43 posts tagged “videos”
My parents were pretty supportive of what I did (and continue to do so now into my adulthood), but I'm pretty sure if I had come home from third grade and said I wanted to dress like a ho and then document the process, my mama woulda had my butt and grounded me until I was 27 and tired of Reading Rainbow. There was no way in hell she'd let be don a navel-bearing shirt, let alone a nude body suit while I writhed on the floor to Britney Spears' "Toxic," but there was a parent in Peru who let theirs complete the task as evidenced in the video. As Michael K says, "What is this fuckery?!"
On a serious note: is this considered to be kiddie porn? Curious...
I was talking about how when I saw Death Cab last week Becca and I noticed the shaving down of Mr. Gibbard's body, and now I was able to finally see his face. Hello cheek bones! Where are the glasses? The scruff? The...brooding? THE HAIR?
By no means was Ben fat but when you're accustomed to seeing someone one way and love them and then see them when they look like they should be eating corn dogs daily, it's a bit of a trip.
Bonus points for Chris Walla to be wearing the Mister Rogers ensemble though!
Some observations, musings, and notes from this week and more in my musical alliances:
- The Killers were at the NSSN pre-party (of which Cold War Kids dominated), just wandering around to watch the show. Dude Ronnie, what happened to your hair?! Holy receding hairline Batman...
- Saw Brandon Flowers use the bathroom upstairs in the backstage area. I didn't actually see him pee or anything, but watching a rock star go in and out of a bathroom like a regular person is definitely funny. (Plus, everyone I talked to about NSSN all agreed on one thing: homeboy somehow got hot in between '06 and '08 and it showed. Holy tight pants.)
- I got to witness our band send-off when they take stage at Mezzanine; the members line up on the stairs backing the curtains and then shuffle on stage. It was really neat to see both sides of the curtain from where I was standing backstage.
- NSSN: Ben Gibbard, what the fuck?! He lost about a good 70 pounds (picture from RS @ Coachella) and sorta looked like Nikolai from the Strokes from where we were sitting. He's just so...lean now. It was a little odd. As Becca so eloquently put it, "Manerexic!" We both didn't recognize him when he popped up on stage, but Death Cab totally ruled last night. Doing acoustic "I Will Follow You Into The Dark" was a ballsy move at a arena radio show, but it was spot on. And "Cath," of course, was fucking beautiful live. I totally get shattered every time I hear that song (which was playing in this bar Danielle and I went to on Tuesday, bonus points Pilsner Inn).
- Chris Walla also looked like Mister Rogers' son with a orange sweater vest, white collared long sleeved shirt, and tight slack combo last night.
- Hot dude from Music for Animals at the local band competion - come to Mexico with us!!
- I did my end of year lists for The Tripwire on Monday: best albums, singles, videos, headlines, and shows of 2008. We should be running them sometime next week I think. We also had to do a best of 1998 records list, so I obviously employed Wendy to help me out. We sat over sushi in Fremont and lamented how much we used to be into Destiny's Child and Goo Goo Dolls...
- Russell from Bloc Party: why do I still have a stupid crush on you!? Grr...
- Drummer from Franz Ferdinand did our NSSN afterparty at popscene and was super wasted, getting on the mic every so often to whoop to his DJ selections and yell. It was highly amusing.
- Related: Alex Kapranos, still as beautiful as ever! I brushed against him last night while at pop and was struck by his beauty. Seriously, really pretty.
- Speaking of hotness, we got the new glossy flyers for the Scissors For Lefty New Year's Day show, and husband looks gorgeous! I'm bummed Kristin and I won't be here for it, but, you know, we're kinda gonna be in the U.K...
- Tonight I am seeing Alanis Morrissette. Is it weird to be oddly excited about that?
- I realized the other day I have seen wallpaper. nine times this year, the last being for the pop/Mezz Orphan's Ball rigt before Thanksgiving...this is a problem...
Who am I kidding, I still love this video:
All my clips to come next week, now I must somehow pull my brain off the floor and function...fucking three hours of sleep...
Ne-Yo? When did this happen?
Is it weird I am about equally enthused (and ecstatic, mind you) about seeing both Celine Dion and Lil Wayne?
My good friend Abby is having a costume party next weekend, and asked all the female guests to dress up in what makes them feel like a goddess. I inititally said I was going to dress up like Janet Jackson because I fell in love with her when I saw her last month, but I can't fucking forget Bjork. She's an international goddess!
Which to choose, which to choose...
I remember when that kid did a cute number with a fedora on at an awards show about a year or two ago; so imagine my great surprise and ultimate discomfort when I found out that (a) he sings this song "Take You Down" that I really love and (b) the video for it is wildly inappropriate. I can't even post it here. It features:
- stage humping
- air humping
- hand humping
- too much hip humping everything else
- shirtlessness
- a weird rotating stage that has a bannister on it? Child security railing, perhaps?
