I am not above suffering public humiliation for charity. And while I may not dance on bars (see pics of last year’s Celeb Bartending Bash), I will sing. Badly. Very badly. Like ear-bleedingly-bad.
And so I promised on my fundraising page for this year’s AIDS Walk that I would cover Rebecca Black’s ‘Friday’ if I raised a thousand bucks. Fortunately (or unfortunately if you value your hearing), I’m up to 3200 bucks. So here it is. Without further ado or warning… (But don’t say I DIDN’T warn you…)
PS: Clearly, the bits were I squeek like a boy in the midst of puberty are on purpose. The truly tragic music video is still coming…
PPS: HUGE thank you to Damien of On Point Productions for making me sound less terrible than I am… Not THAT much less terrible. But less terrible all the same.
It’s official: BU’s Anderson Center just announced their official summer concert lineup…
k.d. lang - July 4th
Beach Boys - August 24
Bela Fleck & The Original Flecktones - Sept. 2
Let’s be honest: I’m most excited about k.d. lang. Although I can’t call myself a "serious fan", I fell in love with her voice the first time I heard her sing Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah.
Being that my Lang love is a bit limited, I called up the biggest k.d. fan I know–Marie McKenna, co-owner of the Lost Dog–for her very favorite performances. Here’s what she recommended you check out to get psyched for the big Independence Day show… Who needs fireworks when you’ve got a voice like this?
[UPDATE 3/31: Public Tickets are $30 and Available starting 10am next Friday at www.binghamtonsa.org]
Aziz Ansari is coming to Binghamton University on April 29th.
You’re thinking, "God, I know that frickin name. Who the hell is he again?" Let’s see what Wikipedia has to say:
"Aziz Ansari is an American actor, writer, and stand-up comedian. He currently stars as Tom Haverford on the NBC show Parks and Recreation. In 2007, he created and starred in the critically acclaimed MTV sketch comedy show Human Giant, which ran for two seasons. In June 2010, he hosted the 2010 MTV Movie Awards. He is currently filming 30 Minutes or Less with Jesse Eisenberg and Danny McBride."
Kind of a big deal. Student Association VP Aaron Cohn reports that he just played sold out shows at Cornell and Northwestern. Want to hear more of his stuff?
When I woke up this morning, I had no idea who Rebecca Black was–which makes me about a week behind the times. Rebecca, for those of you who live under a rock (like I apparently do), is a 13-year-old girl from Anaheim Hills, CA, whose Mom paid $2000 for a little production company to record a pop single for her. Every little girl wants to be a pop star. It used to be a princess, but then people started to take a good hard look at the British royals and reconsider.
Now let me just go on record and say this: I think Rebecca Black is actually pretty talented. I mean, let’s be clear: she’s not Kelly Clarkson talented, but she’s also not William Hung talented. But the world… well, the world seems to disagree. Check out the video:
What’s brilliantly embarrassing about this effort is the SONGWRITING (plus the degree to which she’s been auto-tuned when she basically proved this morning on GMA that she can sing).
Somehow, Tosh.0 discovered the track and posted the video on their blog last week. The rest is insane interweb history; the track has 17 million hits. on YouTube 17 MILLION. (OK, a good 500,000 of them are me, but she’s still doing pretty good if you cross those off.)
Look, the truth is, the track speaks for itself. Rebecca, if you’re out there, I hope you go on to sell more albums than Britney; seriously, you sing better than her. And I, for one, have already bought a copy of your single–and I’ll buy the whole album when it comes out. And I think everybody else should go buy the track too, if only to make up for the emotional distress your songwriters have caused you.
Because, despite having “collaborated with Grammy songwriter/producer Herbie Crichlow, Grammy-nominated record producer Dinavon Bythwood from "The Ghostwriters" writing duo, Charlie Mason (Hannah Montana), Australian producer Paul Wiltshire (Backstreet Boys)”, songwriters Clarence Jey and Patrice Wilson suck to a degree previously unimagined by man.
And, I’m also going to issue a challenge. If a local Binghamton band sends me a kick-ass cover of Friday, I’m going to bat to convince Lori that we have to play it on the morning show. Get it together, people.
Anyway, since I can’t fit all thousand existing on my blog, I’ve picked 10 fine specimens to share…
BingPop is pop culture. It’s Binghamton News, nightlife, and art. It’s Endwell, Endicott, and Johnson City. What’s going on downtown after 5 and where’s the hot new restaurant to grab lunch. It’s a catalogue of the quirkiest stuff in Broome County and instant updates from a ton of reliable (and occasionally not so reliable) sources.
Where’s that neat little brunch place in Whitney Point and what’s the newest chain to open its doors on the Vestal Parkway. We’ll talk about the staples: Boca Joe’s, Number 5, and the Cyber Café West. What’s must-see at the Art Mission Theater and who’s showing at the Brunelli Gallery. And the latest show to be announced at the Broome County Arena.
But you’ll also know what’s up and coming before it’s come up. Mostly, it’s all about the Southern Tier. With a nice bit of trash about Paris Hilton and Brad Pitt folded in for flavor. And although it’s true: we do [heart] Binghamton. It doesn’t mean we always gotta be nice...
