Videozz

Today's a video day, people! I've scoured the bowels of the internetz, and found some great videos for you to enjoy.

--BigDog--

There is something unsettling about BigDog. It's not how much he weighs, it's not how much he can carry, and it's not even the fact that he's a machine. What made me feel sick to my stomach watching him move is how realistically he handles treacherous terrain, getting kicked in the side, and slipping on ice. Maybe it's the noise he makes, too, but the absurdly life-like mannerisms of this incredible machine are staggering. And of course, BigDog NEVER goes down.



--Clapton Shredzz!!--

This video from artist Santeri Ojala is hilarious. Using real footage of Eric Clapton playing a guitar solo with his band on-stage, Ojala overdubbed crappy guitar lines that are strikingly accurate in their attacks, if not in tone, so the illusion is almost completely seamless. And the result is something pretty entertaining. I laughed out loud a couple of times. Can you believe people like Clapton wouldn't want this stuff on the internet? Come on guys, you're talented and famous. Let people have a little fun with you.



--TAKE--

As Dave Burnes pointed out to me, the New York Times knows how to handle the arts, fashion, media, and other right-brained miscellanea. Recently they launched T Magazine, seemingly for that very reason. Now, T Magazine online has begun "TAKE," a series of short short films (12, to be exact) starring "Hollywood’s bright young things" that, as a whole, lay out a single narrative. "Shot by the emerging New York writer and director Brody Baker during the recent Sundance festival, these 12 improvised vignettes were conceived to be viewed sequentially. Each episode, starring a different actor, will build on the previous one." The first one stars Josh Hartnett in arguably his best minute on-screen ever. What excites me most of all (yes, even more than the Band of Horses track in the teaser/trailer) about this is that what appears to be smart, invested, quality drama has been created SPECIFICALLY for the internet. And that's no small news bit. The future is the internet, people.

TAKE - Episode 1


--Hulu--

"The future is the internet," someone wise once said. Whomever it was, they were smart. Welcome to TV on the Internet. No, it's not some Brooklyn indie-band. It's Hulu, where you can watch a bunch of your favorite shows AND movies, streaming, for free, with limited advertising interruption. What distinguish this site from Peekvid, a predecessor, are great design value and big-name advertisers, including 20th Century Fox. That's right, their shows are on there for free and they're bout it bout it. While Hulu has some holes (for instance, not much in the "Scrubs" department), there is a wide and phenomenal breadth of media available, and I don't see this thing going under anytime soon with all of the corporate backing it already has. We may very well be witnessing the beginning of free media.

HULU


--Goldfrapp--

I just got the new album from Goldfrapp, entitled "Seventh Tree," and I can't stop listening to it. Nonstop for days, this album has been playing on repeat in my computer. Apparently more mellow than their earlier stuff, Seventh Tree is a haven of honey-sweet vocals, lush soundscapes, and a heartbreaking lightness. The video for A&E, a personal favorite, is bizarre and slightly disturbing, but does not manage to detract from the heavenly vocal arrangement. And if you've got three minutes that you never want back, you can also check out the Rex The Dog






--Pitchfork.tv--

Pitchfork has been advertising the unveiling of Pitchfork.tv lately, which goes live on April 7. Promising to be a phenomenal source of indie music video splendor, there is little information available about the format, but the site sports a lovely wash. I guess we'll just have to wait a few more weeks.

Pitchfork.tv



That oughtta keep you busy.

Sigur Ros

I'm a little behind on this post, but it's exciting to announce that Sigur Ros has put their entire film, "Heima," on YouTube! I scrambled to get the DVD in december, but didn't even get the special edition that I wanted. Regardless of my own pettiness, now everyone gets to enjoy this film for free! Freeculture, hurrah!



Also, they had a contest called "Minn Heima," or "My Home," where people could remix and re-edit footage from the feature into their own film. Below is the a thank you from the band themselves, and the winner of the contest for best "Minn Heima."






If you've been living under a rock, then you might not be aware that Sigur Ros has made some of the most beautiful music and music videos around. Here are a couple of memorable music videos that match their music so well that sometimes you want to cry, they're so beautiful.

Sigur Rós - Glósóli



Sigur Rós - untitled #1 (vaka)

Free stuffs

Hey dudes and dudettes. The world is a terrible place for creativity these days. Intellectual Property laws are tough (especially when you consider that "Intellectual Property" makes no sense). If you're like me, you believe the future is FREE!! Since a popular music download site was taken down back in October, I have found myself completely devoid of new music to listen to, with rare exception. Today by happenstance I stumbled across some free music by Benn Jordan (The Flashbulbs), and I wanted to share it with you! The music is very moody and contemplative, with a rock feel, and it's free! If you are going to download it, please read this official release from Benn Jordan and his record label.

Other great links related to free culture:

Just for the Love of it - a site that promotes freeconomy, the concept of giving people services and knowledge in exchange for the same

Gutenberg - an online resource for audiobooks and text transcriptions of tons of popular titles

Internet Archive - tons and tons of free media to sample and observe

Creative Commons - a new kind of copyright, this website has links to a lot of free stuff, everything from art to software licenses!

Know another good site? Post it in the comments!! Share the love of free.

Free Literature!

I'm SO excited. Today, by happenstance, I found TWO websites that host free audiobooks! They're all Creative Commons licensed, free, and I wish i'd discovered them two months ago before I drove cross-country and back.

Gutenberg
LibriVox

Free the Media!! Free the World!!

Free Media!

I mean that in both the sense that Media is Free and that we must Free Media!

Today, a quick post about free media:

First, a band called Tone has released it's album under a Creative Commons license. They receive royalties from radio play, and they get paid for concert performances. BUT THEIR ALBUM IS AVAILABLE FOR FREE. This is a breakthrough in the filesharing world, the new media world in which the record companies have been destabilized and people think that by making music available for free download, no one gets to make any money. This proves it doesn't have to be that way. You can download their album, which is the first ever CC-Licensed electronica album, here.

Second, the European Green Party has released an advertisement in support of free file sharing, something it would like to make a reality, and as a direct response to the horrible MPAA commercials called "You Wouldn't Steal a Car." Video embedded below, and link to their site here.