With the recent stories about the release of an audio recording of Britney Spears singing without auto-tune, one might imagine getting similar secret recordings for other famous singers. Some folks have put together some funny “shreds,” imagining bad vocals by famous singers. For example, check out how one might image how the Beach Boys sound singing without any audio enhancements (posted on YouTube by coozco).
For the shred of a more recent song, check out SamRick‘s take on One Direction singing “Story of My Life.”
You can find other shredding videos on YouTube for more laughs.
Who would you like to hear without any special effects? Leave your two cents in the comments.
Blues guitarist and singer Johnny Winter has passed away in Switzerland at the age of 70. During his lifetime, he made some great music, including this wonderful full show from Copenhagen in 1970. Check it out.
For more on Winter, check out this story on NPR. RIP.
What is your favorite Johnny Winter performance? Leave your two cents in the comments.
In 1964 on the Toronto television show Quest, 23-year-old Bob Dylan performed several of his now-classic songs. At the time, he was promoting his latest album, The Times They Are a-Changin’ (1964). Quest was a regular series, initially called Q for Quest, that featured various artists and ran on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) network during 1961-1964.
In 1964, Robert Whitehead hosted the series. But for Dylan’s segment, the producers offered Dylan the entire 30 minutes for his music with no interviews. So Dylan performed throughout the show in a rustic cabin-like setting with various actors in the background. The music, though, is fantastic.
In the entire 30-minute program, Dylan performed “The Times They Are a-Changin’,” “Talkin’ World War III Blues,” “The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll,” “Girl from the North Country,” “A Hard Rain’s a-Gonna Fall,” and “Restless Farewell.” The version of “Girl from the North Country” from this show appears on the DVD release of Martin Scorsese’s No Direction Home (2005). [Update: The video of the entire show is no longer available, so below is the opening song of the show, “The Times They Are a-Changin’.”]
According to theTV Talkin’ website about Dylan’s early recorded performances, this Quest show is the earliest video of a full Dylan performance available. The TV Talkin’ website lists the date of the show as January 2, 1964, although that may be the date of the recording instead of the broadcast. Another website, Queens’ Film and Media, lists the date of the Dylan show as March 10, 1964, which is probably the broadcast date.
The audio for the show is available on the 10-CD Man on the Street bootleg (Thanks to one of our readers for this information!). It appears on the eighth CD under ” Quest Canada CBC-TV (Feb. 1, ’64).” So it puts the date somewhere between the January and March dates listed above.
Dylan’s special TV episode was the last one executive producer Daryl Duke did for Quest before leaving the show. He went on to produce The Steve Allen Show, where Dylan would appear on February 25, 1964.
Reportedly, prior to these TV appearances, Dylan had appeared on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson in summer or late 1963. But no video survives of that appearance and nobody seems even to know what Dylan sang then. Fortunately, though, this Quest performance from the same period survives. What is your favorite song in the segment? Leave your two cents in the comments.
The year 1984 was a busy one for actor Bill Murray. Columbia Pictures released the major hit Ghostbusters in June and the less-successful but interesting Razor’s Edge in October. That same year, MGM planned in September to release another movie in which Bill Murray appeared in a much smaller role, Nothing Lasts Forever. But MGM postponed the release of the film, ultimately deciding not to release it. But you may watch it below.
Saturday Night Live writer Tom Schiller wrote and directed the unusual movie, which stars Lauren Tom and Zach Galligan, the latter who like Murray starred in another 1984 blockbuster, Gremlins. In addition to Murray, the film also features Sam Jaffe, Imogene Coca, and Dan Aykroyd.
You will notice right away that the film features the classic look of early black and white Hollywood movies from the 1940s and 1950s (although some scenes are in color). The film begins with Galligan performing as a concert pianist, and the movie follows his return to a New York City under the control of the Port Authority.
The film then takes some odd turns into futuristic science fiction territory. Murray appears later in the film as a conductor on a bus to the moon. Eddie Fisher shows up on the bus to the moon to sing his 1954 hit “Oh My Papa.” On the moon, you also will see Calvert DeForest, i.e., David Letterman’s Larry “Bud” Melman. It’s that kind of a movie.
So check out the lost film Nothing Lasts Forever here (available here through YouTube for now at least). The video is not movie-theater quality, but it is watchable and I made it through. The movie itself is interesting as it seems to aim for some kind of Wizard of Oz magic. But you also might understand why the unusual film was never released. See what you think. [September 2014 Update: The whole movie is no longer on YouTube, but you can check out the trailer below.]
Singer-songwriter Colbie Caillat has released a new song and video taking on the ridiculous beauty standards imposed throughout popular culture. In the video for “Try,” she and others take off their makeup and hair extensions to reveal the real people.
The lyrics ask about the commercial culture that inspires us to go to stores and go into debt just to meet someone else’s standards of beauty. Ultimately, Caillat asks: “Why, should you care, what they think of you?/ When you’re all alone, by yourself, do you like you?” Check out her video for “Try.”
On Twitter, Caillat explains, “‘Try’ is the 1st video I’ve never prepared for. Didn’t go tanning or diet or heavily workout… & it felt wonderful!” “Try” appears on Caillat’s EP Gypsy Heart Side A(2014).
What do you think of Colbie Caillat’s “Try”? Leave your two cents in the comments.
(1964). Quest was a regular series, initially called Q for Quest, that featured various artists and ran on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) network during 1961-1964.
(2005). [Update: The video of the entire show is no longer available, so below is the opening song of the show, “The Times They Are a-Changin’.”]
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(2014).