The Deets

Thanks to Becky for sending this over:

Todd Melby has a great write-up of the history of the MacPhail Center’s new construction and move across downtown Minneapolis to near the new Guthrie.

While the Guthrie gets much more press, the MacPhail Center may be an even larger draw to the old mill district with families swinging by for lessons and performances. Cool stuff.

The new building is on 2nd St South (same street as the Guthrie) at 5th Ave S.

More subtle than $0.50:

More here.

Ten years ago, Fiona Apple took down Hanson for best new artist at the MTV video music awards. Just think about where Hanson would be today if it wasn’t for that upset:

Mmmm bop!

Not many people know this about me, but it’s something that’s bothered me since at least fourth grade. I guess it’s 20+ years now, so it’s time to vent:

I hate musically inaccurate media.

What do I mean by this? Imagine paging through a Playboy, reading a few articles, then coming across a buxom blond playing a saxophone with an upside down mouthpiece.

I picture something like this:

Director: Hmmm. Candy’s pretty hot, but wouldn’t she be hotter with an intrument?

Prop guy: Um, I’ve got a tuba.

Director: No. I need something sexier.

Prop guy: How about a sax?

Director: Ooooh, that’s hot. And sax sounds like sex. Get Candy a sax, stat.

Candy With Sax: Am I supposed to play this thing?

Director: No. Don’t worry about that. Most of this will be photos, and for the video we’ll pump in some Kenny G in post.

Candy With Sax: How am I supposed to hold this?

Director: I don’t know. Like that guy in the E-Street Band?

Candy: Who are they?

Directory: Don’t worry about it. You look fine.

Sadly, Candy will probably end up holding the sax with her right hand on top, making things twice as jarring for someone like myself who can’t get past the musically inaccurate prop. Or, in this case, the sexy girl has no reed on her sax. It doesn’t get much worse than this:

So, what inspires this? A story on WCCO titled, “Not So Upright Piano Found Filled with Cocaine.” Not so upright? It’s not at all upright. It’s a grand.

Kenneth recommended this documentary on the artistic challenges involved with today’s piracy laws and their impact on mashups and remixes earlier today. I checked it out. Very cool.

Here’s a preview:

The full documentary is an hour long.

The stuff being done in Brazil was particularly cool. Turning out remixes for night clubs for free just to draw people in. No foreseen revenue for the CD itself.

One of the lamest things about commercial radio today is the complete lack of variety of a given song. Maybe there will be a formulaic dance remix version played on weekend nights, but where is the creativity? Why can’t I hear a popular song played a zillion different ways?

Baby Got Back: a song that can fill a wedding reception dance floor within seconds. With magical lyrics (ex: “You can do side bends or sit-ups, but please don’t lose that butt.”) came straight from the heart of Sir Mix-A-Lot and connected with a generations of people from around the world.

While it hasn’t been covered as often as Mustang Sally, it does get a fair share of covers.

Here is a list of the top-10 covers of this incredible song:

But first, the original from Sir Mix-A-Lot:

And now, the top-10 covers:

The Shotgun Opera:

Wize Crackaz:

Ross Gellar:

Grodgespecial:

Throwdown:

Gilbert and Sullivan Style:

Jonnie Bock:

Richard Cheese:

Russell:

Jonathan Coulton:

Now it’s time to hear what you think. Vote for your favorite below:

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No doubt.

Via Anil Dash, the Beastie Boys has a cappella versions of some of their songs available on their website. Remix opportunity.

I think just about everyone who turned out the radio in the past 20 years in America is probably gay based on this list.