OK, I am totally jiving off this new band I have discovered... an a capella group from Finland with the rather unlikely name of Fork.

They have done some truly amazing covers of pop tunes, ranging from Bon Jovi to U2 to Britney Spears.

One of the stunning things about this band is their showmanship - check out this performance of Bohemian Rhapsody...


They also have some fabulous songs of their own - check this out:



I am so psyched to have discovered yet another awesome band, who make great music and have amazing shows - I just hope they do a tour of the US sometime soon...!

This morning while picking up munchies for Turkey Day, I realized that the bass line from Peaches & Herb's _Shake your Groove_ thing is the funkiest thing ever.

Today I give thanks for the wonder of music, in all its Infinite Diversity and Infinite Combination, from Bach to the Beatles, from Yo-Yo Ma to Yaz...!

Happy Turkey Day to all!

I fear I have to make another musical confession - though I expect this one just might cost me dearly.

Fact is...

I really like the song "Eyes on Me" from the new Celine Dion album.  I mean, I really, really like it.

I know that it's just the stupid psuedo-middle eastern backing hooks, but I can't get over them.  Heck, the lyrics, especially when she's ad libbing the same bits over and over, are just silly - but the dink-a-dink of that string instrument is just very, very, well, hook-y.  

As for the rest of the album, well, no way.  But I'm actually considering paying money for that one track... aak!

If at some point in the future I start saying something like this about, say, John Tesh, I hereby grant permission for someone to revoke my music privileges for one week... 

Jonathan Coulton and Paul & Storm have announced they will be playing together in Madison on at the Majestic Theater on Friday, December 7th, at 7:30 p.m.

All seats are general admission, and doors open at 6:30, so you want to be there early...!

I will be picking up tickets - they are $12 apiece, but trust me, this may be the best $12 you spend this holiday season! - so if you want one of them, let me know ASAP. (Folks will need to obtain panties on their own, but if anyone wants to practice the Code Monkey Dance, I'd be glad to get together...)

Why should you go to this show?  There are many reasons...

The main reason is that BOTH of these acts are AMAZING - they are incredibly talented musicians, and also happen to be hilariously funny. (The fact they also can be scarily touching along they way is just a bonus...)

You are guaranteed to split your sides laughing at at least one point in this show... And since they are performing together, they will be helping each other out, which will make it even better.

If you like to laugh, or enjoy humorous music of any sort, or even just really damned good songwriting, you HAVE to see this show!

If you like Monty Python, Douglas Adams, Dr. Demento, Zombies, Pirates, Bob and Tom, Horror Spoofs, Randy Newman, or any other slightly odd, offbeat humor - YOU NEED TO SEE THIS SHOW!!

If you've even heard of the game Portal, you will want to see this show - and if you've played it, you should already know that JoCo wrote "Still Alive", the theme song that's become a viral hit... and you know you HAVE to see this show!

If you are a geek, you ABSOLUTELY HAVE to see this show!  (Yes, this means all 1800+ attendees of GeekKon should go, if they can find tickets... so don't miss out!)

Fact is, if you are reading this, YOU MUST SEE THIS SHOW!

If you don't believe me, check out these links...

Paul and Storm Videos:

The Captain's Wife's Lament

(The video cut off the intro, where they solicit audience participation for this Piratey song... but you'll get the idea...)



A Better Version of You
A great example of the Paul and Storm sense of humor...



JoCo Videos:

JoCo allows users to submit videos for their work, and here's some great examples...

Re: Your Brains



and two versions of Code Monkey, because they're both awesome...

The Code Monkey Dance




...and, for a different spin,

Code Monkey WoW Video



For the more hardcore geeks out there, we have Mandelbrot Set...



Finally, to give you a taste of JoCo playing live...

Mr Fancy Pants w/ Midi Controller

Some great stuff found while stumbling around Dementia-land... MC Lars does some pretty funky stuff!

(Turns out this video clip actually has two tracks on it, and the second one done twice... so enjoy!)



Check out this video: MC Lars iGeneration



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OK, so I've heard mention of The Bobs for years, every since reading my first set of liner notes from Da Vinci's Notebook...

But it was not until today that I actually checked out their music... and they are UNBELIEVABLE!

Check this out...

Check out this video: White Room



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JoCo has done it again, and this time in spades...!

He secretly got hooked up with the folks at Valve to write a song for the huge new gaming hit Portal... and the song rocks just as much as the game!

JoCo blogs a bit about how it came together here, and there is a nice article at MTV Multiplayer here.  (While there is some possible precedent, MTV is painting this "video game song as a hit" as a new phenomenon, which gives JoCo some even better geek cred...! (I owe apologies to Freezepop for saying this, but it's not quite the same since Freezepop's Duke of Pannekoeken is also the music director for Harmonix...)

I know this is slightly tacky, but because this is so damned cool, I want to share it with as many folks as I can - so before following this link, you have to promise to buy the song when it becomes available, on the off chance that you think it's as awesome as thousands of others do...  (Alternatively, I added this as a song on my home page, but I think the user who loaded it was doing it without permission...)

As an added bonus, someone named Keith made an awesome remix of the Portal vocal track, turning out a truly funky, immensely danceable track...check it out here:

..


Now we just have to wait for JoCo to get permission to sing this in performance (which should be a no-brainer for the Valve folks)... and then wait eagerly for his next appearance in Madison!

As you can see from the video below, Steven Wright is back, and he's as funny as ever....!



Check out this video: STEVEN WRIGHT ON THE LATE LATE SHOW WITH CRAIG FERGUSON

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For those of you (like me) who've been jonesin' for some new Paul and Storm goodness, here's their latest video update:



If you liked that (and even if you didn't), check out the release of their NEW ABLUM, with all sorts of good info here

OK, so it's truth telling time...

Some of you know this, but for those of you who don't, it needs to be said - and I want to share it with ALL of you.

You see, the fact is...  I really like Hall and Oates! No, I mean it -- I really like Hall and Oates.  A lot.

(Pause for laughter, cries of despair, etc. to die down...)

For those who wonder why, I offer you this Rhapsody playlist with my favorite Hall & Oates tracks.

And for those of you who scorn them, I have an offering for you: The Ballad of Hall and Oates, from Barnes and Barnes.  Even as a long time fan, I can still appreciate the insightful, er, point of view that these two long-time observers of the world have about the Dynamic Duo.