Have You Heard? About the Bird?

If this isn't the Second Coming of a Rick Roll, I don't know what is:

and, the absolute best part of the episiode:

EVERYBODY knows that the Bird is the Word!

- El Capitán

Awk-waaaard...

I've got the good Doctor Ogo to thank for BOTH of the gloriouly awkward videos brought to you today.

First, we'll take a look at a quick little video from this morning's edition of The Early Show on CBS, during which Bryan Adams (you know - the Canadian Springsteen!) declares the TRUE meaning behind the song "Summer of '69." (Note: This one IS ad supported):

Repeat after me: "Awk-waaaard..."

Next, we visit a young Shawn Johnson (you know - the "other" Olympic Gold Medalist). She's got VERY strong feelings about Ortega brand Taco Sauce:

Once again: "Awk-"

Eh, you know the rest...

-El Capitán

Testing Audio Player (Revised)

Many, MANY thanks to Kristin for helping me out with this one...

-El Capitan

Bastardized By The Go Phone Light

I'll admit it - I'm a Meatloaf fan. Both the food AND the singer. I know, I know... And while I could give you my grandmother's KILLER recipe for the former, today's post is sadly focused on the latter, so be ready...

Has anybody seen the new AT&T GoPhone ad? The one with Meatloaf, Tiffany, and some poor-lip-synching putz singing a warped version of "Paradise By The Dashboard Light?" Of course you have...

Wait - you haven't? Ok, well, here's the commercial-ready version (followed by the longer, more in-depth version - with added memory-ruining chunky bits - at the bottom of the post):

0:30 Version:


OK, here just a few of my MANY problems with this commercial:

• It takes a song that brought back good memories and KILLS it for something not even remotely near what the original song was about.


• Both Meatloaf AND Tiffany sold their souls for this one...


• The kid TOTALLY lip-syncs his portion of the song - and does so very poorly, if I might say so myself...

I don't know - for some reason, this commercial just rubs me the WRONG way... Maybe something better will come along today...

And now for my Social Network Plug Of The Week - my new favorite online toy: Muxtape.com!
Basically, it's an online repository, where you can upload up to twelve songs, and compile them into a mixtape to share with your friends. Each song begins streaming when you click on the title, and continues on to the next song when done... So simple, yet SO cool!

While you're there, check out my current Muxtape @ http://lbcapt.muxtape.com. I'll be keeping that up to date as frequently as possible (hopefully much better than my attempts on here!)

Now here it is, kids - the moment you've all been waiting for - the Full 1:30 Version of "Bastardized By The Go Phone Light":


What's even better? The fact that I felt like calling my celly a "Go Phone" all week - but for totally different reasons...

That's about it for now, kids... Have a very DIRTY week!

-LBC

Adam's 'Secret'

As good as the post below gets, it's still not nearly as good as Adam Sandler's Secret (from his 5th album, Shh... Don't Tell..., which somehow slipped under my radar all the way back on June 13, 2004):

Here's the hi-res version (in Quicktime Format): Secret

I'm speechless... (I know, it's rare...)

- El Capitán

Langerado 2008!!

-El Capitan

"You're The Best"

Vixy.net is a web-based application that allows you to convert all Flash-based videos (i.e. YouTube, MySpace Video, etc.) into various offline usable formats (MPEG for Windows, Quicktime for Mac, mp4 for iPod or PSP, etc.). Another feature it has is the ability to just strip the audio and convert to mp3 (and we all know where that's usable).

So I was recently helping a friend on his hunt for an mp3 of the song "You're The Best," by Joe Esposito. Many of you would know this classic from The Karate Kid. As iTunes only allows this song to be purchased as part of the entire soundtrack (whole album) to The King of Kong (more on that here), I decided to get creative and look for a video with the song on YouTube (and subsequently convert it to mp3 via Vixy). In my search, I came across this gem:

F'ing Classic!!

