"One more murder, and he's earned himself a detention." Were the movies, the books, the fan-fiction, and the squealing not enough for you? Then perhaps it is time to see Stephanie Meyers's tour de force parodied in musical form. Previous Twilight posts here and here and here.
posted by schroedinger on Oct 11, 2009 - 57 comments

French musical comedies 1918-1940 [French]. Non-French can still appreciate the programmes, photographs, music and videos.
posted by tellurian on Aug 24, 2009 - 12 comments

Harry Potter, The Musical (SLYTPL (Single Link Youtube Playlist))
posted by ChurchHatesTucker on Jul 16, 2009 - 11 comments

Web Site Story West Side Story without the race issues and more about internet dating.
posted by Del Far on Jul 1, 2009 - 26 comments

The exceptionally informative and well illustrated Galerie Ezakwantu has great pages on African tribal art, culture and history [due to partial nudity many links NSFW]: African Lip Plugs - Lip Plates; African Currency - African Slave Beads; Jewelry; African Scarification; Thrones and Stools; Shields; Combs; Musical Instruments; Fertility Dolls; Weapons; Zulu Basketry; Contemporary Art; Cups; Tribal Currency; Zulu Ricksha attire; Southern Africa Tribal Migrations; South African Kings and Chiefs. Also some interesting pages on anger about Robert Mugabe; the sale of the gallery owner's property; Cape Dutch Homesteads and blueberry recipes. [more inside]
posted by nickyskye on May 17, 2009 - 8 comments

And when it's done there's one more thing
A simple little task, it's:
Put the fucking lotion in the basket!
A lego-animated number from "Silence! The Musical". Music and Lyrics by Jon and Al Kaplan.
posted by dersins on Apr 24, 2009 - 26 comments

Everybody knows that the newspaper industry is hurting (auto-play video). Suggestions are floating around to save them. But this Northern California weekly, which regained independence last year from the Village Voice Media goliath and is still struggling to survive, is sure it has the answer... and wrote a musical about it.
posted by sundarikali on Apr 2, 2009 - 9 comments

Innsmouth: The Musical. Carol of the Old Ones. Shoggoth, Shoggoth, Shoggoth. If I Were A Deep One. I Saw My Mommy Kissing Yog-Sothoth. Away In A Madhouse. Freddy the Red Brained Mi-Go. I'm Dreaming of a Dead City. Awake Ye Scary Great Old Ones. The Cultist Song. Byakhee, Byakhee. [more inside]
posted by absalom on Mar 25, 2009 - 14 comments

After creating four successive masterpieces in the 1970s, culminating in the tortured production of Apocalypse Now, Francis Ford Coppola began the 1980s by directing "a romantic comedy, a musical fantasy and an erotic love story set amidst the neon glitter of Las Vegas on a Fourth of July weekend." [more inside]
posted by Joe Beese on Mar 3, 2009 - 17 comments

Only 325 days until Broadway's Hilton Theater hosts the first preview of Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, a $40 million musical directed by Juliet Taymor with music and lyrics by Bono and The Edge of U2. Investors hope it will fare better than another big-budget pulp adaptation.
posted by Joe Beese on Feb 25, 2009 - 35 comments

"To make off with hubby's fortune, yea, I think I heard of that happenin' once or twice around L.A. And… you want me to do what exactly?" He found the paper bag he'd brought his supper home in and got busy pretending to scribble notes on it, because straight-chick uniform, makeup supposed to look like no makeup or whatever, here came that old well-known hard-on Shasta was always good for sooner or later. Does it ever end, he wondered. Of course it does. It did. Thomas Pynchon's next novel, the 416-page Inherent Vice, is described by Penguin Press as "part noir, part psychedelic romp, all Thomas Pynchon — private eye Doc Sportello comes, occasionally, out of a marijuana haze to watch the end of an era as free love slips away and paranoia creeps in with the L.A. fog." While we wait for its August 4 publication, we can read an essay on the dystopian musical he co-wrote at Cornell or watch a clip of that movie they made of Gravity's Rainbow. [more inside]
posted by Joe Beese on Feb 6, 2009 - 76 comments

"I am Russian so, obviously, I like this film. It has typical Russian humor, it is a farce, so do not look for higher meanings in the jokes, it makes fun of the social standards of the Soviet regime as well as the people who served it so well. It features some of the best Russian actors that we love seeing and acting; they sing in the movie and it is lovely as well. If you are a tough judge of movies, then please make sure you know Soviet history a bit and understand that the humor differs from what you see in American movies before you call it crap." [more inside]
posted by filthy light thief on Feb 1, 2009 - 18 comments

