Whitest Kids U Know

As you may or may not have figured out already, I'm a very big fan/supporter of improv comedy and underground sketch comedy troupes. I previously wrote a blog about Derrick Comedy and mentioned a group in relation to them called "Whitest Kids U Know" (WKUK) and figured tell you more about them. I came across them many years ago when I saw an ad about them in the Village Voice. Curious what they were about, I checked them out on the internet a low and behold I found myself lying on the floor with tears in my eyes laughing at how ridiculous and hilarious these five guys were. In their videos, they come across with a demeanor that seems like they're trying to say, "Hey! We're not doing anything ridiculous! We're taking ourselves very seriously!" which adds to the hilarity of the out-there humor they have. For example, one of my favorites is "Timmy Poops His Pants" which is simply about a man by the name of (you guessed it) Timmy that while at work (you guessed it again) poops his pants. Though that may or may not seem funny by itself, the rest of the sketch unfolds into a bizarre analysis of what to do with the situation. With their own successful TV show right now, they've been on Fuse for season one, IFC uncensored for season two and are in the midst of their third season on the same network. If you search around on YouTube or IFC, you're bound to find tons of clips, sketches or full episodes of this NY fivesome. They even came out with an audio album a few years ago which without anything to watch, is surprisingly hilarious when you use your imagination to paint the disturbing/bizarre picture that isn't there. I'd love to tell you more about how the third season is going, but unfortunately for where I am, I don't have access to IFC so let me know what you guys think of it so far. I'll post a few videos below and some links to where you can find out more about them.




WKUK Main Site
WKUK IFC Page
WKUK Wiki

Tally Hall

I think it's about time that I mention these guys in my blog. For too long now, this quintet of greatness still stands unnoticed by the public. Based out of Ann Arbor, Michigan, Tally Hall is one of the more eclectic genre jumping bands out there right now with a sound that they can only describe as "wonk rock". In each of their songs, your bound to finds sounds from Brian Wilson to Sublime, The Beatles to Willie Nelson, and everything else in between. With unpredictable sounds, chord progressions and lyrics, Tally Hall will keep you on the edge of your seat trying to guess what your ears are going to hear next, but you'll be glad with everything you've heard. As well as their originals, they're know for their interesting takes on covers such as "Praise You" by Fatboy Slim, "Just A Friend" by Biz Markie, "Smile Like You Mean It" by the Killers and many other obscure tunes from all channels on the radio. They're definitely a band to catch live, due to their ability to reproduce everything from their albums into a live atmosphere. I highly suggest that if you can see them live to see them quickly. Considering they're still playing smaller venues, they can still be more intimate with the crowd, whether they sit in the middle of the audience in a little pow-wow doing ballads, asking the audience to come up with an imaginary ice cream flavor or walking through the crowd crashing on tambourines. Alongside their music, they have a brand of humor in the same vein of their music whether it be in the form of skits or music videos. In due time, it is said that their skits will be put between commercials on either MTV or Fuse. If word continues to spread about Tally Hall, it's very likely they could be the next big thing. Check out their myspace, watch their mini-series on their site, tell your friends and support their music!


Tally Hall Main Site
Tally Hall Myspace
Tally Hall Wiki

Chester French

With incredibly catchy and eclectic songs, this Cambridge, MA duo by the names Max Drummey and D.A. Wallach have been cranking out tunes great for either the dance clubs or just to rock out to. It started as two Harvard grads who while attending school, decided to create songs on their spare time. With their music garnering attention of the likes of Pharrell Williams of N.E.R.D., they were soon booked for multiple shows. Fast foward a few months later, and they've opened up for the likes of N.E.R.D., Matisyahu, and currently with Lady Gaga. I would say they combine the sounds of Junior Senior, the Beach Boys and a missing link that I can't seem to figure out at the moment. I know I'm going to see them at the House of Blues March 30th. Check out some of their live shows on YouTube to see their killer live performances, or surprise yourself by seeing them live! You're bound to hear more of these guys in the near future so keep your ears open!



Chester French Main Site
Chester French Myspace
Chester French Wiki

Does It Offend You, Yeah?

Many weeks ago, when I heard about the band, "Chester French," (who I'll mention in a future post because they're amazing!) they were on a list of "Artists to Look Out For" in Rolling Stone, Spin, or one of the other credible music magazines out there. I checked these guys out on the list and at first glance, I wasn't impressed. This was also at a time where I was very narrow-minded about the music I listened to. I remembered there name the other day and decided to take a listen to them again and see if my musical palate had changed. After listening to the song, "Dawn Of The Dead," I was immediately hooked! Many consider them to be electro rock, with is an accurate description of the group. While getting many of their influences from electronic/dance groups like Daft Punk, Justice and Ratatat, you can hear the subtle 80's one hit wondery in songs like, "Dawn of the Dead," and influence from their contemporaries like Bloc Party which you can hear in songs like, "Epic Last Song." Regardless, these English gents definitely have more than one hit on their hands. No tour for them as of yet, since they finished their '08 tour back in August, but let's hope they come back to tour soon!

