The Classic Rock Ballad 'Beth' by KISS From Her Point of View (And The True Story).

Anyone who grew up during the 70s and 80s is familiar with the song "Beth" which was written by guitarist Stan Penridge and sung by KISS original drummer, Peter Criss. The song, to which many of my peers slow-danced in school gyms, has been featured or sung on GLEE, American Idol and in numerous movies. We often speculated as to who this "Beth" actually was - and apparently we were not the only ones.


above: at the risk of simultaneously dating myself and freaking out my readers, I actually still have my original single of Beth.

This legendary KISS ballad gets lampooned in this four and a half minute short film directed by Brian Billow of Anonymous Content, shown below. The fictitious story of the song’s inspiration came from the mind of Bob Winter, executive creative director at Crispin Porter + Bogusky in Miami. The Peter Criss character's dialogue stays true to the song's lyrics and the video is perfectly art directed to capture the era. Only flaw? Peter Criss was actually the only KISS member in the studio when the song was recorded for the 1976 album Destroyer*.

As Winter told Adweek previously, "I was thinking that it might be fun to create a series that's like the made-up stories behind real songs."



The truth is not far off. According to Songfacts, Criss and Penridge came up with a song called "Beck," which was about the wife/girlfriend of their guitarist Mike Brand (they were in a band named Chelsea at the time), whose name was Becky. It's rumored she was a hypochondriac and was constantly interrupting their band practices with phone calls asking when Mike was coming home, and the song was a joke directed at him.

In 1976, after Criss joined Kiss, he and Penridge revived the song and with the help of producer Bob Ezrin, they changed the title to "Beth" and made it more sentimental, changing the end of the first verse from: "I know you love complaining, but Beck what can I do?" to "I think I hear them callin', Oh, Beth what can I do?"

Get the whole story behind the Bob Winter and Brian Billow version  here at Adweek.

CREDITS
Director: Brian Billow
Production Company: Anonymous Content
Senior Executive Producer: Eric Stern
Executive Producer, Production: SueEllen Clair
Producer: Paul Ure
Writer: Bob Winter
Director of Photography: Darran Tiernan
Editor: John Dingfield, Beast Editorial
Actors:
Beth: Lilli Birdsell
Peter: Steven Olson
Kid #1: Michael Hamilton
Kid #2: Robert Hamilton
Ace: Roy Green
Paul: Alec Paul Cartinian
Gene: Rocco Fonzarelli
Roadie: Jason Lee Beckwith
Performer, Beth Piano Intro: Coleman Zurkowski

*source: wikipedia

10 Great Cover Versions of New Year's 'Auld Lang Syne.'

To ring in the New Year, I bring you this unusual selection of cover versions of the New Years' Eve song to which that no one really knows the words. (thank you Mashable)

1. Beer Bottles

2. Drum

3. Ukulele

4. Punk Rock

5. Metal

6. Guitar

7. Piano

8. Saxophone

9. Bass

10. Julie Andrews

BONUS: Cats

Happy New Year!

YouTube Rewind 2012. The Top Watched Videos and A Mash-Up Of The Most Viewed Videos Of The Year.

This year, Korean Pop music transcended boundaries and took the world by storm. Cover songs, parodies, and "do-it-yourself" music videos from all genres entertained us in countries near and far. And you participated in conversations at a global scale, uploading videos to share ideas on everything from nonprofit campaigns, to political satire, to new and surprising voices and talents. Plus, all over the world, you tuned in for the most up-to-date news footage of presidential elections, natural disasters and more.

Rewind YouTube Style:


2012 was a big year for YouTube. You’ve been watching over 4 billion hours of video a month. Millions of creators are using YouTube channels to experiment with innovative forms of entertainment, explore their passions and interests, take creativity and pop culture to new levels. 2012’s top trending videos and top channels showcase this creative ingenuity in ways we'd never before thought possible.

