You know, a certain monkey has a birthday coming up. And I have it on good authority that what he really wants is:

Note the none-too-subtle implication that, were the King of Pop to be in possession of a Skate Bike, there’s a good chance he would have finally outrun the fame and adulation that drove him mad.

Fourth of July” just sounds so staid, don’t you think? This will be a tough one, as it’ll be America’s first Michael Jackson-less 4th of July in 50 years. Thankfully, we have the greatest song ever written by a stunt man: Dennis Mandalone’s America, We Stand As One to get us through this dark, glitterless night.

Alternately, you could just spend a minute with my favorite July 4th moment - Brad Neely’s “George Washington”

Our good pal (and fellow office dweller) Eric was kind enough to hip me to the sweet pop sounds of the French band, Phoenix, recently. I’d heard of them via their track on the Lost in Translation soundtrack, but as with many Sophia Coppola related things had soon put them out of my mind. However a quick deep dive into the band’s discography has made me an eager fan of their joyful and unabashed pop craftings.

So to give a little back to Eric (whom I never thanked for posting that Wilco clip) I’m going to go ahead and throw out a video that many of you might already be aware of - Lisztomania (from the most recent release “Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix“). Even if you’ve seen the clips before, give another look. It’s a damn fine pop nugget, and the band’s official video is a fun, clever (and oh, so very French*), affair that alternates between Beatlesesque hijinx and studio/practice footage. However, this fine soul rightfully realized that a song that seemed so steep in the best of the 80’s pop wave put together this mash-up version using naught but well-synched up Brat Pack** footage:

My only complaint would be that there was far, far too little Hollywood. I mean, really now. Other than that, I’m happy to say I’ll be cheerfully bopping along to that tune in my head for the rest of the day.

*and I say that as a good thing. I do love me the French.
** I refuse to consider my beloved Kevin Bacon a Brat Packer, but I’ll let it slide here.

Okay, this little advert from the good folks at The Faculty of Science at the University of Copenhagen made me smile.

The Power to Create

How can you not like a super-hero team which includes Black Vulcan, Apache Chief, Juan Gigante, Jesse Jackson, and The French Tickler? Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the Multi-Culture Pals:

This comes from “Very Personal Injury” my favorite episode of Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law where the poor hero is forced to sue after a coffee spill prevents him from enlarging.

Now I ate my share of Count Chocula and Frankenberry when I was a kid, and I remember Booberry (though it was one I could never find on the shelves of my local Topeka grocery).

However, I have absolutely no memory of Fruit Brute. I’m not sure, as a kid, I would have gone for a lime-flavored marshmallows, but I am pretty damn curious. And I’m pretty sure I’d remember something as awesome as a Werewolf cereal, if I had heard about it. Sigh, my life is incomplete. Anybody still got a box of this I could try? And maybe a bowl of Yummy Mummy, too?

Fruit Brute

You know what I miss? Posting music videos. A silly little pleasure to be sure, but one I think that needs to return. So with that in mind I’ll dig through the stuff I’ve been listening to to start sending some A/V love out there on a more frequent basis.

Of late I’ve been spending a lot of time with the music of Grant Lee Phillips*. It’s been a while since we’ve had a new release from the man, but the discography that’s out there is certainly a delight if you’ve got the mind. He’s a man who has adroitly gone from Americana to Glam to Folk and back again (often piling them all together) over the course of his career, and for that I’m eternally grateful. So with that in mind let’s take a few and check out “We All Get a Taste” from his 2001 release “Moblize”:

*oddly enough I’m not that enamored of the Grant Lee Buffalo albums. Weird, I know.

Now I hated me some Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (you can read my review here). For the sake of time, and not wanting to give away major plot points, I neglected to get into too much detail on the actually plot of the movie. Those of you who are interested in a hilarious blow-by-blow rundown of the film should definitely check out Topless Robot’s take.

I will give you one word of caution as this little rant has more than it’s share of spoilers. However, if you have seen it, or a just looking for yet another reason not to, then this examination from everything of specific scenes and plot points to the reason behind the entirety of Megan Fox’s career and celebrity is a must read:

“She looks like a porn star and has the same acting talent as one, yet for some reason she makes mainstream movies. This tonal disconnect is what’s so appealing about her.”

In what might have been the most ridiculous premise of any 80’s Saturday morning cartoon (and that’s saying something), Turbo Teen gave us young teen Brett Matthews who, thanks to an interrupted government experiment gone wrong, had the ability to turn himself into a car when exposed to extreme heat. That’s got to play havoc on your sex life. How does he use his newfound ability? To solve crimes with his friends and their talking dog! Hey, why hasn’t anyone tried to option this for a feature film? Sounds ridiculous enough to me. Hmm, guess it’s not high concept like, say, Alvin and the Chipmunks or Thundercats.

Turbo Teen Opening Credits

One of my favorite songs from the new Wilco album is “You Never Know,” and I was surprised to hear them play it on the new “Tonight Show” the other night. Earlier this year on “The Colbert Report,” the Chicago-based band played “Wilco (the song),” which one would think would be the single, since it’s from “Wilco (the album),” so this was an unexpected treat. Jeff Tweedy and the boys are all dressed up in Nudie suits, a la Flying Burrito Brothers. If you aren’t familiar with either the suits or the Burritos, click the links for more tasty goodness. Here’s another awesome Burritos song too.