BIYL QUICKIES

crumbler: “Missy’s Girls (Animal Collective vs. Missy Elliott...

Thu, 24 Dec 2009 15:04:53 -0700

“Missy’s Girls (Animal Collective vs. Missy Elliott vs. Chairlift vs. Phoenix,” Stereogum & team9. It has been my curse this year to have experienced zero enthusiasm for Animal Collective. While the rest of the indie blogworld went head over heels for Merriweather Post Pavilion, I listened to it a dozen times and wasn’t affected at all. It was as if I was born without the needed receptors for it. Anyway, this mash-up from Stereogum’s grand annual tradition suggests a use for AnCo that I can get behind — background sounds for remixes! “My Girls” strikes me as much more intriguing with Missy, Chairlift and Phoenix trading vocals over it. Heresy, I know. But it’s heresy I can dance to. (See also: Taylor Swift’s “Love Story” over U2’s “With Or Without You.”) (download)

Casey, I’m glad you keep mentioning this because otherwise I’d feel all alone in the blog world. I don’t mind Animal Collective - like I wouldn’t reach for the radio dial if it was on - but for the most part they leave me emotionally blank.

findesiecle: HOME ALONE (1990) Secretly (or not-so-secretly) I...

Thu, 24 Dec 2009 10:13:05 -0700

findesiecle:

HOME ALONE (1990)

Secretly (or not-so-secretly) I actually really, really love this movie (despite the pretty terrible trailer and abysmally bad sequels.)

Also, it came out TWENTY YEARS AGO OH GOD I AM OLD.

merry christmas everyone!

The other day I realized Toy Story came out in 1995 and had a similar freakout.

I feel like Placebo’s cover of ‘Running Up That...

Wed, 23 Dec 2009 21:19:20 -0700

I feel like Placebo’s cover of ‘Running Up That Hill’ is what’s making this trailer deceptively appealing, but my gut is telling me this could be campy fun. Hey, it still looks better than Sherlock Holmes! I guess that’s not saying much, though.

Michigan man thinks he’s solved the mystery of...

Wed, 23 Dec 2009 18:48:06 -0700

Michigan man thinks he’s solved the mystery of Stonehenge.

This is incredible to watch. You’d never think of it, but once you see him do it you think to yourself ‘Well, of course!’.

I guess this commercial has been out a while, but I’ve...

Wed, 23 Dec 2009 18:33:22 -0700

I guess this commercial has been out a while, but I’ve only noticed it playing over the last few days. Audrey + Billie Holiday + Jean Pierre Jeunet = Je’taime!

Is it just me, or does Phil Collins look a lot like Jeffrey...

Wed, 23 Dec 2009 18:04:00 -0700

Is it just me, or does Phil Collins look a lot like Jeffrey Combs in this picture?

Stereotyping People By Their Favorite Indie Bands

Tue, 22 Dec 2009 20:49:00 -0700

Stereotyping People By Their Favorite Indie Bands:

shityeahitscool:

cockenblog:

Your feelings are about to be hurt.

I go to Pitchfork only for the ratings and haven’t showered in two days, like shitty beer unironically, think Tha Carter 3 was too mainstream, and like to go to concerts to relax. Apparently.

That’s okay, I learned that I’m both gay and a girl, wear checkered sneakers and love leggings.

Commercial radio's most-played songs of the decade

Tue, 22 Dec 2009 19:06:53 -0700

crumbler:

Via the AV Club:

Country:          “Something Like That” / Tim McGraw / 487,343 spins [1999]
CHR/Top 40:   “Yeah” / Usher featuring Ludacris & Lil Jon / 416,267 spins
[2004]
Hot AC:           “Drops Of Jupiter” (Tell Me) / Train / 338,749 spins
[2001]
Alternative:      “Last Resort” / Papa Roach / 221,767 spins
[2000]
Rhythmic:       “Low” / Flo Rida featuring T-Pain / 206,864 spins
[2009]
Album Rock:   “It’s Been Awhile” / Staind / 189,195 spins
[2001]
Urban:             “Drop It Like It’s Hot” / Snoop Dogg featuring Pharrell / 169,511 spins
[2004]
Urban AC:       “Think About You” / Luther Vandross / 147,818 spins
[2003]
Gospel:            “Never Would Have Made It” / Marvin Sapp / 92,603 spins
[2007]
Smooth Jazz: “Pacific Coast Highway” / Nils / 29,328 spins
[2004]

**

Smooth jazz!

I added year of release just because I think it’s interesting.

Does Star Trek stop women from becoming scientists?

Tue, 22 Dec 2009 16:15:44 -0700

Does Star Trek stop women from becoming scientists?:

The Journal of Personality and Social Psychology seems to think so, but Kayla Iacovino - an Experimental petrologist at ASU - disagrees. Don’t ask me to define experimental petrology, because I can’t. I do know it has to do with rocks. I’m not what you’d call a smart person.

One of the great photos from The Guardian’s Noughties...

Tue, 22 Dec 2009 15:56:05 -0700

One of the great photos from The Guardian’s Noughties ‘Music in Pictures’ collection

zooeydeschanel: Zooey Deschanel in David Letterman. I like to...

Tue, 22 Dec 2009 14:12:59 -0700

zooeydeschanel:

Zooey Deschanel in David Letterman.

I like to xerox pictures of Liza Minnelli and her husband…whaa?

"The thing that will be frustrating for both you and mind-blown fanboys is that it’s neither a..."

