I almost missed this. Greg Gillis of “Girl Talk” did a chat on the WP’s web site yesterday. He touched in a roundabout way on a question I’ve had for a long time: how does he separate the vocals from the instrumentals in a song so he can remix them?
Q: What do you get when you get the nerdiest of nerds to make a rap video?
A: This!
My sister is in Hong Kong, celebrating her birthday 12 hours early (from my perspective).
…always there to lend a hand.
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Note from a lazy person:
So the events referenced below happened a week ago, last Tuesday I believe. I thought of the idea for the skit when I woke up Wednesday morning. Knowing the rapid news cycle made speed an absolute necessity in implementing my idea, I went back to bed. Saturday morning, when the already obscure story has safely faded from national gestalt, I typed it up.
Before I hit publish, I realized while it may have been funny enough for Wednesday when the idea was fresh in people’s minds, it wasn’t funny enough for Saturday. I had an idea on how to make it funnier, but I had to leave for the day. “I’ll write it on Sunday.”
So it’s Sunday. I sit down to write and realize that extra day screwed everything up. My Saturday idea, which was funny for Saturday, wasn’t Sunday funny. It would have killed on Wednesday and worked on Saturday, but it wasn’t enough for Sunday. Shit. I need a new idea. Better think of something and get cracking on Monday.
To make a long story non-short, it’s Tuesday, I’m about to leave for a trip, and I give up. My Monday evening idea of acting it out with a puppet show isn’t going to happen. For what it’s worth, here it is, my Wednesday-quality Saturday skit, on Tuesday:
*****
White House Press Conference
JULY 08, 2008
PERINO: “And with that, we’ll take questions.”
Q: “Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki suggested yesterday that a timetable be set for the departure of U.S. forces in order for a security agreement to be extended between the U.S. and Iraq. The White House has long opposed any timetable for withdrawing troops, claiming that such a move would energize the enemy and lead to defeat. What’s the White House’s response?”
PERINO: “Our response is that Prime Minsiter al-Maliki didn’t ask for a time table yesterday.”
Q: “Uh, yes he did. I read the transcript.”
PERINO: “We believe it was a translation error.”
Q: “What? That’s ridiculous. You’re not dealing with reality.”
PERINO: “I’m having trouble understanding you. Al-Bayesh, could you translate?”
TRANSLATOR: “He said you’re doing a great job, and keep up the good work.”
PERINO: “Thanks! Next question.”
Q: “If it turns out that the Iraqi government wants U.S. troops to withdraw on a timetable, will the Bush administration reverse their opposition and support the Iraqi government?”
PERINO: “That’s a good question.”
Q: “And?”
PERINO: “Next question.”
Q1: “Oh, come on.”
Reporters loudly grumble and protest. Perino frantically motions to her aide and raises her voice to be heard.
PERINO: “Okay, looks like we have a surprise visit from a special friend. Who wants to say hi to…Senator McCain!
Reports excitedly titter.
Q: “McCain, McCain!”
McCain: “Hello, boys and girls.”
The press corp shyly giggles.
McCain: “I have a special treat for you. Who likes doughnuts?”
The press corp begins shrieking and jumping up and down.
Q: “I do, I do!”
AP REPORTER: “Do you have sprinkles?”
MCCAIN: “Of course I do, Lisa.”
PERINO [whispers] “Thanks.”
PERINO slinks out of room as the reporters sit down cross-legged and wait for McCain to tell them stories.
This is one of those great, well-executed ideas for a photo essay: people (mostly sci-fi fans) wearing their costimes and photographed in their homes. The Star Trek and Star Wars photos are by far the most evocative. My favorite is the Storm Trooper in the dark room (2nd row from bottom). (Link from kottke)
The SotW is “Rooks” by Shearwater. I first heard of Shearwater only a few weeks ago. My first impression of their music is melancholy vocals and tension-filled melodies that often seem on the precipice of an operatic explosion but never get there. Check the sidebar for the download link.
In other music news, Ratatat came out with a new album, LP3. I haven’t taken the time to figure out why I like it, but it’s their best album so far in my opinion. No song in particular sticks out, like “Wildcat” on Classics did for me, but I’ve enjoyed listening to the whole album a little more than their past two.
I’ve only heard one track from Sigur Ros’ new album, the #2 track, but I like it a lot. Sigur Ros drank the happy juice.
I’ve been thinking about cutting back on my EMusic music downloads, from 75 to 50 a month. I love EMusic, but I realized there is a ton of great music in my collection that I’ve forgotten about and haven’t listened to in months. I pre-paid for a year though, so I’m not sure that’s even an option.
Bonus song of the week! Andrew “I’m Not Andrew Bird” Lipke’s “The Barker Song“. (The Bird comparison is a stretch, but something about this song reminds me of Andrew Bird).
“The Wire” is so good that it makes me want to be a police officer. After I watched three episodes of Season 3 in a row, I went to the D.C. police department web page and read about the application process. It helped that I had a few beers, but that aside, it’s funny how the show that gives the most realistic and least glamourous portrayal of police work in recent memory is also the most attractive for me.
If you have even the tiniest interest in dramas centered on police work, you have to see this show. I’m not a fan of cop dramas in general, but The Wire is just plain good.
It’s a 10-15 minute survey. You have to say that you’ve watched Hancock to get pass the first few pages. At the end, you get a $5 off coupon for Fandango. Survey link. The link will probably die soon–you can take the survey more than once and the coupon codes are stackable on Fandango, pretty good motivation for people who don’t have much money and like the movies.
Wow. I can’t believe this came from a movie marketing department. It’s the “Buy n Large” web site, the fictional corporate comglomerate in WALL-E. It’s funny, hilarious in parts, but if you didn’t know the site’s connection to WALL-E, you would think it was a creation of a group like “Billionaires for Bush” or the Green Party.
Make sure to check out their privacy policy.
I saw WALL-E yesterday. It’s a good movie that is well worth watching in the theater. I wish I hadn’t heard anything about it before I watched it, so I’m putting my thoughts below the fold.
Rhapsody is offering a $10 credit to the first 100,000 people who open an account with them by July 4th. The credit must be used by the 4th. You need to enter a credit card number to sign up. Their albums are $9.99, so it’s pretty much a “Get a Free Album” deal. While I signed up to get the offer, I have never used the service before and can’t vouch for it.
I mainly use Emusic but they have a lot of holes in their selection due to their business model (mostly independent labels only). I’ll probably get Feist, Toumani Diabate, or Joshua Bell (assuming Rhapsody carries them).
(Update: I read that you need to email or call to cancel your account. Just FYI.)