What Is Flig?

Gnarls Barkley's Crazy

is the best music video since the Beastie Boys'

Sabotage.

Honky Tonk Women by the Rolling Stones was the #1 song in the country on the day I was born.

And you?

H.T. The Corner

The Theme from Shaft in Middle English:

Wha be tha blake prevy lawe That bene wantoun too alle tha feres? SHAFT! Ya damne righte!

Wha be tha carl tha riske is hals wolt Fro is allye leve? SHAFT! Konne ye?

Wha be tha carl wha ne wolden flee Whan peril bene all aboughte? SHAFT! Verray!

Alle clepe tha carl ane badde mooder- SOFTE! Speken of Shaft bene I. THAN KONNE ALLES WE!

He be a man konne unnethes Namo save is mayde konnes im. JOHN SHAFT!

HT: Boing Boing

Michael tagged me with the Music Meme.

Total volume of music files on my computer: About 30 GB. spread between my desktop, laptop and and work computer.

Last CD I bought: Get Lucky, The Lascivious Biddies

Song playing right now: None. (Mitchell is watching Little Bear.)

Five songs I listen to a lot, or that mean a lot to me:

1. Ah, But Underneath, Dee Hoty,Follies - The Complete Recording (1998 New Jersey Cast)

2. Tangled Up in Blue, Bob Dylan

3. Garden of Earthly Delights, XTC

4. Unfunky UFO, Parliament

5. B'ruchot Habaot, Debbie Friedman

I am tagging Roger, Scott and Virginia.

George Clinton Wins Funkadelic Rights By JEFF LEEDS Published: June 7, 2005

LOS ANGELES, June 6 - A federal judge here has given the funk music pioneer George Clinton his groove back.

In a decision issued last week, Judge Manuel L. Real of Federal District Court of Los Angeles returned ownership of the master recordings of four albums Mr. Clinton made in the 1970's with his band Funkadelic: "One Nation Under a Groove," "Hardcore Jollies," "Uncle Jam Wants You" and "The Electric Spanking of War Babies."

New York Times

HT: Allotma

An NYC Improv group performs a free rooftop concert as U2 across the street from Madison Square Garden, the day of a real U2 concert.

Although the band would not be visible for most of their concert, we tried to make them look as much like U2 as possible. There were several obstacles to over come. Firstly, our “The Edge” was a Korean-American.

They were briefly arrested, but quickly released.

H.T. Garfield Ridge

(Garfield Ridge is currently among my top 5 favorite blogs.)

Just listening to Stevie Wonder's Original Musicquarium Volume 2. I'm convinced that Stevie Wonder has one more great album left in him.

I think the way to get at it is to work with producers you'd never think of for an R&B artist, kind of like the way Johnny Cash blossomed by working with Rick Rubin. The other key is to act as though Hip Hop never happened. Make an album that as much as possible does not reference rap or hip hop idioms, that's as pure R&B and Funk as possible. Open a space and let Stevie's genius fill it up.

The Lascivious Biddies are a great NYC band, who perform a unique mix of jazz, lounge, Rock, and folk with beautiful harmonies and a great sense of humor. If Tina Fey sang, this would be her band.

I discovered them through Adam Curry's Daily Source Code, and Coverville, and they have their own Podcast, which I've been enjoying for the last few weeks.

They have a couple of mp3s available for download, so check 'em out.

Coming soon:

The Rutles 2: Can't Buy Me Lunch

Dirk. Nasty. Stig. Barry. Perhaps you've forgotten how unforgettable they are. Well, forget that. Intrepid host/interviewer Melvin Hall is here to refresh the recall of all Rutlemaniacs! Eric Idle (Monty Python) portrays Hall plus writes, produces, directs and, rumor has it, prepares off camera some well-received bangers and mash for the crew in a sequel to "The Rutles: All You Need Is Cash." From concerts to backstage moments, from successes (A Hard Day's Rut) to misunderstood flops (Tragical History Tour), from familiar tunes to those that make you wonder if you left the kettle on, the whole great, hilarious tale is here. With Special Appearances by David Bowie, Billy Connolly, Jimmy Fallon, Mick Jagger, Jewel, Steve Martin, Bill Murray, Conan O?Brien, Bonnie Raitt, Robin Williams, and many more.

Every couple of weeks, I troll through my Tivo listings for musicals on TCM.

I'm currently watching Sweet Charity. Great Cast: Shirley Maclaine (before she went insane) Ricardo Montalban (Kaaaaaaahhhhhhhn!) Chita Rivera, Ben Vereen, even Sammy Davis Jr. Great Pedigree: Based on a play by Neil Simon. Script by Frederico Fellini. Directed and choreographed by Bob Fosse.

Why is it so bad?

Shirley Maclaine is wrong as Charity. I never buy her supposed innocence or naivete. The part may have needed a younger actress. The dubbing for her singing (It's Shirley's voice, but the songs were obviously looped later) is just ever-so-slightly off and offputting.

The look and direction are High Sixties - it looks like a high-budget episode of Laugh-In. There's an extended dance sequence that to modern eyes just reads as what Austin Powers was parodying. The quick cuts don't mesh with the more-or-less traditional style Broadway songs.