Entertainment – Page 5

May 30, 2012October 5, 2013

Creative covers of Top 40 hits

Longtime readers (and followers of me on Twitter) know I can’t resist a good YouTube clip, or a good tune. And sometimes I find something that meets both of those drives.

First up:

cdza create what they call “musical video experiments”, and here’s one called Pianists in Paris – seven players, one piano. Enjoy!

Kindof reminds me of the Walk Off The Earth version of Gotye’s Somebody That I Used To Know

And while you’re checking out unusual covers of modern songs, check out Aston – here they are covering Katy Perry’s ET.

If you’ve discovered some amazing covers, I’d love to take a look – link me up in the comments! x

May 12, 2012May 12, 2012

Top 40 hits that make me facepalm

It’s always amusing – and facepalmy – when a song with stupid lyrics makes it to the Top 40.

What’s worse is when the lyrics are in equal parts stupid and disrespectful. It’s as if the lyricists don’t have two braincells to rub together.

What if we swapped the genders – make the women the singers and the men featured in the lyrics – would we see them for what they really are? Here’s a sample of upended lyrics from some fine tunes that hit the top of the charts this year – that’s 2012, not 1962.

Whistle – by Flo Rida
I’m betting you love creep mode, and I’m betting you like boys that give love to boys, and stroke your little ego

The moral: Men like boys that give love to boys. It strokes their egos, hard.

Turn All The Lights On – by T Pain
This must be his song, dancing like ain’t nobody else in here, Sexy as he wanna be and he dancing so close to me. I said ‘please excuse you steppin’ on expensive shoes’. He is a perfect ten, this angelic body made you sin. I love the way you get it in, come over here and shake it for a lady – cause you want it

The moral: It turns out men actually really WANT to dance in front of leering women! And true ladies want men to “shake it”. Just mind my shoes, pet. They be pricey.

Sorry For Party Rocking – LMFAO
When I’m in the club, sippin bub, really drunk, and I see a guys ass, gotta have it. I’ma grab it.

The moral: If you’re drunk, just grab some random ass. No one minds.

International Love – Pitbull
I’ve been to countries and cities I can’t pronounce, and places on the globe I didn’t know existed. In Romania, he pulled me to the side and told me “Pit, you can have me, and my brother.”

The moral: Pitbull should have stayed in school, and these lyrics are actually fucking creepy… Even when the genders aren’t reversed.

The Motto – Drake
Some Spanish boys love me like I’m on Aventura… Clubbing hard, fucking men, ain’t much to do.

The moral: When bored, get busy. It makes you look cool.

Leave You Alone – Young Jeezy
[Dear boyfriend:] keep your stomach, inner thighs, and your legs right, while I’m out here focus getting this bread right.

The moral: Women won’t support a man with a beer gut. Get it sorted, guys.

I’m actually sick of this stuff. It’s awful. Why do we buy into it, and let it lace itself into our culture?!

To finish, I’ll paraphrase the worst of them all: Faded, by Tyga and Lil Wayne. These men are class and I hope their families are proud.

Women are dogs, so sexual partners get the nickname “Lassie”.
During sex, put your thumb in a woman’s anus, and then make her smell it, in the hopes that she vomits.
“Pregnant bitch titties” are bad because you can milk them.
Have sex with a woman while playing your own music, then break “a bitch heart” once you’re done.

Stay classy, gentlemen.

May 9, 2012June 21, 2012

The Lizzie Bennet Diaries

I think it’s awesome when people re-tell classic stories. I don’t even mind a modern twist or two.

How about when one combines two of my favourite things: Amusing YouTube clips and Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice? Yes please! So you know I’m going to love The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, which is basically a modern take, with a gorgeous Lizze and her two sisters (the older, Jane, a doting sweetheart, the younger, Lydia, a loveable “whore”.)

Episode 1: My Name is Lizzie Bennet

Episode 2: My Sisters: Problematic to Practically Perfect

Episode 3: My Parents: Opposingly Supportive

Episode 4: Bing Lee and his 500 Teenage Prostitutes

Episode 5: After the Wedding: The Real Bing Lee

Episode 6: Snobby Mr. Douchey

Episode 7: The Most Awkward Dance Ever

Episode 8: Charlotte’s Back!

Episode 9: Single and Happyish

You can subscribe here. Get amongst!

April 26, 2012January 11, 2014

The Adele Butter Dance explained

There’s a video that’s in the beginning stages of viral – and it won’t be too long before it becomes a fully fledged “thing”.

The reason for the viral is partially because the video is very funny, partially because it’s very odd.

An Indonesian woman dances in heels and a short skirt, on butter, to Adele’s Someone Like You.

Just watch the video.

Confused?

Melati Suryodarmo is a performance artist. In the original piece, she dances for 20 minutes on 20 blocks of butter to Indonesian shamanistic drums. When a YouTuber got hold of the clip, he replaced the original music with Adele, and so a viral video was born.

Here she is, dancing to Skrillex. It’s not quite as poignant though.

And incase you were wondering, here’s the original butter dance, complete with all the, erm, natural sound effects.

April 10, 2012

5 awesome projection mapping ads

Video mapping has been around for a while, but never fails to impress me as a fun medium that makes an impression. Samsung have just released a new clip, projecting onto a model’s face and torso, so I figured I’d show you a couple of my favourite video mapping ads.

