The Music of The Sound of Young America

I love The Sound of Young America. I love it so much that I'm a donating member of MaximumFun.org, and that means that I get to download the special radio edition of the podcast each week. Between the segments you get to hear some just perfect beats by Dan Wally. I haven't been able to find any information about Dan, but he is good. I ripped a couple of his beats out of TSOYA for my own purposes to use as ringtones, and I figured the rest of the world might like them too.


Introduction

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Outro

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The Sound of Young America features a lot more music that what you hear here and plenty of great interviews from the inimitable Jesse Thorn.

Quest For Glory!

Joanna and I hit up Birdy's to see the Quest for Glory Tour! Here are the pictures I took, Joanna will be posting her much better ones soon.
We gave the girls a bottle of Jose Cuervo as a thank you gift for coming to Indianapolis. Making friends with three of my favorite musicians made tonight one of the best nights ever.

Quest for Glory 2!

No it’s not a video game. That’s the name of the tour coming to Indianapolis that I am SO hyped for.

I have a mad crush on Allison Weiss and the fact that she’s coming to Indy has me freaking out. By freaking out I mean blogging. My emotional scale might not be set right. Nonetheless you should be excited too because if you are my friend you’ll want to be there. I’m not kidding. I paid real money for Allison and Bess’ albums. Do you know how rare that is?

Most important: go to http://questforglory.tumblr.com/ and plan to be at Birdy’s with me on the 21st.

Robert Randolph at the Vogue

This was actually my first show at the Vogue. It’s a cool place.

The music was great. The opening band, Blue Moon Revue, deserves much love. We chatted briefly after the show. Check them out. I’m breaking my no linking to MySpace rule for these guys.

Robert Randolph was amazing. Seriously great. My only problem was the crowd around me. One girl was angry at another girl for dancing too much and so she poured beer on her back. Some people just want to cause trouble.

The real highlight of the night was Joanna getting on stage. Seriously. So. Cool.

Please Internet, Make This Mashup!

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PLEASE!

World 1 – Grass Land

We’re starting world’s week late but that’s okay because with 8 world we were either going to start late or end late so… whatever.

This is the one world that everyone has played so reviewing it might just be silly. As a first world it’s brilliant, and here’s why. The 3rd and 4th levels are both skippable and that is very important. The 4th is the very first moving level (very challenging) and the third has tons of bonuses (warp whistle). This is important because it gives the player a level of control over their progress that they never have had before.

And unrelated except in title:

Koopa Kids – Ludwig Von Koopa

Ludwig Von Koopa is the last of the Koopa Kids before you face off against Bowser himself. He’s the toughest of them all with all of the tactics from his siblings used at once. At this point in the game you should be used to those tactics though and should take him down handily.

As if you hadn’t guessed Ludwig is based on Ludwig Von Beethoven. Not only is the hair and furrowed brow carried over we would find out in Super Mario World that Ludwig is a composer as well. Despite their musical backgrounds both Ludwigs seem ready for a fight. Here’s a fantastic performance of Beethoven’s 5th.

Koopa Kids – Lemmy Koopa

Lemmy is the second oldest (don’t ask how I know) of the Koopa Kids but he is by far the most immature. He uses his stolen scepter to create more circus balls. This forces you to try and dispose of him quickly before they can multiply but that same haste is as likely to end your life.

Lemmy is named after one of the greatest rockers of all time: Lemmy Kilmister. Lemmy was born Ian Fraser Kilmister, so that means that Kilmister is the real part of his name. As a member of Motörhead, Lemmy rocked a guitar and gravel voice on some of the best metal music ever recorded and bedded women in the four digit range. So… he’s not much like Lemmy Koopa at all.

Here’s Lemmy Kilmister performing with Motörhead on their hit song Ace of Spades.

 

 

Koopa Kids – Roy Koopa

Don’t let Roy’s Pink shell confuse you, he’s the toughest of the Koopa Kids, employing ground shaking stomps to freeze Mario in his tracks.

