The Popcorn Kids

posted by toyyg on Mon Jul 27, 2009 at 09:32am MUSIC MONDAY - WEB SERIES REVIEW - Auto Tune the News

While we wait for our favorite TV Series to come back on, there are entertaining series being made and broadcast every day. One series I’ve started following this summer is “Auto Tune the News” songs on YouTube. The premise is taking newscasts and subjecting them to an autotuner, with hilarious and catchy results. These are supplemented The Gregory Brothers (Evan Gregory, Andrew Gregory, Michael Gregory, and Sarah Gregory) who splice their way into the video via greenscreens and add more vocals to the track.

One of the funnier things the Gregorys add to further spice up the “newscasts” are silly characters that have made a few appearances - such as the Angry Gorilla and Junkie Einstein. Each episode is capped with superlatives like “Best Unintentionial Singer” at the end, which is nice touch.

Most of the songs have their highlights, and their mastery of the autotune create awesome effects and make use of cliches in autotuned music, such as the overuse of the word “shawtay” and other such slang.

The series updates fairly regularly, usually every 2 weeks a new one comes out. If you get the chance, definitely check out the episodes here, and prepare for some massive earworm infection!

Verdict: Popped, shawtay!

Thanks for reading yet another edition of Music Monday!

Tagged: autotune the news gregory brothers toyyg web series music monday music

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posted by toyyg on Mon Jul 20, 2009 at 10:00am Music Monday - Track Sampler!

Definitely a busy week going on - There’s some sort of convention going on in San Diego, you might of heard of it. Anyway, here’s a quick track pack of songs to listen to!

“Alive” by Black Eyed Peas - I had gotten the impression that The E.N.D. was pretty much all party tracks. This one gives a nice reprieve with a mellower beat and lyrics.

“BYOB” by System of a Down - Definitely a blast to sing to and for getting angry.

“They Don’t Really Care about Us” by Michael Jackson - Can’t believe I missed this track last week. Love the lyrics and a good “Call to arms” type of song.

“Don’t Trust Me” by 3OH!3 - Their mix of pop beats with their singing is an eccentric mix. I mostly put this song for their strange break down - “Shush girl/ Shut your lips/ Do the Helen Keller/ and talk with your hips” - Yea, it tripped me out too.

“Baila Mi Corazon” by Belanova - I came across Belanova hearing that they were compared to Playa Limbo, and while I think Playa Limbo has the better vocalist, Belanova’s got it going on in their own way.

“Smile” by Lily Allen - I like this track simply of the contrast between the happy go lucky instrumental with the subject matter of the lyrics.

I’ve gone back to the other Music Mondays and set up imeem playlists for them, so check them out! Until then, see you on Monday!

Tagged: music monday toyyg music BEP Belanova System of a down Lily Allen 3OH!3

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posted by toyyg on Mon Jul 13, 2009 at 10:00am Music Monday - TOYYG’s favorite underrated Michael Jackson Songs

So, for the past couple of weeks, I’ve been listening to nothing but Michael Jackson. Losing an icon that you grew up listening to hits deeply than one would think. I suppose bloggers, writers, and fans all around have written their tributes by now, but here’s mine - A list of songs that didn’t get enough attention in MJ’s hey day:

“Butterflies” - A lot of MJ’s hits are usually hard hitting pop songs (See “Bad”, “Beat It”, “Black or White”), but I feel a lot of his slower songs don’t get their chance to shine in the spotlight. This one is laid back and funky for chill kickbacks.

“You Rock My World” - Ok, I kinda like this one because of Chris Tucker’s antics in the video, but the track is also something much different from his popular stuff - again, mellow groove, jazzy, funky bassline… good stuff.

“Speed Demon” - Good for when you need to get somewhere in a hurry. Not to mention, the part of MoonWalker that used this song was freaking epic. Dance off vs a claymation bunny? Go watch it!

“Scream” - This collaboration with Janet was awesome, and it’s a shame they didn’t do more. The attitude they brought to this song meshed well. The guitar solo section is my favorite because it’s so reminicient of Janet’s “If”.

“Blood is on the Dance Floor” - At first glance, it may seem like a lukewarm follow up to “Smooth Criminal” if you go by the lyrics, but this track is solid enough to deserve a couple more listens.

“We are Here to Change the World” - This song was in Captain EO. ‘Nuff Said. Bonus points for inspiration if you don’t wanna go the typical “Heal the World” or “Man in the Mirror” route.

Thanks for reading! As always you can get at me for any recommendations. Stay tuned for more Music Monday next week!

Tagged: musc monday toyyg mj music

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posted by toyyg on Mon Jul 06, 2009 at 10:00am MUSIC MONDAY KETTLE - Summer Playlist

Suns out, time to break away and enjoy the summer! Whether you’re spending it on the beach, in the office, or anywhere in between, take this handy playlist picked by some of the The PopCorn Kids:

TOYYG: Gonna go all over with my picks. Here’s some things to try out and to twist up your usual favorites!

