Do you remember back when CCMixter did the contest with Chuck D. feat Fine Arts Militia? I just found my entry, and since I did I thought that I would post it.

TDB’s CCMixter Chuck D Track

• Tom Waits – Downtown Train
  One of the more accessible Waits songs that is contrasted brilliantly with the high gloss version of Rod Stewart’s cover. While this only gives one a glimpse of the brilliance of Wait’s songwriting it wins This Damn Blogs best video of the eighties award.
• Lou Reed – Dirty Boulevard
  So what’s a Seventies rock icon doing at the end of the eighties? He’s writing and singing about the Dirty Boulevard. While this is far from Reed’s best it is a perfect juxtaposition to mainstream music videos that surrounded it back when you could actually watch music videos on T.V.
• The Godfathers – Birth School Work Death
  This video is a pre-curser to all of the mid 2000 power pop that clogs Fuse and the like. While this is a really good song and has been a staple of my mix tapes for years, it is this high on the list for what it portends.
• Guns N Roses – Welcome To The Jungle
  Come on, can you talk about 80′s music videos with this? And for all that has happened since GnR was the biggest, baddest band in the world ’round about this time.
• Faith No More – We Care A Lot
  They do, they really do.
• Tracy Chapman – Fast Car
  I think of this song when I am trying not to laugh.
• Concrete Blonde – Joey
  I just stand by and watch you fight your secret war. Although I used to wonder why I used to cry till I was dry.
• Violent Femmes – Blister in the Sun
  Okay, maybe this video is not eighties, but the song is….
• The Clash – London Calling
  If you don’t know why this on this list you might as well stop reading now and click on outta here.
• The Church – Under the Milky Way
  I always thought that this song personified a certain type of music that was made in the eighties, and not in that sad embarrassing way that you are thinking…..
• Janet Jackson – Nasty
  Again, I was thinking that I need a video that represented a certain 80′s sound that has not yet made this list.
• Soft Cell – Tainted Love
  Maybe the most recognizable song of the eighties, and the video is very indicative of what one breed of producers were doing in that decade.
• Smithereens – A Girl like You
  This is a really good song, by a really good band that never really got their due. So I am putting them on this list.
• B-52′s – Own Private Idaho
  Could the B-52′s have flourished in any other time period then the one that they flourished in? Dunno, but how fun is this video?
• Prince – Purple Rain
  Okay, so this is not so much a video as the end of a movie – but this may be THE 80′s moment.
• Plimsouls – A Million Miles Away
  I always forget the name of the band who did this song first, but this is the version that everyone remembers anyway…
• Alcatrazz – God Blessed Video
  While this is an excellent example of trying to do too much in a music video in that 80′s way, it is also the first time that most of us were introduced to Steve Vai.
• Midnight Oil – Beds Are Burning
  I remember the first time I saw this video in ’88, I was thinking, now that is different, that is interesting.
• Animotion – Obsession
  While this is not a horrible song, it makes this list as a perfect example of that new wave synth-dance euro-trash crap that filled night tracks back in the early eighties.
• Jeff Beck – Ambitions
  I love this video – Where else can you see Donnie Osmond, Parker Stevenson, Jeff Beck, Graham Bonnet, etc. all in the same place.
• John Cougar Mellencamp – Small Town
  Come on, you know this is a great video. Whatever you think about Mr. Mellencamp the old black n white photos and super 8 video changing along with that back beat make this a winner.
• Elvis Costello – Veronica
  Mr. Costello doing what he does best, telling us a story…
• Eddie Murphy – Party all the Time
  Come on – The Eddie Murphy laugh, Rick James, Bitch, cheese keyboard riffs, and that damn eighties drumbeat…. okay, so it’s not a great song, but it’s funny and oh-so 80′s.
• Cowboy Junkies – Sweet Jane
  The most beautiful video of the eighties is this cover.
• Sam kinison – Wild Thing
  This thing is a hilarious who’s who of big hair eighties metal combined with the genius of Sam Kinison and Jessica Hahn’s boobies.

I decided to take the opportunity of this long memorial day weekend to watch some movies that I have wanted to see and others that I wanted to see again. Since they don’t have a decent cinema in this one horse town I had to rely on Netflix and the local Movie Gallery. I don’t get the opportunity to watch a lot of movies these days so this is a real treat.

