Among the seemingly endless list of great things to emerge from the ’90s, there is one hilarious and delightfully philosophical teen drama that manages to trump even the most impressive pog collections. My So-Called Life uses the perfect blend of angsty outbursts, waist-wrapped flannels, and longing expressions to make it a front-runner in the race for rediscovered 1990s hotness. The key word here being rediscovered–it has recently been brought to my attention that a large amount of young college hipsters aren’t aware of this 19-episode masterpiece, or simply have not yet taken the time to watch all of them over the course of two and a half days. The same people who swear by Freaks and Geeks (and rightfully so), have not yet explored the undeniable influence that made the dramatic hallway scene what it is today.

I was fortunate enough to have three older angsty teenage sisters, and I can remember watching the show’s drama unfold at the ripe age of 6. My So-Called Life stars ’90s queen Claire Daines as main character Angela, not to mention beefcake Jared Leto long before he started that shitty band. The show kills two birds with one stone by combining the multicultural requirement with the edgier “gay kid” requirement of the ’90s within one single character, Ricki, whose heart of gold with matching hoop earring never lets you down. Then there’s the crazy best friend with drug problem, the hopelessly in love neighbor boy dweeb, the mom who you want to murder every time she comes on screen, etc. And the bittersweet completion of the series after only one season makes it a true piece of televised perfection.

Bonus the whole show is streaming for free on Hulu–only through the powerful technology of today can we enjoy the teen dramas of yesterday.

Above: Busby surprises the ASUO’s finest, including ASUO Vice President Maneesh Arora,  with a Vagina-gram.

In other news, University of Oregon journalism student and my dear friend Joey Geglia did a nice little write-up that reported the Vagina-gram fundraiser. It was featured on KVAL’s online news, and received hilarious web backlash:

That last one’s my favorite. Don’t let it get you down, Busby. I know you won’t. Happy Valentine’s Day everyone, and don’t forget to laugh at how awkward it probably was for someone to sing pop songs in a vagina suit to complete strangers all week. If you want to see someone else from the UO Women’s Center perform a Vagina-gram, you can peep it here:

New York Gypsy Punks Gogol Bordello, fronted by real life gypsy Eugene Hütz, are playing at McDonald Theatre this Sunday with opening act Forro in the Dark. Gogol Bordello’s latest album, Trans-Continental Hustle was released this past April.

Come out and seem them this Sunday, October 17th at McDonald Theatre, 1010  Willamette Street. Doors are at 7pm, Show starts at 8pm. All  Ages

After a twenty-hour drive in a cramped VW Golf, a three-hour nap (disrupted every five minutes by dubstep pulsing from our neighbor Joel’s minivan), and a full day of concert-going, the Oregon Voice Coachella Committee wandered as close as we could to the main stage where Friday’s headliner, Jay-Z, was scheduled to perform. Despite our aching ankles and heavy eyelids, we were determined to give the “greatest rapper alive” (but what rapper isn’t) our fullest attention. With the help of his hypeman and longtime friend Memphis Bleek, Jay-Z fired off hit after hit: “H.O.V.A.,” “Dirt Off Your Shoulder,” “Beware of the Boys,” “Big Pimpin’,” “Hard Knock Life.” It was the creme of his crop, a retelling of his prolific career.  As he bounced around the stage engaging his ocean of adorers, his energy never waned, although at the two-hour mark his voice took on a worn, hoarse texture. Behind him, towering three-dimensional JumboTron structures displayed hypnotizing imagery. When the time came for Jay-Z to play his recent hit, “Empire State of Mind,” the screens conveyed helicopter footage of New York’s glimmering skyline. At this point, Jigga had fulfilled all his requirements. He could have retired for the night, and everyone would have been satisfied. But he proceeded to ice Coachella’s cake. He invited out “somebody super duper special”: arguably the world’s flyest diva, his lover, Beyoncé Knowles. The two of them performed a rendition of “Young Forever” as fireworks erupted from the stage. I walked away with a reaffirmed conviction that Jay-Z is a gangster.

