Lots of people try to make parodies of songs with geek-ish themes and/or origional geek content, but most are too terrible to even finish listening to a single song. There are also tons of great nerd-core style songs out there, but these 5 are on a level all of their own. It was really hard for me to not include songs by artists like Danger Mouse and MF Doom in a list like this but here is what I got.
#5. Deckard Cain – Greetings
I don’t expect anyone besides fellow Diablo fans to understand this song or it’s reason for being on this list, so if you’re not a fan of Diablo then proceed to #4.
Deckard Cain, from the Diablo video game series, is one of those helpful NPC’s that you always go to when you return to town. Obviously this song is not nearly as good as the rest on this list, but it deserves to be included in any Diablo Universe geek’s collection.
#4. Star Wars Gangsta Rap
This classic rap was one of the first viral internet videos in the 21st Century. It’s also one of the best fan made Star Wars properties ever (outside of Ryan vs Dorkman). Details of this video and rap can be found here.
Not only is the beat and melody totally phat, but the lyrics and rhymes are badass for a “nerd” song. Normally I wouldn’t support nerd songs as I consider myself a geek, but this song is way too awesome not to have on this list.
#2. Sniper Twins feat. Rob Collier – “Computer Friends” [Stack the Memory]
This is one of the coolest and most original geek songs I’ve ever heard. Granted for most of it they are talking about macs… but that aside, this song is still totally awesome. Props to the Sniper Twins for awesome new music that I can relate to.
#1. “Weird Al” Yankovic – It’s All About The Pentiums
There was never any song made with lyrics as great as Weird Al’s parody of Puff Daddy’s “It’s All About The Benjamins (remix)”. And even for a 10 year old song, it’s still relevant to today’s technology. If you don’t like this song, then you are not a geek.
“Play me online, well you know that I’ll beat you. If I ever meet you, I’ll control-alt-delete you.”
I wanted to do something as a tribute for Michael besides just watching Moonwalker. I grew up in the 80’s listening to Michael and watching his wacky life unfold. I was even potty trained because of Michael Jackson (my rewards were getting to listen to MJ records and getting to eat Gummy Bears).
So, even though it is somewhat embarrassing, I have decided that I should let you know what his greatest guilty pleasure songs are. According to Wikipedia:
A guilty pleasure is something one considers pleasurable despite feeling guilt for enjoying it. Often, the “guilt” involved is simply fear of others discovering one’s lowbrow or otherwise embarrassing tastes, rather than actual moral guilt.
I really won’t listen to these songs below with anyone else around… But by myself with headphones on I will even sing along.
NOTE: It is just coincidence that my 5 guilty pleasure MJ songs happen to be from only 2 of his albums. And these are in no way his greatest songs, just my guilty pleasures.
So, here they are; The Top 5 greatest guilty pleasure songs by Michael Jackson:
#5. They Don’t Care About Us – HIStory
They Don’t Care About Us was a single from the album HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I. There’s just something about this song that I love so it’s made my list.
HIStory makes a 2nd appearance on this list with Stranger in Moscow. While this song itself is kinda lame, the melody reminds me of the theme from the game Secret of Mana. I don’t know if it’s because I was playing it around the time when this album came out but it does something to me.
#3. Liberian Girl – Bad
Bad, Michael Jackson’s greatest album, has a great song hidden away in the midst of all the platinum hits. Liberian Girl has great vocal work and every time I listen to it I just want to sing along as loud as possible, especially at the end of the track.
#2. Earth Song – HIStory
HIStory brings another guilty pleasure with Earth Song. Earth Song never picked up in the US (although the video did get a lot of airtime) but it was a huge hit overseas. The operatic nature of the song is fantastic and the call-and-response at the end is one of the greatest things Michael did in the last part of his career. This is one of those songs where you can really hear the passion in his voice. It really is one of Michael Jackson’s true epic songs.
Bad has tons of great tracks, but the best guilty pleasure song is Leave Me Alone. The vocal work, the chorus, and the harmony in the song makes me want to scream and shout. The stop-motion video of this song is also epic and surely does the song justice.
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So, that’s it… Now that I’ve embarrassed myself by telling you about these songs, I need a drink.
One of the greatest things to watch on screen (or even read in books) is the anti-hero of any story. As there are so many great anti-heroes that I would include in an “anti-hero” list (such as Snake Plisken, Gaius Baltar, and Porter), I have decided to make a separate list for animated characters. By “animation” I am referring to cartoons and anime. So here’s the list:
NOTE: This post is not complete… the descriptions will be updated before my next post.
#5. Afro Samurai – Afro Samurai
Afro is the main character in the anime and game series Afro Samruai. In this world, there are two headbands which denote rank. The number One can only be challenged by number Two so the number Two is constantly fighting and killing off people who challenge him. Afro’s dad was the old number One until he was killed when Afro was a child. After aquiring the number Two headband, he sets out to revenge his father all while holding off others who would like a chance at the crown. Afro slaughters and kills everyone, even his mentors, because of this system. While he is the protagonist of the series, he is also an anti-hero because of his violent and somewhat immoral nature. The American dub stars the voices of Samuel L. Jackson and Ron Perlman with music by The RZA.
#4. Zaraki Kenpachi – Bleach
Zaraki Kenpachi is the captain of the 11th division in Soul Society which is the most powerful squad and he is the most powerful captain. Other captains get their status and rank by performing tests showing their skills. Zaraki is the only captain to gain his rank the other way… by killing the former strongest captain of the 11th squad. He lives for fights and has no equal. He is the only ranked member in Soul Society who doesn’t know the name of his Zanpaktou nor can he release it. He even uses an eye patch to conceal half of his energy to make the fights more even. He fights with brute force and strength alone and does not care about anything else besides the fight at hand. His love for fighting brings him to where the action is but it is never his intention to help. He just wants to fight the most powerful person he can.
