As if a line like "their house is a museum, when people come to see 'em, they really are a scree-am" (heard, of course, in
the Addams Family theme) wasn't playfully brilliant (and brilliantly playful) enough, the same fellow happened to also have written
the Green Acres theme. If you're an American of a certain age, you'll remember these two songs from their original TV runs during your childhood, or perhaps from reruns if you're a bit younger. Anyway, the composer of these catchy, familiar ditties was one
Vic Mizzy. Hear Vic talk about the Addams Family theme and his degree in advanced finger snapping
here. Thanks Vic!
posted by flapjax at midnite
on Feb 22, 2013 -
21 comments
Flipping through public access or PBS channels one might have seen
Classic Arts Showcase with it's familiar
ARTS bug. The
24-hour non-commercial free-to-air satellite channel broadcasts a repeated
8-hour mix of about 150 video clips weekly a mix of various classic arts including animation, architectural art, ballet, chamber, choral music, dance, folk art, museum art, musical theater, opera, orchestral, recital, solo instrumental, solo vocal, and theatrical play, as well as classic film and archival documentaries. The channel has no VJs and
only silent interstitials encouraging the viewer to “...go out and feast from the buffet of arts available in your community.”
[more inside]
posted by wcfields
on Oct 16, 2012 -
7 comments
Live from 1999, it's
the unaired pilot for The Jon Brion Show! With special guests Paul F. Tompkins, Grant-Lee Phillips, Mark Oliver "E" Everett, Greg Behrendt, Elliot Smith, Rickie Lee Jones, Robyn Hitchcock, Cheap Trick, and Mary Lynn Rajskub.
[more inside]
posted by Iridic
on Sep 6, 2011 -
13 comments
Two and a half years ago, we explored
the early history of Cartoon Network... but it wasn't the only player in the youth television game.
As a matter of fact,
Fred Seibert -- the man responsible for the most inventive projects discussed in that post -- first stretched his creative legs at the network's
truly venerable forerunner:
Nickelodeon.
Founded as Pinwheel, a six-hour block on Warner Cable's innovative
QUBE system, this humble channel struggled for years before Seibert's innovative branding work transformed it into a national icon and capstone of a media empire.
Much has changed since then, from the mascots and game shows to
the versatile orange "splat." But starting tonight in response to popular demand, the network is
looking back with
a summer programming block dedicated to the greatest hits of the 1990s, including
Hey Arnold!, Rocko's Modern Life, The Adventures of Pete & Pete, The Ren & Stimpy Show, Double Dare, Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Legends of the Hidden Temple, and
All That.
To celebrate, look inside for the complete story of the early days of the network that incensed the religious right, brought doo-wop to television, and slimed a million fans -- the golden age of Nickelodeon.
(warning: monster post inside) [more inside]
posted by Rhaomi
on Jul 25, 2011 -
116 comments
After Kad & Olivier sign off and the Satisfaction production logo fades, viewing audiences are oftentimes treated to a cold open of an empty talk show set... one that quickly becomes the impromptu dance floor for a shameless Frenchman making an absolute giddy fool of himself while lip-syncing pop songs alongside a menagerie of...
wait, *what*?! That's right.
The Late Late Show's Craig Ferguson appears to have
a not-so-secret French admirer -- one who's not above ripping off both his opening titles and
his signature dance sequences (including
the iconic animal puppets):
"ABC" by The Jackson 5,
"Flashdance" by Irene Cara,
"On the Floor" by Jennifer Lopez and Pitbull,
"Waka Waka" by Shakira,
"Men in Black" by Will Smith,
"Let's All Chant" by the Michael Zager Band,
"Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" by Wham!,
"It's Raining Men" by The Weather Girls, and
"Vive Le Vent (Jingle Bells)" by Tino Rossi.
Luckily, Ferguson's sense of showmanship is
more prodigious than litigious -- he responded to Arthur's "
homáge" by booking a pair of translatlantic crossover shows, with Arthur visiting LA that week and Ferguson flying out to Paris just last month. Video of both shows (plus lots more) inside!
[more inside]
posted by Rhaomi
on Jul 11, 2011 -
12 comments
British composer and TV presenter
Howard Goodall presents a documentary exploring the influences and theory behind the music of The Beatles, and the transformation of their sound over their recording career.
Part
1,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6 on Youtube.
But that's not all...
[more inside]
posted by Magnakai
on Sep 9, 2009 -
30 comments
Soul! New York City PBS affiliate WNET have digitized 9 episodes of
Soul!, a early 1970's live music program, providing a groovy video interface with chapters to break down each hour long episode.
[more inside]
posted by myopicman
on Apr 23, 2009 -
20 comments
Little Boxes is a song written by Malvina Reynolds in 1962 that lampoons the development of suburbia and what many consider its bourgeois conformist values.
