Spike Jonze music videos

I own the Spike Jonze collection of music videos he did back in the day and I love watching them. Some of my favorites from the collection:

Wax - California



I loved his use of the slow motion of the burning man running to catch his bus along with all the on-lookers in the video. What a great vision for this song. I also can't imagine how cheap it was to shoot this video.

The Pharcyde - Drop



I was a HUGE Pharcyde fan when this video came out. I was so "proud of myself" because not only did I live in a rural area where everyone only listened to either 80's hair bands, grunge, or country music, but even when I'd go into the "city" there were still people who had not heard of the greatness that is the Pharcyde. The video is pure genius with the members of the group performing everything in reverse in real-time, then the video was played backward with the lyrics over-dubbed.

The Beastie Boys - Sabotage



When this video came out I was a little confused because the Beastie Boys were playing it like rock (I wasn't much into rock at the time) when they were known as a hip hop group (at the time I had no idea their roots were based in punk rock). I loved the play on 70's cop shows.

Daft Punk - Da Funk



Again, an odd fixation with dogs (check out weezer's "say it ain't so" video and the feature of a dog suit in the "Drop" video above). I'm guessing Spike likes dogs. This was funny because even when people looked at the dog odd, it wasn't because he was a dog walking around with a cast, but because he looked so out of place in general to everyone.

Fatlip - What's up Fatlip



Fatlip was a former member of the hip hop group The Pharcyde and in this video it shows a true representation of all the bad things going on in his life. It was really filmed in his apartment, on the streets, etc. The song itself talks about the struggles in his life and how he has to try to keep a decent image of himself despite things not being so good.

Weezer - Undone (the sweater song)



This was Weezer's first music video and I had actually seen their "buddy holly" video before this one and loved the retro idea (even though I wasn't into their type of music at the time). I read somewhere that Spike approached the band with this idea "A blue screen, you guys playing, and dogs" (or something to that affect). Since Weezer went on to be one of my favorite bands, I learned the technique they used in this video was by playing the song twice as fast and the band having to emulate that, while it was filmed at a higher speed as well. Then they slowed it down and it looks like they're playing fast, but at regular speed at the same time. These types of things are what made Spike such a good music video director.

Fatboy Slim - Praise you



By far one of the most hilarious videos, yet genius at the same time. Spike actually appears in this video. It's great because you know they took some serious time to choreograph this thing, but at the same time, not enough to make it perfect. I love all the "characters" dancing; the dorky looking spike jonze, the dude with the parachute pants and a fanny pack (because you need a fanny pack when you're dancing), the heavier dude trying to look good, the chick in her aerobics gear, etc. This video ended up winning the video of the year from the MTV Music awards. They also performed at these awards and there is an awesome 34 minute documentary called "torrance rises" on the DVD that shows their preparation for the event. You can view it HERE if you have 34 minutes.

Weezer - Buddy Holly



Probably one of the more recognized music videos. This had an awesome unique take on the TV show "Happy Days". Spike was able to make it look as if the band was actually on the show. I remember first seeing this video and being hooked by the song, but also impressed at how authentic it appeared (even if there were no bands playing music like weezer back then).

Bjork - It's oh so quiet



Another odd music video by Spike Jonze. Again, shot at double speed, then slowed down (except the dance parts I'm sure). One little known fact I found about this is the puppeteer that plays "ernie" from "Bert and Ernie" fame plays the dude in the blue mail box.

Music project

http://c.itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZConnections.woa/wa/viewIMixes?iMixesPageType=1&id=415108150

(You'll have to copy and paste the link since for whatever reason it doesn't show up when I add link brackets)

If anyone has iTunes and cares to follow, I'm working on creating a "favorites" playlist from every year, starting with the 1950's. Since there wasn't a TON of Rock and Roll in the 50's (compared to the 60's until the present), I created a "1950's" category, then starting with 1960, I did a category from every year. I've compiled a list up until 1998 so far.

I think it's fascinating to me to see what songs I like from certain years. It's my goal to really listen to each year and even thin out my lists more. It also makes me wonder what I'm missing from each of those years.

