I Can't Believe It's Not Better!

Xbox Kinect + Razorfish = Awesome

2010-12-08T12:45:00.001-08:00

DaVinci prototype on Xbox Kinect from Razorfish - Emerging Experiences on Vimeo.

I cannot fathom that there's enough savings to be found in ham-boning* to actually justify the cost of developing a giant robot to do it

2010-12-06T09:58:00.001-08:00

But maybe that's because I'm Jewish.

*(INSERT SEX JOKE HERE)**
**That's what she said

I'm no fan of holiday music

2010-12-02T09:46:00.000-08:00

But I am a fan of the Walkmen.

And this song.

And this idea.

And that awesome Rickenbacker.

The Walkmen cover "Holiday Road"

So let's all pretend this is a Hanukkah song.

It loses all meaning at about :58

2010-11-03T16:05:00.001-07:00

Man, I love supercuts.

Fine, you win, new content...

2010-10-29T14:34:00.000-07:00

Awesomeness by a fellow named Brock Davis

What a difference a decade makes

2010-09-24T15:12:00.001-07:00

I was just thinking about these first iMacs this morning when the Rolling Stone's "She's a Rainbow" came on my iPod. See how Apple did that?

The Mind Bends

2010-09-24T12:16:00.001-07:00

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Locative art meets sport meets commerce

2010-09-23T07:36:00.000-07:00

New OK Go Video

2010-09-20T22:37:00.001-07:00

Need I say more?

Officially blown away*

2010-08-30T10:02:00.000-07:00

So Arcade Fire went and made a gorgeous and amazing new album, The Suburbs.

Then they made an incredible Web-streamed concert film.

Now they've gone and made one of the coolest music videos of all time for, "We Used to Wait."

Built for Google Chrome (and made by Chris Milk) the interactive film uses the address of the home you grew up in to create a pretty stunning interactive experience. The song's haunting on its own, but combined with shots of your childhood home and... well I won't ruin any of the other surprises...it's pure chills territory.**

So cool to see the capabilities of the Internet used in this way to create a new and wholly unique art experience. Suck it, Prince.

Go see for yourself.

*Using the Hans-Pedersen-Mayer Scale of Blown.
**Using the Smith-Kensington Chills Scale.

Rock Out With Your Minneapolis Here We Come Cock Out!

2010-08-27T07:40:00.000-07:00

I wonder if Craig's singing about Eden Prairie here.

Yeah, I don't think so either.

Rock Out With Your Middle of the Weekend Cock Out - Sufjan Stevens

2010-08-22T07:57:00.000-07:00

Okay, so it's not an album about a state.

Or even an album.

It's Sufjan Steven's All Delighted People EP

But it is an hour of new music.

And it costs $5.

And you can check out the title track for free.

Right here...

Enjoy.

P-Mate got robbed

2010-08-19T22:57:00.000-07:00

Time's 25 Worst Infomercials of all time.

Gotta run, I need to practice my putting.

While I wear my Shit-Pal!

See what I just did there?*

*No.

On a related note

2010-08-19T13:50:00.000-07:00

I'm not a huge fan of the idea of pooping in a porta-potty either.

Meet, Shit-Pal!

I'm just looking for a few investors...

Thank you, Mark Hall

2010-08-19T13:49:00.000-07:00

Women, you're now slightly less inferior.

Until you run out of P-Mates that is.

PS- Make me a turkey pot pie.

Well played, 1962...

2010-08-17T13:21:00.000-07:00

Awesome vintage oil ad from Boing Boing.

Rock Out With Your Every Five Months, Whether It Needs It Or Not, Cock Out

2010-08-13T06:59:00.000-07:00

Wait, what? That sounded like a joke about infrequent sex, didn't it?

Well, things are a little rusty around these parts.

Shit, I did it again, didn't I?

Okay, let's start over. We haven't had a new song since the middle of March. Now we do.

It's Joanna Newsom doing, "You and Me, Bess" on Kimmel. I know she can be kind of a lightning rod, but I'm a big fan. And the general consensus on her show at the Moore last week, with Robin Pecknold opening, seems to be that it was pretty much the best thing to happen to music since the TC-377.

So glad I had to work late instead.

Sigh.

Thanks for nothing, Grandpa

2010-08-13T06:56:00.000-07:00

Though, to be fair, he did leave me an amazingly relevant Radar Range.

