I’ve ever seen these ones at the rental store, haha.
And now, I’d like to present you with some of the many faces of Jack:
I love how he’s played everything from a hippie to an astronaut to Satan to a mafia leader. JACK IS THE MAN.
Today while walking back from campus (I went to see my friend Veronica play at Worldstock, check her out cuz she’s awesome!), I was listening to my ipod and the George Harrison song “Someplace Else” came on, immediately followed by a very early Beatles version of “Young Blood” (also sung by George). It amused me. His voice came a looooong way, haha.
Also something I’ve been meaning to mention…this recording engineering class I’m taking is reallllly opening my eyes to all the amazing facets of the studio. This class – if you can believe it – has given me an even greater respect for the Beatles, especially as a studio band. They were revolutionary in so many ways (writing their own stuff, stadium concerts, music videos, concept albums, psychedelia) but I think their greatest impact on the music world was their studio work. It’s just mind-blowing how they could get such new and awesome sounds from magnetic tape and 4 measly tracks. Of course, major props to George Martin, without whom the Beatles’ sound just wouldn’t be the same. I remember him saying something about the boys just bringing in bits of tape with random sounds that they had recorded, and then literally taping them together and looping them through the reels to create, for example, the ending of “Being For the Benefit of Mr. Kite.” I mean, who did that?? No one, before the Beatles. They experimented with all sorts of sounds and mic placements and studio musicians…it’s just incredible.
While doing a bit of googling around on this subject, I came across this. HOLY EFF it looks amazing. A year ago this wouldn’t have interested me at all. Now it looks like the most fascinating thing in the world.
For our final project, we’re recording a cover of Lady Madonna. I’m playing piano, fun times. :)
Tonight we went to see Road to Morocco at the Billy Wilder Theater. I loved it. Bing Crosby is a cutie and Bob Hope cracks me up.
Now I know where the Monkees got so many of their gags. Recapping the plot for those who came in late, patty-cake, talking camels/cows, and Micky Dolenz imitating Bob Hope’s funniest facial expressions. Not to mention this entire episode:
The way Davy says “director of forests” NEVER fails to make me laugh, I swear.
(Excluding the obvious like Beatles/Stones/etc.) OK GO IS MY FAVORITE BAND EVER. Definitely my favorite band in existence today. A few key reasons:
They are incredibly well-dressed
They love paisley/floral/decorative prints
Their videos remind me of us
Ahh, this band has been a source of so many great times over the past 3 years. Since making our dance video (before I ever even knew who OK Go were), I’ve seen them live in Hollywood, Lauren has met the band, Dan has sent me an email and also left a voicemail on my phone, we’ve been on their DVD, and were featured not once but TWICE on the Colbert Report. And in case you didn’t know, Jocelyn, Lauren, and I recently went to see them play at the San Diego House of Blues, which was everything I’d ever hoped for (and more). I LOVE THIS BAND!!
Our two seconds of fame (2:55)
I really want to see Man on the Moon again.
I was watching some Taxi, which then led me to watching Andy Kaufman videos on YouTube, which really made me want to watch Man on the Moon. If you don’t know much about Andy Kaufman, you should go watch a bunch of videos of him…and when you’re done you will probably still not know much about Andy Kaufman, haha. The man was unbelievable (in both good and bad ways)…he did some of the craziest pranks on TV. There is an urban legend that he faked his own death back in 1984. I would love to believe that he is still alive and is just gonna randomly show up one day.
I don’t know why I love Taxi so much. I first got into it in 7th grade…an age at which I couldn’t really relate to any of the characters and probably didn’t even understand half of the jokes, haha. I remember I made a fanpage dedicated to it and everything. And this was even before I was into The Beatles or I Love Lucy or anything made prior to the 90s. I was a weird kid.
Nikki Collister 