I am off to see The Shins on Thursday!!! And I am off to see Zach Braff's play next Thursday, but apparently it's received some awful reviews so I probably shouldn't be that excited about it. Maybe it will be good if he mentions The Shins in it? So feels only fitting that we should watch this video...
And this pretty cool video for their last single "Simple Song"...
Tomorrow we are going to the Jeff Mangum curated ATP Festival, it is going to be BOSS! I hope April Ludgate will be there...
Andy: Who is Jeff Mangum?
April: The guy from Neutral Milk Hotel.
Andy: Oh Neutral Milk Hotel, what is that?
April: That’s my favorite band I’ve told you that like a thousand times.
Andy: I don’t remember. Why wouldn’t you pick me?
April: I don’t know. You are not technically a rockstar.
It’s an indisputable fact that they’re better, they are a real band…
Tom: Andy where’s your boo’s favorite place to smoosh?
Andy: At the Neutral Milk Hotel.
April: Get over it.
Andy: No you get over it. You like some other dude’s band more than me. Do you even think that Mouse Rat is the greatest band in the world because it is starting to not feel that way.
April: That band is really important to me and honestly I’ve asked you to listen to them like a million times and you never have so…
Andy: Because their music is sad and depressing and weird and art is supposed to be happy and fun and everyone knows that…
And yes that was of course from Parks and Recreation from last season, and of course made us only love our favourite intern (I hope she's not an intern any more, she's been there for ages) more.
I found this music video for indie band Father John Misty (no me neither, but the song is all right) , check out the lovely Aubrey Plaza (aka one April Ludgate) eating flowers, dancing with a lamp and generally causing mischief.
The best character in Parks and Rec tho has to be Tom Haverford, played by the awesome Aziz Ansari. He's announced a USA tour for later on this year, if you live there you should go and get yr tickets. If you see him tell him to book a show in London, I totally messed up and missed him last year. And to quote Davina McCall, here are Tom's best bits...
"I made you a leaving gift"
"What is it?"
"A stick with some orange peel glued to it"
(or something along the lines of that...)
So last night after a weekend of unexpected partying, expected partying and recording I took a solo trip to the cinema to see Wanderlust. Very weirdly the cinema seemed to be full of people doing the very same thing, I guess a solo cinema trip is the perfect activity for a rainy Sunday afternoon in North London.
I don't want to give too much of the plot but basically George and Linda buy a tiny flat in NYC, lose their jobs, end up losing their flat (I don't understand why they didn't rent it out, I guess that would be less dramatic) and drive to Atlanta, on the way stay overnight at a commune and have an awesome night, then go to stay in Atlanta, hate it and end up back in the commune, where of course hilarity ensues, there is a money grabbing hippy, a nudist author and yep we get to see Jennifer Anniston tripping out on iowaska.
Watching the movie you spend a lot of time cringing at Paul Rudd embarrassing himself, doing his sexy talk and attempting to play the Spin Doctors. Paul Rudd is awesome as ever, but I think I would have liked to seen writer Ken Marino do the George part instead, he was so good as the cringworthy Ron in Party Down, that I think that would have really worked. Ken Marino was awesome as George's brother Rick and deffo one of the highlights, though seeing as he wrote it, you think he would make sure he got a good part! Michaela Watkins did a great job as Rick's bored wife too.
I think my favourite bits were with Ken's ex-"The State" buddies David Wain, Michael Showalter and Michael Ian Black (GO BUY HIS BOOK, mine is in the post!) who play news readers, and yeah, when they parody the Atlanta Grape Lady that kinda made me chuckle. I also liked all the jokes about hippies, my brother's a bit of a hippy and has hung out with Shamen (but not Mr C), and I do tease him about drum circles and hippy stuff, I think I'd like to watch it again with him!
There are not really any indie references in the movie, but I think I heard an REM song being played, I guess any movie which is set in Georgia should have at least one REM song in it somewhere? There were more references throughout this movie to "I Believe I Can Fly" than really necessary too, what was that about? 90's tastic!
I was so excited about the prospect of this movie, with so many awesome people being involved, but yeah something lacked a bit in it, still I do think laughing at hippy jokes is a fun way to spend a rainy day in North London.
I leave you with a song...a video from the best band from Atlanta, ExcaliBrah!!!
Yes so this blog is generally about indie music invading our favourite movies and TV shows, well sometimes it's the other way round and record labels pay actors to pimp up their videos, whoa!
Anyway I thought I'd use this blog post to show off a few of my favourite videos I've enjoyed over the last year or so.
Yes that's correct, we were all quite surprised to find Mr. Mad Men himself Jon Hamm in a Herman Dune video, but we rolled with it, according to our source he's a fan, wise man.
And good news ladies, I can confirm that Jon Hamm is as sexy in real life as he is on the telly, me and my girl Kate were literally 5 metres away from him at the filming of a Ronna and Beverly pilot the other week which was lotsa fun, and rather hot (it was the lights and that...). We're in the process of writing a Freaks and Geeks zine so we will write more about it then. Before you ask "what does that have to do with F&G?" it was a Paul Feig (Mr. Creator of Freaks and Geeks) produced pilot, we're rather excited that Paul Feig is trying to bring some boss TV to England.
Sorry, I got distracted segwaying the conversation to Freaks and Geeks... Anyway Herman Dune are playing at Heaven on the 19th April supported by the tremendous Allo Darlin', get yr tickets here, see you down the front, mine's a vodka and diet coke etc etc.
Moving on...
I bloody love Apples (In Stereo), and Hobbit Boy Elijah Wood bloody does too! Because as well as starring in this video he's produced the one for Energy and check this, even paid a part in released the band's "New Magnetic Wonder" LP (which was awesome by the way) with his own Simian Records, watch him have a chat about his label, why not?
Apples (In Stereo) are playing ATP next weekend and I am very muchly looking forward to having a bit of a dance to them with my crew. See you down the front, mine's a vodka and diet coke, just in case you missed that before.
Love this song, but Moshi Moshi obviously spent all their money on getting Mackenzie Crook and paying for the ferris wheel that they forgot about much else!
And now onto the criminally young (he'll frikking 17!) Madeon
And there is also this very similar video of a Yelle remix. Yes of course that is one Martin Starr (Freaks and Geeks, Party Down, you know it), this video and music has some startling similarities to this...
We are currently following Martin Starr's rap career at The Shins Will Change Your Life, though I feel that discussing that here would be just too much excitement for one day! I promise that will be a full post about it at some point.
Anyway, did you enjoy those videos? Did I miss some equally awesome "actor in a pop video" moments? Leave a comment or drop me an email and I'll get onto it!
You like Belle and Sebastian? You can act? Then you can be in Stuart Murdoch's movie! Well you can at least audition... Yep Stuart is looking to fill roles for 'Eve,' 'James,' and 'Cassie' (I guess you will know them if you know the album?) for hisKickstarter-funded musical film God Help the Girl. More details here...
Reading the character descriptions the film sounds just like the kind of thing we like here at The Shins Will Change Your Life. Good luck Stuart!
I am off to see The Shins on Thursday!!! And I am off to see Zach Braff's play next Thursday, but apparently it's received some awful reviews so I probably shouldn't be that excited about it. Maybe it will be good if he mentions The Shins in it? So feels only fitting that we should watch this video...
