Friday Videos - March 22nd, 2013

Remember last week when Friday videos was paltry and borderline disappointing? Well, I've overcompensated this week and doubled down with content. Regardless, I think the playlist is solid and undeniably enjoyable.

• Big Black Delta - Side of the Road - Chad and I play this song ad nauseam, so it's nice to have an official video to go with it. I wish it exploded into some crazy color at the end but I love the glitch effects for none of that to matter.
• Drunk People are Stupid - be forewarned of the NSFW language but, man oh man, these people are absurdly entertaining.
• Iowa State Fair - Husband Calling and Mom Calling Contest - we're all forever indebted to Steve for bringing this to our collective attentions. It is, quite possibly, the best thing the Internet has offered us all in some time.
• Biting Elbows - Bad Motherf***ker - obviously some NSFW content here but it's a crazy well done first person perspective chase video. I can't imagine the cost or resources used but that's what makes it so great.
• Winny Puhh - I didn't know what this was the first time I watched it. Or the third time. Or the tenth time. The point is, I can't stop watching. Will I ever understand?!
• Trampoline Kitty - is this cat disturbed by the jumping? Is it loving it? There are few clues to understanding either way.
• Four Square checkins: NYC vs Tokyo - love this animated infographic of checkins over a 24-hour period. There aren't really any surprises in the data presented but it's still great to see.
• Harlem reacts to Harlem Shake - lots of disappointed folks here. It's a bummer that anyone would think Harlem Shake is making fun of actual Harlem because it's, frankly, not smart enough to be making any commentary. Regardless, these reactions are priceless, honest and accurate.
• Beetlejuice Minecraft Rollercoast - watch this and imagine the time it would take to 1) design the ride itself and 2) actually build it brick-by-brick in the Minecraft world. Insane.
• Introducing JASH - a new original content YouTube channel from Sarah Silverman, Michael Cera, Tim Heidecker, Eric Wareheim and Reggie Watts. Subscribe.
• Raccoon with a Jetpack - Raccoon with a Jetpack

Have a great weekend!

We Own This Town: Volume 62

Another quality dispatch (if I may say so myself) from the bottomless well of goodness that is the Nashville rock / electronic / indie scene. There's probably a better name for that but it's all I've got at the moment. Enjoy. If you prefer, you can always grab the downloadable files below, stream it elsewhere or get it on iTunes. Hope you like it.

Tracklisting | Download M4A | Download MP3 | Stream It

Whyd

Take a moment to familarize yourself with whyd - a new social music sharing site. The Trailer is a good place to start as it explains the core concept and shows off some of the user streams. At first glance, it appears to be This Is My Jam but without the 7-day restriction - meaning, you post a musical link from Youtube, Vimeo, Bandcamp, Soundcloud, etc - and it goes into your bucket, now widely available for all your followers to hear. I'm a little confused by the call to arms for a more "Social" music cobbling environment but there was no mention of getting the word out about your collection additions.. maybe I just need to use the thing in order to fully understand it.

And, yes, I understand there are plenty of sites on the Internet that have similar functionality to this but that doesn't make this any less worthwhile. Let's all sign up.

Ridiculous Fishing

Has anyone played Ridiculous Fishing yet? Can you verify that the gameplay is as much fun as the trailers? I love the Vlambeer design style and the soundtrack is hitting all the right spots this morning.

Minecraft: The Story Of Mojang

Are you familiar with Minecraft? Are you familiar with the makers behind it, Mojang? If you answered yes to either (or neither), you should check out the 2 Player Productions movie Minecraft: The Story of Mojang - a documentary that takes you through the history of the company and it's crazy rise into the hearts and minds of people everywhere. I'm biased towards any movie that is distributed on VHX but I really think this one will appeal to all those folks that loved Indie Game: The Movie and want some more storytelling about videogame developers. The Deluxe Version has a ton of bonus content!

Superhero JS

If you're a javascript developer, you'll love the best practices and coding insights from Superhero.js. If you're not a developer, you should visit anyway for the incredible Comic Film Noir style. It's such a perfectly simple - and information rich - site that it's hard not to absolutely love.

via Kevin.

The Arrested Development Documentary Project Kickstarter

I remember seeing the trailer for the Arrested Development Documentary Project some time ago and it appears that the filmmakers, superfans Jeff and Neil, have finished the project but need to pay the network for licensing some photos. So, they turn to Kickstarter, not only to raise awareness of their creation but to pay for those images. $20k sounds like a like for licensing fees but that's exactly the point, the networks charge a ton! Get in there and pre-order your copy, hopefully it will arrive right in time for the next seasons beginning.

