What does the clip above have to do with the recent problems at the Orlando Sentinel? Plenty when you think about it.Here is a routine first peformed on the vaudeville stage on YouTube, a media format unknown five years ago. I also have an audio of the routine on my Ipod. In between, it’s been on radio, in movies, and on television. In each form, it’s funny.
And that’s the point. There is content, then there is delivering the content. The two are separate. Good content can be delivered in a multiple of media.
Now, “Who’s on First” is not funny everywhere. If I wrote out the words, it will not fly. You have to hear it.
Also, it takes the timing of Bud and Lou to make it work. Harvey Korman and Buddy Hackett tried it in a biopic about Abbott and Costello. Both men know comedic timing, but they couldn’t pull it off. And there lies the second point – talent creates good content.
That is why the current process of the Sentinel and other papers laying off experienced writers make no sense. People are no longer buying papers because they get their news on the Internet. Instead of using the net to boost advertising sales, they cut back the editorial staff – the one area left that actually delivers readers.
As I drive I-4 every day, I see plenty of bumper stickers. Some are funny. Some try to save my soul. Most tell me who to vote for.
I’ve never been one to put my opinions on the back of my car. Considering most of my neighbors are Republicans and I’m not, putting my political beliefs might get dangerous. People are crazy enough on the roads. There is no reason to antagonize them anymore.
But if you do, please check your bumper. If you have bumper stickers from the last election, click this link for a way to remove them. Kerry lost, and Obama is running. Bush may have won, but do really want people to know you voted for him?
If you still have a Bush/Cheney sticker on your car, don’t expect me to let you cut in front of me.
Inspired by the NCAA basketball tournament, The Consumerist has a way to decide the Worst Company in America.
Based on nominations by its readers, the site put 64 of the most reviled and customer service challenged companies in a bracket. Right now, the tournament is completing its first round with News Corp, the parent company of Fox News, against Hallmark-Westland Meat Packing Company. We all know about Faux news, but Hallmark-Westland knowingly put sick cows into food for school lunches.
The competition is tough. You would think that TJ Maxx would do well, having exposed its customer’s credit data to crooks. But TJM is against Wal-Mart, a perennial favorite who made the Final Four, and losing badly.
While retail stores are prevalent in the tournament, the equivalent to the ACC here is cable companies. Comcast, Time Warner, and Charter Cable are all part of that power conference, with Comcast one of the tournament favorites.
In last year’s tournament finals, the RIAA beat out Haliburton. Even though Haliburton helped provide us with an unpopular war, the RIAA won with its malicious lawsuits against consumers with MP3s on their computers. Sadly, neither is in this year’s tournament.
There is still time to get in on the first-round action. Click here and vote for the companies that have screwed you over. The winners advance to the next round. They need your support!
Here’s the first video from Gnarls Barkley’s new album, Odd Couple – Run.
The duo has the enviable problem of trying to follow up St. Elsewhere and its smash hit “Crazy.” It’s like Springsteen trying to follow “Born to Run.” “Crazy” not only topped the charts, it competed for Grammy’s. Gnarls could have gone down a one-hit wonder with that song alone.
But Gnarls gives a great follow-up with a retro song that beckons back to the 60s, Funkadelics, and Soul Train. Check out Justin Timberlake as a dopey TV host.
A man in Bellevue, Ohio was arrested for having sex with a picnic table. Not on a picnic table – with a picnic table. He was videotaped four times having “relations” with his round picnic table, turning it on its side and utilizing the umbrella hole.
Check out the video from Channel 11 in Toledo:
Naturally, Mr. Price has issues other than an unusual love for outdoor furniture. He has a wife and three children. The poor wife probably got sick of wearing tableclothes for her husband’s pleasure. The felony charges against him were dismissed, but he will probably be charged with misdemeanors. Worse yet, he is going to be the butt of jokes for awhile. While Price’s life is miserable, comedians and pundits everywhere are grateful.
I was listening to “Words” from Lucinda Williams’ latest album West. Although I could not find a clip of the song online, I did find the lyrics – the best part of the song. Lucinda ‘s always been a poet. Had she not been able to sing the blues, she is good enough to make a decent living as a wordsmith.
Here are the lyrics:
I would rather suffer sweet silent solitude
Deathly defiant from drowning out
Filthy sounds stumbling, ugly and cruel
Between the lips of your beautiful mouth
Deep down within me words move in phases
Frozen and still until they decide
To melt and drip over the pages
Until that moment they live inside.
My words enjoy the feel of the paper
Better than me, lay with your consonants
Once they get going they never waver
And they slip in between your if, ands, and buts.
When my words are hiding between the lines
Then i’m afraid they won’t hear me call
What if they fail me without a sign?
What if they hardly surface at all?
Screaming and throwing your weight around
My words choose knowledge over politics
You can’t kill my words ..they know no bounds
My words are strong and they don’t make me sick.
They still remain my only companion
Boiling truth to the very end
They’ll never ever completely abandon
Ever give up the paper and the pen
The Oscars are this weekend, honoring the best movies of 2007. Since I don’t go to movies much, I thought I would show my favorite video of the past year – Feist’s “1 2 3 4.”
For those who never venture over to YouTube or have been in a cave every time the IPod commercial played, now you know why Feist is emerging out of the Canadian indie music scene to become an international star. You can see why Apple chose the video for the launch of its IPod video.
Like Madonna and Shakira, Feist makes very good songs with a limited vocal range and even better videos with her looks and screen presence. She is not the dancer that either Madonna or Shakira is, but few singers are. Feist shows great moves in “My Moon My Man” and “One Evening.” She also has great fashion sense. Check out the jacket in “My Moon My Man” and the stockings in “One Evening.”
But even a good singer with a great song can make a terrible video. That’s definitely not the case here. Everything comes together in “1 2 3 4,” Feist, her sequin blue outfit, the dancers, and the lighting. Patrick Daughters directs this video, made in a warehouse somewhere around Montreal. He has worked with Feist on others, including “My Moon My Man.”
I’ve watched the video countless times. In spite of different angles and dancers appearing and disappearing, I could not pick out any cuts whatsoever. After watching the making of the video, I found out there was none. It was all shot in one take with a camera on a remote control arm.
Obviously, it’s one of the more popular videos on YouTube, and it shows the site’s influence. Feist would get little airplay on most radio stations. Were it not for YouTube and the IPod commercial, I would have not heard of her. Now she’s one of the most played artists on my IPod.
I can only echo the comments left on YouTube – “simple yet beautiful,” “AWESOME!” “cool!”
