Remembering: Ian Curtis

Thirty years ago today, Joy Division's lead singer Ian Curtis hung himself in his kitchen. A troubled soul, struggling with severe epilepsy, an estranged wife, a mistress and burgeoning success, his is a tragic story of yet another great talent who left this world too soon.

(Photo credit: Bernard Pierre Wolff, Appiani family tomb, Cimitero Monumentale di Staglieno, Genoa, Italy)

Aretha Does Mariah

Here's a clip (from my long-lost blog love, Crunk and Disorderly) of Aretha Franklin doing a cover of Mariah Carey's "Touch My Body."



And here's another clip (courtesy of FourFour) in which the Queen of Soul offers a little commentary on the subject:

P.S. 22 Children's Chorus, NYC

I can't believe it took me so long to hear about these wonderful kids. Watch them do their version of Tori Amos' 1,000 Oceans and tell me it doesn't send a shiver down your spine.



Just look at them! They're all so into it. That's more than I can say about myself and my classmates when we were in chorus.

But then again, doing Tori Amos, Bjork, Coldplay, and Donnie Hathaway covers is WAY more exciting than singing "Sweet Caroline" and "Jingle Bell Rock."

Oh, check out their version of Madonna's "Sky Meets Heaven." Some of them are in their Halloween costumes. Cute!

Anyway, they have a a YouTube channel and a blog, if you want to see more.


Props to Perez Hilton (don't judge!) for the heads up.

Obama meets Jay-Z

Oh my god, this mash-up between pop culture and politics just tickles my heart to no end.



Props to Brion for the heads up.

My avoidance of political blogging, Day 39286837

This animated clip of a [hypothetical] conversation between Akon and T-Pain would sound like cracks. My. Shit. UP.

Enjoy.



Props to Chris for the heads up.

Me make one little mistake you wan dun us?

Now this? Is my JAM.



"Need U Bad," Jazmine Sullivan feat. Missy Eliot

Will you be my American boy?

This song is all over the radio right now, and I absolutely adore it.



Gotta love the shout out to the Bay.

Did Portishead kill trip-hop?

That's what this Salon article by James Hannaham says. Apparently Tricky and Massive Attack, in their most recent releases, have turned away from the Bristol Sound. Our only hope---Portishead and their ten-years-overdue third album--- Hannaham seems to assert, doesn't keep it alive.

[Lead singer Beth] Gibbons' trembling voice used to sound bluesy and erotic --"It Could Be Sweet," from their debut, could have been pillow talk verbatim. On the second record, she often threw in a vampy, nasal quality that cut the generally depressive tone with a touch of humor. What singer could take herself seriously while doing a Shirley Bassey impression? On "Third," Gibbons takes herself entirely too seriously, moving between a whispery, disaffected moan and a fluttery, anxious whine. She always sounds powerless, like she's about to burst into tears. The folky numbers, like "Hunter," have a very listenable, austere atmosphere, but not a sensual one -- Portishead has lured you and your partner to their dark Transylvanian castle, but you'll be sleeping in separate quarters.

One of the tracks from the new album, "Machine Gun," is up on their MySpace page.

Oh, snap. He's right, it's a totally different sound. I'm not going into mourning just yet: true, it's no Roads or Mysterons, but I'll still buy the new album anyway.

Make It Stop: ?uestlove's reaction to "2 Girls, 1 Cup"

If you know anyone in college right now, I'm sure they've made you watch that nasty-ass flick, "2 Girls, 1 Cup." I'm not linking to that madness. You can YouTube that ish.

That video has spawned oodles of videos that highlight people's reactions to the video itself. This video, showing ?uestlove's reaction, is my FAAAAAAAVORITE. Courtesy of Nigga Know.



One love.

(If you can't see the video, click here instead.)

Mass Thrilling in San Francisco

Yesterday in Dolores Park, a bunch of people gathered to set a world's record for the largest simultaneous dance.

What I'm Seeing has video here.

