Music Video Thursday: "Fade to Black"

I just discovered today that one of my roommates from LCBI passed away a few years ago - interestingly enough, it was just a week after I had mentioned him on this blog. This one's for you, Dave - it might not be your usual style, but I think you'll recognize the tune:



Dave's brother Danny passed away shortly after that, and their friends and family have put together a charity called Band of Brothers to help support families that are dealing with cancer treatment:

So long Dave, and thanks for the memories.

Music Video Wednesday: "Canadian, Please"

OK, it's not Thursday, but it's Canada Day today, and I just came across this little tune that I just had to post. I don't know much about the duo that made it (Andrew Gunadie and Julia Bentley), but it's catchy, it's cute, and it's Canadian, eh?



That chorus is going to be stuck in my head for a while.

Music Video Thursday: "Where the Streets Have No Name", Before and After

Last week was a little crazy, so Music Video Thursday got an unscheduled break (oh, who am I kidding, nothing around here is "scheduled"). To try to make up for it, tonight's Music Video Thursday is a double-header "before and after" affair, with Where the Streets Have No Name from U2's classic 1987 album "The Joshua Tree". This video ended up winning the 1988 Grammy award for "Best Performance Music Video":



In 1991, the synthpop duo Pet Shop Boys took this song and mashed it up with an old 1960s Frankie Valli single called "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" (which shared a similar melody line in the chorus). Allegedly, upon hearing this version, U2's Bono was heard to exclaim, "What have we done to deserve this?" Personally, I kind of like it, but to each their own I suppose:



To the best of my knowledge, there was no Grammy nomination for this video.

Music Video Thursday: "Shine On Me"

Ladies and gentlemen, this is Chris Dane Owens, an independent musician from Los Angeles who produced what is possibly one of the most awesome and/or cheesy (I'm still trying to decide) music videos of all time, complete with fireworks, explosions, dragons, a crocodile, sword fighting, magic, ghosts, tall ships, and a mustache reminiscent of Cary Elwes in The Princess Bride. View at your own risk, lest the levels of awe and/or cheese overwhelm you:



Apparently this video went viral back in December, but obviously I wasn't paying attention and didn't see this until Jeff Atwood posted a link to it on Twitter yesterday. Who does a guy have to know to stay in the loop with all this viral stuff anyhow?

Oh, and Mr. Owens is planning this as the first of a trilogy - some stills from the next video are available for your perusal. Looks like more of the same - whether that's a good thing or a bad thing is for you to decide.

Music Video Thursday: "Vacuum Funk"

Word association - when I say alphorn, what's the first thing that comes to mind?



Yeah, I thought so. Here's Eliana Burki, who's determined to change the way people think about alphorns (volume on this video is a little lower than normal):



This is actually pretty impressive - alphorns have no valves (like a bugle or didgerido), so there's only a certain set of notes that can actually be played on it, which makes it challenging to come up with interesting melody lines, etc. Ms. Burki is known in alphorn circles as an anarchist, what with her ripped jeans and nose piercing. I fear for our youth, with such a corrupting influence.

Music Video Thursday: "YYZ"

YYZ is the identification code for Toronto Pearson Airport. It's also an incredible instrumental piece by Rush, especially when they perform it live with a massive drum solo by Neal Peart:



On a related note, a 13-year-old drummer named Sara did a pretty decent cover of it (with a MIDI track for the guitar/bass/synth parts), with some fancy stick moves - but what I like best in this is the absolute joy on her face as she's playing. This kid loves to drum, and it shows:



My 11-year-old daughter started percussion this past year in school, and has been enjoying playing snare and bells. Hopefully soon she'll get into a full drum kit (although, for the sake of the rest of the household, I hope it'll be digital!) and have just as much fun.

Music Video Thursday: "Crazy Train", Before and After

Back in October 2006, I did a "Before and After" with "Land of Confusion" as performed by Genesis and Disturbed. Now, well over 2 years later, here's another musical double-shot for you.

1980 saw the launch of Ozzy Osbourne's solo career, and his first single "Crazy Train" was a hit, with a very catchy guitar riff that is now a classic (and outlandish outfits that thankfully are not):

Fast forward 29 years, and you'll find a 9-year old Japanese kid playing on the Ellen DeGeneres show. The guitar looks like it's probably taller than him, but the kid has got some decent chops:

He even sings while he plays, although it's hard to understand. Considering that it's Ozzy, that may actually make it more authentic.

EXTRA SPECIAL BONUS: "Crazy Train" as interpreted by the electronic musical genius called Microsoft SongSmith:

And for those of you keeping score at home, this marks two consecutive editions of Music Video Thursday after a looooooooooong break. No promises that this is back as a regular thing, but I am feeling inspired again.

UPDATE: Whoops, guess this is a (partial) repeat - the original Crazy Train video was a Music Video Thursday post back in October 2007. Where did I leave those memory pills again?