Audio/Video

There are 40 posts filed in Audio/Video (this is page 2 of 4).

DJ Earworm: United State of Pop 2010

Oh, how I look forward to the new year. Not because of resolutions or a fresh start or anything like that, but because that’s when DJ Earworm releases his annual mash-up of the year’s top 25 pop songs. I love it!

This year’s remix isn’t as good as the 2009 version (which was simply amazing), but it’s still a lot of fun. I know not everyone loves pop music as much as I do (and really, I just like the dance stuff), but I still think even you old fogies can enjoy these mash-ups.

United State of Pop 2010: Don’t Stop the Pop (B-)

United State of Pop 2009: Blame It on the Pop (A+)

Note: The 2009 mash-up is a perfect thing (especially the video). It’s a glorious celebration of what makes pop music great. The 2008 version is very good, but it never reaches the highs of the 2009 remix.

United State of Pop 2008: Viva la Pop (A-)

United State of Pop (B) — the 2007 version didn’t have a video

Born Free

When I was a boy, I loved nature films. We saw a lot of these in school, of course, but once in a while, Dad would actually take me to see one in the theater. My favorite nature film was Born Free, about Elsa, the lioness who was raised from a cub by humans in Kenya.

I saw Born Free several times before reaching high school — but never again since. I’ve never forgotten about it (and, in fact, think about it a couple of times each year), but I’ve never sought it out, either.

The other day, I was browsing at the always-chaotic (and not in a good way) Wallace Books, a local used book store. Looking through the Africa section, I stumbled upon a hardbound version of Born Free, complete with mylar book jacket cover. Just a quick glance through the book was all it took to know I’d buy it. I plunked down my $9.50 and went home happy.

Born Free

Born Free was written by Joy Adamson, whose husband was a Game Keeper for a region in Kenya during the 1950s. The book tells the story of Elsa, one of three newborn lion cubs rescued after their mother is shot. Joy and her husband George raise the cubs, keeping Elsa for several years before deciding to release her back to the wild. The book documents what it’s like to live with a lion, and is heavily illustrated with Adamson’s wonderful black-and-white photos.

I loved Born Free. It’s not the best-written book (and, in fact, it needs some editing for punctuation and grammar in spots), but it’s a fun story that comes alive thanks to the many photos. Plus, Adamson has a real affection and respect for the animals around her. She’s surrounded by elephants, rhinos, baboons, gazelle, crocodiles, gamefowl, snakes, and more. Born Free could actually be the source of my obsession with animal intelligence.

I’ll have to watch the film again soon. I couldn’t find an official movie trailer for Born Free, but I did find an amateur one:

Plus, the full film has been uploaded to YouTube. (Here’s part one.) As for myself, I’ll try to get the film from Netflix or buy it from Amazon. (Well, first I’ll check to see if the local CD exchange has it.)

Bill Travers, who starred in the film version of Born Free, went on to produce Christian the Lion at World’s End, the true-life story of a tame lion who is moved from London to Kenya, where George Adamson helps him integrate into the wild. I shared the story of Christian the Lion at Animal Intelligence in 2007. Here’s a short video clip that highlights Christian’s amazing reunion with his former companions:

In Born Free, Joy Adamson writes:

I really have no patience with people who maintain that an animal’s life and actions are governed by pure instinct and conditioned reflexes. Nothing except reasoning powers can explain the careful strategy used by a pride of lions in hunting, and the many examples we have had from Elsa of intelligent and thought-out behavior.

Amen.

Let the Bodies Hit the Floor

Okay, to counter my last post, which praised music that some might consider…well, a little girlie…here’s another song I’ve been listening to a lot lately. It’s the polar opposite of “When I Grow Up“, and I hope it restores my reputation for manliness.

Actually, I’ve never been one for thrashy metal stuff, but I have to admit: It’s great music to work out to. I’m making a “Crossfit playlist” right now that’s packed with songs like this. And I like it.

Here’s something else I like: A yellow-naped Amazon (like the parrot we had when I was growing up) singing the song above. I think this is absolutely hilarious:

Let the bodies hit the flooooooooooooorrrrrrr!

