While not currently available on the CBS.com website, video of “15 Step” performed by Thom and Jonny of Radiohead, backed by the USC Trojan Marching Band, February 8th at the 2009 Grammys at Staples Center, has surfaced online.

The clip, which is apparently unauthorized and likely violating one or more copyright laws, has yet to be removed and remains viewable below as of press time.

They most certainly puppet up, sometimes they puppet out, sometimes they pup themselves into hoopy, poopy pieces of no-fun. It’s a hybridization of Whose Line Is It Anyway? and The Muppet Show, and once the shock wears off, it goes to hell but it comes back.

Not discounting the probable fiddly-bits of improv theater, anything, and I mean anything, can come from a drunken crowd of grown-up REM fans. Once host and creative director Patrick Bristow welcomes us, it’s time to get things started on the most sensational inspirational celebrational Puppetupational Puppet Up. Eight of Henson Alternative’s (HA!) master manipulators hold the funny-looking little buggers above their heads and commence zig-zagging before a camera mounted at the headline. Simultaneously, the “Muppet Show Effect” projects onto four screens throughout the theater. My eyes roam between the magic and the magicians, preferring the magic.

So here’s the thinking. Mr. Bristow gives the audience a scenario to fill in like a Madlib. “I need a person doing something.” A dentist! A guy licking his balls! A genie sitting in a bathtub! “Okay, and now I need a place where this happens.” Kuwait! Denny’s! My dick! “So, are you ready to watch a lost episode of 21 Jump Street featuring a guy licking his balls that takes place on my dick?” Yeah! Wooo! “Okay, Puppet Up!” And so begins an advance, stage-left, upon a massive, rectangular armoire filled with beautiful creatures. Sometimes they go two at a time, sometimes all eight of them suit up, or “Puppet Up”, for their improv routine. Once the lights dim, the troupe puppet-trates.

Sometimes they really do puppet up. »continue reading Puppet Up! Uncensored

Tuesday night’s first filmic performance by the band ADULT. (for there were two back-to-back performances) was full of familiar faces as well as just plain full.  Local electronic intelligentsia, from theremin players (Kevin Li of Seksu Roba) to  three-year-old impressers (DJ Lance Rock from Yo! Gabba! Gabba!) sat captivated as the Brian Eno prelude faded away, the Silent Movie Theater went dark, and images of a woman’s legs and pant suit skirt stood starkly on the screen, motionless, even as ricocheted sounds of electronic knocks and phlangers bubbled up from either side of the stage.  Nicola Kuperus’s horror film “DECAMPMENT” had begun.

 
DECAMPMENT from ADULT. on Vimeo.

»continue reading ADULT. at the Silent Movie Theater – live DECAMPMENT

Forty years ago, Jack Nicholson and a bunch of dudes who would go on to do Easy Rider and Five Easy Pieces co-wrote their first avant-garde, marijuana-laced cinematic masterpiece. It’s purpose: to bring a pre-fab boy band called the Monkees out of the teenie bopper magazines and into the hearts of hippies. It succeeded at the former, but not so much at the latter–no amount of fourth-wall breaking could shatter their image as an artificial construct to the crowd of rockers now keepin’ it real with fourteen minute guitar solos at the Monterey Pop Festival.

In hindsight, however, the Monkees’ movie Head (the idea was that the next film’s ad could say “From the People Who Gave You Head!“) is a lot less goofy than it seemed at the time. Appearances by Dennis Hopper, Sonny Liston, Frank Zappa, and Toni Basil, shocking visual references to violence both real and cartoonish, and satires of the sappy pop cultural milieu of the time, themselves included, make this feel like a movie that’s saying something, even if nobody quite knows what that something is. »continue reading Head: Monkees Movie Comes Home Again

You may have spied it while stumbling drunkenly to your car after that last, unwise shot of Patron at La Cita. Peering over the roll-down bars, you’d spy a cavernous, basement-like structure, quiet in the late night hours that envelops Downtown Los Angeles. But visit during the day, and you’ll find a bustling market full of food stalls selling a wide variety of yummy ethnic fast-food, cheaper than the dirt they were grown in produce stands, and a variety of random vendors selling everything from mole by the pound to necklace charms depicting Jesus on a cross (with your sweetie’s name engraved underneath, natch).

Grand Central Market has been around since 1917. Across the street from the also historic, now out of commission Angel’s Flight, Angelenos would take a penny-ride to the open-air market which met the needs of newly immigrated families from all over the world. It’s been remodeled many times throughout the years, but it still has that old-world feel to it, which is a nice contrast to the high rise buildings and power-suited yuppies just a few blocks away in the Financial District.
»continue reading Under $10: Sarita’s Pupuseria

This Thursday night, the Don’t Knock The Rock ‘08 film festival continues with a double feature at the Silent Movie Theater, this time featuring punk rock from the Windy City.  When we think of early punk rock, we tend to think of New York, London, and Los Angeles, and even the more obsessive among us probably then tend to follow our fandom in cities such as San Francisco, D.C., even Akron and Detroit.

