Foreign Language Songs Rendered In English For Your Convenience.

These foreign language tunes make so much more sense now that someone has transliterated them into English. Rock on!

Here's Dschinghis Khan's big German hit "Moskau":


Meanwhile, this Dutch kids' show presents us with what is now the highly inappropriate "Fart in the Duck":


However, there are some things that just can't be translated. Take this clip from Norwegian TV, which is sung in the international language of WTF:

Flashback to the Future.

Hey you! No, not you kids... I mean you, in the 30-40 year old demographic reading this blog. Do you remember these? Don't they make you all nostalgia-y or something for your GenX childhood and majestic VHS?



Here some more, so you can really OD on production company bumper goodness:

It's a Chonga World. We Only Pay Rent.

Why, it's positively chongalicious! Word!

Bollywood Monday: Too-Early-In-The-Week Edition.

I'm having a Garfield-quality Monday so far, which makes this clip strangely appropriate. It's one of those kitschy '60s things of indeterminate origin that YouTube is littered with, so I have nothing of substance to share with you. But hey, it's Bollywood and it's fun, so that'll have to do.

Jukebox Friday: Old Folks Rock.

What is with all these retirement home choirs coming out of the woodwork, trying to prove their hip by singing old rock songs?

First off, from Britain comes the Zimmers, doing The Who's "My Generation" (which is old enough that it might have actually been written about their generation):


Then there's the American group Young@Heart, the subjects of a forthcoming documentary, who specialize in 20-30 year old indie/punk hits. Here they are doing "Schizophrenia" by Sonic Youth:


And here they are again, with an actual music video for their version of the Ramones' "I Wanna Be Sedated":

More Japanese Whimsy.

This is what the world needs more of -- old men playing songs on a leaf while balancing on a wine bottle.



[via JapanProbe.]

Barrels A-Plenty.

Here, just because they can, some guys make a live-action version of "Donkey Kong."

How to Do Stand-Up Comedy in Japan.

So you want to be a Japanese stand-up comedian... First you'll need some material. Here it is, broken down for you scientifically in something like a kajillion easy steps. There's just something about this format that makes this even funnier than it should be.

Hai!



[via TV in Japan.]

Bollywood Monday: MLK Edition.

Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day to our readers in the United States! Since the holiday also falls on Bollywood Monday, that's a perfect time for a clip that celebrates both. You might think that would be a tall order, but you'd be wrong. Check out this home video of some girls doing some Hindi hip hop dancing at an MLK celebration. Word!

Jukebox Friday: Never Mind the Mainstream.

This week, let's enjoy some artists who are a little outside the mainstream. And I don't just mean that in the indie sense -- I mean artists building private musical worlds for themselves that most of the rest of us hardly glimpse. Call it "outsider music" if you want, but that term is a little limiting, too.

First, here's a portion of the legendary Jandek's first ever live performance (after more than 25 years of recording) in Scotland in 2004. The song is "Real Wild." (Unfamiliar with Jandek? Catch up here.)


From the backwaters of 1980s public access comes Penny Pearce and the Penny Magic Hour performing "The Shrink." Eep!


Tiny Tim gives his all onstage in his highly unlikely, yet insanely cool, version of "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?"


And finally, it's never too late to jump on a viral video bandwagon. Here's that "Chocolate Rain" tune by Tay Zonday that the kids on the intertubes are going so crazy over.

From Your First Purple Bandana to Your Last Dying Day.

Here's a scene from "Ace Hits the Big Time" an After School Special from the mid-'80s in which that one kid from "Mr. Belvedere" gets mixed up with gang members. Or, at least, they're supposed to be gang members; they make the guys from "West Side Story" look positively butch.

Danzig is Fundamental.

If you ever wondered what Glenn Danzig did in his downtime, maybe when he's feeling a little contemplative, wonder no more. Apparently, much like the rest of us, he enjoys reading occult books with his shirt off. Here he is sharing some of the highlights of his vast library.



[via WFMU's Beware of the Blog.]

Bollywood Monday: Mere Hath Main.

This week, we've got something a little different. Instead of a joyous, mega-choreographed, high energy showstopper, we've got a sweeping romantic number. It's "Mere Hath Main," performed by Aamir Khan and Kajol, from the wildly popular "Fanaa." Think of it as India's answer to "My Heart Will Go On."

Jukebox Friday: A Little "Night Music."

The late, great show "Night Music" is one of the things that made the '80s cool. Hosted by jazz saxophonist David Sanborn, it offered a great mix of live music from across different genres -- often in the same performance. For instance, check out these pairings...

Conway Twitty and the Residents perform "When You're Cool" with Sanborn and the house band:


Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead teams with Bongwater, Screamin' Jay Hawkins and the Fabulous Pussywillows:

No No No No No!

Some fan put together this compilation of that great thespian Shia LaBeouf delivering his best "No!" lines. Truly a work of art:

Dancing Japanese Pirates.

There are a lot of things that make Japanese TV awesome, not the least of which are the bizarre celebrity "ambush" interviews. Basically, our humble Western star stops by the studio to promote his latest movie/album/whatever only to be met with strangers doing strange things.

For instance, here's Johnny Depp on a press junket for the last "Pirates of the Caribbean" movie, little knowing what was in store for him:


Meanwhile, Matt Damon meets a world champion whistler:


[via TV in Japan.]

Bollywood Monday: Mind Blowing Mahiya.

Let's start the new year off with something cool. From the film "Cash" it's the smoking hot Shamita Shetty singing "Mind Blowing Mahiya":

Jukebox Friday: Like They Do It in Harlem.

The 'Tube is back finally, just as big and bad and ever. And just in time to send you off to your weekend fun with this little ditty, a great remix (by Surge Wakefield) of the Andrews Sisters' "Gimme Some Skin." Word!