Special thanks to Mary at Pretty Good Things for introducing me to hat designer Piers Atkinson. Straight up joy is what these hats are.
Atkinson had me at “The Rorschach.”
It makes me want to do a few things.
1) Make some hats!
2) Wear some hats!
and/or 3) Buy an awesome hat! I’ve got my eye on one of Mary’s designs: DAMMMMNIT! Someone bought it already. I wanted to rock that deer!
Today you get to fall in love with a story: http://www.sacbee.com/topstories/story/2071033.html
A couple of my recently favorite-d videos on YouTube:
Watch this next one all the way through.
A song:
And a tear sesh:
Today I’d like to introduce you to Foxtails Brigade.
I’m not just in love with Foxtails Brigade because they’re my friends or my old touring buddies, I’m in love with them because they straight-up give me goosebumps every time I see them perform live. Their songs are infectious, the kind that you’ll later hum without realizing while you’re cooking steak.
I was lucky enough to get an advanced copy of their new 7″ vinyl Chat with Sivan. Not only are the songs great (the record also comes with Mp3 downloads), but the packaging is beautiful. Buy yourself one here.
If you’re in San Francisco you should come to their 7″ release show at Cafe Du Nord this Sunday.
Poster by the talented Jon Carling.
I’ve been jumping around to this (and admiring Natalie’s dress):
Comedian Brent Weinbach
Photo by Shannon Casey Photography
Brent Weinbach has made me laugh so hard I cried. When people ask me who my favorite comedian is, I always say, “Brent Weinbach.” And usually they say, “Who?” If you don’t know him now, you will. He’s a comedy legend in the making.
Below is a playlist with some of my favorite Brent Weinbach vids. I’m in his promo video for his upcoming album, and I’m also pretty proud of how I did hair and makeup for his Amy Winehouse video.
Brent was a writing consultant for The Mary Van Note Show, and acted in it as well. Here he is in one of my favorite episodes.
Check out Brent Weinbach on Myspace for his upcoming tour dates. His new album The Night Shift comes out in September. If you’re in San Francisco, I suggest you go to his album release show at the Verdi Club on September 11.
Reggie Watts!
Click here to see Reggie on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.
And Reggie with me on the movie Twilight!
He’s an amazing performer. If you ever have the chance to see him perform live, go. If you’re in San Francisco, he’ll be performing on Wed, Sept 9 at 8pm and 10pm at the Hemlock Tavern.
It’s almost Saturday because it took me so long to compile all that I’ve fallen in love with this week. I’m going to attempt to share with you the stuff that blew my mind, made me laugh and got me hard. Yeah, you heard me. I got a boner and I don’t even have a penis. Ghost boners!
Boner #1 - Madonna
I’d like to give a big boner thank you to m’lady Agent Lover, for reminding me of how much I miss slutty Madonna. Visit her post so you can feel the same way. Be sure to click on the NSFW link so you can faint.
Boner #2 - Winter’s Discontent
Winter’s Discontent is a screenplay I read at work yesterday. Written by Paul Fruchbom, the screenplay got major buzz when it was listed in The 2008 Black List - The Hottest Unproduced Screenplays of 2008. Apparently it will be produced and rumors are that Borat director Larry Charles will direct. I’ve read a few of the scripts from that 2008 Black List, and this one was definitely a highlight. I laughed out loud and almost cried from reading the story about Herb Winter chasing elderly tail and trying to get a blow job in a retirement home. Another Black List script I really enjoyed was The Beaver by Kyle Killen, a truly quirky and dark comedy about a man who treats his depression with a beaver puppet. If you’re interested in reading some of the scripts from the Black List please click here.
Boner #3 - Nick Kroll
Nick Kroll should be on Saturday Night Live. His characters are incredible, and he’s a funny stand-up comic as well. This week we got the follow-up to the hilarious Bobby Bottleservice vlog with this fully produced funny or die webisode:
Boner #4 - Viktor & Rolf
I got my mind blown by some fashion designers this week. First with Viktor & Rolf, who took an axe to tulle.
Thank you to Fashion Forestry for first introducing me to the Dutch duo.
Boner #5 - Ali Wong
We lost funny girl Ali Wong to the Big Apple earlier this year, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t come back to visit. I was lucky enough to perform with her last night, where she broke out some new material about finding a FWB in NYC. If you ever thought to yourself, “Damn, I really wish I could find a way to describe how ugly this man’s genitalia is,” then look no further and get your ass over to the Punch Line on October 13th to see her perform live. If you can’t wait, watch this funny vid with her and Chris Garcia:
And check out Ali’s hidden talent:
Boner #6 - Pinball
Last Sunday I went to the Pacific Pinball Expo where over 400 pinball machines were on free play. FREE PLAY! It was heaven. Best game I played there? Well it’s a toss-up between a 1976 game called Space Odyssey with a swinging target in the center of the playfield (I squealed every time I hit it), and the 1982 mind-blowing Orbitor 1. Orbitor 1 is unlike any pinball game you’ve ever seen. The playfield looks like you’re on the surface of the moon, and the way it plays is no different. The ball hovers and strays like there’s no gravity, which will TRIP you out. Watch this youtube clip and notice the way the ball moves AROUND the flippers:
Boner #7 - Alexander McQueen
The last, and biggest boner of all goes out to Alexander McQueen, whose spring 2010 collection I first saw via White Lightning and Tales of a Retro Modern Housewife. I was in my Google Reader at work reading my blog subscriptions when lo and behold, these shoes, these amazing and bizarre fetish-tastic shoes looked back at me with their mechanical and snakeskin eyes and said, “Yeah, that’s right. You’re alive.” And I said, “YES I AM! Thank you!”