Here’s Samsung’s offering:

Interactive projection that responded to the audience’s noise:

Toyota also used the technology to market their Auris Hybrid:

Hyundai have also used it to show off their Accent in Kuala Lumpur:

And PlayStation3 got amongst – no SFX, no post production, no cuts:

Bonus:
PS3 Part 2

PS3 Part 3

Enjoy!

November 15, 2011October 9, 2012

Like Crazy – Review

Last night I had a chance to see Like Crazy – a love story that is both surprising and honest.

It follows young lovers, British Anna (Felicity Jones, Brideshead Revisited, Chalet Girl) and American Jacob (Anton Yelchin, Hearts in Atlantis, Star Trek), as they negotiate an intercontinental romance. Alex Kingston, known best for her role in ER, also gets a nice outing in this film.

Set on a backdrop of beautiful cinematography, their love story slowly grows from initial long looks into a much deeper connection. I found myself both rooting for and frustrated by the characters. I needed to know how this one ended, and I wanted it to be a happy one. Was it? You’ll just have to watch.

The film has picked up a few awards, most notably the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance, and a Special Jury nod to Jones for her acting.

Like Crazy will be in New Zealand cinemas from February 2.

Watch the trailer

October 29, 2011September 11, 2013

5 reasons to love Jónsi

Jónsi (real name Jón Þór Birgisson) is a singer-songwriter from Iceland who, I think, brings happiness and wonder back into music. He’s released a solo album, but gained fame as part of the Icelandic band Sigur Ros. Jónsi sometimes plays his guitar with a cello bow, wears sunglasses through entire shows and has invented his own language, which he calls “Hopelandic”.

So he’s ecclectic. That’s your first reason to love Jónsi. Here’s another four, in musical form:

Jónsi – Animal Arithmetic

Jónsi – Sinking Friendships

Jónsi – Kolniður

Jónsi covers MGMT’s Time to Pretend

I hope you enjoy him as much as I do!

October 27, 2011May 4, 2012

Best drink driving ad… ever?

I’m really enjoying this ad, newly released by the New Zealand Transport Authority. It’s a departure from their usual shock value ads – and other attempts into this territory have fallen flat (Google “mantrol” and “manis”) – but they seem to have struck it right with this one.

“Bro, Monique says you’re dumb”

“Puzzle time!”

“You know I can’t grab your ghost chips”

“I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head”

Music is by Franklin Road Studios, especially for the ad. The main actor is Darcey-Ray Flavell (who you may recognise him from Boy). The agencies are Sweet Shop and Clemenger BBDO – you bloody legends.

UPDATE: There’s now a Ghost Chips song – it’s by The Cuzzies and here’s the official video:

Before you ask where you’ve seen that guy before, it’s Jermaine Leefe, who used to be a VJ on C4.

September 25, 2011September 11, 2013

Glee’s Zach Woodlee on beautiful imperfection

Earlier in the year I had a chance to interview Glee choreographer Zach Woodlee. We ended up having a really interesting discussion about “imperfect perfection” – something Zach is really passionate about.

“It’s OK that your legs don’t go up to your ears and you can’t stay on your good leg when you’re turning. I just love watching people dance.”

He says that working on Glee and The Glee Project is a totally different beast to working with professionally trained dancers – he’s previously worked toured with Madonna, and on movies including 27 Dresses and Hairspray – because Glee helps him remember all the reasons he wanted to dance in the first place.

“It’s really opened me up to a whole other part of dancing. When you spend your life in a dance studio, in front of a mirror, working on perfection and improvement, that becomes what you do. My appreciation for trained dancers is, of course, outstanding, I think it’s a wonderful, wonderful art to get into. But then being put in this position, I think it’s really taught me about, or re-taught me about, why people dance. The joy in it.”

It seemed obvious that the beauty of imperfection was his new driving force. We talked for a while about how Glee was freeing teenagers from restricting ideas about who they should be. I was really touched by his attitude – I felt like he wasn’t just talking about teenagers, but a principle that could be applied to anyone: Accept and love yourself, and know you’re perfect, just as you are.

“I feel like you can watch your favourite character [on Glee] and be it that they’re disabled, or overweight, or maybe not the prettiest or anything, but they still have permission to perform and they have permission to be themselves, and they work within a group. As a younger adult, it would make me definitely think ‘ok, this is ok, and I know that there’s a group of people out there that can accept me for this and love me’.”

He went on to talk about how Cory Monteith, who plays lead Finn Hudson, may not be the best dancer, but that’s not a weakness.

“We know that Cory is not our best dancer, but there’s a difference because you don’t feel embarrassed for him, you actually endear to the character.”

And surely that’s something we can all afford to learn – your weaknesses are endearing, not embarrassing.

Zach seems like a great guy and I have a lot of respect for the team behind Glee. They don’t always get it right, but you know what? That’s probably kind of perfect.

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore

August 15, 2011November 24, 2011

Kiwi Nyan Cat

Nyan Cat isn’t a new meme, but it has just recieved a delightfully Kiwi twist.

For those of you who don’t often visit the meme-world, Nyan cat is pretty much just a cat, made of pop tarts, racing across the sky, leaving rainbow trails. That’s it. Seriously, that’s it. And it’s annoying, and it’s addictive.

Here it is: