Weird Al Yankovic’s “Word Crimes” Totally Owns

The “Weird” Al Yankovic multimedia onslaught continues. The artist’s new album — Mandatory Fun — is available now and the video for “Word Crimes” is out. This very special single is a parody of the Robin Thicke smash hit “Blurred Lines.” It pokes fun at the numerous grammar and usage errors that have infected society. As someone that has spent a lot of time (both personally and professionally) reading forums and blog-post comments, the “Word Crimes” song and video totally crack me up. As RPadholic N8R mentioned in the RPadTV Google+ Hangout, “Word Crimes” contains a usage error that I used to make a lot, until N8R set me straight on a G4tv.com thread. Ha!

While I really enjoyed the video for “Tacky,” “Word Crimes” takes my love for Weird Al to another level. It’s fun, clever, hilarious, and educational. “Word Crimes” is a stellar example of Weird Al Yankovic’s brilliance — outstanding stuff, Sir!

Weird Al Word Crimes

Mariano Rivera’s Retirement Means Metallica’s Out of Work (ESPN)

Here’s a funny ESPN commercial featuring the legendary rock band Metallica. As all of you should know, New York Yankees great Mariano Rivera retired last year. If you’re familiar with the (greatest) closer (of all time), then you know that he entered ballgames to Metallica’s “Enter Sandman.” The gag in the ESPN commercial is that Metallica has been struggling to find work since Rivera’s retirement. There’s even a bit in a break room where guitarist Kirk Hammett tries to get ESPN anchor Stuart Scott to sign up for guitar lessons. Ha! While there have been several great ESPN commercials over the years (love the Pete Sampras one!), this is easily in my top five because, you know, Yankees and Metallica.

Weird Al’s “Tacky” Video Completely Rules! (Pharrell “Happy”Parody”)

The video for “Weird” Al Yankovic’s latest single “Tacky” is one of the best things I’ve seen in 2014. As some of you know, “Happy” by Pharrell Williams bugs the crap out of me, so I’m thrilled to see that woefully overplayed single get the Weird Al parody treatment. As a song, “Tacky” is full of Weird Al’s signature silliness and trademark puns. While the song is what I expect and love from Weird Al, the video took my be surprise. I wasn’t expecting guest appearances by Jack Black, Aisha Tyler, Margaret Cho, and more. It’s well choreographed, fun, and filled with entertainingly horrid clothing (mad props to the wardrobe department).

As a lifelong fan of Weird Al, it’s awesome that he’s still serving up great parodies after decades of success. Unlike the original song, “Tacky” makes me very, very happy. When you have a chance, check out the video for “Tacky” and let me know what you think.

Tacky Weird Al

Support These Musician Friends of RPadTV (Please!)

RPadholic N8R’s band has a self-titled EP out, so please, please, please check out The Gray-Test Project. As you longtime RPadTV readers know, N8R absolutely rocks and so does his band. I guarantee you’ll dig the music, especially if you pay close attention to Nate slappin’ da bass. If jazz is more your thing then you’ll love my brother’s latest album, They Come and They Go. This is my brother’s second album and I’m so proud of what he’s done. In addition to his new album, Reggie has recently been sponsored by GoPro. They loved his videos of playing the saxophone while surfing and decided to make him part of the team.

So yeah! Please check out the latest from Reggie and Nate. If you buy both albums from the Amazon links above then you’ll support all three of us. Everybody wins!!!

Coffee Talk #627: Peter Gabriel, Hall & Oates, and Cat Stevens in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

I thoroughly enjoyed the 2014 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony on HBO. It was a wonderful celebration of some fantastic and entertaining musical artists. Bands like Kiss, Nirvana, and The E Street Band absolutely deserve to be enshrined in the Rock and Roll Hall of Game for their legendary careers. As much as I enjoyed the show, the incongruity of the ceremony was striking. Personally, I loved seeing Cat Stevens and Hall & Oates perform, but some of my friends had a problem with those artists being part of the show. What do you think of talents like Peter Gabriel, Linda Ronstadt, and Cat Stevens being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame…continued

