Wye Oak believes, hon

I came across this term recently in an interview on the AV Club website with Jenn Wasner & Andy Stack from Wye Oak. They used it to describe the local indie scene in the Baltimore area. Was it just a bit of humor on their part or is there actually something more happening in the back alleys of B-more, hon?

There’s always a catchy term to describe the era of a band or area music. We all remember the craze (although few of us probably reading this right now lived it) of Beatle-Mania. And T.Rextacy or Bolan-mania. Then when certain areas of the world had their scenes. New York going through two major ones with the 60’s Andy Warhol/Velvet Underground art scene…..and later on with a newer art rock scene created by bands such as the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Moldy Peaches, and TV On The Radio. (more…)

If you are my age you were mesmerized. If you are younger than I am, you have this man to thank for any “cool” videos you’ve ever seen:

This video from 1987 (I was 6!) still holds the record for the most VMA’s ever won: 9. Little known fact: the stop-animation in this video was created by Nick Park of Wallace and Gromit fame. Park also worked on Pee-Wee’s Playhouse. That factoid may be significant to those who remember Pee-Wee as a Saturday morning icon rather than a sexual deviant… or an intern on Murphy Brown.

**Wanna share a favorite music video? Find it on YouTube, send us the link here, and we’ll feature it in the next Music Video Time Machine.**

You know you watch it. No one claims that they do, but American Idol is one of the highest rated, most watched television shows of all-time. Oh, ok… you just watch the auditions. That is what the people will admit to watching. Fact is: most people watch it. The statistics don’t lie! If your friends say that they don’t watch American Idol, statically, they are liars. I’m not afraid to admit that I watch it. With that being said, on to my rant…

Undeniably, this year’s American Idol contestants are hands-down the most talented group of individuals that have ever been on the show. So far in my opinion, America has gotten it wrong twice – Michael Johns and Carly Smithson shouldn’t have been voted off so early, but that’s just me talking. Either way, the people who have left and the people that remain are more gifted than in any previous season. My question is: why do they have to pick such crap music to choose from this year?

Simon (who I love – I want to have his ignorant British babies) always uses certain phrases such as: “cruise ship”, “in your bedroom”, “your mom made you do it” to describe “cheesy performances” and I get what he’s saying. He also hates when people, who are competing for a major-label contract sound “karaoke.” The biggest way to avoid being “cheesy” or sounding “karaoke” is to avoid singing songs that would give people that impression. The judges like to use the word “karaoke” to describe covers of songs from artists that can’t be covered. Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, Celine Dion are a few that fit that category. (more…)

BT and his sweet highlights

When the techno explosion of the late 90s/early 2000s is called to mind, that brief period when DJs were so gonna be the next big rock stars, you tend to think of the usual suspects – Prodigy, Chemical Brothers, Crystal Method, etc. There was that “Where’s Your Head At” song. But due to the magic of iTunes shuffle, I was reminded of another little forgotten gem with BT’s “Never Gonna Come Back Down.” The single featuring Soul Coughing’s M. Doughty on vocals was taken from his 2000 release, Movement In Still Life – which was actually a very good record, and with its liberal use of guest rappers beat the current electrorap trend by a mile (think MSTRKRFT’s “Bounce” eight years before that was the cool thing to do).

Though hardly anyone outside the electronic community remembers it nearly 10 years later, “Never Gonna Come Back Down” did have a moment in the sun on alterna-rock radio. It even had a video – one of those awesome clips that really could only have been made during this time period. A Hackers-esque theme, warehouse rave atmosphere and Windows media player visuals — what more could you want from a techno vid circa 2000? Let’s take a trip back through the magic of YouTube.

- Amirah

**Wanna share a favorite music video? Find it on YouTube, send us the link here, and we’ll feature it in the next Music Video Time Machine.**

I’m Chevy Chase & You’re Not

Saturday Night Live has featured many bright up-and-coming comedians and actors / actresses since it’s inception in 1975. Some very famous celebrities, Chevy Chase with his one season for example, were only on the show for a short time. Others, like Darrell Hammond who is now working on his 13th year, stay there for what seems to be an eternity. There has also been a revolving team of writers - from Al Franken to Conan O’Brien. Some years and some casts are definitely better than others, and we all have our favorites. My favorite time ranges from the Phil Hartman era through the Will Ferrell era personally.

Will Ferrell w/ Infamous Cowbell

The thing with SNL is – there has to be a perfect mixture of talented actors / actresses and talented writers. We’ve all seen funny skits that weren’t so funny because the actors themselves aren’t funny. We’ve all also witnessed hilarious actors / actresses doing the best that they can with what has been given to them by the writers. The general consensus is that the show hasn’t been funny since Will Ferrell left. I hate to cause a commotion, but I have to strongly disagree with that. Sure, I’ll admit that there have been some rough patches since his departure, but I can’t say that the show is bad. Please allow me to explain. (more…)