SUGE KNIGHT ARRESTED FOR THE MURDER OF TUPAC?

Right now I'm gonna call bullshit, but it seems that the twitterwebs is all aflutter about Suge Knight getting arrested for the murder of Tupac.

Some of it seems to be stemming from this video, which i took from ddotomen.com... but you might notice that the part when they reporter says what Suge was arrested for is obviously an over dub AND... the date in the video is from May, and the KTLA site has nothing about this. Womp Womp. Better luck next time.

BABE ALERT: MEDVEDEV

I just noticed that Russia's President Medvedev is a total babe.

WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING

• I wish I knew more about Earth sciences to fully explain why all our travelling is getting totally fucked up. Until then, read about how a bunch of Russians became so irate about being stuck at an airport with dwindling food supplies, that they beat up employees. Russian President Medvedev is launching an investigation about the travel chaos.
• Meanwhile, back in the great city I live in, NYC, people are really angry with the fact that the streets have yet to be plowed and public transportation is shit after SNOWPOCALYPSE. Thankfully, the weather is warming up and all the snow will melt by Friday.
• Single-family home prices fell for the fourth straight month. Right now is a great time to buy a home. So do it. And if you're buying a home in Bergen County, NJ, you should contact my mom: OndineLewitinn@aol.com ... Seriously.
• About a week ago a body was discovered in a suitcase in NYC. A guy was caught on surveillant video lugging the luggage. He has now been identified and arrested.
• I know that I talk about how much i love that NBC show "Outsourced" and how fucking stupidly hot I think Ben Rappaport is, but on a serious note, here's an article about how American companies are shitting on the jobless Americans by outsourcing everything.
• A 6.3 magnitude earthquake hit the South Pacific Ocean... no damages occurred. Some of you might believe it's the USO Alien base in the South Pacific that's causing all this craziness, but I don't take EUTimes as a good source of info... so I don't believe that.
• Looks like Neanderthals liked to cook.

NATALIE PORTMAN'S GUY LOVES BAUHAUS

I've gotta hand it to the stunning Natalie Portman -- not only was her performance in Black Swan amazing, and with the chemistry between her and Mila Kunis lez-worthy, but she also managed to find a really great specimen to breed with. Benjamin Millepied, her dance instructor for Black Swan, is gorgeous and judging by his stomach tattoo, he's also a Bauhaus fan! Amazing!

WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING

• INTRODUCING: DENISOVANS! Ladies and Gents, it looks like there was once up to 4 different kinds of humaniod species roaming the earth -- Neanderthals, Hobbits, modern humans, and now Denisovans! So exciting. It looks like this species existed in southeast Asia and Australia and bred with modern human. I love how the concept of the evolution of man is changing! This is beyond fascinating!
• North Korea's minister of armed forces said on Thursday its military was prepared to wage a "holy war" against the South using its nuclear deterrent after what he called Seoul's attempt to initiate conflict.
• A wave of holiday terrorism has hit Rome. Both the Swiss and Chilean embassies were attacked with parcel bombs. Thankfully nobody was fatally injured.
• Former Argentine dictator, Jorge Videla, has been sentenced to life in prison for crimes he committed against political prisoners in 1976.
• So in addition to the mini-Ice Age upon us, it looks like 2011 is going to have one hell of a hurricane season for the Atlantic coast. I guess right now is a good time for me to make sure my parent's place in Hallendale is prepared!
• Julian Assange is telling US journalists that they should basically be behind him because the people against him are against the First Amendment.
• UNICEF and religious leaders in Indonesia are joining forces to promote breast feeding. Right now, less than 33% of infants are being breast fed in Indonesia ... and scientists have found that breastfeeding is one of the most essential things a month can do for a baby to make sure it's healthy.
• A man in Bangladesh was beaten to death by his four wives, once they discovered he had four wives, which is legal in Bangladesh, but only with consent from the other wives.

HAVE YOU SEEN?: PAJAMA JEANS

Wow. Has it really come to this?

WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING

• Yesterday I posted this article about how a scientist determined that we're about to enter a mini-Ice Age, and now there seems to be another one out there to support this. What's causing this -- apart from the Sun's storm activities -- is a "freak diversion of the jet stream." Does this have something to do with the Sun? The pole changes? Is Earth about to recycle itself? Expect more articles like this to pop up.
• Thank God! Obama signed the Don't Ask, Don't Tell repeal! In a few short months, gays will be able to serve openly in the military and the government will start to look into how to give partners the same benefits they give married straights.
• State of Emergency is in effect in California following the heavy rains. That pesky jet stream!!!
• South Korea continues to see how much they can provoke the North by bringing on new military drills.
• Police in Philadelphia are on the search for a serial killer who already murdered 3 women by strangulation.
• Water Works employees in Ohio have been charged with stealing water and sewer services by messing with their water meters. While I think it's not cool to steal, I do think that employees of services like that should get free services up to a certain point.
• Italian students are protesting against education reform. The reforms will cut the number of university courses, merge some smaller universities, reduce funding for grants, increase the role of the private sector and limit the duration of rectorships.
• Here's a great article about a new procedure that an opera singer underwent... she was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer that had spread all over her body -- 24 tumors overall, many in her brain. Thanks to a new treatment using a chemotherapy treatment called Tarceva and the Elekta Gamma Knife, her tumors were removed and haven't grown back!
• Two Firefighters died and many others were trapped after a wall collapsed during a 3-11 fire in Chicago's southside neighborhood. Strangely, this happened on the 100th Anniversary of the huge fire in Chicago that claimed the lives of 21 Firefighters.
• Obama's spy chief had no idea about the 12 suspected terrorists arrested in Britain this week. In the embarrassing interview with Diane Sawyer, James Clapper went blank when asked about the situation. Chief Counter Terrorism advisor John Brennan claimed that Clapper was too busy focusing on other shit and had no time to worry about terrorist threats that didn't effect us.
• Because of the EU/IMF bailout earlier this year, the Greek government is expected to make even more budget cuts and raise taxes. The Greeks have taken the streets in protest, but not in the numbers you might expect. Many have given up hope.
• Oil has raised to $90/barrel in Asia.
• The government says that the economy rose 2.6% in the 3rd quarter, which was more than previously reported.
• A fowl package -- literally, it was chicken stuffed with shrimp -- held up travels at an airport. Way to go, TSA!
• Indonesian police seized over 2million copies of porn movies in Jakarta. Even the porn industry is hurting these days!
• I'm so confused by this: Apparently a bunch of flights were cancelled in Argentina because flight attendants were protesting a wage increase. What?!?
• Deutsche Bank has agreed to pay the US over $550 Million to resolve some sort of fraud. That should help our economy a little, right?
• This is DISGUSTING. An American who had founded a school in Haiti has been accused of sexually abusing many of the male students and will serve up to 20 years in jail. What a disgusting abuse of power. For shame!

HAVE YOU SEEN?: LOST ALF FOOTAGE

Gawker posted footage -- taken from BadTVblog -- of ALF outtakes that someone posted on YouTube. The story is that the un-aired footage comes from a VHS tape that someone purchased on eBay about 10 years ago and finally decided to upload for everyone's shock, awe, and amusement. Basically, it features ALF dropping the N-bomb about a dozen times... which according to Gawker's comment committee, is probably an on-set joke referencing an LA LAW episode that featured a plaintiff with Tourettes. Either way, the footage had me wowed. Don't play this outloud on your computer.

Here's the footage:

And the LA Law episode footage:

WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING

• According to a weather expert who has been spot-on with weather more so than the experts: There's a mini-Ice Age coming.
• Not sure what's bigger news, the Ice Age or the new FCC bullshit. I'm gonna go with the Ice Age. Here are some of the winners and losers for the new FCC internet traffic rules that are expected to get passed today. Just another way that Obama is letting us down. Here's some more about it.
• Julian Assange is on a rampage and his friends aren't even safe. And according to Wikileaks, canisters of Uranium were being held in a booby-trapped bunker in the Congo. Uranium is a key ingredient in making weapons of mass destruction. It would've been bad news if those canisters got into the wrong hands.
• NYC cab drivers will be getting bullet proof vests. Good.
• The number of victims of H1N1 in the UK has doubled in the past week as medical facilities are racing to help the ill.
• Epic amounts of snow are expected to fall in Colorado.
• A flash mob of carolers in Sacramento nearly caused the 2nd floor of a mall to cave-in. Bah humbag.
• Apparently budget cuts are going to cause San Diego county to shut off some street lights to save money. I think that's a pretty good idea, actually.
• The Baltimore police are assholes. They ticketed two good-Samaritans who rescued a deer from frozen waters because they weren't wearing life vests. Jerks.
• Census News: U.S. population is 308.7 million up from 281.4 million a decade ago but lowest growth since Great Depression of the 1930s. In a big win for the GOP, eight states gain 12 congressional seats; nine states lose representatives. Only one state, Michigan, lost population during the past decade. Nevada, with a 35 percent increase, was the fastest-growing state.
• United Nations gets evacuated because of gas leak.
• The latest terror threat in the US threatens to attack people in hotels via food poisoning.
• A new study shows that more than half the people from ages 25-29 don't have landlines, even when they have families.
• The teen birthrate in 2009 was at a record low. However, I'm excited to see what the 2010 numbers will be with all those teens who got pregnant to be on Teen Mom.
• Britain and Russia have each expelled a diplomat from each other's embassies in row over suspected espionage.
• A Brazilian groom killed himself, his bride, and best man at his wedding after announcing that he had a "big surprise." Holy shit.
• Travel conditions in the UK are still a shit show.

HAVE YOU SEEN?: THEOPHILUS LONDON "OOPS"

NSFW! Lindsay Nipple!

Thanks to Ashley and Audrey for sending over this video which i took off of Theophilus London's blog.

Old readers of this blog might remember how I used to say stuff like "my vagina just exploded" whenever I heard a song i loved, saw a great show, or saw a cute boy ... well, this video just made my vagina explode. Holy hotness. She might have some trouble getting an acting job... but the bitch can play hot at fuck. damn.

Oh, and this song is a cover of Tweet's song "Oops." I forgot that an actual song was attached to the video.

HAVE YOU HEARD?: ANALOG REBELLION

Analog Rebellion - "You've Been Had (Machine)"

A few years ago I had a record label called Stolen Transmission that went through Island Def Jam. One of the artists signed to the label was an insanely talented and sweet teenager named Dan Hunter who went as PlayRadioPlay!. He was an earnest Christian that we all took bets on trying to figure out when he'd decide that he wasn't into Jesus anymore and into... other stuff. I liked that he was a Christian -- it meant that he'd be less trouble on the road... but he was a precocious kid and it was only a matter of time before the darkside kicked it. It took just about a year. The music industry can make anyone lose their faith in God.

