I hate the songs of Jimmy Webb. He won a jillion Grammy’s, and he’s regularly named as a great songwriter by people who really should know better (Bruce Springteen and some others). At his best, his songs are merely annoying, melodically vapid, and oozing with gooey sentimentality (his songs for Glen Campbell: Galveston, Wichita Lineman, By the Time I Get To Phoenix). At his worst, they are also pretentious (McArthur Park) and stupid beyond all description (Up, Up and Away, McArthur Park again). I once played Richard Harris’s original hit version of McArthur Park to my older son, who was certain I was playing him a comedy record. If you’re so inclined, above you can watch him perform what could be the worst song ever written with such bone-headed earnestness that you may find yourself wanting Anton Chigurh to walk up and do his captive bolt stunner thing on him. I didn’t even make it to the infamous “cake out in the rain” part (surely the dumbest metaphor ever devised). In a way it’s funny, but mostly not. My question to you bastards: am I incorrect? If any of you are Jimmy Webb fans, can you clue me in as to what’s good about him? Did he write some hidden gems I’ve never heard? Because based on his biggest hits, I don’t get his reputation as one of the greats at all.
Feels Good Man
The meme-osphere is a scary place.
Lovecraft Country
I know one Cthulu-loving bastard who’s down for this.
Exhibit B
Makerbot recently posted a Terry Bozzio video. Here is further support for what research has proven time and again: that non-sociopathic drummers use their spare time to acquire too many drums, which they then overplay. In some ways the above video is a more disturbing example. For where Mr. Bozzio employed instruments in a range of pitches (therefore demonstrating some higher-order thinking), this character for some reason has about 50 of the same crash cymbal, and seems intent on hitting them all. A drummer with only basic skills could do the same thing with two. WTF?
Forty years later…
…this song has potential relevance.
Shit
“Passed away peacefully” at 80.
Um …
This is either the best or worst thing I’ve ever seen.
EDIT: Video won’t embed because they want you to watch it on YouTube so they can try to talk you into buying the song on iTunes. Diabolical.
David’s Lab Revisited
Nice little Alien short.
To celebrate the two-year anniversary of the Alien: Covenant DVD release, we wanted to share a little fun we had thanks to a partnership with YouTube Space LA, who helped recreate David’s Lab from the film’s set.