Does It Offend You, Yeah? Main Site
Does It Offend You, Yeah? Myspace
Does It Offend You, Yeah? Wiki

Snuggie Blanket

UPDATE: My friend Kira told me about yet another parody for the Snuggie called the "Fuggly" worth checking out. I put it on the bottom for you all to check out. Thanks Kira!

I just saw a link for a parody of this and if you're not familiar with the cult that is, "Snuggie," then I'm about to fill that void in your life. This might actually be THE MOST RIDICULOUS invention ever. God forbid you have to wear a sweater or sweatpants, now you can where something that throws your dignity and integrity RIGHT OUT THE WINDOW!!! In any case, check these videos out in order, the first being the original and the following video being the the hilarious parody. Hope you enjoy!

College Humor on MTV

I've been a fan of College Humor for years now but I've never expected this to happen in a million years! It just goes to show you how popular the fan base of their original videos are, such as the famed original "Jake and Amir" and "Hardly Working" videos that the site is known for. The writing always stays fresh and original, with surprisingly great editing in part with the writing. These videos have become so popular that I've started to hear some of these videos quoted by everyday people as if it's a popular movie or TV show (or rather soon to be). The show was picked up by MTV, which could either take a turn for good or bad. Unfortunately, MTV is infamous for having very inadequate, but entertaining television shows that have a short life span. My guess is that College Humor will last one season, but will soon change to another channel to have more freedom from the censors with what they can write and show. A similar transition happened to the hilarious comedy troupe "Whitest Kids U Know" who had a variety of funny internet videos and were then shortly picked up by Fuse. They too had limits to what they could show and then soon switched to IFC where they had freedom to say and show what they wanted. Speaking of which, "Whitest Kids U Know: Season 3" will premiere this coming Tuesday, January 27 @ 10 pm Eastern on IFC and the "College Humor Show" will premiere February 8 @ 9:30 pm Eastern on MTV. I'll speak more of WKUK in my next blog but hope you tune in to both of those shows! Let me know what you guys think!

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

Heavy Weights

Just now, I came back from my friend's dorm where a bunch of us watch the classic kids movie, "Heavy Weights". For a PG movie aimed toward kids, it's actually a very well made film and has genuine laughs throughout the movie. Part of the reason why it might be as good as it is might be due to the fact the half the writing credits go to Judd Apatow, which if you don't know who he is, he's most famous for being the brain child of hits like, "Knocked Up," "40 Year Old Virgin," "Freaks and Geeks," "Undeclared," "Step Brothers," "Pineapple Express," "Superbad," "Forgetting Sarah Marshall," and tons of other works. Though it has its moments of "cheese" here and there, it's definitely not dissapointing. Ben Stiller plays the part of an over-pumped jerk perfect like he does in most of his movies, which makes you love to hate how ridiculous his character acts. Also, no one can deny the hilarity that is Lars, the counselor from unknown origins. Here and there, you'll also see some very familiar faces, like "Goldberg" from the Mighty Ducks series, Allan Covert, who's known mostly for his work in Adam Sandler productions with Grandma's Boy being his most prominent role as the lead, as well as Ben Stiller's father, Jerry Stiller. It's definitely your money's worth if you rent/buy it. One of Disney's great 90's era movie. It's definitely one of my all time favorites.

Heavy Weights Wiki
Heavy Weights IMDB

New Album Alert: "Merriweather Post Pavillion" by Animal Collective

My friend Ben (what an awesome name if I say so myself) suggested I should mention the new Animal Collective that just came out recently. I heard so much about these guys over the few years from various people and haven't checked them out until recently and they took my breath away! At first glance, you think "what in the world am I listening to?" but just a few minutes later you realize you're still listening to their stuff after being captivated by their brilliance and mesmerizing beats and melodies. I suggest listening to their breakout single at the bottom, with the video being an awesome bonus! I know I'm going to get this album soon enough. Also, the album cover is quite trippy if I say so myself, which there's a link to at the bottom of the post.



Animal Collective Myspace
Animal Collective Main Site
Animal Collective Wiki
TRIPPY ALBUM COVER FOR "MERRIWEATHER POST PAVILLION"

"Sweet Disposition" by The Temper Trap

I can't stop listening to this song for the life of me! I think I had this on repeat and listened to it about 15 times in one day it's so good. There's something so beautiful and enchanting about this song with the falsetto vocals, interesting harmonies, awesome drum beat and delay on the guitar. I heard this in the trailer for the new indie film called "500 Days Of Summer" starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel. Looks like a promising film with an interesting twist on the whole cliche love story we see in movies. They only have this one song on their myspace, but I know I can't wait to hear what else they have to share! Below I have the trailer for "500 Days Of Summer" and a link to the band's myspace.



