Lunch of Champions

Chris Rock on Rap Music

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9A2I-X7b-w[/youtube]

“Summertime” | New Kids on the Block

Ummm… I guess we shouldn’t be surprised by a New Kids on the Block reunion. But I guess I am, for some reason, surprised that their new music is just as crappy as their old music. I don’t mean to pile on here, but is it really legit for 30+ year old men to be singing,

I was like, “hey, girl, can I get your number”
I remember what you told me too,
“Don’t call after ten”
But you know that I did,
‘Cause I couldn’t stop thinkin’ ’bout you.

?

Surely, their desperation for the limelight could have been better spent by doing a duet with Kid Rock or Santana.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TLv1tm9kws[/youtube]

They Hung Him on a Cross | Nirvana

Nirvana recorded this version of the traditional song, “They Hung Him on a Cross”, which is on their posthumous record, With the Lights Out.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s63zQWslzmA[/youtube]

I had never heard it until this morning, when it popped up on my iTunes Party Shuffle. I must say that it moved me.

Jon Lajoie | Everyday Normal Guy

One never knows what to expect when he clicks on a comedian doing a rap song on Youtube, but this “Everyday Normal Guy” video by Jon Lajoie is hilllllarious!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PsnxDQvQpw[/youtube]

Mother Nature vs. Twin Cities…plus KaiserCartel

It seems like Mother Nature has something in for the Twin Cities as of late.  Yesterday, the storm that I thought looked like the apocalypse made its way through the South Metro area.  At my office in Richfield we were all rushed to the extreme weather shelter area – fun stuff.  And portions of today’s Macy’s Day of Music at Orchestra Hall were cut short due to some more severe weather that cut across Minneapolis.

By the time I arrived downtown, I missed Haley Bolar but was able to catch The Honeydogs go on.  Unfortunately, they had to play an abbreviated set of four or five songs before closing down the stage due to the incoming weather.  KaiserCartel was supposed to go on next on the other outdoor stage; fortunately they moved them inside to the lobby state at Orchestra Hall.

(Benjamin and Courtney from KaiserCartel – you guessed it, they’re from Brooklyn.)

I hadn’t heard them before, but was intrigued because Chris Riemenschneider described them as a stripped down version of Rilo Kiley.  I would agree with that but also add in a bit of Mates of State to the mix.  Not only because they are married, but also in terms of singing dynamics and the tone of the songs.  They sounded very good considering the lobby environment with a mix of acoustic guitar (Courtney Kaiser playing an open tuned Epiphone) and Benjamin Cartel spending most of him time on drums and xylophone.  Their songs were both catchy and haunting.  The good news is that they are playing again this weekend at the Bryant Lake Bowl with a trio of shows throughout the day.  I suggest giving them a listen and swing by and see them in Lyn-Lake if you’ve got the chance this weekend.

Hillarious Joe Cocker Woodstock Translation!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4_MsrsKzMM[/youtube]

New Invasion from Planet K Video!

We always have great things to say about Invasion from Planet K here at Lunch of Champions. They truly are, as their myspace page states, “the hardest rockin’ guitar-driven funk band in Minneapolis!”

Their new video for “The Mysterious Professor Tweak” is quite awesome. Paying no attention to the annoying 1/10th of a second rule of video clip splicing that is partially responsible for making MTV the wasteland of anti-artistic filth that it is, Tweak cleverly transports the viewer back to the 1970′s era of music videos complete with star wipes and semi-transparent guitar solo overlays. Booyah!

Front man, Kevin Schafer pretty much sums it up in his myspace blog when he describes the video as “Campy and dated and a bunch of fun!!” Haha! Love it! Check it out:

[youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=MNJ8do-BpBA[/youtube]

God-des & She | “Lick It”

I’m usually not a fan of artists that “go blue”, but this video by God-des & She is actually quite clever:

[youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=MoAjz0r4ZFY[/youtube]

Pocahontas County to Reunite in August!

Here’s an email I received today:

POCAHONTAS COUNTY REUNION!!!!

Saturday August 23rd, 2008 331 club

Sunday August 24th, 2008 Acadia Cafe.

Justin
Jake
Jackson
Colin

All together for 2 nights in August with special guests and lots of fun!

Make it happen!

PC

FUCK YEAH!! Pocahontas County rules!!! Come on out and support the boys on August 23 & 24!