In order for a song to make the list, it has to be a song that I personally like, it's not on the list just because it was a "hit" during that era.

Let me know if the link works and if you have iTunes, become my "ping" friend and maybe we can share playlist ideas.

My list is comprised of Rock and Roll, Soul, Pop, R&B, and Hip Hop/Rap. I think all of these genres pretty much define what I listen to. I do like Country too, but not enough to create a favorites list for every year. I'll likely just create a Country favorites from each decade.

If the link does not work, go to iTunes, then "Ping" in the tool bar on the left hand, then search my name "John Root" and I'll come right up. On the upper right corner you can sort the music by "name" and it will put the playlists in order from 1950's to present.

Music review: Ugly Casanova

WOW. Just got this album that was released in 2002. Ugly Casanova is a side band that Modest Mouse frontman Isaac Brock formed on the side, they only released on album, "Sharpen your Teeth".

Isaac used to tell a story about a man (who went by the name Ugly Casanova) that would follow them around on tour and play these songs backstage while they were all hanging out. He would abruptly leave then show up on another tour. The last time they saw him, he left behind these songs, which Isaac said he recorded in hopes that Ugly Casanova would come back.

The story is not real, but in some ways it is. If you have not listened to Modest Mouse, you're missing out. Isaac Brock is a genius. It took them YEARS before they were considered popular (they started back in 1993 and didn't really get serious radio play until around 2004's "Good News for People who Love Bad News" album). I still think their better albums are the earlier works, however the newer stuff they put out is still great and you can definitely hear how much they mature from album to album without losing the rawness that made them famous.

Back to Ugly Casanova.

I had heard about this side band, but never thought to look for the music. The other day I was looking for Modest Mouse's new EP on itunes and I happened upon the Ugly Casanova album. Just from listening to some of the samples, I was blown away and PISSED that I had been missing out.

My favorite songs from this album are in order (going to put Youtube videos/songs with them; don't know how long they'll last, so listen now and I apologize in advanced for some of the lame videos some of these people made with these songs):

Hotcha Girls



Parasites



Barnacles



So Long to the Holidays



Cat Faces



Smoke Like Ribbons



Things I don't remember

Mix CD's

I found a Mix CD I made around 2003-2004. I was glad the thing still worked. I've found some CD's I've burned in the past that only play some of the songs.

Anyway, I find it interesting that I still enjoyed, for the most part, most of the songs on the CD. In fact, I still listen to a lot of those songs today.

I like to consider myself an open-minded person to new music, but I've always kind of complained about music today and how nothing good is coming out. Sure, there are some "hits" that I enjoy, but nothing earth-shattering with sound. Either it's just bands that are going for the "retro" sounds of the 70's or 80's, or it's just plain whiny garbage.

Who makes mix-CD's nowadays anyway???

The Great Salt Lake

I blogged about it on my outdoor blog. Check it out:

Great Salt Lake

By the way, the band "Band of Horses" has a great song called "Great Salt Lake". You should check it out.

Eagles of Death Metal videos

I created a video from pictures and video clips of the concert (for those few of you who are interested). It's broken into two parts because it's 17 minutes long and youtube only allows 10 minutes at a time.

Part 1


Part 2

The Eagles of Death Metal never fail me

What a great concert. I've been to see them all 3 times they've been here and I'm never let down. The past two times they were here they encored with the Rolling Stones' "brown sugar" and they topped it off lastly tonight by covering a band that I love, but not a lot of people know about, The Damned. They sang the song "new rose", which is a GREAT song. I think Russ and I were the only ones that knew what they were singing.

I went with my brother Russ tonight. We had a great time. Unfortunately Alene couldn't go because we did not feel comfortable leaving bailey for so long (the concert went until 1am). I took a lot of video tonight, so I'm going to create kind of a slide show along with my videos and post it on youtube (if they don't ban me first). I'll try to have that up soon.