On day two my Coachella high intensified when I witnessed Major Lazer, a Dancehall crew comprised of two American DJs (Diplo and Switch) and a Jamaican psychopath with an affinity for partying (Skerrit Bwoy). They gained Youtube notoriety with their freaky deaky videos, creations of Adult Swim’s Tim and Eric. In the video for “Pon De Floor,” Skerrit Bwoy and the track’s two guest artists bump their pelvises against the booties of their female counterparts. This creative sort of dry-humping, known to Dancehall enthusiasts as ‘daggering,’ featured prominently in Major Lazer’s Coachella performance. Instead of playing the individual tracks from their lauded album, Guns Don’t Kill People…Lazers Do, Diplo and Switch kept bassy beats playing continuously, interwoven with samples from the album and punctuated by sound effects (blow horns, zapping laser guns, and the words “Major Lazer” pronounced in a Jamaican accent). But regardless of a DJ’s skill, watching DJs spin is never much of a spectacle. That’s where Skerrit Bwoy comes in. Throughout the party, he and a wedding-dressed dancer paraded around the stage vigorously daggering one another. Into his wireless microphone, Skerrit Bwoy yelled a few phrases repeatedly: “We party every day!” “Major Lazer in the club. We crazy in the club!” and “We are the solution!” The party culminated when Skerrit Bwoy set up a ladder in the middle of the stage, mounted it, dropped his jeans to his ankles, jumped onto the bride’s upturned butt, and daggered away.

After she repeated in kind, descending several feet onto Skerrit Bwoy crotch, she approached the table where Diplo and Switch were spinning, balanced firmly on her head, and shook her ass in ways that I, sadly, will never be able to. What was possibly the sweatiest, craziest, crackingest party I’ve ever attended, was just another night’s work for Major Lazer.

Fast-forward about three months to Patterson and 13^th, on a normal Thursday afternoon. The sun was shining outside, but I made the choice to leave the sunny lawn in front of the EMU to embark in one of the most bizarre hour and twenty-five minutes of my life. I gave up sunshine for a chance to see A Town Called Panic at the Bijou Theater.

Here’s a loose plotline: Based off of an older kids “TV show” (I say this in quotes because it wasn’t exactly a full show, but rather a group of small clips), A Town Called Panic follows the lives of Cowboy (played by a gumball-machine cowboy figurine), Indian (an Indian figurine) and Horse (a horse figurine) as they live in this insane town. In the movie, Cowboy and Indian decide to build Horse a barbeque for his birthday, but instead of ordering the 50 bricks they need to build it, they accidentally order 50,000,000. Even though the party goes well, the bricks destroy the house and (practically) the rest of town. Horse, pissed about the whole event, gets Cowboy and Indian to rebuild their beloved house only to find that, after they fall asleep every night, weird water creatures are stealing their walls. So the rest of the movie is spent trying to get their walls back from the insane water creatures. Yes, this is the plotline. No, I’m not insane.

Annnnd here’s the preview:

Now I know you’re probably thinking I’m crazy for spending my time to see this movie, but to be completely honest: this was the best movie I’ve seen the whole year! It’s ridiculous, it’s nut-job insane, and it’s fantastic!

But I’ve been thinking… Stop-motion animation is really beginning to turn around again: late last year we had Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009), the classic story book retold by indie movie god Wes Anderson, and shows like “Robot Chicken” (on late at night on [adult swim]) are becoming more and more popular.

However, people tend to take this style of animation as a crazy person’s nightmares. And in a way that’s true. I mean, there are COUNTLESS numbers of terrifying claymations that just irk you in a creeptastic way.

When I hear people say this, however, I like to remind them of all the TV shows they enjoyed when they were kids. After all, back in the 90s, stop-motion animation was in practically every popular cartoon!

So, with this, I’d like to count down to my TOP FIVE favorite stop-motion animated kids’ shows! NOW WITH CLIPS!!

5. A Town Called Panic!

Now this, I realize, is a new addition to the list for (probably) everyone, but I think it deserves to be on this list. As I said before, the whole thing is made with plastic toys and consists of 5-minute shorts involving a variety of odd characters.

The show’s humor is a little strange, specifically because it is based out of Luxembourg, but that doesn’t mean it’s not hilarious!

I mean, come on! They get chased around by a freaking bear! Randomly! Great television is based off of this randomness.

Here’s, quite possibly, my favorite episode… which features my favorite character (Cowboy):

The humor is slightly dry, and the whole scheme of characters is a bit strange, but it still pertains my list at number 5.

4. KABLAAAAAM!

Now, the second you read this, most of you will probably have a nostalgic moment. After all, this TV show is one of those fun cartoons from the 90s that everyone seems to love and worship (including me!!).

But one of the most fun parts about this show is the concept that it takes what kids loved best and know and transfers it onto the screen.

I will forever love “Action League Now!!” which is one of the many stop-motion animated cartoons featured on the show. The premise of these 5-minute clips is that a league of bizarro superheroes (The Flesh, Thunder Girl, Stinky Diver, Meltman…) fought crime in a dangerous world. But it is all made with toys and action figures, and it looks like a kid was playing and putting them through these situations, much like a kid plays with Barbies or GI Joes. It’s stupid, but it’s hilarious!