Radiolab and NPR Present "Words"

2010-08-12T16:16:00.000-07:00

Someday I'd really like to make something beautiful.*

*Other than love to you. Grrrrrrr.

Don't call it a comeback...

2010-07-16T11:22:00.001-07:00

It's one post. And a video one at that.

Pretty amazing remix of Ferris Bueller.

Sometimes I really miss this guy

2010-06-24T21:13:00.001-07:00

For old time's sake...

2010-06-18T19:46:00.000-07:00

You're welcome, Mark Hall.

OK Go does it again

2010-06-17T07:16:00.001-07:00

Are you even surprised at this point?

And here's a short description of the technique they used to make "End Love":
The fastest we go is 172,800x, compressing 24 hours of real time into a blazing 1/2 second. The slowest is 1/32x speed, stretching a mere 1/2 second of real time into a whopping 16 seconds. This gives us a fastest to slowest ratio of 5.5 million. If you like averages, the average speed up factor of the band dancing is 270x. In total we shot 18 hours of the band dancing and 192 hours of LA skyline timelapse – over a million frames of video – and compressed it all down to 4 minutes and 30 seconds! Oh and don't forget, it's one continuous camera shot.

Fascinating short documentary on the concept of the Semantic Web

2010-06-15T17:26:00.003-07:00

Best explanation I've seen...

Web 3.0 from Kate Ray on Vimeo.

Next up, The Most Interesting Boy in the World

2010-06-11T07:16:00.001-07:00

Seriously, Chase, shut up

2010-06-09T21:50:00.001-07:00

Morning Prayer with Skott and Behr - Black Francis from Tim and Eric on Vimeo.

Yes, I'd go see this

2010-05-27T15:32:00.001-07:00

How did this escape my finely tuned zeitgeist sensor?

2010-05-18T10:41:00.000-07:00

It's upfront season again. Which means you get an UPFRONT look at the shows you won't be watching this fall!

HEY-OH!

Really, I'm mostly just talking about NBC. Go ahead and Google "Outsourced." And go ahead and get your incredibly offended face ready.

Fox, though, is unleashing this probably-too-good-to-be-true magic.

I'm losing it* as this is the first I'd heard of the show. Pretty thrilled about it though.

Here's the description...

From the Emmy Award-winning creator and the star of the critically acclaimed FOX series "Arrested Development" comes RUNNING WILDE, a romantic comedy starring Will Arnett ("Arrested Development," "30 Rock") as STEVE WILDE, a filty-rich, immature playboy trying desperately to win (or buy) the heart of his childhood sweetheart, EMMY KADUBIC (Keri Russell, "Waitress," "Felicity"), the uber-liberal humanitarian who got away - all told through the perspective of a 12-year-old girl.

Steve Wilde has never performed a selfless act. But why should he - he's rich! The son of an oil tycoon, Steve hasn't had to work a day in his life and has always gotten everything he's wanted - with one exception: the love of Emmy.

The daughter of a former Wilde housekeeper, Emmy is an earnest do-gooder who has spent her adult life trying to save the world. And though Emmy is content living with an indigenous tribe in the Amazon rainforest, her 12-year-old daughter, PUDDLE (Stefania Owen, "The Lovely Bones"), just wants to be a normal kid experiencing her adolescence in a normal place. And she would speak up except for the fact that she hasn't spoken in years.

When Wilde Oil's expansion in the rainforest threatens her adopted tribe, Emmy decides to attend Steve's self-thrown "Humanitarian of the Year" award ceremony in hopes of convincing him to help her cause...and also maybe because she still has a thing for Steve. But same-old Steve is unwilling to help because fighting Wilde Oil (a/k/a Dad) means putting his meal ticket in jeopardy.

Rather than run the risk of letting Emmy slip away again, Steve pulls out all the stops to win her heart. To do so, he enlists the only other people in his life who can help: MIGO SALAZAR (Joe Nunez, "Superbad," "Prison Break"), Steve's employee/sidekick/errand-boy, and GERTIE STELLVERTRETTER (Jayne Houdyshell, "Law & Order"), Steve's nanny-turned-head-of-security as well as the biggest protector of Steve...and her own job.

Despite having everything he ever wanted, Steve knows he can't buy love and happiness, which falls in sharp contrast to Emmy, who has nothing but love and happiness. So with Emmy committed to doing good for nothing, and Steve being a good for nothing, will this hopelessly mismatched pair ever be able to reconcile their differences?