I decided to watch a mix of potentially good ( you guys that have had the debate with me about good movies know what I am talking about ) with some hopefully entertaining movies. Michael is watching the original Star Wars Trilogy over the weekend.

It all started Thursday night when I watched 2 movies that just happened to star the two best living American actors imho. The first was Ronin which I had always thought was one of De Niro’s weaker movies, and The Royal Tenenbaums which is one of Hackman’s best.

Nobody ever debates that Mr. De Niro is one of the best actors ever, but Hackman very seldom gets the credit he deserves. The story of Royal’s redemption in Tenenbaum is extremely emotional without any of the cliched baggage that most heart-stringed films carry – If you want to know how I feel about Wes Anderson’s movies in depth click on over to here. Ronin was not as bad I had remembered, in fact it features the best car chase scenes since Bullet – but De Niro’s performance was the highlight although Natascha McElhone was very good too.

Friday night I watched two really good movies, Walk The Line and Good Night and Good Luck. Walk The Line was surprisingly good, I have loved Reese Witherspoon since Election and, Legally Blog aside, I think that she is one of the most interesting mainstream actress working today. However Joaquin Phoenix is the undeniable star of this movie and gives one of the best performances I have ever seen playing an icon. Usually in movies when an actor trys to play such a luminary figure suspension of disbelief is almost impossible for me – Joaquin becomes the man in black, and it took huge balls to sing those songs….

Good Night and Good Luck was as good as advertised – I find it interesting that Clooney decided to play Fred Friendly instead of Edward R. Murrow but it was the right choice. Clooney put his ego aside so that David Strathairn could give us a transcendent performance as Murrow. If that is not the way that it all went down, I don’t want to know the truth – I felt as if I was transported back to the fifties and that it was not a simpler time as the revisionist would have you believe. This is movie making at its finest and while the creators of this movie are comparing the powers that were to the powers that be they do not hit you over the head with it. This is as good a movie as I have seen in years.

Saturday night was pure entertainment – The Longest Yard, Napoleon Dynamite ( for the 3rd or 4th time ), and Daltry Calhoun. The Longest Yard was the closest of the 3 to pure entertainment and it was enjoyable and while it was fairly true to the original the action scenes reminded me of Any Given Sunday, but the one thing that I will take away from it are Courtney Cox’s breasts in the opening scene, quite a change from the too skinny Friends era Cox.

Napoleon Dynamite was my movie of the year in 2004, and while it has taken on cult status since I find that I enjoy it as much now as I did then. It is the opposite of the stereotypical John Walters high school movie flicks, and is more of a feel good movie then any of the films that promote themselves as such. This is gonna be one of those movies that I watch many times and I am sure that I will continue to find new things that make me laugh each time.

Daltry Calhoun just didn’t do it for me, it was quirky but a little too sickly sweet and tried a little to hard to tug on my heart strings. It’s one of those movies that could have been good, and wasn’t terrible, but just didn’t quite get there.

Since HBO is making us wait a week for the the season finales of The Sopranos and Big Love I got to sneak in one more movie – A History of Violence. This is not an easy movie to watch, and I am not just talking about having to look at Viggo Mortensen for two hours. It features a great script and beautiful cinematography although I did not seem to like it quite as much as some other folks. But don’t get me wrong it is definitely worth an investment of a couple hours. Hell, it may be worth it just for the Maria Bello as cheerleader scene.

I am sure that by looking around this website it looks like me make allot of WordPress Themes, and we do. In addition to developing unique WP front ends we do digital video as well (warning 5mb wmv file).

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Get in touch with us today and we’ll show you a few more video examples of our work and discuss how we can punch up your t.v. commercial, music video, dvd, etc.

After a couple of substandard shows tonight was good, this is why I watch Bill Maher.

Panelists: Ben Affleck, Bill Sammon & Sen. Joe Biden
Guests: Rep. Cynthia McKinney & Kevin Phillips

Opening bit: Save the Assistants Make a Call Foundation was average at best, but after that things started picking up

Classic Monologue: It is sad that our government produces a Scandal of Week, but true enough, and usually more then one. This week was Plamegate and the best line of the show: The Bush administration’s cherry picked intelligence was picked by illegals aliens. Also good was Ricky “Wedge Issue” Martin and the Crowd got “virtual fence” homeland security joke before Bill could get it out of his mouth. Sending your tax check straight to Haliburton was a winner as well.