Tue, 22 Dec 2009 11:51:47 -0700

“The thing that will be frustrating for both you and mind-blown fanboys is that it’s neither a big fail or a big brilliant masterpiece. On the other hand it’s sort of like that tree that Luke had to go into. What’s in there, Mister Yoda, I remember him asking. Only what you have packed in your suitcase, Luke, the old Jedi Master replied.”

- Best analysis/summarization of the Avatar backlash/praise I’ve read so far. And hey, it uses Star Wars to put it all in context. So everyone’s happy.

Forget the 2000s, this is the best movie scene of the century.

Tue, 22 Dec 2009 11:03:39 -0700

Forget the 2000s, this is the best movie scene of the century.

"Gray, damp, chilly until Christmas Eve then raining and windy into Christmas Day, sorry about that."

Tue, 22 Dec 2009 11:02:10 -0700

“Gray, damp, chilly until Christmas Eve then raining and windy into Christmas Day, sorry about that.”

-
Local Weather Man on December 21 (via tsurufoto)

At least he accepted responsibility for it.

Daily Mail makes fun of William Shatner's weight

Mon, 21 Dec 2009 17:42:04 -0700

Daily Mail makes fun of William Shatner's weight:

He’s 78! Go fuck yourself Daily Mail.

Jack Bauer interrogates Santa

Mon, 21 Dec 2009 16:06:12 -0700

Jack Bauer interrogates Santa

The 10 most pirated movies of 2009

Mon, 21 Dec 2009 13:47:00 -0700

The 10 most pirated movies of 2009:

rank movie downloads worldwide grosses
1 Star Trek 10,960,000 $385,459,120
2 Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen 10,600,000 $834,969,807
3 RocknRolla 9,430,000 $25,728,089
4 The Hangover 9,180,000 $459,422,869
5 Twilight 8,720,000 $384,997,808
6 District 9 8,280,000 $204,570,836
7 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince 7,930,000 $929,359,401
8 State of Play 7,440,000 $87,784,194
9 X-Men Origins: Wolverine 7,200,000 $373,062,569
10 Knowing 6,930,000 $183,260,464

Top 10 pirated movies in 2008

rank movie downloads worldwide grosses
1 The Dark Knight 7,030,000 $996,500,000
2 The Incredible Hulk 5,840,000 $262,300,000
3 The Bank Job 5,410,000 $64,300,000
4 You Don’t Mess With The Zohan 5,280,000 $201,800,000
5 National Treasure: Book of Secrets 5,240,000 $457,400,000
6 Juno 5,190,000 $231,300,000
7 Tropic Thunder 4,900,000 $187,200,000
8 I Am Legend 4,870,000 $584,200,000
9 Forgetting Sarah Marshall 4,400,000 $104,500,000
10 Horton Hears a Who! 4,360,000 $296,945,439

"Stephen Holden of The New York Times was among those who compared her unfavorably to other female..."

Mon, 21 Dec 2009 11:29:19 -0700

“Stephen Holden of The New York Times was among those who compared her unfavorably to other female contemporaries, writing that she “suggests a dumbed-down Meg Ryan with a gloss of Melanie Griffith.””

-
Seems unnecessarily harsh for the New York Times to quote that review in its own obituary for Brittany Murphy. (via hailthepagesturning)

I’ve noticed nearly every obit or reference to her death includes a dig at her acting. Are these obituaries or film critiques?

Wired explains 3D projection

Mon, 21 Dec 2009 10:17:24 -0700

Wired explains 3D projection:

Whatever you think of Avatar’s story, it was visually mesmerizing, due in no small part to the 3D IMAX projection. I felt like I was in some sort of virtual reality machine. Wired explains why I felt that way, though I still can’t say I fully understand. It’s magic, basically.

Pitchfork Top 10 Albums, In US Sales

Mon, 21 Dec 2009 09:49:00 -0700

perpetua:

1. Animal Collective Merriweather Post Pavilion 131k
2. Dirty Projectors Bitte Orca 48k
3. the xx xx 35k
4. The Flaming Lips Embryonic 75k (estimate)
5. Raekwon Only Built For Cuban Linx Part II 141k
6. Grizzly Bear Veckatimest 132k
7. Bat For Lashes Two Suns 36k
8. Phoenix Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix 205k
9. Fever Ray Fever Ray 23k
10. Girls Album 19k

Sales figures are from Soundscan through December 6th, 2009. I was hoping to get data for the entire Pitchfork top 50 and reshuffle the list to reflect sales, but that’s looking to be a tall order. Here are sales numbers for other albums on the list:

12. Yeah Yeah Yeahs It’s Blitz 184k
20. Real Estate Real Estate 3,400
21. Neko Case Middle Cyclone 169k
26. Bon Iver Blood Bank EP 89k
34. Passion Pit Manners 282k (best seller on top 50)
37. Antlers Hospice 13k
41. Baroness Blue Record 12k
45. Mountain Goats The Life of the World to Come 14k
48. Doom Born Like This 4,300

To get an idea of context, here are some sales figures of some other artists who did not make the Pitchfork list.

Wilco Wilco (The Album) 243k
Lily Allen It’s Not Me, It’s You 250k
Metric Fantasies 76k
Andrew Bird Noble Beast 126k
The Gossip Music For Men 19k
Silversun Pickups Swoon 193k
Muse The Resistance 292k
Lonely Island Incredibad 266k
Owl City Ocean Eyes 384k
Pearl Jam Backspacer 394k
Arctic Monkeys Humbug 72k
Matt & Kim Grand 64k
U2 No Line On The Horizon 1m
Paramore Brand New Eyes 327k

You can run in 20 different directions with this information, but I immediately fixed on the sales figures for Metric, as they self-released that album and they may very well have made more money from those 76,000 sales than others on the list that sold 3x as many records.