In addition to this monstrosity of amazingness, the show features two other stop motion animated cartoons nearly every episode: “Prometheus and Bob” (the story of an Alien trying to teach random things to a caveman, except constantly getting foiled by a monkey) and “Life With Loopy” (the messed-up, crazy life of a young girl named loopy, told in the perspective of her brother).

“Prometheus and Bob” is just old school claymation (as seen below), but “Life With Loopy” takes an interesting turn by using a combination of drawings and clay. It’s awesome. Seriously.

Kablam! is one of the best 90s cartoons, and it really opens up this peculiar type of animation to mainstream audiences.

3. Bump In The Night

Okay, so this show may not be familiar to most of you, but goodness do I remember it!

Airing on ABC Saturday Mornings back in like 1994, this freaky-ass cartoon follows a green monster named Mr. Bumpy as he and his pals eat socks and terrorize the kid living in their room. “Terrorize” is probably the best word to describe this show!

I recently found a bunch of these episodes online (and surprisingly on DVD, too!) a few years back and, after watching them I realize now why I’m a little crazy. This show, while totally original, is like the mind of a really fucked-up teenager. I mean, Mr. Bumpy himself looks like he walked out of some freaky nightmare I might’ve had!

The weirdest part, however, is that this show is still enjoyable! The humor rocks, the animation (however much of a mind trip it is) also rocks, and overall it’s really cool (ignoring all of the sexual inuendos). It’s definitely something that I still enjoy, but I’m still shocked that I watched it as a kid!

It screams 90s, but pinch me if this isn’t a nightmare!!

2. Wallace And Gromit

Now this one is kind of a given, which is why it needs to be on the list.

Wallace and Gromit, for those of you who don’t know, is probably the second most famous example of stop-motion animation (after number 1 on this list), and has lived on through years and years of love and affection (in both Britain and America). The movies and clips follow a middle-age inventor and his loyal (and often reasonable) dog as they go to the moon, solve mysteries, and even defeat a giant “were-rabbit”!

These series of films started off with a basic, 30-minute short film about Wallace and Gromit going to the moon to find cheese. Now, about 20 years later, they have proven to be commercially successful: 2 of their 4 short films have won academy awards, a movie was made to further please kids in audiences around the globe, and they even have a video game! Wallace and Gromit is just too much fun.

I’ve been a fan since I was a child, and even though the humor is a little dated (and a bit bizarre, considering the fact that it comes from Britain) it still brings me joy to watch the shorts and even the movie (which I have with me here in my dorm room… yes I’m aware that it was made for little kids…). Besides the blatantly obvious sexual overtones in the movie (“What nice melons!”), the shorts remain fairly kid-friendly, and just too damn adorable.

Here’s a short short called “Shopper 13” (from their “Cracking Contraptions” series):

If that doesn’t make you smile, then what will?

Aardman is continuing to fund more Wallace and Gromit cartoons, but the company is also responsible for some of the best, stop-motion animated cartoons of the past 20 years: Chicken Run (2000), “Shaun The Sheep,” “Creature Comforts,” Flushed Away (2007), and even “A Town Called Panic.”

AND FINALLY, we come to the last pick, the master of insane kids animated series:

1. Gumby!

“He was once a little green slab of clay… GUMBY! You should see what Gumby can do today… GUMBY! He can walk into any book, with his pony pal Pokey, too. If you have a heart then Gumby’s a part of you *Doo doo doo doo doo doooooo*!!”

Yes. The mother of all WTF cartoons. Gumby.

Art Clokey, probably in some, crazed, drug-related… I don’t even know what…, came up with this little “clay boy” back in the early 50s. Those were the days! Gumby and his family would explore toy-land in grand detail, often stealing other toys or helping creepy-ass creatures find their true home. Yes, this was Gumby, the most epically awesome claymation features.

Gumby evolved over the years, as the generations became more and more “hip.” Clokey gave him a sidekick (Pokey, who was often the stubborn ass), and gave Gumby the ability to go inside of books. As the years went on, Toy-land was no longer an interest, so out with the old and in with the city-life of young Gumby. Now, he acted like a teenager: full of responsibility, while remaining naïve and curious. Then came his arch-nemesis’ “The Blockheads,” who said nothing but never failed to epically screw up any situation Gumby planned. Then came Prickle, the bitchy, yellow dinosaur, and what appeared to be Prickle’s girlfriend Goo, which was like a blue teardrop that could fly and shoot blue goo all over anything.