Here are a few of the pictures right now:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/root_family/sets/72157608696553612/

Wheather you're a fan of Weezer or not

You have to admit this is a pretty cool idea. They invite fans to try out on youtube for a "hootenany" held in 4 cities (Seattle, Portland, SF, and LA). The fans are all brought to the room with whatever instrument they tried out with (some odd ones too) and they all get to play along and sing along to weezer songs and a few covers, all of which are being recorded.

What other bands are doing that type of thing with their fans?

http://spin.com/articles/weezer-cover-radioheads-creep-jam-fans-sf

Check out the videos of the sessions below. Pretty cool.

This is becoming my favorite Weezer song on the red album

It's a song called "Pig" and it's a bonus song toward the end. It's a very sad song, but at the same time kind of funny. It's called Pig because it's about a Pig recounting his life story about playing in the mud, meeting a girl, falling in love, having children, and it being his time to die (I'm guessing going to the slaughter). He also takes time to thank his "farmer pete" for feeding him scraps with a smile on his face. Also, there is a reference to Charlott's Web where he mentions his friend "wilbur".

It's actually sad if pigs actually were smart enough to think like this, but I don't think the song will prevent me from eating my bacon or my baby back ribs. Of course, I'm not too shallow to think that this song isn't actually just about it a pig, it's likely about us as people too.

Lastly, anyone notice the similar sound to Queen in this song? I do.

Play this song in the youtube browser and follow along with the lyrics below.



When I was a baby i was so happy.
I played with my friends in the mud.
Wilbur and Jack and Otice and Beatty,
We were a gang, you got to believe me.
Momma would scold us if we got too rough
She didnt care, she was proud of us.
I ran around and talked to the animals,
Tellin' 'em stories of savage cannibals.

Then I got older and noticed a girl.
At first I was sure I didn't exist to her.
I sulked around but I didn't know why.
Then she put her cheek on my shoulder and I
Was lookin' at her and she was lookin' at me.
We started to smile it was our destiny.
Tina was her name. She was my cutie-pie.
I forgot about the things I used to like.

I spent all my time followin' her around.
My friends all made the whip-lash sound.
But they understood. They was happy for me.
And everyone clapped when I asked her to marry me.
And she said "yes" and we felt so fine.
We lost track of the passin' time.
Before I knew it we had our own babies:
Gina and Shannon and Keebie and Gabe.

But now I've got to die.
I've lived a good life I've got no complaints.
I'd like to thank farmer Pete.
For bringing me scraps of food that I could eat.
He always had a smile on his face.
He didn't want to think of this day.
It's finally here.
It's finally here, oh.

Oo-Oo, they called me Pig.
Oo-Oo, they called me Pig.

When I was a baby I was so happy.
I played with my friends in the mud.

Let's write a sawng (more)

For anyone out there following this creative project (here is the previous post http://tylerroot.blogspot.com/2008/05/lets-write-sawng-more-of-them.html:

Step 10


Step 11


Step 12


Step 13


Step 14

This is awesome

Pat Wilson (Weezer's drummer) playing around with his little boy, who can't be older than 3.

Pork and Beans: Weezer has done it again!!

My friend Tim e-mailed me an un-released version of Weezer's newest "Red" album. It's a great album and their first released single is called "Pork and Beans". They've also released the video, which I think is HILARIOUS in that they brought a bunch of people made famous on the internet (that weird dude crying because people were making fun of Brittany Spears, or the Miss South Carolina dunce) and put them in their video.

I present to you: Pork and Beans

Let's write a Sawng (more of them)

This is great. Genius. The fact that he's allowing fans to showcase their talent and also contribute to a song is so cool. It's also funny to see this goofy side of Rivers.

If you missed it, I'm referencing this earlier blog post: http://tylerroot.blogspot.com/2008/04/lets-write-sawng.html



DUUUUUDE. The 80's dancing scene here is HILARIOUS. It's also cool to hear Rivers sing the actual song.

