» Big Brother 8 Launch Night
Noise To Signal begins it's coverage of this years Big Brother with a live-ish commentary on the launch night episode, to be followed hopefully by regular weekly-ish updates right through to the series end.
» May 2007 Archives
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Monday, May 28, 2007
» "Her name reminds me of female anatomy"
After the horrors inflicted on you all the other day by Phil, I thought it was time to redress the balance with something good from Youtube.
I'm not sure if this is one guy doing everything by himself, or if there are other people involved in the songwriting/video making, but either way, they're excellent. Essentially, they involve taking a famous movie theme, writing lyrics to go with it, and then acting the song out in silly costumes front of a greenscreen backdrop.
Jaws and Batman are alright, but the real masterstrokes come with James Bond, Superman and - probably my favourite - Back To The Future. The lyrics are funny, the costumes are endearingly crap but - especially in the case of BTTF - admirably accurate, and the guy can even actually sing.
This is exactly the sort of thing that Youtube exists for, and this guy's talent surely can't go unnoticed for long. In the meantime, I hope there are more of these on the way. Indiana Jones, perhaps?
Sunday, May 27, 2007
» In the wake of Borat
There's really only one negative thing about the worldwide success of the Borat film, and that's that Sacha Baron Cohen is probably never going to get away with anything like it again. But that doesn't mean the impact of the film will be limited to that singular release...
Saturday, May 26, 2007
» Sharing the misery...
So I did a quick search on YouTube because I wanted a friend of mine to see the music video for R.E.M.'s "I'll Take the Rain." It's a fantastic song, and a cute video.
But this came up as well. I thought...hmm...I like that song. And I typically enjoy solo acoustic versions of great songs...especially grandly produced ones like "I'll Take the Rain." They tend to strip it down to its core and reveal some emotion lost in the overdubs...
Being a subpar musician myself I try not to humuliate others, but Jesus Christ on a stick, this is fucking torture. If you can make it to the end you're a better man than I. I gave him until the first chorus. Then I killed myself.
» Laceyvision - US TV Bonanza
As the American TV season draws to a close, Laceyvision takes a look back at what tickled it's fancy and what tickled the gag reflex at the back of it's throat.
Thursday, May 24, 2007
» Doctor Who - Daleks In Manhattan / Evolution Of The Daleks
After three blistering episodes, the newest series of Doctor Who hit its first hurdle with this two-part Dalek romp, the script writing debut of scipt editor Helen Raynor.
Continue reading "Doctor Who - Daleks In Manhattan / Evolution Of The Daleks" »
Sunday, May 20, 2007
» Alternate Cover Special : Phonogram Interview
Regular readers of Alternate Cover will know that just about our favourite new comics series of the last twelve months has been Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie's Phonogram, a brilliant journey through music, magic and myth, and an exploration of nostalgia as seen through the eyes of someone with an inextricable tie to Britpop. With the first series concluding this month, a trade paperback on the way, and plans already afoot for the second series - and with their appearance at this year's Bristol Comics Expo - it seemed like the ideal opportunity to grab the writer and artist for an exclusive interview about the series, its origins, and their plans for volume two...
Continue reading "Alternate Cover Special : Phonogram Interview" »
Saturday, May 19, 2007
» The Friendship Dynamic in Shaun of the Dead
Though the only one I've posted directly to Noise to Signal before is my explorative essay on an episode of Futurama, there were two others I kept stashed away on my own website. This one is my first, and one I'm still quite proud of.
Shaun of the Dead, Simon Pegg's and Edgar Wright's 2004 film about London being overrun by the reanimated dead, touts itself as "a romantic comedy with zombies," a statement that is just as misleading as it is true. By the end of the film we learn that what we've seen was neither just a romantic comedy, nor a zombie film; what Pegg and Wright have assembled for us is a parable: a parable about friendship.
Continue reading "The Friendship Dynamic in Shaun of the Dead" »
Friday, May 18, 2007
» Tim and Eric love Shrek 3!
