It took a couple-few minutes for me to place the original, stubbornly avoiding using the internet for the easy route to information. And then it hit me, this was a track from the almost austere collection of music most commonly known as the original sound track (OST) of Dumb & Dumber.  A movie that has suffered from a prequel, with all new cast, and currently a sequel slated for later this year. I’ll let your brains deal with that horrible idea for a mo’.

The song is Crash by The Primitives.  A much more upbeat version this; its hard not to at least acknowledge your toes predilection to tap as a result of the song.  I have quite the softspot for the song, more accurately the album. Don’t ask me why but the Dumb And Dumber: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack was one of the first CDs I ever owned, so naturally I listened the shit out of that disc. While `Crash’ is no `Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead’ its pretty close to the best aged song from the disc. If you are curious about a sample of light alternative pop music that can be inoffensively tagged onto a very silly comedy film from the 90s, check out the soundtrack. Otherwise, just enjoy the quicker paced original now.

(via NylonMag and my past)

Now on paper BttF is sort of a nonsense film that really doesn’t stand up to scrutiny, and many a blogpost and podcast has referenced these errors, but today I bring you two good examples. The first is from my personal favourite fragment of the cracked-i-verse, from back in 2010 an early episode of `After Hours’.

Next up we have a fairly recent (April 4) video parodying the production/greenlighting of script procedure, as well as the other large weird part of BttF.

Don’t worry, I still love you Back to the Futre, but man are you not who I thought you were… Similar scrutiny doesn’t help us with the other two films either.  Apologies for any bubbles burst folks.

(via Topless Robot, and my past)

First let’s take a look of an impressive fan trailer that really outdoes the original trailer which I was drooling over last month. Here the fan, with the oddly apropos handle ‘lazarusreborn’, took scenes from the other marvel movies and avenger media to make a 3:40 grand gesture to exactly what Marvel movies have been building up to all these years. It’s worth checking out the original before seeing just how  crafted this fan-trailer is.²

Not to be outdone we have the official Polish trailer, which has its own slant on who the real protagonist is. I’m sure the average comic book fan is not really complaining.³  We really shouldn’t be surprised, I suppose, with Captain America being last billed of the male cast and the Russian super-spy (with the leggy attacks) getting a *cough* substantial amount of screen time, but it is worth pondering which traits of the characters may have influenced this trailer’s cut.

Now let’s turn to a few TV spots, don’t worry I’m only including those that are either badass or charming⁴, otherwise this post would really take ages. Here’s a general ‘buy avengers toy swag at Target®’ commercial. It’s cute in just the right sort of ‘remember when you were 8 and your imagination was freeeee’ sort of way. Mostly it just makes me sad that if I tried to do that sort of thing at a Target® we would definitely get in all sorts of trouble. Hey internet peeps, gather your 20-30 something friends and redo this silly video at your ages. I would love to see the Targets (that’s ppl who shop at concentric circle branded stores) watching random nerds play at Avengers… Sorry I digress. Here’s the video:

There are a couple new TVspots advertising the movie, there’s the one with Captain America telling Hulk to Smash, but that 2seconds are the only newsworthy new ones, so in an effort to keep this a semi-reasonable length I’ll point you in that direction.  I will share the earlier spot which has a nice little piece of dialogic fencing between Loki and Tony, it is only 30s after all.

We’ll round the whole thing out with a little more Black widow. The latest scene length spot is a phone conversation between everyone’s favourite S.H.I.E.L.D. agent and Poland’s favourite Avenger.

(via The Mary Sue, Topless Robot & others I’m sure)

Teflon Heart is a track that is a good mixture of `up-beats’ and melancholic lyricism.

You can check out more of their music at their website¹, or pick up some tunes at their bandcamp.

The internet has definitely embraced all that is AFD, but no company has done it quite so well, and quite so regular as our favourite future SkyNetters, Google.  This year its pretty simple, but so wonderfully glorious: 8-bit NES reference always wins on the tubes.

I won’t bother you with anymore text, you just need to know two things.

1) The intro video hosted at YouTube, of course, is where most of the joke lives.

And 2)

You can actually quest over at Google Maps.  Sadly there are only a few places worth questing to, and my house just isn’t one of them, evidence below.

