I remember thinking how cool and “European” this video was. Mostly because it looked like something a repressed German would have made. Oh, and I LOVED the Isetta in the video.

This video uses Sims to act out the story in Kenny Rogers’ “Coward of the County.” At about 1:43 in, when Tommy’s love, Becky, is introduced, things get a little creepy. She basically looks like Tommy but with longer hair — and bad teeth. This video is really strange.

A) Haddaway, the original “What Is Love?” artist, actually has a pretty fascinating bio.

B) Diane Birch, who’s covering the song above, also has an interesting bio.

[via Reddit]

Here’s the poem Shane Koyczan recited in the opening ceremony of the 2010 Vancouver Olympic games: “We Are More.”

I liked the pacing more in the opening ceremony more than here. I’m sure his Olympic performance will be up on the tubes soon enough. Here’s the Wikipedia entry on him.

We Are More

When defining Canada
you might list some statistics
you might mention our tallest building
or biggest lake
you might shake a tree in the fall
and call a red leaf Canada
you might rattle off some celebrities
might mention Buffy Sainte-Marie
might even mention the fact that we’ve got a few
Barenaked Ladies
or that we made these crazy things
like zippers
electric cars
and washing machines
when defining Canada
it seems the world’s anthem has been
” been there done that”
and maybe that’s where we used to be at
it’s true
we’ve done and we’ve been
we’ve seen
all the great themes get swallowed up by the machine
and turned into theme parks
but when defining Canada
don’t forget to mention that we have set sparks
we are not just fishing stories
about the one that got away
we do more than sit around and say “eh?”
and yes
we are the home of the Rocket and the Great One
who inspired little number nines
and little number ninety-nines
but we’re more than just hockey and fishing lines
off of the rocky coast of the Maritimes
and some say what defines us
is something as simple as please and thank you
and as for you’re welcome
well we say that too
but we are more
than genteel or civilized
we are an idea in the process
of being realized
we are young
we are cultures strung together
then woven into a tapestry
and the design
is what makes us more
than the sum total of our history
we are an experiment going right for a change
with influences that range from a to zed
and yes we say zed instead of zee
we are the colours of Chinatown and the coffee of Little Italy
we dream so big that there are those
who would call our ambition an industry
because we are more than sticky maple syrup and clean snow
we do more than grow wheat and brew beer
we are vineyards of good year after good year
we reforest what we clear
because we believe in generations beyond our own
knowing now that so many of us
have grown past what used to be
we can stand here today
filled with all the hope people have
when they say things like “someday”
someday we’ll be great
someday we’ll be this
or that
someday we’ll be at a point
when someday was yesterday
and all of our aspirations will pay the way
for those who on that day
look towards tomorrow
and still they say someday
we will reach the goals we set
and we will get interest on our inspiration
because we are more than a nation of whale watchers and lumberjacks
more than backpacks and hiking trails
we are hammers and nails building bridges
towards those who are willing to walk across
we are the lost-and-found for all those who might find themselves at a loss
we are not the see-through gloss or glamour
of those who clamour for the failings of others
we are fathers brothers sisters and mothers
uncles and nephews aunts and nieces
we are cousins
we are found missing puzzle pieces
we are families with room at the table for newcomers
we are more than summers and winters
more than on and off seasons
we are the reasons people have for wanting to stay
because we are more than what we say or do
we live to get past what we go through
and learn who we are
we are students
students who study the studiousness of studying
so we know what as well as why
we don’t have all the answers
but we try
and the effort is what makes us more
we don’t all know what it is in life we’re looking for
so keep exploring
go far and wide
or go inside but go deep
go deep
as if James Cameron was filming a sequel to The Abyss
and suddenly there was this location scout
trying to figure some way out
to get inside you
because you’ve been through hell and high water
and you went deep
keep exploring
because we are more
than a laundry list of things to do and places to see
we are more than hills to ski
or countryside ponds to skate
we are the abandoned hesitation of all those who can’t wait
we are first-rate greasy-spoon diners and healthy-living cafes
a country that is all the ways you choose to live
a land that can give you variety
because we are choices
we are millions upon millions of voices shouting
” keep exploring… we are more”
we are the surprise the world has in store for you
it’s true
Canada is the “what” in “what’s new?”
so don’t say “been there done that”
unless you’ve sat on the sidewalk
while chalk artists draw still lifes
on the concrete of a kid in the street
beatboxing to Neil Young for fun
don’t say you’ve been there done that
unless you’ve been here doing it
let this country be your first-aid kit
for all the times you get sick of the same old same old
let us be the story told to your friends
and when that story ends
leave chapters for the next time you’ll come back
next time pack for all the things
you didn’t pack for the first time
but don’t let your luggage define your travels
each life unravels differently
and experiences are what make up
the colours of our tapestry
we are the true north
strong and free
and what’s more
is that we didn’t just say it
we made it be.

Curious as to what the 1970s UK rock powerhouse Slade actually looked like, I turned to YouTube. Was there a live performance of the iconic holiday song “Merry Xmas Everybody” there? There are at least four. And what’s beautiful is that each version is from a distinctly different era.

There’s the glam era Slade, the disco Slade, the ’80s Slade (in which lead guitarist/singer Noddy Holder looks like Tom Baker wearing Patrick McGoohan’s blazer from The Prisoner), and, last, the GnR-meets–Bon Jovi–meets–Robert Palmer Slade of 1991.

And, although they changed styles with each era, they lip-sync to the original recorded version of the song in each performance. Not a live version in the bunch. Anyway, check out the four videos after the jump.

1973

I’m guessing late ’70s on this one

1983

1991

“Merry Xmas Everybody” is one of the most popular British Christmas songs of all time. Though overlooked here in the States, Slade was a powerhouse of 1970s British rock. From Wikipedia:

No other UK act of the period enjoyed such consistency in the UK Top 40 and Slade actually came the closest to matching The Beatles’ 22 Top 10 records in a single decade (1960s). Three of their singles entered the charts at #1 and they sold more singles in the UK than any other group of the 1970s. By 1973 alone, “Merry Xmas Everybody” had sold over one million copies globally, and gained gold disc status.

That same Wikipedia entry notes that Cheap Trick inadvertently came up with its name after seeing a Slade show. Noting Slade’s slick performing style, Tom Peterssen said that they “used every cheap trick in the book.”

“Merry Xmas Everybody” was recorded in August 1973 in New York City.

In the 1980s, specifically around ’83, there was a bit of a mania for ATVs, specifically three-wheelers. The three-wheeler, however, was shown to be dangerous and was quickly replaced by its more surefooted cousin, the four-wheeler. But before the big, loud, motorized tricycle was yanked from the scene it would be immortalized in at least two iconic videos of the decade:

Tears for Fears, “Everybody Wants to Rule the World”

Big Country, “In a Big Country”

Would have been cool if ’80s Bob Dylan had jumped on the bandwagon—then we could have had The Three-Wheelin’ Bob Dylan.

If you know of any other three-wheelin’ videos, lemme know.

On the way to San Francisco on Friday afternoon, I accidentally left my laptop at the security checkpoint at JFK. They were taking an unusually long time with my carry-ons, and my items didn’t come out of the machine in the same order they went in. (I think the Eileen’s cheesecake I was carrying had something to do with it; the screener, who looked a bit like Eileen herself, was sort of eyeing me with a bemused but knowing look as she ran my bakery box back and forth through the scanner.)

Anyway, as we were all waiting to board the plane, I saw photographer and viral-video star Noah Kalina walk up up to the gate. I was like, “Hey! That’s Noah Kalina! I’m going to tweet that we’re on the same flight and then go introduce myself.” (I’ve been a fan of his work since I started seeing his restaurant interior shots on Eater years ago, and I think he’s commented once or twice on my Flickr photos, and I know a lot of the same people he does, but I’ve never met him.)

I wanted to @message him in the tweet, and since I couldn’t remember if he was @noahkalina or @kalina, I figured I’d consult the web via my laptop instead of trying to blindly guess it on my phone (he’s @noahkalina).

So when I went to pull out my laptop and … “FUCK! I left my machine at security!”

With only minutes to initial boarding, I ran back through the terminal and retrieved the computer. Luckily it was still there and they hadn’t sent it to lost and found or blown it up as a suspicious package. Conveniently—but perhaps not super securely—they didn’t even challenge me to prove the computer was mine. So I guess if you ever want a free laptop, just skulk around the security area and watch for someone to leave a computer. Then just run around a bit, get sweaty and frantic-looking, and then tell them you left your MacBook and can you get it back.

By the time I got back to the gate, Noah had already boarded and was in his seat with earbuds in. I ended up finding him at baggage claim at SFO, introduced myself, and thanked him for saving my stupid ass.

Noah, if you’re reading this, thanks again!

[via Sullivan]

[via @effedparkslope]

This 1981 video, about a very early form of Internet-accessible newspapers, is making the rounds. It’s more prophetic than it intends to be, with the San Francisco Examiner‘s David Cole saying, “This is an experiment. We’re trying to figure out what this means to us as editors and reporters and what it means to the home user. We’re not in it to make money. We’re, uh, probably not going to lose a lot, but we’re not going to make a lot, either.” [My emphasis.]

1981 Primitive Internet on KRON

Here’s Poster Boy’s Flickr photo stream.

[via Matty]

I heard this guy before I saw him last night as I boarded the R train at Pacific Street. He marched down the car, stiffly, robotically, with an old-school boombox, which he put on the floor near the front of the train. He then started to do warm-up exercises before doing a weird dance.

He was wearing a T-shirt that said “Lazer 1″ on the back (yes, misspelled, if memory serves), along with animal-print tights and, I think, sweatbands.

