HAPPY BRAAIDAY: Rebecca Black "Friday" Parody

POOR Rebecca Black got torn to shreds over her ‘corny’ Friday music video. It may have helped viewers learn the days of the week and the difference between left and right, but it wasn’t exactly a masterpiece.

What has emerged from the ashes is a proudly South African parody of Friday called Braaiday ! Every year thousands of animals are ritualistically slaughtered to celebrate what has become an annual event in SA – National Braaiday. Here’s the splurb from YouTube:

In preparation for South Africa's National Braaiday, held 24 September every year, comedy duo 'Derick Watts and the Sunday Blues' recorded and shot a music video to parody the viral sensation that was Rebecca Black's “Friday.” Grab your tongs!

Here's the original if you haven't heard it
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIObIKrF3Cs[/youtube]

Braaiday - Rebecca Black "Friday" Parody
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLyLvCXYKUg[/youtube]

Makes one proud to be South African B-)

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NEW FAT PIE: David Firth's latest (hopefully not last) video

I’ve been re-watching Charlie Brooker’s Screenwipe lately and have been reminded how depressing and dodgy television and even the news can be in our backwards 'Information Age'. But cynicism and despair about the world aside, Charlie Brooker has some great guests and inserts on his show. The fourth series features the animated delights of Fat Pie – a great little cartoon series by David Firth – the same guy who brought us the weird and wonderful Salad Fingers. It can be described as warped humour, but Fat Pie often does well to make a valid comment on society.

I had a peruse on YouTube to see what new Fat Pie cartoons David Firth had done lately and was pleased to discover that, after three years, Firth is back with a new Fat Pie gem! It’s called “Take This Pill” and I suppose it’s a jab at the health industry to put it blandly. It’s also the last Fat Pie animation that David Firth will be publishing for a while, according to him. Here’s the splurb off YouTube:

"Take these pills. They will turn you into the person you are supposed to be. They have no flavour. This is a sequel to HEALTH REMINDER. Just by watching this video, you will be healed of any problems you have in your life. If you don't have any problems, then now is a good time to start looking for them. You got a problem buddy? Wanna make something of it? This is the last cartoon from me for a while. I am running away. Watch the original if you haven't seen it already."

New Fat Pie - Take This Pill

And here's the prequel - Health Reminder

"This is a health reminder. May I remind you to pay attention? This will save your life and eliminate your worries. It most CERTAINLY will destroy any bothers you have. You have no choice but to realise this. You have no choice but to understand."

• Check out fat-pie.com
• Follow David Firth on Twitter

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VIDEO: Nelson Mandela Day flash mob rocks the mall

AT 11.30am on a Saturday morning at the Greenacres Shopping Centre in Port Elizabeth, seemingly regular shoppers and personnel broke into song. The international award-winning Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University choir rocked the house with an impromptu rendition of the South African national anthem and some popular songs.

The Nelson Mandela Day flash mob was part of an awareness campaign to get students to apply to study at NMMU - one of South Africa's leading tertiary education institutions. It was also aimed to coincide with Nelson Mandela Day, whereby South African citizens are encouraged to give up 67 minutes of their time to do some good in the world in recognition of the 67 years that Madiba dedicated towards making our country great.

It would have been so great to have been at Greenacres on that eventful day. Was anyone there?

Nelson Mandela Day Metropolitan University Flash Mob

The Nelson Mandela Day flash mob is a great one for the Rainbow Nation!

More Feel Good videos:

• Dancing for humanity
• Proudly South African
• A Capella Cover of Katy Perry’s Firework
• Playing for Change: Peace Through Music
• Acapella music group singing Toto’s Africa

ACAPELLA: Mike Tompkins beatboxes 'Firework' by Katy Perry

IT has to be said that Mike Tompkins is an incredibly talented acapella muso. His cover version of Firework by Katy Perry is thoroughly impressive and entertaining. Tompkins turns a song that's sentimental about plastic bags floating in the wind into something that, in my opinion, is far better.