After Stolen Transmission parted ways from Island Def Jam and eventually dissolved, Dan Hunter started a new project called Analog Rebellion. I assume the name change was meant to be reflective of his life changes, musical changes, and well, just changes in general. The music from Analog Rebellion saw more nods to Granddaddy than PRP! did, which seemed to borrow a bit from Postal Service.

On this new track, which I yanked from the Dallas Observer, he seems to play with the rhythm section of The Walkmen's classic "The Rat," while coyly playing homage to one of their earliest works "We've Been Had," in the title "You've Been Had (Machine)."

If you like that song, definitely check out the rest of his work. Daniel is insanely prolific and kind of brilliant. ... i can't believe how much he's grown!!!!

WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING

• North Korea did not attack South Korea -- which is what many feared would happen as a result of SK's drills. Especially since NK threatened to do so.
• There was a bomb scare at Newark Airport this morning that turned out to be a computer monitor. As you might remember Al Quada promised there'd be attacks during the holiday.
• The European Central Bank has expressed "serious concerns" that a new law in Ireland could force the central bank to take losses on the collateral it accepts in exchange for loans to commercial banks. I have no idea what this means. I need to get better at understanding finance!!!
• Thanks to Julian Assange, Twitter is possibly going to have a future in UK courts.
• The top ten breakthroughs in physics in 2010. It was a big year!
• Iran executed 11 terrorists from the Jundallah group.
• An Egyptian business man was charged with trying to find spies for Israel. One group's terrorist is another group's alley.
• Europe has been slammed with more terrible weather. More delayed flights. More upset travelers. Hopefully someone will be live-Tweeting the fiasco like Lily Allen did.
• Hundreds of people in the Cote D'Ivoire have been reportedly abducted following a presidential election.

SET YOUR DVRS

I'm going to be appearing on VH1's Top 40 Videos of 2010 tonight at 9pm: http://on.vh1.com/gfUWOF

Here are 35 of the Top 40 videos:

Adam Lambert - “If I Had You”
B.O.B ft. Hayley Williams - “Airplanes”
Bruno Mars- “Just the Way You Are”
Daughtry - “September”
Christina Perri - “Jar of Hearts”
Drake - “Find Your Love”
Eminem - “Not Afraid”
Eminem ft Rihanna - “Love the Way You Lie”
Jack Johnson - “At or With Me”
Jason Derulo - “In My Head”
Jay-Z & Alicia Keys - “Empire State of Mind”
John Mayer - “Heartbreak Warfare”
Katy Perry - “Firework”
Ke$ha - “Tik Tok”
Kid Rock - “Born Free”
Kings of Leon - “Radioactive”
Lady Antebellum- “Need You Now”
Lady Gaga ft Beyonce - “Telephone (Short Version)”
Linkin Park - “Waiting for the End”
Maroon 5 - “Misery”
Michael Buble - “Haven’t Meet You Yet”
Mike Posner - “Cooler Than Me”
Mumford & Sons - “Little Lion Man”
Muse - “Resistance”
Paramore - “The Only Exception”
Pink - “Raise Your Glass”
Rihanna - “Only Girl in the World”
Sara Bareilles - “King of Anything”
Sugarland - “Stuck Like Glue”
Taio Cruz ft. Ludacris - “Break Your Heart”
Taylor Swift - “Mine”
Train - “If It’s Love”
Travie McCoy ft. Bruno Mars - “Billionaire”
Usher ft Pitbull - “DJ Got Us Falling In Love”
Usher ft. Will.i.Am - “OMG”

WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING

• A heads up to everyone in the USA and Europe, Al Qaeda said they're planning terrorist attacks over the Christmas holidays. Apparently Interpol is all over it, but every since Carlos D left the band they're short some guns.
• Julian Assange has been released from the UK prison on bail. There's an appeal out against this decision. He will likely be extradited to Sweden.
• The UN is set to investigate the source of the cholera outbreak in Haiti. They're looking into the speculations that the virus -- which killed 2,000 people and hospitalized 44,000 -- was introduced into the region by UN peace keepers.
• A storm in Israel unearthed a marble statue that had been hidden for thousands of years. Unfortunately, the same storm that uncovered the Roman-era statue also destroyed much of the remains of an ancient port city.
• The White House granted the greenlight for scientists to continue creating synthetic biology. As in, creating life from non-life. As in, playing God. It'll be interesting to see where this lands us. Maybe we can create synthetic stem cells?
• Will someone please tell South Korea to chill the fuck out? They're practicing new military drills. North Korea is gonna be so effing pissed.
• Obama thinks that shit is going well in Afghanistan.
• BP investors are freaking out because the US government is looking to sue the oil company for negligence, which could cause the whole clean up -- which was estimated to be around $40 Billion -- to double in cost. If you have stock in BP, pull out now.
• Hugo Chavez requested "super powers" over the next 12 months that would allow him to create certain laws without approval. Since Venezuela was hit terribly with storms that killed 40 people and displaced over 100,000, he wants to make sure he can make immediate decisions. This is the 4th time he's requested "super powers"... the last time being in 2007. Obviously the push back on this is fear that he will become a dictator. Dude's been president for 12 years! Follow Chavez on Twitter!
• McDonald's is being sued over their Happy Meals and how they target children and get them to eat badly. You know, I'm kind of all about that lawsuit. I think it's about time. Can we do the same to the corn industry and get rid of HFCS?

WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING

• An international space team lead by Qatar, discovered a new planet. It's been named Qatar-1b and demonstrates how countries from all over can collaborate to make stellar discoveries.
• China's Huawei -- a telecom solutions provider - will be investing $2 Billion over 5 years in India. Just another piece of business America lost out on.
• Richard Holbrooke, the US Special Representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan, passed away.
• South Korea thinks that North Korea has more uranium sites. SK thinks that NK is working on building a nuclear bomb. There's so much he-said/she-said going on between those two that i feel like I'm watching an episode of Law & Order: Sexy Crimes.
• OOF! Yahoo! is laying off about 600 employees just in time for the holidays. Didn't they just hire a bunch of awesome bloggers for their site? My condolences to all of you. :(
• Apparently someone forgot to give the European Union the memo about the state of Israel. They're laying the pressure down on Israel and Palestine to figure their shit out and live peacefully side by side so they can eventually move forward and recognize Palestine. Focus on Ireland, will ya?
• South Africa just opened its first Space Agency in hopes of becoming Africa's leading Earth observation location. Is there competition?
• Medicaid cuts are killing Americans basically. Can someone please figure out a plan B, please?
• The Sun is FUCKING AWESOME. Check this out. Scientists just observed some crazy massive sun storm that totally will effect our telecommunications AND we're also in the middle of Mercury in Retrograde (that's when communications fail based on astrology... and sorta astronomy). Coincidence? I think not!
• And finally, a Festivus miracle - an inmate cited his belief in the Seinfeld-created holiday of Festivus, as a reason to get Kosher meals in prison. Genius.

DOUBLE DREAM HANDS

This video is taking my office by storm. We're all learning the moves so we can debut them tomorrow at the holiday party.

WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING

• Obamacare hit a snag when a judge in VA declared the part of the bill, which requires that people buy health insurance by 2014 or get fined, unconstitutional (did i put the comma in the right place? it doesn't feel right). I'm a fan of Obamacare because it allowed someone close to me get insurance AFTER being diagnosed with cancer. What a lifesaver! I wonder how this will impact everything.
• The Bank of America is having their own version of Black Friday with their sale of over $1 Billion "Toxic Mortgages." Got an extra $20k laying around? Thought so. Buy some property, son.
• Scientists believe they have found evidence of other Universes while studying the echos of the Big Bang (the echo of the Big Bang is a fairly new theory that suggests that the universe is like a Russian doll that's constantly beginning and ending). Scientists think that our universe is a bubble inside a larger body... think of it like when you make bubbles with your drool and some bubbles are inside other bubbles and etc. Each bubble is a universe. It's a lot to take in, so read this.
• A new species of Lemur (Fork Lemur) was discovered in Madagascar and it's impossibly cute. I don't understand how Lemurs are primates. They look more raccoon to me. Can I get a second opinion on this please?
• Want some birth defects to make your own Geek Love-style army of circus jerks? Good news: Chernobyl will now be welcoming tourists to their site in 2011.
• A French teen held 20 nursery school children and their teacher hostage with swords. Nobody was injured. French teens are getting as fucked up as American ones. Well done!
• Scientists are doing some pretty amazing things with stem cells like turning them into pancreatic tissue and complex layers of intestinal tissue. Could this mean that pancreatic cancer might one day no longer be as deadly as it is now? Let's pray. They're also doing some great stuff for diabetes... which, is estimated to afflict 1/2 of all Americans in the next 40 years.
• A South Korean fishing boat sunk in the waters near Antarctica and miraculously, 20 people survived. Nobody knows why it sank. I'm hoping it has nothing to do with North Korea because I am not dressed for a nuclear war.
• It appears as though Leonardo Da Vinci hid some letters and numbers in the eyes of the Mona Lisa! That man... always a trick up his sleeve.
• A&P is filing for Chapter 11. This plus the fact that food prices are about to sky-rocket makes me think it's time to make a little garden in my apartment. Maybe i should be doing a better job of getting people to buy things they don't know they need?
• A Dutch man has been arrested on suspicion of abusing up to 33 children under the age of 4 while working at a nursery and baby sitter. I'm against the death penalty (however I would probably kill someone with my tiny bare hands if they killed someone I love), but this case really seems like a great contender for capital punishment. Dude ruined tons of kids' lives. Disgusting.
• The Netherlands is popping today -- a Dutch teen has been arrested as a suspect in the pro-Wikileaks hacking fiasco. Dude deserves a job at Google.

CIRCUS TIME!

Over the summer a bunch of friends went to the circus in Coney Island and invited me and my friend Charles to come. As Charles and I walked down the corridor through the subway station at CI I spotted a poster for the circus we were about to see. "Dude," I said to Charles, "there's animals in this circus. I don't know how I feel about that." Charles didn't like it either, and we opted out, waiting on the beach until our friends go out.

Which is why I'm excited about the Rock & Roll Circus Party at Lincoln Center... instead of using animals for my entertainment, it looks like they'll be using bands. Same diff. Who's gonna take me? I'm a super fun date and I look like a chimp, so you wont be missing out on animals completely.

WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING

• Today's a good day for minorities: Looks like America is making good on land we stole and lives we ruined: Obama just signed a law to pay back monies owed to Native American for royalties dating back to 1887! As well as Black farmers who had been shut out of government aid.
• And in a really amazing move, The Dream Act was also signed. This act would allow any individual who came into the USA illegally under the age of 16, who completed high school and 2 years of college and/or military service, to receive citizenship. A truly remarkable move that demonstrates the ability for people to access what's left of the "American Dream."
• This is an interesting article about how Twitter is becoming the an awesome tool for dissidents. Wanna know who is on the target list for supporters of Wikileaks and humanity in general? This piece will let you know.
• A man imprisoned in Guatemala has some really really really great friends: 15 men stormed the prison he was in for murder and got him out. They also killed two people in the process.
• Stop pointing laser pointers at planes as they fly overhead. Those things are strong and the pilots are getting distracted.
• Apparently the job market is on an upswing. I call bullshit.

IT'S FUN TO DO BAD THINGS

Never forget.



thanks gawker commenter for reminding me how great this video is.

WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING

• Despite Julian Assange of Wikileaks being in prison for crimes that he may or may not have committed, the Wikileaks continue to flow. In today's edition of How the World Burns, we find out about a Saudi Prince and his Halloween party packed with Moonshine and hookers. Meanwhile, the Anonymous group has managed to bring down the Mastercard website and others that cut off Assange from his resources. Also, Australia is totally blaming the US for their golden child. Meanwhile, Joe Lieberman needs to chill.
• Chile is going to have to answer a few questions: a fire at a Chilean prison killed 81 inmates and apparently the prison guards locked down the facility making it hard for firefighters to reach the source of the blaze.
• A new species of stork has been found on Hobbit island in Indonesia. Giant birds and Tiny People... this sounds like the making of a sitcom if you ask me.
• Obama held onto Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthy. Obama is claiming its to keep things moving along so the economy doesn't get effed. The Democrats are like WTF?!?! And Jim Hensen's Muppet factory have halted production of the Obama character since he's already a puppet.
• Speaking of Bush-era garbage: Cheney is in hot water with the Nigers.
• Scientists have identified an altered gene that can cause gender misidentification. I don't mean like, girls who wanna be boys or vice versa... I mean, girls with clits that look like dicks.
• China's buddies wont attend the Nobel Prize ceremony since an imprisoned Chinese citizen is a winner.
• A teen suicide bomber kills nearly 20 in Pakistan.
• An advisor to the Chinese Central Bank says that the US economy is in the shitter - even worse than Europe's - but nobody will notice for another year. If you're into currency trading, buy the dollar now, sell in 3 months. Then buy the euro. I could be wrong, but that seems right. Jim Rogers says that the Fed is really really really understating inflation.
• Remember Haiti? Their capital is up in a blaze due to riots over the Presidential elections. I hate to say it, but they're kind of fucked right now, aren't they?
• A Japanese space craft failed to get into Venus' orbit and may have flown past the planet. Get it together, Japanese scientists.

HAVE YOU HEARD?: MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE

I went to see My Chemical Romance last week at Roseland -- one of the best shows I've ever seen -- and the band played a song that I totally thought was Glasvegas and even tweeted that they were covering a Glasvegas song.

It was this one, which i can't embed, boo, but i'm purposely using a live version of the song because the recorded version doesn't have that Glaswegian vibe: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1WXwMQgCqM

Does it sound like Glasvegas? If so, which one? I can't put my finger on it. Or is it the Temper Trap?

Either way, i'm not hating. I love that they're pulling that sort of influence! LOVE IT.

MONDAY FUNDAY

Some terribly addictive and sort of awful but genius songs / videos to share:

Thanks to Matt Rubano for this:

Thanks to Lawrence and Stef for this one:

HAVE YOU HEARD?: JJ72

JJ72 doesn't exist anymore, but when they did... they stole my heart. I always heard them as the delightful mixture of Placebo, Muse, Smashing Pumpkins and Joy Division. I loved the dynamics of Mark Greaney's voice so much that I wanted to crawl inside his skin and wear it as my own. I also thought he was the hottest thing on earth with weird teeth and Ian Curtis' face (only outdone by his drummer who looked even more like Ian Curtis than Ian Curtis). Oh, and they covered Pet Shop Boys... so, you know, fate and shit.

The first time I heard The Joy Formidable I told friends how much they reminded me of JJ72, and most people looked at me puzzled, except for my friend Johnny (a fellow Irishman just like JJ72). When I asked Johnny if he'd heard of TJF he said no. When I told him to check them out because they reminded me of JJ72, he said "Oh wait! I saw them play and said to my friends that they sounded like a female fronted JJ72."

I wish I had lots and lots of money so i could find my favorite bands from years ago that are no longer together and ask them politely to regroup and play a show for me and my friends and people who love them. JJ72 would probably headline.

Here are my favorite JJ72 songs. Please listen to them LOUDLY and enjoy.

Here are a bunch of their videos:

Here are my reasons for picking each song:

"Formulae" - If you combined all the best parts of JJ72 songs into one track, this would be the one. Mark's angelic voice turning into a manic wail mixed with pixies-style song structures basically equals my heaven.