At one point, the music segued into Kenny Loggins’s “Highway to the Danger Zone” just as the train made a stop, and then he did a funny move—running comically out of the train and then back in before the doors closed. A dangerous move, as he ran the risk of getting shut out and losing his boombox.

Passenger reaction went from perplexed to amused pretty quickly, and the girl who got up went down there to take some cameraphone pictures of him, which you’ll see her doing at the end of the video just before the doors close on the show.

The video is about as insane as the album art. Completely over the top and ridiculous. I saw one MP3 blog describe them as “what music will look and sound like in 2012.”

To quote Charlie Todd, who sums it up pretty well: “Holy shit. This new MTV Music site is UNREAL. If you have, like, a few days to kill, go check it out. They basically put every video by every band ever on the site…. I’m in heaven! I used to hit record on my VCR before going to bed each Sunday night to tape 120 Minutes in hopes I would catch some of this stuff.”

That’s exactly what I used to do back in ’88, ’89. And Malkmus and the gang started making videos during my non-cable-havin’ college years, so I’ve never really seen any of these Pavement videos—except for maybe “Cut Your Hair.” Once, at a friend’s house.

[MTV Music]

[YouTube]

[YouTube]

[YouTube]

[YouTube]

[YouTube, via Dan]

C. and I went to see Man on Wire a couple weeks ago. I started this blog post about it but never finished. After hearing a nice piece about it on NPR this morning, I figured I’d resurrect this post.

The film is about Philippe Petit‘s illegal 1974 wirewalk between the World Trade Center towers, and it’s gotten rave reviews. I’d say it’s up there in my Top 10, maybe even Top 5. I’ve never made a Top Movies list, so I don’t know. It was, though, very moving in many ways.

Well, maybe two ways that I can easily think of.

1.) Petit’s determination to climb the tower and seeing how passionate he is about wirewalking made me reconsider an activity I had previously relegated in my mind to the status of circus sideshow nonsense. As practiced by Petit, it is a beautiful contemplative act. His passion for the art is infectious, as evidenced by all the people he is able to rope into his scheme. And very quickly into the movie, you, are hooked and eager to see how he pulls off his dream.

2.) It was nice to see footage of the towers being built and to have a window onto an era when a guy could, with some pluck, sneak in and pull off this stunt. I miss the towers and the more relaxed less effed-up pre-9/11 world.

3.) Seeing a portly, mustachioed cop, sent to bring Petit off the wire, sort of wax poetic about the wirewalk was also touching. He said something to the effect of, “I just stopped and watched. Here was something I knew, for the rest of my life, I would never see again.”

If this movie is playing near you, do go see it. But first, watch the trailer:

[YouTube]

he sings, originally uploaded by raphael_brion.

Robyn’s friends from Norway arranged to have her rickrolled via singing telegram for her birthday. The guy showed up at Serious Eats HQ just a little bit ago. Unfortunately, I am working from home and missed it. Fortunately, Raphael shot video of the craziness, so we all will get to see that soon enough. (And by “we all,” I mean me and my one reader.)

UPDATE
Here’s the vid:

[Serious Eats's YouTube]

Listening to this on iTunes right now. It’s probably instructional in some way to view this again 25 years after the fact. Duran Duran‘s videos were groundbreaking at the time.

I was going to try to embed a video by Urge Overkill here, “Sister Havana,” which makes obvious references to the “Rio” vid, but it’s only on YouTube as nonembeddable. Check it out, though. The swamp boat scenes are pretty cheeky.

[YouTube]

[YouTube]

Here’s the unadulterated Alphabeat version:

[YouTube]

[Google Video]

Ah ha! All Summer in a Day. The last time I saw this was in 1983 or ’84, when I was about 10. I remember watching it at the house of a friend who had cable, and I think it was on Nickelodeon, before that channel became all-cartoon.

At various times since the Google age dawned, I’ve attempted searches to try to suss out the name of this bleak sci-fi movie I’d seen all those years ago. The vision of children taking in artificial sunlight in a gray, oppressive compound on a planet where it always rains has remained with me all these years. The last time I searched for it was after watching an episode of Doctor Who called “The Empty Child,” in which a ghostly kid in a gas mask terrorizes citizens of WWII-era London.

Last night, while talking on the phone with Claire, she was like, “There’s this movie that, I swear, only three other people I know have ever seen. It’s based on a Ray Bradbury short story and it’s called All Summer in a Day.” So, of course, I looked on YouTube to see if it was there. I found it in three parts, which I DLed and stitched together, reuploading it to Google Video.

It’s funny because I had thought that this was actually a series, because I don’t know if I ever saw this film all the way through—I’d seen only bits and pieces at my friend’s house. Taking it all in at once, it’s much more moving and sad than I ever remember.

And if you think you recognize the bully, William, he’s played by Keith Coogan, the brother in Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead.

[YouTube]

[College Humor]