Shuffleupagus

I got bored with the First And Ten entries (especially the name), so here is the same idea pared down and freshly named, Shuffleupagus. Or Shuffy for short.

1. They Might Be Giants - "Vestibule", Cast Your Pod To The Wind

Cast Your Pod was a great bonus disc included with TMBG's latest album, The Else. It is a collection of various B-Sides created for - or featured exclusively in - their podcast. "Vestibule" was in podcast 21A. The video is not of the same recording, but it does feature musical robots!

2. U2 - "Sweetest Thing", The Best Of 1980-1990

The nicest thing about this popping up in the shuffle is that somehow I've never seen this video before. I like it, but Bono's silent mugging performance is weird even for Bono. These were the end of U2's glory days.

3. The Seatbelts/Yoko Kanno - "MUSAWE", Cowboy Bebop OST 5 - Future Blues

Cowboy Bebop will always hold a special place in my heart. It's the first anime series I absolutely fell in love with. It also spawned an incredible collection of music by composer Yoko Kanno. This album features music from the Cowboy Bebop movie. This particular song isn't one of my favorites, but it is a good example of the series' fusion of world sounds.

4. Ween - "Moving Away", The Pod

Burned this from a friend. I appreciate the oddness of the album, but I haven't listened to it all that much. I liked it enough to hold on to it for this long, I suppose. I don't have feelings for the band one way or another. It's just one of those odd bits that pops up from time to time.

5. Kenna - "Sunday After You", New Sacred Cow

I like this album a lot. "Hell Bent" is one of those songs that I could listen to a million times. "Sunday After You" is one of the album's more upbeat songs, but it still has that spacey, late-night-in-the-city vibe. This video is, surprisingly, the best version of the song on YouTube. The drums are overbearing, but you can get the gist of the song if you're not already familiar with it.

Something To Look Forward To

Here are some movies that I eagerly anticipate:

1. Cowboy Bebop

I'm not convinced this one will make it to production, but I could be wrong. Like Watchmen I'm torn about whether this movie should be made at all. Bebop is my favorite anime series, one of my favorite series period. I'll be unable to watch this without an extra critical eye. And unless Yoko Kanno is composing the score I'll dismiss this one outright.

2. The Goon

If you haven't read the comic series The Goon then you are severely missing out. Eric Powell's art and writing are among the best around (and he's from just south of here, bless him). Some of the absurd irreverent humor is reminiscent of Sam & Max, but that's only a small part of what makes the comic great. Among the giant zombie apes and salty, fish-headed seamen and emo vampires, is a story that is filled with geniune pathos. Goon is basically what I wish Hellboy was.
The movie, which Holly alerted me to, is being handled by David Fincher as a CGI animated film. I think that's the best way to go, because Powell's artwork is so damn good. And Fincher is a big enough director to make this movie huge.

3. Burn After Reading

Saw a slightly different version of this trailer in front of The Dark Knight. Let's hope this one is more Lebowski and less Cruelty. But following No Country isn't going to be easy. It's great to see Sledgehammer getting work, though.

First And Ten

Current iTunes stats:
Tracks: 24,836
Total playtime: 67.5 days
Tracks containing the word 'dragon': 28

Commence randomizing...

1. Kronos Quartet - "Ghosts Falling" from Requiem for a Dream Original Soundtrack


2. Bad Livers - "Uncle Lucius" from Delusions of Banjer

3. Gnarls Barkley - "The Last Time" from St. Elsewhere


4. Cortney Tidwell - "Society" from Don't Let Stars Keep Us Tangled Up

5. Holy Fuck - "Casio Bossa Nova" from Holy Fuck

6. Prince - "Batdance" from Batman


7. Hans Zimmer - "Thank You Boob Lady" from The Simpsons Movie: The Music

8. Yoko Kanno - "More than 3cm" from Macross Plus Vol. I


9. The New Pornographers - "Execution Day" from Mass Romantic

(video is from an official New Pornographers YouTube video challenge)

10. Eddie (a.k.a. Meat Loaf) - "What Ever Happened To Saturday Night?" from The Rocky Horror Picture Show