Play That Foxy Music, Norway...

We don't want to appear culturally insensitive, even if we are - we just don't want to appear that way. But, we're quite concerned about what's happening in Norway these days. Once upon a time we had some friends from reindeerland and they explained to us what things were like there:

• cold
• dark 
• white
• really cold
• boring
• well, you get the picture

This pretty much sums it up - design provided by IKEA

They told us that for the folks who live in the Northern part of the country in particular - drinking was the number one national past-time. Out of this frozen wasteland has emerged a pop sensation - they call themselves Ylvis (no relation to the King), and have solved the riddle of what foxy music is all about among other things...

Over 200 million views on youtube...

We're not sure if these guys are trying to be a real band or the next Flight of The Conchords - jury is still out.  BTW - what ever happened to the Conchords and why do these bizarre comic / signing duos (or trios) emerge from remote snowy and mountain regions - is it the altitude?

They are somewhat politically incorrect as well

We're not sure it was exposure to extreme climatic conditions or simply that these guys are just silly, but they've managed to create an interesting mix of pop comedy songs across a wide variety of topics. But be careful, their comic signing is probably a bit edgier than the Conchords and is often MA rated.

They've come to America - and we think they're mocking us...

Copyright 2013, Raving Reviews

#RavingReviews
#Whatdoesthefoxsay

Read More

What The Frack? Galactica on Youtube.com

It sounds a bit like a Cylon plot, but this week the SyFy network and Youtube announced that the much anticipated "Blood and Chrome" prequel will be aired on the the Youtube's Machinima Prime channel starting this Friday. It seems like the Digital launching a surprise attack on the Analog, doesn't it? We're not quite sure what to think and perhaps this will be interesting experiment - will viewers be able to tolerate spreading the prequel pilot into 8 to 12 minute chunks? Will playing it on Youtube first generate more interest than might have otherwise been the case?

The Cylons will be streaming into your home, but will they be fully buffered?

It's not clear whether any more of the series will be produced but it seems as though this move certainly puts that in jeopardy if the result ends up being that the SyFy premier (which will air sometime after the web series concludes) has fewer viewers instead of more. Not too long ago we heard news about Netflix pursuing original content as well. Way back in the stone age, similar questions arose when the fledgling cable networks like HBO and Showtime starting producing original content instead of just airing cinema releases or reruns. Business models in Hollywood are shifting again although this time with the media product being released more or less simultaneously across two mediums it may be a little harder than usual to measure success. If it does well, it's not clear who would produce a follow-on series and whether that would be presented in the same manner as the pilot.

Before the Cylons got sexy - they had Heavy Metal...

As for story, we haven't seen it yet but have always been intrigued by the Adama back story. It promises to be purer than the somewhat confusing Caprica series (which went off into its own virtual reality tangent - although for the most part we did like it). The biggest problem it has to overcome is that we already know the outcome in advance, the humans win - this time around anyway. 

The ever-popular Cylon Toaster

There are a few things about Galactica that we know we'll really enjoy no matter what happens with the plot; for example the prolific use of the word "Frak" and Cylons in general. Cylons are the more menacing, robotic alter-egos of Star War's storm-troopers. There's something about chrome that is undeniably irresistible as most car-lovers can attest to. In the years since Gallactica was first released we have seen a number of household products patterned after Cylon technology. We'd like to suggest several more products that might benefit from a Cylon design makeover:

• The Cylon Washing Machine - A stylish stainless steel and chrome finish allows you to make a fashion statement while keep your skintight bodysuits super-clean. It even comes with an 'eradicate all humans' washing cycle.
• The Cylon Upright Vacuum - It's intelligent, can vacuum by itself and perform hyper-light jumps into other rooms for the speediest clean ever.
• The Cylon Ipad - It wasn't designed by Steve Jobs, it is Steve Jobs as he inserted his brain patterns into each and every unit as its AI engine. Watch out, he's or it is a bit temperamental.

Speaking of AI, we will be reviewing a Raving Classic next time - "2001, A Space Odyssey" and will even write some suggested Epic Rap battle lyrics for a HAL versus Watson duel. Stay tuned.

Copyright 2012 - Raving Reviews - All Rights Reserved

Read More

National Music Appreciation Day

We are pleased to join the celebration of National Music Appreciation Day. Oh, you haven't heard of this - well it's a new holiday (mark your calendars for May 10th from now on). Well, the truth is we just invented it today because what the world needs now is more music (and love and Coca Cola, but none of that diet crap though). And we were bored.

We've chosen to celebrate this holiday by paying tribute to America's most profound musical impresario - Weird Al Yankovic. It's hard to quantify the impact that this singular genius has had on popular culture over the past three decades. He has managed to lampoon the MTV generation, rap & hip hop and even country music legends and produce many songs that are in fact superior to those he was mocking.

Weird Al

Whenever we're down we know what to do - we can crank up our Napster playlist or pop in a query for Weird Al on youtube and we're transported to another realm of existence with such hits as:

• Amish Paradise (based on Gangsta's Pardise)
• Don't Download this Song
• EBay (based on I want it that way)
• Yoda (based on Lola)
• Couch Potato (based on Lose Yourself)
• White & Nerdy (based on Ridin)
• Another One Rides the Bus (this is pretty obvious isn't it?)
• I lost on Jeopardy (based on Our Love's in Jeopardy)
• Party at the Leper Colony
• Eat It (based on Beat it)
• Living with a Hernia (based on living in America)
• Genius in France

Weird Al has virtually invented the modern art of "Mockumusic" And of course no tribute to popular music or Weird Al would be complete without experiencing 'Weasel Stomping Day' and 'Stuck in the Drive-In' first hand...

Who doesn't want to stomp Weasels?

This Epic song captures the essence of modern America and may well represent the longest mockumusic hit ever recorded. It is the Bye Bye Miss American Pie of our generation.

Truly great music not only tells a story - it also tells a joke - but of course that isn't quite the same as music that is a joke, like anything Christina Aguilera might happen to sing. In that spirit, we were thinking of some new songs that Weird Al might choose to make fun of:

• Undead - based on 'Alive' by Pearl Jam
• Crash into You - based on 'Crash into Me' by Dave Matthews
• Diarrhea, Diarrhea - based on 'Maria, Maria' by Santana
• Magneto's Hat - based on 'Magnificent' by U2
• How Far is Heathen - 'Heaven' by Los Lonely Boys
• Dumb Song - based on 'Love Song' by Sara
• Clean Coal - based on 'Atomic' by Blondie
• DorkyTown - based on 'Funkytown' by Lipps Inc.
• Already Done - based on 'All Night Long' by Buckcherry
• Madoff's Got Nothing - based on 'Money for Nothing' by Dire Straits
• My Closed School - based on 'My Old School' by Steely Dan
• Washing, Spinning, Drying - based on 'Sitting, Wishing, Waiting' by Jack Johnson
• Pooh Nation - based on 'Zoo Station' by U2
• You're Really Old - based on 'Fields of Gold' by Sting

Happy National Music Appreciation Day !


Copyright 2011, Raving Reviews™

Read More