- two backup dancers that I am pretty sure were strippers at one point
- hoards of screaming girls
This guy is 19 and has sleeves from his ears to wrist. It makes me feel so unaccomplished.
And in regards to that last bullet, I can't even comment on if he's attractive or not based on the fact he has major baby face and I remember learning about him from my 14 and 13 year-old cousins. Two years ago. Jailbait, anyone?
That being said, "Take You Down" is major babymaking music...I'll keep it in mind...
I'd also like to announce that my friend Wendy was the wonderful, wonderful person that coined the last phrase in the below article...she is a genius. I smell some awesome merch coming up...
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Live - Wallpaper & Hot Tub @ The Independent | SF
I swear to God 08/08/08 was the apocalypse: public full-frontal nudity,
debauchery in direct effect, and every guy I've had a crush on in the
past four months all made an appearance. I wouldn't have changed it for
anything in the world. (more...)
It's confirmed New Kids on the Block are indeed in my hood October 10; me thinks this is gonna be the best birthday concert season EVER (what, with Radiohead and Journey and Wallpaper, and then maybe Hall & Oates or Ratatat - the possibilities are endless...)
Now, reports are comin' in that the NKOTB has recorded a track with another one of my one true loves: New Edition. Uh, WHAT?? Apparently it's gonna be on the New Kids' new album to be released laster this year, and apparently I'ma change my underwear four times when I hear it. Also, Ralph Tresvant says "mad love" in the article, which is both hilarious and adorable, mostly because I think he still looks like this (in the black vest). Oh, melt my heart.
However, Bobby Brown is still M.I.A. from the picture, what with trying to get with his baby momma or something, and did not join in for the studio sessions. Dang. But in his honor, I am posting this clip because we all know how much I freaking LOVE this jam:
That shit is hard. There are so many things going against you: trying to get people to dance while they are interested in hitting the bottle; using someone else's iPod and records, and therefore someone else's music tastes; and, if you have no idea who your fellow party-goers are, it makes playing stuff like Twisted Sister, which you looooooove, either the best or worst idea ever.
Danielle and I went to an alter ego-themed party Saturday, and in between taking huge sips from our Slurpee and vodka jug, dancing to Notorious B.I.G. in the middle of a carpeted room, and pretending to be lesbian, we helmed control of the house iPod on loan, hooked up to the big DJ speakers. This was a party at her co-worker's abode, so I definitely was out of the loop in terms of being connected to people at the shindig, but that didn't stop me from playing some Hall & Oates...
"HOLY SHIT, I LOVE THIS SONG!!!!"
People literally poured in from all other areas of that house to groove in the living room. Initially, I didn't know if "I Can't Go For That" was going to generate any response; I really fucking love that song, but that doesn't mean people will dance. Danielle and I high-fived and continued to bust out the greatness, even playing "I Can't Go For That" a second time, much to the delight of our drunk crowd, and we jumped up and down. Secret weapon was discovered!
In cute news, yesterday I got to spend some quality time playing DVD 'The Price Is Right' with my family, including my dad, for Father's Day, and nothing beat seeing his face when he opened his card and found Journey tickets inside. I temporarily because the favorite child. September 27, greatness will be had!
Lastly, my BFD review went live earlier last week, and finally, my Wallpaper feature went live today...I will save WP for its own entry tomorrow, but know that I still laugh myself when I read it. That crazy Ricky Reed...
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Live - Live 105's BFD 2008 @ Shoreline Amphitheatre | SF
Admittedly, I had my reservations about the Live 105 event, which boasted to be "the summer's premiere music festival" on PSAs and promo around the Bay Area. I absolutely hate the large-stadium feel of the venue BFD was going to be in and prefer intimate ones, and the line-up seemed schizo, with artists ranging from Cypress Hill to MGMT to DJ AM, but hey - that's more or less my own record collection, so I was one to talk. Plus, given the insanity of last year's extravaganza, I was curious to know if the station could top even itself.
The BFD madness began the night before with a free pre-party at 330 Ritch hosting The Whigs, who have also been one of our On The Cover artists. A cool garage rock trio who sound like they borrowed The Vines' Craig Nichols, transplanted him into the Black Keys temporarily, and then renamed themselves while picking the axe simultaneously, The Whigs played hard and faithfully despite a thin turnout. "Right Hand On My Heart" is a example of the classic rock vehicle these guys can maneuver, but it's also tracks like "Sleep Sunshine," a beautiful slow tempo with drowsy lyrics and slider guitar that provides the band to branch out, and ultimately glow. I really look forward to seeing what else these Georgia boys can deliver.
