Posted by: Scott Bragg on April 26, 2009 at 9:42 am
Many of you have probably seen The Detroit Free Press’ new anthem for Detroit commercial, featuring a little ditty called “This Time,” sung by Detroit’s favorite native son (no, not Kid Rock!) Brian Vander Ark. For the life of me, I cannot remember what made us think that we were wizened or anything about this serious economic slump–or that things were ever bad at all in Detroit–when I watch this inspiring stuff.
But srsly folks, I can’t knock the Freep or anyone for trying to raise the city’s spirits (note that even the Spirit of Detroit statue has its head down lately) or inspire our citizenry to pull up its collective bootstraps (particularly during Hoedown).
Yes, there is a need and a place for inspirational messages and hopefully people will start lifting up Detroit by means other than prayer. But sometimes, when we get bogged down by news of our failing industries and bombasted by the media with its silly studies and statistics, spreading misapprehensions about our fair city that usually turn out to be true, we need to do something other than confront reality with a headstrong resolve that things will get better.
No, sometimes, we need to divert all attention away from our problems. And to do that, I suggest we all pay heed to one of our favorite Detroit commercials of yore, from the Detroit Zoo.
HAHAHAHA. Look at those adorable aminals talking!! Oh man, I feel better already.
Just take it from Mr. Bear: “You just gotta stay cool!”
Tru dat, my good friend.
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Tags: Brian Vander Ark, Detroit, Detroit Zoo
Posted by: Scott Bragg on April 18, 2009 at 1:35 pm
Face it, vinyl is sexy. And though digging for vinyl is a sweaty, arduous endeavor, the results of a successful dig are a hard-earned kind of glorious, and a party is its great benefactor. Jaime Foxx’s victory entrance at 30 seconds in to this video for “Slow Jamz” is what diggin through stacks all those long hours is all about. But this video is about a lot more than music at a party. We express a lot about ourselves through the music we play, and sometimes ourselves are lusty. And the right kind of music at the right time can be a boon to our amorous performances.
If you’re a little lost about how to pull together a collection of musical aphrodisiacs, you needn’t look further than Twista, Kanye, and Jaime Foxx for advice. Marvin, some Luther, and a little Anita (among others). That’s all you need–the perfect bill of fare for some close dancing, suggestive touching, and a little pillow talk.
This Record Store Day, be sure to support your local vinyl shop with your hard-earned cash. It’s a noble and worthwhile cause. But there’s definitely something in it for you too, as you’ll surely understand when your lover is blanketed in nothing but your vinyl finds from earlier in the day.
Or cool whip.
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Tags: Anita Baker, Jaime Foxx, Kanye West, Luther Vandross, Marvin Gaye, Record Store Day, Slow Jamz, Twista
Posted by: Scott Bragg on April 11, 2009 at 10:29 am
Baseball is back, baby, and to celebrate the national past time’s return, your Vintage Bin offers you a little clip from one of the all-time great baseball movies, The Sandlot. If Bull Durham is the Amadeus of baseball movies, then The Sandlot is surely the genre’s That Thing Thing You Do–funny, nostalgic, and providing just as magical a feeling upon the subject matter as its more serious counterpart.
If only watching professional baseball was this entertaining! I can just imagine Jim Leyland walking up to Texas Rangers manager Ron Washington before the game and mumbling under his mustache “You eat your Wheaties with your momma’s toe jam.”
Play ball! And go Tigers!
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Tags: Baseball, Detroit Tigers, Opening Day, The Sandlot
Posted by: Scott Bragg on April 4, 2009 at 11:41 am
I think it’s time for some hip indie band to bring back the mom joke at the beginning of its next video. Or maybe not a hip indie band, but some old, stale, washed up band, in order to gain some much needed ironic cred. Like U2, perhaps (OH, snap!). [Bono: "Yes, The Edge, your mum is so stupid that she doesn't even know the per capita GNP of Zimbabwe nor the amount of aid provided by the G8 to poor East Asian countries from the years 1990-1999."]