I still think my friend and his crew should have won some kind of record for the largest simultaneous dance ... by people dressed like gorillas:




(Props to the folks at SFist .)

Guilty pleasures, YFP! style

Jonsey just posted about Blender magazine's 50 Worst Songs Ever article, and while I won't admit to choreographing ice-skating routines to any of these songs, I will admit that I've had my fair share of enjoying a few musical guilty pleasures from this list. Don't judge!

#46: "Hangin' Tough," New Kids on the Block
I was a HUGE NKOTB fan. The first version of my high school senior portrait photos sport shoulder tan lines, which I proudly displayed as a badge of honor for attending the NKOTB concert at Great America. I must have spent hundreds of dollars on Bop and Sixteen magazines (and other forms of media) that contained blurbs (no matter how small) on my favorite band at that time.

#45: "Mesmerize," Ja Rule feat. Ashanti
I don't even remember what this song sounds like now, but I'm sure I liked it. I liked Ja Rule for a minute.
[UPDATE 10:35 p.m.: I take this one back. Thanks to iTunes, I can say, with confidence, that I absolutely concur with the folks from Blender magazine. This truly is one of the worst songs ever.]

#40: "I Wanna Sex You Up," Color Me Badd
I so had a crush on the lead singer guy. You know, the cute one.

#36: "Make Em Say Uhhh!," Master P feat. Silkk, Fiend, Mia-X, and Mystikal
I don't know about you, but this song is STILL the jam.

#35: "Shiny Happy People," R.E.M.
Yeah, I liked this one too. My tastes are, how do you say ... eclectic.

#21: "Two Princes," SpinDoctors
This song was just cute. Happy and cute.

#20: "Dancing on the Ceiling," Lionel Richie
I can't even tell you why I liked this one. It had a good beat, and you could dance to it?

#16: "What's up?" Four Non-Blondes
I was in the Philippines for the summer when this song came out. To be honest, I don't know why I liked it either. Maybe it was the only American song I heard on TV and the radio during my three-month stay in a hot and humid tropical country where I didn't speak the language. I guess you could say I liked this song out of sheer homesickness.

#10: "Ebony and Ivory," Paul McCartney and Jacko
How could you hate on a song that tried to bridge racial divides in this country? Also, the video had giant piano keys in it. What's not to love?

#7: "Don't Worry Be Happy," Bobby McFerrin
Remember when Levi's had TV ads that were composed of footage shot by their own customers? You don't? Well, they did. And my cousins and I made an attempt at creating our own Levi's commercial with this song playing in the background. I think this commercial shoot happened before or around the same time as my highest accomplishment as movie auteur, "Slumber Party Massacre."

#5: "Ice Ice Baby," Robert Van Winkle, aka Vanilla Ice
You liked this song too, don't even lie.

And for the record, I do not, and will not ever, have any Hillary Duff on my iPod.

Lazy Sunday Afternoon Blogging

So I'm sitting here on my couch watching the Concert for Diana. So far I've seen Tom Jones, that girl that sings the song from "Laguna Beach," and Bryan Ferry. With the exception of Bryan Ferry, Duran Duran (!!!!!), and Joss Stone (although she's looking crazy these days), I've gotta say, the rest of the lineup is kind of ... meh.

Right now they're doing an Andrew Lloyd Weber segment, which I think is the most engaging set of performances so far. This woman's singing a song from "Jesus Christ Superstar," and she's totally rocking out. And it was announced that the original Christine from Phantom of the Opera was going to sing, at which the large crowd at Wembley ooohed and aahed. Impressive.

And now Donny Osmond is singing. What just happened here?

Oh. Donny Osmond was in "Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat"? Who knew?

Clips from the audience show that they're totally into it. I guess those Brits really love them some theatre!

I'll admit, I totally cried and was even sad for a few days after Diana got killed in that car accident. Don't even judge me. I can't believe it's been ten years now. If I had the means, I'd so create a concert of all of my mom's favorite singers, with all proceeds to benefit non-profit organizations my mom supported. Although my mom likes singers like Johnny Mathis and Andy Williams, so I don't even know if we'd even raise any money.