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, David Villa being the first NYC FC signing, remembering Alice from The Brady Bunch, or what you’re hoping to see at Apple WWDC 2014, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

I thoroughly enjoyed the 2014 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony on HBO. It was a wonderful celebration of some fantastic and entertaining musical artists. Bands like Kiss, Nirvana, and The E Street Band absolutely deserve to be enshrined in the Rock and Roll Hall of Game for their legendary careers. As much as I enjoyed the show, the incongruity of the ceremony was striking. Personally, I loved seeing Cat Stevens and Hall & Oates perform, but some of my friends had a problem with those artists being part of the show. What do you think of talents like Peter Gabriel, Linda Ronstadt, and Cat Stevens being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?

Some of my friends feel that only rock and roll artists should be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. They view Peter Gabriel as a pop act, Cat Stevens as pop/folk, Linda Ronstadt as country, and Hall & Oates as pop. My pals agreed that all of the aforementioned acts had legendary careers, but disagreed with their enshrinement in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. To their point, there’s nothing really “rock and roll” about Art Garfunkel giving a speech about Cat Stevens.

My stance is much more flexible. Rock and roll doesn’t have a static definition and it doesn’t want one. What was considered rock and roll in the ’50s is very different from what it was in the ’80s, and both are quite different from what rock and roll is today. The genre is constantly changing and evolving. While some of the acts might not be considered “pure” rock and roll, at the very least they’ve influenced numerous rock and roll artists, including some bands that are already in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Take an act like Hall & Oates, for example. Many consider the dynamic duo to be a pop band, while others classify them as rock or new wave. Those with a little more musical education can pick up the R&B and soul hooks found in many of the band’s songs. Is it fair for anyone to judge Hall & Oates as not being rock and roll? In my book, Hall & Oates deserves to be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and every other Hall of Fame solely for the joy of “Rich Girl.”

What do you guys and dolls think? Are you cool with Lind Ronstadt, Peter Gabriel, Cat Stevens, Public Enemy (inducted last year), etc. being in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? Or do you have an issue with those artists being in it?

Linda Ronstadt Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Today’s Poll: Battle of the Overplayed Songs — “Happy” vs. “Let it Go”

Happy” by Pharrell Williams and “Let it Go” from the movie Frozen are two wonderful songs. They’re snappy, catchy, and uplifting. They’re also terribly overplayed. Today’s poll is an easy one — which of these overplayed songs annoys you more?

For me, the answer is easy. It’s “Happy” all the way. I don’t need to hear Pharrell singing about happiness. I know he’s happy. Dude is a frickin’ millionaire, of course he’s happy. Millionaires singing songs that try so hard to make you happy — not a fan. How do these artists know that I want to be happy?!? Maybe I’m content being a miserable piece of crap. With all of that in mind, my vote easily goes to “Happy.”

As for “Let it Go,” it’s hard to hate anything Disney. It feels wrong. I’m also a fan of the wickedly talented Adele Dazeem Idina Menzel. I first watched her perform in the Broadway production of Rent and have been a fan of her voice ever since. As a lifelong fan of musicals, I’m happy to see the wickedly talented Adele Dazeem Menzel getting so much attention for “Let it Go.” She also gets a ton of sympathy points for the fiasco with John Travolta and handling it so gracefully.

Now it’s your turn! Kindly vote in the poll below. Just in case you need a refresher, both songs are embedded below for your convenience. Lastly, please share this poll with your friends!

[poll id=”192″]

Jem and the Holograms Live Action Movie Coming

My buddy Gus posted the best news I’ve heard all month — a live-action movie based on the Jem cartoon is being made! Director Jon M. Chu (GI Joe: Retaliation) and his partners made the “truly outrageous” announcement on YouTube this morning.

