RE:Commend: Garfunkel and Oates

When you look at the great, old-school rock'n'roll duos from the late 60s to early 80s, the groups "Simon and Garfunkel" and "Hall and Oates", come to mind. And when you look at these two closely, you'll realise that within the duo-dynamic, one of them is the all-singing, all-dancing front man, while the other often waddles around in the background, awkwardly strumming away at a six-string. This, of course, is a notion that comedians/actors/musicians, Riki Lindhome and Kate Micucci have tongue-in-cheekily picked up on, naming their two-girl comedy folk band after these underplayed "second bananas", in the form of Garfunkel and Oates.

    But the sweetly ironic thing is that these guys are anything but "second bananas", with enough pure, undeniably raw humour in their off-beat songs to claim them as top banana; every time. Just have a listen of any one of their songs, and within moments you'll be giggling at the crude, cutesy and ultimately true lyrics that accompany the Ukele/Guitar combo they've got going on. There's an upbeat tune about getting your medical marijuana licence featuring comic, Doug Benson, in "Weed Card"; a melodical venture into the true thoughts of everyone with "Pregnant Women Are Smug"; and a no holds-barred, F-Bomb-athon in the aptly named "F**k You" (which surprisingly starts out as a pretty little love-song). Other highlights include "Handjob, Bland Job, I Don't Understand Job", "This Party Just Took a Turn For The Douche", and the Christmas-themed, guest-star packed "Present Face".

   While their humour is certainly that of an adult-level, it's hard to disagree with their explicit lyrics when they're used to such amusing comedic affect; gangsta rap, this is not. And so it doesn't come as much as a surprise that the pair have landed a pilot deal with HBO, with a show that's promised to be "Glee with dick jokes". Think of them as a female version of the hilarious Flight of The Conchords, and you'll get an inkling for how funny this show could be...

  With a mass internet fanbase that rises day by day, two albums already produced and a third to be released later this month, it's safe to say that these gals are sticking around the comedy-music scene for a while. So start getting used to them now, and be thankful for the uplifting laughs they'll bring you: line by line, lyric by lyric, chord by chord.

So check out this G'n'O classic, "You, Me and Steve":




And don't forget that Garfunkel and Oates also have a website, a Youtube Channel, a Facebook Page and Twitter! Plus all their albums are available via iTunes: what are you waiting for? Go buy!


ATR
@DMeisterTweets

RE:Commend: OneRepublic

OneRepublic is a band you most likely would have heard, even if not consciously aware of it, as their debut single 'Apologize' in 2006 broke radio history with 10,331 airplays in 1 single week. The 5 Man, Colorado based, Pop-Rock group have been on the rise ever since, having released two stellar albums, Dreaming Out Loud (featuring "Stop and Stare") and Waking Up (featuring "Secrets"), as well as touring and supporting acts like U2 and Maroon 5 all around the world.

   I recently reminded myself of them because of some school work and I find that their stuff is really easy to listen to, regardless of what you're doing. What's also cool is that they use some unconventional, classical instruments in their music too, like cello, violin, organ and even glockenspiel. Whether it's the tuneful melody of "Good Life" or "Everybody Loves Me", or the emotionally driven and choir-like powerhouse of choruses seen in "Stop and Stare", "All This Time" or "Mercy", everything is relevant; nothing is uninspiring.  Just some good, honest, universal music for anyone. Enjoy!

Have a listen for yourself, and check out more of their songs on free-to-listen site, Grooveshark.
Alternatively, you can purchase tracks and albums via iTunes.

ATR

More RE:Commendations!

RE:Commend: Husbands

Husbands is the brand new and hilarious web-series from acclaimed TV Writer, Jane Espenson (Torchwood, Firefly), focusing on the age old "Did we just accidentally get married in Vegas?"-RomCom setup with a notable difference; it's a same sex marriage. Camp TV star, Cheeks, and Basesball hero, Brady, find themselves hitched after a wild night in the city of sin, and now must deal with the oncoming media onslaught and whether or not to actually make the relationship work.

    It's great to see a series all about equality really take off, and although I'm sure the gay angle may turn a lot of people away, I urge you to open your minds and stay the course, because what you'll find is a refreshingly fun and hilarity strewn series. Espenson has taken a tired formula and revitalised it with a new-world energy, teeming with spirit and charm, plus a healthy dose of camp to keep the laughs fresh.

 The way I see it, this is future at work: a bold new series focusing on a community previously unspoken for exclusively in this kind of media. Embracing the risk of an untapped source material in gay newly-weds, and sticking it on the web, network-free, proves how television is evolving to meet the open-eyed way of thinking the world has come to.

