YouTube Stars!

Back in the swingin' 60s during the heart of Beatlemania, the British Invasion, and Garage Rock - a groovy TV show hit the air waves - The Munsters! They looked like Horror Movie Stars, but they acted like Vaudeville Comedians. They were the All American family, with a twist. Mindless comedy eased the worried minds of Vietnam War weary viewers who saw riots in the streets on the Nightly News and lived with the ever present fear of the Cold War turning hot, nuclear hot.

One of the cool aspects of The Munsters was their theme song. Although words were written, the song was performed as an instrumental. With a fast beat and both crisp and droning horns, the moving melody was played on guitar in a manner similar to the surf music of the day with some Garage Rock thrown in for good measure. Written by Jack Marshall, here is a video of The Munsters Theme!

With their outfits, the Munsters could be mistaken for some Goths from the 90s. One of the better Goth Rock bands from the 90s was Type O Negative. Late singer Peter Steele had the stage presence of a Vampire and could produce vocal sounds reminiscent of Bela Lugosi. The band made a name for themselves with their Bloody Kisses album and with MTV videos like Christian Woman which is about as strange as they come! "Black No. 1 (Little Miss Scare-All)" is the other big hit from this album by Type O Negative and they do use a bit of The Munsters Theme and even mention Lily Munster. This is a bit of a tongue-in-cheek commentary on the Goth lifestyle, so you can enjoy it whether you are a fan of this genre or not. Check out the music, and the lyrics! "She's in love with herself, she likes the dark. On her milk white neck, the devil's mark!" Listen for the Munsters at the 0:30 mark!

Fall Out Boy is a New Rock band that has had much success in recent years. They are out with their latest release, American Beauty / American Psycho. On the radio right now, you'll hear their song Uma Thurman. Uma Thurman played a gangster's wife in the popular movie Pulp Fiction, and did a famous dance scene with John Travolta. So the Fallout Boys talk about a girl who wants to dance like Uma Thurman, in this new single. The video is out less than 2 weeks but already has nearly 3 million views. Sarah wins a contest to be a Fall Out Boy assistant, and mayhem ensues. Almost from the start, we get to hear a very lightly processed original sample from The Munsters Theme. Enjoy the song and the sample, and DO NOT turn off the video too soon! What an ending, very cool!

Labels: 60s music, Fall Out Boy, Goth, pulp fiction, Punk, Rock, The Munsters, Theme song, TV Show, Type O Negative, Uma Thurman

posted by KennyCrane at 5/01/2015 06:11:00 AM 0 Comments

Happy Valentine's Day! When you think about it, you realize every day could be Happy Heart Day. Why celebrate Love just once a year? Love comes in different forms. Love expresses itself in different ways. Often there are power dynamics internal to the couple. Often there are twists and the one who, to all the world, appears to be dominant might actually be willingly submissive to their partner.

From all accounts, the new movie, Fifty Shades of Grey, based on the book series by E. L. James from 2011 and 2012 is going to draw huge crowds. What is the attraction? Is it the fact that Anastasia originally started out as Bella and Christian was Edward, in a fan fiction work based on the Twilight series? Is it the strong personality and physical attraction of Dakota Johnson, daughter of Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith? Maybe the sleek physique and penetrating charm of Jamie Dornan? Ultimately, the movie and book series have to stand on the strength of the story. Who has the power in the relationship. Who is dominant and who is submissive? Is there a true love here or merely a massive physical attraction?

And what about the soundtrack? Already, Ellie Goulding's song from the movie, Love Me Like You Do, has nearly 50 million views! Its a typical modern pop love song, with a bit of a hook. The video features scenes from the Fifty Shades Of Grey movie, along with Ellie Goulding flitting around moody sets. Here it is, enjoy!

Now, lets go way way way back. Lets go back Fifty Years and see what the subject matter of Fifty Shades was like in the 60s. In 1967, the legendary proto-punk Andy Warhol supported Indie Alt generally-strange and groundbreaking band, The Velvet Underground, released a classic album, The Velvet Underground and Nico. On said album we find "Venus in Furs". This is a hauntingly beautiful dirge, a slow hypnotic trance, featuring some of the following lyrics sung by band vocalist Lou Reed:

Shiny, shiny, shiny boots of leather Whiplash girlchild in the dark Clubs and bells, your servant, don't forsake him Strike, dear mistress, and cure his heart. Severin, Severin, speak so slightly Severin, down on your bended knee Taste the whip, in love not given lightly Taste the whip, now plead for me.