McKinney: Seems to me that yesterday she saw which way the wind was blowing and “What else should I be, All apologies”…. I’ll agree with her, she is not a normal member of Congress. Bill nails the issue, it was all about ego not about race. McKinney was disingenuous – “I didn’t say it was a racial issue, but we do have racial problems”.

Bill Maher does his best “Russert” and starts the panel by asking Biden if he’s going to run for Presz, and shockingly we get a straight answer. Bill nails another issue – The problem Bush has about this leak dealio is that he’s been talking about the leak like he didn’t know about anything about it even though he was responsible for it. Of course Sammon tries to spin it but the bottom line is that Joe Wilson pissed off Cheney by claiming the administrations pre war intelligence was bad. Dick wanted to get back at him so he gave Scooter the okay to out his wife. They declassified intelligence and then leaked it to the press to discredit a political adversary.

Finally someone is talking about W’s signing statements. Sure, you can pass that law, hell I’ll even sign it, but I reserve right to torture people. Hopefully Biden is right, that American people have finally figured out what Bush Co. is all about.

Sorry Sammon, Tom “The Hammer” Delay- is not poster boy for left, he is the poster boy for corruption, cronyism, payoffs, etc.

Is it just me, or is Biden making allot of sense – Bush did squander an opportunity after 9/11 when he did not mobilize a willing US population to achieve consequential change. He didn’t ask us to sacrifice, to ration oil, etc. He told us to go shopping. Biden talks about asking George how he can make decisions without knowing the facts and W says “because of my instincts”. Bush does not collect the facts and make a decision, he goes with his gut and then prays he did the right thing while walking his dogs…

Manfleck doesn’t know the difference between morality and religion, I’ll try and help. You don’t need the latter to have the former, having the latter does not mean that you have the former, and the former is older then the latter.

Phillips was awesome in an understated way. He explains how religiosity supports the republicans as well as why that religiosity puts the U.S. on precipice of
downfall. He also explains why Bush had to avoid apocalypse question he got is Cleveland. I’ve got to get copy of his book American Theocracy.

Biden explains how fundamentalism has risen across all faiths – finally a politician who is not afraid to acquaint fundamentalism within faiths to another. Are the Dems’s listening? The people that believe that the earth is only 6,000 years old will never vote for you, so don’t even try to fish in that pond.

Funny, but true? You have to threaten to leave before people of middle eastern descent will make a deal? Sammon gives Republican talking points about what happens if we pull our troops out, but Biden right again – our troops are already avoiding sectarian conflict to a large degree. Sammon says that since we elected to go to war we now have to
stay and help them form a regional government – haven’t we been doing that?

Another good point is made, that there are really two different wars going on in Iraq. There is the war that the administration thinks it’s fighting – the war on terrorism and 500 year old war between Shiites and Sunnis. Biden comes off as someone that not only understands the issues but also offers ideas about how to move forward. The next time you hear a Republican say that the Dems have no ideas, take my word for it, at least one of them does.

The best of the New Rules was the Wife Swap – McKinney for Laura. Neo-Con please!

Back in the day Tamara watched the X-Files every week, I watched every once in a while. Now that she has the series on DVD I have come to appriciate them. Therefore, here is my list of the best 10 episodes of the X-Files.

Syzygy
Eric Forman’s slutty sister and another high school girl are born under a bad sign and terrorize a small town. Mulder almost gets laid by the hot local cop in the case of the horny beast. Hate him, wouldn’t want to date him.

Improbable
You gotta love any episode that features Burt Reynolds as god, and Anabeth Gish is smokin hot. The episode has a great rhythm and vibe.

Biogenesis
This episode starts the best 3 hours of the X-Files. If you put together the episodes that wrap up season 6 and start season 7 you will get a view of the X-Files at it’s best. Way better then the feature film.

D.P.O.
Phoebe’s brother kills Jack Black with Lightning. What more do you need to know?

Darkness Falls
This is my favorite from the first season. Mulder and Scully head up to the great Northwest to investigate the disappearance of loggers and Greenies.

