Yorkton This Week鈥檚 editorial staff takes readers on an explorative journey around the Internet, searching out the best in videos, podcasts, webcomics, music and anything else that catches their collective eyes which might interest our readers.
My relationship with popular music is very much a love-hate affair.
At its best, I think pop music can be the purest distillation of strong, simple emotions. I think about the overriding positivity of Daft Punk鈥檚 鈥淕et Lucky,鈥� or the whistfulness of Clean Bandit鈥檚 鈥淩ather Be,鈥� or the raw drama of Kanye West鈥檚 鈥淎ll of the Lights,鈥� and I鈥檓 reminded of pop music鈥檚 power.
Pop music鈥檚 access to big stars, top-shelf production, and wide reach make it an ideal vehicle for expressing broad, universal messages. Pop music can move mountains.
But at its worst, pop music is the worst media in the world. It can be bloated, tired, cliched, and dull. I think about dreck like 鈥淗avana,鈥� 鈥淕ucci Gang,鈥� or the Chainsmokers鈥� collective output, and I鈥檓 filled with disgust for pop music鈥檚 bottomless failures. Pop music can be junk food without any flavour.
Clearly, I run hot and cold on pop music. But if there鈥檚 one artist who revels in the best and worst of the genre, and shows its endless potential, it鈥檚 Neil Cicierega.
Cicierega is an Internet comedian, musician, and minor celebrity. He created the hugely popular 鈥淧otter Puppet Pals,鈥� along with the musical act Lemon Demon. But Cicierega鈥檚 best works are his mashup albums.
Mashups, quite simply, are songs made out of other songs. Mashups were incredibly popular in the early-2000s, as the Internet and meme-culture began to grow. Artists such as Girl Talk made huge hits by combining classic rock songs with gangsta rap lyrics.
Usually, mashups are simple, dumb fun. They involve a well-known song overlaid with different lyrics. But Cicierega鈥檚 mashups are anything but average.
Cicierega smashes countless 90s and 2000s songs into singular, monstrous tracks. He turns mashups into joke-filled goof-fests. He warps familiar songs into bizarre headtrips.
Cicierega鈥檚 鈥淢odest Mouth鈥� combines Smash Mouth鈥檚 鈥淎ll Star鈥� with indie-darlings Modest Mouse鈥檚 鈥淔loat On鈥� into a twisted, yet still-catchy, rocker. 鈥淣o Credit Card鈥� turns Huey Lewis鈥檚 鈥淧ower of Love鈥� into an ode to credit cards. 鈥淲allspin鈥� merges Oasis鈥� 鈥淲onderwall鈥� with Dead or Alive鈥檚 鈥淵ou Spin Me Round鈥� into a peversely enjoyable dance song.
The list goes on and on. To describe more of Cicierega鈥檚 mashups would spoil the fun of discovering his outstanding work. If you want music with an absurdist sense of humour and genuine catchy hooks, check out his songs.
Cicierega鈥檚 three mashup albums (Mooth Sounds, Mouth Silence, and Mouth Moods) can be found on his website, http://www.neilcic.com/. They are free downloads.
- Sean Mott
British crime weirdness
Being a fan of a number of British detective shows it is a natural to try new ones when I come upon them.
So on a very random search through Netflix one afternoon when I had a day off, I found River.
River is a six-part British television drama series, created and written by Abi Morgan and starring Stellan Skarsg氓rd and Nicola Walker. It premiered on BBC One in Oct. 2015, and internationally on Netflix in November the same year.
The series revolves around John River as your usual brilliant police inspector. That is typical enough of a police drama, but River is far from a typical show.
River may be very good at his job, but he also has a deep flaw. He is a man haunted by the murder victims whose cases he must lay to rest, including his murdered partner Jackie 鈥楽tevie鈥� Stevenson.
The six episodes revolve around River unravelling the case, dealing with multiple voices, he actually sees the people and talks to them, dealing with unresolved emotions.
The show could have come off as just dumb, but it avoids that with a cast of bang on performances, starting with an outstanding effort by Stellan Skarsg氓rd as River.
Nicola Walker is 鈥楽tevie鈥� as a ghost and the veteran actor handles the quirky role nicely, although among River鈥檚 voices Eddie Marsan as Thomas Cream stands out the most.
Adeel Akhtar as Ira King, River鈥檚 new partner has the biggest hurdle, accepting the way River is without being silly in the attempt, or merely condescending. Akhtar pulls it off perfectly.
Finally, Lesley Manville as River鈥檚 superior is outstanding too.
The overall cast, quirky approach, and ripping good mystery puts River in my top-three British dramas too-date. Well worth searching out.
鈥� Calvin Daniels
