dauthan.

Probably the funniest thing I'll hear all weekend

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 15:47:00 -0500

Brayton: Hey, you wanna go open housing with us? Zac: No, I already know that if I ever get a...

I would have never expected Kings of Leon’s “Use...

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:29:01 -0500

I would have never expected Kings of Leon’s “Use Somebody” was going to be my favorite act of My Gen, but that’s exactly what it was this year. It really is everything that you want a My Gen song to be - recognizable, catchy/hooky, and well-covered.

The rest of the show, from the top:

I thought Paul Anderson did an admirable job as our host for “The Late Late Show” last night, and I was proud of the Colbert bit my roommate, Tyler Harrison, did off the top.

“Chariot” by Gavin DeGraw - I liked the piano solo/breakdown in this quite a bit.

“Falling Slowly” by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova - A shame that the sound didn’t work on Kurt’s guitar, but the vocals were almost more impressive because that backbone wasn’t audible to the audience (except very, very quietly).

“Feel Good, Inc.” by Gorillaz - I can’t remember the last time someone rapped at My Gen. Has that happened before? I thought the guys did pretty well - yeahhh, Sammy II! (My shutter shades almost appeared in this one, which would make them two for two on the year - Airband and My Gen. Alas, they didn’t).

“You and I” by Ingrid Michaelson - Cute as cute gets.

“All the Small Things” by Blink-182 - I loved the costumes here. I was never a Blink fan, although Ty is/(was?) a huge one, but this sounded pretty good to my ears.

“This Side” by Nickel Creek - Josh Larkin, the lead on this, was also in “Feel Good, Inc.” and “Zombie”. He’s a freshman! On SIIS! And a really nice kid! This was better than I expected, by far.

“All These Things That I’ve Done” by the Killers - I really, really wish this had the gospel flourishes in the choir that the original has. Choirs were basically the theme of the night, or something? Okay. I like a lot of Killers songs more than this one (including every song that comes before it on Hot Fuss), but this sounded very good.

“Neon” by John Mayer - If you don’t play guitar, well…the riff in this song is really, really hard. I really liked the soul&B vocal touch, too.

“Limousine” by Brand New (alternate video) - I was shocked this got in - long, dark song on a night that often favors short, poppy ones, but I guess “Karma Police” worked really well a couple of years ago. The vocals and dynamics were really good here, which is what you really want to nail on this one - also, a bow on the guitar! (not sure if either video shows it clearly…).

“Zombie” by The Cranberries - Yeah, this rocked pretty hard, and Kayla can SING! Um, I’m a little biased, I know all these folks, but I liked this quite a bit, and the audience seemed to be feeling it, especially considering it’s lesser known than a lot of these other tunes.

“The Luckiest” by Ben Folds - It is really gutsy to try any song by yourself. Hats off, man - your voice sounded a ton like Folds’s.

(here’s where the above “Use Somebody” falls).

“One Day Like This” by Elbow - I had never heard this song before, but the audience really seemed to dig it.

All in all, this was probably the most underground My Gen we’ve had since I’ve been at TU - other than Blink, the Killers, and John Mayer, this is a group that largely stays off pop radio (Use Somebody’s random run to the top of the charts this summer notwithstanding, it’s not like KoL get a ton of radio airplay as far as I know).

I thought it was a really good show overall, whether or not it had as many pop songs as other years.

maura: Twitter: Not so good at the whole “sports” thing. I...

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:29:04 -0500

maura:

Twitter: Not so good at the whole “sports” thing.

I want to live in the alternate universe where Cy Young himself and the Cy Young Award are both trending on twitter.

newsweek: wearethedigitalkids: hostelcolonial: punkyj: El...

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 14:15:26 -0500

newsweek:

wearethedigitalkids:

hostelcolonial:

punkyj:

El Ateneo. Bueno Aires, Argentina.

This is a world famous theater built in 1919 which housed many operas and tango dance performances and has now been converted into a bookstore. Gorgeous.

When they film that Borges story, they will film it here.

I am such a sucker for bookstores in general, but I would probably get dizzy and start drooling and swooning if I walked into this one.

Also, with the increasing digitization of everything, I have this crazy idea that when I am an old man, I will still enjoy things like bookstores and coffeehouses, but everyone younger than me will think they are completely pointless. I will waddle through libraries, bookstores, and coffeehouses with other elderly folks, worrying about whether or not young people read or care.

(and don’t get me wrong, I love Amazon, and brewing my own coffee, and so on, I just also love the experience you get in a place like this.)

(via haveabeagle) I never thought beagles were cute until Gabe...

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 14:52:07 -0500

(via haveabeagle)

I never thought beagles were cute until Gabe posted a photo from this tumblr yesterday. Now I want one.

via garfieldminusgarfield, who I will allow to describe itself,...

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 11:31:42 -0500

via garfieldminusgarfield, who I will allow to describe itself, straight from its banner:

Garfield Minus Garfield is a site dedicated to removing Garfield from the Garfield comic strips in order to reveal the existential angst of a certain young Mr. Jon Arbuckle. It is a journey deep into the mind of an isolated young everyman as he fights a losing battle against loneliness and depression in a quiet American suburb.

Well sure. It is an original take on an old comic strip, too. I love how sometimes it is nonsensical, sometimes it is absurd, and sometimes it is just oddly hilarious, like the one above.

Click here to donate to the Prostate Cancer Foundation and the Lance Armstrong Foundation

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 14:54:40 -0500

Click here to donate to the Prostate Cancer Foundation and the Lance Armstrong Foundation: I...

(click to enlarge) Taylor should put this on a billboard, as is,...

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 10:48:00 -0500

(click to enlarge)

Taylor should put this on a billboard, as is, and add nothing but the logo.