Let's write a Sawng

As many of you know, I'm a big fan of music in general, but I've always had a great love for Weezer and their music. Sure it's pop music, but it can be fun, with other songs being very serious. Their lead singer is a quirky dude named Rivers Cuomo. He had an interesting life growing up. He was a geek and wanted to a rock star. He started off with a big-hair metal band, but eventually embraced his inner-geek and the music took off.

Anyway, 15+ years later he's in his late 30's and still kicking out great music. Right now Weezer is about to release their 6th album and he has been passing the time involving fans on youtube to help him write a song. I think it's genius to allow your fans to get involved with something like this. As he requests info via youtube, you can see a link under each video that says (responses), these are people responding to his video with ideas.

Watch the video and you can see how quirky he is, but the genius that comes from his ideas on how to write a song. Each video is about 3 minutes long, so watch them when you have time. The song is not written yet, so there will be more videos of his in the future. You can keep track of them via his youtube homepage at: http://www.youtube.com/user/RiversCuomoAlone

Rock Band Party

So, I decided to invite some of the siblings over for a Rock Band party on the night of my birthday, April 11th. It was a blast. We played a head-to head tournament type thing where we were all on teams of four and competed by points against each other. It was a blast.

Here are some of my favorite pictures:












You can see more of these pictures HERE

Song to play on my death bed

"Dogs" by Pink Floyd. It's 17 minutes long. The guitar solo (or whatever you would call it), is AMAZING and so comforting in my opinion. I think this song would totally prepare my for my journey in the afterlife.

I thought of this while sitting at my desk listening to my ipod. I'm VERY tired right now. Just when the guitar solo came up, I closed my eyes to listen to it, and it nearly put me to sleep. Not because it's boring, but because it relaxes me. On my death bed, I want to be relaxed (which I'm sure everyone would wish for and likely won't happen).

Yeah, Dogs by Pink Floyd. Check it out sometime if you're not familiar.

This guy does a pretty good rendition of the solo I'm talking about:

The Beach Boys

Why do I like them? I have no idea. I'm not fanatical about them, but I guess I might know more about them than the average person.

I remember growing up and going to classic car shows with my dad. Anything from HUGE expo's, to small town shows (they would close off the main street and people would park their classic cars up and down the street to show them off). During these shows they were always blasting music from those cars eras and often you would hear The Beach Boys playing.

I remember my dad listening to them a lot and singing along with them. I always thought if my dad were a Beach Boy, he would be Mike Love.

As I got older and started to appreciate music, I have no idea why I've always been drawn to the Beach Boys. First, I know I like Harmony and the Beach Boys were great at including it in their music. As I found out more about them, I never lost respect for them, but it did make me chuckle to think that they had this image back then as "surfers" when in fact that only one of them actually ventured into the ocean (drummer Dennis Wilson). Nowadays a band like that would be labeled "posers" and probably boo'd off the stage and had tons of negative publicity/web sites dedicated to them. However, I gained more respect for them, mostly Brian Wilson, as artists. They started off as bubble gum, fun-loving, party music, and eventually got into more serious (obviously drug-induced, but still good) stuff.

I think it also has something to do with the Americana thing of early rock and roll music. Back then, there was only one kind of music: Rock and Roll. There wasn't alternative, or goth, or emo, or punk, or metal, or electronic, or folk-punk, and all that other stuff (which is all great), but it was all so new and it seemed like everyone was having fun with it.

I dug up a few youtube videos that I love of the beach boys. To some, they may look lame the way they dance, or the way they sing, or even dress, but I LOVE it because this is what was cool back then and even if it makes me want to laugh at how different it is, I still have to respect it because of the influence it had on music.

I love how silly they look when they dance/move (almost kind of tight, like it wasn't OK to loosen up back then), but that is how it was. Watch the drummer (Dennis) and how he flops his head around as he drums. He seems about the most loose out there and I love his attitude on the drums.