When I Grow Up

How has this song been out for over two years and I only heard it for the first time last week? No worries, I suppose. I downloaded the song and have listened to it non-stop for the past few days. If I could wear out an mp3, this one would be toast.

I was oh-so-pleased to discover that I can dance to this song in Dance Dance Revolution 3. I’ve done so plenty recently. For good or ill, this is exactly my kind of music. In fact, I think this may be the perfect song.

Man Bonds with Lioness and Cubs

Via Frykitty, here’s a great video of a man interacting with a lioness and her cubs. She seems to trust him completely:

My favorite part of this video is how the lioness is so cat-like. Her mannerisms are just like those of a common housecat. In fact, if you watch how the lioness acts in the first thirty seconds or so, that’s just how Simon and Nemo act toward Kris here at home. It’s how they say, “Give me love! Give me love!”

My least favorite part of the video? The silly Lord of the Rings music in the background.

Mad Men/Nature Boy Mash-Up

Unlike the rest of Hipster Nation, Kris and I haven’t been able to get into Mad Men. This show on AMC is ostensibly about the men (and women) working at an advertising agency on New York’s Madison Avenue during the early 1960s. It’s been lauded for its acting, directing, writing, and (especially) its art design.

I admit that Mad Men does a great job of capturing the look and feel of the 1960s, or what I know of it. I was born in 1969, so my impressions of a show set in 1961 are skewed by what I knew of the early 1970s. But from what I do remember, the show gets tons right. It feels real.

However, a lot of it seems way over the top. The men smoke, drink, and flirt constantly. They’re all complete sexists. Now, I know that that smoking, drinking, and sexism were much, much more common in 1961 than they are now, almost fifty years later. I remember how commonplace smoking was when I was a child, and I remember how sexist my father was. But even my dad knew that his sexist jokes were in poor taste (he just couldn’t help himself). And chain smokers were only a subset of the smoking population, not the general rule.

There are certain scenes in Mad Men that just seem intended to shock, and they don’t really represent how things were in the 1960s. Plus, I find much of the dialogue to be wooden and forced — almost painful to listen to. (This may be because of the actors, I don’t know.)

I’m giving the show a second chance. I’ve been re-watching the first season recently, but I don’t know. My evaluation is still pretty much the same. It’s okay, but I just don’t get why everyone thinks it’s so amazing. It’s nothing like The Wire. In fact, I’d rather watch The Biggest Loser!

All that having been said, I do like the theme song, “A Beautiful Mine” by RJD2. Others like the song too, apparently. Recently, a group of musicians got together to produce a mash-up of “A Beautiful Mine” with the haunting song “Nature Boy”, which has been one of my favorites since I heard it in Moulin Rouge. Here it is:

This is awesome, of course, but one of the best parts is that this was recorded live in a single continuous take. (Although it apparently took 29 tries to get it right!)

Color Film from 1922

Here, via Jason Kottke (via clusterflock), are a series of Kodak Kodachrome color film tests — from 1922.

If my Vintage Pop blog weren’t dormant dead, you can be sure I’d feature this video prominently. I love it. I love looking at the styles and mannerisms, I love the ethereal music, and I love knowing that this footage was shot some years before sound became prominent in film (I’d always thought sound came before color).

Also from Kottke today, this fascinating Slate story about the most isolated man on the planet.

The Hundred in the Hands

My brother Jeff dropped me a line the other day: “Just heard this song on the radio this morning…thought it sounded kind of like JD music.” Why, yes it is. Here’s the song “Pigeons” by The Hundred in the Hands:

It’s not available on iTunes yet, but as soon as it is, I’ll be picking it up. It’ll fit well in my 2010 mix. (Plus, that video is kicky.)

Note: Jeff and I had a chance to chat about this song and others like it. We feel this has a vaguely 1980s sounds, as do many of my favorite songs lately. (Check out Dragonette!) This trend seems to have started with the Postal Service about seven years ago. I like it.