RUNNING WILDE is produced by Tantamount Studios, Five Hole Pictures and Principato-Young Management in association with Lionsgate Television. The series is written and created by Mitch Hurwitz, Jim Vallely ("Arrested Development") and Will Arnett. Hurwitz, Vallely, Arnett, Eric Tannenbaum ("Two and a Half Men"), Kim Tannenbaum ("Two and a Half Men"), Peter Principato ("Reno 911!"), Paul Young ("Reno 911!"), Anthony Russo ("Arrested Development") and Joe Russo ("Arrested Development") serve as executive producers. The Russo brothers also directed the pilot.

*Also hair, girlish figure, fantasy baseball competence.

Evolution? Ha!

2010-05-14T13:53:00.000-07:00

Liberals + science = Boo

Right? Who's with me?

Nice work, Alabama. Roll Tide/God

Be warned...

2010-05-13T15:21:00.000-07:00

Today I posted the following on Facebook:
Mildly unsettled by the crow that just tapped on my office window with its beak and engaged me [in] a prolonged stare down. FYI, the crow won.

Which prompted Aimee to send me the following...

"Joshua Klein on the intelligence of crows"

Which prompted me to build a crow-proof bomb shelter.

Which prompted me to realize there is no such thing as crow-proof... Wait, what's that tapping sound?

"The Mountains of Mars"

2010-05-13T10:43:00.000-07:00

Total Recall... THE MUSICAL!

You're welcome.*

*Said the people at Boing Boing who posted it where I could find/steal it.

If he could hit, I'd suggest the M's sign him...

2010-05-08T11:22:00.001-07:00

This turns magical at 1:37...

2010-05-04T11:39:00.001-07:00

...when he sprints directly out the bar.

Gotta go do something humane now. Probably a cornea scratch.

Pretty awesome idea

2010-05-04T10:28:00.000-07:00

The always-excellent AC Club is getting bands to cover one of 25 songs as a part of a series called Undercover. The sessions are fairly random and the latest one is definitely that. And pretty damn great.

The Clientele covering M.I.A.'s "Paper Planes."

The%20Clientele%20covers%20M.I.A.

Hold Steady doing "The Weekenders" on Letterman

2010-05-03T12:15:00.001-07:00

Awesome performance of one of Heaven is Whenever's standout tracks.

Band sounds awesome. Dave is impressed.

Mark and Casey are going to see a Q&A performance tonight in LA.

I am folding laundry.

New New Pornographers

2010-04-26T09:21:00.000-07:00

Also Streaming at NPR.org.

Impressions to follow for this one too...

I hate novelty rap as much as the next guy

2010-04-22T21:08:00.000-07:00

But I miss my 240 DL.

And the AC knobs did look like some Oreos...

Gone but not forgotten, Rosebud.

Mark Hall, this one's for you

2010-04-21T13:26:00.000-07:00

New Hold Steady streaming at NPR.org.

Impressions to follow...

Cool video for my favorite song of last year

2010-04-21T09:59:00.000-07:00

The xx have a new video out for "Islands" and it's a pretty interesting technique you need to watch til the end to appreciate.

I cannot fathom how laborious this shoot must have been, but the finished product is as subtly cool as the track itself.

OH HELL YEAH

2010-04-20T17:13:00.000-07:00

April 28th can't come soon enough. All residents of The Fortress of Solitude, Fall 97-Spring 98 are hereby required to buy an Xbox in the next eight days.

Yes, it's that time of year again.

2010-04-20T09:25:00.000-07:00

There are only a couple of things that can motivate me to emerge from my cozy den of blog hibernation.

A leaked iPhone. A simultaneous May 4th release of the latest Hold Steady and New Pornographers albums. A mildly-amusing video posted on Videogum.

I have high standards.

Which is why I continually shill for the excellence that is Friday Night Lights.

NBC has done a lot wrong in the last few years, but supporting this show is enough to keep them in my good graces. Season 4 starts May 7th and it's the perfect excuse for you to go on an all-you-can-eat FNL blitz and get caught up with seasons 1-3.*

I'm so incredibly plugged in that** I've already seen Season 4.*** It's absolutely awesome. Great writing, excellent acting and a far better soundtrack than the promo below would suggest.

I know it's a teen drama, but come on, we're all a teen drama.

