C3 -Comics, Comedians and Clips

May 16, 2008

Musical musings on life and such

Anybody that has read this blog knows that I love to check out YouTube guitar clips so I can learn songs or just hear a favorite band or artist. I really liked the The Knack-especially the guitar work in their stuff and so recently I took a look at some clips of My Sharona. Of course, there are the "Related Videos" on the side, so I decide to click on this one clip that looked interesting. Well, this clip is very interesting. In it, this group is playing a cover of the song, and the camera, strategically placed to capture the band in all its rock and roll glory, instead captures some dimwit making funny faces, trying to dance (I guess I shouldn't talk!) and speaking very animatedly at some other person who is off-camera. The "guy in the corner video" (on YouTube) has a lot of funny comments!

In checking out video clips of some songs I like to play on guitar, I came across this clip of the band Kix doing Blow My Fuse. Now, heavy metal videos are some of the worst videos ever made-absolutely horrible acting, pretentious, super corny, and utterly ridiculous, but I don't mind "performance" type videos. (Hey-how am I gonna learn those licks if I can't see the person playing them, right?) The original Kix video of them performing this song is good-by heavy metal band standards-I think. There was another version put out by what can only be called an "imposter" Kix band. This clip is so bad, so ridiculous, and so inadvertently(?*) funny I had to put it on! You have to see both clips to understand. The first is the "real" Kix, the second is by the Spinal Tap-ish Kix. I love the imposter band's singer's facial expressions-like he just smelled the least-wiped ass ever, and his rather substantial belly! What's weird about this is that I have researched this (yes I actually have looked into this!) and can't find anything about this pressing matter. How is this imposter band able to use the real song; the video is actually labelled "Kix" and its directed by one "Brad Feig"-who I have not been able to find any information on at all! * This second video has to be a gag video-look at the guitarist's hair! That singer's face! Who knows!? At least this version is funny as hell!

"Real" Kix-Blow My Fuse:

"Imposter" Kix

Was listening to the "70's" XM channel on the way home from dinner tonight and heard "You and I" by Rick James. Made me think of that funny skit from the Dave Chapelle Show where Charlie Murphy-Eddie's (funnier?) brother-reminisces about meeting Rick James backstage. One of Dave and Charlie's funnier skits-I think.
*Update-the YT clip I had posted here was taken off. I found a link to another version of this that actually has all 3 episodes of the "I'm Rick James, bitch!" series from the Dave Chappelle Show. All are pretty damn funny. I am now glad I found a link to this better clip!

Funny Video - Dave Chapelle - I'm Rick James Bitch

*Update-I recently (a bit late I guess-it ocurred in 2-08) found out that YouTube had taken the famous guitarist comedy shred videos authored by "St Sanders" (otherwise known as Santeri Ojala) down due to the parodied guitarist's claims of copyright infringement. Ludicrous. They were/are a parody! Get a life!
I put up a link from my original posts to Wired where the clips can still be seen. http://c3fun.blogspot.com/2007/11/skink-and-shred.html
and:
http://c3fun.blogspot.com/2007/10/spiders-on-drugs-dropped-calls-and.html

Related Tags: The+Knack My+Sharona music heavy+metal Kix Blow+My+Fuse Dave+Chapelle Charlie+Murphy Rick+James

May 3, 2008

Carnac the Magnificent said "...a huge Mickey Mouse glove and an insane actor and his starstruck (literally!?) guest"

I have been horribly busy lately at work with school meetings, "putting out fires," and other things. Here is some weird stuff I found on the 'nets. (click to enlarge)

Here's Mickey-errr...Mikey!

Related Tags: Oprah+Winfrey Tom+Cruise Michael+Jackson glove

April 27, 2008

Funny stories

I have always loved the music of Todd Snider. Todd Snider - The Official Website He always writes songs from the working person's perspective. He has a lot of good, powerful songs about current social issues. I like his musical style also-a mix of country, blues and folk. He also has a great sense of humor in his songs. I was checking out some of his stuff on YT and found these-two great, funny stories from a very good songwriter and storyteller.

I have neglected to post some of this guy's clips. Lewis Black is funny as hell! I like his stuff! I sometimes don't like the angry, screaming comedians as much as I do as people like Jim Gaffigan, Mitch Hedberg, etc, but Black's thing is he's pissed! And he's fucking pissed! Pissed at all the BS we are going through. I can identify with him and his anger, so that's why I like him so much!

April 21, 2008

6 Random Things:

I was tagged by Mathman of When Will I Use This? for the 6 Random Facts meme.
Here are the rules: Link to the person who tagged you. Post the rules on your blog. Write six random things about yourself. Tag six random people by linking to their blogs. Let each of the six know they’ve been tagged by leaving them a comment (on their blogs). Let your tagger know when your entry is up.

Here are 6 Random things about myself:

1. I write with my left hand, but do everything else with my right. When I was a classroom teacher, I wrote on the chalkboard more easily with my right-for some crazy, odd reason!

2. I have one sister who is a little older than me. She lives here in ABQ, NM also.

3. I never played any sports in high school, but after I graduated, I played a lot of basketball, and played a lot after work, and during the time I was studying to become a teacher at UNM. I haven't played much since I got married and had our son.

