Tag: Music

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 (Pokemon, Star 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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X-Factor USA: You Better Ask Me to Dance

“You Better Ask Me to Dance” by Second Hand High is the best horrible song I’ve heard since the legendary “Pants on the Ground“. It contains several nuggets of lyrical wisdom like, “Why buy the cow when you can get the leche for free?” Performed last night on The X-Factor USA, the song whipped the crowd into a frenzy. The performance itself was total crap, but that made the power of “You Better Ask Me to Dance” all the more impressive. It’s a strangely catchy tune that got the crowd and judge Kelly Rowland dancing.

Check out the clip below to watch Second Hand High’s performance of “You Better Ask Me to Dance”. It’s followed by a sketch of The X-Factor USA judges performing to the song, including some rapping by Simon Cowell.

I was genuinely amazed by the song. It sticks in your head and makes you want to rap along. While Second Hand High might not have a future as performing artists, the guy that wrote the song might have some real talent. I’m fairly certain that some enterprising producer will make a highly polished version of “You Better Ask Me to Dance” or have some B-tier artists record it. I’m sure it will do reasonably well…and eclipse the power of “Pants on the Ground”.

Please check out the clip above and let me know what you think of “You Better Ask Me to Dance”. Do you think the song is legitimately catchy and entertaining? Or is it only satisfying in that William Hung train-reck way? Take the “You Better Ask Me to Dance” challenge and watch the clip thrice. I guarantee that 92 percent of you will have it stuck in yours heads for a week. Can you stand up to the power of “You Better Ask Me to Dance”?

Watch Metallica Play “Enter Sandman” For Mariano Rivera

Watching Metallica play “Enter Sandman” for Mariano Rivera at Yankee Stadium was one of the few highlights for New York Yankee fans in 2013. Between the numerous injuries, mediocre play, A-Rod being an a-hole, and my dear Captain‘s perforated ankle, there hasn’t been a lot for Yankee fans to be happy about this season. The Mariano Rivera retirement tour has been a bittersweet event to follow. It’s awesome seeing how respected he is throughout Major League Baseball and it’s fun seeing the farewell gifts teams are giving him, but it’s sad and scary that the Yankees are losing the greatest closer of all time. For a brief moment on Sunday, the Mariano Rivera tour was frickin’ cool thanks to Metallica and an excellent Yankee Stadium crowd.

Seeing Yankee greats from the recent Yankee “dynasty” teams was awesome. Bernie Williams, Paul O’Neill, Tino Martinez, David Cone, Jorge Posada, Hideki Matsui, and others were on hand to celebrate Mariano Rivera. It was cool seeing them on the field again, but it was funny when many of them whipped out there mobile phones to record Metallica’s performance. Hopefully Lars Ulrich doesn’t sue them for posting their clips on the Internet.

As for the band, they were expectedly solid. Unlike Mariano Rivera, Metallica hasn’t aged well. Lars’ receding hairline had his head in danger of massive centerfield sunburn. Kirk Hammett was either too scary to show on camera or wasn’t there. I would never have guessed that James Hetfield would have aged more gracefully than his bandmates. I thought Kirk’s Asian genes would have preserved him better, but his Irish half seems to have won out. They’re pros though and did a fine job rocking at a respectful level for Mariano Rivera and the fans at Yankee Stadium.

Check out the clip of Metallica performing at Yankee Stadium for Mariano Rivera Appreciation Day and share your thoughts on the joyous occasion (please!).

Star Wars Meets…Les Miserables?!?

Here’s an excellent video that mashes up Star Wars and Les Miserables. It features the confrontation between Valjean and Javert, but with lightsabers and Force powers. As a Star Wars nerd and a fan of Les Miserables (the musical, not the book…that I haven’t finished), I found the video utterly awesome. The actors sing well and the addition of lightsabers is hilarious! It makes you wonder though. How interesting would the Paris Uprising of 1832 have been if everyone had lightsabers?

As you know, most of the best fight scenes in cinema feature one of two things — music (see West Side Story) and lightsabers (Kenobi vs. Skywalker I). Combining the two is sheer genius. Check out the clip below and let me know what you think (please). What other musicals would benefit from lightsabers? How about Cats or A Chorus Line?