For those of you not familiar with Jem, the cartoon was about a rich music executive named Jerrica Benton. For an ’80s cartoon, it was surprisingly layered and complex. Let’s see if I can sum it up in bullet points. Continue reading “Jem and the Holograms Live Action Movie Coming”

Coffee Talk #618: Nerd Subscriptions and You

As you know, we are living in a digital world (and I am a digital girl…err, scratch that). One of the byproducts of the digital age, particularly for people with nerdy hobbies, is that we’re spending more money on subscription services. For nerd subscriptions, Microsoft’s Xbox Live was the first monthly subscription for many geek chic. Since then, the nerd subscriptions have multiplied like Gremlins. For an endless supply of geeky media, people are dropping money every month on Xbox Live, PlayStation Plus, Netflix, Hulu, WWE Network, Marvel Unlimited, and more. I’d love to hear about your nerd subscriptions. It’ll be fun to see the services we all subscribe to…continued

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, Captain Kirk drunk driving in New Zealand, your favorite sandwich getting snubbed by this list of the best sandwiches in America, or NBA excitement building up as the playoffs approach, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

As you know, we are living in a digital world (and I am a digital girl…err, scratch that). One of the byproducts of the digital age, particularly for people with nerdy hobbies, is that we’re spending more money on subscription services. For nerd subscriptions, Microsoft’s Xbox Live was the first monthly subscription for many geek chic. Since then, the nerd subscriptions have multiplied like Gremlins. For an endless supply of geeky media, people are dropping money every month on Xbox Live, PlayStation Plus, Netflix, Hulu, WWE Network, Marvel Unlimited, and more. I’d love to hear about your nerd subscriptions. It’ll be fun to see the services we all subscribe to.

As for me, I’m a current subscriber to Xbox Live, PlayStation Plus, Netflix (though to be fair, it’s a comped press account), and WWE Network. While I need those services for work purposes, I think they all provide good to great value and would happily pay for them even if they weren’t tax deductible expenses. The videogame service subscriptions are necessary; I don’t really have a choice there. I’m committed to WWE Network for six months, but that would be the first one to go; I love watching classic Ric Flair matches, but from a value standpoint I want to see how live pay-per-view events perform. Netflix has so much great content, with a growing library of exclusives (PokemonStar War: The Clone Wars) that makes it a must-have nerd subscription.

Now it’s your turn! Kindly list your current, cancelled, and prospective nerd subscriptions in the comments section.

Lady Gaga Owns SNL

Lady Gaga SNL

Promoting her new album Artpop, Lady Gaga absolutely owned the latest episode of Saturday Night Live. Serving as host and musical guest, Gaga drew upon her musical ability and theater background for one of the best shows of 2013. Critics and fans alike have lavished the Lady Gaga SNL episode with praise, calling her the best host SNL has had all year. Embedded below are several clips from the show, so that you can see for yourself.

Some of my personal favorites from the Lady Gaga SNL performance include “Waking Up with Kimye” where Gaga plays an Apple Store Genius Bar employee, “Spotlightz Acting Camp” where Gaga plays a melodramatic child actor reenacting scenes from Forrest Gump, and her opening monologue where she draws upon The Mick Foley School of Acting by generating cheap pops.

When you have a chance, check out the clips from the Lady Gaga SNL episode and let me know what you think (please). Paws up Monsters!!!


Lady Gaga – Monologue – SNL 11-16-13 by IdolxMuzic

Sailor Freddie Mercury Rules!

Sailor Freddie MercuryMy friend Justin knows that I adore Queen (the band, duh) and have enjoyed Sailor Moon anime. He thought that I would love this photo of a cosplayer dressed as Sailor Freddie Mercury…and he was right. This is such a nerdy-awesome mashup! It’s absolutely brilliant. Snapped at the Civic Center station of the San Francisco BART, the picture reveals an ingenious man that that looks (somewhat) like Queen frontman Freddie Mercury and is dressed like Sailor Mercury from the Sailor Scouts.

It got me thinking about other music-and-anime mashups. Unfortunately, all of mine suck. Dragon Ball Bob Marley? Definitely no. Lady Ranma? That’s terrible. Ugh.

Okay, I’m sure you guys and gals can do better. Please think of some anime-and-music mashups and kindly leave them in the comments section. If you whip up something really awesome, perhaps I’ll dress as your mashup character at E3 2014 (but don’t count on it)!

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