Weird Al is Back!

I don't know about you all, but occasionally I remember that "Weird Al" Yankovic hasn't had a new album any time recently, which means that one could be on the way. Well, the time has come. He's not done with the album, but it's in the works, and, surprisingly, he's posted a free song on his website! The download is really slow, though, so I've mirrored it here.

"Weird Al" Yankovic - You're Pitiful - wow, this song is wonderful. If you like parodies and funny insult songs, than you'll like this. It's a string of reasons why the ever-present "you" is pathetic, and, well... pitiful. I, for one, can't wait for the new album. Enjoy!

Fun from YouTube

This is the first in what may end up a weekly feature, may not. But this week, it happens. Here goes.

First off, here's some Star Trek action figures in a parody of MTV's Cribs... apparently Spock is a black man on the inside:



And here's an intersting bit... the original theme song to the pilot of Gilligan's Island. It's completely different!



Finally, I take videos like this as proof that We Are Scientists really has spread to a form of mainstream popularity. When you get random underage girls doing videos to their songs, that's pretty much what it means:

Curtis Peoples

With the semester ending, my friend and I decided that we needed to go to as many concerts as possible before we scattered across the US. I asked a friend (Bobby, for those of you who know him) for a list of concerts in the L.A. area and Curtis's happened to be the first on that list that Meghan and I were both able to go to ... and I am so glad that we did. I have not been this excited about new music since I first started listening to Speechwriters LLC over a year ago.

On Saturday we saw him at the Gypsy Den which is a restaurant-type place in Santa Ana. I keep thinking of it as like someone's living room, but cooler. There were pictures on the walls, pretty curtains by the windows, couches off in the corner ... that sort of thing. There were other people playing there including Dave Yaden on piano (who played quite a few songs with Curtis) and Terra Naomi on piano and guitar. For most of his songs, Curtis played guitar with Dave on piano and another guy, Jason, on guitar. Overall I just had a great time and the atmosphere in the place was wonderful. There was banter between the guys on stage and interaction with the rest of the people in the room. Since I was not very familiar with the music, I just sat back and listened. When I listen to Curtis's voice, it seems sort of rough but still very enjoyable. I got his CD Whisper to a Scream after the show and I have been listening to it constantly since then. I am trying to think of what would be my favorite song, but I am having trouble coming up with just one (and there are only 7 songs!).

While we were there, Bobby mentioned that there was going to be another show on Tuesday at the Knitting Factory, but with the full band. We had not planned on going to that show because of other obligations, but with Bobby going on about great it was and knowing how much fun we had at the first show, we decided to push some things out of the way and go. I am so glad that we did because I was blown away by it. There was so much energy up on stage and there were times when Curtis seemed like very much the rock star (in a good way). The other guys in the band each had a moment where they could show off what they could do. They started off with When Doves Cry before going into their own songs and finished with With A Little Help From My Friends which was an awesome way to end the show (again, very energetic). The next band, however, was like "You can play another" so they did Mary Jane's Last Dance as an encore (apparently the first time they have done an encore).

Now I am left wishing, as usual, that I had started listening to this person much sooner. My hope is that he will play near where I am going to graduate school (I already asked him to ;)

Download Hope It Seems here.

Official Site

MySpace

archive.org shows

The Funniest Thing(s) I Have Seen in A While

I'm sure by now most of you are aware of R. Kelly's hip-hop soap opera, "Trapped in the Closet." If you're not, then follow this link and watch the first five parts of the story told in music unfold. Yes, it's OK to laugh, I'm pretty sure most people do. If you want to catch the rest, there are links to the other 7 parts and summaries of each one at this Wikipedia article.

That's the unintentionally funny stuff, now for the funny: "Trapped in the Cupboard". This is an awesome parody skit from MadTV that I recommend watching after you've watched the R. Kelly stuff. Definitely be prepared to laugh.

Finally, if you're a Harry Potter fan, you might enjoy "Trapped in the Closet Under the Stairs". It's basically the first 5 Harry Potter books told in the same way as the R. Kelly songs. I'm actually not that impressed by these, but you may like them. Enjoy!

Tristan Prettyman

Tristan Prettyman is a singer-songwriter from San Diego who released her first major label CD, Twentythree last August. I had the chance to see her at one of her CD release parties and again last February, and I thought she was great on stage. The first show was just her and her guitar, but she added another person on percussion while on tour with Ben Taylor. Although her CD also featured other musicians, the emphasis always seems to still be on Tristan and not the production that goes into the songs.

She posted a new song on her MySpace called Something Good. It is basically about trying to look for and remember the good things that happened in a relationship that just ended. It is a rough cut of the song because I think she just wanted to share it with her fans and is not really concerned with the sound quality at this point in time.

Official Site
shows on archive.org
(I would recommend the 01/30/05 show)

Speechwriters LLC on tour

It is a short tour with Dave and Misha, but they are still a lot of fun to see play live. Some West Coast dates should be announced soon. Taken from their site:

thursday
30 march 06
jammin' java (7:30pm)
dave and misha acoustic.
$12, all ages
227 maple ave e.
vienna, va 22180

friday
31 march 06
university of maryland (12:00 noon)
again, dave and misha acoustic.
stamp student union
college park, md 20742

friday
31 march 06
clark university (TBA)
dave and misha mop up after the sonic devastation of clarias, assuming they don't get totally humped by traffic, as they'll be driving up from f-ing maryland.
950 main street
worcester, ma 01610

saturday
1 april 06
princeton university (TBA)
dave and misha complete their whirlwind tour of four fairly out of the way east coast cities with this epic acoustic performance for the smartest kids in all of new jersey.
princeton university
princeton, nj 08544

Official Site

MySpace

recorded live shows on archive.org

Blue Judy

Last night I had been planning on going to see Blue Judy play a show in the L.A. area, but sadly this did not happen. I did, however, get to listen to them play two songs on an online radio station. I, of course, recorded their session and am posting the songs for others to listen to:

For the Boys

Young and Empty

I had already heard the first song at a show in February. When I hear the song, I have this picture in my mind of someone leaving a little kid and how that action stay with the kid even as they get older. There is a line about not being able to grow old ... to me it seems to be talking about not being able to get past certain events (like a parent leaving) and grow. I have not really had a chance to think about the lyrics for the second song because I had never heard it before, but I still find it rather catchy. I like that it is one of those songs that I actually have to think about in order to figure out what it seems to mean.

There are also some songs available for download on their MySpace page. For me they are one of three bands from Claremont that I really like ... the other two being We Are Scientists and Speechwriters LLC. Three of them went to Claremont McKenna College (one is still there) while the other went to Harvey Mudd College. (Tapper went to Mudd while the other guys went to Pomona College, along with Dave and Misha of swllc.) Apparently Blue Judy is planning on recording new songs soon with the hope of releasing a CD sometime this year.