May 7th, people. Get your shit together by then, okay?

*season 2 is the only one that doesn't quite live up to the magic. But fear not, they've found themselves again.
**people call me Circuit City.
***Thank you, Direct TV.****
****This raises a troubling question. Once Comcast buys NBC, will Direct TV continue to help fund FNL?*****
*****Of course not. Sigh.

The new iPhone...

2010-04-19T09:22:00.000-07:00

Was lost and then found at a bar near Apple headquarters.

Now it's in the hands of Gizmodo.

And it's frakking awesome looking. So ready for the curved back to go bye-bye.

Here's a link to their coverage, but the short version is:

-New design
-Front-facing camera
-Bigger camera on back
-Flash for camera
-Micro-SIM
-New button configuration
-Much bigger battery

Is it June yet?

There goes your morning/contents of your stomach

2010-04-10T07:58:00.001-07:00

First-person Tetris, courtesy of Alex.

Good week for Tetris.

Super Cool Video

2010-04-08T07:04:00.000-07:00

You know what would have made this better though?

The disembodied voice or Earl Woods...

Okay

2010-04-07T21:34:00.000-07:00

So what do we think about this?

I can't decide.

But I'm leaning toward liking it.

Wilco Take Away Show

2010-03-31T08:32:00.000-07:00

Wilco - Country Disappeared - A Take Away Show from La Blogotheque on Vimeo.

As always, love that La Blogothèque.

He is just better than everyone else

2010-03-24T12:58:00.001-07:00

Back and more interesting than ever

2010-03-22T22:01:00.001-07:00

Also, another one of these ads.

HEY-OH!

New Hold Steady

2010-03-22T09:35:00.001-07:00

Pitchfork is streaming the new Hold Steady single, "Hurricane J."

Roman Kuebler of the Oranges Band on backup vocals.*

Worlds be colliding and shit.

Click here to enjoy/dislike based on your opinion of Craig Finn.

Heaven is Whenever out May 4.

*Also touring together this spring, thereby making the possibility of a Craig Finn-fronted "OK Apartment" a distinct possibility.

Rock Out With Your Man It's Been a Long Ass Time Cock Out - Local Natives

2010-03-19T09:39:00.000-07:00

Trust me, I'm as surprised as you are, but here we find ourselves. So let's dispense with the awkwardness and get right to the music.

Local Natives are an Orange County band that manages on its new(ish) album Gorilla Manor, at times, to sound like Dodos, Grizzly Bear, Midlake and Fleet Foxes without aping of them.*

It's a great album and has been on heavy rotation lately at the casa/construction site.

Two tracks stand out for me. The first is called "Sun Hands" and is pretty darn Fleet Foxy. Which isn't a bad thing.

The second is a cover of The Talking Heads' "Warning Sign," that, after many listens, I'm starting to think may best the original. Covers are tricky because when they work, you always wonder if it's the band or the source material. Though the source material here is undeniably awesome, the band is what stands out. They take a well-known song and own it without distorting its elements beyond recognition.

Which is kind of what they do with the aforementioned influences.

Anyway, have a great weekend and enjoy...

"Sun Hands"

"Warning Sign"

*What can I say? Just like riding a bike, people.

Death throes, continued...

2010-03-16T11:00:00.001-07:00

Not much of a fan of HBO's new Funny or Die show, but this may be enough to turn me around on it.

Nerd merit badge

2010-03-09T07:22:00.000-08:00

Inbox = zero

The blog

2010-03-03T21:42:00.000-08:00

Death throes or triumphant phoenix-like rebirth?

Time will tell...

Fascinating article in this month's Atlantic

2010-03-03T21:31:00.000-08:00

I always buy Atlantic when I'm traveling. It's great plane reading and once I get back home I invariably wonder why I don't subscribe.

But enough about me.

Well, not really.

I was down in San Diego for an overnight biz trip (that's hardcore-professional shorthand for business, saves five letters and, as we hardcore pros like to say, "time is $.") and on the plane down I read Don Peck's cover story on the lasting effects of long term unemployment on both society and individuals.

It's one of the most interesting magazine articles I've read in years (another great one here) and manages to intelligently examine the current economic situation and its impact on (at least) our short and medium-term future without getting into politics or policy or any of the other aspects of the recession that cause so many people tune out. It's a brilliant and big picture sociological piece about what happens to society when people can't find work.

