France Gall’s anti-LSD song

The French have popstars no sane American has ever heard of. One such is certainly France Gall.

Perhaps the most bizarre moment of her career was her anti-LSD anthem from 1967, "Teenie Weenie Boppie," penned by none other than
Serge Gainsbourg.

Watch it now, why not?



Curious about the lyrics? Listen to the English-language cover version by indie super group Free Kitten.

Posted By: Paul - Thu Jul 10, 2008 - Comments (5)
Category: Art, Customs, Foreign Customs, Drugs, Eccentrics, Music

Wrinkled Head Commercial

This is a Japanese TV commercial for COSMO Securities. It reminds me of the artwork of Giuseppe Arcimboldo -- if Arcimboldo were to have made his heads out of human bodies rather than food. (via 3yen)

Posted By: Alex - Thu Jul 10, 2008 - Comments (0)
Category: Art, Advertising

Belinda Bedekovic

Witness the glory that is Belinda Bedekovic.

Posted By: Paul - Wed Jul 09, 2008 - Comments (5)
Category: Art, Customs, Foreign Customs, Music, Sexuality, Sex Symbols, ShowBiz

Obama Lincoln

Check out this new portrait from famed painter Ron English, and read what happened in Boston when it was recently displayed.

Posted By: Paul - Wed Jul 09, 2008 - Comments (3)
Category: Art, Business, Advertising, Government, Officials, History, Historical Figure, Politics

Le Bushmiller par excellence!

The next time someone sees you reading comics and criticizes your lowbrow tastes, whip out a hardcopy of this page and reply, "But no, mon frere, I read only zee intellectual bande dessinée, such as zee Arthur et Zoé."

Posted By: Paul - Wed Jul 09, 2008 - Comments (2)
Category: Art, Comics, Customs, Foreign Customs, Literature

Zombie Garden Sculpture

I'd love to put this zombie garden sculpture in my front yard, but I know it would only be a matter of time before someone mistook it for a real body and called the cops. Available from Design Toscano. (via Boing Boing Gadgets)

Posted By: Alex - Wed Jul 09, 2008 - Comments (0)
Category: Art, Death

Strange Musicals

Over at the Museum of Hoaxes I kept a list of Strange Musicals, but I think Weird Universe is a better home for it. So far the list includes:

• Thalidomide, the Musical
• The Elements of Style (an opera based on the Strunk & White style guide)
• Fight Club, the Musical
• Men are from Mars, Woman are from Venus (the musical)
• Jerry Springer, the Opera
• An unconfirmed musical based on the Labour Party's 1997 election manifesto

To this list I can add The Fly, an opera that debuted in Paris earlier this month, based on David Cronenberg's 1986 movie (based, in turn, on George Langelaan's 1957 short story), about a man who transforms into a fly due to an accident with a teleportation device. From the NY Times review:


Same thing happens to me if I miss my morning cup of coffee.

(Thanks, Sam Gaines!)

Posted By: Alex - Wed Jul 09, 2008 - Comments (2)
Category: Art, Literature, ShowBiz

The Horribles

As Thomas Pynchon preached, for every force, there is a counter-force. Thus it should come as no surprise that the state-sanctioned respectful and patriotic Fourth-of-July parade has a dark doppelganger, in the form of the Horribles Parade.

The origin of these mocking, satirical festivals goes back well over a century. In Rhode Island, my home state, the affair is called The Ancient and Horribles parade. You can read about our version here.

In nearby Massachusetts, the town of Beverly Farms staged one that recently generated some controversy, with a float dedicated to the teen-pregnancy pact that was recently all over the news.

Read about reactions to their float here.

You can see the float in this video at about the two-and-a-half-minute mark.

Posted By: Paul - Tue Jul 08, 2008 - Comments (2)
Category: Art, Performance Art, Customs, Parades and Festivals, School, Sexuality