Tim and Eric love Shrek 3 so much they made their own set of promotional shorts. Far, far, far drier than their usual comedy, but brilliant nonetheless.
Updated with three more links!
Thursday, May 17, 2007
» 'Somos Las Bolas' on sale...Finally
Reviewed earlier this year by the lovely NTSer Tanya Jones, "Somos Las Bolas" is the first short film by me, Andrew Edmark.
From the DVD cover:
When Andy (Brandt Curtis) gets a ping-pong table in his basement, he soon discovers his great skill for not losing. Meanwhile, a teenage boy (James Bleecker Jr.) must confront his romantic desires and deal with his inner struggle for identity. Based on a short story by Philip J. Reed, VSc, this stunning debut by director Andrew Edmark shows just how far some will go to win, and how easy it is for others to lose it all. Also starring Abby Van Gerpen, Jake Pilcher & Frances Martel.
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
» Laceyvision Strikes Back
Laceyvision goes to the movies in order to hide in the back row and make dank, embarassing criticism inside his coat to fuck-awful blockbuster Spider Man 3, disappointing indie drama The Oh In Ohio and even more disappointing rom-com The Baxter.
Saturday, May 12, 2007
» More Conversations About Music and Brains
David Byrne and Daniel Levitin discussing the various ways music affects the brain...both chemically and theoretically. It's more a conversation than an interview, and it's truly fascinating stuff.
Set aside about 10 minutes and give it a read. It's amazing that music has been an important part of human life for thousands of years but only recently is anyone working through real science to discover why it's such an important part of life.
There's also a link on that page to watch the entire conversation. I haven't done that. But it's there if you so choose.
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Sunday, May 6, 2007
» Alternate Cover #46 - The Fill-In Issue
Things have been a bit quiet on the Alternate Cover front lately, but in an attempt to get things going again, in preparation for some exciting upcoming material (including a full report from Bristol later this month), I've decided to take the reins for a quick fill-in edition while James gets his writing mojo back. So feel free to treat this as you would those issues of Action Comics that have been coming out while we all wait (with no baited breath whatsoever) for the next Johns/Donner issue, or the four-part Batman story that came out while Grant M took a break (actually, don't treat it like those Bats issues, they were rubbish). We've got a roundup of some of the various things I've picked up from the last month or so, including the start of Andy Diggle's Hellblazer run, the gold dust that is All Star Superman, some lovely standalones from Detective Comics and Blue Beetle, and yet more 52 coupled with the World War III spinoff books...
Continue reading "Alternate Cover #46 - The Fill-In Issue" »
Thursday, May 3, 2007
» Booktext, May 07--The Time Traveler's Wife
Not that I'm very far into my Booktext career or anything, but I realized this month that my previous two entries (read: the only other two entries) spotlighted relatively recent novels by white American males. They were also novels that garnered glowing reviews.
Since I don't want to get caught in a pattern (or, just as bad, make it seem like I'm caught in a pattern) I thought, this time around, I'd either spotlight a big old forgotten novel from a few hundred years in the past, or a novel so bad I wish it had never been written.
Guess which one this is.
Continue reading "Booktext, May 07--The Time Traveler's Wife" »
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
Tuesday, May 1, 2007
» Live Review: James at the MEN Arena
Despite being widely known for little more than a string of hit singles and a corking "Best Of" collection in the mid 1990s, the history of James is both longer and more interesting than most people realise - since forming in 1981 they've had dealings with The Fall, Brian Eno, Tony Wilson and plenty of names more left-field than their fairly safe reputation would suggest. This illustrious career spluttered to a premature halt when lead singer Tim Booth announced his departure from the band in 2001, and mutterings of the group continuing without him came to nothing. James played a farewell gig in the Manchester Evening News Arena in December of that year, the same venue where they played an emotionally-charged comeback gig Saturday just gone.
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