[1]
During the first season of the Showtime series
Weeds,
Malvina's original recording was used during the opening credits. In the second season, the song was performed by a different artist each episode —
Elvis Costello,
Death Cab for Cutie,
Engelbert Humperdinck,
Kate and Anna McGarrigle,
Maestro Charles Barnett,
Aiden Hawkin,
Ozomatli ,
The Submarines,
Tim DeLaughter,
Regina Spektor, and
Jenny Lewis.
[Malvina's recording was used again for the season finale.] Randy Newman just kicked off the third season, which the network promoted with a
Little Boxes music video contest.
Kevin Nealon and
Romany Malco were notable among the
participating cast members.
posted by Poolio
on Aug 14, 2007 -
132 comments
Got some free time over the New Year's long weekend? Well, here's every episode (or damn near it) of
Aqua Teen Hunger Force,
Boondocks,
Clone High,
Metalocalypse,
Moral Orel,
Robot Chicken,
South Park (
alt),
Venture Brothers,
Futurama. Or over
here, there's
all those and more.
But
wait my friends, there's more, yes,
even more: for the same low price, I'll include the Ultimate Motherlode of Music Video
(11,500 of them, or your money back!), alphabetized for your viewing pleasure. Just free up some bandwidth, and step inside ...
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken
on Dec 29, 2006 -
156 comments
I found a site with hundreds of old TV theme songs. It’s not much to look at, and the audio ain’t the best, but it’s free (and apparently maintained by a patriotic american, thank you, sir). Spending some hours there reminded me that composers and musicians used to take the craft seriously. You can find just about anything. Good?
The Avengers,
Barney Miller,
Green Hornet,
Hawaii Five-O,
Rockford Files,
Room 222. Feelgood?
The Courtship of Eddie’s Father. Cheese?
Dynasty,
Three’s Company,
Flo. 80s schlock?
Hardcastle & McCormick,
Hunter. Check out the mess that is the theme for
The Bionic Woman. Did you remember that Jose Feliciano did
Chico and the Man? I bet you didn't know...well...WTF:
The Associates. I wondered where the tradition went, but, then, after MTV, I guess all the media became one and ‘TV’ ‘Theme’ ‘Music’ became something like
this. My favorite theme? I had to go elsewhere to find it: it’s
my own.
posted by toma
on Aug 12, 2006 -
58 comments
I've always lumped musician
Eugene Chadbourne in with the likes of
Wesley Willis and
Daniel Johnston, but I may have been mistaken. While his songs are often absurd, experimental, and silly, he's much less eccentric than I'd always thought. In addition to having an incredible output (full discography with notes
here and in-depth review
here), he has worked with everyone from
John Zorn to
Jello Biafra, even fronting the band
Camper Van Beethoven as
Camper Van Chadbourne. He has also been a writer for
MaximumRocknRoll and
AMG and is the inventor of the electric rake (a musical instrument that would certainly annoy your neighbors).
YouTube has two awesome Chadbourne finds:
THIS is a 19-minute documentary about him and
THIS is a cable access show he appeared on called
I'm Going to Make a Drug with My Mind (if you like
cable access television, this is awesome, but please note that this video is 31-minutes long, including 60 seconds of color bars. Eugene comes on a little after the 17-minute mark). [WARNING: YouTube. A lot of YouTube in this post]
posted by elr
on Aug 11, 2006 -
34 comments
American Idol 5 on Popmatters. "There are two pre-audition selection rounds before contestants are allowed to meet the judges. Clearly then, the show's army of "talent" spotters deliberately sent
Derek,
Crystal and the others crashing and burning onto national television, in the sure and certain knowledge that humiliation means ratings." Some insights into the corporate machinery behind American Idol, as well as thoughts on the current season.
posted by ludwig_van
on Jan 25, 2006 -
146 comments
Pancake Mountain presents Ian MacKaye performing "Vowel Movement" for the kiddies. As a friend said, this site has "pancakes and indie rock and bob mould as a corporate goon all in one package." [via
sullivan]
posted by ifjuly
on Apr 8, 2004 -
14 comments
Kurt Nilsen wins World Idol. Gap-toothed and described by judges as "with the looks of a hobbit," the Norwegian plumber with the voice of an angel proves that there's hope for all of us to become popstars. True talent triumphs!
posted by dagny
on Jan 1, 2004 -
20 comments
Radiohead TV: Welcome To The Most Gigantic Lying Mouth Of All Time! Yes, fans and detractors - it's that time of the year again. But look before you hear, mind!
My favourite band The world's most lyrically evolved band Radiohead is about to
unleash, after the wonder that is
There, There [
Full videoclip here] a
new long-playing record and with it, on May 26th, a
new television channel [
Please scroll down a bit for details]. They're going: "
I haven't had this much fun in years". Well, indeed! I wonder how many fans get the dark, gallows humour of Radiohead. And what beautiful songs! I put it to you Thom Yorke is the new Leonard Cohen, another much-funnier-than-he-sounds songwriter and performer.[
Windows Media req. Quicktime version of TV channel here; Real version of "There, There" video here. Please go to the website for other details and lower res alternatives..]
posted by MiguelCardoso
on May 13, 2003 -
54 comments
