Program Your TiVos, Kids

It appears that VH1 (yeah, VH1... I'm dumbfounded, too) will broadcast a Radiohead show filmed in their basement recording studio this weekend. To be exact, it's scheduled for May 3 at midnight. Check your local listings and, if you're anything like me, set your digital video recording devices in case you fall asleep on the couch while trying to pry your eyelids open four hours past your customary bedtime (did I mention that I'm an old man?).

Here's a masterful preview clip of Reckoner—my favorite In Rainbows track. I know I've said it before, but I can't get over what charismatic performers the Radioheads actually are. It's continually mystifying to hear album tracks that may have originally sounded distant or slightly inhuman turned into full-blown, groovy rockers.


video.vh1.com

Let's Not Try To Figure Out Everything At Once

This is not a breaking-news blahg. Never has been. Probably never will be. More than anything, I guess, it's a personal-reaction-to-what's-out-there blahg. And that's just too much to keep track of. Anyway, I've loved Fake Empire from the first second I heard it way back when. If I had to pick between Boxer favorites, this opening track wins every time. This morning, the track knocked my socks off and nearly had me sobbing as I looked for my freeway exit. That's probably too much information, but today feels like the kind of day that's just chock full of too much information.

And that brings me to the point of this post. A few months back, Scott Cudmore dropped an absolutely stunning, ridiculously beautiful (but somehow unofficial) video for Fake Empire. You just have to see it to know what I'm gushing about. Also... I'm lamenting the fact that this YouTube version is the best embeddable player I could find... so please do yourself a favor and WATCH THE PRISTINE QUICKTIME CLIP HERE.

If you're just too lazy to click, this'll do (but I'm very very disappointed in you):

Scrub-a-Dub

I think I've mentioned before that upto12 headquarters is dialed into the Scrubs re-runs every night on channel 14. Typically, I'll catch one of the two back-to-back episodes around 10:30pm. There's something soothing about the show that helps me delete my mental cookies and settle in for a decent night's sleep. I can't totally put my finger on what exactly blew me away about the first two-plus minutes of last night's episode — but it featured Colin Hay's acoustic version of the Men At Work track, Overkill. If you haven't seen the entire episode, it's a good one (from Season 2, maybe? In fact... you may be able to watch it here...) and the magic of YouTube has put the Colin Hay montage at your fingertips. Give it a look. I'm relatively certain you'll be buying Overkill off iTunes within 4 minutes...



Also, the Colin Hay bit reminded me of the incredible Polyphonic Spree performance on another episode. I don't completely remember the backstory... but a patient at Sacred Heart wants to play with his band and somehow the good doctors work it out so the band shows up and the sickie gets to wave his tambourine. Mostly, the clip makes me sad that I never saw the Polyphonic Spree during the white-robe era. Again, at your fingertips:



The bottom line: I love Scrubs. And sometimes that love is rewarded with moments of musical crossover bliss. Something Kyality would call intertextual nuggetism. I watch Scrubs for a chuckle, but every now and again I get a bonus — Colin Hay, the Spree, Keri Russell...

In other news, there's some gossip floating around that Scrubs will show up with 18 more episodes on ABC next year. Strange, but good (very good) news.

Feist - Deer Valley - July 17

Uh. Yeah. My super-crush of the last 18 months (or is has it been longer?) is coming to town. Leslie Feist in the summertime on a mountainside. This could be enjoyable, right?


Info here. Pre-sale is on now, so get a move-on, kids.

I'm Not A Copycat, I Just Seem Like One

It feels as though I'm constantly biting the tires of SRO... and, honestly, there are worse things to be accused of. But the kind folks who run that music video site just posted the trailer for the long-awaited (by me, anyway) A Skin, A Night—a film about the National directed by Vincent Moon. I've praised Mr. Moon before for his work with the Take Away Shows and it's no surprise that my expectations are through the roof.