-El Capitan

Random Goodness

Just a couple of things on my radar today:

Britney Spears is calling her new album Blackout. Seriously.

It's Kid's Week on Jeopardy. The big winner: a white kid named "Kizzle"

And finally...

Upon watching a commercial tonight for the new allergy drug Veramyst, I read the following line at the bottom of the screen:

The way VERAMYST works is not entirely understood.

Here, check it out for yourself (about 14 seconds in):

Am I the only one who finds this strangely hilarious AND troublesome at the same time?

That's about it for now... More to come soon...

-El Capitan

'Oops..." indeed!

Life just doesn't ever get easier for this girl... Guess who had an Ashlee Simpson moment?

It's your "Lucky" day - you won't have to guess... There's video:


Seriously? Seriously...

Funny as hell? Of course... However, I actually think it would have been MUCH funnier if it actually happened during "Oops..."

-El Capitan

LBC Trax, Vol. 6 (4.25.07)

Hey Gang - Sorry for the delay... As most of you know, I was in Sin City last weekend with some of my kickballing teammates, losing all of my money (but having a KILLER time...). On top of things, I've been having trouble getting my iMix to publish through iTunes (they've finally fixed their problem). Thus, a LBC Trax was nary to be found. Here's makeup time:

Enjoy!

-El Capitan

LBC Trax, Vol. 5 (4.6.07 - GH2 Edition!)

This is gonna be a fun one...

As some of you know, this week brought the latest addiction: Guitar Hero II.

This game is SO much fun... Essentially, you need to hold fret buttons while strumming a strum bar on a virtual guitar - and play notes to some of our favorite songs... Really - you gotta try it... Go to Best Buy... Now!

Want more evidence? Check these out:

David Babylon
Big Irish
TrippMD
and your's truly, LBC

Thanks to Trippster for most of those videos...

Here's where we get to the heart of the matter... This week's LBC Trax (Vol. 5!) is dedicated to my Top 10 Favorite Songs from the XBox version of Guitar Hero II:

-El Capitan

LBC Trax, Vol. 4 (3.30.07)

-El Capitan

LBC Trax, Vol. 3 (3.23.07)

This week's lineup kicks off with the ubiquitous and ever-present, "Ladies and Gentlemen," by Saliva. I swear this song has been used in promos for EVERY sporting event since the beginning of the year, including the 'That Big Game Between The NFC And AFC Champs' (don't want to tempt fate by calling it by it's real name) and the NCAA Basketball Tourney (a.k.a. March Madness). In fact, it's the official theme song of this year's Wrestlemania 23. Arguably, though, it's the best work Saliva's put out in years - so, who am I to complain?

We wrap things up with a little John Lennon. First, R.E.M. (yes, they were on last week's list, too) recently did a cover of Lennon's "#9 Dream," one of my personal faves from his solo collection. Then we move to this week's LBC Throwbax Trax. While I was in the mood, I found the ONLY John Lennon song on iTunes (and it's a damn good one, too) - "Watching The Wheels." If you ever get a chance, check out the acoustic version of this one on the most recent Lennon posthumous release.

Everything else in between is just good 'ol fun! Enjoy:

Again - since NOBODY commented last time - any and all comments are welcome. I'd love to hear what you guys have to say, and am really looking forward to suggestions for future LBC Trax.

-El Capitan

LBC Trax, Vol. 2 (3.16.07)

Welcome back, my friends, to the show that never ends...
We're so glad you could attend... Come inside!
Karn Evil 9: 1st Impression, Pt. 2 (Emerson, Lake, & Palmer)

Thank you for coming back to join me for another installment of LBC Trax - this time, Volume 2.

V.2 is anchored by Pearl Jam's stunning cover of The Who's opus, Love, Reign O'er Me. It's featured in the movie with a smiliar title, Reign Over Me (w/ Adam Sandler and Don Cheadle), yet not on the soundtrack... Go figure... Since you can't get it there, I bring it to you here.