Temper Trap Myspace
Temper Trap Wiki
500 Days of Summer IMDB

Derrick Comedy

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24 Japanese Theme Song

During the winter break, I went with my friends Matt L and Matt F to Upright Citizens Brigade Theater in New York City to see internet celebs Derrick Comedy. I'll write my next blog on them so you have a better understanding. One of the things they talked about was how they all went to Japan to film part of their movie "Mystery Team". One of the things they mentioned was how the show "24" has a different theme song in Japan than it does in American. In America, it's just a ticking noise with Jack Bauer saying "This is between the hours of 7 and 8 pm" or something along those lines. In Japan however, has it's own theme song with and 80's guitar solo in the middle and everything! When they showed it to us, the audience was dying and it became and inside joke for the rest of the night. Sure enough, when I got home, Matt L left me a link to the song on my facebook. After watching it, I figured nobody else had seen it so I posted it on Collegehumor.com . Now, I've uploaded tons of stuff to the site, but nothing ever becomes national, so I didn't think twice about it. Sure enough, it becomes national and College Humor offers me one free shirt from Bustedtees.com ! Right now I'm thinking of getting the Skeeter Valentine Lightening Bolt shirt, but time will tell what I choose. I have the video at the bottom is you guys wanna check it out. It's not the funniest thing in the universe, but it will definitely get stuck in your head!

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

Jonthan Coulton

I figured since I referenced his in the previous blog, I should give him his own blog. He's definitely one of the better unknown artists out there. It's impossible not to love his songs, each one more endearing, funny, and catchier than the next. You XBOX 360 gamers may know him from his song "Still Alive" from the critically acclaimed video game "Portal", or the theme song to the G4 tv series "Code Monkey" from the show of the same name. Basically, he started out as a computer engineering and thought his life would be more fulfilling to pursue music as a career. Sure enough, more and more people discovered his music and now he's getting licensing deals up the wazoo for everything. Everyone that listens to him can find something to enjoy, whether it be the simple chord progressions, his smooth vocals or his satirical lyrics. Definitely some influence from "Weird" Al Yankovic lyrically. I haven't kept up with him lately, but I think he may still be doing the 'Song A Week' thing he's most famous for doing. You can check out more of his music on iTunes in both his albums and his podcast, as well as his myspace and website.

Jonathan Coulton Mysace
Jonathan Coulton Main Site

Mike Lombardo

This morning, I went with a few friends of mine for breakfast in the Berklee Caf. I decided to gets some omelettes when who should be in front of me but Mike Lombardo. We started talking about random stuff like the theory of relativity, our love for singer/songwriter Jonathan Coulton, Whitest Kids U Know and pimped-out PC's. Prior to this, we met twice before; once to see him and my friend Andy in their Ben Folds/Ben Folds Five tribute and at my friend Nick's place playing Battle of the Sexes. We then grabbed a table and he started telling me about his music and how he wants to try and follow in the footsteps of JoCo (Jonathan Coulton) as Mike puts it and write a song a week. I just check out his myspace a few minutes ago and all the songs are quite catchy. I would say he sounds like a mix of Ben Folds and Todd Rundgren, but definitely with his own brand of style mixed in as well. Very unpredictable in the way he writes songs as well. Check out the tracks "If I Say" and "Goodnight Bright Eyes".

Mike Lombardo Myspace

Mikey Wax

Two of my friends, Lauren and Marissa, told me to listen to Mikey so I gave him a shot. To be honest, I didn't get my hopes too high because I thought he was just another Syosset High School grad/student that thought they could write music but when I checked out his song "In Case I Go Again" I was completely blown away! Production value is great and you can tell the songs are incredibly authentic and genuine. You're definitely going to hear more of this guy very soon. For any of you interested, he's playing a show tonight at the Hard Rock Cafe in Boston. I'm going for sure and he would love if any of you guys could show up.

Mikey Wax Myspace
Mikey Wax Main Site

Vampire Weekend

I've been listening to these guys for the longest time now and I think they are so awesome and original. I know they're not that new on the scene, but I always seem to find more and more people who have never heard of them. Just the other day, I had the song "Ottoman" stuck in my head, but thankfully it's a great song worthy of having stuck in your head. If you like the music on their myspace, I highly suggest buying the whole album.

Vampire Weekend Myspace
Vampire Weekend Main Site
Vampire Weekend Wiki

My First Blog!

So I'm not one for blogging, but I figured I would create this so people can see the things I'm interested in on their own time and leisure. I'm not going to use this blog to tell you my day, how I'm "feeling" or any of that self-pity nonsense. Everything that I type will be pertinent to what I'm sharing in the blog. I want this to be an interesting, interactive blog. I'm going to use this blog to post music, internet videos, links, and anything else I find interesting while surfing the world wide web. If there's something you think I should share in the blog that other people will find interesting, tell me and I'll consider putting it up on the blog. Chances are, I'll share it because I'm open to check out new things most of the time. I'm going to try and update this regularly, so feel free to check the site out anytime and comment on whatever you like. Nothing inappropriate though or else I'll have to delete it. I want this to be able to be viewed by whoever. Otherwise, hope you enjoy my blog!