FOC + Gondry = Magic

Being without HBO, I haven’t been able to catch much of this season of the Flight of the Conchords tv show, with the exception of the first episode — you can watch it for free here. I was a huge fan of the first season, which, with the help of some wonderful youtube users willing to flaunt the law, I managed to see all of. Luckily, some of the songs from this season have ended up online,  including a couple from Episode 5, which was directed by Michel Gondry — one of the craziest and most inventive directors around these days. You can see the magic at work with the video above, which involves a unisex dance-party and some interesting use of disco balls.

Flight of the Conchords – Too Many Dicks

And then there’s the more whimsical side of Gondry, which shines through in the video above, for the song “Carol Brown (Choir of Ex-Girlfriends),” which I must have watched at least fifty times this past week. It helps that the song is catchy as hell and pretty funny, but the real charm is the bizarre visual stuff going on in the video. Jemaine goes through his list of how his girlfriends ditched him while controlling their images with a video editing console turned into a guitar, and Bret uses a different console/bass to change Jemaine’s appearance as his ex’s list their (legit) criticisms and sing the chorus. Like the best of collaborations, it combines the best elements of both parties, producing something fantastic.

The other songs from this season have been a little disappointing, with FOC edging towards more straight song parody than original stuff. But there have been some good moments too, like the song “Friends” with guest Jim Gaffigan (great standup comedian), which you can watch/listen to below:

Flight of the Conchords – Friends

(Buy Flight of the Conchords music and tv show)

posted by Adam

A Cure for Insanity

That’s right Medical Science! Your boy Adam has beaten you to it. My job has been on the ridiculous side for a ridiculous amount of time, and only by listening to a couple of songs obsessively have I managed to avoid the typical fixtures of the crazy person: Yelling at strangers and … well, mostly yelling at strangers. If I ever lost my mind, I feel like I’d just go around New York yelling at people who are inconsiderate. And they’d say, “Oh, there’s that crazy guy who is always trying to bring a little politeness to this town by scaring people into being nice to each other,” then wondering aloud, “Is ‘politeness’ even a word? I guess it must be. I can’t think of a better one.” Inspiring consideration and a little vocabulary education, that’s what Insane Adam would be all about. Right now though, Sane Adam is all about these songs.

A version of Mississippi John Hurt’s “The Ballad of Louis Collins,” Garcia and Grisman’s  practically oozes out of the speakers with the warmth of a bunch of guys just messing around with a lovely tune. “Hey, I thought you was gonna trickle in …,” Garcia teases, and as Grisman’s light mandolin does its trickling, Jerry practically whispers his sad story.

Jerry Garcia & David Grisman – Louis Collins (Buy It)

I’m convinced that even with her sometimes-shrill-sometimes-kinda-like-a-creepy-little-kid voice, this song will slow your heart rate by at least 10 bpm (70-75 is normal, so says wikipedia). It’s relaxation by whimsy.

Joanna Newsom – Cassiopeia (Buy It)

So I guess most “hippie” music is pretty relaxing in general, and that’s definitely the case with most of Phish’s catalogue. As our very own Matt could tell you, Vermont is a pretty relaxing place to be, and I like to imagine that Trey Anastasio sings everyone in the whole state to bed (personally) with this song. Don’t tell me it’s not true Matt! Or anyone else who lives in Vermont!

Phish – Sleep (Buy It)

And now you’re cured of all insanity and anxiety and all bad things forever and ever. Tell your friends — hahamusic changes lives!

posted by Adam