Molly Drake

I'm going to go out on a limb and assume you're familiar with the tragic goodness that is Nick Drake but were you aware that his mother, Molly Drake, also has recordings available? This Self-titled album of home recordings is an eerie precursor to the work of Nick himself. There's something hauntingly engaging throughout the nineteen songs - maybe it's just that 1950's nostalgia bleeding through but it's quite heartwrenching.

99gamers

Honestly, I don't buy a lot of games.. especially in the physical sense. I'm deeply intrigued by indie game culture but I haven't a clue what's going on in the world of big game releases. Partially because the idea of going to Game Stop, buying a disc, playing and selling back at a loss just sounds like doldrums I'm not interested in being a part of. So, when I saw 99 Gamers making the rounds, I was curious as to the benefit it could bring on just swapping my used games for something new (to me). The interface is clean and easy - potentially a pathway to a lot of new games to try. Anyone used this yet?

Hotpipes to release Dust

I'm going bonkers with yk records this year and part of that crazy release schedule is the latest from Hotpipes. They seemingly disbanded after the release of their last album, Future Bolt, but that was just smoke and mirrors. They're back with a new record and it's, honestly, the best thing they've done. I realize I'm biased but I can't imagine you, dear reader, not enjoying it.

There will be plenty more announcements in the coming weeks but I wanted to give you all the opportunity to get friendly with the band, listen to their previous material and get ready for the May 7th release of Dust.

The Minuum Keyboard Project

I'll be honest, I watched the intro video for Minuum and kind of wrote it off as a new school version of T9 texting. Hadn't we been down this road before? But then I saw them typing with a sheet of paper, or on their arm or just in the air and it seemed to be actually working. My interest levels were piqued. Maybe yours will be too. I mean, we're definitely in the age of reinventing all the customary interactions we're used to - why not finally improve the keyboard?

via Adam.

The Weight Of Objects

Loving the portrait series from Weight of Objects. They pick a subject, find out their favorite possession and then document both of them. There are a lot of legitimately heart warming stories throughout as well as a few good chuckles. Oh, and the photography is top notch from start to finish.

The Private Eye

Seems like indie comics are having a bit of a boom lately. Comixology is distributing plenty of big name Marvel and DC titles but they've also got ComiXology Submit with titles from the likes of Rich Barrett or Diesel Sweeties.

But that's not the "story" here. The Panel Syndicate just released The Private Eye, an original storyline from Brian Vaughn, Marcos Martin and Muntsa Vicente that is "set in a future where privacy is considered a sacred right and everyone has a secret identity." The best part? They're distributing it DRM-free on a pay-what-you-want model. So, you can steer over to their site, toss them a dollar and get the PDF. Or you can throw them $5, $10 or whatever you feel like tossing their way. This model isn't exactly groundbreaking anymore but it's nice to see it expanded into new arenas. Trust Your Fans. Amirite?

via Boss Battle

National Geographic Found

Did you know National Geographic has a Tumblog? Nat Geo Found is a curated collection of photographs from their 125 year old archive. When you've got that much content, there's plenty of previously unpublished material to share. The three images shared above were grabbed quickly from the site but hardly showcase the diversity of images available. Personally, I find them unbelievably incredible, crazy, adorable, inspiring and engaging.

FKR TV

FKR.tv is a partnership between Les Savy Fav's Syd Butler, David Cross and the Orchard Video Network to provide original programming. There's only a trailer at the moment but I'm interested to see more. First up appears to be Song of the Wild featuring Tim Harrington, Gavin McGinness and Cross. I'm curious to see how this pans out!

Coffitivity

Here's the base claim from Coffitivity:

the mix of calm and commotion in an environment like a coffee house is proven to be just what you need to get those creative juices flowing.

I wasn't familiar with this idea but listening to the ambient chitter chatter just underneath whatever music I'm playing does create a more lively feel. If it works, who am I to argue? I will say, don't listen to the provided People Audio too closely or you'll start to hear where it loops and it'll ruin the whole thing for you.

Mr. Wolf Dog

It's a bummer that I was in SXSW during it's execution because the Old Spice Mr. Wolf Dog campaign is pretty amusing. It's over and done with now but they really went all out. The video campaign is hilarious amusing, the blog is perfectly absurd and they even released an album and ringtones.

Is it weird to be so entertained by a blatantly obvious ad campaign? I think when it's as open and forthcoming as this one, it's fine to embrace it. Engage Blue Collar Shirt!