You might be able to recognize from his glasses that Roy is based on singer-songwriter Roy Orbison. Orbison’s voice was powerful and distinctive in way that’s easy to notice but hard to place. Give him a listen:

 

Koopa Kids – Iggy Koopa

Iggy Koopa is the geek of the Koopa clan. He’s also crazy and demented. You don’t get to see it in the game, but it’s assumed he’s the one who built all the crazy floating airships that the kids employ. Nowadays he’s depicted as being taller and thinner with all green hair making him look even more gangly and nerdy.

Iggy’s namesake isn’t much like him at all. Iggy Pop alongside his band The Stooges created some of the rawest punk rock that ever was. He was also best friends with David Bowie, something we all wish we were. Iggy is a lot of things, rocker, junky, neighbor on Pete and Pete, but never a nerd.

 

 

Koopa Kids – Wendy O. Koopa

Wendy O Koopa is the only lady of the Koopa Kids and you can tell she had to grow up tough with the brothers she’s got. She tries to dress like a lady and look *ahem* sexy… but she’s like Lucy in Peanuts, meaner and bossier than anyone else.

Fittingly Wendy has a bad ass lady for a namesake. Wendy O. Williams was the leader of the punk band The Plasmatics. I’m going to quote her wiki on this one, “whose stage theatrics included blowing up equipment, near nudity and chain-sawing guitars.” Every words of that is true. I like tough chicks sometimes but Wendy was too hardcore for anybody.

 

Hipster Iron Man

I’m gonna keep saying it: M Ward of She & Him looks like Tony Stark with a guitar in their new video.

My crush on zooey deschanel knows no bounds.

Koopa Kids – Larry Koopa

I hate to start the week off like this. For every other Koopa Kid I have gorgeous art and a cool story about their name. Oh well, Larry Koopa is the first of Bowser’s Brood that you meet in SMB3 so he goes first. All the other kids are named for famous musicians so we assume Larry is, but we can’t figure out who he’s supposed to be! Experts (people geekier than me) have guessed at either Larry King, or Larry Mullen. Larry King not being a musician means we get to hear some Larry Mullen today.

Larry Mullen was the drummer and front man for U2, but when Bono showed up he lost fronting privileges. Here’s a rare moment of him singing instead of drumming.

OK Go – This Too Shall Pass

Normally I’m not much for watching youtube videos all day but when I find one like this I have to share. I’ve been seeing more and more stuff worth posting so maybe there will be more?

This is the best Rub Goldberg Machine I’ve ever seen and I’ve seen a lot.

Music Review: Dan Black – Un

I’ve been a fan of London band “The Servant” since they first popped up on my radar as the music for the Sin City trailer. Great music. Too bad they broke up in 2007 without ever performing in the US. Since then I’ve been waiting patiently for their lead singer and creative mastermind, Dan Black, to release his first solo album. That’s why I feel like a fool for missing the release of his album “Un” when it came out in July. It still hasn’t seen a physical release in the US but it’s available for download and it is worth the listen.

The best parts of The Servant have survived the transition. The music is catchy, precisely produced and well written. The precision of the music is in direct conflict with my usual tastes. I prefer down and dirty garage rock to electronica any day, but Black’s fidelity doesn’t take away from his energy like so many other pop artists. In fact Dan Black’s meticulous debut album is one of the best releases I’ve heard in a long time.

Top 5 Worst Lyrics in Christmas Songs

I'm a big fan of Christmas music and really just Christmas in general. For about a month now it's all I've been listening to. I'm also a fan of well written lyrics. Some people can ignore the words to songs and enjoy them despite their failings. I can't do that. So here I'm airing my grievances about the worse lyics in otherwise well loved Christmas songs.

5. The Beach Boys - Little Saint Nick

Christmas comes this time each year
Oooooooo oooooooo

The biggest problem writers of Christmas music run into is having nothing to say. You know you want to write a Christmas song but you haven't thought of it past that. Here Brian Wilson, known for penning some of the most beautiful music of the past century and lying in bed, gives up and tells us that Christmas happens annually. A good Christmas song evokes nostalgia or hope or something. Little Saint Nick reminds us that Christmas will be here next year too.

4. Band Aid - Do They Know It's Christmas?

Well tonight thank God it's them instead of you!

