The Big Miscellaneous

Top of the Fifth

Titleless

Our “eponymous” album, I don’t remember if it was named after (Title Erased) or vice versa.  The original tape case had the name spelled with just one “L-E.”

 

The Happy Song

Writer: John Sams

Parody of: Camptown Races by Steven Foster

Download 2-12 The Happy Song

Written as an original, it was only after recording that JM pointed out it was a parody of Camptown Races.  JM also said that Finch was “resurrected” every time someone else dies.  I like the idea of a round-type song wherein the people stop singing (kind of like B-I-N-G-O), but otherwise, the song holds little value for me.  I wrote a sequel to it once, though.

Up Next: XSFAT gets technical issues...

 

Another Solo Instrumental Rock Track

The United States’ First Heavy Metal Xylophone

Writer: JonMichael Rasmus

Parody of: Smells Like Teen Spirit By Nirvana

References: The source track is actually Smells Like Nirvana by Weird Al Yankovic

Download 5-24 The United States First Heavy Metal Xylophone

This is the second and last instrumental from XSFAT (with Instrumental Blues NOT being one of them).  It’s plenty funny, and JM does just the right job of hitting the wrong notes and going overboard.  In fact, he got so loud crashing the toy xylophone against the wall that you can hear his mom complaining briefly before the song is cut off.  It’s pretty great.

Up Next: Come On Get Happy...

 

Movies I Could Squeeze In

Baraka – Sure, this documentary that just shows superb cinematography all over the world is at times beautiful and breathtaking. But, it inherently feels long too, and I would probably have enjoyed it more in little pieces, rather than as a movie. B-

Grandma’s Boy – Not that there aren’t moments in this Adam Sandler-less film from the Adam Sandler line, ones that are still kinda funny months later, but it’s not actually any good. This is mainly because the film trudges along with silliness for the first 75 minutes, before suddenly realizing it needs some overarching plot in the last fifteen. Not suprisingly, it actually does feel like a movie made by stoners. D+

Inception – For intellectual action, Christopher Nolan has been the go-to guy for a few years now. So, its no wonder that Inception is occassionally awe-inspiring. It definitely deserves to be seen twice, though I’m not sure that further viewing will be necessary. A-

Punisher: War Zone – A superhero movie told through a slasher-film lens, PWZ sees Ray Stevenson taking over for Thomas Jane as the brutal vigilante. It’s grotesque actually, and it barely tries to make Stevenson’s character likeable. In that way, it’s pretty fascinating, especially as a low-level superhero flick for the Saw generation. B

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World – It’s not a perfect film or anything, but I had more fun watching this graphic novel adaptation than any other movie I can think of in quite a while. It certainly feels different, with a chaotic amalgam of pop culture/video game/comic book references. It’s essentially very cute, but it’s overzealous attention to quirk makes it rather amazing. I’d really like to see it again, if only to find out if it retains it wonderment. A-

X-Men Origins: Wolverine – I’m a sucker for superhero movies, so I was always slightly interested in this X-Men spin-off, especially since it apparently had Ryan Reynolds kicking some ass. I was also pleasantly entertained. It’s convoluted plot may seem like too much, but there’s plenty of time for it and decent action sequences, basically loading it up and making it feel longer (in a good way) than it is. It’s silly, yes, and stupid, but I had fun anyway. B

The A-Team – B

April Fools Day – B-

Bangkok Dangerous – C-

Fanboys - C

Inglorious Basterds – A-

Kick-Ass – B- (Though I do want to watch it again)

Midnight Movie – D

Starship Troopers 3: Marauder -  D

Tropic Thunder - B

 

A "Choired" Taste

This Song’s For Me

Writer: JonMichael Rasmus

Parody of: This Song is For the Children by George L. O. Strid

Download 5-16 This Song's For Me

JM: “John didn't want to record this song.  He felt that no one knew the song (it’s from choir, again) and that it was not funny enough to justify album placement. I countered that, yet again, he didn't have enough written.  He was probably right.  I like the fact that all three of us take turns on this one though.”  It is fairly funny (and true), but I will always remember it as the song that cracked up Ryan White when I actually sang parts of it during choir rehearsal.

Up Next: Heavy Meddle...

Not Instrumental, and Barely Blues

The Instrumental Blues

Writer: John Sams

Download 3-09 The Instrumental Blues

Although I like the idea, and JM apparently likes the song, it just doesn’t work for me because I overdo it.  

Up Next: Leggo My Ego...

Movies...