Here's a "Behind The Scenes" video featuring a look at the making of the Rewind YouTube Style 2012 video:


Globally, here’s what we were all talking about in 2012:

Top Trending YouTube Videos (playlist):
• PSY - GANGNAM STYLE (강남스타일) M/V
• Somebody That I Used to Know - Walk off the Earth (Gotye - Cover)
• KONY 2012
• "Call Me Maybe" by Carly Rae Jepsen - Feat. Justin Bieber, Selena, Ashley Tisdale, etc.
• Barack Obama vs Mitt Romney. Epic Rap Battles Of History Season 2.
• A DRAMATIC SURPRISE ON A QUIET SQUARE
• WHY YOU ASKING ALL THEM QUESTIONS? .. #FCHW
• Dubstep Violin- Lindsey Stirling- Crystallize
• Facebook Parenting: For the troubled teen.
• Felix Baumgartner's supersonic freefall from 128k' - Mission Highlights

Top YouTube Channels of 2012:
• boyceavenue
• ERB
• HolaSoyGerman
• JennaMarbles
• lindseystomp
• PrankvsPrank
• TheFineBros
• ThePianoGuys
• theslowmoguys
• Vsauce

METHODOLOGY and FAQS:
How they determined the top video list:
This year, YouTube looked not just at views, but also shares, searches, likes and responses to identify the 10 videos that everybody was talking about in 2012. On YouTube people don’t just view a popular video, they remix, share, and parody, building a fan community that extends far beyond the watch page. They took all of this into account to ensure that they truly captured the “watercooler moments” of the year.

Is "Gangnam Style" the most viewed YouTube video of all time?
Yes. Currently, "Gangnam Style" is the most viewed video on YouTube and it will likely become the first video to hit one billion views.

Where you can see the trending videos that were popular in other countries this year:
You can see the top trending video lists for each country that has a list on the 'Browse' tab of the global YouTube Rewind channel. You can also choose from this list of country channels to visit the channels in their native languages.

Why isn't a top trending video list available for every country?
YouTube tried to make top video lists for as many countries as possible based on available information. YouTube is popular globally. 70% of views come from outside of the United States, so their global list is also representative of what people all around the world were watching in 2012.

Just how much YouTube were people watching this year?
An astounding four billion hours of video every month on YouTube.

Why they decided to make "YouTube Style" and what went into the making of this video:
For the last few years YouTube has made a video to highlight the top videos of the year. This year talented YouTube creators had billions of views on their channels and they helped entertain the world all year long, so YouTube wanted to celebrate these creators and have a little fun while they were at it.

A full list (and links to their videos) of the stars who appeared in this "YouTube Style":
PSY
Walk off the Earth
AlphaCat
KassemG 
DailyGrace
MysteryGuitarMan
DaveDays
DeStorm
PyroBooby
BarelyPolitical
RealAnnoyingOrange
FreddieW
CorridorDigital
RhettAndLink
Smosh
FeliciaDay
ChesterSee
iJustine
EpicMealTime
MyHarto
JennaMarbles
ShitGirlsSay
JuicyStar07
GloZell
ClevverTV
SmoshGames
RyanHiga

all information courtesy of YouTube

Director Dannah Nayblat Could Use A Little Help To Heat Things Up.

Director Dannah Nayblat could use your help and support to finish her labor of love, a stop-motion animated music video. It's true, I get many submissions about projects on kickstarter, but it was her explanatory video asking for help, and the goodies with which she rewards her backers, that got my attention. Of course her personal note to me, gushing with praise about my blog and my readers, didn't hurt.



Some Like it Hot is the song title of an animation music video that she's been working on in her spare time (and sleep time :) for the last couple of years, for a band named Club Des Belugas. The technique she's using is stop motion, but rather than taking a series of still photos and editing them in a sequence, which is traditional stop motion - she takes photos of the actors and place them in virtual sets that she designs on her computer.



There are several stages to the process - first she selects the photos she'll be using and edits a sketch of the scene (they shot hundreds of photos for each little scene). Then she does the artwork. Aside from creating the backgrounds, she may need to place items in the actor's hands, change the color of their shirt, re-style their hair or change their whole head... There are also many adjustments that need to be made in terms of scale and color correction so that all the components work together. Finally, she exports the final frames and place them in the video.

The whole thing is EXTREMELY time consuming (as many creatives know)!

You can see part of her work process, in the video below, to better understand what takes so long... and hopefully you'll think that the results are worth it and help fund her on kickstarter.



"Visually striking, imaginative & funny stop-motion animation video for a great song!" is the description of her kickstarter project that launched a couple of days ago and instantly became a STAFF PICK.



The band - Club Des Belugas - is based in Germany, the singer, Brenda Boykin, with her unique (award winning) deep voice, is American, and the band members are from different countries. Danna is based in Israel, but the leading male, Starskee Suave and Gilad Koriski, the photographer who captured him, both live in Los Angeles (she directed those sessions in the middle of the night, via skype...)



