Jonathan Coulton is a musical genius. Not pushed by big corporations and so is still really honest. I admit I found him with his Baby Got Back cover but it opened a whole new world to me. I already had a thing for funny/humorous musicians like Barenaked Ladies so it was a great fit.
I love the songs like Code Monkey, Re: Your Brains, and of course Skullcrusher Mountain. As a marketing person I think it is amazing that you can listen to almost all his music before you buy it on his website. While writing this post I just realized he wrote a song called, “Red Shirt” for all the Trekkies.
For me I also took a year of American Sign Language and there is a guy named Capitan Valor who does sign songs. This means that he will translated music which deaf people don’t get much out of normally into ASL. But it can be complicated like sometimes you have to create a brand new sign. For instance this guy does sign language for Jonathan Coulton songs. He did one for Re: Your Brains where he made a sign for “Eat Your Brains” and it was amazing. Well, just check it out.
What is your favorite song? Or maybe there is a filk singer I should know about.
One year I found Monty Python and that was it. I don’t eve know where it came from. but from then on I looked for the Flying Circus on cable reruns and watched the Holy Grail, well, religiously. I even got to see Spamalot which Eric Idle based on Holy Grail.
I even got a church group to play Life of Brian at a youth function. Yeah, that scene at the window stopped the party dead.
I taught myself the silly walk from the beginning of the sketch and did it down the hallway of my school. I even literally got the t-shirt of the Ministry of Silly Walks.
I downloaded songs from I’m a Lumberjack to just the audio for the Cheese Shop. To this day I still pick up Monty Python t-shirts when I can find them. I even have a request at a great t-shirt shop in Victoria, BC called Utopia because they once had a great Lumberjack shirt with the whole song written on the back.
Now I get to see them come back with a full blown Monty Python Flying Circus! They recently announced the reunion, sadly one short. But I can’t wait to see their new skits.
Do you have a favorite skit or song? I’d love to know.
I was the lucky kid that had a TV in my bedroom so when I couldn’t sleep I closed my bedroom door and turned the volume down so it sounded like ant voices and watch Saturday Night Live. I figured out who my favourite players were and even was lucky enough to watch a station that played reruns of past seasons after the new one played.
I learned that the current season‘s cast shouldn’t define the show in general. I know that it is hard to say right now with the controversy over not hiring women of any ethnicity but they were truly ground breaking at the time they started.
I geeked out on a few skits and players. I didn’t fall for Chris Farley or Will Farrell like many of my generation.
John Belushi
I love John Belushi. He was a comic genius and could take a fall like no other. I mean where do you think Chris Farley got it? He could say things in his eyebrows that other actors had to overact with 2 paragraphs of dialogue. Just watch any of the Samurai skits. You can’t understand his language but you know what he is trying to say and it is amazing. If you look in my background image you will see that I have his Best Of DVD.
Animal House
Some people might think that part of my decision to go to University of Oregon but it isn’t. However, I do know exactly where the house was that they filmed in. I know quite a few facts about the movie. Including the house they used was actually condemned. So, you won’t find the real house because it is now a bank. The parade was filmed in Cottage Grove not Eugene. The dean’s office is an administration meeting. I love seeing the party scenes and just driving around the town telling people where everything was.
Prat Falls
To John Belushi’s credit I watched his skits so much I taught myself how to take a fall or run into a wall without getting hurt. Yeah, I did this in my band room during lunch and scared the crap out of people. I thought it was great. I also knew how to faint without head trauma but it was pretty great.
Blues Brothers
That Best of DVD is where I first saw the origins of the Blues Brothers with and impersonation of Joe Crocker. This lead me down the primrose path to watching and loving the Blues Brothers in all its incarnations. I have most of the CD’s from the band as well. One of my favourite songs is “I Don’t Know.” I went to see a Jimmy Buffet concert with my mother as a kid and recognized the sax player as part of the Blues Brother’s band. When I went to the House of Blues I bought awesome trinkets like harmonicas, and the hat so I could do my Blues Brothers impressions.
Simply the Best
I think John Belushi is in the ranks of Fatty Arbuckle in revolutionary comedians. How many comedians do you know that have had a music career with their comedy? He invented the spinoff from the sketch with Blues Brothers. Any comedian aspiring for a career after SNL is idolizing Belushi in some way.
As you can see my crazy fan girl is showing. I can’t help it when I am impressed by comic genius. I hope to introduce him to many generations even if I have to explain the jokes.
So, who do you think revolutionized comedy? I would love to know so I can share you crazy fan girl moment too.
Geek Girl Discovery 