It's pretty terrifying. And I highly recommend it.

Here's the short lead-in,

The Great Recession may be over, but this era of high joblessness is probably just beginning. Before it ends, it will likely change the life course and character of a generation of young adults. It will leave an indelible imprint on many blue-collar men. It could cripple marriage as an institution in many communities. It may already be plunging many inner cities into a despair not seen for decades. Ultimately, it is likely to warp our politics, our culture, and the character of our society for years to come.

Click here to give the whole article a well-deserved read.

Enjoy...(?)

We get it

2010-03-03T12:03:00.000-08:00

You're geniuses.

Though I still kind of like this one.

I'm going to go out on a limb here...

2010-02-09T15:12:00.000-08:00

Based on that plate, it looks like a much worse day to be a pig.*

*Unless the sausage and bacon are also made of chicken?

Okay, so let's waste some time!

2010-02-09T15:10:00.000-08:00

Robot Unicorn Attack.

Yeah...

2010-02-09T15:05:00.000-08:00

The blog has devolved into a video clip show.

Again.

Sigh.

Um, I love this.

2010-02-09T14:45:00.000-08:00

This was pretty great

2010-02-08T16:07:00.000-08:00

And part of what, strangely enough, was a pretty good episode of SNL.

Well that's easy, let's declare war on Iran then

2010-02-08T12:05:00.001-08:00

Four more years! Four more years!

I actually watched a depressing amount of this interview this weekend and I'm just so disheartened by her.

There are definitely people on the right who, while I disagree with them on almost everything, I at least respect and appreciate their intelligence and considered wisdom.

Then there's Tina Fey's doppelganger.

Sigh.

Just imagine if it had a camera, Flash, multitasking or USB...

2010-02-01T21:52:00.000-08:00

Yeah, I'll probably still get one.

Sigh.

So Prince wrote a song for the Minnesota Vikings...

2010-01-22T09:01:00.001-08:00

And, that's probably all the explanation you're going to need to have your curiosity piqued to the point of pressing play.

I'm going to go bathe in the cleansing waters of Lake Minnetonka now. Have a great weekend...

More like AWESOME Go*

2010-01-20T13:38:00.000-08:00

One of my first blog posts lo those many years ago was excited praise for a little video I'd seen while vacationing in Spain** called, "A Million Ways to be Cruel" by a band I'd never heard of called, OK Go.

The video meme'd it's way to Internet legend status*** and the band followed up with "Here it Goes Again," which managed to log more than 50 million views on YouTube and become one of the most popular Web videos of all time.*****

Now, four years later, they have a new album out and (no surprise) an awesome new video to go with it. Here's "This Too Shall Pass."

OK Go - This Too Shall Pass from OK Go on Vimeo.

Boys, you had me at ghillie suits.

*Yep, still got it.
**Me = Jet set
***Because of me?****
****Probably
*****Because of me?******
******Definitely

All hail, Norm MacDonald

2010-01-20T09:42:00.001-08:00

Felix signs!?!

2010-01-19T09:09:00.001-08:00

Seriously, the Mariners offseason is enough to make you forget about the terrible Seahawks, the departed Sonics and every other sports debacle this town has recently inflicted on its fans.

Felix for five years, HUZZAH!

Speaking truth to chin...

2010-01-15T08:13:00.000-08:00

Starting at 2:40, this gets interesting/brutal.

I'll simply let the one of world's biggest assholes speak for himeslf.

2010-01-14T11:06:00.000-08:00

Seriously, I can't come up with anything here other than, wow.

So the silver lining is that it's the funniest Conan's been since he started at the Tonight Show...

2010-01-14T07:36:00.000-08:00

Not giving a shit does wonders...

Jay Leno, still sucks

2010-01-12T13:50:00.000-08:00

And could take a note on classiness from Conan O'Brien who today released this very polite, "fuck you," to NBC.

People of Earth:

In the last few days, I've been getting a lot of sympathy calls, and I want to start by making it clear that no one should waste a second feeling sorry for me. For 17 years, I've been getting paid to do what I love most and, in a world with real problems, I've been absurdly lucky. That said, I've been suddenly put in a very public predicament and my bosses are demanding an immediate decision.

