Today is the birthday of Josh Luft, the man behind What A Fool Believes, one of the most consistently brilliant and delightful sites on the internet. If you are not familiar with Josh’s writing, now is a good time to catchup.
Madonna “Express Yourself” Blonde Ambition in Houston, 1990
This footage is from an MTV special, so you get a good chunk of voiceover from Kurt Loder, plus a bit of Downtown Julie Brown. This entire clip is an amazing time capsule, a wonderful glimpse into a very specific pop moment, from the set design right on down to the fonts.
Sometimes you just need to see Peter Parker bursting out of a moving taxi cab to punch an enormous shark in the face. From Amazing Spider-Man #311 by David Michelinie and Todd McFarlane, via Comic Book Resources.
Johnny Boy “15 Minutes” Live from somewhere, circa 2006
People usually fixate on “You Are The Generation…,” and for good reason, but it was not the only brilliant song the band released. I might actually prefer “15 Minutes,” which has a similar sort of triumphant/defiant glee, but less of the Phil Spector-isms. God, I just love how she sings “tell me what you’re gonna do!” These people really need to make another record.
U2 “Ultraviolet (Light My Way)” Live in Barcelona, 6/30/2009
This is the first public performance of “Ultraviolet” since 1993. It just figures that the one time I don’t have tickets to see a U2 tour, they get around to bringing back one of my favorite songs of all time, by them or anyone else. Of course, the rest of the setlist is kinda groan-inducing, but man, I really would be willing to pay just to see them do this one song. Also: Please pay special attention to Bono’s struggles with his dangling microphone thingy in this clip.
Grizzly Bear “Fine For Now” Live in NYC, 5/28/2009
I tried listening to Veckatimest through several times around the time it was released, and it didn’t stick. I’d pick up on cool guitar parts, but it mostly just washed over me any time I’d have it on. I didn’t get it. On Monday, I was feeling exhausted and vaguely upset, walking around my neighborhood aimlessly. I put the record on, and skipped around, landing on this song, and there it was: The really good thing everyone was talking about. How did I miss that melody? I suppose I just had to find the mood for it. Interestingly, it is roughly the same mood I have to be in for Grant Lee Buffalo.
* Stryfe force-feeding Cyclops mush and baby food has to be seen to be believed. (X-Men #15)
* Rogue and Wolverine discover a hidden sub-level, then travel up the stairs to investigate it. (X-Men #13)
* Colossus asks if the X-Men were right to prevent the Death Sponsors from taking Arize back to Mojoworld. He really wants to know if they were wrong to stop a group that just tried to kill them, called the DEATH SPONSORS, from kidnapping someone against his will. (Uncanny X-Men Annual #16)
* Cable explains to Cannonball that he’s an immortal High-Lord. One page later, Cable claims that High-Lords can die; they’re just hard to kill. That’s not very immortal. (X-Force #10)
* Cable suddenly has a mustache on page four. (X-Force #26)
* When Sabretooth tells Psylocke that she’s his kind of woman, her response is “I know, Creed. And that worries me to no end.” Archangel is incensed that she’s flirting with Sabretooth. How is she flirting? (X-Men #29)
* In-between panels, Kane’s clothes change from normal street clothes to his elaborate superhero outfit with a bandoleer and other accessories. (Wolverine #88)
* This entire issue is narrated by a letter Cannonball writes to his mother. Apparently, Cannonball not only speaks in a Southern accent, but physically writes in one as well, so his letter is filled with “Ah”s, “if’n”s and “nevah”s. Loeb also gives him an odd compulsion to underline everyotherword, and the worst Southern accent I’ve ever read in comics. (X-Force #44)
* A misplaced word balloon has Mystique referring to Shard as “cute”, when it’s supposed to be Wild Child’s line (everyone knows Mystique only has eyes for octogenarians). (X-Factor #117)
*Why is Master Mold wearing a domino mask on the cover? Is he afraid the other robots will recognize him? (Uncanny X-Men #-1)
Sheena Easton “Morning Train (9 to 5)” Live on Danish television circa 1980
People now really don’t lip synch with the same weird pizazz as they did the old days, huh? I really love this song and have since I was a little kid, but I always get the impression that everyone I know hates it.
Hype Machine: On Chart IntegrityThe Hype Machine calls out several musicians for attempting to game the system and inflate their standings in their charts. It’s sad — you’d think that artists like Flapsandwich, Mustard Pimp, Richie Jamz, and fragglerock would have more pride and integrity.