After grabbing late-night donuts post-show and watching Designing Women at the shop with my friend Danielle, I passed out to wake up early the next morning and caravan down to Mountain View's Shoreline Amphitheatre with friends Kristin, Mario, and Mars' friend Jesse, all of us excited for different reasons: MSTRKRFT, Alkaline Trio, the local stage. We arrived right past The Whigs set time and promptly split up to explore, so I settled into Atreyu's set before realizing that even when I was 14, I didn't like this shit, but I appreciated the shredding they were doing on stage. I wandered a bit to soak up the adjustments to this year's festival in comparison to 2007's: there was no main stage area anymore, but rather a split stage set-up in the parking lot where when one band finished, the other could start up almost instantaneously. The new creation of the Subsonic tent, dedicated to electronic and dance music, was tucked neatly in the back and hosted both DJ and live acts. The main festival stage that faced seats and lawn areas was now turned into a meet-and-greet area.
After deciding against and then caving into $8 plastic bottled beer (you read that right), Kristin and I stopped in on San Francisco hot DJ Omar of popscene and Leisure fame, who got the crowd moving at 3:30 in anticipation of the acts scheduled later on. I then moseyed over to see MGMT, who I was definitely not prepared to take in. "Weekend Wars" sort of sounds like if David Bowie decided to reincarnate himself with a folk twist but couldn't let go of his synth roots, and then his music had a bunch of sex with the New York post-punk music. Topped off with these ridiculous outfits composed of one-pieces and straw hats, the Brooklyn band ripped through "Electric Feel," "Time To Pretend," and ended with "Kids," which found Oakland bad Hottub crashing the stage and having an orgy with the MGMT kids while the band tried to play. It was definitely one of the highlights of the day.
A short pretzel break later, and we were back in the Subsonic tent, after acquiring my friend Maria at the gates and Nick in the tent, and a margarita deemed 'the yard stick' at the booze tables. Lyrics Born thrust out a funk-inspired set full of speedy rhymes and a sassy back-up singer, and I got in the mood to dance as DJ Steve Aoki prepped his turntables. If you've ever peeked at Aoki's itinerary, this guy is all over the place, literally - one day in Japan, the next in L.A., the next at a private party. Maybe all the jetlag got to him, or the heat that day, but he reminded me of a 14 year-old who got left alone with his dad's record collection for two hours for the first time. He headbanged-danced like a cross between an angry three year-old and a slam dancer (thank you, Nick); he zipped right across the stage, left, right, and then up and down, touching every amp in between; he climbed up on the speakers and tousled his hair like he was out of his mind. Needless to say, I was more impressed he could still mix properly lest suffer from a brain hemorrhage. Plus, I knew he was doing something right when I spotted The Kooks' lead singer Luke Pritchard dancing on one of the speakers midway through!
Aoki picked up his stuff to let friend DJ AM helm the tables after him; I wrote in January about the sheer propensity the L.A.-based DJ had to innately know what the crowd wanted, and it seems like the guy is just like wine, it only gets better with age. Jay Z to Daft Punk, Weezer to The Presets, mid-90s dance anthems and current singles, AM knows what he's doing, and I decided if I ever had a half million dollars to blow, I will hire this guy to DJ my wedding. We squeezed amongst a throng of a now-packed tent to dance to his set, which didn't disappoint in any capacity. Breathless, we simmered down to watch Santogold as she took front and center after AM. Her two backup dancers, dressed to perfection in pressed white collared shirts and tailored black pants, provided the most entertainment. Prerecorded backing tracking backed Santogold, and from there the mediocrity hit plateau. I really wanted to like her, considering the hype surrounding her M.I.A. meets Gwen Stefani sound, but maybe the half hour set she was limited to didn't allow her true potential to follow, she just couldn't own the stage.
I ended up sitting with Maria talking about my love life outside of the tent for MSTRKRFT's set, but knowing I would see them at the Mezzanine after party later in the night justified my tales of woe taking precedence. It did amuse me that Usher's "Love In This Club" made an appearance during the duo's set, and ashamed me to realize that I knew the lyrics as well. I serenaded Maria with "I'll be like your medicine, you'll take every dose of me!" much to her bemusement.
After an In'N'Out stop, we trekked back to the City to catch Motor live at Mezzanine in San Francisco before MSTRKRFT took stage. The London pair has songs about not being human and gays in America and have a decidedly industrial feel to them I didn't anticipate, but appreciated. It seemed like the packed house at Mezzanine also appreciated them, because I was getting pushed left and right; as MSTRKRFT came on we decided to push our way through to the middle of the floor and dance like no tomorrow. Sadly, my comrades could not take the stuffy air around us four songs in, so we relocated to the back to watch. Hunger and fatigue began to settle in, and a quick drop in to indie club Leisure and a late-night diner ended my BFD experience. And while I can't say if this year tops last, I can say with certainty that sunscreen indeed never washes off.
By JENZ Jun 12, 2008 in NEWSNot really. I'm too fidgety to be in front of the camera, and I like to be behind one, anywho.
I was in a cranky mood when I got to the office, so I knew this song could totally cheer me up:
The problem is, this song kept getting stuck in my head simultaneously:
I don't know why.
But really, Ginuwine? "You know I'm a sexaholic?" Dang. Whatever happened to that guy? Anyone know?
