The TV Listings (14)

A final roundup of my video postings. This might be quite a long one, since I have been posting A LOT in my last few months of blogging.

The Comedy/Movie Channel

Bush Tucker Man - an excerpt from the '90s Australian TV series about wilderness survival in the Outback presented by the wonderful Les Hiddins, my latest 'Unsuitable Role Model'.

"Not following your banter, old man" - on Battle of Britain Day, I post Monty Python's famous RAF skit.

My Fair Lady - two of my favourite numbers from the most lavish of all musicals, and a link to another (with Audrey Hepburn's original voice track). [See also below, under Music.]

My kind of physics! - a mesmerising demonstration of a new physics engine for computer racing games which models realistic crash damage in real time.

Gob on you! - a fantastic spoof of punk rock from the early '80s BBC2 skit show Not The Nine O'Clock News. [See also below, under Music.]

How did he do that? - German art photographer Markus Reugels reveals the secrets of his remarkable water-splash pictures.

Blue Velvet - I round off my selection of memorably oneiric films with the In Dreams sequence from David Lynch's dark masterpiece (unfortunately, it seems to be regularly deleted from YouTube). [See also below, under Music.]

La Cabina - a complete video of Antonio Mercero's award-winning short film, a masterpiece of macabre, satirical humour.

Hitler vs. The Daily Llama - I discover an amusing 'cut & paste' series on YouTube called Hitler's Llama Priest.

The greatest movie dance sequence ever? - tap dance sensations The Nicholas Brothers are certainly leading contenders: here is their show-stopping number from the 1943 musical Stormy Weather.

Isaac Newton vs. Rube Goldberg - a superb, gravity-defying contraption created by Toronto graphic studio 2D House (via wondrous art blog This Is Colossal).

The Banana Boat Song - Harry Belafonte singing with The Muppets; and a possessed Catherine O'Hara having her dinner party disrupted by the song in Tim Burton's Beetlejuice. [See also below, under Music.]

Jazz Club - a link to a complete anthology of the hilarious 'Louis Balfour' segments from '90s BBC2 skit comedy The Fast Show. [See also below, under Music.]

White Horses - the opening of an episode from the classic late '60s childrens' TV show (I had a terrible crush on 'Julia', the heroine). [See also below, under Music.]

An interview with Tom Waits - my premier musical hero appeared on '70s chat show spoof Fernwood Tonight, and outshone the two professional comic actors playing opposite him. He also did a great version of The Piano Has Been Drinking. [See also below, under Music.]

Fred Dibnah, steeplejack - the unlikely TV personality was a childhood hero of mine, and makes a fitting final entry in my 'Unsuitable' Role Models series on Barstool Blues. This video shows includes the climax of the first BBC documentary about him from 1978, where he uses a huge bonfire to fell a 150ft-tall factory chimney.

Greta bloody Garbo! and The Mysterious Lady - to celebrate the divine Swedish actress as my Ultimate Fantasy Girlfriend, I post Peter Cook and Dudley Moore's well-loved pub skit about the glamorous women they imagine are chasing them, and French musician Maxence Cyrin's bewitching music video montage of scenes from one of her silent film roles. [See also below, under Music.]

The End of The World - more Peter Cook: his famous sketch from the Beyond The Fringe revue, as performed by an all-star lineup at the 1979 Amnesty International benefit concert The Secret Policeman's Ball.

The Music Channel

Song For Whoever - Paul Heaton of The Beautiful South wittily sums up why it's unwise to date a writer.

Because I Got High - Afroman's great hymn to marijuana, with the original video and a fan creation splicing together astonishingly appropriate moments from The Simpsons.

Return To Dismal Swamp - I thought this bluegrass instrumental by The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band seemed a rather appropriate title to accompany my reluctant return to Beijing at the end of the summer.

Songs that make me weepy - some of my favourite depression-wallow music: Radiohead, K.D. Lang, The Pogues, Simon & Garfunkel, and Fleetwood Mac.

Worried Life Blues - a great performance of the blues classic by Eric Clapton and Buddy Guy, and the original recording by its composer, 1940s blues pianist Big Maceo Merriweather.

Liars' Bar - another Beautiful South number, rather uncomfortably appropriate for the celebration of my favourite bar's fifth anniversary.

Wow and Flutter - a jaunty, saucy little love song from up-and-coming New York band April Smith and The Great Picture Show.

We're Not Going To Take It - Twisted Sister's anthem of teen rebellion seems to be just as much my 'theme song' now as it was when it first came out in the '80s!

