Let's play a drinking game

Hayden's an acquired taste: his self-pitying lyrics can be a bit of a turn-off and occasionally his grooves are misguided. But when he's on, man, the fuzzy tones and desperate vocals really grab and hold. Here's the love theme from Steve Buscemi's directorial debut (an underrated flick in the music editor's humble opinion).

Hayden -- 'Tree's Lounge'

Your mama's good lookin'

I've got a thing for this song, I've collected various versions of it for years. Here's the mighty Leontyne Price belting it out and it is unique, there's enough vibrato to power an all-terrain vehicle! The video and audio are not top quality but interesting nonetheless, it has a lovely bootleg character to it.

Leontyne Price -- 'Summertime'

Holes began to appear

(Man, its been ages since I've posted!) This was my favorite song off their last album, a catchy number that falls into a slow fat groove that just doesn't let go. These guys are as married to the visual as the aural and I knew the video would be cool. Glad I finally got see it.

Gorillaz -- 'Fire Coming Out of the Monkey's Head'

(Overheard at the birthday party of a soon-to-be-disappointed 15 year old boy)

'Ghostface Killah? Oh, I thought he said Garrison Keillor!'

The magic of editing

This is as an impressive display of audio and visual montage as the internet as yet produced I'd say. (Though the photoshop-ed celebrity porn clips and 9/11 conspiracy vids are always enjoyable) I love the fact that he ends each of these clips with a proviso that he doesn't actually know anything about music--you have to doubt that but I'll take him at his word. I understand what he's saying: clearly some compositional capability is required but it needn't be grounded in serious schooling. It reminds me of an old Kids in the Hall sketch where the guy keeps saying he doesn't speak English because though he can expertly crank out a handful of phrases in English--that always seem to dovetail perfectly to the conversation he's having--he doesn't actually understand what he's saying. If that's what Gjertsen's doing, I can dig it. (Hat tip: signalstation)

Lasse Gjertsen -- 'Hyperactive'
Lasse Gjertsen -- 'Amateur'

The sound of 4 hands clapping

Two impressive performances simultaneously. Kooky to watch, their twin precision is mesmerizing. I hope these two go on to master all of the world's great compositions for 4 hands.

Twin sisters playing Ravel's La Valse for 2 pianos, part 1
Twin sisters playing Ravel's La Valse for 2 pianos, part 2

'Lip syncing--I love that shit!'

I've been digging these guys lately, they've got a raw energy that is abrasively captivating (or are they captivatingly abrasive?). I wouldn't even say this is one of their cooler songs, the tone seems muted compared to some of their other stuff. But it’s all good fun and the video is unique--they sure know how to make the most of exploding squibs and quirky camera moves.

The Black Keys -- 'Your Touch'

We are the sons of no one

The Mats were one of my faves back in the day and here are 2 different views of one of their classics. The live version is a spirited performance but the audio is hardly top quality so I included the homemade vid where the audio is excellent while the visual has a 'Wavelength' (1967) quality. 'Wavelength' is a classic experimental film that consists solely of a camera zooming for 45 minutes across an empty loft apartment, which is mesmerizing to some, utterly frustrating to others. This homemade homage to the Replacements is similarly mesmerizing/frustrating. But this is only 4 minutes long and does actually feature a hint of action (completely inexplicable as it may be) at the end. Also, I gotta say back in 1986 Paul Westerberg teased his hair more than I recall (and Chris Mars perhaps less).

The Replacements -- 'Bastards of Young' (homemade)
The Replacements -- 'Bastards of Young' (live)

Cosmo says your fat

Hidden in this song is some interesting commentary about the state of beauty in our society. An economist would say that the price is whatever someone will pay. And, it follows, beauty is whatever someone will find beautiful. How can society say that big butts are unacceptable if this guy thinks they're the shiz? (Realistically society says all sorts of things that we only choose to believe or deride on our own but that's a whole 'nother thing...)

Sir Mix-a-Lot -- 'Baby Got Back'