Why is Bruno Mars Singing at Super Bowl XLVIII?!?

The National Football League announced that Bruno Mars will be the featured halftime act at Super Bowl XLVIII. That’s right, for the Super Bowl in New Jersey, the NFL signed that dude from Hawaii to sing. Last time I checked, Bruce Springsteen and Bon Jovi are alive and able to perform. Wouldn’t it have made exponentially more sense to get a legendary New Jersey act to perform at Super Bowl XLVIII?

Don’t get me wrong. I totally respect Bruno Mars. The man has an amazing voice and sings some catchy tunes. He has an impish appearance that most Americans find non-threatening. And if there’s one thing I’ve learned in my life, it’s that America accepts non-threatening brown people far easier than say…Chris Brown people.

I’m sure that the Bruno Mars Super Bowl XLVIII halftime show will be good, at the very least. His music is popular and he can put on a flashy show. Plus, the kids love his goofy hats. Since the death of Don Ho, Bruno Mars has been Hawaii’s pride and joy — much respect for that. My brother is a musician in Hawaii and from talking with him, I get the sense of how proud the locals are of Bruno Mars. That said, I have to dock him a coolness point for investing in a crappy e-cig company instead of a good one.

Anyway, here’s a clip from the official announcement for those of you not familiar with Bruno Mars:

Bruno Mars is a critically acclaimed singer, songwriter, producer and musician. The 14-time Grammy Award nominee and Grammy winner has sold over 115 million singles worldwide. His current album Unorthodox Jukebox and his debut album Doo-Wops & Hooligans have a combined certification total of 60x platinum worldwide. According to Billboard, Mars scored his first five “Hot 100” No. 1s faster than any male since Elvis Presley. As a singer, songwriter and producer, Mars has an impressive catalog of 22 “Hot 100” hits. Currently, Bruno Mars and his eight-piece band The Hooligans are on a sold-out, 91-city world arena tour.

Help me understand why the NFL chose Bruno Mars to sing at Super Bowl XLVIII (please)!

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Why is Bruno Mars Singing at Super Bowl XLVIII?!?

The National Football League announced that Bruno Mars will be the featured halftime act at Super Bowl XLVIII. That’s right, for the Super Bowl in New Jersey, the NFL signed that dude from Hawaii to sing. Last time I checked, Bruce Springsteen and Bon Jovi are alive and able to perform. Wouldn’t it have made exponentially more sense to get a legendary New Jersey act to perform at Super Bowl XLVIII?

Don’t get me wrong. I totally respect Bruno Mars. The man has an amazing voice and sings some catchy tunes. He has an impish appearance that most Americans find non-threatening. And if there’s one thing I’ve learned in my life, it’s that America accepts non-threatening brown people far easier than say…Chris Brown people.

I’m sure that the Bruno Mars Super Bowl XLVIII halftime show will be good, at the very least. His music is popular and he can put on a flashy show. Plus, the kids love his goofy hats. Since the death of Don Ho, Bruno Mars has been Hawaii’s pride and joy — much respect for that. My brother is a musician in Hawaii and from talking with him, I get the sense of how proud the locals are of Bruno Mars. That said, I have to dock him a coolness point for investing in a crappy e-cig company instead of a good one.

Anyway, here’s a clip from the official announcement for those of you not familiar with Bruno Mars:

Bruno Mars is a critically acclaimed singer, songwriter, producer and musician. The 14-time Grammy Award nominee and Grammy winner has sold over 115 million singles worldwide. His current album Unorthodox Jukebox and his debut album Doo-Wops & Hooligans have a combined certification total of 60x platinum worldwide. According to Billboard, Mars scored his first five “Hot 100” No. 1s faster than any male since Elvis Presley. As a singer, songwriter and producer, Mars has an impressive catalog of 22 “Hot 100” hits. Currently, Bruno Mars and his eight-piece band The Hooligans are on a sold-out, 91-city world arena tour.

Help me understand why the NFL chose Bruno Mars to sing at Super Bowl XLVIII (please)!

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