But Chicago also had a scene that included some pioneers in punk, both in the form of arguably the first punk-only club, La Mere Vipere, as well as “the producer who made grunge,” Steve Albini, whose pivotal industrial punk band Big Black appears here in early archival footage in tomorrow night’s feature documentary, You Weren’t There: A History of Chicago Punk 1977-84.

Following the film will be a DJ set by Terry “Dadbag” Graham (Gun Club, The Bags), and then the second half of the night’s entertainment will be brought by DFW Punk, a film all about, you guessed it, punk rock in Dallas and Ft. Worth (title says it all, really).  There’ll be director Q & A stuff, and probably giveaways, and likely you’ll see Hadrian Belove floating around with drinks and keys and stuff.  For the obscurantist who wants to be able to brag about early scenes in every city, this is your night.

Did you watch Rock of Love 2 this year? Of course you did. Pathetic. I did, too. The show is over, and there’ll probably be a third season. So did you pull for Ambre? Daisy? Destiney? A different contestant? It matters not. What matters is the cat fight that took place during Sunday’s reunion show (Heather assaulted Daisy), and while we unfortunately have neither the time nor patience to work up a good Venn diagram to better categorize our contestants for your educated wager, we do still wish to open the books and place our bets on who would’ve won that fight, had it run its course. We’re talking real Jerry Springer stripper fisticuff action here. You can read all about the bout here if you missed the program, but really, you probably need only turn on VH1 at any given time in the next couple of weeks in order to catch a rebroadcast (hint: it’s on right now). Incidentally, the VH1 blog links beneath this poll are priceless if you watched any portion of the show whatsoever. Do give them a look.

VOTE AGAIN

» Touch My Backstage Pass Again: Behind the Scenes of the Rock of Love 2 Reunion
» The Celebreality Interview – Daisy’s Fighting Words
» The Celebreality Interview – Heather’s Fighting Words

We would not have seen this coming in a million – scratch that! bajillion – years, but the Pipettes – you remember them, right? Three young girls… polka dots… the color pink… cheeky, British, 60s schtick… bad Greased Lightning acid flashback… Any of this ringing a bell? … No?… – The Pipettes have announced a major change in lineup on their myspace blog and official site. (Note: Announcement is rickroll-inclusive.) Apparently, two out of the three Pipettes are now gone and have already been replaced! RiotBecki and Rosay are out; Ani and Anna are in. (Again: RiotBecki and Rosay are out; Ani and Anna are in.) Pipettes! Alas! It seems only yesterday we saw them at South by Southwest 2007, mere moments before Pete Townshend took to the stage. It seems only yesterday I wailed, “Dammit Victor I can’t believe you actually wanted to see this bullshit.” It seems only yesterday agent Steve Ferguson was advising the world of the group’s potential longevity:

Some might dismiss the group as a novelty. Paradigm’s Steve Ferguson, the band’s agent, said anyone who’s quick to write The Pipettes off should think again.
»continue reading Pipettes Lose Two Out Of Three Pipettes; Unknown Band Member Rickrolls Everybody Else

Gary Busey may have had no role to support at the Kodak Theatre last night, but he had no problem securing an inordinate amount of press this morning thanks in no small part to an awkward, yet Buseyly sincere, double-kiss to Jennifer Garner’s (admittedly kiss-fetching) neck on the red carpet. Did you miss the clip? It’s here in all its cringe-inducing glory, or you can just read about it in results 1 – 10 of about 14,300 for gary busey red carpet (0.74 seconds) and/or results 1 – 10 of about 33,700 for gary busey jennifer garner (0.17 seconds).

The question is begged.

Love, hate or have no feelings whatsoever about something you’ve seen on Operacion Repo? Believe it or not, you’re not alone. Take your concerns straight to the comment section on this page where Sonia herself (aka DEMON AZAZEL) will respond to your love, hatred or general ambivalence in record time.

This not a full recap like our Season 3 finale piece, but just some collected moments from the episode, unedited and jotted down in real time. –Ed.

–Hurley has a vision of Charlie while in a police interrogation room. Without going into all the details, Charlie’s hand has written on it, “They Need You.” This is a particularly problematic vision as it contains imagery that Hurley did not personally witness and (I think) marks the first vision where the action is pure fantasy and physically impossible to stage. (As opposed to merely planting a horse on the island or the appearance of someone resembling a dead loved one.) More on this below.

–Jack is drinking, but, hey, who doesn’t start the day off with a screwdriver or two? On the plus side, he has upgraded from Dharma brand vodka though. He does not have the bushman beard of the Season 3 finale yet, so that suggests this flash-forward predates the season 3 flash-forward. So this flash-forward would in fact be a flash-back if we were in the previous flash-forward timeline. Got that?
»continue reading Lost Season 4 Premiere Bulletpoints

Anyone (not) catch the multiple instances of Apple product placement on last night’s new episode of House M.D.? A new high–or low, depending on your take–was reached. But lest you think it gratuitous, the props in question–an iPhone, a MacBook Pro and a MacBook (Or were they older Powerbook and iBook models?–Help me out here, Engadget or Gizmodo)–were woven into the plot fairly deftly: House steals James’s iPhone (James being the obvious character choice for iPhone ownership) and wraps it as a gift to himself, which he opens in front of his team with an aim to get the to raise the stakes of their Secret Santa; the team breaks into the patient’s home and brings back her and daughter’s Macs to scour their hard drives for personal history and diagnostic clues.
»continue reading Apple Product Placement All Over House

