...And That's When My iPod Died

Foo Fighters - Everlong (I couldn't embed the video, but you really ought to click over and watch it anyway)

Music From a Found Orchestra

Have you heard of the Penguin Cafe Orchestra? I hadn't before last night, when I was trying to track down the name of a lovely, familiar-sounding piece of music that played during an old episode of This American Life. After some searching, I determined that the piece of music was "Perpetuum Mobile" by the aforementioned Penguin Cafe Orchestra:



I happened to remember that song in a commercial (for what, I couldn't tell you). But that's not the only Penguin Cafe Orchestra work you most likely recognize. Take a listen to "Telephone and Rubber Band":



Those first few bars were immediately familiar to anyone who listened to the radio around 1995, since they were sampled by Spacehog for their song "In the Meantime."

There's plenty more floating around YouTube, and Wikipedia tells me that the group's music is popular in film, television, and commercials. That's hardly surprising, since everything I've heard sounds like some unreleased film soundtrack, combining the eccentric instrumentation of Jon Brion with the hypnotic repetition of Phillip Glass.

Unfortunately, there's a sad coda to my new discovery: Simon Jeffes, the founder of the orchestra, died in 1997 of a brain tumor.

It's Either This or a Video of "Taxman"

I guess if I don't upload this photo today, it'll have to wait until next fiscal year:

(In related news...)

Two Things That Were Surprising and One That Was Not

1.) Atrios is modeling on the cover of the City Paper, looking every inch the dandy.

2.) The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, a movie I have very little interest in seeing, is going to be released on DVD by Criterion. Since I have a long term goal of watching every Criterion release, I guess this means I'll eventually get around to seeing it after all. Unfortunately, like other contemporary, mainstream Criterion discs, the cover art is pretty blah (which is especially disappointing since the art on the special edition of David Fincher's Zodiac is quite awesome).

3.) As for the non-surprise, did you hear that Fox is fucking around with Dollhouse, the getting-better-every-week Joss Whedon science fiction series currently airing on Friday nights? Of course, this is a lot worse than the situation with Firefly, the key difference being that I'm watching this time around.

Who is the King of Carrot Flowers?

So, what's indie-rock recluse Jeff Mangum been up to lately? It looks like he moved to Louisville, got a job at a car rental company, and made it onto Jeopardy!

...And That's When My iPod Died

Life Out of Balance

If you're looking for a good dose of whiplash, try watching Koyaanisqatsi on Hulu. Every ten minutes or so, the montage of images depicting the ills of modern society is interrupted by ads for fast food, cars, and cell phones.

(If you've seen the film, I hope that you find the presence of a section titled "Plot" on its Wikipedia page as amusing as I do.)

Terrible Lie

The image of Trent Reznor wearing Kanye shades, and the idea of Nine Inch Nails collaborating with Sheryl Crow on a song called "Pussygrinder," just made my (April Fool's) day.