  And what with guest stars already turning up (Nathan Fillion, anyone?), it looks like these 2 minute episodes might just be shaping up to be some of the internet's finest serial content. So roll on Husbands, because it looks like you're in it for the long haul.

Watch Husbands Now!




ATR


Read My Twitter Q&A With Jane Espenson!

RE:Commend: Jetpack Joyride

I'll be kicking off the new RE:Commend (or just "Recommend", for you non-gimmicky types out there) feature with a sweet new iOS (meaning iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad) game that rockets itself ahead of the rest. Jetpack Joyride is the latest iTitle from Halfbrick, the team behind previous Appstore hits such as "Monster Dash" and "Fruit Ninja". In this 69p gem, you'll be steering the good ol' Halfbrick Mascot, Barry Steakfries, through a precarious laboratory full of coins, lazers and awesome power-ups.

   Taking a new spin on the classic "Helicopter Game", this Joyride has you cruising around in crazy jetpacks (machine gun, bubbles, rainbows) to level up through a series of challenges and collect coins to purchase new jetpacks, clothing and power-ups, and ultimately reach the furthest distance. I've wasted a good couple hours (or so the game log says) to this since it was released a couple weeks ago, thanks to its awesomely addictive nature and "just one more" style setup. So if you happen to own a certain iDevice then get downloading, and be prepared for this to become your new go-to game!

DOWNLOAD NOW
ATR

The Sunday Supdate: 04/09/11

Because I'm a true believer in structure, I've decided to break Supdates up into relevant sections. Nothing major, just helps with the flow of transitioning into new topics and what not. So dive in!

Worst Summer Ever?
As school begins to leer its head once more, further devouring the fading light that was the Summer break, you can't help but reflect on what you've done these past 6 weeks. Maybe you went on holiday, somewhere grand and beautiful and relaxing, maybe you did an amazing thing or met amazing people, doing things you wanted and needed to do, or maybe you just spent 3 fortnights sitting on your arse doing naff all.

   Unfortunately, I fall into this latter category. Yep, almost 42 days and nothing to show for it. In fact, I could probably teach a crash course in procrastinating and laziness after this. I wanted to blog a lot this Summer, but instead only pushed a mere 3 pieces in August, a laughable amount considered to the previous month. Distractions take over and before you know, I'm here. Oh and a tip: don't make big "To-Do" lists, it just makes you more depressed when you look back and see NOTHING crossed off. But I digress. Besides that wasn't the only reason that this has been a somewhat lacklustre Summer, because as usual the Great British weather decided to be a douche and treat us like a soggy slice of towel roll... It's not a perfect simile...

Writer's Block and A Little Inspiration

Thanks Felicia!

Like I've said, articles (and my writing in general) have become... constipated, to put it into context. They just don't want to shift out of my head and onto the page/screen. So after 5-ish weeks of that I read this: http://feliciaday.com/blog/how-i-started-writing - a great piece from The Guild (an awesome webshow) creator, Felicia Day. Turns out, she too used to just sit on her bum and think about writing things, rather than getting up and doing them. She even used to be a World Of Warcraft addict, spending hours of her time a day on the game (which actually gave her inspiration for The Guild). Anyway, the short article gives her tips on how she embraced her creativity and took hold of her writing prospects, through various books, websites and exercises. Definitely check it out if your having trouble with any creative projects, because it really inspired me and gave a lot of hope to a shrivelled dream. Also try ZenHabits.net, another great blog full of helpful hints on how to prioritize, organize and get through life that little bit better. It really is shame I didn't discover all this cool stuff at the start of the holidays.

The Awesomeness of The Guild
So while we're still on the topic of Felicia here, I'd like to talk to y'all about her aforementioned web series, The Guild: focusing around a group of MMO players as they try to juggle their totally unimportant real lives around their much loved (and addictive) RPG. Funny as hell, and littered with awesome references to video game culture, The Guild's an incredibly satisfying series, chock-full of laugh out loud moments and a rich, varied cast of hilarious characters.


   You can catch up with it from the very beginning now, for free, over at watchtheguild.com, or on their YouTube channel! Also, if you happen to have Xbox Live you can find seasons 3-5 all in great quality on the Zune marketplace for free too, and episodes appear there first exclusively, every Tuesday (the latest was insane, due a very awesome special guest cameo). So long live The Guild: The show about gamers, for gamers, by gamers! Here's the crazy-hilarious Bollywood style music video from the "Guildies" themselves:

Enjoy! And I'll catch you all on the flipside.


The flipside being sometime this week.

Hopefully.

Arnie is Out.
ATR
Follow Me: @DMeisterTweets