Stream To Me

I'm constantly looking for a better media solution setup. Currently, a combination of Air Video and AV Player HD cover my needs for watching just about anything locally or remotely. I've not been able to adjust my viewing behaviors to get into Plex but it's there if I need it. In the meantime, I'm trying out Matt Gallagher's Stream to Me - a labor of love that works on Mac, PC and iOS devices. You can stream your media over your local network or anywhere remotely without any fancy new interface to adjust to. Am I putting off the inevitable by not embracing Plex? Probably so but I'm liking this stop gap in the meantime.

Lightt

It's probably a safe assumption to say that Vine has won the prize for "short video" app (rightfully so, it's well done) but there are alternatives out there being, unfortunately, overlooked. Lightt is a very well done app that takes a minute of video and crunches it down into a few seconds - creating a timelapsed look of your surroundings. It's nice that there's no sound involved but it's even better that it creates one continuous stream of images. It's a great, smart, interface and a bummer that it doesn't get more recognition. Their site is a decent promo but really you should just get the app and try it out.

I'm sure there are loads of cases like this where one app is doing something really ingenius but doesn't get the recognition it deserves. What else should I be aware of?

Ten Bizarre Tales Of Taxidermy

Taxidermy is a mixed bag for me. I'm absolutely fascinated by it in all regards but also can't help but feel a twinge of sadness for the animal being put on display. So, with that sort of thinking in mind, check out these Ten Bizarre Tales of Taxidermy. If you aren't familiar with the classics like The Lion of Gripsholm Castle, you're in for a treat. If you're a connoisseur, you may enjoy the less known anecdotes like Grover Krantz.

via General Lee.

Forget Cassettes from Will Holland Productions

Will Holland is turning out to be one helluva photographer. Check out this batch of photos from the last Forget Cassettes show. I don't think I've seen a more perfectly accurate representation of Beth Cameron in all my years of knowing her. Keep an eye on that guy, he's doing great things.

Mico by Neurowear

I saw some interesting "brain wave" tech at SXSW this year that I, immediately, cast doubt and pessimism upon. Are we really at the point where we can read brainwaves even vaguely accurately? Well, the Mico claims to be able to do so and will create a playlist of music based on the users mood. Is this just a highly sensitive thermometer? Is it actually reading certain brain wavelengths? The intro video doesn't shed much more light on the situation but I'll admit I'd certainly like to try it before I call Total BS on it.

Wearable tech is the future.. get ready for people to be walking around looking real weird as we move forward.

Friday Videos - March 15th, 2013

Welp, I've been off at SXSW for the past week and really had no time at all for browsing or keeping up with the potential video goodness floating around out there. Despite that, I think this weeks playlist isn't half bad.

• Makeup and Vanity Set - 7.25.2148 Teaser - there's a new MAVS album on the horizon. You can grab Praxis now and enjoy this little teaser in the meantime. Can't wait.
• Footwork Drill - you want something bad to happen and then it does and it feels alright.
• Louis CK - Oh My God Trailer - plenty of self-deprecating humor from Louis CK.
• Breaking the Fourth Wall Supercut - an entertaining compilation of reminding you you're at the movies.

Have a great weekend. Regular programming resumes on Monday.

Tipper Whore - Two Sticks

I'm still off in SXSW Land for most of the week so posting will be light but I'm happy to share the official video for Tipper Whore's "Two Sticks." It's a silly video but an enjoyable one. Watch it and get that 7"!

Friday Videos - March 8th, 2013

You thought just because I was out of town I would forget Friday Videos? Well, it was close to happening but better late than never, right? Enjoy!

• Mythbusters Jackass Theme - the right soundtrack and some proper editing makes Mythbusters look an awful lot like Jackass.
• Life on Mars - just a phenomenal retro-future style animation for your eyes to enjoy.
• Backflip Madness - new iOS game that we are obsessed with. It's weird and awkward but it's oddly entertaining.
• Breaking Bad 1995 Style - there's been a lot of these sorts of remakes but this one hits the nail on the head.
• Beach House - "Wishes" - new Eric Wareheim video for Beach House with Ray Wise being particularly awesome.
• Cats Can Be Jerks - enjoyable compilation of jerky cats.
• Dormtainment - Ass on the Internet - from time to time my playlist will include a risque video or two. This is one of those times. This is NSFW, tho just for being inappropriate. That being said, its pretty awesome both in content and execution.

Have a great weekend!