One last note, it's so sad to know of their break-up and the near bad-blood between Mike Love (who continues to tour as "The Beach Boys) and Brian Wilson. They are both cousins, but from what I understand, have pressed lawsuits against each other multiple times. Both Carl and Dennis Wilson (Brian's brothers) have passed away. Al Jardine, the only somewhat original (he replaced David Marks, who was with them originally, but left shortly after they became big) non-family member tours with his son doing beach boys covers, but not officially as the Beach Boys and Bruce Johnston, who was added when Brian Wilson didn't want to be a touring member and only write music for the band, still tours with Mike Love. Watching their videos and how it seems they used to have so much fun back then, makes me sad to see how much disdain they now have for one another, most likely over money.





This one is awesome. It shows David Marks on guitar and the dude is only 15 (this was 1963).





I love the late 60's/early 70's video effects. Carl Wilson has a great voice and Mike Love looks baked.





Finally, besides Surfs Up, this is one of the greatest Beach Boys songs ever. Again, Carl Wilson singing lead.

I hung my head.....

Alene introduced this Johnny Cash song to me recently. At first I thought it was an older song he had written, but after researching it, I found out STING had actually written it and Johnny Cash covered it on his American IV album in 2002.

Johnny Cash is amazing. He doesn't have the best singing voice, nor is he an amazing guitarist, but he is the only one that could pull off the meaning of the lyrics he sings. I've also loved how, even in his old age, he listened to newer music and covered many songs by newer artists, and even sang songs that younger artists wrote for him.

This particular song made me cry. I could imagine all the thoughts this person is if I were in his situation. I would like to think I have hope that I would have God's mercy for an accident too.

I don't know where to find those sites that will stream the music for you for free, but I found the song on Youtube.



Here are the lyrics:

Early one morning
With time to kill
I borrowed Jebb’s rifle
And sat on a hill
I saw a lone rider
Crossing the plain
I drew a bead on him
To practice my aim

My brother’s rifle
Went off in my hand
A shot rang out
Across the land
The horse, he kept running
The rider was dead
I hung my head
I hung my head

I set off running
To wake from the dream
My brother’s rifle
Went into the sheen
I kept on running
Into the south lands
That’s where they found me
My head and my hands

The sheriff he asked me
Why had I run
And then it came to me
Just what I had done
And all for no reason
Just one peace of lead
I hung my head
I hung my head

Here in the court house
The whole town was there
I see the judge
High up in the chair
Explain to the court room
What went through you mind
And we’ll ask the jury
What verdict they find

I felt the power
Of death over life
I orphaned his children
I widowed his wife
I begged their forgiveness
I wish I was dead
I hung my head
I hung my head

I hung my head
I hung my head

Early one morning
With time to kill
I see the gallows
Up on a hill
And out in the distance
A trick of the brain
I see a lone rider
Crossing the plain

And he’d come to fetch me
To see what they’d done
And we’d ride together
To kingdom come
I prayed for god’s mercy
For soon I’d be dead
I hung my head
I hung my head

I hung my head
I hung my head

Alene introduced me to some cool music

It's a group from Philly called Dr. Dog. They remind me of the Beatles in some ways, but with more harmony and a bit more psychadelic. I've found I'm a big fan of harmony. I think it's why I like the Beach Boys so much.

Anyway, you can download some cool free sessions here:


Datrotter sessions

You can download some of their songs off their albums here:


Drdogmusic.com

I'd highly recommend these songs: From (live song), Ain't it strange (from both the live songs and an album song), Worst Trip (I like the live version better), Easy Beat, and Wake up.


On an un-releated note, I found this picture I took last month when I had a mohawk for about a minute or two.

Two video's I've recently seen on youtube that I like

The first one is AWESOME. It's from the 1930's and it shows some dudes dancing the charleston, but someone put it to the song "around the world". I think it's amazing because this is some of the dancing you see people doing today, and this was done 70 years ago. These guys were so progressive.




The next is a video of Gnarles Barkely recording their song "Smiley Faces". What I dig about this group is not only their originality in some ways, but that they always dress up as characters from some sort of pop culture from their early days growing up, to the present. In this video they're dressed up like characters from the movie/musical Grease (I thought my family would appreciate this because we used to watch that movie ALL THE TIME!)



Enjoy