November 14

Today's undercelebrated celebrity is songwriter/guitarist/producer Butch Walker. He used all these skills to mastermind the 90's alt-rock band Marvelous 3, whose highest charter was "Freak of the Week": a perfect title for a one-hit wonder tune, right? But that's not how the story ends, of course...
With the band dissolved in 2001, Butch started using his skills to write songs, play guitar, and produce hits for other artists. In 2002, he produced Bowling For Soup's major label debut; "Girl All The Bad Guys Want" hit the charts, got nominated for a Grammy, and Walker had his golden ticket. I've been trying to figure out how to encapsulate what he's been up to in the last decade; how about some of the songs he's written/co-written?

Bowling For Soup - Punk Rock 101
by Freszer

AVRIL LAVIGNE MY HAPPY ENDING
by flim84

Happy Birthday, Butch. Thanks for the music.

November 13

I told you this day would come.



Today, we turn our attention to Nikolai Fraiture, bassist for the Strokes. The Strokes have some of the best intros in rock, like Fraiture's setups for "Reptilia," "You Only Live Once," or "Juicebox." He received his first bass guitar at 18 - and gave it to future bandmate Julian Casablancas; a year later, he took the bass back and learned to play it.
Like the rest of the guys in the Strokes, he's got more going on than the Strokes. Earlier this year, his side project Nickel Eye released their first album, The Time of the Assassins. But his moment as a frontman was short-lived; the Strokes marched back in the studio this summer to record album number 4. Nickel Eye will have to wait until the next hiatus.

Here's some solo Fraiture:



And here's the Strokes in action:

Reptilia - The Strokes
by k_rhcp

November 12

Okay, it might be bending the rules a bit to talk about Anne Hathaway; I mean, she's a certifiable celebrity: box office smashes, award-nominated performances, scandalous ex-boyfriend... But I can't miss an opportunity to show her Mary Poppins sketch on Saturday Night Live, from an episode that she hosted - and totally killed.



What turns this bit from a funny joke to a classic sketch is Anne's performance: she's a pitch perfect mimic of Julie Andrews (due to exposure, I'm sure,) and her timing - the head turns, the vocal delivery - is so spot on. That's when I thought, "man, whatever she's doing next, I'll give it a shot..."

No, I did not see Bride Wars...

I did, however, see her special appearance on the Oscars, where she killed, again. Imagine if she hadn't given up the lead in Knocked Up to Katherine Heigl.
So, since she's still clawing her way out of the kiddie film ghetto (Hello, Rio) through the rom-com slums (Hello, Valentine's Day), she's under-celebrated; you're worth a birthday cake, Annie. (And wish for another host spot on SNL; they really need you this year...)

November 11

Here's a pick from milady: Johnathan Winters. This comic institution made his reputation on improvisational comedy in the 50's, combining vaudeville timing with chameleonic expressions. His style paved the way for Robin Williams (who played his dad on Mork and Mindy), Jim Carrey, and the entire cast of Whose Line is it Anyway?
Here's a prime example of his style, in a 'sketch' on the Dean Martin Variety Show: Winters wanders around an 'attic' and makes jokes from whatever he finds lying around.



Retired, he reportedly spends his days wandering the weekend antique shows near his home, doing the same thing, just for the heck of it.

November 10

There's plenty of birthdays to celebrate today, but I can't turn down a cool theme. So, for today's "Grindhouse Cinema" birthdays, let's light up the candles for Michael Jai White, mastermind of Black Dynamite, and the Irwin Allen of the 21st Century, Roland Emmerich.

Now I'm sure there are those out there who wonder how somebody so rich and successful deserves a shout-out on this blog. Well, for the fans (and I'm one) I have an excuse to run the 2012 trailer:


And for people who hate Emmerich's movies, here's some nutjob ranting about how racist Emmerich's Godzilla remake was...


Now, let's talk about Michael Jai White. Not only was he in the best Batman movie of all time (The Dark Knight), but he's played the Batman from Hell, the caped avenger known as Spawn. And he's a different type of superhero in Black Dynamite, a nod to such blaxploitation heroes as Shaft, Dolemite, and Jack of Spades.


That was groovy...

November 9

Today's birthday girl is Jennifer Ayache, lead singer of France's answer to No Doubt, Superbus (I think that's more "superb-us" than "super-bus", from how they acquired their name out of a Latin dictionary.) How much like No Doubt? They like genre-jumping rock music that you can dance to - it's ska-pop one day, new wave the next - sung by a chanteuse that likes to doll up in that 40's bombshell style. If you've beaten Guitar Hero III, you've unlocked their song, "Radio Song" (which is not an REM cover.) There seems to be an embargo on the videos from their new album, which might mean they're going to try to make a push in the US (After all, No Doubt is back together...)
Until America can discover the latest and greatest of Superbus for themselves, here's a ska-poppy track from the band:


superbus - superstar

mystika | MySpace Video

November 8

After the blustering about in the last week, today's kind of quiet. Let's take a little more time with a short film from director (and birthday boy) Carlos Atanes, who fights for true independent filmmaking and an appreciation of sci-fi in his native Spain. Check his website for all the weirdness he's brought to the world. One of his more accessible works is this 1993 short, "The Metamorphosis of Franz Kafka" :