In 1952, Bernard and François BASCHET reveal a new acoustic principle. They manage to amplify the internal vibration of metal, thus founding a new acoustic instrumental family : The Sound Structures [more inside]
posted by Grangousier on Jan 21, 2009 - 4 comments

The Little Shop of Horrors movie was originally intended to be.... very different. Three-part YouTube link. Amazing.
posted by macrowave on Nov 10, 2008 - 38 comments

Back in 1940, a young singer called Virginia O'Brien made her debut in the LA production of "Meet the People" when she was seized by a paralyzing case of stage fright. The policeman daughter nevertheless bravely kept on singing while the audience roared with laughter. Surprisingly, her frozen-faced delivery, far from cutting her career short, created a unique niche for her instead (her wide vocal range and stunning looks also helped). Within short, she'd be appearing as deadpan "featured singer" in a number of golden-age MGM comedies, such as the "In the Storehouse", "Panama Hattie", or, most memorably, "Du Barry was a Lady". It's a bit sad that such a singing and acting talent was reduced to a novelty act, but, damn, what an act!
posted by Skeptic on Oct 27, 2008 - 21 comments

Les Misbarack. (Slyt? Yes. Awesome? Yes.)
posted by mothershock on Sep 12, 2008 - 40 comments

Oddstrument is a blog about unusual musical instruments and other interesting acoustic technologies.
posted by Upton O'Good on Aug 28, 2008 - 15 comments

Quack and fugitive from justice Professor Bill Nelson, inventor of the Quantum Xrroid Consciousness Interface, sings of his noble struggle against the evils of conventional medicine! Via Ben "Bad Science" Goldacre. [more inside]
posted by jack_mo on Aug 9, 2008 - 35 comments

24: Season Two: The Musical. (Language is perhaps NSFW.)
posted by Prospero on May 27, 2008 - 14 comments

Jonathan "King of Hits" King is a former pop impresario now best known for his conviction and imprisonment for having sex with teenage boys. He has turned his experiences into a satirical musical, Vile Pervert [NSFW], and released the film for free online. In one number, adopting the persona of Oscar Wilde, King asserts that "there's nothing wrong with buggering boys".
posted by jack_mo on May 9, 2008 - 71 comments

When Brad and Amy got married, Amy's "Man of Honor" got up to give his toast -- a musical toast. Other friends and family joined in, much to Amy's surprise, and the result, captured here on video, is pretty darned delightful.
posted by houseofdanie on May 4, 2008 - 109 comments

Comedian Julie Klausner (of "Hot Jewish Girls want to talk to you!!") has obsessions. So do her friends. As you do, she hosts a comedy night in New York where people can confess and explain (sometimes via powerpoint) the things that drive their compulsions. [more inside]
posted by Queen of Spreadable Fats on Apr 30, 2008 - 12 comments

Cello Hero? Have a go at bowing Saint-Saëns' The Swan.
posted by Wolfdog on Apr 21, 2008 - 20 comments

The musical number of "Leroy, The Uninterrupted Lobster," and the science of aging lobsters.
posted by Del Far on Apr 7, 2008 - 10 comments

Is there any other way to Woo a Librarian? I mean, you don't want to cause Trouble, but it's tough to find that girl to be your Shipoopi, but when you meet her, it's like hearing bells.
posted by Del Far on Mar 29, 2008 - 18 comments

Can I Get a Napkin Here? A food court musical brought to us by the fine folks of Improv Everywhere . For more musicals in public places, check out "Reach! A Lecture Musical!" and "Reading on a Dream: A Library Musical" both from Prangstgrup.
posted by Del Far on Mar 10, 2008 - 44 comments

The Battery's Down is a new musical web series about an aspiring New York actor, Jake Wilson - ostensibly playing himself. Written and directed by Wilson, it also contains cameos by Broadway actors - and feature songs composed by up-and-coming musical theatre composers (each song is also available for download). [more inside]
posted by crossoverman on Mar 9, 2008 - 3 comments

Glitter-and-Be-Gay-filter: Chenoweth, Anderson, Dessay, Damrau, Gruberova, Sumi Jo, Leigh, Young Dessay, Chenoweth again. [more inside]
posted by flug on Nov 7, 2007 - 36 comments

Quick, before Tim Burton's "re-imagining dark gems of the 1970s" spree continues with the film version that will obliterate all recollection of the original musical thriller's style! Check out 1982's Emmy-winning televised performance of Sweeney Todd, with George Hearn and the inimitable Angela Lansbury. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15. Or, just skip to the highlights, A Little Priest, Epiphany. Also, check out the style of the inventive, minimalist revival or read the original penny dreadful!
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur on Oct 14, 2007 - 42 comments

Star Wars: The Musical. Luke sings ("Uncle Owen I'm not like you. I can't just bury my dreams (in the sands of Tatooine)"). Vader sings ("Bring me the passengers - every child woman and man!"). C3PO sings ("I am a droid, so don't you mess with me."). And Han sings a ballad that starts off like "The Impossible Dream," then mutates into the bastard intergalactic cousin "Do You Hear The People Sing?" as it might be performed by Neil Diamond, Richard Burton and Peter Lorre. [more inside]
posted by grabbingsand on Sep 19, 2007 - 33 comments

Internet People An animated musical ode to all those crazy internet memes.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero on Sep 6, 2007 - 53 comments

The Muse's Muse Songwriting Resource is the place for songwriting tips, tools, interactivities and connecting with other songwriters around the world. See the section about musical instruments or get into the guitar player's guide. Start communicating with other musicians and songwriters in the forums and check out the music reviews. Lots to do, see, hear, learn, and most of all, enjoy.
posted by netbros on Aug 22, 2007 - 10 comments

"Someone in a Tree" -- an incedibly rare video from the original, 1976 production of "Pacific Overtures." I grew up listening to an L.P. of these same people perform this same song, but I've never before seen them perform it. I grew up in Southern Indiana, so actually seeing a Broadway show was out of the question. But I loved this song, and -- years later -- I read that it was Stephen Sondheim's favorite of all the songs he ever wrote. Today, I found this video on YouTube and it was like finally seeing someone after being blind for years. I still have chills running up and down my spine. Also: Sondheim forum, online journal, and various gems (and bombs) on youtube -- including the man himself teaching a master class and this 12-year-old's spirited performance!
posted by grumblebee on Apr 28, 2007 - 14 comments

Guy love (youtube) One hundred percent non gay, totally hetero, manly Guy Love. More examples here,here,here,and here. (all youtube) Turk and JD, not as gay as Ennis and Jack, but far far funnier.
posted by tylerfulltilt on Jan 24, 2007 - 29 comments

The LoTR musical needs Hobbits of a certain stature. What stature is that, budding thespians might ask? Well, smoot-height, of course! (Actually, 5'7" — or 170 cm — is the maximum height a would-be Frodo or Bilbo could be.) Another requirement is the ability to sing two songs ... and hairy appendages wouldn't hurt. So start knitting those foot-merkins! Auditions: 18 September, Theatre Royal Drury Lane, Catherine St (tube stop: Covent Garden).
posted by rob511 on Sep 12, 2006 - 25 comments

"I would like to do better, to be better than I am". He's the French New Wave maverick and Academy Award winner (at 26, for his first short) who, to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz -- with considerable personal pain and the admission that "no description, no picture can reveal the true dimension" of what happened in the camps -- made what François Truffaut called "the greatest film ever made", duly censored by French authorities. Four years later he baffled audiences with "the first modern film of sound cinema", shattering the rules of chronology to describe the “anguish of the future”: even if all he ever wanted was "to stop death in its tracks" (French language link), only for one minute. But he is also the unabashed lover of la bande dessinée who learnt English by reading comic books and in the Seventies dreamed (French language link) of making "Spider-Man" into a movie (the Hollywood studios were not convinced), the MGM old-school musical and operetta nut so in love with design that "half of the fashion photography of the past 40 years owes a debt" to him. Now, Alain Resnais' new work, just shown at the Venice Film Festival where his buddy David Lynch was awarded a lifetime achievement Golden Lion, is a French film inspired by an English play with 54 short scenes, music by the X-Files's Mark Snow. (more inside)
posted by matteo on Sep 8, 2006 - 20 comments