Gumby wasn’t what it used to be, and in fact it disappeared out of society for quite some time. Then, all of a sudden, the 80s arrived, and with it arrived a whole new, modern Green clay boy. Now, he was a detective and a rock star, all the while trying to keep his teenage self in line. There were creepy-ass people involved now (things that should probably hang out with Mr. Bumpy), and a spinoff movie (that’s rated one of the worst movies ever). It wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t fantastic either.

Nickelodeon picked up Gumby and began to show older episodes from the 50s and 60s, which really helped us regain the dignity of watching GOOD episodes of the show. However, Gumby still lives in my heart, which, I guess, means he’s a part of me…?

PS: Is it just me or is it a little creepy that he apparently lives in your heart? Ewww

So there you have it. The best (and freakiest) stop-motion animated kids shows. There are so many others to choose from, but these stand out above the rest.

Looking back now, I realize why I’m so “weird.” Why did my parents let me watch this stuff? I guess we’ll never know.

Tell me, what are YOUR favorite stop-motion animations?

Their style is funky fresh, and they have almost a British-feel to their music that speaks to the indie crowds. If you’re in the area and wanna check out some awesomeness, stop by the McDonald Theater to check out Spoon. At least I know I’ll be there!

Emerging from the sleepy backwoods of rural Pennsylvania, Black Moth Super Rainbow’s musical genius, Tobacco, has broken solo and ventured into a new urban terrain.  Leaving behind a heaven of synthesizer daydreams and a host of angelic murmurs, the man behind the vocoder began to explore the gritty beat of the city.

Starting off in pure noise music, he shifted through the lo-fi realm, experimenting with outdated electronic musical instruments.  Through various personas and projects Tobacco began to gain his uniquely pop sound we have all grown to love in BMSR.  “I try to label what I do as pop music, but it’s really whatever you want it to be.”  Tobacco said Thursday.  “It’s the circumstance, it’s what you feel.”

After teaming with BMSR for four records, Tobacco has proven to be even heartier on his own.  With his 2007 release, Fucked Up Friends, the drums hit a bit harder, the snyths swell a little longer and the vocals dig deeper.  “I just want it to be memorable,” he said.  “Stuff that hooks into your brain.”  Tobacco focuses more on his aggressive beats, and a little more on his dark side.  His sound remains focused on analog synths, drum machines, and (of course) vocoders, but a tad rawer with a little more static.  His 2007 release featured Aesop Rock, which was rumored to have inspired more hip hop collaborations in his upcoming productions.

Fresh off SXSW, Tobacco glad to be back on the road and ready to hit the West Coast for the second half of his short tour.  A fan of the Northwest, he’s gladly playing WOW Hall this Sunday, March 28th.  “It’s been a few years but I remember Eugene, I liked it!” Tobacco said.  He will be showcasing some surprising material from his upcoming album Manic Meat.  Not only does Tobacco reign over us with a supremely unique style, he provides all the band art too, pretty impressive.  No doubt the live show will be lit up with his own eccentric video creations-eye candy while the conjurer does his craft.

March came in like a lion- let’s send it out like one.  Spring break’s not over till Monday morning, so come dance to the hipster mash-ups of Hood Internet and the eclectic styling of Tobacco with the Oregon Voice.  This is a show not to be missed.

And you know how we like to get down.

With just one day before Gorillaz’s new CD Plastic Beach hits stores nationwide, I’ve been going back and reminiscing on this band’s wonderfully crafted music (and videos). We all know “Clint Eastwood” (I ain’t happy/I’m feelin’ glad/I’ve got sunshine/in a bag…) and “Feel Good Inc.” (Windmill, Windmill for the land/turn forever hand in hand…). But Gorillaz is not just a band… it is, in my opinion, one of the most creatively genius works of art in the history of music.

Created by former lead singer of Blur Damon Albarn and “Tank Girl” creator Jamie Hewlett, the band is composed of cartoon characters (2D, Murdoc, Russel, and Noodle), each with back stories and interesting facts. In 2001, their first CD (self-titled Gorillaz) rocked the charts as a combination of hip-hop, rap, and electronic, with hits like the aforementioned “Clint Eastwood” (featuring Del The Funky Homosapien, who plays a minor character in the band’s back story), slow, urban track “Tomorrow Comes Today,” and feeling-good pop song “19-2000.” The second CD, Demon Days (2005), was a major success for the band, bringing in many celebrity guests to rap, sing, and even read for the tracks (De La Soul, Bootie Brown, MF Doom, Shaun Ryder, Dennis Hopper, and Danger Mouse, who helped produce the CD). “Feel Good Inc.” hit the charts and quickly rated higher than any of their other hits, soon followed by children-anthem “Dirty Harry,” solemn “El Mañana,” and dance-worthy “DARE.” Now, 5 years later, Gorillaz has collaborated once again with Plastic Beach. Unfortunately, the only songs I’ve heard (so far) are “Stylo,” which is the first single off the new CD, featuring Mos Def and Bobby Womack, and “Superfast Jellyfish,” featuring De La Soul once more.

