Day 64 - 101 Days of Awesome

I laughed pretty hard the first time I saw Austin Powers. It's almost too bad it became as popular as it was. It would have made for some pretty good inside jokes. I showed it in class at lunchtime a few years back. It still held up pretty well.

But the awesome thing about it is the soundtrack. It's such a sweet taste of the late 60s. While I don't exactly watch the movie much anymore, I still take a listen to the soundtrack every now and again.

Day 63 - 101 Days of Awesome

I've mentioned a few times before that I don't particularly like musicals, but I love the ones I do. My favorite is probably Singin' in the Rain. I've had the opportunity to see it in the theaters with a crowd a couple times in the past few years. It's always a great experience, and watching certain songs is just pure joy.

In my opinion, the absolute best part of the movie is Make 'Em Laugh. If this scene were filmed today, it would be edited over and over again to make it work (unless it's Joseph Gordon Levitt). But the original? The talent oozes off of the film cells.

Day 62 - 101 Days of Awesome

I've mentioned before that my favorite video game series is the Legend of Zelda. If you've never played the game... just skip this one.
In the Ocarina of Time, you learn the Song of Storms. Well, the way you learn it is actually pretty cool. You go back and forth in time. When you're your older self, you learn it from this guy who learned it from you when you were younger because you learn it then go back in time and teach it to him, who then teaches it to you later. Yeah.

Anyway, a few Zelda games reference the song later. It's always a blast to hear it again. It's pretty awesome.

Day 61 - 101 Days of Awesome

Flight of the Conchords did one major thing right - they stopped after two seasons. What they left us with were two awesome seasons. I went through them fairly quickly. Here are two of my favorite songs from the series:

Day 60 - 101 Days of Awesome

Ah, The Daily Show. I have no idea when I last missed an episode of The Daily Show. When I've gone on vacation, I've made it a point to record every episode at the highest priority. On one of those trips, my DVR crapped out halfway through. I think that was 2007. So yeah, it's probably been since then. I've fast forwarded through some interviews, but I've seen most of the rest. I've had some catch up marathons for sure.

I'm going to take a moment to clarify what a lot of people likely mean when they say that they get their news from The Daily Show. Occasionally, they will bring a story to light that isn't being talked about by other news outlets. Perhaps there is some bill being passed by Congress that is full of hypocrisy. If it isn't "front page" news, we might not be exposed to it otherwise. Those of us who watch are also smart, so we'll go investigate more on our own.

And you can't forget that The Daily Show begat The Colbert Report. It also gave us Steve Carrell, Ed Helms, and lots of other funny, funny people.

Day 59 - 101 Days of Awesome

The first major road trip I took by myself was in the summer of 1999. I went to Seattle first, where I spend quite some time before really starting the trip. On the day I left, I drove I-90. It crosses the top of Idaho. It's a really beautiful drive through the pine tree covered mountains. I hit that as the sun was setting. I had been listening to Jimi Hendrix  - The Ultimate Experience. At the end of the album is Jimi's Star Spangled Banner from Woodstock. The sights and the sounds made the most awesome amalgam of existence for my drive.

Day 58 - 101 Days of Awesome

I've talked about Star Wars a few times already, and I'm sure I will again. But on Star Wars day (May the Fourth be with you), I need to write about it again.

So for today, I'm going to mention the original ending to Return of the Jedi. Yes, it's the Yub Nub or Ewok Celebration song. The Daves of Thunder podcast would end its episodes with this beautiful and celebratory piece.  It's really how every school day should end. Imagine if you will that instead of the bell that this started playing. Kids and teachers could celebrate in the hallways together as they dance the Ewok Celebration dance that I'm sure long time commentator The Jakes still remembers well. What a beautiful world it would be if this were the way it were. If I were principal...

Day 57 - 101 Days of Awesome

I love The Goonies. As a kid, it was one of my absolute favorites. I fondly remember riding my bike all the way down to the Capri Theater to watch it a couple times. For a buck, I got to watch it twice with something else in between. I could have stayed to watch another time, but I would have had to watch the other movie again, and I probably was supposed to be home at a certain time or something.

I remember the horror in sixth grade when we were supposed to watch it in class as a celebration after we performed Hamlet. But then Ms. Oetting previewed the movie and wasn't happy with the number of times they said "Shit. So we watched the John Wayne movie Hondo. What's up with that shit?

But the awesome I'm going to talk about is the music. This is a specific piece of music from the movie that you will find embedded below. Take a listen as you finish reading. It's the first 1:40 or so.

As a kid, not only did I love the Goonies, but (hyperbole alert) I wanted nothing more than a Goonies sequel. Back then, there was one way to find out what movies were coming out that I knew of. You went to the movies and watched the trailers. So just imagine the awesome I felt the first time a trailer started and that music played! For a few seconds, I knew it was coming. Goonies 2 - Even Goonier! Now imagine the lack of awesome when I discover that instead, Dennis Quaid was going to be miniaturized and injected into Martin Short. And it wasn't just the Inner Space trailer. It was used often in the second half of the 80s.

So why is it awesome if I was so devastated and am still awaiting Goonies 2 - Electric Goonieloo? Because it is.

Day 56 - 101 Days of Awesome

SPOILER AHEAD FOR SIX FEET UNDER
If you have legitimate plans to watch the series soon, don't read on. Otherwise, I don't spoil everything. Just the end.

How will the series end? Will it suck? Will they tie up loose ends? Will the characters be redeemed? Some shows miss the mark (ahem, Battlestar Galactica and Lost). Some shows get it just right (Cheers and arguably The Sopranos).

Occasionally, it's perfect. The absolute best series ending of all time was for Six Feet Under. Not only was it beautiful, not only was it emotional, not only did it complete the stories of the characters, but it did it in a way that was SO PERFECT for the series before. Spoiler: A show about death showed us the deaths of the main characters. And the song playing, Breathe Me, makes it perfect.

Day 55 - 101 Days of Awesome

There are many, many songs in this world for which the following is true for many people. You hear the first few notes and you start to feel nausea. You want to turn it off. You want to complain. You want to declare that the terrorists have won. You want to strike down your fellow man just so that song will end.

But sometime, the vocalist enters before you're able to do any of those things, and there's a little surprise. It isn't Avril Lavigne after all. It's Weird Al! And suddenly, the nausea ends. You want it to keep playing. You want to sing along. The terrorist have lost again. You want to celebrate with your fellow man.

Who the crap doesn't like Weird Al? Bad people, that's who. A few years ago there was a petition to have Weird Al perform at the Super Bowl halftime show. Who heard that idea and thought it was a bad idea? Bad people that's who. It needs to happen because Weird Al is awesome.

Here's another surprise. Many of his original songs are awesome in your workout mix.