Isn't It Fun? » Video

Whoop, There It Goes

Brian — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 06:03:10 +0000

via The Fightins

R. Kelly, “Number One”

Brian — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 03:51:50 +0000

FINALLY. Good song. Nonsensical video. “Sex in the Kitchen” callback.

Like Visiting the Holy Land

Brian — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 07:32:05 +0000

Guess what. It IS possible. And it will fucking happen.

Seaside Heights, 1993

Brian — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 06:41:22 +0000

I grew up in Lakehurst, NJ, a town that has only two claims to fame: 1) it is where the Hindenburg crashed in 1937 and 2) it is about 10 miles from Seaside Heights.

The latter was more significant to me, of course, because it had arcades and girls wearing bathing suits. It had my favorite ride (the Poltergeist), a game of chance at which you could win cassette tapes from bands like Shudder to Think and Elastica, and it had slices of pizza the size of my torso for $1.25 (soda included). But there’s a reason my beach is often referred to as Sleazeside – it exists as a wretched intersection of local white trash and vacationing New Yorkers. The air is thick with machismo and hair gel fumes. And a sideways glance will get you a Churro shoved up your ass.

But I miss it. The NJ beach culture is weird and terrible, but it’s also uniquely a part of my experience and the hours upon hours I spent in Seaside Heights, sitting on the beach with friends, discussing our rapidly approaching futures, playing volleyball, having first kisses, etc. would have been totally different anywhere else. There’s nothing like it here (where summer means you can wear a sweatshirt and pants at the beach instead of a coat and gloves) and that’s a bit of a bummer.

So why this sudden longing for Sleazeside? Courtesy of my buddy Tedford, a video of Seaside Heights in 1993 (I was 15):

Crushes: Annie Clark

Brian — Fri, 22 May 2009 05:54:41 +0000

Annie Clark, the phenomenal guitar/multi-instrumentalist who named her debut record after an Arrested Development catchphrase, is better known as St. Vincent.

She is also known as the woman I’ll be seeing perform on Wednesday while surrounded by countless other lonely, pining slobs.

Here she is on a bed in France:

Afghan Whigs, “Come See About Me”

Brian — Fri, 01 May 2009 18:15:50 +0000

Bonus:

And:

R. Kelly, “Real Talk”

Brian — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 02:16:01 +0000

For some reason, the sleeper hit of Summer ’07 is making its rounds amongst my friends again. And when I think about it, it all starts to make sense. I mean, who doesn’t need a little REAL TALK in their lives right now?

I just wasn’t prepared for how REAL things get at the end of this “behind the scenes.” Too much tweakin! Not enough turning the camera off! And who gets to keep the Bedazzler in the break up?

Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace

Brian — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 17:30:39 +0000

A boring Saturday evening and a tip from Jay brought the wonder of Garth Marenghi, author and dreamweaver, into my life.

No description here will do Darkplace justice. So just set aside a half an hour and prepare to be mystified, horrified, and… well, mystified and horrified probably sums it up just fine:

Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace: Episode 1, Part 1
Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace: Episode 1, Part 2
Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace: Episode 1, Part 3

Imperial Teen, “You’re One”

Brian — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 07:31:33 +0000

With the news of Faith No More’s impending reunion, I’m reminded of this 120 Minutes classic… and by “classic,” I clearly mean “song I liked merely because I knew how to play it on guitar.” And I played it a LOT. In fact, the friends I made during my freshman year at college took to learning the words and singing along just so they’d have SOMETHING to do while I subjected them to my rendition.

College is so weird.

David Ruffin, “My Whole World Ended”

Brian — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 06:03:01 +0000

Heard this record last night as the capper to a really fun evening and now can’t get it out of my head. It’s one of my all-time favorites and may even be my favorite David Ruffin performance ever, despite the lack of any other Temptations.