Tag Archives: music

YouTube Remix Tames Savage Commenters

Israeli sampling genius creates ‘mother of all funk chords.’ What’s not to like?

I used to think there was no YouTube clip perfect enough to satisfy the site’s vicious commenters. Minimalist moderation and mass popularity have combined to create what is probably the most hostile environment on the mainstream Internet. As Slate’s Michael Agger observed, even the laughing baby attracts bile.

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Filed under The Tyee, Video Column

An ode to Charles Darwin

The 200th anniversary of Darwin’s birth Thursday ignited a little burst of online Darwinian love — Google populated its logo with fish and birds, and the New York Times posted this video, along with an accompanying article.

The singer is Richard Milner, a science historian and childhood friend of late evolutionary theorist Steven Jay Gould. Milner writes and performs songs from the perspective of his intellectual hero, Charles Darwin. Between writing books about evolution, Milner tours his one-man show, Charles Darwin: Live & in Concert. 

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Filed under Science & Technology, The Tyee, Video Column

The return of the music video

If I hadn’t been perusing the viral video charts this weekend, I might never have heard of Oren Lavie. A music video for the Israeli playwright/songwriter’s new track, “Her Morning Elegance,” has been getting some attention on the web this week, and for good reason. I love this video. A clever stop-motion film, it embodies just the sort of low-budget brilliance that is missing from modern blockbuster music videos.

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Filed under The Tyee, Video Column