1989s “Just a Friend” pretty much blew my 6th grade mind. To be honest, I was still a bit too innocent to understand all of the song’s subtleties (which don’t seem all that subtle in retrospect), and I was absolutely offended when one of the more “mature” kids in my class devised a variation on Biz’s theme: “You, you got a disease. But you say it’s just Read more
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Tags: Biz Markie, Just a Friend
Posted by: Scott Bragg on March 28, 2009 at 10:56 am
Flo Rida’s “Right Round” hitting number one on the Billboard charts gives your kindly Vintage Bin the opportunity to dig up the song from whence Flo’s version was sampled, Dead or Alive’s “You Spin Me Right Round (like a Record)”.
File this one under the numerous famous one-hit wonders where the song is unforgettable and the band’s name is not only forgettable but surprisingly ridiculous when you figure out what it actually is. From our wiser, cooler perspective more than two decades later, everything about this video is discomfiting. But get over it, because DoA got a lot right here. For example, there’s lots of spinning in the video, which nicely reflects one the overarching themes of the song. Second, the video begins with lead singer Pete Burns (yeah, that guy’s Read more
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Tags: Dead or Alive, Flo Rida, Right Round, You Spin Me Right Round (like a Record)
Posted by: Scott Bragg on March 21, 2009 at 10:29 am
Sure, all musicians have their influences, and carry into their songwriting, singing, and on-stage personae the remnants and fine touches of said influences. There would be no Elvis without southern gospel and blues music. There would have been no Freddie Mercury prancing up and down the stage without Liza Minnelli (at least according to Wikipedia). And certainly no Blossom without Clarissa, who pretty much explained it all.
But one well-known and very famous rawk gawd has had quite a remarkable career without anyone prying sleuthily into his background and casting a hard look and an eagle eye into the influences that informed his art.
I speak here of one Mr. Axl Rose (nèe William Bruce Rose, Jr.), the charismatic and oft-times volatile lead singer of the legendary rock band Guns ‘n’ Roses.
So let us ask: From whence did that charisma spring?
After hours of research, a few Pew grants, and the help of 2 interns who have a bright future as journalists for the New York Times, I have discovered Read more
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Tags: Axl Rose, Davy Jones, Guns n Roses
Posted by: Scott Bragg on March 14, 2009 at 3:36 pm
No, not the Girl Talk mashing up your favorite potatunes with buttery danceliciousness, but Stephanie, Gia, some other random girl, and that rascally Kimmie Gibbler, from your favorite show that you deny having watched religiously as a kid, Full House. So here’s the deal: Stephanie, Gia, Kimmy, and “girl” form Girl Talk with dreams of fame and fortune, hiring the always savvy Uncle Jesse (the Bono of pubescent Friday night television) as their manager. At first, it seems like this super group has their shit together (a manager before they even play their first talent show!) but the familiar distractions and delusions of grandeur that plague most band’s first weeks edited into 22 minutes of airtime on network television bring Girl Talk to a tragic (and totally embarrassing, OMG! I’ll never show my face at school again, I hate myself and I want to die!) end. They fire Colonel Tom Stamos, forget about practice, and therefore lack the wherewithal to recover from a small on-stage flub.
So a word of warning to all of you bands who pay more attention to your outfits and choreography than to the music itself–after Stephanie’s snafu Full House could only hold on for a handful of episodes before the show was canceled. Way to go, Gibbler!
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Posted by: Ryan Allen on November 19, 2008 at 9:00 am
“Take On Me” — literally. — Ryan Allen
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Posted by: Ryan Allen on November 17, 2008 at 12:53 pm
Last week, I had the privilege of seeing the Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson live in concert. He played some wonderful stuff (the cuts from Pet Sounds being my personal favorite), and of course, the classic surfin/sunin/funin/lovin/doo-run-runnin hits of their early years (not a personal favorite). While it was all pretty amazing, I couldn’t help but think of this David Lee Roth video the entire time Wilson and his band trudged through “California Girls” — mostly because I watched a insane amount of MTV as a kid, and because this particular video freaked me out for a number of reason: gigantic boobs, a cast of maniac-looking extras, Diamond Dave’s chest hair, etc. Fasten your seatbelts, sign post up a head…a zousy zousy bop, diddly bop! — Ryan Allen
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Posted by: Ryan Allen on October 31, 2008 at 10:00 am
Happy Halloween!
– The Detour Crew
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Tags: DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince, Freddy Kruger, Halloween, Nightmare On My Street
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