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Compiled by Ryan
The links:
-If you’re looking for a way to waste a solid half hour, check out Paste’s top fifty albums and films of the decade.
-Wes Anderson told Access Hollywood that he wants to shoot a film in space.
-George Clooney may play the lead in The Descendants, the next project from director Alexander Payne.
-AV Club talks to Chris Pratt, who plays Andy on Parks and Recreation.
-Tina Fey recounts her ten favorite 30 Rock moments at The Daily Beast.
-This NYT piece highlights the talented Kumail Nanjiani among others in the New York alt-comedy scene.
-A friend pointed out to me that Fearless Freaks, the Flaming Lips documentary, is on Hulu now; if you’re a fan of the band at all, it’s definitely worth a watch.
The YouTube highlights:
It’s a simple enough concept, but Christopher Walken reading Lady Gaga’s “Poker Face” on Jonathan Ross still made me laugh:
Aziz Ansari highlighted this gem on Twitter this week:
New music spotlight:
Julian Casablancas – Phrazes for the Young
Stokes leadman Casablancas has gotten quite a bit of buzz for his debut solo album; you can read an interview on Pitchfork, check out this Village Voice article, read about his cover of the SNL song “I Wish It Was Christmas Today” at NME, then listen to it at Stereogum, and, finally, you can check out his MySpace to preview the entire album along with bonus tracks. But if you don’t do any of that, at least listen to the Strokes-y first track:
Julian Casablancas – “Out of the Blue” from Phrazes for the Young, out now on Cut Records
By Ryan
Viacom’s $1 billion copyright-infringement lawsuit against YouTube seemed from the beginning more of a statement than an actual attempt to recover damages. Hey, do not steal our stuff; we have top-notch lawyers and the ability to sue you for far more than you’re even worth. But now, it seems that Viacom may actually have a solid case, based on recent evidence that suggests that YouTube employees were among those who illegally uploaded Viacom clips, and their managers knew about it. Now, I don’t expect Viacom to be awarded $1 billion (Google only paid $1.65 billion for the entire company), but, as some experts are pointing out, this could have huge ramifications for YouTube, leading to at least a restructuring of how uploading clips works and perhaps even to a temporary shutdown. While that’s probably a bit excessive, the primary question remains: does the profit Google makes from copyrighted clips exceed the promotional value of those clips being on the most popular video site in the world?
To be sure, I think user-uploading of full episodes of television shows anywhere on the internet is just as bad as uploading music, yet it is behavior that many users—myself included—benefit from. We assume that because the show has already aired, everyone has been paid, and no one is hurt by watching it on YouTube instead of OnDemand, Hulu, or a network website. The truth is that much of the 2007-2008 WGA strike that shut down television production was based on artists wanting returns for the burgeoning field of online video.
Still, if I just want to see a two-minute clip of David Letterman joking about his extortion situation, should I really have to sit through a 45-second ad? Wouldn’t having that Letterman clip on YouTube actually promote interest in the show? I recognize why full episodes shouldn’t be on YouTube, and I agree with such a sentiment, but I think clips usually serve to highlight one small thing that was funny or interesting about a show, which should serve to drive people towards the show. And let’s face it: if I have to go to the CBS website, a site I never visit, to watch a Letterman clip, I probably just won’t watch it. However, if that clip was on YouTube, I probably would, and it may even prompt me to tune in to The Late Show.
Of course, the difference between clips and full/part episodes can be tricky, and the distinction seems all but lost on most network executives. Still, perhaps this Viacom-YouTube mess will lead somebody to figure out what’s an effective use of content that helps everybody, and what’s a clear violation of copyright. And heaven help you, Viacom, if you lead to YouTube getting shutdown.
Compiled by Ryan
The links:
-It’s RAAAAAAAANDY! Check out the fake site for Aziz Ansari’s character in the upcoming Funny People.
-This makes me a bit disappointed: Jane Lynch is leaving Party Down for Glee.
-Do you think you’d like to see 100 episodes of a Will-Ferrell-Adam McKay joint starring Jon Heder? Comedy Central is betting that you would.
-It’s official: there will be a MacGruber movie.
-Jack White’s record label, Third Man Records, unveiled a new subscription service that sounds potentially great for Jack White fans.
-NPR’s All Things Considered celebrated Merge’s 20th anniversary with a feature this week.
The YouTube highlights:
The trailer for the much-hyped Big Fan starring Patton Oswalt:
This is called “The best marriage proposal in the world.” It is mistitled.
New music spotlight:
The Rural Alberta Advantage – Hometowns
Most folks have a pretty solid idea of what to expect from indie bands from Canada. The Rural Alberta Advantage are a Canadian indie band, but they’re not that kind of Canadian indie band. They sing nostalgic songs, but they’re not dark; they have a unique vocalist, but he’s not weird, he’s just nasaly (think Switchfoot’s Jon Foreman). Still, though, the band is getting a lot of coverage online, so you owe it to yourself to check out the lead single from their debut album:
The Rural Alberta Advantage – “Don’t Haunt This Place” from Hometowns, out now on Saddle Creek
Compiled by Ryan
The links:
-NBC has released their fall schedule, complete with the return of Thursday night SNL Updates and the fantastic-looking Community.
-NYT Magazine has a long and quite good feature about Conan and The Tonight Show.
-I heard an interesting piece on NPR this week about how primetime shows are pushing the traditional sex-on-television boundaries; you can listen to it here.
-It’s pretty inexplicable, but Sofia Coppola has former Jackass star Chris Pontius playing a big role in her upcoming flim.
-Ben Stiller spoke this week about the long-rumored Zoolander follow-up.
-Michael Moore’s documentary about the economy will be released October 2nd.
-URLesque had a fun feature—“The Most Inappropriate Wedding Songs Immortalized on YouTube.”
The YouTube highlights:
Here’s Jimmy Kimmel’s much-talked-about act from this week’s ABC uprfonts:
New music spotlight:
Jeremy Enigk – OK Bear
Jeremy Enigk was the leadman for the highly-influential Seattle band Sunny Day Real Estate. He’s been putting out solo albums for a few years now, but his new one, OK Bear, draws more on his SDRE days than his previous outings. The production is wide open and there’s none of the orchestration that marked 2006’s Word Waits. It’s not groundbreaking, but it is good:
Jeremy Enigk – “Mind Idea” from OK Bear, out now on Lewis Hollow
Passion Pit – Manners
The latest in a new wave of indie electro-pop, Passion Pit stand out thanks in large part to the vocals of Michael Angelakos. His unique voice gives Passion Pit a recognizability that many of their peers lack in a genre where bands struggle to stand apart from their peers:
Passion Pit – “The Reeling” from Manners, out now on Frenchkiss Records
Compiled by Ryan
The links:
-So we alre
ady knew that the upcoming Wilco album would include “Wilco (The Song),” but now we know that it will be called Wilco (The Album). Yes.
-I’ve been hearing about James Cameron’s Avatar for so long that I’m sure it’ll disappoint those looking forward to it.
-On the heels of Bea Arthur’s death, this Chicago Tribune article explores the revolutionary nature of Maude.
-Everyone knows that Comic Sans is for d-bags, and now even The Wall Street Journal recognizes it.
-This should be fun: No Age, Deerhunter, and Dan Deacon are touring together this summer.
The YouTube highlights:
It’s not exactly “The whistles go woo-woo!,” but this is pretty close to entering the pantheon of great local news videos on YouTube:
New music spotlight:
You probably thought I’d make you listen to something off the new Bob Dylan, huh? Eff that. Here’s one from the upcoming Dinosaur Jr.:
Dinosaur Jr. — “I Want You to Know” from Farm, out June 23 on Jagjaguwar
