Month: July 2016

Crazy YouTube Videos – Little Drummer Boy

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crazy youtube videos
This is what I enjoyed, legally and with the full blessings of the Creator

This is a crosspost from another blog on which I write. This version is better. 

Last evening, upon returning from Friday mass, I was moved to pray for the fine people of our great nation.

Not really. I got home super late last night, and it being Friday, I decided, “Fuck it. I’m going to get insanely high anyway.”  So I did, and it’s legal here, so I’m not only a hero, I’m a great citizen.

So, a candy, a crazy potent brownie… (I’m not kidding. 500 mg THC brownie the size of 2/3 of a credit card. I have been nibbling it like a little mouse all week), a couple bowls of Animal Cookies weed (see the leafly review), AND infinite hits of the vape pen later (no half measures for this man)… I was super high.

I was so high that I decided to watch some crazy YouTube videos. I ended up  watching/listening to old Fleetwood Mac songs. Old ones, from when they were a hard blues band, all the way to the fluff of the Rumours era. It was lovely. I dozed, I floated. I lucid dreamed Stevie Nicks vs the Green Manalishi… it was lovely. THEN the above video played (the blessing/curse of autoplay) and I was ripped from revery, and faced with this guy.

Crazy YouTube Videos = A Metaphor For 21st Century Life

Ok. Watch this video while you read this. This guy, Marvin Fleer, is so amazingly information rich…. it’s like Finnegan’s Wake on drums. Here’s why.

  • His drum setup is insane. Look at all the cymbals.
  • His drums seem wedged between a built in china cabinet and… another built in china cabinet?
  • I don’t know how, but I am sure that his mom is no more than 10 feet away
  • Little Lies? You’re going to live drum to an 80’s pop song from Fleetwood Mac? That’s your showpiece?
  • He’s not great
  • He’s not terrible
  • He has shared this with the world.
  • Half a million people have watched this
  • Despite half a million in the audience, our man is obviously very alone (mom doesn’t count)
  • We have only been able to share videos of ourselves doing shit like this for a few years. This is a new phenomenon.
  • Sociology. This is. Read Bowling Alone.

Marvin Fleer, you are the shining exemplar of this day and age. You are the zeitgeist. Go forth and drum forever. There can be great wisdom in crazy YouTube videos.

 

 

Watch This Russell Brand Standup Now

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Russell Brand Standup

Is Absolutely Brilliant

russell brand standup
This is a nice piece of work

I know, I know. Russell Brand. But stop it. He’s really really smart, and really really funny.

Messiah Complex is a manic ADD tour de force. Brand is no longer a drug addict, so there’s no longer anything mitigating the mania. And it’s brilliant. This particular Russell Brand standup is delivered almost in one long breath. It’s fast but he keeps tying it all together as he goes. He capitalizes on his own narcissism and compares himself to Gandhi, Che Guevera, Malcolm X, and Jesus. He succeeds wonderfully.

He weaves filthy sex stories with stories about tv appearances gone wrong, and drug addiction, well… addiction in general really. It’s wild and frantic. It’s heavily anglophile. There are some jokes that may fall flat because Noel Gallagher references don’t really scan in the USA, but never you mind. You’ll be laughing. He is a machine gun assault of jokes. If his charm does get you, simple erosion will wear you down to grudging admiration.

Let it be said that I haven’t been a Russell Brand fan before, although I did love Get Him To The Greek. I watched this on a whim, while surfing YouTube. I’m so glad I did. It’s treasure. It’s a keeper. I have watched this more than once. Take a look at this clip (below). If that makes you laugh, you’ll like this. If not, then ok.

I’ve watched other stand up specials of Russell’s and they didn’t do it for me like Messiah Complex. I laughed my ass off throughout most of it. If you do as well, then cool. Maybe you’ll like the rest of my blog. It’s new still but it’ll fill up. Until it does, watch this russell brand standup now, or the monsters will eat you.

I Saw Carrie Brownstein Filming Portlandia

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carrie brownstein filming portlandia
Carrie Brownstein

Carrie Brownstein Is Super Cute

And Completely Hilarious

I was walking home from work the other day, and as I turned onto my street I saw a film crew, tents, trucks, and a million people standing around intensely inactive.
Living in Portland, I immediately thought “Portlandia?” because I knew they were filming, and it didn’t look like it was Grimm (the other show that films in Portland). I was intrigued.
I ran into Fred Armisen at a record store (how Portland is that?) a couple years ago, which was cool. I also know a couple people who either have been on, or are still on, the show. Yes, I’m cool but not because of that. Portland is a small city. Everyone knows someone who’s been on Portlandia or Grimm. Grimm sucks. Do not speak of Grimm.

portlandia shoot oregon street july 2016
The creative process.

So I stop across the street from the crew, and see the super funny and awesome Carrie Brownstein standing with Jonathan Krisel (co-creator, writer and director of Portlandia). I bore witness to a snippet of a sketch which involves a giant dog statue/device that sits on the front lawn of the house in the right of the photo. Why a giant dog?

For Pooping!

Over the several takes I stuck around to watch, a man (an extra) walks his little dog down the sidewalk, only to pause before the giant dog totem, which then squats and “poops” out about a half dozen softball sized balls of “poop”, which roll down a track. Think of a six foot wide contraption from the game Mousetrap. Like that. Once the poop rolled down, the extra walking the strokes his chin. And scene. Ah, art. I’m certain that everyone involved in that scene (except the extra) makes more money than me. That includes the guys in orange vest who would announce what manner of vehicle was approaching. “Bike! Got a bike coming through, guys.”

I did not take a pic of the dog device, as I tried not to be an intrusive fanboy. However, think of Clifford the Big Red Dog. Now make him brown. Kinda like that. See? You’re not missing much.

