Tuesday is my least favorite day of the week. Let's heal our collective grumbles/sighs with some "historical" rap songs, as performed by Hollywood personalities you probably wouldn't expect to drop a fresh beat. Which might explain why some of them actually don't. I would like to dedicate this edition of TSR Buzz to my iPod. Without that gizmo's shuffle feature, I may have forgotten that Brian Wilson once wrote a rap song.
With TSR Buzz, you’ll find links to articles, videos and other random things that will help you waste your time just a little bit more. Enjoy - even if a few of these are not purely original rap videos.
- When you first listen to this song, (which a friend wisely said could be a Ween B-side,) the pitch change might appear terrifying. But after watching the video, you'll see it only makes sense. The five girls are already standing around a table, contemplating what disgusting ingredients to contribute to their virginal cheese pizza. This is not what kids do. It's what witches do with cauldrons, when they think about how to stir babies and dog blood properly. Nevertheless, this video is great. The song is deliciously groovy also, and even more rap-tastic in its original form.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wusGIl3v044
- Youtube legends Autotune the News/Schomoyoho help Martin Luther King Jr. let "freedom ring" with this catchy mixing up of the famous "I Have A Dream" speech. This is Schmoyoho's most infectious "historical" remix, (they've also done Winston Churchhill and JFK). And yes, it is very respectful with its contents, and touching in its own way.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0F4iXEzOqY&p=1108E1206571A701&index=3
- In 1991, pop genius Brian Wilson worked on an album called "Sweet Insanity," which has never been released. Thankfully, this song, "Smart Girls," was released to radio stations as a promotional tape before the album was scrapped. Here, Brian Wilson raps about how "I've seen the light/intelligent chicks are dynamite." And of course because this is Wilson, he overachieves - the song is loaded with more samples than a Kanye West mixtape, and they're all Beach Boys songs. Sweet insanity, indeed.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sz0SnpN_O00
- Rodney Dangerfield tries so hard to gain our respect. He's made an animated movie, Rover Dangerfield, and a few other full length features. Surely, "Rappin' Rodney" is probably his most desperate effort to get respect. The chorus begins like this: "It's just Rappin' Rodney, ain't that your type/No no." No respect!
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLGxWPtgodo
- And finally, a poetic rap send off from MC Gore Vidal, courtesy of Sacha Baron Cohen's Ali G character. Check it!
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCXBuoCDcrI
- I was going to post Tom Green's "Bum Bum Song," which stands as a great example of "celebrities" using rap as failed pop culture infiltration, but that's a dumb, dumb idea. Now that I've reminded you that even such a song exists, it is available on Youtube.
- Of course, it wouldn't be a TSR Buzz if I didn't find some way to share my excitement about a recent movie. So here's your Social Network link of the week. A Facebook chat transcript between Mark Zuckerberg and Jesse Eisenberg. Special appearance by Tom from Myspace. To quote Roger Ebert: "As I often read on the internet, 'Hahahahahaha.'"