2CELLOS Perform Guns N' Roses Classic

I saw this video yesterday and knew I had to share it here. As a fan of both Guns N' Roses and Finnish cello rockers Apocalyptica, I was intrigued with the history and idea behind this new cello version of the classic "Welcome to the Jungle."

In a nutshell, classically trained cellists and former rivals Luka Sulic and Stjepan Hauser decided to team up as 2CELLOS.

Their debut album was released last year and includes a few more songs I'll have to check out, such as "The Resistance" (Muse), "Where the Streets Have No Name" (U2), and "Hurt" (Nine Inch Nails).

More of their videos are available on Youtube, but since I've only seen "Welcome to the Jungle" so far, that's the one I'll include here. I hope you enjoy it! Let me know what you think.

Yazoo - The Other Side of Love

Yazoo - "The Other Side of Love"
Single release (1982) later added to reissue of Upstairs at Eric's (1996)

Yazoo, a synthpop duo also known as Yaz, released a fun music video for "The Other Side of Love." The video shows members Vince Clarke and Alison Moyet going dancing, with Moyet seeming to have the time of her life. Things get interesting when Clarke falls and starts seeing some unusual things on the dance floor.

Stone Temple Pilots - Sour Girl

Stone Temple Pilots - "Sour Girl"
From No. 4 (2000)

The video for "Sour Girl" features Stone Temple Pilots frontman Scott Weiland, Sarah Michelle Gellar, and rabbit costumes eerily reminiscent of the Teletubbies.

An episode of MTV's Making the Video featured "Sour Girl." The video was nominated for an MTV Video Music Award for Best Cinematography, as well as a Billboard Music Video Award for Best Modern Rock Track. Unfortunately, it did not win either award.

Foo Fighters - My Hero

Foo Fighters - "My Hero"
From The Colour and the Shape (1998)

Frontman Dave Grohl directed this video, which shows an anonymous hero rushing into a burning building three times. The most entertaining part of the video involves the rescuees. Specifically, it's about their identities and the need to protect their anonymity.

Blind Melon - No Rain

Blind Melon - "No Rain"
From Blind Melon (1992)
Starring Heather DeLoach as the "Bee Girl"

Band members:

Shannon Hoon – vocals, acoustic guitar, harmonica
Rogers Stevens – lead guitar, piano/keyboards
Christopher Thorn – rhythm guitar, steel guitar, mandolin, harmonica
Brad Smith – bass, flute, backing vocals
Glen Graham – drums, percussion

Follow the story of the "Bee Girl," a young tap dancer who just wants to find her place in the world and be accepted for who she is. She even inspired Pearl Jam's "Bee Girl." "No Rain" is included on VH1's list of the 100 greatest videos of all time.

TheCoolTV

A while back, I was scanning my cable guide and saw something I hadn't noticed before: a channel called TheCoolTV. Taking a quick look, I saw that it was airing music videos. In fact, the whole channel seemed to be dedicated to music. Even the infomercials were for CD collections.

Later, I went online to look it up, and I learned a few things. TheCoolTV is a digital substation that's been around for about two years now. I have no idea when it came to my area. In fact, it's not everywhere, but more affiliates are signing on all the time. Right now, the channel guide lists affiliates in 34 states.

Programming blocks include Indie Cred, Nineties Nectar, The Underground, and Retro Rewind, to name just a few. The website also states that programming is customized to each area's demographic and local music scene.

If you're into music videos, take a look at the channel guide and see whether TheCoolTV is in your area yet.

3 Movies Worth Watching: Media Mayhem Blog Hop

This is day two of RJR Daydreamer's Media Mayhem blog hop, which means it's time to talk about movies. Specifically, I'll tell you about three movies I feel are worth watching.

Cold Comfort Farm
Cold Comfort Farm stars Kate Beckinsale as a young woman who moves in with some eccentric relatives. There are several memorable quotes in this movie, and they're repeated so often that you can say them right along with the characters. My favorite is, "There's always been Starkadders at Cold Comfort Farm," which involves a bit of action in addition to those eight words. Check out this PG-rated movie and you'll see what I mean.

Dick
Set during Nixon's tenure in the Oval Office, Dick stars Michelle Williams and Kirsten Dunst as teenagers who get caught up in the Watergate scandal. Rated PG-13, this is the funniest movie I've ever seen about Watergate.