UPDATE:

It has been pointed out to me that I missed out on the crucial change to StreetView®. A crime, to be sure, for which I hopefully can make amends with this cap from my Calgary home.

The coupling of the man’s baritone and trite lyrics allow you to tune to the melody while safely moving past distracting words. I put to you that this works even when reading through a text which is let’s say densely written². If you have the luxury of not needing to work this evening, relax, enjoy, and maybe do some dishes.

(via NPR)

This one is really juicy. All our heroes get enough screen time to paint a picture of who they are and what their motivation is, well except maybe poor hawkeye. We see genuine Hulking out, and a surprising amount of Hero vs. Hero. Also giant space worm.

(via The Mary Sue et al)

This is just a really roundabout way of introducing a couple of reasonably entertaining college recruitment videos. All I’m saying is more PhD programs, and companies, should try to spice up the dull and stressful procedure with some light, or graphic, farce. Ok, so I just hate waiting, enjoy these vids anyway.

Here we go then: the Central Institute of Technology¹ released this video about learning to teleport. Be forewarned, the whimsy doesn’t last all the way through to the end.

Next up is a less inventive entry by the university of Huddersfield. Its pretty camp, but the ‘main’ scientist is probably one of their drama students because he pulls of the doctor-esque role quite well, for a commercial. As well, there is a voice cameo by none other than Patrick Earl-grey-hot Stewart.

Now.. back to interview prep… /sigh

(via io9)

In my stumblings to find (acquire, collect, judge, etc.) more music that the world may have to offer I caught ahold of a few electro-pop tracks: all from Sweden.

Let’s start upbeat shall we? First up we have Miike Snow with the second track from their still upcoming album (late March). We have  Paddling Out, a track that starts infectiously upbeat and manages to does itself with an upper by the time the first chorus hits. It the kind of song that reminds you how much fun dancing ’til 6am can be, without making you regret being stuck in on a sunday evening.

Paddling Out by miikesnow

Hey these guys are pretty cool, I hear you saying to yourself, I’m surprised I’ve not bumped into them before. Well you probably have… sort of. Two of the three members that make up Miike Snow are also Bloodshy & Avant! You know, musical duo who pen tracks for the stars? Still nothing, eh? How about Britney’s Toxic, bells being rung? Toss in some Madonna and Kylie, amongst others, and you have a pretty talented pop duo.

Let’s flip over the first track they released for the new album, Devil’s Work.  A little less punchy but the piano hooks are still strong, laid back vocals and the odd horn come together for a fairly dynamic track. If Paddling Out is dancey, then Devil’s Work is head-groovy.

Devil’s Work by miikesnow

It’s not just a snowstorm, we also have a young 16 year old swede who is making music sans label. Its pop, its electronic, but it doesn’t quite live in the same world as our friends above. Be prepared for a slooowdown. A methodical beat paired with melancholy lyrics and vocals make for a track you can still immerse yourself in but movement will be minimal if at all. Melt into this one folks; headphones would be a welcome accessory I think.

Victor Sandström – Departures

And if that wasn’t enough Miike Snow for you, or you need to ramp that heartbeat back up, head on over to RCRDLBL to download  Devil’s Work and a handful of other tracks. (Registration required but free)

(via Stereogum & Swedesplease)

After a quick listen through most of the tracks, I’m pretty happy with it. The upbeat tracks have good hooks and steady toe-tappable rhythms. But the album tends towards the more somber of content, while still maintaining a joggable, well walkable, beat.  No Crying is a good example of a bridge between the two varieties. The clear winner on the somber side is This is Not a Song. A steady slow beat its got,  but with lyrics like:

If this is just a song,
Then why do I find it so hard to move on,
Feels a crime to be crying for this long.

and sweeping instrumentals its a hard track to argue with.

This next track isn’t wholly indicative of the overall tone of the album its hard not to avoid. With a steady toe-tapping beat, and infectious piano-vocal harmonies I challenge you not to stay still during this one. I could go on but I think I’ll let the track speak for itself.

Here is Hallways:

The album is available in all the usual places. Its even out on vinyl, for those into that sort of thing.

(via Pigeons & Planes & Pitchfork)

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