As mundane as it was, it was still neat to see a show I like filming, literally, a few hundred feet away from where I sleep and poop. It was cool. AND NOW YOU KNOW. When you watch season 7 and see this sketch, think of me. I’ll know if you did.

Conan and Letterman Trash Leno – SO GOOD

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The 2010 Tonight Show Fight

The Enemy of My Enemy Is My Friend

I came across this gem during a late night YouTube spiral. I think I started off listening to a very engaging lecture by Christopher Hitchens, then somehow it was then Norm MacDonald, which then led to Conan O’Brien on The Late Show, back in 2010, right after getting suuuuuuper fucked by NBC and Jay Leno, over the Tonight Show.

 

I think the longer we just sit here, the more uncomfortable it’ll make Jay.

So begins the wonderful, groundbreaking, extremely intense,interview between two direct rivals. Conan and Letterman. This is around 2010/2011, while NBC is in a public relations death spiral over the Conan/Leno Tonight Show debacle.

Conan O’Brien goes rogue, and goes on The Late Show with David Letterman. This is after an extremely messy departure for Conan O’Brien, after more than 20 years with the network. Jay Leno, a man whose reputation as a nice guy is key to his success, is exposed as a… well, a showbiz asshole. He pulled a power play and won, but messily; making his bosses look bad.

conan and letterman leno impression
Conan and Letterman impersonating Jay Leno. WATCH THE VIDEO!

Game of Thrones

Conan took his visible rage on the road, and on the Legally Prohibited From Being Funny On Television Tour, Conan was reborn. He somehow became cool, and not in the nerdy cool way he’s been forever. Real cool. Fonzie cool.

Conan and Letterman both share the sting of being outfoxed by Leno, and fucked over by NBC. The relish with which Dave listens to Conan rant is plain. “There we go! Now we’re getting somewhere!” He exclaims as Conan starts to let out some of his rage.

Conan seems almost diffident. He’s so wary of being used as a pawn again that his guard is way up. No need to worry. Dave treats Conan as a comrade in arms, and this whole interview is GOLD. It’s a solar eclipse level rarity, this confluence of rival late night legends. Watch the video. Conan and Letterman vs Leno. It’s totally worth it.

Velvet Underground Documentaries You Must Watch

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velvet underground documentaries
They changed everything. Pic from https://stonerchic.wordpress.com/tag/the-velvet-underground/

Why must you watch these Velvet Underground documentaries? Simple. There are few bands as absolutely seminal as the Velvet Underground. Hopefully you already know who they are, and why they’re the fertile crescent of Shadow that gives depth and perspective to the Optimistic Arrogance of the 60s. They’re a counterpoint to the Love Generation. Not pessimistic, or mopey, at all. Just dark and realistic. They’re the hours of hellish introspection that follow the euphoric trip. That’s it. They’re the comedown.

Velvet Underground Documentaries Number One

A Closer Look


A Closer Look (aka Under Review) is a recent (new millennium) documentary that features tons of Warhol Factory people, music critics, and (to my delight) lots of Mo Tucker and Doug Yule. It’s just about as good as it gets as far as Velvet Underground documentaries go. This video has been encoded at an abysmal 144p, which is super low res. However, it’s the one I can find online that’s complete. You can hunt around and find a higher res version in segments, if you’d like, but this one was satisfying to me.

You don’t get a lot of Doug Yule in most Velvet Underground documentaries. He was frozen out of their induction in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, as well as their famous 1993 reunion tour. That’s too bad, because he was a contributor to their later work, and was a legit member who should be recognized for that. He burned bridges when he recorded a Velvet Underground album after Lou Reed left, without any other Velvets involved, but… so? The Velvets weren’t legends then. They were just a name to which Yule apparently had rights to use. Bad form perhaps, but not worth a 45 year ostracism.

Velvet Underground Documentaries Number Two

1987 French TV


I don’t even see a title for this one, but it’s from 1987, is just excellent, and.. it features interviews with Lou Reed, John Cale, and NICO (who died about a year later). Good stuff! Everyone is much younger, the band had been a viable force about 15 years prior (rather than 40+ in the first of the Velvet Underground documentaries), so everything is fresher. Plus the inclusion of Reed, Cale, and Nico, add gravitas to the story.

Now What?

Excellent. You’ve watched both Velvet Underground documentaries, and are now converted. Welcome. Everyone should have a little Velvet in their collection, much in the same way millennials still buy Dark Side of the Moon. It’s canon.
So, if you’re a person of quality and would like to own some Velvets, I applaud you. Digital copies abound from the carrier of your choice, but if you want to own something you can hold, and kiss, and covet, and worship, then here are some suggestions from yours truly.

VIDEO

AUDIO

  • Peel Slowly and See (5 CD Box Set) – http://amzn.to/2aleG7L
    • This has the 4 seminal albums, plus a TON of outtakes and live tracks. This should complete you as a human.
  • LIVE MCMXCIII – 2 CD set from their INCREDIBLE 1993 reunion tour – http://amzn.to/2alfo4L
  • The Velvet Underground (self titled) – if you own just album of theirs, this is the one to get. http://amzn.to/2aleZ2k

Hello world!

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giphy-4I am back. 🙂

I used to own a blog called Youdopia, but I let that lapse and it vanished, after five years of wonderful content. I won’t let that happen again.

So now I am reborn wit Heart of Markness. I am, as you may have guessed, Mark. Hi. This blog will be things I think you should see, hear, read, know, etc. If you’re an old friend, or fan of Youdopia, then you know what to expect. If not, then, I hope you will enjoy what you see, and if so, stick around.