YUB NUB INDEED

Thanks to a new baby, and a grandma staying with us to help, I get to watch way more Today Show than I should. And when they turn their Halloween show into a giant Star Wars tribute I perk up. And oh man was it worth it to watch as much as I could.

From a youth to today, I've always stood by the Ewoks. Even when cynical film fans, series fans, and Gen Xers said they were lame, I said they were awesome... here is final proof. Watch this whole segment dissolve before this poor Martha Stewart wannabe's eyes as her furry mischievous friends drink, showboat, fight and moonwalk and ultimately steal the show... and your heart. awwweee.

The whole thing is great, but it really hits when drunk pissed off Wicket rolls in around the 2:00 min mark.

oh, and Natalie Morales is a piece as Padme. And I'm pretty sure she's a Star Wars fan as this is what she wore last year, while on Maternity Leave no less!

-GD

CUMULOUS SIMPSONUS

I still try and pick out shapes from clouds so yesterday as I left my apartment I looked up and saw this doozy.

If this isn't a Simpsons Character, I don't know what is. Initially I leaned towards Homer, but it may be more Grandpa, or perhaps one more obscure... Discuss.

Seriously, no Photoshopperie going on here. Somehow the light from the sun just hit those two little cloud bursts. It's iPhone, so otherwise I would've zoomed, but click on it for it a bit bigger.

-GD

Not rare, just good.

I'm posting this not because you've never heard of Air, but probably because if you're like me your interest was at a point where unless someone told you to give it a listen, you probably wouldn't. So here is your notification.

I'm a sucker for almost all things French when it comes to music, as you'll find out if you keep reading. 10 years ago Air's Moon Safari came out and grabbed me hook line and sinker. I enjoyed some of the ambient/"chill" stuff that was coming out. Living in DC at the time we were flush with the 18th St Lounge Music but too often it was boring and way too clean, too digital (I hesitate to say electronic because there are few things I love more than some straight Synth stuff). Moon Safari was more organic, more natural. And, it drew from the past without sounding "retro".

They continued to release albums, some better than others. Some held me for repeated listenings for a while, others seemed like dull exercises in knob twiddling, but I still remained interested.

Now they have a new album out and it feels good. Love 2, is a return to form though not a rehash of the old sound. It sounds like they've taken what they've learned from their exercises in electronics and combined it with a decades worth of experience and further learning. So for you I'll cheat... here's the best song off the album. Called Tropical Disease it sounds like it could be the Theme song for the movie "Emmanuelle in Space", a movie that doesn't exist, though I'm sorely tempted to make it now that I've thought of it. EDIT: um.. apparently there is a whole series of "Emmanuelle in Space"... go figure. That said, I doubt it swings with the proper vibe this would bring. Yeah... Looks like I'm right.

Air: Tropical Disease

While no Moon Safari, the rest of the album is quite good as well.

-GD

Saskia - 10.12.09

The little one is here. She's terrific. More later.

-GD

NEVER TRUST SPACE NYMPHS

via Valerie (more on them later)

MUSIC FROM THE COOLEST GUY IN THE INTERNET

Over on io9, commenter Gods-n-Clods kindly gave me the title of "Coolest Person in the Internet" something that I really take to heart. Though I was shocked to learn that it wasn't just my massive body of incredible work that caught me on his radar, but rather a while ago when I suggested some music that he then got really into. This made me really happy.

I love music. I have a shit ton of LP's and thousands of mp3's. I still have a handful of CD's that I just love and won't (or can't) get rid of, but at this point I don't see why you'd buy new one. Regardless, I feel that I have excellent taste in music, but I know that this is a feeling shared by almost anyone who listens to music so I don't pay it much mind. I am happy when my tastes are confirmed by outside sources like Gods-n-Clods, and the new army of Incredible Bongo Band fans that are out there after the 2012:Disaster trailer. I have no interest in this becoming a music blog, but I figure every so often I'll pass along some things I really love. Beginning today.

I do want to let you know that

A: I don't really do too much mainstream stuff, but I loathe Indie Rock.

and

B: I don't do "ironic". If I'm listening to something it's because I really like it and think it is worthwhile. I spent enough time in High School and college listening to things I thought were cute in order to get attention and look cool.

This brings me to my first recommendation. Montée. There are plenty of bands out there riding the new 80's synth rebirth, but too many of them seem content with doing it with their tongues planted firmly in their cheeks as they hold a copy of Vice magazine for reference to the now. Personally, I want people who are going to take the work spearheaded by people like Brian Eno, Giorgio Moroder and to a certain extent Toto, and filter it through a couple decades worth of musical advancement, not just copy a Casio Sound. Montée nails this on their album "Isle of Now". Of course they aren't American, they're Norwegian which means even if they are kidding, you can't tell.

From what I can cobble together from the limited info on the web they are a sort of Hardcore/punk/Industrial/Experimental/who knows supergroup that decided to make an album that makes a big shift from all those sounds. I could go into trying to describe what it sounds like but I'd probably fall flat. Is Epic Soft Rock a genre?

Let me put it this way. It's 5 years after the apocalypse, you and your lover have survived the cataclysm, the marauders, starvation and now are two of the few people left on earth. As you travel in your convertible through deserts, or on a sailboat through the silent waters of the planet are you going to only listen to "Kill 'em All". Nah, you'll need this album.

SONGS-(let me know if you will actually listen to these here or if in the future I should just file link you to a couple of tracks)

ISLE OF NOW:

ASCEND:

-GD

I'M CALLING IT... THE BIGGEST DISASTER IS!!!

Well done you guys. For a moment I thought I was going to have to declare it opposite day and say what we all knew...That "Transformers: Revenge (or is it Rise? who gives a shit) of the Fallen" Was the greatest thing to come out in a long while. But then... like a hail Mary pass you guys swooped in (or is it Swoped in? swept?) and declared the Battlestar Galactica Finale the biggest disaster of the last few months!!! Woo Hoo!

I'm very proud of you all. See the results here on io9 in case you think I'm lying just to make sure TF didn't lose/win.

-GS

p.s. the pic above is a super big image from a Season 1 (or even maybe miniseries) press packet I got a long time ago so click on it and then save it for your wallpaper cause I know we all love Pre-whiney angel Starbuck.

The Revenant Trailer

One of my best friends, Chris, shot a movie a little while ago that I was excited because it was a genre pic and I figured at best it would wind up on SyFy. It's actually getting some buzz and is supposed to be rather good. The trailer really gets me excited for it in a "I'd see this even if it wasn't my friend" kind of way. Check it out and keep your eyes peeled for it showing near you!!

-GD