Watch the trailer:

A Skin, A Night Trailer
Uploaded by The National

A Few Quick Thoughts

If you haven't seen it, Pitchfork.tv launched yesterday. And (shocker), I kinda love it. The video quality is outstanding and the content is pretty deep for a site just getting off the ground. Take a few minutes and browse around if you've got the time and you're sure to find something you love. Everything is on-demand (duh...) and P-Fork even takes a few lighthearted stabs at their well-deserved, holier-than-thou, we-hate-everything-you-like reputation. On top of music videos and live performances, Pitchfork.tv also promises to air documentaries and other assorted, musically awesome stuff.

We've all suffered long enough in the void created by MTV's refusal to air music videos and/or any music related shows—and, while I don't know if this is the ultimate remedy, Pitchfork.tv seems to fill the void quite nicely. If you'd like to read the thoughts of folks who actually know what they're talking about, Creativity Online has a short Q&A with Ryan Schreiber, who started Pitchfork and is now heading up the .tv efforts. Our friends at SRO (who recently reminded us that they're "always angry, but sometimes [they] just keep it in check") also have their opinions.

In other news, I've added an imeem playlist to the sidebar. It's a major work in progress and this is my first stab at the embedded player. If you have suggestions for better widgets or whatever, let me know. I'm all ears. I'm also dropping it here in this post for kicks... mostly to see how it all works/looks and to explore some options for the future. Enjoy or something, yeah?

And On The Seventh Day...

Despite the nasty weather (seriously, snow in April... again?!), it's growing season for all who unite in the cause of mustacheosity. You probably remember the shenanigans from last year and this year promises to be better than ever. You can watch the progress and grasp the sheer dudeness of the holiday HERE. Seven days in, I'm not feeling horrible about my upper lip:


You've got 28 days to sharpen your look. In the meantime, stay away from the razor fill your mind with only the purest, most mustachioed thoughts.

I Wanted To Hate It

On occasion, the upto12 household simply can't find a babysitter. Last night was one of those occasions. Mrs. upto12 ran through the (figurative) rolodex of neighborhood sitters and came up empty. So, instead of enjoying a nice sit-down meal ("nice" being an extremely relative term) and the romantic comedy of the month (Definitely, Maybe... surprisingly rated in the 70s on Rotten Tomatoes), the Wilson Bros were sent to bed early and Mrs. upto12 grabbed a bag of burgers and fries from local grease pit Ab's. My mission was to rent a suitable replacement for D,M at the RedBox kiosk down the road from upto12 headquarters. Selection was poor, especially in the rom-com category. In fact, there was really only one option:


I wanted to hate it. I really did. But I just couldn't. Catherine Z-Jones (yeah, I just linked to her IMDB in case you didn't know who she was... aws) was decent. Aaron Eckhart's butt-chin was solid and the little girl from a hundred recent movies wasn't even remotely hateable. I must be losing my ability to hate sappy rom-coms... next thing you know I'll be dishing my opinion on 27 Dresses and Fool's Gold. Brace yourselves.

We'll Shine Together

This is old news and the sometimes-angry, mostly-radical folks over at SRO posted about it a while back, but I've been recently re-enthralled with Rihanna (Beyonce, Jr for those of you in the know...). I really just can't get enough of R&B/pop songs with ridiculous lyrics. A song about an umbrella? I'm in. To top it off, this collaboration is relatively fantastic. More stunningly beautiful R&B stars should join forces with British dance/rock/pop bands. I'm being serious. Beyoncé plus Arctic Monkeys? Golden. Leona Lewis plus Hot Chip? Woo-hoo. Fergie plus New Order? Well... even an idea this gnarly might have its limits.



Also, I know nothing about Klaxons, but lots of Brits seem to like them, it appears they don't typically wear sleeves on their shirts and they move around rather smoothly while they rock. Now I'm intrigued. If you can recommend them, shout it out loud and clear. Ey! Ey!