My Fair Lady - my two favourite singalongs from the great Lerner & Loewe musical, On The Street Where You Live and Wouldn't It Be Loverly! [See also above, under Movies.]

Blues Week - I try to drive away my own blues during China's dratted National Holiday week with a celebration of the variety of my favourite musical form, including choice cuts from Motorhead, Cream, ZZ Top, Fleetwood Mac (in the Peter Green era), AC/DC, Turley Richards, Led Zeppelin, and Otis Spann with Peter Green.

Great rock guitar riffs - can you guess what my five favourites are? Go check it out!

Margaritaville - I finally get around to posting the Jimmy Buffett classic, to mark my birthday.

Gob on you! - another birthday celebration: the Not The Nine O'Clock News team's superb spoof of punk. [See also above, under Comedy.] 

Top drum/bass combinations - another 'top five' selection. Do you agree with these choices? (Further great basslines roundups here and here.)

In Dreams - Roy Orbison's melancholy love song, as hauntingly used in David Lynch's Blue Velvet (although it seems to keep on getting removed from YouTube). [See also above, under Movies.]

Innocent When You Dream - Tom Waits crafts the perfect maudlin barroom singalong.

Trouble Is A Friend - Lenka's infectious hit chimes a little too well with my current feeling of persecution!

Tiger Feet - the cheesy but irresistible '70s hit from Mud.

Nina Simone tribute - an ultimate 'Fantasy Girlfriend' celebrated with postings of He Needs Me, and Strange Fruit, Mississippi Goddamn, and Feeling Good.

Flowers On The Wall - a rather dull Thanksgiving stuck in a Shanghai hotel room reminds me of The Statler Brothers...

Hello, Hello, I'm Back Again - alas, it is unrespectable to like Gary Glitter any more; but he did put out a few great songs in his prime.

The Banana Boat Song - four versions of Harry Belafonte's signature hit: an extended live performance, the original 1956 recording, his appearance on The Muppet Show, and, of course, Catherine O'Hara's ruined dinner party in Beetlejuice. [See also above, under Movies.]

A Heart Needs A Home - a spine-shivering performance from Richard and Linda Thompson, from the great BBC2 music show The Old Grey Whistle Test. Also included are links to a compilation of the hilarious 'Jazz Club' segments from The Fast Show, and All I Want For Christmas Is A Dukla Prague Away Kit by Half Man Half Biscuit. [See also above, under Comedy.]

On White Horses - the horribly catchy theme song recorded by Irish singer Jackie Lee for the credits of a German/Yugoslavian black&white drama series which played on endless rotation on BBC children's television through the late '60s and early '70s. Helga Anders, the young star of the show, was one of the earliest of my 'Fantasy Girlfriends'. [See also above, under Movies.]

Ballad of Patch-Eye and Meg and Wanted Man - two fantastic songs by Michelle Shocked: the former performed by a German singer calling herself Banjochrystal and accompanied by an animated video; the latter sung by Michelle herself, and including a hilarious preamble.

Holiday spirit - two of my favourite Christmas songs: Christmastime In Hell and Merry F***ing Christmas!... from South Park, of course.

The Piano Has Been Drinking (Not Me) - another great bit of Tom Waits: includes the live version from the Bounced Checks album and a television performance from the spoof chat show Fernwood Tonight. [See also above, under Comedy.]

My China 'theme song' - Scapegoat by Chumbawamba: "There's always someone else for you to blame." If you've ever lived here, you should know exactly what I mean.

The Wind Knows My Name - another song with which I identify rather too closely: Eddi Reader and Fairground Attraction here came up with a perfect love song about the nomad heart.

Where Is My Mind? - the Pixies' song rearranged as a classical piano piece with a flavour of Eric Satie about it, the work of French composer Maxence Cyrin, who also created the ravishing video that accompanies it, a montage of Greta Garbo at her most entrancing. The sexiest damn video I've ever seen! [See also above, under Comedy/Movies.]

Underneath the Arches and My Way - two signing-off songs: one a quirky personal favourite of mine from British music hall stars Flanagan and Allen, the other a more expected choice from Frank Sinatra (and also Sid Vicious).

And my Music Week on The Barstool is still ongoing, with me occasionally making furtive returns to blogging to add new 'Top Five' selections of favourite songs. Early highlights in that series included this selection of 'golden oldie' jukebox favourites, this collection of memorable dance videos, and this revelation of some of my more unexpected musical tastes. More to follow! Keep your eyes peeled.