The israeli team includes photographer Shiran Carmel and the lovely Ester Rada, who is the female lead. Ester is a known Israeli actress, and though she isn't the performer of this song, she's a great singer in her own right (her single Save a Little Love for Me from the new Club Des Belugas album, is one of the rewards offered for your pledges). The hair and makeup artist is Zion Ashkenazi and the wardrobe was contributed by Hila Aharon.


above: Director Dannah Nayblat

Learn more about her project here, and help her turn her dream into a reality, on kickstarter.

The Disco Queen's Reign Has Ended. Donna Summer Has Danced Her Last Dance.

The Queen of Disco, Donna Summer, has died at the age of 63 after a battle with lung cancer. Known for such pulsing anthems as "Last Dance," ''Love to Love You Baby" and "Bad Girls," Donna's songs became the soundtrack for a glittery age of sex, drugs, dance and flashy clothes.

Her family released a statement saying Summer died Thursday morning and that they "are at peace celebrating her extraordinary life and her continued legacy."





Donna Summer Downloads, Albums and CDs

You will be missed. We loved to love you, baby.

Incredible Sound Mix and Editing Give New Life To Pixar's Monsters, Inc. in Boo Bass

This three and a half minute visual and audio re-invention really impressed me. Boo Bass, an awesome remix by Nick Bertke, is a catchy composition using sounds from Disney Pixar's 'Monsters, Inc.' with fantastically edited footage from the 2001 movie by David Kabisch.





Nick, known as Pogo, records sounds from his favourite games and movies and pieces them together like a jigsaw puzzle to create completely new music. His videos have collected over 40 million views on YouTube, and he's produced remixes for Disney Pixar, Microsoft, Showtime, the United Nations and more. See his work here.

And check out more of the editing work of David Kabisch aka goldpikpikcarrots on his YouTube channel here

You can download this great remix here

Paul McCartney Directs Natalie Portman and Johnny Depp in "My Valentine" video

“My Valentine,” the first single off Sir Paul McCartney's new album “Kisses on the Bottom” was directed by one-time Beatle himself and features the sickeningly stunning Natalie Portman and super sexy Johnny Depp.



Paul's daughter, fashion designer Stella McCartney, styled the black and white video which features the two stars simply signing the words to the song with hand gestures.



The guitar melody you hear throughout (despite seemingly played by Depp in the video) is actually played the legendary Eric Clapton.

“The inspiration is Nancy [Shevell],” said Paul McCartney, referencing his new wife (he reportedly sang the song at their wedding.) “The actual video itself is inspired by Irving Penn’s photography.”

He later told the crowd at the video's Los Angeles premiere, that his daughter, Stella, encouraged him to make the video: “I said, ‘I’m not sure I want to do a million-dollar video.’ She said, ‘So do something really simple. You know, Natalie. Ring Natalie up and ask her if she’ll do something.’ I said, ‘That is a good idea.’ So I rang her, and she was so kind to agree to do it. Then I realized it was a guy’s song, so then I rang Johnny. And he very kindly agreed to do it. A week after Stella had mentioned the idea, I was back here filming it.”

Buy or Download Paul McCartney's Kisses On The Bottom or My Valentine here

Rango Designer Debuts Super Bizarre Super Doggies First Music Video With Obama.

This is so odd, I simply had to share it with my readers. Super Doggies are a musical and 3D visual project created in 2012. The project depicts a "virtual band" of cartoon characters. This band has three animated dog members: Buffy, Abby and Bo and their universe is explored through the band's website and music videos, the first of which debuted today -and includes an appearance by President Obama. Other media will follow, such as short cartoons and an upcoming ‘live’ 3D tour.



Super Doggies are pursuing the dream to perform around the world, with the involvement of local communities, focusing on children. Concerned about their future, Super Doggies has focused its attention on the global issue of youth poverty. The Super Doggies are ‘good citizens’ who want to bring attention to the issue of poverty and work with local communities to highlight their plight. Super Doggies’s citizenship principles are founded on the conviction that the arts, business and social initiatives can, together, contribute to making a better world.



The press release:
The guy behind Rango – which just won an Oscar for best animated feature film – will help introduce a new cast of animated characters with a political bent for this election season – the Super-Doggies.

The trio of singing Super-Doggies includes Barack Obama’s dog, “Bo,” Vladmir Putin’s dog, “Buffy,” and “Abby,” the dog of a South African girl, Imani, who lives in the slums of Johannesburg.