"Where Does He Get Those Wonderful Toys?" [MP3] A stupefying song (sung by the Joker) from a forthcoming Batman musical, written and sung by Jim Steinman of Bat Out of Hell fame. He discusses the matter in depth on his blog. If it's a hoax I fell for it. But a cursory Google search bears it out!
posted by BackwardsCity on Jul 24, 2006 - 17 comments

"Ten Favorite Offbeat Musicals" by Jonathan Rosenbaum
posted by matteo on Apr 4, 2006 - 30 comments

High School Musical is becoming somewhat of a phenomenon amongst preteens and teens a like. Recently hitting the top of Billboard Charts, and drawing unprecedented amounts of traffic toThe Disney Channel's website. Yet, there are still detractors . The made-for-tv movie is also involved in a controversy related to its pricing (via digg.com) in the ITunes Music Store.
posted by matkline on Mar 16, 2006 - 21 comments

The Misadventures of the Wholesome Twins. A Musical Parody. Song titles here. My favourite moment from the website is in the cast list -- Courtney Love (et al): Robyn K. Pilarski.
posted by feelinglistless on Nov 20, 2005 - 3 comments

The Apprentice: The Musical. This is not a joke.
posted by adrober on May 20, 2005 - 21 comments

"When stewardesses were sexy and the world was sexist" is the tagline of this years-in-making musical by Suzy Conn, who also runs the blogway baby musicals log (which talks about this musical quite a bit). It's meant to be based around the early 1960's, when airlines were truly a luxury, not unlike a sea cruise or a first-class train ride pre-Amtrak. (The website spends some time going on about Braniff International, and it's worth it to check out the history of that airline. This is also laid out on top of the era of Women's Liberation, although it does so using the aesthetic of 1960's music and phraseology, which was, basically, designed by male-dominated hollywood. For everyone who sits in the cheap seats, if you let the flash animation at the beginning of the site load, it plays the entire opening title song for you. Hey, free show!
posted by jscott on Apr 12, 2005 - 27 comments

A lecutre musical (QT video) by Columbia University spontaneous performance artists PRANGSTGRÜP (warning: flash site). Lots of great stuff in their videos section.
posted by panoptican on Mar 31, 2005 - 15 comments

We're Knights of the Round Table
We dance whene'er we're able.
We do routines and chorus scenes
With footwork impeccable.
We dine well here in Camelot.
We eat ham and jam and Spam a lot.
We're Knights of the Round Table.
Our shows are formidable,
But many times we're given rhymes
That are quite unsingable.
We're opera mad in Camelot.
We sing from the diaphragm a lot.
In war we're tough and able,
Quite indefatigable.
Between our quests we sequin vests and impersonate Clark Gable.
It's a busy life in Camelot.
posted by terrapin on Mar 11, 2005 - 43 comments

Everybody loves Magical Trevor. (flash)
posted by scrim on Jan 14, 2005 - 22 comments

Banned by the Vatican and created by a tone deaf engineer... presenting the Hammond.
posted by drezdn on Aug 30, 2004 - 20 comments

Silence of the Lambs: The Musical - Featuring the showstopping tune "If I Could Smell Her..." Ummm...you know what? Just click the link.
posted by ColdChef on Jul 18, 2003 - 22 comments

solresol: the universal musical language. There are many artificial or planned languages. Some were created with the hope of universal communication, while others were nearly accidental creations that went from fiction to fact. Solresol remains, to me, one of the most interesting planned languages of all. It contains only the seven signs of the musical scale and isn't spoken as much as it is hummed, sang, whistled or played on an instrument. Once totally obscure, Solresol is making a quiet comeback.
posted by elwoodwiles on Dec 11, 2002 - 32 comments

Children of the 70s may remember the Brady Bunch Hour, the cornball song-dance-sketch variety show featuring the cast of the famous sitcom. You may also recall controversial cast member, Geri Reischl, a.k.a."Fake Jan". Reischl replaced Eve Plumb in nine episodes of the variety show after Plumb (wisely) refused to appear in the musical revival. Some fans even cite Reischl's exceptional singing and dancing abilities as the highpoint of the Brady Bunch Hour—just ask the fine folks at The Official Geri Reischl Website.
posted by VelvetHellvis on Aug 21, 2002 - 14 comments

Nathan Lane's Successor in "The Producers" Is Fired. (NYT Link). Replacing the hottest Broadway actor in the hottest Broadway musical and getting fired 4 weeks later's gotta suck a lot.
posted by adrober on Apr 15, 2002 - 13 comments