Metapost: We Now Sign Off For the Broadcast Year.

Due to a variety of circumstances (mostly illness-related), DesukoTube is forced to start its winter break a few days early. Thanks for reading in 2007, and we'll be back right after the New Year with some more great clips!

Bollywood Monday: Everybody Was Kung-Fu Dancing.

To the uninitiated, Bollywood films can look like a riotous bundle of color, cheesiness and reckless abandon. Of course, that is how the '70s look, too. Which is why this clip makes so little, and yet so very much, sense.

It's from the 1976 film "Adalat" and features a novelty song by Carl Douglas called "Dance the Kung Fu." Douglas was a one-hit wonder in that same year with the hugely popular "Everybody Was Kung Fu Fighting." This song was the justly-forgotten follow-up, which apparently struck a nerve in India what it didn't the U.S., because it wound up in this movie. Talk about an insane cultural collision. Add on all the "Sabotage"-worthy hair/glasses/mustache combos on display here and you get the kind of magic that makes your head explode.



[via PCL LinkDump.]

Jukebox Friday: Swingin' '60s.

I've got some groovy '60s clips to share with you all!

First, who needs MTV when you've got "Hullabaloo"? Here's the Animals performing "It's My Life" on the show in 1965:


From the Rolling Stones' 1968 film "Rock 'n' Roll Circus," it's Marianne Faithfull crooning "Something Better":


Brigitte Bardot gets jazzy with "C'est Rigolo" for French television:


Keeping it in French, here's "Laisse Tomber les Filles" by France Gall:


Finally, it's the seriously rocking "Have I the Right?" by Joe Meek-produced group the Honeycombs, performing on "Pop Gear":

Why They Strike.

The demands of striking Writers Guild of America members, presented in fairly simple terms:



Meanwhile, let us not forget the real victims here -- the moguls who are getting richer at a slightly slower rate than they'd like:

"A Beautiful Shooting Star Going Across the Sky."

Col. Chris Hadfield of the Canadian Space Agency helpfully explains how astronauts go to the bathroom in outer space. Buckle up your toilet seat belts, boys and girls, this can get a little messy:

Dammit Toshiba, Where Was This in 1981 When I Needed It?

Man, if I had one of these as a kid, I would've gone crazy with it. Instead I just made due with holding a boombox up to the TV set.

Bollywood Monday: Aaja Nachle.

We've seen lots of old clips here for Bollywood Monday, so here's something new. It's "Aaja Nachle," which is still in theaters in India, and even a few here in the U.S. if you look hard enough. It also marks the return of megastar Madhuri Dixit to the big screen after a lengthy absense (by Bollywood standards). She plays a dance instructor in New York who returns home to her small Indian village to rebuild a beloved arts center.

Here's the trailer:


And the theme song:

Jukebox Friday: Shuffle.

Not much time to post today, so this week's jukebox features a random assortment of fine tunes:

Dick Dale, wire work and drifting, oh my! It's "Pump It" by the Black Eyed Peas:


Fire in the disco! It's Electric Six with "Danger! High Voltage!":


Also from Electric Six, it's the even cooler "Gay Bar":


The Replacements rock, and so does this song and its video. It's "Bastards of Young":


And finally, Tupac and Dr. Dre (and Chris Tucker) go Mad Max in "California Love":

I Want to Just Plug In and Press On.

Man, I'm tired of these handheld phones we have to carry everywhere with us. If only there was some sort of technology that allowed us to put these phones somewhere when we're not using them. Like, maybe on the wall or something. Oh wait -- there is!

That's What B'Nai Mitzvah Are For.

I pity poor Seth, who was apparently on the receiving end of this video. I'm convinced that a Bar Mitzvah is unparalleled for bringing out embarrassing behavior among the guests -- worse than wedding receptions even. If you don't believe me, watch this:



[via WFMU's Beware of the Blog.]

¡Viva Evel!

I know I'm a little behind the curve on this, but I just had to post something commemorating Evel Knievel's death. Mostly, I wanted to post these commercials for the awesome line of Knievel toys from the '70s. The only one I had was the stunt cycle with the red launcher, but it kicked ass. There was a hill in our backyard and I used to launch it off the top and watch it flying across the yard. Man, that rocked.

Bollywood Monday: "Bunty Aur Babli."

From the 2005 film "Bunty Aur Babli," this is the song "Dhadak Dhadak." If you want costume changes, oiled-up beefy guys and locations, locations, locations then this one is for you. Enjoy!