"Serpent Sky" - the bassline in this song is like sex. it's like having the biggest dong and knowing exactly what to do with it.

"I Saw a Prayer" - this track, from JJ72's second album takes things down a notch. more dreamy and romantic. Very Joy Formidable.

"Nameless" - a ballad from their second album. a total win.

"Snow" - I think this was the first JJ72 song I ever heard. I found out about them because they were opening for Muse in Europe so I went to their website and waited for 30 minutes for the video for this song to load so i could watch it. I waited another 30 minutes so i could watch it again. This was in 2000. The web was slow back then. The lyrics are entirely silly but wonderful all at once.

"October Swimmer" - Actually, maybe this was the first JJ72 song I ever heard. The lyrics are as weird as their name and the chorus soars in ways that would make Matt Bellamy totes jealz.

"Bumble Bee" - This song is a total Nirvana jerkoff fest and it's amazing.

"Not Like You" - Cutesy ballad that would be great on a christmas mix tape.

"Improv" - JJ72's most pared down song. shows how great Mark's voice is.

"Oxygen" - this song is HOT. was one of the first songs i'd ever heard by JJ72. i remember seeing the bassist in the video for this song and instantly crushing on her.

"It's a Sin" - obviously Pet Shop Boys are one of the greatest bands of all time and JJ72 agrees and did this awesome cover.

"Algeria" - this song was on the first album and was a perfect little window to what their 2nd album would become. fucking huge and epic and over the motherfucking top. i wish the last line before the chorus was "guide me through the chorus" instead of "guide me through the colors." that's my only complaint about jj72 ever.

THE MOST RACIST COMMERCIAL EVER

The most racist commercial ever made me laugh out loud, very loudly. I love race relations almost as I love kicking puppies and punching kittens.

FRIDAY FUNDAY

My friend Steven Klavier sent me this gem ages ago and it never gets old. Ever. Bonus points for including one of my all time favorite songs "Some Velvet Morning."

HAVE YOU HEARD?: THE JOY FORMIDABLE ACOUSTIC

Major thanks to my friend Peter Gaston at SPIN.com for sending this over to me... not only did he introduce me to the Joy Formidable, but he also keeps me utterly satiated with their music.

Go to SPIN.com to hear The Joy Formidable play acoustic versions of "Austere," "I Don't Want To See You Like This," and a cover of Passion Pit's "Moth's Wings."

HAVE YOU HEARD?: THE REFUSED

They're no longer around, but this song and video are classic. It makes me want to pump my fist into people's faces.

KEYWORDS

I've noticed that people have been finding their way onto my blog by searching certain terms, so I figured I'd help out those trying to find answers. Here are the terms people looked up in the past 24 hours to find this blog.

• stolen transmission: that's a record label i used to run with Rob Stevenson. it started out as a singles label in my bedroom where me and my friends would make handmade CD singles that looked amazing. In this phase I released singles by: The Oohlas, Louis XIV, Nightmare of You, The Spinto Band, Apartment, Saints & Lovers, and Young Love. Rob and I partnered up (he guided me along the whole time leading up to the partnership) and made Stolen Transmission a joint venture with Island/DefJam. Our partnership lasted 2 years until Rob was ... fired (?). Via Island/DefJam we released albums from: The Horrors, The Oohlas, Bright Light Fever, The Photo Atlas, innerpartysystem, Schoolyard Heroes, PlayRadioPlay, Monty Are I, and Permanent Me.
• Ultragrrrl/Ultragrrl/Sarah Lewitinn/Ultragirl/dj ultragrrrl: That's Me! You should also check out my wikipedia page or my DJ Press page.
• "2 chicks 1 dick" pornstars site:blogspot.com: i have NO IDEA what this means.
• dave maresca: i went to middle school and high school with dave in Tenafly, NJ. He was great and had awesome taste in music. Here is his facebook.
• blogsot joy division singles: yes, spelled incorrectly, but that's ok. you landed here. What exactly are you looking for?
• boyfriend is a genius: it's true. they all were genius. all of them. i'm totally serious. one was a musical genius. another a writing genius. and the most recent is a master of many hidden talents.
• brandon flowers wyatt: Wyatt Boswell is Brandon Flowers' best friend from growing up in Utah. He is super goodlooking and happens to be one of the funniest motherfuckers I've ever known. He isn't stoked when i post his photo online, but i will. This is him.
• chris black done to death: chris is one of my most favorite people on earth. he is the coolest motherfucker i've ever known. I used to get in trouble at Stolen Transmission because nearly every expense i turned in was me taking Chris Black out when he was in NYC. Now he lives across the street from me and i don't see him as much as I'd like. Here is his Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr. He managed to make a living by being cool, and i gotta say: he deserves that. He also manages Cartel and U.S. Royalty.
• innerpartysystem stoya: You're looking for their video for "this empty love" ... the video was directed/shot by Penta. here it is.
• little boy fuck / little.boys.fucking: i have no idea why someone would search this and find themselves on my blog.
• park city resort discount sledding/park city sledding/park city sleading: i went to park city with the Misshapes and The Horrors one year for that film festival. it was so much fun. One night Leigh and Geo got an inflatable bed and brought it outside and we went sledding down a hill with it. that was so much fun. Here are videos of us sledding.
• sarah lewitinn the ultragrrrl report: i used to cohost a show on FUSE called "FUSE on Tour" and I had a segment called "The Ultragrrrl Report." I don't think there are clips up, but there's a blog i used to do on the fuse site.
• songs from life's a zoo: no idea... but i did go to the zoo once with my ex boyfriend (both david and brandon) and i think i titled the blog entry "life's a zoo."
• team facelift blogspot: here's where i write about Team Facelift.
• teen fuck: no idea.
• thanksgiving dinner music: i dont have a list available, but i'm sure i can find one or make one.
• this is sooo boring: i know, right?
• ultra girl sxsw: i go there almost every year and try to throw a party each time. once was at the Redbull Space and the other was at Ben Brown's house and Idlewild played in his living room and i'm jealous of myself for that.
• while you were sleeping sarah blog: more of that column here.
• wyatt, ultragrrrl: I love Wyatt. I met him in 2003 with KarenPlusOne when we had dinner with the Killers their first time in NYC. I thought he was cute and the funniest dude. Brandon Flowers wanted us to get married. The two of them call me Jew. Wyatt is one of my "platonic boyfriends." What is that? That's a dude that you go everywhere with and share a bed with and spoon with but never make out or anything. It's like being married, sorta.