4. I have another blog which is a guitar blog that I link from here-Guitarthrill.

5. I have never been to any other states other than Calif., Nev., Wy., Ariz. Idaho, Ut., Col. Montana, Texas, Fla., and Mass. Of course, I would like to travel to a bunch more, especially Ill. and NY! Wash. would be nice too!

6. When I sleep I always sleep on my right side. (Most of the time)

These random people are tagged:

1. Distributor Cap

2. http://amy-mishmash.blogspot.com/

3. Anonymous Blogger.

4. For Your Entertainment

5. Dick Small

6. Splotchy

April 19, 2008

I remember when...

This is Lonesome George's Article on Lonesome George take on recent world events.

(click to enlarge)

Been meaning to post some Emo Phillip's stuff, but I keep forgetting! I like him. I hear him on XM comedy all the time and when I 'm driving alone I have to always pretend I'm coughing or something, lest someone driving next to me think I'm a friggin' nut-laughing all by myself!

What a unique style this guy had! Sometimes you are listening to his labored, breathy delivery (I guess that's how you could describe it!) and you have to sit there and think about the twist he is making. Not to mention his look! Here's a few clips.

April 12, 2008

Play that funky music!

*First off-one of my most favorite cartoonists, Dan Piraro, agreed to let me link to his blog- Bizarro Blog What an honor! Check out his blog! It's as funny and zany as his strips!

This is gonna be a pure music post. I have really been playing my guitar lately. Anyone who has read my profile knows that I love to play the guitar. I like all kinds of music, but like to play rock and roll on the guitar most of all. I just love looking for clips on Youtube showing how to play this riff or that lick. There are thousands of those clips on there, some good, and some not so good. I recently checked out some clips and saw a guy that posted a lot of clips some of which are ok and some not so good. I mean, he seems like a real nice guy, seems like he's a good father, (his daughter is featured in some of the clips) but there are a couple of clips he has that just aren't that good. He seems to have trouble sometimes with tuning his guitar. He seems to have some trouble playing some songs without very loudly playing the "real" track to play along, sometimes drowning out his own playing.

Now, I will be the first person to say that I will never post a video of me playing a song or a riff to YouTube. I think it takes some guts to post those, when you know that some people (in my case many people!) are going to be commenting negatively about your playing, the song you picked etc, etc. I don't comment negatively on video clips of guitarists/musicians I don't like. (I do comment negatively, although without profanity, etc. for political/socio-cultural clips whose views I disagree with) If anything, I will comment positively about the video. I really don't like to see the negative comments for players who are trying their best, trying to show people something, but then again, you're putting yourself "out there" for all to see and hear and that's what the comment function is for.

Well, I have seen some funny comments poking around in YouTube, and for this one particular guitar player who has posted many clips of himself, one commenter- (jedihakker) had some choice words for the guy's playing on several of clips. Ok, I admit I kinda thought jedihakker's comments were humorous. I admit it. Maybe you "have to be there" with this thing. Anyway, I decided against posting the link for this guy's clips. You will be able to find it if you know how to look at the screenshots anyway. I am going to be looking for other comments for different kinds of clips and maybe posting those later. Sometimes the comments are funnier than the clips themselves! Maybe this is just a very dumb idea. Probably. Feel free to give me some negative comments!

Funny clip about a guitarist getting haunted by Pachelbel's Canon in D!

I saw this next clip on Because I was Bored and like Marvin, I have to post it also! Rainin' McCain by the McCain Girls. This is not funky, not tuneful and could be used as a musical emetic! It plays as a parody of sorts but it seems they really do like McCain! Don't eat a large meal before watching this one!

April 9, 2008

Too late for love?

I know. Valentines Day was way back in February, but I just found some clips that deal with love and relationships in a pretty humorous fashion. Besides, we should not think about that special someone only one month a year! Especially with these two clips! They kind of remind me of some clips I posted quite a while back by Lev Yilmaz from his Tales of Mere Existence series Tales of Mere... and maybe some of the stuff by Don Hertzfeldt I feel sooo Rejected! , (although certainly not as dark and violent as his thoughts on relationships!).

Anyway, I love this sort of dark, cynical, but funny animation! I found this first clip My First Crush on my wife's Etsy site. (shameless plug: my wife is selling her jewelry on her site http://www.lavendermoonjewelry.etsy.com/ -check it out, and my sis in-law is also selling her rather unique purses there too!)

My First Crush created by filmmaker Julia Pott, is actually not a rolling on the floor hilarious clip, but a sometimes tender, touching little film, acted out by funny animal characters, of real people's crushes, based upon interviews. More info: Julia Pott has got a crush on animation

This next clip is something I saw on blogmate Matthew Caverhill's blog, Culture Kills...wait, i mean cutlery. I saw I Guess You'll Do and thought "This is perfect!" Thanks Matthew! It'll fit alongside the other clip! This one is more cynical. It's narrated by a woman, but obviously from a dude's perspective and it's more a statement about what guys think about marriage. "Ehem...uhh...not all guys, honey!" Slap!