Six years ago, I signed a contract with NBC to take over The Tonight Show in June of 2009. Like a lot of us, I grew up watching Johnny Carson every night and the chance to one day sit in that chair has meant everything to me. I worked long and hard to get that opportunity, passed up far more lucrative offers, and since 2004 I have spent literally hundreds of hours thinking of ways to extend the franchise long into the future. It was my mistaken belief that, like my predecessor, I would have the benefit of some time and, just as important, some degree of ratings support from the prime-time schedule. Building a lasting audience at 11:30 is impossible without both.

But sadly, we were never given that chance. After only seven months, with my Tonight Show in its infancy, NBC has decided to react to their terrible difficulties in prime-time by making a change in their long-established late night schedule.

Last Thursday, NBC executives told me they intended to move the Tonight Show to 12:05 to accommodate the Jay Leno Show at 11:35. For 60 years the Tonight Show has aired immediately following the late local news. I sincerely believe that delaying the Tonight Show into the next day to accommodate another comedy program will seriously damage what I consider to be the greatest franchise in the history of broadcasting. The Tonight Show at 12:05 simply isn't the Tonight Show. Also, if I accept this move I will be knocking the Late Night show, which I inherited from David Letterman and passed on to Jimmy Fallon, out of its long-held time slot. That would hurt the other NBC franchise that I love, and it would be unfair to Jimmy.

So it has come to this: I cannot express in words how much I enjoy hosting this program and what an enormous personal disappointment it is for me to consider losing it. My staff and I have worked unbelievably hard and we are very proud of our contribution to the legacy of The Tonight Show. But I cannot participate in what I honestly believe is its destruction. Some people will make the argument that with DVRs and the Internet a time slot doesn't matter. But with the Tonight Show, I believe nothing could matter more.

There has been speculation about my going to another network but, to set the record straight, I currently have no other offer and honestly have no idea what happens next. My hope is that NBC and I can resolve this quickly so that my staff, crew, and I can do a show we can be proud of, for a company that values our work.

Have a great day and, for the record, I am truly sorry about my hair; it's always been that way.

Yours,

Conan

ICBINB! 2010 Update

2010-01-08T11:32:00.000-08:00

Well hello there.

Hope you had a great holiday season.

Just wanted to offer some explanation for the relative silence of the blog right now.

Working on another project right now that has ICBINB! on the back burner.

By which I mean the back, back burner.

This is probably going to be the case for the short to medium term.

I'll keep you posted.

Via...POST!

Wow, I still have it.

I sort of love this...

2010-01-05T11:36:00.001-08:00

Let the ear sexing begin!

2009-12-18T19:36:00.001-08:00

The annual year-end best-of podcast is here!

And the people rejoiced...

Enjoy, friends.

In case you missed the first link, click here.

Hold that thought...

2009-12-18T09:23:00.000-08:00

Super close to finishing the year-end podcast.

Check back later today or tomorrow and get ready to have your ears sexed.

Yep.

Only 8 shopping days left until Xmas..

2009-12-16T09:40:00.000-08:00

And yes, we want one for each side of the bed.

Um... Thanks, but no thanks...

2009-12-10T06:42:00.000-08:00

Eight Days of Hanukkah from Tablet Magazine on Vimeo.

So Orrin Hatch (R-UT) wrote a Hanukkah song.* And it's pretty awful. I think.(?)

Not really in an offensive right-wing-anti-choice-senator way. Or a terrible music way. Or any way that's easy to put your finger on exactly.

Well that's not entirely true, I can put my finger on the awfulness of the lyrics which are from the simply-identifying-the-most-utterly-basic-details-of-what-you're-singing-about-and-then-setting-that-super-obvious-series-of-statements-to-music school.

As the official representative of Jews everywhere, allow me to say, "we don't come into your temple and write hip-hop** songs about your holidays, do we?"

But if we did, they might go a little something like this. Give me a raw beat...

"Christmas"

Christmas
Oh Christmas!
Jesus's birthday bash
In Bethlehem the star shone bright
In a barn with donkey's what a gas
One day of Christmas
Come let's celebrate
One day of Christmas
Let's celebrate this morning
HEY!

Or like this...

"Birthday"

Birthday
Oh birthday
Day that you were born
In your hometown someone birthed you out
Like something from hardcore porn
One day of birthday
What a day of birth
One day of birthday
HEY!

Or, in the immortal words of T-Pain****, like this...

"Groundhog Day"

Groundhog Day
Oh Groundhog Day
Day the groundhog emerges from his burrow and looks for his shadow to determine the likelihood of winter continuing for six more weeks
February 2nd yay
Your meteorological insights we seek
One day of groundhog
Let's get freaky dog
One day of groundhog
HEY!

*Of course he did.
**Watch to the end, the douchey aide's hip-hop ID is easily the highlight of the video.***
***Other than Hatch's mysterious vial of Billy Bob Thornton's blood.
****I think he's a hip-hopper

Very cool magazine/tablet concept

2009-12-04T10:50:00.000-08:00

I hate to say it...

2009-12-01T15:31:00.000-08:00

But the second version actually makes a lot more sense.

You have no idea how much I love stuff like this

2009-11-25T14:46:00.000-08:00

Well, actually now you do.

440 hours for these guys to create this thing ENTIRELY in camera.

So cool.

And speaking of cool, since my knee injury has reduced me to indoor bicycling, I've tried to stave off soul-killing boredom by watching action movies while I ride. Just rewatched the Matrix and ten years later it still seems amazingly awesome to me.

2 and 3 still suck.

Jimmy Fallon is on fire

2009-11-25T08:00:00.000-08:00

First this amazing Neil Young impression...

Then this.

And this.

Salvation for NBC's late night lineup?

Nah.

Rock Out With Your End O' The Week Cock Out - Real Estate

2009-11-19T16:09:00.000-08:00

The end of the year/decade is less than a month and a half away. As such, we're already awash in best-of lists.

It definitely has me thinking about music in a different way. In some ways it's hard to define a sound for this decade (in exactly the same ways it's hard to do for any decade) (in exactly the same way that it's actually impossible) (and in exactly the same ways a decade is actually a random collection of ten years, the first and last half of which may have more in common with the ten [or twelve, or one or 6.2765] year that precede or follow it). In other ways it's easy to look back at a few big trends.

I'll save that for the epic series of podcasts I have planned though.

Today's about rocking out with your cock out. And our focus should be a single week's end, not 52 or 520's.

And so I offer up a band that just so happens to typify one of the definite trends of the last half of the last third of this decade, Real Estate.

The trend is lo-fi, but the sound here is (thankfully) less hiss and more shimmer. Real Estate is pure summertime beach-pop and the lo-fi aesthetic here feels charming where so often I find it distracting. Part of that is the way content and technique merge.

What works is on full display on "Fake Blues" where the musical pattern builds on itself with a mathematical precision, but manages to still feel soft and accessible.

And even more so on album-opener "Beach Comber," where the reverbed vocals contribute to a feeling of nostalgia for summers gone.

Real Estate is solid throughout and manages to set (and maintain) a mood without feeling gimmicky.

Man, I wish it was sunny out.

Enjoy!

Um. What?

2009-11-19T09:33:00.000-08:00

Imagine how much ass Manny Pacquiao would have kicked if he been devoting his training time to making this worthy successor to Citizen Kane.

WAPAKMAN, also a sled.

Um. Wow.

2009-11-18T12:01:00.000-08:00

So, I'm pretty thoroughly over Beck at this point. At least I think I am. Then he goes and does something amazing like this video with Charlotte Gainsbourg.

Damn you, Beck.

Right?

It's funny because it's true...

2009-11-10T16:23:00.001-08:00

Ultra-Realistic Modern Warfare Game Features Awaiting Orders, Repairing Trucks

And I'm pathetic enough to have pre-ordered Modern Warfare 2. Sigh...

Break it down for me: Seth MacFarlane

2009-11-09T12:27:00.000-08:00

I've made no mistake about hating Family Guy. I just don't find it funny. At all. In any way. At all.

But can one of you Family Guy-lovers please explain to me how/why Seth MacFarlane is funny?

This bit, from his Fox special that has been hyped to a level that makes TNT's George Lopez promos looks subtle and nuanced, is just shitty. Oh and hateful.

I love the setup. Yeah, we do tons of celebrity jokes on Family Guy... And by celebrity I mean someone who is deaf and by simple virtue of he name somehow elevates this above simple making fun of deaf people.

Because Marlee Matlin is such a ripe celebrity for parody other than that whole being deaf thing.

Wait, meta joke coming in 3...2...1...

Wait! Marlee Matlin is in on it! Oh, that makes it...not really any funnier for me. Sorry. I guess(?) it's slightly less offensive as a result(?). Still though, not really any funnier. I guess i just find the whole talking-in-the-voice-of-a-disabled person school of comedy a little thin.

But the Holocaust? That KILLS!*

Seriously, America, WTF am I missing here?

*See what I did there?

Rock Out With Your End O' The Week Cock Out - LAKE

2009-11-06T09:10:00.000-08:00

So I'm late to the LAKE party. But happy to be here now. These guys some from Olympia and their sound is sort of a Yo La Tengo/Belle and Sebastian/Pac-NW blend that I'm finding pretty great these days.

Their new album, Let's Build a Roof is deceptively simple sounding on first listen, but has a great way of unfolding its layers as you return to it. There's a lot going on under the surface here.

Here's album opener, "Breathing"

And a slightly different vibe (giving you a taste of the horns that appear on a lot of the album) with, "Don't Give Up"

Have a great weekend, and enjoy!

More like It's Always FUNNY In Philadephia...*

2009-11-06T09:03:00.001-08:00

See what I did there?

You're welcome.

*Unless you're a Phillies fan.**
**Or you have to live there.

Here for the Pixies podcast...?

2009-11-04T13:04:00.001-08:00

Welcome, TBTL listener(s)!

I aim to please.

He's a real stud.

2009-11-04T09:28:00.001-08:00

That's what she said...

Not to mention coaching of Browns

2009-11-04T07:04:00.000-08:00

Steak House or Gay Bar?

2009-11-03T21:10:00.000-08:00

Not so fast, homosexual carnivore...

It's harder than you think.*

*Harder Than You Think is Gay Bar in Buhl, Idaho.**
**I kid, the Gay Bar in Buhl is called, The Beef Hole.

A little Windows love

2009-11-02T09:13:00.000-08:00

So the people in Redmond get a lot of shit.

Some of it well deserved.

But they also deserve credit for doing a lot of stuff right lately.

Windows 7 is getting great reviews and the ad campaign supporting it is pretty excellent.

My favorite spot so far was one that ran all weekend during Sportsfestacularpalooza and made me laugh pretty much every time.

The reenactment bit is simple, but really effective here.

My only criticism is that they might have eschewed the Sony Vaio money and created a less producty "home."

Just a quibble though.

Great work by Crispin and MSFT.

Happy Halloween, bitches!

2009-10-30T14:08:00.001-07:00

How To Find A Masculine Halloween Costume For Your Effeminate Son

Content

2009-10-26T16:28:00.000-07:00

One for the ladies...

30-45 seconds in, I was also already covered in sweat.

Wait, what?

Rock Out With Your End O' The Week Cock Out - NEW PODCAST EDITION!

2009-10-16T15:53:00.001-07:00

Lady and gentleman, after nearly a year, we have a new podcast.

Feast your ears on...well, music you probably won't like and my rambling delivery.

BUT STILL!

The 11th edition of Seabendy Podcasts features 10 great songs sure to get you in the mood for gloom and rain.

Listen here. Or go to the Podcast link in the sidebar.

Enjoy!

I cannot even fathom how long this took to do.

2009-10-15T21:12:00.000-07:00

Kramer's entrances in chronological order.

1:30, 1:39. 2:40, 3:34, 5:05

You know what would be hilarious?

2009-10-14T15:48:00.000-07:00

What if we lured an unsuspecting person into a room and then pretended to kill everyone there with them in a hail of sniper fire? HA!

Oh, but see the funny part is that we're capturing the entire thing on hidden camera so we can laugh with the man as he goes into a complete and utter soul-crushing panic and crawls, sobbing toward the door in a desperate attempt to survive. HA!

The other funny part is that we then pretend to storm into the room and fire a gun inches from his head. HA!

Wait, what? You think that's not hilarious? You think it's closer to a crime against humanity?

Well, wet blanket, that's why you're not a high-powered Japanese television executive.

And why you're not going to hell.

This is one of the worst things I've ever seen.

"Enjoy!"

Try and argue with logic.

2009-10-12T21:11:00.000-07:00

You will lose.

What we talk about when we talk about abysmal quarterback play...

2009-10-12T21:04:00.000-07:00

Best receiver. Traded.

Other "franchise" quarterback. Ineffectual.

Genius new coach. Not.

Apparently this train is also carrying football-related hope out of Cleveland.

Sigh.

Google Wave - This makes an absurd amount of sense

2009-10-12T08:51:00.001-07:00

Anyone want to send me an invite...?