Anybody who knows me knows that I'm a HUGE Pearl Jam fan. I'm also a very big fan of The Who. Pearl Jam has a long history of doing Who covers whenever possible (including phenomenal versions of The Kids Are Alright, My Generation, and Baba O'Riley - my favorite song EVER. Rarely are we treated to a studio version...

Also notable on this mix is my Throwbax Trax - R.E.M.'s Half A World Away, from the album Out Of Time (you know - the one that had Losing My Religion). This one was recently featured on an episode of Scrubs. Love him or hate him - every project to which Zach Braff is related has provided an enjoyable soundtrack - opening our ears and minds to some very talented, original acts we may have missed before (such as The Shins, Cary Brothers, and Joshua Radin.) Obviously, I'm a big fan...

Finally, the mix ends on a happy note - with Metallica's Whiskey In The Jar. Many people don't know that before Metallica did this song, Thin Lizzy did it. Before Thin Lizzy, it was a classic Irish drinking song, and, well, St. Patty's is tomorrow... Drink up!

Please, please, please - feel free to comment on the list (even if you don't like a single song...). Would love your feedback. Also, please feel free to recommend anything you think I should be listening to - always open to new suggestions...

-El Capitan

LBC Trax 1 (3.8.07)

As many of you know, I LOVE music. It's a passion for me. (Ok, maybe an obsession.)

There are several Web 2.0/blogging/social networking music sites out there, but only two majors that I've been working with: MOG & Last.fm. While both of these sites are great, and VERY useful, neither has done what I want them to completely.

Last.fm does a great job at showing what I'm listening to, but only if I listen to it on my computer - not so much on my iPod or Sirius. MOG has a great tool where I can update my little widget (as you can see in my sidebar) to list songs I think you should be listening to - and on the MOG site, it works - but on FluxW.com, for some reason, it never updates.

Thus, we end up here - LBC Trax

With the help of iTunes and iMix, I will be bringing my first ever "weekly" column - to be updated approximately every Friday (after I get a chance to hear the week's new music, of course)...

Today, I bring you LBC Trax #1, for the week of March 8, 2007. It's a eccentric little mix, highlighted by the teaming of rap legends KRS-One and Rakim with future rap legends, Kanye West and Nas on the single, Classic (Better Than I've Ever Been).

And now, we cue the music:

Enjoy!

-El Capitan

Is that Journey? It is Journey...!

Honestly - who's ears don't perk up at the opening notes of Journey's classic hit, Don't Stop Believin'?

Apparently singing along to the song makes the strangest of bedfellows (as evidenced in a somewhat recent episode of Family Guy). Here's a prime example:

Dallas Cowboys quarterback, Tony Romo, and Mr. Belding?

Yes, you read that right. Apparently, at a recent show by heavy metal/hair band throwback rockers Metal Skool in Cali, Romo and Dennis Haskins (Mr. Belding, of Saved By The Bell fame) jumped on stage to join the band in a rousing rendition of the classic.

Still sound too weird to be true? Here's the video!

"Just a small town girl - livin' in a lonely world...
She took the midnight train, goin' ANYwhere...
Just a city boy - born and raised in south Detroit
He took the midnight train, goin' ANYwhere..."
-Journey

-El Capitan

Van Damme: The Freshmaker

Thanks to Dr. O for this little gem.

Sharp viewers out there will, no doubt, recognize this scene from Jean-Claude Van Damme's classic flick, Bloodsport. Check out this remix, in the tune of everybody's favorite commercial:



And don't forget Jean-Claude's American debut, in the break-dancin', rap-tastic classic, Breakin':



It's been a while since I laughed this hard...

-El Capitan

Sweep The Leg

Coming soon...



Some of you already know about this... Others, not yet... You will...

I hope to have much more information after this weekend...

In fact, nothing would make me happier...

-El Capitan

Revolution Can Be Simple!

