World’s Strangest

Like Bert and Ernie or pork and fennel, Christmas trees and lights were made for each other. But how did stringing up a few hundred twinkling lights on a pine tree become a normal part of Christmas merrymaking? Make Like a Tree and Get in the House Well, it all started with the pagans. The ritual use [...]

It was 19 years ago this week (can you believe it’s been that long?) that the Milli Vanilli lip-synching scandal came to a head – the duo were stripped of their Grammies after it was revealed that they didn’t sing a single note on the Girl You Know It’s True album. But they were hardly [...]

Like live music? Of course you do. Know where to listen to thousands of legal concerts for free? I’m guessing many of you don’t, which is why I’m really excited to introduce you to WolfgangsVault.com, the coolest site I’ve discovered in the last weeks. And it’s not just a Web site—it’s an amazing, user-friendly iPhone app, [...]

I grew up watching 120 Minutes, an MTV show that aired starting at midnight on Sunday night. This made waking up for school on Monday morning hard, but at least I got to catch the newest “alternative” videos (The Cure, The Replacements, The Breeders, that sort of thing) which rarely aired in the normal MTV [...]

I went to an art show last night for some local artists, including Shawn Crahan. Maybe you don’t know the name, but you’ve probably heard of his band: Slipknot. Some people are just so overflowing with creativity that it can’t be contained to one medium – they sing, they act, they sculpt, they paint. I [...]

Did you know that Vincent van Gogh has inspired (at least) three great songs? The first I want to share with you is by Jonathan Richman with the Modern Lovers backing him up (iTunes link), and it’s really sweet — smart, funny, and even moderately educational. Here’s a music video a fan made on YouTube: “Vincent [...]

Did you know that Vincent van Gogh has inspired (at least) three great songs? The first I want to share with you is by Jonathan Richman with the Modern Lovers backing him up (iTunes link), and it’s really sweet — smart, funny, and even moderately educational. Here’s a music video a fan made on YouTube: “Vincent [...]

Today is 09/09/09, and you know what that means! The big Beatles Rock Band release. (GET IT? Number 9, number 9, number 9…) To get you in the mood, here are 9 rather obscure facts about those four lads from Liverpool that we bet you don’t know. (Nein?) 1. Before Lennon/McCartney there was McCartney/Lennon If you pick [...]