“It’s a Beautiful Day” - Pizzicato 5 - Japanese 80-90’s pop group. I love to bump this while driving up and down the PCH.
“Stupida Cancion”- Playa Limbo - I’ve talked about this group before, but I can’t get enough of this track. Something to relax to while sipping on something tropical.
“Seven Days in Sunny June” - Jamiroquai - Another laid back jam that’s muc different from their better known songs “Virtual Insanity” and “Canned Heat.”
“Vida Mia” - Doug E. Fresh & The Get Fresh Crew - Doug E. Fresh raps in Spanish, do I need to go further?
“Thong Song” - Sisqo - THE THONG SONG IS AWESOME AND I WILL NOT BE TOLD OTHERWISE. Honestly, the track you can play at a shindig that everyone remembers and thinks, “Whatever happened to that guy?”

DARIANE: I actually have a “Summer” playlist on my iTunes Library. Here are my picks, some obvious, others obscure:

“Island in the Sun” - Weezer — For those sandy beach parties, this one has a rhythm that’s fast enough to keep that volleyball game going yet relaxing enough for those working on their tans.
“Summertime” - Fresh Prince & DJ Jazzy Jeff — This one is perfect for chillin’ poolside on an inflatable bed with cupholders filled with Coronas.
“Wanna Fly” - Vassy — For those Summer dance parties ‘round the block, this song features a fun beat and catchy tune. It’s similar to Quantic & Nickodemus’ “Mi Swing Es Tropical” which was featured on that iPod commercial with Salsa and Afro-Cuban dancers.
“Lovely Day” - Bill Withers — This is one to bump in your convertible with the windows and top down. With its funky beat and the smooth mellow sound of Bill Withers’ voice, the other cars who roll up next to you and smile.
“Dancing in the Streets” - Martha and the Vandellas — The lyric says it all: ‘Summer’s here and the time is right / For dancing in the streets’

BISKEEEE:

Lil’ Rob, “Summer Nights (listen)”: such a SoCal summer jam. Relaxed vato gangsta flow. Low rider sound effects. Throwback West Coast hip-hop beat. Yeah, summer’s here. Bump this in your ride or at a BBQ, you’ll feel sorta gangsta yourself.
Sublime, “What I Got” / “Doin’ Time”: actually the whole self-titled album is a summer classic, but I don’t have to tell you that. These tracks are just my faves. I would even venture to say you’re not really SoCal if you don’t have the self-titled Sublime.
Pennywise, “I Get Around” (listen): the Beach Boys get a punk rock reboot with this high-energy cover. It’s off the MOM 2: Music For Our Mother Ocean comp. Makes me think of tearing around Santa Cruz during high school summers.
Sugar Ray, “Fly”: basically Sublime-lite. Still a fun song.
Van Hunt, “Saturday Laughs” (listen): this song lingers sweetly like hot summer afternoon malaise. Vivid summer imagery, and all the lines rhyme with “laughs”. Maybe you’ve never heard of Van Hunt but give him a try.

CATMANABAT: Mine are pretty well-known, just those classic songs that defy boundaries of genre when it comes to the summer. These are the tracks that never leave my summer playlist, no matter what year it is!

“Summertime” by Fresh Prince and DJ Jazzy Jeff bears repeating. Plus, when you start hearing this on the radio, it signals summer’s a-comin’.
“Santeria” by Sublime has that summer attitude dripping through. Everyone knows the words more or less, so it’s a great “sing along together in a car” ditty.
“Steal My Sunshine” by LEN is just a fun, pop tune. When else but summer would you be “frying on the bench slide in the park across the street”?
“Sugar, Sugar” by The Archies is like that background soundtrack to the days you were running around with other kids, buying ice cream from street vendors and crashing the mall/movie theater/a friend’s house for some chill A/C.
“(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay” by Otis Redding is good all-year long, but it has that breezy feeling perfect for the season.

Tagged: music music monday kettle collabo toyyg dariane biskeeee catmanabat

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posted by biskeeee on Fri Jun 19, 2009 at 09:48pm Joe Greene & The Heavy Steppers at King King, 6/15/09

Last Monday I met a band that really knows how to lay down a groove. Joe Greene & The Heavy Steppers played a set at an art show at King King Hollywood, which featured charming cartoon paintings of girls, robots and panda bears. Throughout the lounge stood an assortment of beautiful souls wearing their clothes and hair in strange and fascinating ways you’d never find in my cubicle antfarm. I missed openers DJ Morgan and The Pangea Collective, but Greene’s groovaliciousness took us for a ride of call & response, hip-hop hand-waving and good old booty shaking.

Greene draws from a mix of Southern influences (blues, hip-hop, bluegrass, folk rock) - you’ll hear his band channel Anthony Hamilton and Dave Matthews over throbbing acoustic drums, then jump tempo into a saucy rapid-fire rap. Greene won me over when he threw off all white-boy inhibitions and pulled off a convincing rendition of Erykah Badu’s “On And On”. Those of us who didn’t mind messing up our ‘dos doffed our inhibitions as we moved to the beat. Some of the crowd were too cool for school - it was an art show in LA, whaddaya expect? - but I was skankin’ and two-steppin’ to my heart’s content with some fun and beautiful people.

Joe Greene & The Heavy Steppers made me enjoy myself Monday night, and that’s really what counts. Standout songs: “Garden” (on their MySpace), “On And On” and “I’ll Try” (on their YouTube)

Tagged: biskeeee music concert

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