In case you were wondering, Andy Williams has a web site. Oh my god, so does Johnny Mathis!

In other news, I have two hours of flamenco coming up this afternoon. I bet you a carne asada burrito that I miss the Duran Duran performance. Ain't that a bitch.

East Bay: Free Movie Screening this Wednesday

To all you Bay Area hip hop fans, listen up.

This Wednesday, May 2, the UA Emery Bay Stadium theater will host a free screening of The Hip Hop Project at 7 p.m.

From Executive Producers Bruce Willis and Queen Latifah, The Hip Hop Project is the compelling story of Kazi, a formerly homeless teenager who inspired a group of New York City teens to transform their life stories into powerful works of art, using hip hop as a vehicle for self-development and personal discovery. Kazi challenges these young people to write music about real issues affecting their lives as they strive to overcome daunting obstacles to produce a collaborative album. Russell Simmons, hip hop mogul and long-time supporter of the project, partners with Bruce Willis to donate a recording studio to the Hip Hop Project. After four years of collaboration, the group produces a powerful and thought-provoking CD filled with moving personal narratives and sharp social commentary. In contrast to all of the negative attention focused on hip hop and rap music, this is a story of hope, healing and the realization of dreams. Inspired by Kazi’s work, 100% of the net profits from this film are being donated to organizations working with youth.

Monday evening YouTube blogging

Yes, Dear Reader, I do realize that posting YouTube videos does not constitute proper blogging.

But seriously, I had to share this clip of Alanis Morisette doing a cover of "My Humps" by the Black Eyed Peas.



I thought I was over her. I was mistaken.

If you've been living in a cave for the last year or so, see the original song here.

(Props to BYO for the link.)

What I'm listening to

Ladies and gentle people, Amy Winehouse:

A Volvo does not a "whip" make.

Please keep the A's in Oakland. If only so these guys don't make any more of these videos:



(Props to Miss Pretty in Pink for the link.)

MC Doughboy

I seriously threw up in my mouth a little, watching this:



Thanks (I think) to Ceci for the link.

Happiness is a warm gun ... and free espresso for life, possibly?

Paul McCartney just left Capitol Records to sign with SBUX's record label:

Financial and contractual details for the Hear Music deal weren't discussed by Starbucks, beyond the fact that Mr. McCartney's album will be the first released on the label created by Starbucks Entertainment and Concord Records. But the partnership officially marks the end of Mr. McCartney's four-plus-decades relationship with Capitol, a Concord Records spokesman said. Representatives for Mr. McCartney wouldn't comment.

Beatle butterflies
"How could a coffee company sign a Beatle?" asked an awed Mr. Schultz at the meeting, where he admitted to having butterflies in his stomach before meeting Mr. McCartney for the first time two weeks ago in New York. "I was nervous," he told the artist, who appeared at the Seattle event via live video feed from London.

I understand that SBUX CEO Shultz wants to challenge the status quo about what people think a coffee company should be, but seriously. I mean, they're already in the specialty coffee/ready-to-drink/liqueur markets, which okay, fine, I can see the connection. But movies and record labels?

Can you say brand dilution?

But I guess if Richard Branson can do it, SBUX can too.

And as far as Paul McCartney goes? He's gotta pay for that divorce somehow, I guess.


(Photo credit: Humphrey Nemar)

Rock on.

Have a great weekend, everybody.

Get out those ripped jeans and hair spray!

David Lee Roth is back with Van Halen. Sweeet.

Even though these days, he is a bit ... crackish.

But whatever. I love reunions. Even pure PR stints taking place about a month and a few weeks before Van Halen gets inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.


Not that I'm a cynic or anything.

Somewhere out there, Valerie Bertinelli's ... well, doing whatever Valerie Bertinelli does. Sans a Van Halen.