There are further lyrics. Let it flow over your consciousness, especially if you are a fan of Fifty Shades Of Grey. I think you'll be happy to hear this, if you have never had the experience before. Just. Click. PLAY! (If you dare)

Sticks and stones may break my bones, but whips and chains excite me!

Labels: 60s music, bondage, Dominance, E. L. James, Fifty Shades of Grey, kinky, lou reed, nudity, sex, submission, the velvet underground, Twilight, venus in furs

posted by KennyCrane at 2/15/2015 05:55:00 AM 1 Comments

Earlier as I watched "World News Tonight with David Muir" on ABC (which is doing well in ratings), I was happy to see that a large group of Musicians came together to launch the BBC Music website. This group is doing a cover of the 1960s Beach Boys hit, God Only Knows, from their later output in 1966 on their Pet Sounds album which may have inspired The Beatles to create their Sgt Pepper's album. It's nice to see new artists like Pharrell, Lorde and One Direction in the same video as old timers like Brian Wilson from The Beach Boys (and writer of God Only Knows), Brian May from Queen, Elton John and Stevie Wonder. Here's a complete list of everyone in the video, from the BBC Impossible Orchestra page:

1. Dave Grohl / 2. Alison Balsom / 3. Lorde / 4. Pharrell Williams / 5. Zane Lowe / 6. Sam Smith / 7. Paloma Faith / 8. Eliza Carthy / 9. Nicola Benedetti / 10. Chris Martin / 11. Jaz Dhami / 12. Martin James Bartlett / 13. Danielle de Niese / 14. Stevie Wonder / 15. Florence Welch / 16. Lauren Laverne / 17. Brian Wilson / 18. Jake Bugg / 19. Katie Derham / 20. Gareth Malone / 21. Kylie Minogue / 22. Chrissie Hynde / 23. One Direction / 24. Emeli Sandé / 25. Elton John / 26. Baaba Maal / 27. Ethan Johns / 28. Jools Holland / 29. Jamie Cullum / 30. Brian May / 31. Tees Valley Youth Choir / 32. BBC Concert Orchestra

How many of these artists do you know? How many are among your favorites? I'll admit to only knowing Dave Grohl, Lorde, Pharrell Williams, Stevie Wonder, Brian Wilson, Kylie Minogue, Chrissie Hynde, One Direction, Elton John, Jools Holland and Brian May. Watch and see how many you can identify!

Labels: 1960s, 60s music, BBC, Beach Boys, Brian May, Brian Wilson, Chrissie Hynde, Dave Grohl, Elton John, God Only Knows, Jools Holland, Kylie Minogue, Lorde, music, One Direction, Pharrell Williams, Stevie Wonder

posted by KennyCrane at 10/08/2014 11:05:00 PM 0 Comments

OK, so as you already know, I like all kinds of music. Most of what I have on my playlist is fairly obscure and a little strange. That's the way I like it! Remember when I told you about my love for Ladytron and The Dandy Warhols, here? Well I found something new that's pretty cool, very trippy, psychedelic and similar to the Warhols.

Earlier this week I was watching David Letterman, and saw he had a band coming up with an interesting name - Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger! OL, that's sounds cool, right? So I wait until the end of the show and out comes these hippy trippy looking people. There's this attractive girl on Bass, and two dudes with long hair and black hats on guitar. Two drummers, one guy banging on something which I don't even know what it is! They look all Goth Hippy Shoe Gazers, and the song is too; cool! Soon three dancers come out, with Large animal masks covering their faces! Turns out, the song is named Animals. Luckily, Letterman uploaded the performance to YouTube, and here it is!

I wondered if there was an "Official Video" from the band for this song. I'm totally digging the guitars and the oooo-oooo aaah-aaah vocals, and that guy in the middle looks quite a lot like.... Time to research more. WOW, no wonder why the guy in the middle looks like..... And then I found the official video for Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger, singing Animals. Far Out, MAN!!! Made to look like one of those cult films from the 60s where people gather in the woods and have crazy ceremonies, this video rocks if you're into that kind of thing, or weirdness in general! Now don't be watching this if full frontal nudity of the female body, in an artistic form, bothers you. Because nudity is in here. No sex, just nudity. Each of you can make up your mind as to whether this is ok or not. Check it out and decide!

Labels: 60s movie, 60s music, Beatles, cult, John Lennon, music video, naked girls, nudity, psychedelic, Sean Lennon, sex, Yoko

posted by KennyCrane at 5/30/2014 11:53:00 PM 0 Comments