July 8, 2008

popquizkid's Hi, I'm New Here summer short list

Happy summer, friends and strangers!

I've had the pleasure of reading everyone else's 5 Things, and damn, y'all took a lot of the good ones, but here's my list:

1. Sigur Ros "Gobbledigook." The song and the video make me so. unbelieeevably happy. And not (just) because of the nudity, awmercy. It's the energy of all those naked hippies and dudes with drumsticks. You can watch and listen here. If you're over 18, of course.


2. Usher "Love in This Club" performed by



When War Machine sent me this video he probably never guessed how it would affect me. Obviously, he has no idea how many Showbiz birthday parties I attended at the shy, impressionable age of 9, before Showbiz sold out to lame-ass Chuck E. Cheese's. Shiiit. All I know is, when I saw the Cheerleader get going, I laughed, I cried...and then I laughed again because "ball pit" suddenly sounded dirty.


3. Jenny Lewis. Lately I've been loving Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins - especially "You Are What You Love" - but seeing Rilo Kiley play in Providence in May is what truly sparked my killer crush. The hair. The voice. The charisma. The shiny gold tights and hot pants. Sigh, Jenny Lewis is my silver lining.


4. The Black Kids "I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance." This song has been on my iPod since January but much like the sounds of Chromeo and Coconut Records this kind of funkiness just didn't seem appropriate until the temperature topped 70. (Which took, like, forever.) I loved hearing the guys on All Songs Considered grumble about this song's catchy, youthful, 'verby sound. And I different kind of loved it when those guys listed the ingredients of an infectious indie hit: yelling/chanting + nonsense sounds + numbers. "One, Two, Three, Four!"

It's kind of true, right? These are some of the ingredients that drew me to Justice and The Go! Team and even Animal Collective. The Black Kids' first album Partie Traumatic comes out on July 22 in honor of the day of my birth. But honestly, who cares about their other songs.


5. Where the hell is Matt? "14 months in the making, 42 countries, and a cast of thousands" says the guy who took his aerobic jig around the world and just...danced...sometimes alone, sometimes with a huge crowd of people, while a friend caught it on video. This video was spreading virally through Tumblr a few weeks ago, and I reblogged it, as did a million other people. Quite simply, it made my heart happy. Read today's NYT article, watch the video, welcome the new-agey music, and let yourself love the world for four minutes. It's summer. You deserve it.

13 Comments:

Thecranewife said...

I literally cried tears of joy the first time I watched "Where the Hell is Matt".

Rad list! What's with all the nakey-ness in 2008?

Mona said...

That "Love In This Club" spoof is ridiculous! How dare you... the original is killer!!! haha

Nightrain said...

Mmm, yeah, I'm going to have to go ahead and kinda disagree with you on that one... I'd much rather watch over-sized stuffed animals perform Usher's songs than watch Usher perform his own songs... or do anything else for that matter.

Mona said...

What?!?! Pardonez-moi!?!? Shut your mouth, boy! How dare you and your e-blasphemy, Nightrain. Usher is the man, and everyone knows it.

Nightrain said...

Calmate... the best thing about an opinion is that you can have your own, I can have my own, and no one has to share the same one... unless you live in a military state.

Which reminds me, when are the "WYFMS?" T-Shirts coming out?

Mona said...

Haha, you're right. If you want to have the wrong opinions on all things Usher, that is totally your choice ;)

What's WYFMS?

Amanda said...

Who knew the Showbiz Pizza Band could be so controversial!

I've got a heart full of hip-hop love...in this club...in this club...If only I could find a decent dance venue in Providence.

Mona said...

Dude, I'm working on a review of Usher's latest album. It is now my life-long mission to get Nightrain to develop a man-crush on him, or respect him at least. I have a feeling neither will happen, but in the name of all things holy and Usher, I must try :)

Brasilliant said...

I know I'm coming in late with this whole "having your own opinion" discussion, but if you ask Awmercy (and Ancient Indian Wizard, for that matter) his (their) opinions are frequently dead wrong. That's MY opinion. And I'm sticking to it.

Mona said...

Haha, I just love Usher so much that I get protective, kinda like a bear to her baby cubs. I was feeling bad for being a bit too much by pushing the pro-Usher talk on Nightrain... but thanks Brasilliant, now I don't ;)

ancientindianwizard said...

Ok so I'm adding to this comment train for two reasons..

1.) 10 comments? that's got to be a quickcrit record right?

2.) I am the proud owner of Usher's '8701' on double vinyl and wanted to take a picture proving the fact but you can't put photos in these damn blogger comments! I've got much love for Usher. Real talk!

Mona said...

Usher..on vinyl? Holy moly! Post that pic!!! Email it to me!!! hahaha

Thecranewife said...

You said it Brasilliant.... Usher on vinyl?