Katy Perry Firework A Capella Cover Mike Tompkins Beatbox
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FyepYaE_JS4[/youtube]

Acapella music is solo or group vocal singing without instrumental sound, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. In modern usage, acapella often refers to an all-vocal group performance of any style, including modern pop/rock. - Wikipedia

Here's a bit about the talented Mike Tompkins from his new website:

"Mike’s novel ‘A Capella’ music has stemmed from over a decade of demanding and diverse musical and production pursuits, starting with beatboxing at the young age of 8. Confident yet amazingly down to earth, Mike’s goal remains to make great music, put a smile on people’s faces, and show his diversity as an artist. With over 200 000 YouTube subscribers and close to 30 million views of his songs, Mike is well on his way to achieving these goals, and it is just the beginning!" - www.mike-tompkins.com

• Make your own version of the song at beauty of the web dot com !

Related:

• Katy Perry: One of the Boys
• Acapella music group singing Africa by Toto
• Mike Tompkins talks to Seamus O'Regan on Canada AM

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TOTO AFRICA: Sung by acapella group Perpetuum Jazzile

SINCE writing an article on music therapy and discovering all the wonderful benefits that music can have on the brain, I have begun listening to all sorts of lyrical delights. I am also making an effort to see more live music as this can have the best effect on our brains and psyche. One of my current and favourite musical styles, however, is acapella. To put it crudely, acapella is a musical style performed without instruments - usually by a choir group. To put it more academically, here's a description from Wikipedia:

Acapella music is solo or group vocal singing without instrumental sound, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. In modern usage, acapella often refers to an all-vocal group performance of any style, including modern pop/rock.

This particular acapella group hails from Slovenia. They're quite a talented bunch of vocalists that, in my opinion, do a sterling job of Toto's great hit Africa. The talent of their beat-boxer is also something to behold. The Perpetuum Jazzile video now has over ten million views. I'm responsible for just over half of that. It's a great listen that may even put a tear in your eye. Enjoy!

Perpetuum Jazzile singing 'Africa' by Toto
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjbpwlqp5Qw[/youtube]

If you enjoyed that acapella music group singing Africa you may find the following article interesting: Music Therapy: Tune in and chill out

Here's a little extract:

MUSIC has the power to play on our moods, fine tune our brainwaves, pluck at our heartstrings, and unite entire nations under song. It has even proven to have a positive effect on livestock. We all know the effects that music can have on reducing stress and promoting relaxation, but music itself is becoming increasingly popular in the modern medical industry — a concept being dubbed as “music therapy”.

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VIDEOS: Doraleous & Associates Season 1 comes to an end

Doraleous and Associates is a fantastically humorous video series started by The Escapist at the beginning of 2010. Its first season recently concluded with the 24th episode. If you are not yet familiar with the show, below is the first episode of season one. I personally find it to be a great little video break during the working week (usually Friday afternoons), but you should appreciate it if you are a fan of fantasy, digital animation, Doraleous and great wit-filled humour. Enjoy!

Doraleous and Associates Episode 1: Open for Business

Doraleous and Associates is written and voiced by the very talented crew of Nate Panning, Brent Triplett, Bryan Mahoney, Jon Etheridge and Tony Schnur. Drawn and Animated by Brent Triplett and Jon Etheridge. See a new episode every Thursday at Noon (Friday mornings for South Africans) only on The Escapist.

• Watch the complete first season of Doraleous and Associates

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PILOBOLUS DANCE: Human silhouettes take shape behind the silver screen

Pilobolus dance is amazing. I’m so inflexible that I can’t even touch my toes without experiencing pain and agony. Others are double-jointed and can make shapes by wrapping their legs around their shoulders. These super humans below are something else, and can make the most incredible shapes using just their bodies. Below is a one minute video clip of what the human body can do in unison with others.

Shapes formed by Human Bodies, Pilobolus Dance

The Pilobolus Dance Company is a contemporary dance company whose origins are traced to a 1971 Dartmouth College dance class taught by Alison Becker Chase. The group first began performing in October 1971. The founding artists of the original collective were Robby Barnett, Alison Chase, Martha Clarke, Lee Harris, Moses Pendleton, Jonathan Wolken. Pilobolus has received many awards, among them the Berlin Critic's Prize, the Brandeis Award, the Scotsman Award for performances at the Edinburgh Festival, the New England Theatre Conference Prize, the Connecticut Commission on the Arts Award for Excellence, and, in 1997, a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Achievement in Cultural Programming. In June 2000, Pilobolus received the Samuel H. Scripps American Dance Festival Award for Lifetime Achievement in Choreography. In 2010, Pilobolus was the first collective ever to receive a Dance Magazine Award. - Wikipedia

Related: Getting naked in the name of Art

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