The music is really original in that it mixes different genres together to create a new type of sound. From “19-2000,” which uses techno, hip-hop, and reggae to sound like a bubblegum pop song, to “Don’t Get Lost In Heaven” paired with “Demon Days,” which uses a full string orchestra, choir, hip-hop, and reggae to sound epic and gorgeous, the band reinvents the world of urban music.

However, what makes them so interesting is the story behind the band, how they advertise themselves, and their use of advanced technology to create a fully-animated band.

Back in 2006, the “band” put out an autobiography called Rise of the Ogre, which not only chronicled the band’s successful music career but also the band members’ lives and personalities in and out of the band. For example, we find out that 2D has black eyes because Murdoc ran him over in a car, which dented one of his eyes, and was catapulted out of the dashboard window, causing his other eye to be pushed in as well. We learn the truth about Noodle, that she is really a secret Japanese government weapon, triggered by the words “ocean bacon.” We find out that the ghost of Del The Funky Homosapien was contained inside of Russel, and Russel had it exorcised out of his body before working on “Demon Days.” We learn about Murdoc’s obsession with being a Satanist and how he nearly killed a member of the band in one of the videos.

I mean, sure, this may not sound like a lot. But considering that this is all made up to coincide with a few CDs, that’s pretty incredible!

But that’s not all… to create this image of a fully-animated band, high tech equipment have made it possible for people to really feel like the members of Gorillaz are actually real. For the 2006 Grammys, the band performed a mash up of “Feel Good Inc.” and Madonna’s hit for the year “Hung Up” live. But, because of the band’s animated appearances, a holographic projection unit was set up on stage, allowing for the band members to look as if they were standing on stage in real life. Madonna was also holographically projected for the first part of her act, as she moves around the characters to interact with them. This is one of the first, and greatest, technical feats ever for a band to make.

Also, because of their animations, the band RARELY plays live shows (in fact, the only one they have lined up so far for their new CD is Coachella 2010). So, of course, each of their live shows out-does the other. The Demon Days tour included panels of changing colors, hiding the live band from the public, while the “guests” were on stage in front, brightly lit. On a large screen in the middle, pictures and video played to help visually attract the audience. Simplistic, but incredibly creative.

Personally my favorite part of the band’s creativity is what they put into their website. To help promote their band and to get their fans psyched about the band itself, they launched an interactive game on their website to explore the confines of their home Kong Studios. With the coming of each CD and hit came an update to the website… and as the lives and appearance of each character changed, the studio reflected it. For example, in the video for “El Mañana,” Noodle supposedly died at the end of the video (it was later revealed that she had not died, but was instead dragged into hell). After the video landed, Noodle’s room in the virtual world was stripped and began to fall apart every month. As the truth came out that she was actually trapped in hell, the basement of the website’s virtual Kong had a transmission of Noodle in a room, exclaiming that she needed help. Soon after the announcement of Plastic Beach, Kong was in ruins, with none of the rooms available. Thus, Plastic Beach was born: the newest interactive online game allows you to tour Plastic Beach, with new rooms opening pretty much every month. The website has won Webby awards for its creativity, and it keeps people interested and attached to the “secret” lives of the band. If you’re interested, go to the website!

So yes, Gorillaz has great music, but it goes beyond that. I mean think of it this way: 2 guys created a FAKE band with FAKE names and FAKE backgrounds… they used incredible technical equipment to make these FAKE characters REAL, and even set up strange situations for said FAKE characters (as in their Plastic Beach website). Gorillaz is no ordinary band. It is a work of creative genius. And, as Plastic Beach approaches, to quote one of my favorite Gorillaz songs, “Yeah, yeah, yeah I’ll pay/When tomorrow/Tomorrow comes today!”

Pitchfork has released an article announcing that Andrew WK and one of my personal favorite hip-hop groups, People Under the Stairs, have collaborated and created a new variation of Danny Elfman’s Simpson’s theme song. It will air in the end credits on January 16th’s all new episode. Will you check it out? I know I will.

Eventually, someone gave me an email and of course it didn’t work. Got another one and it did. They’ll see this when they’re vetting us, but oh well. I bet it’s not this hard to talk to Max Weinberg.

Anyway, The Roots 4/11/2009 McDonald Theatre