Category:
Music

The Comedian Harmonists

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The Comedian Harmonists were a German vocal group of the 1920s and 1930s. The vast majority of their songs were performed in their native language. But in the clip below, they tackle an English-language song phonetically, producing a language that does not resemble any on Earth.



Posted By: Paul - Tue Dec 09, 2008 - Comments (3)
Category: Music, Foreign Customs, 1920s, 1930s, Europe

Schnappi

I feel bad that my Follies post today was somewhat lame. Therefore, I am making it up to our readers the only way I know how: with some juvenile German "humor."

For more about Schanppi, visit his Wikipedia page.

Posted By: Paul - Mon Dec 08, 2008 - Comments (2)
Category: Music, Television, Surrealism, Children, Foreign Customs, Asia, Europe, Fictional Monsters

She Doesn’t Have to Shave

Following up on Alex's "Couvade" post: here's a musical exegesis of the eternal tradeoff between daily facial shaving for men, and monthly menstruation for women.

God, I miss Squeeze!

Posted By: Paul - Thu Dec 04, 2008 - Comments (6)
Category: Music, Video, Gender, Men, Women, Body Fluids, 1990s, Facial Hair

Father Abraham and the Smurfs

If you had to be locked in a small room for twenty-four hours with a musical novelty act, which would you prefer?

1) Alvin and the Chipmunks

2) Barney the Purple Dinosaur

3) The Danish dogs who originally barked out "Jingle Bells" in 1955

4) Father Abraham and the Smurfs



Posted By: Paul - Wed Dec 03, 2008 - Comments (6)
Category: Music, 1970s, Fictional Monsters

Bernie Krause

The musician Bernie Krause has had an arguably weird and fascinating career. He's gone from being a minor pop star to being a scientist in the field of bio-acoustics, or the noises of the natural world. Along the way he came up with the concept of "biophony," short for the biological symphony that each ecosystem makes.

The first clip below shows him at work, while the second is a trailer for his concepts.



Posted By: Paul - Sat Nov 29, 2008 - Comments (1)
Category: Music, Nature, Science

The Umbrellas of Cherbourg

Opera is inherently weird: people singing their every speech. But with classical opera, one doesn't notice the effect so much, since they've always been around.

But relatively recent operas, especially with contemporary settings, somehow magnify the weirdness.

Take, for instance, 1964's THE UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG. A simple love story, it features a script in which every single line is sung. Thus, at about the 3:30 mark in the opening clip below, you can hear the immortal lyric, "Check the ignition on the gentleman's Mercedes."

Apparently, the entire film is available on YouTube in nine parts, for your operatic enjoyment.

Posted By: Paul - Fri Nov 28, 2008 - Comments (3)
Category: Movies, Music, 1960s, Cars

The Chattanooga Twist

I'll bet you never knew what song Chattanooga Hookers like to dance to, did you?

What else but 1962's "The Chatanooga Twist," by Danyel Gerard!




Here's DG's other big hit.

Posted By: Paul - Tue Nov 25, 2008 - Comments (5)
Category: Music, Regionalism, Foreign Customs, 1960s, 1970s, Dance

Ghost Riders in the Sky

I don't think we heard enough of Vaughan Monroe's big hit in yesterday's Forest Service post, so here's the whole thing.

We know here at WU that mortal cows are deadly--so just imagine how evil a ghost cow is!

Posted By: Paul - Wed Nov 19, 2008 - Comments (1)
Category: Animals, Music, Paranormal, Regionalism, 1940s

Jimmy Carl Black, RIP

The obituary of Jimmy Carl Black reminds us of how weird he and Frank Zappa were.

Posted By: Paul - Sun Nov 09, 2008 - Comments (0)
Category: Eccentrics, Music, Obituaries, 1960s

Take My Ambassador, Please!

It's not too soon for the new administration to be thinking about appointing some ambassadors...

Posted By: Paul - Fri Nov 07, 2008 - Comments (1)
Category: Movies, Music, Diplomacy and Foreign Relations, Comedians

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Who We Are
Alex Boese
Alex is the creator and curator of the Museum of Hoaxes. He's also the author of various weird, non-fiction, science-themed books such as Elephants on Acid and Psychedelic Apes.

Paul Di Filippo
Paul has been paid to put weird ideas into fictional form for over thirty years, in his career as a noted science fiction writer. He has recently begun blogging on many curious topics with three fellow writers at The Inferior 4+1.

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