And lastly, these terms get the MOST traffic to my blog:

best animated gif

best animated .gif

best gif ever

greatest animated gif

They all lead to this photo:

But here are more:

THIS IS FOREVER

I used to love this At The Drive-In song "Napoleon Solo" so fucking much.

WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING

So much news to report. I hope I can get this done in a timely manner. Happy(?) AIDS day, by the way.

• The biggest news ever, in the whole world -- so big that it's out of this world: NASA is holding a press conference tomorrow at 2pm about an "Astrobiology discovery." In other words: They probably found life on other planets. HOLLUR! To watch the conference at 2pm tomorrow go here.
• The estimates are in and it looks like $1Billion was spent on Cyber Monday, making it the biggest ever. Maybe they should consider having a Cyber Monday midyear as well? Maybe people spending money before their Jobless Benefits end today.
• Over 100,000 people apply for 1,000 available positions as flight attendants for Delta -- making it one of the most popular job searches since American Idol. Either that, or a lot of people love inflatable slides.
• Bank Of America got some special treatment since the taxpayers were supporting it's ass. Basically, they hid the fact that they gave $6BILLION in bonuses to Merrill Lynch employees before acquiring ML ... and then, when they were caught for being sneaky, they only had to pay $150 Million to settle a securities law violation. Bogus.
• Speaking of bogus bullshit - the average American might have to pay an extra $1600 in taxes due to the shit economy. Thanks Bank of America! I wont be too upset if B0A are the next wikileak victims.
• Speaking of wikileaks... Assange, the man behind the leaks, is on Interpol's most wanted list, but not on Interpol's guestlist.
• Looks like the Egyptian elections were rigged this year (and every other?).
• North Korea and South Korea are still fighting it out. SK said that NK is totally gonna pull their earring out and cut them with a razor they hid in their mouth. Everyone just wants them to get it over with.
• Another day, another incident of the TSA being total d-bags. A woman in a wheelchair went through security in a bra and panties so she wouldn't get felt up and violated (again). The TSA agents weren't pleased and made her miss her flight. Americans: 0, Terrorists: 1000.
• Speaking of Terrorists... our environmental terrorizing government decided to give the coast of Florida a break and ban offshore drilling for another 7 years. Horay.
• Don't Ask, Don't Tell is still up in the air. Nobody can decide what the report the Pentagon just released means exactly. So uh... if anyone can essplain it to me, that'd be great. It's ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTING that there isn't a screening for the mental capacity of soldiers but there is one for their sexual orientation. You can't bang someone of the same sex but you can kill innocent civilians FOR SPORT BECAUSE YOU ARE A FUCKING LUNATIC. So gross.
• Russia is working with America in finalizing an agreement on Russian baby adoptions after an American woman ruined it for the rest of the world by returning her adopted Russian kid by buying him a one way ticket to Moscow and having him board a plane alone with a receipt.

WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING

• Good news for all of you who like bad news: North Korea is saying that South Korea's actions are driving the peninsula to the "brink of war."NK is like that boyfriend that says his girlfriend made him hit her. Obama vowed to defend South Korea if North Korea tries anything more. This has potential to be so fucking shitty for everyone.
• An Indonesian cleric has been jailed for marrying a 12 year old girl. He said he was gonna wait til she hit puberty before banging his bride ... I'm not sure why he couldn't just wait until puberty to marry her. On top of that, he also stated that he was planning on marrying two other girls, aged 7 and 9 (Muslims are allowed up to 4 wives in Indonesia). In case you were wondering, the childbride was delivered back to her parents by cops immediately following the wedding -- not sure why they weren't arrested as well.
• Speaking of child molesting priests, a priest who was accused of molesting a kid managed to prove that he's a super scumbag by hiring a undercover agent as a hitman to kill the kid he molested. Way to be Holy, asshole.
• The 29 miners that were trapped in the New Zealand mine are presumed dead following a second explosion. Why are mines suddenly in the news so much? Have they been this disastrous in the past, or is this a new phenom?
• San Francisco is filled with geniuses: they're regulating their Happy Meals. Now, in order for a McDonalds in SF to offer happy meals with toys, they have to meet certain dietary standards. There's hopes that this will help fight childhood obesity and that other cities will follow suit.
• Fans have been lined up at a Barnes & Nobel in Phoenix since 1am for a Sarah Palin book signing. Mark my words: She is going to run for President in 2012, and she is going to win. Do I want her to? No. But she will. She's doing everything right. She knows that popularity wins and she's working on spinning every aspect of her life to make her popular.
• It looks like things like the interwebs is making insider trading more and more gray.
• Facebook just won the trademark on the word FACE. Face. FACE!?
• SpaceX, the first commercial-based company has been granted permission to have their spacecraft return to earth after leaving it.
• This Sunday "60 Minutes" will be taking an inside look on the new Spiderman musical that Bono wrote. It's the most expensive musical ever and it just so happens to have one of my best friends in it! Mazel Tov, Mat Devine!!!
• Cookie Monster wants to be on SNL. This isn't newsworthy, but I figured that it's a light hearted thing that can be used to change the topic when things get heavy or heated during Thanksgiving dinner.
• Kuwait is looking to ban the use of digital cameras in public by anyone who isn't an accredited journalist.
• In Israel you are required to do about 2 years in the army, no matter what. I've found that this has toughened up a lot of Israeli's that I know and given them a "no bullshit" attitude that can sometimes be seen as abrasive. Obviously, some Israeli citizens have no interest in being in the army -- especially with things being so tense. But, being the industrious people that they are, the Israeli government is now using Facebook to track down draft dodgers. Way to go, Facebook, way to go.

DEDICATION

This guy likes Joy Division more than I do... at least I hope he does.

WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING

We are so fucked.

• North Korea struck South Korea overnight. The North claims the South struck first, the South claims otherwise... and basically EVERY SINGLE SUPER POWER NATION IS REALLY FUCKING SCARED (a history of the conflict between North and South is here). People are scared that if the North and South start fighting, it will cause each region's ally to step in and do what ally's do: join in. North Korea's (basically only) ally is China. South Korea's ally is the United States. China and the USA are already comparing dick sizes, and neither country really wants to pull their balls out. Everyone is basically saying that that North is acting like a bunch of assholes. Russia sees this as a "colossal danger" and Obama is "outraged."And the French are like "zoot alors!" and have already surrendered.

  From CNBC: Asked about the North's motives, Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell said: "I don't know. This is an extremely unpredictable government in Pyongyang and they do things that you could not possibly have predicted in a rational world."

  Meanwhile:

  North Korea threatened to continue "merciless" strikes on South Korea on Tuesday after the communist state launched a deadly artillery attack across their western sea border.

• Speaking of China, looks like they're the leading cause of Greenhouse Gas emissions. Way to go, dudes.
• The death toll for the Cambodian stampede has raised to 345. The stampede occurred at a Water Festival -- a yearly celebration of a military victory which includes boat races and prayer for rain -- and has been considered one of the biggest tragedies to hit the country. A reporter claims that panic struck when a suspension bridge started to say and police started shooting water cannons at a bridge in an effort to get people to move in a certain direction.
• SOME GOOD NEWS!: The UN stated that the world AIDS crisis is starting to slow down! And not only that, but there appears to be a daily pill dosage that helps gay men not catch HIV! It's still undetermined how it will work with heterosexuals, but it's proven to work nicely for the gays! Horay!
• Unfortunately, we're trading one preventable disease for another: looks like half of Americans will have diabetes by 2020. Stay away from high fructose corn syrup, people.
• More TSA bullshit ... it might extend to trains and subways. Meanwhile, people are raising concern about the TSA spreading diseases because they're not changing their latex gloves before each crotch gram. The terrorists have won.

WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING

• As we approach Thanksgiving and all the travel that comes with it, the TSA continues to impose their version of the Milgram Experiment on the public. I'm sorry, but some of them are total fucking assholes. Especially, the ones who refuse to listen to and adjust their procedures when dealing with passengers who have medical issues, like the poor bladder cancer survivor whose pat down lead to him being soaked in urine from his urostomy bag. If I ever see a TSA agent mishandle either of my parents, there will be words. And it wont be words-with-friends. Sorry to go personal, but I am just disgusted. I'm quite happy I wont have to go to O'Hare where the airport security line is about a mile long. The TSA better rethink their procedures like they suggest they might. By the way, all this because of Al Qaeda's affordable and effective scare tactics. We've lost the war on terrorism.
• Sometimes, the people hired to drive nuclear weapons across the country, get drunk. The government is doing an investigation to make sure they weren't ... you know, wasted on the job.
• Hallelujah! The Pope has finally stated that the Vatican's stance on condom banning is not absolute and should be used in cases like encountering a male prostitute (a euphemism for choir boy?).
• Sadly, 29 New Zealand miners are stuck in a mine and the outlook is not too good. Meanwhile, 29 miners in a flooded China mine were successfully rescued after 30 hours.
• A report lead by the Pentagon regarding what the effects might be on lifting the ban on gays in the military is set to be released on November 30. I'm looking forward to their research on banning psychopaths.
• A suspected Nazi war criminal died before being tried. I think he may have been guilty.
• Ireland is getting a bailout. What does this mean? And how will this work? If you plan on going to a country using the Euro, you might be in luck since the USD is looking decent in comparison with exchange rates.
• And China is telling people not to worry about inflation. Fingers and toes crossed, but not likely. The dollar is going to be worth nothing.