Donnie Darko
Donnie Darko is in a class by itself. Dark, moody, and filled with '80s music, this is a movie most people either love or hate. I think it's great, but it's definitely not for everyone. As for the music, it includes some fantastic songs such as "Head Over Heels" and "The Killing Moon" (the director's cut substitutes "Never Tear Us Apart" for the latter). Jake Gyllenhaal has the title role in this R-rated cult classic.

3 Terrific Songs for the Media Mayhem Blog Hop

Today is the first day of RJR Daydreamer's Media Mayhem blog hop, which means I'm writing about three songs I happen to like. They're not necessarily my top three all-time favorites, but they're certainly somewhere on the list.

This was harder than I expected. Sure, I can choose three terrific songs. I can choose a whole lot more than three--hence the problem. Whenever I thought I had three, I ended up changing my mind. I'd think of one I just had to include, which meant I had to eliminate one. This happened several times. I no longer remember what the original three songs were. In any case, here are the three I chose, in alphabetical order:

Buggin'
I have no idea why I like a song about bugs, but "Buggin'" by The Flaming Lips is pretty cool. That doesn't mean I want to hear any more buggy songs, though.

The Killing Moon
Echo and the Bunnymen's "The Killing Moon" is one of those songs I wish I'd found much sooner. I'm convinced I'd never heard it even once until just a few years ago. There are two versions of this song, and they're both long, with the All Night Version lasting over nine minutes. I can't decide which one I prefer; it seems to be whichever one I'm listening to at the time. The lyrics and the music are haunting and mysterious.

Who's Behind the Door
One day, my husband and I were listening to some music, and Zebra's "Who's Behind the Door" came on. I immediately grabbed the TV remote to use as a "microphone" as I alternated between actually singing and just lip syncing. I jumped up off the couch and got really into it, especially as the song progressed toward its climax. I was like a mad woman. When it was over, I sheepishly looked at him but then said I didn't understand why he wasn't acting in a similar fashion. His response shocked me beyond belief. "I guess I'm just not that into it," he admitted. I was so stunned that I almost dropped the remote. "What?!?" Since we have very similar taste in music and agree on well over ninety percent of songs, I couldn't believe it. How could "Who's Behind the Door" be one of the few? It was unfathomable. I had to find out what his deal was. As it turns out, he actually does like it; it simply doesn't evoke the same kind of response in him that it does in me. Sigh.

Whedon

Joss Whedon.

The very name evokes a lot of different feelings in a whole lot of people.

Joss, as his fans usually refer to him, created two of my all-time favorite television series: Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel.

I still remember how I found out about Buffy. I noticed the listing in the TV Guide and realized I had to check it out. That night, I had some news for my husband. "We're watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer tonight," I informed him. He gave me a funny look but figured I knew what I was doing. As it turned out, he liked the show just as much as I did.

I was enthralled with Buffy, and later, with Angel. Joss did some incredible things with both series. Who would have thought a musical episode would work? Joss thought so, and it did. An episode with very little dialogue was even better; "Hush" was both absolutely hilarious and incredibly creepy. One of my favorite episodes of Angel was about puppets. I never knew what to expect, but I knew it would work.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer lasted seven seasons and ended in 2003. After five seasons on the WB, it moved to UPN. Angel, which began three years later than Buffy's premiere, ended in 2003 after a five-year run on the WB. These two shows introduced me to some of my favorite actors, and Joss has included many of them in his other ventures.

Before Buffy the Vampire Slayer became a series, it was a movie. The history and basic premise were carried over into the series, but with all new actors and mostly new characters. Now, a new Buffy movie is supposedly moving forward, but without Joss.

Buffy without Joss?

That's hard to imagine.

One-Hit Wonders

A one-hit wonder is a recording artist that has one major hit and then never achieves that level of success again. The exact criteria vary from one definition to another, from placing the song anywhere on Billboard's Hot 100 to maintaining that only #1 songs qualify.

While looking at a lot of lists of one-hit wonders and the songs that made them famous, I came up with a list of my favorites. I had doubts that some of the ones I saw really only had one hit, but I wrote them down anyway. Then I chose ten to mention here.

Here are some of my favorite hit songs by one-hit wonders, in no particular order:

1. "Bitter Sweet Symphony" (The Verve) - A phenomenal song, and a great video to go with it.