In the 3:45 music video, Imani watches from her house how both Obama and Putin care for their dogs. All Imani has is a raggedy stuffed animal. At one point she writes to both men asking them for a real pet – and in a fantastic scene that climaxes into a dance party featuring both dancing world leaders and their dogs – she gets her wish (Obama joins the action at 2:47)



The story is timely on multiple levels. Both Russia and the US have national elections coming up (March 4th for Russia and November 6th for the US). In fact, there have been several stories in Obama’s campaign promoting how well he treats Bo considering his competitor, Mitt Romney, once placed his dog in a kennel and strapped it on top of his car for a cross-country trip.

The work of Rango’s character designer, Eugeniy Yelchin is familiar to many of us. He designed Coca-Cola’s iconic polar bears, worked on the Film, “The Brothers Grimm” and also designed the opening for HBO’s “Rome.”

For this project, Yelchin teamed up with Grammy Award winning producer Neal Pogue who works with musicians like Nicky Minaj, Lil Wayne, Outkast and Pink. The effort is also getting guidance from marketing veteran Bruce Kirkland who directed The Beatles Anthology project, and has produced albums for the Beastie Boys, the Spice Girls, Radiohead, and Everclear. The overall project is the brainchild of producer Eugeniy Kuritsyn of Global Media Line, a Moscow-based creative producing house with an impressive line of talent to realize this vision. Eugeniy wanted to create a new entertainment product that would ensure collaboration between the best representatives of international entertainment industry.

Later in the year, the Super-Doggies will go on a world tour, featuring holographic dancing and singing dogs combined with the world’s best dance talent and circus performers. A portion of the proceeds will go to animal welfare organizations to encourage people to adopt dogs.

Tour dates and other information will be announced later in the year on the Super-Doggies website: http://www.super-doggies.com/ where you can sign up for the newsletter for updates.

RÖKK Out With The Lonely Island. Andy Samberg & Friends Promote Swedish Vodka.

The Lonely Island is that hilarious musical trio consisting of Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone and Akiva Schaffer. The emmy-winning songwriters and performers have been making videos together since 2000 and have appeared on The Emmys and in many SNL digital shorts.



Known to bring slap-stick comedy and pizzazz to any performance, the guys have embarked on their first role as Creative Directors behind the new Swedish vodka – RÖKK. The trio is responsible for the brand’s consumer engagement, which includes creating digital material to market the brand and help introduce RÖKK, the premium priced, freeze filtered vodka.



Below are the videos they've created for the RÖKK Vodka brand.

THE DREAM:


THE DIRECTOR'S CUT:


BEHIND THE SCENES OF "EVERYBODY LIKES ME":


About RÖKK Vodka:


THE RÖKK RUNESTONE
(Swedish: Rökstenen) is the most famous runestone in Sweden, featuring the longest known runic inscription. It is considered the first piece of written Swedish Literature and therefore marks the beginning of recorded history in Sweden.

PURE SWEDISH SPRING WATER
RÖKK is made with clean water from glacial sources in Kalby, Sweden - the picturesque countryside five hours west of Stockholm. The spring is adjacent to the distillery and is renowned for its ultra-crisp, clean water.

FREEZE FILTRATION
After distillation, RÖKK Vodka is brought to sub-zero temperatures and then filtered through frozen charcoal to remove impurities that cannot be removed using traditional filtration processes.

Freeze Filtration raises the PH levels, reducing acidity, and giving RÖKK its unmistakable smoothness. (RÖKK is the only premium Nordic vodka that is freeze-filtered for exceptional smoothness.)

Lady Gaga Au Naturel by Inez & Vindooh For Her You & I Music Video and Harper's Bazaar.

We are so used to seeing Lady Gaga in outrageous outfits, accessories and make-up, or as her alter ego Jo Calderone, that her look gracing the cover of the October issue of Harper's Bazaar is a refreshing change.

Images from the editorial:




Dutch photography and directorial duo Inez Van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin shot her on the set of her You and I video (shown below). In both the video and the editorial, the music star is showing her little monsters a side of her not often seen. Wearing a custom-made dress by Hussein Chalayan, she sports an unmade-up look on the cover, the inside editorial and in the video.



stills from the video:



Although not actually make-up free, Lady Gaga's no-makeup look is made with Studio Sculpt SPF 15 Foundation ($29.15), Prep + Prime Highlighter ($23), Brow Gel ($15) and Prep + Prime Lash ($15). All from M.A.C.


read the Harper's Bazaar interview with Lady Gaga here


above: Lady Gaga and Inez, who frequently work together

See more of Inez and Vindooh's amazing photography here.

