The F in WTF is for Finland

Not quite sure why this video was so popular in Scandinavia in its day, but I know why it's so absolutely hysterical today... for all the wrong reasons. 


And please, can somebody tell me what is going on with that bizarre Terry Gilliam-looking dude silently nodding at the start?

And Then There Were Two...

We're losing another choice today from the hunt for the true identity of Marty the Fishboy. Sadly, for those of you who selected the option -- The lead singer of an indie pop band from Texas -- you are wrong.

Eric Michener is the lead singer of the band, Fishboy, from Denton, Texas. Along with his buddies Sweatpants, Sixlets and Medicine Ball, the group has developed a bit of a cult following. However, no Marty is in sight on the program when this band hits the stage.

Fishboy-A Surprise Return

Fishboy | Myspace Video

When will we know if Marty is actually a kid's show sidekick or if I simply made the whole thing up? Soon, dear readers, soon.

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Three Words - Star Wars Musical

If you've seen the title of my upcoming book -- and if not, simply scroll your eyes up -- then you'll probably not be surprised to learn that I have a soft spot in my heart for the original Star Wars trilogy... so while I don't have the financial wherewithal to help this project out -- I certainly can do my part in spreading the word:

A Very Harried Sequel

 Cast photo from "A Very Potter Sequel"

I admire these guys a lot. After putting together a brilliantly crafted musical based on the Harry Potter novels in 2009, there was nothing left for a sequel, or so it seemed -- a fact playfully pointed out by Lucius Malfoy during the opening number of said sequel.

Although this second go-around is far too talky and there's a lot of unnecessary reliance on potty humor -- literally -- there's a lot to like here. The cast's vocals, when the songs finally arrive, are superior to the originals, specifically, the duet between Sirius Black and Harry Potter in front of the Mirror of Erised. Plus, the choreographed Quidditch match is a real hoot.

It's not ready for Broadway, by any means, but certainly well worth the watch and considering how quickly it all came together... full OWLs to Darren Criss and company.

Post Haste

Follow!

Fridays are always the busiest days for me, with several article deadlines at ESPN.com, so I apologize for the lack of any meaningful post today. Instead, I thought I'd take a moment and give a shout out to my buddy Kendall B. of the KS 107.5 Morning Crew in Denver.

If you're in the Rockies, why not give him a listen? And if you're not, you can still listen online.

Have a great weekend one and all, and we'll be back on Monday, hopefully with some decent reading material for you.

Axis of Awesome

As the name of the group says... Axis!

You've Got a Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

James Taylor has always been one of my least favorite performers. I suppose he's fine for lullabies, but I just find him incredibly depressing - regardless of the song... although that makes him perfect for the Oscars and their annual "clap for the dearly departed" montage.

But other than this use of Mr. Taylor's vocal abilities, I have no desire for him to suck any more joy out of my brain. I can hear him now as they bring in a candlelit cake at a festive celebration...

"Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, You're one year closer to death...."

No thanks.

OK Go

When their record company refused to let their new video be shared via blogs, by disabling certain codes that allow video-sharing, the band OK Go fought the good fight and wrote a letter to the New York Times to protest...

"Embedded videos — those hosted by YouTube but streamed on blogs and other Web sites — don’t generate any revenue for record companies, so EMI disabled the embedding feature. Now we can’t post the YouTube versions of our videos on our own site, nor can our fans post them on theirs. If you want to watch them, you have to do so on YouTube.

But this isn’t how the Internet works. Viral content doesn’t spread just from primary sources like YouTube or Flickr. Blogs, Web sites and video aggregators serve as cultural curators, daily collecting the items that will interest their audiences the most. By ignoring the power of these tastemakers, our record company is cutting off its nose to spite its face."

Good for them! And it is a great video. I'm happy to join the ranks of the tastemakers and not only share that video with the world, but also their "alternate version" complete with a marching band! Go, OK Go!

OK Go - This Too Shall Pass from OK Go on Vimeo.

Pants on the Ground

Better than Adam Lambert...



And the inevitable imitators...

Festival Time!

It's after sunset --- so Happy Chaka Khan everybody! Light that Melle Mel menorah!

Love is a Parody

Plenty of these "literal videos" are being posted on the internet, but some are certainly better than others. Here are two of the latest entries that hit the mark, IMO. Enjoy.

John, Paul, George and Little Scotty?

Hope everyone has slept off the effects of the sleepy-making turkey dinners and the even more sleepy-making Lions and Raiders and Giants, oh my!

Here for your viewing enjoyment is a documentary from the future... it's all about how the Beatles will be perceived one thousand years from now. Enjoy!

Forget New Moon - These Guys Are The Ones Who Suck!

They’re called Jedward. They have nothing to do with Twilight, but what they are is simply the hottest thing on British television these days. Jedward is a pair of twins who have somehow made it to the final six of the televised singing competition called X Factor – with our old friend Simon Cowell on the judging panel. I say somehow, because the two brothers have less innate talent than Sanjaya Malakar and Heidi Pratt combined.

If these guys were on the Ick Factor, I could see success… and one can only hope the British public is simply “having a go” at Cowell and the rest of the show’s creators by continuing to support these clowns. Take a gander at their latest fiasco…

What Hath T-Pain Wrought?

Check out the latest spin on the whole Auto-tune movement, which has now made it possible for Carl Sagan, who would have turned 75 last week, to become a posthumous pop star…

I'm not sure how I feel about this. How about you?

Horrible Turn

For fans of Dr. Horrible, here’s a just-released fan-made “prequel” to the Joss Whedon creation. It’s the origin tale of the good, or rather, bad doctor, the Captain and chock full of inside jokes and homages to the original work. It’s a bit draggy at certain points, but other than that, incredibly well done. Kudos to all those involved.

Here’s part one – the rest can be found online.

Enjoy!

Bon Temps!

Here’s Queen Ida, in all her zydeco glory, who performed on SNL back when Pee Wee Herman was relevant. NBC guards their classic clips like the Colonel’s secret recipe, but this is pretty much what you would have seen that night.

It’s no Ashlee Simpson doing a hoe-down, but hey, you get what they give you.