Not three full days into the new year, yet it is already time to vote on a pressing topic! David Letterman, Conan O’Brien, Jimmy Kimmel, Jay Leno and Craig Ferguson returned to live television last night, although the WGA strike is not over. Dave and Craig had writers; Jay, Jimmy and Conan did not. Dave and Conan had beards; Jay, Jimmy and Craig did not, though it should probably be noted that Craig wore and later removed a phony beard as part of his opening skit. (Refer to our rudimentary yet informative venn diagram of beard and writer sets after the jump if you are confused.)

Let us not discuss monologues, guests, WGA strike rules, writing or the painful lack thereof but focus instead on the most important aspect of last night’s television selections: magnificently groomed ’80s beards. Who had the best?

VOTE AGAIN

As previously mentioned, informative talk show host venn diagram follows the jump. »continue reading Reader Picks ‘08: The Late Night Beard Battle

6:47pm. November 17, 2007. DF prowls the streets of Echo Park on a brisk Saturday eve. This time, however, my goal is not to find a bodega that sells my favorite brand of imported Oaxacan mescal, but something even more exotic and forbidden. I take a quick left off Temple, and – oh, glorious! – dead ahead lies The Doll Factory, the steaming, teeming site that will house tonite’s contest involving the fierce yet somehow also adorable ladies of the L.A. Derby Dolls.

6:50pm. Outside the venue, a helpful gentleman security professional reminds us that guns, knives, or other implements of violence are prohibited inside. Dang. I return to my vehicle, dump off assorted assault weapons, and retrace my steps, feeling far less safe. When will the lefty-loon gun control commies learn? Guns don’t kill hard-hitting rollerchicks; bullets do.
»continue reading Bitches on Wheels: L.A. Derby Dolls @ The Doll Factory, 11/17/07

Michael Ian Black brings his national tour, “I Am A Wonderful Man,” named so after his new CD, to the Ivar Theater for 2 performances this Saturday, October 13. There are 7 pm and 10 pm performances. I am guessing the 10 pm is the “blue” show. Fellow Stella trouper Michael Showalter will be the “special guest” at these shows. So that’s some serious Michael-Michael value for your dollar.

We will now offer you a chance to win tickets to see this show:

Contest closed — Thanks to all who entered.

If you didn’t win, some tickets still available here.

The time has come to bring down the curtain on our Corteo giveaway. If you want a shot at tickets to the L.A. debut of this new Cirque du Soleil production, drop us an e-mail with your full name now at contest@losanjealous.com. Contest closes and winners will be notified this Monday, July 23.

Our contest has ended. Winners will be notified shortly. Thanks to everyone who entered.

For more info and tickets to Corteo, dial up 20angels.com on your internet machines.

(WARNING: Plot points revealed in the following post.)

I’m not a movie critic. I’m a scientist. But the Transformers movie raised a lot of questions that trouble my scientific mind. (I will say that the special effects were mind-boggling even to Prof. Losanjealous—and that’s coming from someone who once installed two flux capacitors in a T.A.R.D.I.S. and made perfect flan.)

Starting with the chronology. Prof. Losanjealous seems to recall that the toys came first, then the cartoon, then the comic book, then the movie starring Orson Welles and Judd Nelson (who rumor has it feuded throughout production). Then a few years later there came some vector graphics nonsense where Optimus Prime was an ape and Megatron was like a wine rack. I think that brings us up to date.

So the following are just some notes based on a single viewing of the recent studio release:
»continue reading Optimized??????

Not to be outdone in the marketing blitz department, Los Angeles hogs the 7-Eleven-turned- Kwik-E-Mart concept with two stores — one in Burbank (shown here), the other on the Westside. Poor Middle America. Poor Springfields of the world. They won’t be able to breeze past Marge Simpson and Comic Book Guy on their way to buy a 6-pack of “Buzz Cola” for $3.99. They will have to use the powers of their own imagination to see the freezer geezer on their way to buy ice. They’ll never know the true taste of a real, live, three-dimensional Squishee (tastes cartoony) — and they’ll never have an Indian gentleman at the cash register warn them against brain freeze at the purchase of said Squishee. Yes, that really happened.

Now they’ll never see the movie.

To promote “The Simpsons Movie,” 7-Eleven is turning 12 of its stores into Kwik-E-Marts. This is the Burbank installment at 1611 W. Olive Ave. More photos after the jump.

»continue reading A Good Day For A Squishee

So, what are you doing tonight? Well my friend, you need to cancel it. You need to cancel it and head down to the Mayan Theater on Hill Street to see if the box office still has a few tickets left for tonight or tomorrow night’s LUCHA VA VOOM. You already missed the opening show last night, with the historic birth of the MINI CHICKEN. But there’s still time to see the Mini Chicken wrestle Los Coyotes and to see asstastic burlesque dancers like MICHELLE L’AMOUR.
»continue reading In Praise Of Lucha VaVoom