(500) days of summer

A.V. Club: The Swoon Club

in: viewing room

Here at the Dunce Cap, sharing is highly encouraged. And the A.V. Club is one of the easiest ways to put to use the skills taught in kindergarten. This week, A.V. Club brings two excellent clips that’ll make you wet your pants.

There are a couple videos making rounds across the Interweb today, and these two definitely caught my eye. Yes, singular. One each. These two are among the first class of the Dunce Cap Swoon Club, and I think these videos prove any such title is warranted. Totally.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt feels like a natural woman-un-un

JGL's Gender-bending head-scratching

So, we got to hear Joseph Gordon-Levitt sing in (500) Days of Summer. Remember? Karaoke? Belting “Here Comes Your Man” in bliss and then a much surlier “Train in Vain” in a drunken stupor. And then there was the absolutely adorable “I Don’t Want to Go to the Moon.” And now? He’s working his pipes with a rendition of Aretha Franklin’s “A Natural Woman.”

Gordon-Levitt’s also runs hitRECord.org, an online collaborative production company, and Monday, at the site’s Summer in the City show, the cherub-faced boy from Angels in the Outfield crooned to many bawling girls.

Wait, I got lost. I wasn’t talking about Justin Bieber? No? Oh, right. Weird.

Check out the clip below. This isn’t Gordon-Levitt’s first trek into girl anthem land. He sang Madonna’s “Express Yourself” at a hitRECord.org performance in 2007. Oh, JGL. You’re precious. [The Daily What via The Frisky]

Somehow, Justin Long makes me envious of a 12-year-old girl

“Ok, foin!” I’ve always thought Justin Long was a catch. Hilarious, cheeky, charming, attractive, assuredly friends with John Hodgman. But this video had me rolling on the floor. You know me – I’m a bit of a Medildo journalist-type, incapable of ignoring mistakes in grammar or spelling. And so, this video just slaaaayed me (I’m sorry. I’m still watching Buffy.)

Anyway. Jimmy Kimmel hosted Long this week, and, instead of talking about the sure-to-be-endearingly-lovable Going the Distance, Long introduced us to…well, I don’t think any of us are sure who we were conversing with. A poor (and poorly educated) tween unwittingly texted Long, thinking she was chatting with her friend of Eduardo. Long replied, and a months-long text exchange ensued. As did hilarity!

The interview (with a short clip from the new movie, due out Sept. 3, at the end) is broken down into three parts on Kimmel’s official YouTube. Part 1 is embedded below, with links to parts 2 and 3 following. [BuzzFeed]

And part 2 and part 3.

(editor’s note: How did I not know Justin Long was in Crossroads? I must have missed this the ten thousand times I watched that movie for Anson Mount. What? I’m not embarrassed.)

A.V. Club: Hanson grows up

in: viewing room

The brothers move through the alphabet

The three effeminate brothers from Tulsa, Zac, Taylor and Isaac, shot to popularity in 1997 with their infectious single “MMMBop,” but they failed to achieve any significant long-term success. They’re set to release their newest album, “Shout It Out,” in June, and the first single from it, “Thinking ‘Bout Somethin'” is a catchy pop ditty which returns the three precious brothers to their roots.

I can’t seem to embed the music video from MySpace, so click the video still below to watch the video, which premiered Thursday. I want to hear what you think – post in the comments.

(editor’s note) The video has drawn comparisons to the Blues Brothers, though I think the most apt comparison is to Joseph Gordon-Levitt‘s dance scene in (500) Days of Summer.

And that group jump-high-five may be the lamest thing I’ve seen on record. Ever. Still, glad to see the boys are back.

Still from "Thinking 'Bout Somethin'"

And, for good measure (and nostalgia), the video for “MMMBop,” my childhood anthem.