X-Cops
This episode is shot like an episode of Cops, Mulder and Scully are followed around by a TV crew featuring the requisite handheld camera techniques.

Clyde Bruckman’s Final Repose
You don’t get it do ya kid…two years from now, while driving down route 91 coming home to your wife and baby daughter, your going to be hit head on by a drunk driving a blue 87 mustang. You’ll end up looking worse than sixty feet of bad road your body slides across after flying out your windshield.

Jump The Shark
This is the Lone Gunmen Morris Fletcher episode, and it’s all good fun until Langley, Frohike, and Byers are killed.

Rain King
This is what happens when a weatherman with otherworldly metrological powers falls in love with Victoria Jackson.

Jose Chungs From Outer Space
You have got to love an X-Files that features Charles Nelson Reilly and Jesse Venture…

Here is a real time revue of tonights Real Time with Bill Maher.

Opening bit:
Immigration; Banderos; predictable; funny premise so-so delivery.

Monologue:
Immigration Policies gone wild; Bills hits the highlights of the week – but it is largely forgettable. Best joke of the monologue is Bush sitting around the pool in Cancun and while watching the Girls on Spring brake utters I’d like to “tap that without a warrant”. Barry Bonds on Bill’s Mind too.

The first guest of the night was Jorge Ramos discussing immigration. Bill wonders why immigration is suddenly a big issue. I think it is because thousands of people are dying in Iraq and Bush Co. has got to change people’s focus. Bill asks Why is Mexico in such bad shape, why do Mexicans have to come here to try to provide for their families. The obvious answer is years of bad policies by and the corruption in the Mexican government. Jorge gives the pro legalization talking points.

Panelists: Erica Jong, Seth Green, Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R)

Rohrabacher wants to let U.S. prisoners pick the fruit instead of immigrants because yea, that is what we need, for the government to have more incentive for building the prison industrial complex. To be sure some localities social services are collapsing under weight of illegal immigration and U.S. employers using cheap labor from south of the border drives down wages across board.

Are they ever going to stop talking about immigration.

Next the elective war memos; does anybody really believe Bush Co. didn’t manipulate the intel to fit into their already decided war plans? Rohrabacher does the republican bob and weave, floats like a butterfly as he avoids questions, changes subject, etc. The Roach Motel tactic, I have never heard it spun quite like that – We create a war in a country to suck in all the terrorists so we can kill them all there….

Erica, just a note, it’s always a hot day in Hell, at least as I understand the concept.

The second guest tonight was the irrepressible Robert Wuhl, we are looking forward to his upcoming show, “Assume the Position”; stories that made up America & the ones it made up. It’s too bad that Wuhl plays race card and is a Bonds apologist.

The best moment of the night is when Rohrabacher is completely speechless when asked if he would be defending Clinton if Bill had a My Pet Goat moment. Classic.

Another note: Rock n Roll & Levis brought down the Berlin wall, not Reagan.

How the Hell can Brazil (not to mention Iceland) become completely energy independent. Are they really that much more progressive then we are?

Seth Green gets a good laugh when he points out that we had build a new clock for the debt.

New Rules was as funny as it usually is; Sadaam as Hannibel Lector was good but My Pet Scapegoat wins for the best word play. Maher takes the religious right to task as only he can in the end of the show rant. I always want the lights to go down and have him say: “I don’t mean to go off on a rant here….”.

Good show, I’ve seen worse, but not a classic.

This looks awesome:

Dave Chappelle gives a Brooklyn neighborhood its very own once-in-a-lifetime free block party. This movie was shot on location and including Chappelle performing all-new material, the stellar roster of artists includes Kanye West, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Common, Dead Prez, Erykah Badu, Jill Scott, the Roots, Cody ChesnuTT, Big Daddy Kane, and – reunited for their first performance in over seven years – the Fugees.

Dave wandered through town handing out golden tickets to invite several dozen citizens to join the party, providing transportation and lodging for their first-time-ever visit to Brooklyn. Ohio’s Central State University marching band made the trip and helped kick off the festivities at the intersection of Quincy and Downing Streets.