#3. TIE: Homer Simpson and Bender Bending Rodriguez – The Simpsons and Futurama
Both of the characters of Homer Simpson and Bender, created by Matt Groening, are pretty much the anti-heroes of their respective series (The Simpsons and Futurama respectively). While Bender is a much more immoral being with his love of stealing, drinking, and smoking; Homer is a non-intentional anti-hero. Homer doesn’t do anything on purpose, but his character just seems to put him in the position of causing conflict in the show. Throughout his 20+ years on TV, Homer has gotten more stupid and become a cornerstone of conflict for the Simpsons series. Bender, on the other hand, does everything on purpose. He knows who he’s hurting and has no remorse unless it affects him directly. In a fight of anti-heroes, Bender would definitely beat out Homer but Homer has the experience that Bender just doesn’t have yet.
NOTE: I would have attached videos here but every real Simpsons or Futurama video gets pulled for copyright infringement.
#2. Eric Cartman – South Park
Eric Cartman is the anti-hero of South Park created by Matt Stone and Trey Parker. This kid has done it all, from murder, to kidnapping, to arson, to lying in front of congress, to feeding a kid his parents, to starting a cult to rid South Park of the Jews. Cartman is the main point of conflict in the entire series and pretty much every extreme thing that happens is because of him. No video or image that I post will do him justice, you just have to watch him for yourself. You can watch full episodes of South Park for free online from South Park Studios.
#1. Vegeta – Dragonball Z
Vegeta from the series Dragonball Z (he also appears in GT but Z is the best) is the greatest anti-hero in any live-action or animated series. He is a prince of the Saiyans and comes to earth seeking immortality. He has the power in one finger to destroy planets and enslave entire civilizations. While he does grow and mature as the series progresses, he still retains the dark side within and is really a true anti-hero. While Goku ends up being the strongest and best hope for Earth in the end, Vegeta is still my hero. With the exception of Gaius Baltar, no character that is actually evil has had a better run than Vegeta.
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NOTE: I will be updating my descriptions in this post soon, I just wanted to get a base draft posted before I figured how I wanted to praise each character listed above. I hope to have this updated before I do the top 5 live-action anti-heroes.
The following movies are what I consider to be the top 5 very best college movies in modern history. As there are actually lots of good college movies, this list is very personal. However, all these movies are great. I apologize about the videos in advance… For consistency I tried to use previews that I could find for these movies but the previews don’t do these movies the justice I had wanted.
#5. Animal House
National Lampoon’s Animal House pretty much defined the college movie. Had I made this list 10 years ago, Animal House would have probably been #1. Even though it was made over 30 years ago, there are lots of traditions in Animal House that are still followed in frats and at colleges today.
#4. How High
How High is the definitive stoner college movie. Every watching is great and the jokes are highlarious. If you’re a stoner movie fan, a Method Man and Redman fan, or just a fan of college movies; then this is one you need to see. The previews for this movie never do it justice because they swear every couple seconds so all the previews are edited and cut (just like the one above).
#3. Van Wilder
National Lampoon makes a second appearance on this list with yet another college movie. National Lampoon’s Van Wilder is the simple story of a popular guy at school who just doesn’t want to leave. And as with all National Lampoon movies, the comedy never ends.
#2. Accepted
Accepted is the college movie for all of us who seem to face rejection all the time… from work, school, women, and from life. All of us who have faced rejection have thought about using our powers of imagination to come up with a short solution to satisfy the needs of someone close to us (the parents in this example). Accepted is a movie about a kid who takes that to the next level after being rejected from every college he applied to. Personally, I think this is one of the best college movies ever made and the ending gets me every time.
#1. PCU
PCU is the best college movie ever made. The premise is simple, it follows one perspective student over one day as he tries to get to know the school and decide if he wants to go there. Little does he know that college is no longer what it used to be. PCU has everything from famous actors and great acting, to great chase scenes, to George Clinton and the Parliament Funkadelic. If you’ve never seen PCU, then you’re missing out on the best college movie ever and pretty much the introduction of Jeremy Piven into the mainstream.
This ridiculous premise is from the beginning of the movie Tropic Thunder (which is also a parody of a movie in a movie in of itself). It stars Stiller’s character from Tropic Thunder in a series of action movies that Hollywood would consider a Summer blockbuster. But you know what… I would actually watch these if they were real… even with that terrible one-liner.
#4. Potfest
At the end of the movie Beerfest, starring Broken Lizard, is what seems like a tie-in for a logical sequal; Potfest. Unfortunately, it wasn’t for real and there’s no Potfest movie in teh works. However, after watching the craziness of Beerfest, I’m sure a Potfest movie would be highlarious.
#3. Hamlet
This is Hamlet starring Arnold Schwarzenegger from the movie Last Action Hero. Of course Hamlet as been done before, but never starring Arnold playing an Arnold role. This is Shakespeare I could watch.
Previews for the movie Cockpuncher starring Steven Seagal can be seen all throughout The Onion Movie. It really does star Seagal and he has one of the best one-liners for an action movie about the great puncher of cocks: “I don’t think you have the balls”. Awesome!
#1. Machete (Now being made into a real movie!!!)
Warning: This preview is NSFW.
Machete is a quazi-preview starring Danny Trejo that is shown at the beginning of Grindhouse – Planet Terror. This preview is so well done and this movie would be so good that Rodriguez is now actually making a real Machete movie starring Trejo and is scheduled for 2010.
