daria

Dunce Flash: Week of 11/08/10

in: the press, in: viewing room

This has been quite the week. It’s been chocked full of disappointments and total excitements, to be sure, and it’s been a rather hectic and disappointing week on my end, but I am eager for the weekend. And, certainly, I’m thrilled to share with you five big pieces of news for the week.

Cee-Lo drops “The Lady Killer”

Can you say finally? I’ve been looking forward to this album from Cee-Lo for months, what with the tease of such a killer (no pun intended) lead track. I haven’t given the full thing a spin yet, but I’m hoping to do it this weekend, with (hopefully) a review to follow. In the meantime, PopMatters has a pretty thorough review praising “Fuck You,” noting the album’s sheer brilliance in nostalgic hooks and failure to maintain the musical throwback. [PopMatters]

Check out the video for “Fuck You” above.

Warner Bros. attempts to redirect obnoxious VM movie pleas (like mine!)

The cast of "Veronica Mars," Image courtesy of CW

Five months after “Veronica Mars” producer Joel Silver confirmed that the feature film project was dead, Warner Bros. created an official e-mail address where fans can send requests and open letters (cough) for a VM movie. New York Mag (unfortunately) (and rightly) believes this is simply a ploy to clean out the inboxes, but the move must say something – maybe the fans are really demanding some sort of conclusion. I say give it a shot. If you want it as much as I do, the effort certainly couldn’t hurt. [New York Mag via Playlist]

Daria Morgendorffer directs you through traffic

Good news! Now you can customize your GPS to have MTV’s most apathetic teen guide you to your destination. Daria Morgendorffer (of the eponymous ’90s cartoon) will be your guide! And remember: “There is no aspect, no facet, no moment of life that can’t be improved with pizza.” [Frisky via MTV]

Below, Daria on popular culture.

more exciting news after the jump

The Dunce Cap: Nov. 8, 2010

in: heavy rotation

 

1898 Photos of Toulouse-Lautrec

The Dunce Cap, Vol. 26: You can’t remember someone else’s story. (click on link to listen to mix via 8tracks)

1. “Basement Parties” – Matt Pond PA
2. “House Fire” – Someone Still Loves You, Boris Yeltsin
3. “Relator” – Pete Yorn & Scarlett Johansson
4. “No Time” – Good Old War
5. “How a Resurrection Feels” – The Hold Steady
6. “Microphone” – Coconut Records
7. “Borderline” – The Flaming Lips
8. “Dear Prudence” – The Beatles
9. “This Boy” – I’m From Barcelona
10. “Every Moment” – Rogue Wave

Look at this classy photo series! These are photographs of famed painter Henri Toulouse-Lautrec poopin’ on a public beach. So excellent. [Buzzfeed]

What do you mean funny, funny how?

Watching “Goodfellas” on a Monday night? So excellent. For class. Really. An essay examining the musical score of Scorsese’s film in relation to the use of popular music in “American Graffiti” and “Boogie Nights.” What a delicious assignment.

Yeah. That’s it.

But you know, I’m funny. You think I’m funny?

This is a series of ten exciting tracks I’m just lovin’. No specific reason for including any of them. Just lovable winners. Particularly The Flaming Lips cover of “Borderline.” I actually had a killer conversation this weekend about Wayne Coyne and the Lips (and their proclivity for adult themes masked beneath sing-songy childish melodies), so they’re certainly on my mind.

Oh, and P.S. Netflix clearly knows me too well. Four of my most recommended TV shows? “Freaks and Geeks,” “Wonderfalls,” “Daria” and “The Middleman.” By far four of my favorite recent-ish television shows. Check ’em all out if you haven’t.

I promise you – Real, live, excellent postings to come soon. Y’know, not just mixes. Insightful and snarky pop culture posts are on their way.

Happy listening.

Book Club: May DVDs

in: on queue

Blu-Ray Hooray!:

The cast of MTV's Daria.

La la la la la, Daria boxed set on DVD today!

In the mid-to-late-90s, Daria captivated our hearts with her no-nonsense attitude and unpopular misanthropy. She had a kooky cast of friends, from her airhead sister Quinn to her arty best friend Jane and all of the goths, jocks and rock stars (Trent, dreamy!) in between, and her life was set to a damn good ’90s playlist. Daria was truly the anti-hero of television girldom. She spoke in monotone, spoke almost solely in snarky quips and rolled her eyes – a lot.

Adapted from “Beavis and Butthead“, Daria was everything the original MTV cartoon wasn’t – intelligent, relatable, actually watchable. Plus, Daria lived in Lawndale, a town that, as The Frisky points out in their list of the Top 10 Reasons to Love Daria, could be anywhere – including my lovely hometown of Snellville, Ga. (motto: “Where Everybody’s Somebody”).

It’s about time the series finally be released on DVD. The show went off the air in 2001, and it’s finally resurfacing today with an eight-disc set. The set features all five seasons plus special features and the two Daria movies and is loaded with lots n’ lots of extras. I’m already scouring the web for cheap deals on the box set, which I’ve been coveting for a pretty long time. The only problem? MTV couldn’t secure the rights for the original music – think R.E.M., Alice in Chains, etc. – so the DVD replaced the tracks with bland background music. H-hey.

I’m pretty sure that little snag won’t keep me from purchasing this gem. Must have for my collection – I do love awkward and dated shows about outcasts, etc. Plus, “Sick Sad World” is my favorite cartoon-within-a-cartoon, rivaled only by “The Itchy & Scratchy Show.”

Check out the first episode of the series, “The Esteemers,” below from MTV.

Vodpod videos no longer available.