This is probably the funniest YouTube comment ever to me (although my experience with YouTube comments is very limited).

Best part? It’s from Broho’s Yes Dance video.

Solange Knowles - “Stillness is the Move” (Dirty...

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 12:31:29 -0500

Solange Knowles - “Stillness is the Move” (Dirty Projectors)

tomewing:

This cover does a lot of things good covers do:

- reminds you of what makes the original interesting (the way the DPs’ singers approach notes like a kid approaches stepping stones - each jump to the next an excitement and a risk.)

- puts its own stamp on it (Solange on the other hand takes stillness, and the zen ninja song title, seriously as an idea, gliding across the song with an Aaliyah-like poise)

- points up the virtues of the covering artist (I’ve seen a couple of Twitter comments muttering that she “turns it into a typical R&B song” - well, she’s an R&B act, but this is cloth-eared: the genre is rarely this detached. The song is a good match for her art-n-B approach, off kilter enough to attract a few new listeners in to her particular niche)

Oh man, great cover of one of the best songs of the year. Beyonce’s sister tweaks it just enough to make it her own without flipping it entirely.

{stream via p4k, where you can also snag the .mp3 and stream the original}

perpetua: Sleigh Bells“Infinity Guitars”Live at Public Assembly...

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 16:39:14 -0500

perpetua:

Sleigh Bells
“Infinity Guitars”
Live at Public Assembly 10/21/2009

Pro-shot, normalized audio, tight pants. They’re only going to get more fierce than this! Practice makes perfect.

Tweeted about these guys awhile back. This sounds great.

SO MANY QUESTIONS. Did Kanye not have time to shoot this more...

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 16:18:55 -0500

SO MANY QUESTIONS.

Did Kanye not have time to shoot this more than once, or did he just love the pauses?

How did this video exist for 9 months before I saw it?

Why is he wearing gloves?

Why did the red shoes cause him to change his nickname? And why is his nickname now an amalgamation of MLK and Louis Vuitton? Is he the preeminent activist for loud fashion civil rights?

How do you write out numerically his swagger level of “a hundred…thousand…trillion?”

(Also, 808s and Heartbreak is great and I didn’t realize how great until the last two months. It’s an incredible thesis on the vapidity of fame and money. I will definitely write about it in my year-end music recap even though it didn’t come out this year.)

bananasmusicclub: Butch Walker vs Taylor Swift- “You Belong...

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 11:46:27 -0500

bananasmusicclub:

Butch Walker vs Taylor Swift- “You Belong With Me”

Bananas loves a little ukulele with his power pop! Find out more here.

Admit it, you like this song a lot, regardless of what you think of pop-country as a genre in general. I know I do.

Yeasayer - “Ambling Alp” Tyler and I have been...

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 14:41:15 -0500

Yeasayer - “Ambling Alp”

Tyler and I have been jamming this so hard since it dropped about 10 days ago. Ty also thankfully reminded me that Yeasayer played this last fall when they visited TU.

{get it for free from the band; stream via Stereogum}

This is one of the funniest things I saw during a very fun, and...

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 16:08:00 -0500

This is one of the funniest things I saw during a very fun, and very funny, night while playing Broomball.

Both of these things sound incredibly unappetizing. I realize that donating blood is well and good, but I hate needles and I’ve heard plenty of blood donating horror stories (“they couldn’t find an artery and now my whole arm is purple!”).

On the other hand, I can’t think of even one good reason whatsoever to see any Saw movie.

Broomball’s tonight! This will be my third consecutive...

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:43:54 -0500

Broomball’s tonight! This will be my third consecutive trip, all with Amanda. So I’m three for three - I was in Ireland freshman year.
Our first Broomball was our second date, and the cameraphone photo above is how she asked me. Cute, right? She’s great.

That’s my mom in red and my dad in black. The YMCA region...

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:08:13 -0500

That’s my mom in red and my dad in black. The YMCA region that mom works in has an annual video competition, and this is the entry from the branch she runs. She’s the defending Best Actress.

So, yeah, enjoy.

My neighbor, Torrey, looks like Chris Farley, huh? This is on...

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 12:35:48 -0500

My neighbor, Torrey, looks like Chris Farley, huh? This is on his door. I think the Morris headband is a nice touch.

{via Torrey’s facebook}

newsweek: peterfeld: reimer:mathcat345:jollilama: Geologists...

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 23:25:46 -0500

newsweek:

peterfeld:

reimer:mathcat345:jollilama:

Geologists confirm that a 35-mile-long rift that opened in Ethiopia in 2005— it ripped apart more than 20 feet in just days — is likely the start of a new ocean..

(Here’s the article)

How much can Ethiopia make from naming rights? Citigroup, Verizon, Facebook, anyone?

Hmm. Ocean Spray? Mrs. Paul’s?

Are you kidding me? A new ocean? I hope this happens (especially if/as long as no one gets hurt in the process). I badly want to know more. Also, Google would definitely buy the naming rights to this, no?

nbaplayoffs2009: Bill Walton to retire from broadcasting Here’s...

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 15:51:25 -0500

nbaplayoffs2009:

Bill Walton to retire from broadcasting

Here’s what we’re going to miss from Walton.

Walton is hilarious and absurd without being frustrating or distracting, which is a real treat. Too bad his health problems are sidelining him.

This video is worth watching even if you don’t really care about basketball or Walton if only because of the way Walton starts his correspondence.

Ezra Koenig of Vampire Weekend charmingly teaching me to play a...

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 12:39:16 -0500

Ezra Koenig of Vampire Weekend charmingly teaching me to play a song of his that I already know how to play. I like how he acknowledges that he still messes up occasionally.

{via Stereogum, who has more - Tegan & Sara, The National, Sondre Lechre}