Hyperbole is the Best Ever

I love this glorious collaboration between fun. and Panic! at the Disco. Nate & Brendon sound amazing together, and the song is like a marriage between the two bands' sounds: C'mon.

Miscellanea for November 16, 2009

- This is the most CHARMING thing I've seen ALL WEEK: ASL performance versions of contemporary pop songs. There's a bunch of Jonathan Coulton here, but I think the funniest one is for Miley Cyrus's Party in the U.S.A. The interpreter (who is cute as a button) gets so into his hip-shaking and head-nodding. MUCH LOVE.

- And just as delightful, but not as kind-hearted: Wedinator - Trashing Your Special Day is Our Prime Directive. Much love to the friend who linked me to this, it has been cracking me up for days.

- I try not to spend TOO much time at Hulu, because it's like a black hole of awesome. You can get stuck in there FOR DAYS, but I stumbled across this gem yesterday: Ronin. Yeah, the WHOLE THING. I can't even tell you how many times I've watched this film. It's got a stellar cast, including Robert De Niro, Jean Reno and Natascha McElhone, and (among other things) some of the most exhilarating and well-choreographed car-chase scenes I've ever seen.

- I read a number of queer blogs. Many of them are very serious, focusing on political battles won and lost, and on the seemingly endless war against discrimination. Be Gay, Little Bird is a refreshing departure from that. It catalogs queerness in pop culture, focusing on what's positive about the way we are portrayed, represented and displayed in the media. It's like getting a little shot of rainbow glee every day, and I'm always fascinated by their finds. Today we have Adam Lambert in Out magazine. Young man, YOU ARE MY FAVORITE. I love his perspective, and I'm glad he has a soapbox from which to shout it.

I just "discovered" My Chemical Romance. I know, I know, I'm like eight years late for the party, but I seriously had NO IDEA they were this good. Their albums have all the satisfying operatic NOISE of punk, but they are also genuinely accomplished musicians. The songs have a coherent, appealing melody and structure to them, and the lead singer's voice is surprisingly versatile. I bought The Black Parade a week ago, and I've had it on repeat ever since. It is the best new-to-me album I've heard in YEARS. I don't know what took me so long to try it.

(Actually, I guess I thought they were a band for teenage girls and wouldn't have anything to say to me, which is a) not true and b) FASCINATING to me now that I'm thinking about it. I mean, this is an all-male band that doesn't embody, but COMES FROM a fairly typical punk place--the whole modern primitive, rage-fueled, mosh-pit culture--whose concerts are a safe space for girls and queer kids of both genders. There aren't an infinite number of arenas in which girls especially can feel free to explore their feelings of rage and alienation, and if MCR is for those people, that's more of a gift than a handicap.)

- Jay Smooth on Christopher Street Boys. I don't know anything about the person who made the original remark, but Jay gives SUCH a satisfying and righteous rant. I've listened to this several times over the last week and always come away energized by it.

- My friend Rose Lerner's book, In for a Penny, is available for pre-order! I haven't read it yet, but what I know about this woman's writing tells me that it won't be your typical Regency romance. I'm excited.

- Kris Allen's first music video (for 'Live Like We're Dying') premiered on Popeater this weekend. It's very enjoyable and also beautifully filmed! I was worried, but it's actually lovely. And here, just so you get the full spectrum of what makes this man so appealing, this is a live performance of one of the songs off his soon-to-be-released album. HEE, air guitar!

- Pomplamoose. How to explain this? Two extremely adorable people make music in their apartment, then make remix videos of it AND IT IS FABULOUS. They're talented (and did I say adorable?) and the covers they choose to do are hilarious. I think I like the one for Single Ladies the best.

- And while we're on the subject of music, the same friend who gave me Pomplamoose also showed me Blogotheque, which is a French music site. Among other things, they have hundreds of videos of live, impromptu concerts from some pretty amazing bands. Check this out! This is a ferry I have ridden MANY MANY times. How come this never happens when I'm there?

P.S. It's a very different world than the one I grew up in. This article isn't entirely happy, but it makes me smile natheless.

- How long does it take to make me fall in love with Jason Schwartzman? Apparently, it's 28 minutes and 29 seconds. I'm not sure I've ever heard him being interviewed before! I had no idea he was such a charming, rambly, thoughtful talker. Incidentally, the host of the show (KCRW's The Treatment) is a delightful interviewer, the kind I would tune in to hear even if the guest wasn't my favorite.

- In this way, he's not unlike George Stroumboulopoulos of CBC's The Hour, who just interviewed another of my favorite Canadians, Hugh Dillon. They are SO cute together! One of the things I love about Canada's boyfriend George is that he's such a fan of people, so honestly enthusiastic about what they're doing. It must be why he gets such great material from them. The fact that he sits back and lets them talk is ALSO a factor. He never makes an interview ALL ABOUT HIM. It's refreshing.

- Switching gears: Dan Savage on kink. Great, big YES to this.

- Meanwhile, Esquire magazine, going for the fricking WIN as usual, sums up the meaning of the current vampire craze.

- David Cook would like to have sex with everyone at the Showbox. Also, with teachers or educational professionals, FYI.

- And while we're on the subject of American Idols, the singles by Kris Allen, Allison Iraheta and Adam Lambert are all finally available via iTunes. I actually like them all and Kris's is still my favorite, but Adam's makes me laugh the most. Way to come out swinging, sir! I LOVE it. "No way to ring the alarm?" We don't even get a safeword? His career is going to be a VERY interesting carnival ride for the rest of us.