So I started using trig yesterday... Not a bad little site... Kristin nailed it perfectly - it's the best of MySpace (Social Networking, Music) and Digg (here, called "Trigs") combined - with a pretty sharp GUI, too...

At any rate, this morning, they made it Invite Only... I've got 100+ invitations left... Anybody wants one? You know where to find me...



-El Capitan

My Box In A Box

You knew it was only a matter of time:

"Britney showed the world her box, but my box is just for you."

Thanks to my cousin Matt (and his girlfriend Sam) for this one...

-El Capitan

A VERY Special Gift

So, I saw this clip on SNL this past weekend and laughed my ass off... I was all ready to put it up, but I figured that by the time I got it onto the blog-o-sphere, it'd be down... Such is not the case...

1: Cut a hole in a box.
2: Put your junk in that box.
3: Make her open the box.
That's the way you do it...

Seriously - this is the new Lazy Sunday... Get your fill before it's EVERYWHERE...

Thanks to Blackie for finding the YouTube for this one... Hopefully it'll stay up long enough for most of you to see it...

-El Capitan

G.O.W. (Remix)

So normally I'd leave the vid game posts to Babylon or Big Irish, but this is actually more of a music post, so I'll stake my claim.

Next week, Microsoft and Epic Games introduce the world to Gears Of War - a futuristic, "teamwork oriented, third person shooter from Epic utilizing the latest in Unreal technology." (from 1Up.com)

At a recent showing of Saw III (go see Borat instead!) with Babylon and JKaye, I had the pleasure of seeing the trailer for this game on the big screen, and it was, for lack of a better term, "bad-ass!" The best part for me, of course, was the use of the Michael Andrews/Gary Jules cover of Tears For Fears' "Mad World," from the Donnie Darko soundtrack... You knew something this cool couldn't go long without being bastardized...

Thankfully, the bastardization is still early, and thus, not annoying or horrible yet. The creative youth of America has taken the video from the trailer and remixed it with their favorite songs...

First, here's the original trailer (originally seen by most of you on DavidBabylon.com):



And now, a few of the remixes:

(By far, my favorite: An extended version, set to "One," by Metallica.)


(Never have the words to Eddy Grant's "Electric Avenue" sounded more apt.)


(Certainly the goofiest: "Safety Dance" by Men Without Hats)


(The M.J. Special: "Listen to the first verse...")


For the rest of the mash-ups, click below:



Enjoy!

-El Capitan

Welcome To The Black Parade

Today is going to be a fucking phenomenal day!

First, let's start with this morning. One of my favorite days of the year is not a set date, but a set event. Every year there comes a day when I wake up in the morning, and the air smells different. I take Paris out for her morning walk to find that the sweltering heat and humidity of Florida have been replaced by a crisp, clean, cool morning. Sounds too good to be true? Check this out:


(Yeah - that's this morning!)

Next, let's go back in time, and catch everybody up with my whereabouts the last couple of weeks.

I recently had the opportunity to take part in Celebrity Cruises' top producer's event, titled Celebrity Elite. This amazing experience took me on a whirlwind trip through the Western Mediterranean, visiting such ports as Barcelona, Ibiza (or as they call it, "Ibitha"), Valencia ("Valenthia" - like nails on a chalk board!), Rome, Florence, Marseilles/Provence, and Monte Carlo/Nice/Cannes. When you get a chance, check out all of the pictures at my Flickr page. In fact, here are some of my favorites:





Now, to make my day even better - My Chemical Romance releases their new album, The Black Parade today... It's an ambitious concept album about a patient dying in a hospital room, and while that sounds a bit morose, the album is cheery, uplifting, and extremely well written. You can listen to the whole album online by clicking here or on the artwork below:


(Be sure to check out the title track, along with "Teenagers," "Dead!" and the surprisingly touching ballad, "Cancer.")

Last, but certainly not least - if all goes as planned, I get my car back today I got my car back today - fully restored to it's original beautiful self!!

Enjoy the rest of your day! I know I will!

-El Capitan