Check out the trailer here

See Dave Race Tyrone

Dave Meets the CSU Band

1. The Last Waltz

Great music from one of the most seminal rock bands ever, Martin Scorsese, melancholy ( aside from Robbie Robertson’s rock star stichk ) what’s not to like? Need more? How ’bout Dylan, Clapton, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Dr. John, Muddy Waters and Van Morrison ( “Just a one mo’ time” ). I think that this is by far the best rock and roll movie ever made. Not even close.

Best moment of the film is when Clapton breaks a string in the middle of a solo and RR pick it up without missing a beat. Most surprising moment of this movie is how good Neil Diamond is doing his one song.

2. Stop Making Sense

Okay, first I am a huge David Byrne fan – but the concept of this concert film is brilliant. Initially it is just Bryne on an empty stage ( Psycho Killer ) then, with each ensuing song, another member of the band joins him on stage until you get the entire band plus a number of other musicians. And all the while the crew is building the set around them. Byrne is in constant motion in that big suit and the band is at the top of their game.

3. The Wall

Do I really have to tell you about this movie? I think that it is the best non concert rock movie ever made. Now I just have to justify the number 3 placement to the ninja..

4. Rock N Roll High School

So I am a little biased. I love the Ramones. I saw them live a few times and it was always amazing. Tam, Tonya and Tyler saw them at the musical moon back in the day at it was a milestone in my life. But I digress, I think this movie gives one a pretty good look inside the times – of course it is over the top, but so were the seventies. And Joey crooning to Riff Randle in her bedroom is at once classic, creepy and hilarious.

5. A Hard Day’s Night

Yea, just the one Beatles movie – I really don’t care for the other movies, but this one has to be on this list as it had as much to do with Beatlemania as anything else. Each of the band members personalities shine through and it is just…. fun.

6. Purple Rain

Okay, once you get past the acting this is a really good movie The songs hold up pretty damn well and the story of coming to terms with your demons and redemption is timeless. Purple Rain is not Prince’s best album ( Sign O’ the Times ) but he is truly a musical genius and this is a pretty good movie. Watch it again if you don’t believe me.

7. Sid and Nancy

This is boring Sid… A honest look inside the Sex Pistols and Sid Vicious ( rendered relentlessly by Gary Oldman ) relationship with Nancy Spungen. This is not going to make it onto anyone’s feel good movie list, but punk’s not pretty and neither is this, but it is a very good movie.

8. Gimme Shelter

This documentary would make the list for historical value alone with the footage the infamous altamonte concert, but as a bonus there is some good music, the Flying Buritto Brothers, and Jerry Garcia saying “Groovy”. Oh yea, and The Rolling Stones.

9. Woodstock

Although this movie does not capture the spirit of the event ( or so I am told ) nor does it include the best music of the festival it is still more then a piece of history and is eminently watchable.

10. Rocky Horror Picture Show

Dammit, Janet – this isn’t even a Rock N Roll Movie, unless of course you think Meatloaf is Rock n Roll….

11. Suburbia

This is the real punk movie in this list. If you want to get a real feel for what the punk scene in the US was like once it filtered down to the kids outside of the major metro areas, check this out.

12. The Great Rock ‘n’ Roll Swindle

This is Malcolm McLaren’s ( former Sex Pistols manager ) masturbatory fantasy, but it is an interesting look at the music biz from the perspective of “management”. I am not even sure that this is a good movie, but if you are rock buff it is a movie you can’t afford not to see.

• “Brownie, you’re doing a heckuva job” — George W Bush
• “I know what I don’t know, and to this day I don’t know technology and I don’t know accounting and finance.” — Bernie Ebbers
• “I have never used steroids. Period.” — Rafael Palmeiro
• “Israel must be wiped off the Map” — Mahmoud AhmadineJad
• “It’s not necessarily about what career you pick. It’s about how you do what you do.” — Cory Doctorow
• “I’m the guy they used to call Deep Throat” – Mark Felt
• “You literally have the weight of the world on your shoulders.” — Katie Couric
• “You got to keep repeating things over and over and over again for the truth to sink in, to kind of catapult the propaganda.” — George W Bush
• “The President is a moron! I’m saying it. I don’t care.” — Kathy Griffin
• “So this is how liberty dies. With thunderous applause.” — George Lucas/Senator Amidala