Limited Edition Beastie Boys Action Figures Benefit Charity

The Beastie Boys recent music video for Don't Play No Game That I Can't Win (shown below) features action figures of the rapping trio. Now, you can purchase the 11.5" tall poseable Beastie Boys Action Figures, complete with clothes and accessories in a 16" x 12" metal box.



To celebrate summer and renaissance all up across this fair piece, as well as the release of the video for Don't Play No Game That I Can't Win, a select few sets of B-Boys action figures available for purchase ($750 for the set).




Produced by Nowhere Ltd. / Bathing Ape, these are some real limited edition, explicit, bottle service/ v.i.p. type items. And no, they are not trying to take you for all your Mozarell.

The proceeds will be split between Pablove Foundation and Alex's Lemonade Stand, two very worthwhile charitable organizations that work with kids with cancer:




The Action Figures are packaged in a 16x12" metal box:


The box contains:
3 Action Figures (1 MCA, 1 Mike D, 1 Ad Rock - each 11.5" tall)
Action Figures come dressed in button down shirts, pants, and shoes
3 Doll Stands
3 White Jump Suits
3 Safety Goggles
3 pairs of Work Boots
3 Safety Vests
3 Belts
3 Japanese Decal Stickers
3 Extra Hand Attachments

As a special bonus with purchase they're throwing in the 2-disc deluxe version of the Beastie Boys Anthology: The Sounds of Science, featuring an 88 page full-color 11.3x11.3" book with photos and lyrics, while supplies last.

Buy them here

2011's Hottest Pitchman? Marshall Mathers aka Slim Shady aka Eminem In 3 New Ads.

above image courtesy of the UK Guardian

Christina Aguilera botched the National Anthem at Super Bowl, the Black Eyed Peas halftime show was a disappointment and the match-up between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Green Bay packers proved to be an exciting one.


above: a still from the Superbowl's Chrysler 200 ad featuring Eminem

But two of yesterday's most talked about commercials that aired during the Championship Game both featured someone who'd been laying low in terms of screen time for the past few years, Marshall Bruce Mathers III, aka Slim Shady, aka Eminem. And that's not all. In addition to these commercials featuring the rapper, the 53rd Grammy Awards - in which Eminem has earned 10 nominations - is being promoted with a visual and aural 'life story' of the Midwest celebrity.


above: The 53rd Grammy Awards features the rapper's career in their latest campaign

As a Claymation pitchman in the Lipton Brisk ad, he effectively pokes fun at himself. As a Die-hard Detroiter, he adds an edge to the Chrysler 200 launch ad, which has proven to be a sentimental favorite. In the Grammy promo, his career is chronicled as part of the Recording Academy's 'Music Is Life Is Music' campaign.


above: Eminem is a claymation character in Lipton's latest Brisk ad

In case you missed them, here are the three tv commercials presently on the air, featuring Eminem.

Eminem in the Chrysler 200 ad:


Eminem in the Lipton Brisk ad:


Eminem promotes the 53rd Grammy Awards:


Talk about a comeback.

All I Want For Christmas Is... Jews. Another Hilarious Holiday Video for Members Of The Tribe.

Melissa McQueen impersonates Mariah Carey and sings a hilarious version of "All I Want For Christmas"



Lyrics:

ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS... JEWS

I just want you for my own
More than you could ever know
Make my wish come true
All I want for Christmas is... Jews

I wont ask for much this Christmas
I don't even wish for snow
Just want a Jew who runs show business
Speilberg, Stiller Ari Gold

I will make a list and send it
Of my choices for St. Nick
Seinfeld, Zach Braff and Jon Stewart
Are the boys with a big schtick.

Cause I just want them here tonight
Holding on to me so tight
I'll take Zac Efron too
All I want for Christmas is Jews.

Menorah lights are shining
So brightly everywhere
And the big box office
Makes Jews millionaires

They may have killed our savior
That's not the best behavior
That's ok he rose again three days later and now I'm an active J-dater

Oh I don't want a lot for Christmas
Gentile boys are such a bore
Goldman, Weissman, Cohen, Levy
These are names that I adore

Oh I just want a chosen one
Hebrew boys are so much fun
Make my wish come true
Baby all I want for Christmas is Jews

Another classic Jewish Christmas video, if you never saw it, is this wonderful SNL short by Robert Smigel sung by Darlene Love: