8 Ways to Sunday

Continuing the unusual string of video posts I’ve been doing, here’s something I recently found on YouTube. Animal, Beaker, and the Swedish Chef sing “Danny Boy” in their uniquely unintelligible style.

Happy belated Saint Patrick’s Day!

Yeah, yeah I’ll get back to making “real” posts soonish.

Not only that, they’ve sold out hard.

This morning I heard a chopped-up version of “Island in the Sun” playing during a commercial for Beaches Resorts, the family-focused sibling brand of couple-focused Sandals Resorts.

I’ve got no problem with bands licensing their music to make some extra money, but Jesus Christ guys… did you have to go so yuppie with it? Weezer’s quirky/edgy style made them a favorite of mine in late high school and throughout college. Tropical luxury resorts just don’t seem to fit at all.

What next? “Dope Nose” in a commercial for Nasonex? “We Are All On Drugs” in a commercial for CVS Pharmacy?

You know, this is almost as bad as hearing Pearl Jam playing in Wal-Mart.

For some reason, I can’t get this out of my head today:

Well the movie star
Yeah, she crashed her car.
But everyone said she was beautiful,
Even without her head.
Everyone said she was dangerous.

— “Movie Star,” by Cracker

Due to the fact that at least 98% of the stuff on “modern rock” radio stations sucks ass, I listen to a lot of classic rock and oldies on my car stereo. On the way back from the grocery store this evening, the local classic rock DJ hit me with a bit of disturbing news: former Bad Company front man Paul Rodgers is standing in for Freddie Mercury as lead singer of Queen for that band’s worldwide reunion tour.

Don’t get me wrong, here. Bad Company was a good band, justly famous for hits such as “Feel Like Making Love.” Queen, however, is legendary; Freddie Mercury is a legend.

Queen’s choice of stand-in singers is comparable to replacing Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Terminator with Elmer Fudd — they may both be single-minded killing machines, but they’re hardly in the same league.

Over in the TextDrive forums today, I discovered a contest being held at Interknox to name a band. If you pick the winning name, you get a pre-release copy of the band’s album.

My suggestions seem to have gotten stuck in IK’s moderation queue thanks to all the links, so you won’t find them in the comments just yet. They’re listed below, so that you may marvel at my awesome creativity :

Elemental Pornstars

For some reason, this is the first thing that occurred to me as I was listening to the demo track that was offered for inspiration. Appears to be completely unused by anyone (no Google hits), perhaps for good reason.

The Riff Gypsies

I like the sound of it, but I’m pretty sure there’s a band named The Gypsies already out there.

Hammer ‘n Tongs

Has a nice double meaning that goes along with the band’s sound, but is already used for the name of a UK video production company.

Flabergast

Doesn’t seem to be in use by a band, at least not according to Google.

Flabergasm

The word is out there, but not associated with a band. Drawback: makes the band sound like a group of fat fetishists.

Head on over to the Interknox post about the contest, download the demo track, and take a shot at naming that band.