2. "Under the Milky Way" (The Church) - It's hard to get better than this song, which was later included in the Donnie Darko soundtrack.

3. "I'll See You in My Dreams" (Giant) - One of only two power ballads included on this list, although there are probably others I could have mentioned.

4. "Bad Day" (Daniel Powter) - A catchy song with a good video.

5. "Don't Close Your Eyes" (Kix) - The second power ballad I decided to include here.

6. "Tainted Love" (Soft Cell) - This one will always remind me of Port Charles, which made good use of the song during its "Tainted Love" arc.

7. "The Promise" (When In Rome) - This is a nice, catchy song.

8. "Cry Little Sister" (Gerard McMann) - This theme from The Lost Boys has been covered by several bands and re-recorded by the original artist, but the original version is my favorite.

9. "Cry" (Godley & Creme) - Somehow, I completely missed this one until seeing the video a few years ago. Priceless.

10. "Major Tom (Coming Home)" (Peter Schilling) - This follow-up to David Bowie's "Space Oddity" tells what happened to Major Tom.

Nolan North

Who is Nolan North? Many people recognize his name. In fact, if you're a gamer, you're probably quite familiar with his work; for the past few years, he's been concentrating on voiceover roles.

That's not the only place you'll come across Nolan North, though. His acting career started when he landed a major role on a new soap opera. He's also been on primetime television and in movies, and he currently has a recurring role on Pretty Little Liars, as Spencer's dad.

Michael Easton

Michael Easton has been one of my favorite actors for many years. His portrayal of Caleb Morley on ABC's Port Charles made Caleb my favorite TV vampire.

He's a fan favorite as one of daytime's leading men. He was on Days of Our Lives years before resurfacing on Port Charles. He also had a memorable guest role on Ally McBeal. However, his talent isn't limited to acting. In fact, Michael Easton is a man of many talents.

In his latest role on One Life to Live, his character is in transition. The woman he loved betrayed him, and he left her at the altar. Will he go back to her?

With OLTL on its way out, many fans will probably want the two characters to reunite and live happily ever after. I would have preferred to pair him with any of the other actresses I mentioned in my article about his leading ladies, but at this point, with the show ending in a few months, that's not likely to happen.

"I" Songs

I started thinking about song titles that begin with "I." For this post, "I" songs are songs with titles beginning with the word (not just the letter) "I." Here are just a few of the ones I like, listed in alphabetical order:

"I Don't Care" - Finnish cello rockers Apocalyptica are brilliant, and this is a great song with a great video. It features Three Days Grace frontman Adam Gontier on vocals.

"I Don't Want to Be" - Gavin DeGraw's theme from One Tree Hill was eventually dropped from the opening credits, but fans of the show will never forget it. The best line? "All I have to do is think of me and I have peace of mind."

"I Drove All Night" - Cyndi Lauper was the first recording artist to release this hit, which was actually written for Roy Orbison. Although it's been covered a few times, this is the version I always think of.

"I Just Can't Help Believing" - B.J. Thomas sang a sweet song about a belief in a future with the woman of his dreams.

"I Love You" - I was surprised to learn that the Climax Blues Band released this hit in 1980; if I'd had to guess, I would have said it was a year or two earlier.

"I Never Cry" - This is a fantastic power ballad by Alice Cooper.

"I Ran (So Far Away)" - I always liked this song by A Flock of Seagulls, but the video is priceless.

"I Want to Know What Love Is" - Foreigner had a mega hit with this one. Besides the fact that the lyrics could reduce people to tears, the inclusion of the choir was a major plus.

"I Want You to Want Me" - I think this was the first Cheap Trick song I noticed. I ended up buying the Live at Budokan 8-track tape. Yes, 8-track.

"I Wish It Would Rain Down" - This hauntingly beautiful ballad is easily my favorite Phil Collins song.

When Books Become Movies

As someone who likes both reading and watching movies, it's sometimes hard to decide which form I'd rather indulge in. Differences between a book and its movie adaptation can nag at me, even when they don't make a difference to the story. Because of this, I've found that it usually helps if I see a movie long after having read the book. That way, the text isn't fresh in my mind, and I can appreciate the film version better.

I found three books that I think have potential on the big screen. The publication dates range from 1982 to 2007, and I read them all fairly soon after they were published. If you're a fan of Christopher Moore, Dean Koontz, or Bentley Little, check out my picks for books that should be movies.