Wonder how people walk in those? Watch a clip from the incredible fashion show:
Oh, and by the way, the rest of McQueen’s designs are no less mind-blowing than the shoes the models miraculously walk in.
Well, that’s it folks. 7 boners. 7 days. That’s a lot of love-falling, but it’s been a while since I’ve done a proper Fall In Love Friday. Til next Friday, til next boner… good night!
This week, amongst many other things, I fell in love again with the one shot music video. I was on my MGMT Pandora channel when this super catchy song came on by Vampire Weekend. Eeeyuuuuck… what is that? Some teeny booper band? What a horrid name!
Yes, it may be teeny booper and horrid, but OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!! They’re music video for Oxford Comma got me all excited:
Now, one shot music videos aren’t new to me. I went on a youtube Michel Gondry binge months ago. Gondry is one of my favorite directors and he had his start with some amazing music videos. He did my favorite Bjork song btw (Hyperballad). The video that most blew my mind of his was Kylie Minogue’s Come Into My World which is located here since it won’t let me embed in a playlist. I still don’t know how he made it. To me, it’s just magic! What I love about it too, is that it reminds me so much of Jacques Tati–which makes sense since Gondry is French. Surely Tati influenced him (long wide shots and one takes). What attracts me so much to the one shot is the choreography and the amount of rehearsing and planning to create it, it’s so inspiring to me. Each action and visual is so calculated like brushstrokes in a masterpiece painting. So it’s not surprising to me that some of the most watched music videos on youtube are all one-shot: Beyoncé’s - Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It) (located here) and OK Go’s Here it Goes Again (located here).
1. Gary Jules - Mad World Dir. by Michel Gondry — The last visual in this video, is so, so stunning.
2. The White Strips - Denial Twist Dir. by Michel Gondry
3. Lucas - Lucas With The Lid Off Dir. by Michel Gondry — Again Gondry blows my mind.
4. Vampire Weekend - A Punk
Andy Kaufman
It’s hard to articulate how much this guy means to me, but I shall try. I think of this guy as my comedy godfather. Sure, I never met him, but I owe him a lot. I don’t think I would be doing stand-up if it weren’t for him. He is my greatest influence. Whenever anyone asks who I’m like, or who I like, I always say Andy Kaufman and they immediately know that I must be different. And how crazy is it for a man who started decades ago to still be seen as avant-garde? Some artists require a “oh their material was edgy for that time” but Andy on the other hand… his stuff is STILL crazy! And I love that! Check out what he did on Letterman. I don’t even think an appearance like this would even happen today.
And of course there’s his classic, legendary appearance on SNL:
And the Elvis Presley:
I took stand up comedy as a class in college, just for kicks. I didn’t think much would come of it. I didn’t even like stand-up comedy at that time. All I saw was what was on comedy central, and I wasn’t into it. But it was during that class when a friend talked about a guy who read The Great Gatsby to an audience. I was hooked right then and there. Andy made me love stand-up comedy and see the possibilities of the art form. He still inspires me to this day. I wish he was still here, and I wish I could’ve seen him live. But I’m so happy that there are clips like this:
I was selected as a semi-finalist for the Andy Kaufman award, an award given by Andy’s family and friends to an original and creative stand-up performer who embodies the spirit of Andy. I am deeply honored. When I first heard of this award it became a dream of mine. I still can’t get over talking on the phone with the director of the Andy Kaufman award who told me, “I gave Andy his first paid gig.” The fact that this award is given by the family and friends of Andy, just makes it that much more meaningful.
Comedians I adore like Brent Weinbach, Reggie Watts and Kristen Schaal have all been recipients of this award.
I am so completely and deeply honored to be a part of this event on the year that marks the 25th anniversary of Andy’s passing.
The start of my Pumpkin Penis Tour is in NYC, at Caroline’s for the semi-finals of the Andy Kaufman award. If you are in NY and are able, please come out to support. There will be a whole slew of interesting and unique acts. PLUS the show will be hosted by TONY CLIFTON!!!!!! And we can go get milk and cookies after the show.
I’ve been clicking on this video to play repeatedly. I hope Charlyne makes an album so I can listen to it over and over.