Alice in Wonderland – Did Disney learn nothing from Hook?  Burton’s style and a game cast make for an enchanting film, but the remake/sequel aspect feels like its just an attempt to make the movie without having to make the movie.  C

Behind the Mask –  A promising premise, but it never quite lives up to its potential.  C-

Hot Tub Time Machine – Like The Hangover, only a bit less funny and a whole lot stupider – which is not necessarily a bad thing.  C+

Saw V – I came up with my “Killer Read The Script” flaw years ago, after a subpar Angelina Jolie thriller.  The key to KRTS is that sometimes, a script is so outlandish that the only way the killer was able to do what he did was to read the script in advance. The Saw series is a whole new beast, as not only did the killer read the script, but clearly several scripts in advance.  Torture porn may be one thing, but to shroud in such sloppy characterizations and ridiculously convoluted plotting just makes me sick for all the wrong reasons.  F

A Town Called Panic – This Belgian animated import concerns the antics of “Cowboy”, “Indian” and “Horse” as they overload on bricks, miss musical lessons, and fight it out with undersea monsters.  It’s super-cute, and occasionally hilarious in a way that few films seem to be.  But the whimsy can be a bit much in the end; It would probably be better as a series of smaller shows, which it apparently was originally, and that just makes me smile.  B+

Adventureland – B

Clash of the Titans – C-

Dead Alive – B-

Halloween (2007) – C

The Losers – B-

Midnight Madness – C-

Shutter Island - B

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen – D-

Transylvania 6-5000 – C

Trick R Treat – B+

Wet Hot American Summer – B-

V For Vendetta – A-

That Should've Been A, C, B, A. Sorry.

Answers to a Multiple Choice Test

Writer: JonMichael Rasmus

Parody of: Got My Mind Set on You by George Harrison

Download 1-05 Answers to a Multiple Choice Test

It was an interesting idea, but it simply goes on too long and has (necessarily) very little jokes.  JM explained it with “This was an idea that I liked.  I turned it into a parody for a lark.  If I ever teach a class, my first test will totally have these answers.”

Up next: An a capella instrumental...

Aunt Misbehavin'

I Fight Aunt Dorothy

Writer: JonMichael Rasmus

Parody of: The Authority Song  by John Mellencamp

Download 2-20 I Fight Aunt Dorothy

JM: “If I had it to do again, I'd have called it Aunt Dorothy Song.  This is the song that Smack Your Wife wasn't: it was funny, about fighting with women, well produced and features a line about being kicked in the head.  I like it.”  It’s an underrated little number.

Up Next: A test pattern...

Everybody, Al. Al, Everybody.

An Introduction to ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic

Writer: John Sams

References: Every Weird Al song prior

Download 3-10 An Introduction to _Weird Al_ Yankovic

Realizing that I could make a half-assed medley with only a household boom box, I set to work on this Weird Al retrospective one night while Finch (who can be heard in the background occasionally) clearly had more fun things to do.  I don’t hate it, but it’s not exactly quality material.

Up Next: Something relatively violent  (Ha!)....

It's Real Fine, That 409

I Need Some Formula 409

Writer: JonMichael Rasmus

Parody of: 867-5309/Jenny by Tommy Tutone

Download 2-25 I Need Some Formula 49

Future friend Emily’s favorite XSFAT song, we always figured that the makers of Formula 409 could use this as a commercial.  A nice and funny song with good (for us) production values, and the most complicated – not to mention best -- video we’d ever done.  We don’t know anybody who doesn’t like this song, and rank it at the top of the XSFAT canon.

Up Next: The medley that writes itself...

The Latest Batch 'o Movies

Delicatessen – It’s probably Jeunet & Caro’s least accesible film, which is unfortunate, because it was also the first.  But after years of enjoying their other offerings, it’s nice to go back and see it.  It does grow on you though, with its naturally quirky design and curious story-telling.  B

The Final Destination – Although I give him credit for skipping most of the lame “plotting” crap and jumping right to the deaths, director David R. Ellis wastes that credit on an otherwise terrible movie. He had already made the previously worst entry in the series (the unnecessary FD2), but the laziness of this fourth entry takes it to new heights.  It’s biggest offense, though, is the interesting “twist” right there at the finale, that the movie blatantly disregards for random hipness.  That kind of bad planning is not only negligent, it’s flat-out insulting.  D-

From Paris With Love – It’d be okay, if I didn’t dislike John Travolta.  On the other hand, thank you From Paris With Love for helping me realize that I don’t like John Travolta.  C-

Halloween II (2009) – I like the first remake, but this one just delves into all sorts of crazy, and thereby loses its edge.  D

Sherlock Holmes – As a movie, it’s okay, but I do wish that it was both smarter, and more figure-outable.  It’s got plenty of style, and that is sometimes a plus, but more often than not it just feels like the writer and director weren’t quite heading in the same direction.  That said, It’s better than I expected to it to be.  C+

2012 - B

Any Given Sunday – C+

The Aristrocrats – D+

Avatar – B+

A Bug’s Life – B+

Diary of the Dead – D+

Duplicity – B+

JCVD - C

Kill Bill vol. 2 - B

My Name is Bruce – D+

Spartan – B-

The Thing – A-

The Thing From Another World – C