Saturday, September 22, 2012

Lana Del Rey Pays Homage To David Lynch In "Blue Velvet"

I'm going to say it right off the bat, so there is no confusion - I adore Lana Del Rey. If you know me, you know that might be a little out of my range of musical taste, but the first time I heard "Video Games" played on a college radio station, I was hooked.

Del Rey is clearly coming into her own now, and while I'm not terribly big on the whole corporate/fashion/yadda yadda crap, (this cover and video are being used to advertise clothing store H&M) I can't deny that her cover of the classic Bobby Vinton tune "Blue Velvet" is simply divine.

What really nails it for me, as a fan of surreal and horror cinema, is the video. This is the closest I've been to Twin Peaks, since Twin Peaks was on the air.

Feel free to judge for yourself, watch the video here:

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

This is (not) a music blog.

It's turning into one, which makes sense for me, I guess. Music is one of the driving forces in my life. Lately, I've been starting to wonder why I'm not making music, why I haven't been making music all along. Probably got a bit to do with not having the confidence to perform in front of others, but seeing as how I really dig experimental sonic landscapes, a confidence thing shouldn't stop me. And what do I care if someone likes it or doesn't? One man's trash is another man's treasure, and all. So, we'll see. I might make some sounds happen. The internet makes it so easy to be creative these days, must to be taking advantage of all there is to offer.

That being said, I have always told people that my musical talent resides in listening to it, and that may or may not be true. However, I am now making a playlist on Spotify every week for y'alls listening pleasure. I used to make mix tapes, then I burned my CD's. Now I do some clicking, scrolling, and dragging. My taste is all over the place, so expect some interesting things coming your way, but I am mostly trying to compile all the most awesomely weird songs I can find. Some of them might surprise you. Some of them might make you groan and ask "WhhhhhyyyyyyyyyyyYY????" as you drop to your knees, sobbing overdramatically.

Without furrthuurr adoooo...

Saturday, September 8, 2012

Time to do the Meatstick!

OK, I am a bad excuse for a hippie. Not that I'm really a hippie at all, I just like a lot of the same things.

Phishis one of those bands that people seem to love or hate. I am in the "I'm interested but not terribly knowledgeable" camp. But today, thanks to my friend who is a bigger Phish fan than myself, I am a little bit more knowledgeable than I was before, and I've come to share it with you.

When I hear the word "Meatstick" I know what I think of. Pervert! Shut up. Anyway... Apparently, Phish have this uber rare tune called The Meatstick, and they wanted to blow past Macarenain the Guinness Book Of World Records by having the most people simultaneously doing a dance. Apparently, they failed - but hey, THEY TRIED, MAN!

And there is your lesson in High Weirdness for today. No need to take notes, just go boogie down.

Friday, September 7, 2012

When Faith No More was Faith No Man

Right off the bat, I am just gonna come right out and admit that my rabid fangirlness for just about everything died when I got a taste of The Real World(tm), so I only feel slightly guilty about only just now making this discovery.

And I did, very literally, JUST make this discovery. See, the other night, the husbutt and I were in our smoking room, discussing music and other random topics. We're both lifelong fans of Faith No More, and for whatever reason, the topic of As The Worm Turns came up.

For the unknowing, As The Worm Turns was originally released on Faith No More's (herein referred to as FNM) 1985 debut album, We Care a Lot.

The song was re-recorded with replacement vocalist Mike Patton during the Angel Dustrecording sessions, and to many fans, this is the superior version of the song.

So now you know what we were talking about - and this spurred me to look up the 1985 version, because I haven't listened to it in years. The internet and YouTube, manage to be very efficient rabbit holes, however - and I came upon the earliest recordings and performances of this band, one that I've loved since back in my just starting puberty days. I knew back then that FNM had been Faith No Man, but I never held any hope that there were recordings for me to hear. The internet was not as mighty then as it is now, dear readers. So, with no further tl;dr ness, here are the results of my digging. (get into your own rabbit holes if you look at the recommended videos that come up on the side!)

Enjoy.

Faith No More - First Recording Ever 1983 - Part 1

From the 1982 single Quiet in Heaven/Song of Liberty:

RARE Faith No Man - Under the Gun [1983] (Live in San Francisco CA)

Sunday, August 19, 2012

New Awesomeness Alert: Up To Speed

Most of the time, Facebook ads serve as mindless fodder that I never look at. However, one caught my attention by letting me know that director Richard Linklater (Slacker, Dazed And Confused, Waking Life) was teaming up once again with Timothy "Speed" Levitch (The Cruise, Waking Life) to create a travel show like none that have come before. If you're already familiar with Linklater, Waking Life in particular, then you may remember Speed Levitch as the wandering dreamer on the bridge who tells our dreaming hero, "On really romantic evenings of self, I go salsa dancing with my confusion." There is something really endearing about Speed, he is an eccentric yet extremely endearing guy whose love of the forgotten history of America makes for a really fascinating and entertaining program. "Why The Fuck Not," indeed.

"Up to Speed" Promo from Mike Saenz on Vimeo.

Watch it here: http://www.hulu.com/up-to-speed

Keep up with new episodes and interesting stuff on the Up To Speed Facebook page.

Famous Album Covers recreated with socks

This ambitious (and oddly hilarious) Tumblog is worth taking a look at if you like a bit of humor mixed with your music. It seems to be new, but I'm sure they will continue to come up with new sock album covers if you keep a lookout.