Bono is at his most Bono when he tells us off here.Oh yes, we're calling out Bono specifically here. Do They Know It's Christmas? is full of overripe lines but it's the conviction that Bono belts this one out that makes it suck most. The sheer amount of superstars singing on the track made it stupidly popular but Bono is what made it bad.

3. Elton John - Step Into Christmas

Welcome to my Christmas song
I'd like to thank you for the year

To be fair, Elton John doesn't write his own lyrics, Bernie Taupen does. Their relationship works thusly: Bernie spends an hour typing up a stack of papers that contain "lyrics" and gives them to Elton. Elton spends less than an hour trying to write music for those lyrics. If he can't think of anything right away he throws that page out. This is the process that results in Elton telling us that this Christmas song is his Christmas song. You can tell that Bernie's only order was, "Write a Christmas song for Elton" and he ran with it.

2. Run DMC - Christmas Time in Hollis

It's Christmas time in Hollis Queens
Mom's cooking chicken and collard greens
Rice and stuffing, macaroni and cheese
And Santa put gifts under Christmas trees
Decorate the house with lights at night
Snow's on the ground, snow white so bright
In the fireplace is the yule log
Beneath the mistle toe as we drink egg nog
The rhymes you hear are the rhymes of Darryl's
But each and every year we bust Chrsitmas carrols

I've included a much larger portion of this song because there is so much wrong. Christmas in Hollis is easily the best Christmas rap song ever, and it's cheesy lyrics are a big part of that. The song is trying it's hardest to establish that it is all about Christmas while they are desparate to do RUN DMC's usual thing. This results in out of place ryhmes like the Yule Log/Egg Nog couplet. The biggest problem I have is the completely out of place "And Santa put gifts under Christmas trees." The worst thing you can do in a Christmas song is state what happens at Christmas litterally and RUN DMC delivers that here.

1. Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer

You know Dasher and Dancer
And Prancer and Vixen,
Comet and Cupid
And Donner and Blitzen
But do you recall
The most famous reindeer of all?

Until now I've focused on pop Christmas songs but now it's time to take on a classic. It's as simple as this: If Rudolph is the most famous Raindeer of all, then why would you be askin if I can recall him? Conversly, since this song is what made him famous, how the heck is he the most famous of all when his wasn't yet? Clearly nobody thought this through.

Freedom Force – Thriller

Meet Michael Jackson.

As if I need to introduce you. I skinned this MJ variant while working on the Thriller version of Ben Franklin II. This skin is included with the Ben thriller pack so don't download it again if you already got it yesterday.

DOWNLOAD MICHAEL JACKSON

Skin includes mesh with credit given to original authors in the readme.txt file. Skin and mesh enhanced to work in Freedom Force vs The Third Reich. Skin released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike license.

Dead Weather at the Wiltern

I saw The Dead Weather last night at The Wiltern. It was an amazing show, but I wasn't sold on the group till Jack White picked up the guitar.

Of course, my view looked nothing like that. I knew I had cheap seats but it turned out I had bought the seat furthest from the stage. This video is closer to my view.

Nonetheless I went home happy.

Exam Jam

I'm breaking the rules again: Chester French & Gym Class Heroes performed at Butler's Exam Jam. CF made a fantastic first impression and GCH put on an insane live show. After it got dark things really picked up.

My pictures don't do it justice, but my friend Pat took some truly fantastic shots. His camera is like magic. Check them out here. Seriously, go there now. I'm gonna go ahead and embed a video of his pics just to drive the point home.

Iris? Not any more!

When I was a freshman the first video I ever collaborated with Tom on was a music video for Iris by the Goo Goo Dolls. It's been on YouTube for three years now but recently a message appeared below the video. "This video contains an audio track that has not been authorized by WMG. The audio has been disabled. More about copyright" Other serviced would have just taken down the video, but YouTube gave me the opportunity to fix it. They have an amazing "Audio Swap" feature that lets you pick from hundreds of songs to replace your audio. I chose Sleep Station's "A Soldiers Dream" to fix the video. Now the song just had titles that said Goo Goo Dolls on them. I used YouTube's annotations feature to cover them up with the correct information. You can see the result right here:

Thanks Google for letting me fix my copyright violations. Nice moves guys.