Third Uncle Records' Blog

Well, it finally happened!  The State is now available on DVD starting today.  I actually pre-ordered mine and was lucky enough to get them right before the 4th of July weekend (though I got too excited and actually cut my tshirt while opening the package - oops).  Here's the official trailer for the DVD set.

actually

I just subscribed to Louis CK's blog and he posted a really nice entry about Joe Wong's appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman.  He had some really good insights into Wong's performance as well as some nice words about Mitch Hedberg all while highlighting the importance of the five minute late night talk show routine.  After reading everything, I thought there'd be no way Joe Wong's set could live up to Louis' kind words.  I was wrong.

"Nobody took a bite out of this peach when it was ripe."



I don't know why, but I get the feeling my friend Dax will love this.

I just got back from watching Adventureland and my jaw is on the floor.  It wasn't at all what I was expecting (considering the previews, the cast, and the fact that the director was responsible for Superbad).  I can't really even put my finger on it specifically.  It's not as if I directly related to the characters, the place (Pittsburgh), or the time (though I do remember 1987 fairly well.  I was happy to see that they showed the thing I remembered most about Pittsburgh when I drove through it once - those winding, tiered interchanges on the freeway were amazing to me.  I was just kind of lost in them.  Maybe it was because I was exhausted and driving through the night, but it was somehow hazy and surreal and I loved it.  But back to the topic.  It must have been the music.  Well, it was definitely the music, but there was certainly something more.  There was a perfect mixture of innocence and discovery, happiness with a comforting undercurrent of sadness, delight and boredom / restlessness (and the delight in the boredom and restlessness).  I guess it's these moments that put us in the perfect place for making lasting connections with people.  I'm not sure this a powerful plea for seeing the movie, but I'm not sure I need it to be.

But the music.  The movie ended perfectly, in my mind.  And, of course, the music was great, but I was blown away by the pick of the INXS song "Don't Change."  I can't even get into why that song means so much to me, but it just does.  I actually had a really awkward moment when I called a radio station and requested that song and the DJ had no idea what I was talking about.  An INXS greatest hits cd had just come out and I assured the DJ that the song was on there.  I quickly realized that it wasn't and I couldn't believe it.  It has to be their best song.  One of the best songs.  But then I started to just consider that maybe it was just personal and not many others would get it.  Its appearance in Adventureland just bowled me over.  I have that record, but it's back in Tulsa (along with that radio station).  So, my goal before passing out tonight is to find that song and make sure it's loaded on my ipod for my road trip next week.  It will be the perfect soundtrack for when I'm floating through Pittsburgh in the middle of the night.

INXS - Don't Change

Wow!  I just saw this clip from a blog post by Aziz Ansari (who I almost met when I saw him in the lobby of a hotel in Chicago last summer, but I was too nervous to say hello to him, so I console myself by just subscribing to his blog).  At any rate, this Nick Kroll guy is amazing.  I can't believe I haven't heard of him before (to my knowledge).  I'll definitely keep an eye out now.

Important Things with Demetri Martin debuts tonight at 10:30pm EST on Comedy Central (perfect timing so I can still watch Lost).  Check out the preview below - it looks like it will be great.  At the very least, it's something to tide me over until there's a new season of The Sarah Silverman Program.

The Incredibad CD / DVD is out today!  Yeah!  Check out a bunch of their older songs (available as free mp3 downloads) over here.

Just a suggestion...

Well, it's that time of year again.  I decided to search youtube for some video footage of the perennial classic, "I Got You Babe," and I was amazed at the versions I found.  Enjoy!

First, the inspiration for this idea.


Now, the original by Sonny and Cher (from a brilliant mime on Top of the Pops).


Now let's get nuts.

The Rolling Stones do their tribute. I had no idea Keith Richards could play the tuba (and without a mouthpiece)!


This is the only version of this video I could find, but anything with Tiny Tim is too great to leave out.


This one features Ziggy era Bowie and Marianne Faithful!  Sure beats her collab with Metallica.


Let's watch R.E.M. take a whack at it.


R.E.M. updated their version in 2002 with Cher at a tribute to U2's Bono. Check it out here (sadly, they disabled embedding for this video).  At :50 Cher (in reference to Sonny Bono) comments, "...I've never done that song with anybody else, ever."  Umm...  guess she forgot about this.


I'll end with the version I was thinking about when I first had this idea. This is a cover by Joey Ramone and Holly Beth Vincent. I had it on an old compilation and I was psyched to find this video footage. They're clearly lip syncing and I love that Joey isn't quite sure when his verse is supposed to start.

A recent documentary about my beloved Joy Division by Grant Gee is being streamed this week over at Pitchfork.tv.  By all means, check it out.  Back in the late 90s, during my late college days, I had a really difficult time finding much extra information to feed my Joy Division obsession.  I had a dubbed copy of Here Are the Young Men (which actually contained a disclaimer encouraging people to make copies of the video) and some other bootlegs of dubious quality I got on a trip to Chicago.  At one point, I honestly considered dropping everything to head over to Manchester in an effort to make a documentary about the band.  Of course, I had no idea how to go about getting access to the people involved or even how to make a film (though I could make some pretty mean video mixtapes with my two VCR setup).  So, I'm glad Mr. Gee picked up the ball when I dropped it.

My friend Ned shared this video on Google Reader (originally as a post on hope sets sail).  It's brilliant.  I had to repost it here.  It reminds me of years ago back in Richmond (IN) when my friends Andy and Jason were trying to find vintage Star Wars figures for me.  A woman working at the shop they were checking out told them she had recently sold a "Cowbacca" figure.


Star Wars: Retold (by someone who hasn't seen it) from Joe Nicolosi on Vimeo.