"If it wasn't for Jews, fags, and gypsies, there would be no theater."

The above quote is from the 1983 film To Be Or Not To Be starring the one-and-only Mel Brooks. It's basically a remake of a comedy-drama from 1942 of the same title, with much dialogue taken verbatim from the original. The film was nominated for an Oscar for comedic performance, but wasn't the box office smash to which Mel Brooks had become accustomed throughout the 70's.

An associated promotional gem was just brought to my attention by a friend, and it blew my socks off. On the movie's sountrack album, but not in the movie, was this novelty rap song song entitled To Be or Not to Be (The Hitler Rap). It was released as a single, complete with the music video below, and peaked at #12 on the US charts in February 1984. Not surprising, as it's a fantastic dance tune that's sure to rock any party, even in 2010. Enjoy!

Rocking the Rock n Roll Half Marathon, Version 2.0

Reppin' Rosenblum


Actually smiled when crossing the finish line, as opposed to last year when I nearly died doing so :)

So, having broken my foot a few months ago, I was a bit leary about running in this year's RnR Half Marathon. Over the past few weeks, once out of my walking cast, I began jogging around town again, trying to get back in shape. I certainly don't feel as in-shape as this time last year, but I somehow managed to accomplish my goal: Beat last year's time (my first half marathon).

Last year, I finished with a time of 1:36:31 and placed 282 out of 15,682 finishers.

This time, I ended up running under a co-worker's name at the last minute, since the race sold out long before race day. Adrienne Rosenblum was my racing alias, and I did her name proud.

Bib # 17362

13.1 miles

1:31:47 finish time

174th Overall, out of 17,593 finishers

FIVE minutes faster than last year. Aww yeah.

Brite Futures for Natalie Portman's Shaved Head

Recent press release from one of Seattle's raddest groups:

Natalie Portman’s Shaved Head Breaks It Off With Natalie Portman And Moves Onto A Brite Future

Band Announces New Project Under A New Name — Brite Futures, With A Free Summer MP3 For All!

“We chose our band name on a whim when we were still in high school

, and ‘Natalie Portman’s Shaved Head’ has seen us through an unexpectedly amazing four years. Our love affair with Natalie’s name was like a summer fling that lasted... and lasted... and lasted... But now it is summer once again, and time for a change. Also it has recently come to our attention that our muse Ms. Portman is not so keen on us using her name in ours... Ultimately we are lovers, not fighters, and our mamas didn’t raise no fools, so we feel it is time to move forward with a new name. We are BRITE FUTURES. Ps no hard feelings Natalie. You remain +1 on every guest list.” Brite Futures

Please click onto www.britefuturesforever.com for a free download of ‘Dog Eared Summer,’ the first song from the band now known as Brite Futures as well as a video of the band breaking the news to Natalie Portman on the name change.

The live debut of Brite Futures will be in their hometown of Seattle, WA headlining the grand finale of the Vera Project’s 8th annual A Drink For The Kids fundraiser on July 17th at Neumos. The community driven event raises money for the volunteer run, non-profit and all-ages event space, which has been a major force in Seattle music scene since it's inception in 2001.

xWe Are Wishing You All A Very Brite Summer!
www.britefuturesforever.com

Two Door Cinema Club - acoustic in the street

I caught these lads at Nectar Lounge in Seattle not too long ago, and although their sound can be quite dancey, I almost prefer this stripped-down, acoustic version of their single 'Something Good Can Work'. It highlights the complexity of the melody and the difficulty of its uptempo pace.



In case that lacks the energy you require, here's a radical remix by Brazilian indie-disco kings 'The Twelves':

It's reeeally hard not to love Jack White

BREAKBOT gets me every time

Those dang French DJs just seem to know how to move me. Breakbot is certainly no exception. His caramel-smooth, discoey remixes and original jams have been pulsing through my headphones for a while now, but I may venture to say that this remix is my favorite yet.

Breakbot - Baby I'm Yours (feat. Irfane) - HD from Ed Banger Records on Vimeo.

Still Got It...

As with wine, Jack Nicholson and Beatles records, it seems I only get better with age.

This was done on a Pop-a-Shot game at Dan Otto's apartment complex. I was obsessed with breaking 150, and after 15 or so attempts I got 153. This footage comes from a game where I shot in the 130's.

'ceo' is NOT capitalized!

Why do I dig almost every band I hear from Sweden? Oh, it's because that lil' country produces some of the world's finest, freshest music. This guy, 'ceo', hails from Gothenburg.

Stolen Review:

ceo is Eric Berglund of The Tough Alliance, a guy who is apparently interested solely in the revelrous, flying-through-Fantasia-on-the-back-of-Falkor dance-pop we already heart TTA for. Which is awesome, really: When your style is essentially perfect, why mess with it? "Come With Me" is from an album called White Magic, which will be inducing smiles around the world upon its release through Modular on June 29.

ceo - come with me from Modular People on Vimeo.

Eddie Money Caught A Wave in 1987

It's rare that an artist can take one of Brian Wilson's songs and update it in a way that doesn't offend its original greatness. In the late 1980's, a magical time, the surf culture experienced a neon-fueled renaissance and brought with it some tubular beach music.

A lesser-known nostalgia/parody film called Back to the Beach, starring Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello, captured the over-the-top corniness which was so prominent in both eras. This film reunited a bunch of the stars from the kitschy, beatnik surf movies of the 60's as well as randoms like Bob Denver (Gilligan), Stevie Ray Vaughn, O.J. Simpson and of course Pee Wee Herman. Along with a radical soundtrack, the movie features songs sung by cast members and comes across more like a musical, as did many of the 60's films it parodies. If you haven't seen this, WATCH IT. Easily one of my favorite movies of all time.

The soundtrack included covers of several well-known beach songs including Eddie Money's take on 'Catch A Ride (on a wave)' which opened the film and plays through the opening credits. This song encompasses the 80's surf scene as it was in many ways an homage to its roots in the 1960's. I believe it was released only on the soundtrack to BTTB, and is thus a rare gem of 80's pop perfection.

Just the song:

The 10-minute opening of BTTB, including 'Catch A Ride' (Careful, it'll only leave you wanting more):

And while we're on the subject, as it is one of my all time faves, here's an amazing song written by Michael Sembello (yeah, the guy who wrote 'Maniac' from Flash Dance) and performed by the majority of BTTB's cast:

fat_dog

Whoever posted this 16-year old police dog's picture online said it best. They saved this image as 'fat_dog', which pretty much sums up what I love about it.

Literally EVERYBODY loves Sir Paul