Not as much fun as Glastonbudget 2009, but if you do have to spend a long weekend in a field in Leicestershire, then I doubt there are any better things you could be doing.

I never really got into Goodie Mob, but ever since I picked up his debut album, Cee-lo Green and his Perfect Imperfections, I’ve loved Cee-lo Green’s music. Blessed with a voice that stirs the soul like an evangelical baptist minister and a body that has the exact same proportions as a snowman, he’s one of the most criminally under-appreciated artists around.

I doubt his first album sold much, and consequently his second was an obvious attempt to sound a bit more mainstream with unnecessary collaborations with Timbaland and Pharrell. But then came a more left-field collaboration with Danger Mouse as Gnarls Barkley, and suddenly the world took notice.

Here’s his latest AMAZING song, Fuck You, from his as yet unreleased third album The Ladykiller.

Update – here’s the official video for Fuck You. Amazing.

Here’s something you don’t see every day. Sir Bobby of McFerrin addressing an audience at the 2009 World Science Festival.

The debate was called Notes & Neurons: In Search of the Common Chorus, and Mr Don’t Worry used a bit of fun crowd participation to demonstrate the pentatonic scale. And although it pains me to say so, I…actually….quite…enjoyed…it.

Fun little thing done by DLKW which creates a musical interpretation of any web page. This is how it works:

“THE CODEORGAN ANALYSES THE *BODY* CONTENT OF ANY WEB PAGE AND TRANSLATES THAT CONTENT INTO MUSIC. THE CODEORGAN USES A COMPLEX ALGORITHM TO DEFINE THE KEY, SYNTH STYLE AND DRUM PATTERN MOST APPROPRIATE TO THE PAGE CONTENT.

FIRSTLY, THE CODEORGAN SCANS THE PAGE CONTENTS AND REMOVES ALL CHARACTERS NOT FOUND IN THE MUSICAL SCALE (A TO G), AND THEN ANALYSES THE REMAINING CHARACTERS TO FIND THE MOST COMMONLY USED ‘NOTE’. IF THIS IS AN EVEN NUMBER THE PAGE IS TRANSLATED IN TO THE MAJOR PENTATONIC SCALE OF THAT PARTICULAR NOTE, IT BECOMES MINOR IF THERE IS AN UNEVEN NUMBER.

SECONDLY, THE CODEORGAN DEFINES WHICH SYNTHESIZER TO USE. THIS IS  BASED UPON THE TOTAL NUMBER CHARACTERS USED ON THE WEBPAGE – THERE ARE CURRENTLY 10 SYNTHESIZER EFFECTS AND THE ONE CHOSEN IS PICKED BASED UPON THE PERCENTAGE OF CONTENT.

LASTLY, THE CODEORGAN SELECTS A DRUM LOOP BASED UPON THE RATIO OF CHARACTERS ON THE PAGE VERSUS THE NUMBER OF CHARACTERS THAT ARE ACTUALLY MUSICAL NOTES – THERE ARE CURRENTLY 10 DIFFERENT DRUM LOOPS TO PICK FROM.”

So there you have it. In case you were wondering (which you probably weren’t), this is what Goldfish Syndrome sounds like.

Via wired.co.uk

Albums

1. The Marshall Mathers LP – Eminem
2. Late Registration – Kanye West
3. Joyful Rebellion – K-os
4. Modern Guilt – Beck
5. Voodoo - D’Angelo
6. Miss E…So Addictive – Missy Elliot
7. Speakerboxxx/The Love Below – Outkast
8. Demon Days – Gorillaz
9. A Grand Don’t Come For Free – The Streets
10. In Rainbows – Radiohead

Honorable mentions: Invaders Must Die – The Prodigy, Back To Black – Amy Winehouse, Tipping Point – The Roots, FutureSexLoveSounds – Justin Timberlake, Blackout – Britney Spears, Third – Portishead, Viva La Vida – Coldplay, Daft Punk – Vegoose, Justice – Cross, Common – Be, Prince – Lotusflow3r

Songs

1. Crazy – Gnarls Barkley
2. Lost Cause – Beck
3. Gold Digger – Kanye West
4. Seven Nation Army – The White Stripes
5. Crazy in Love – Beyonce
6. B.O.B. – Outkast
   
7. Get Your Freak On – Missy Elliot
8. Without Me – Eminem
   
9. Bonkers – Dizzie Rascal
10. Sexyback – Justin Timberlake

Honorable mentions: Crabbuckit – K-os, Toxic – Britney Spears, Gravel Pit – Wu-Tang, Back to Black – Amy Winehouse, Hey Ya – Outkast, Sex on Fire – Kings of Leon, Fallin’-Alicia Keys, Jesus Walks -Kanye West, 99 Problems – Jay-Z, Musicology – Prince, Beggin’ – Madcon, Poker Face – Lady Gaga

Films

1. Amelie
2. Up
3. Pan’s Labyrinth
4. Little Miss Sunshine
5. Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
6. The Dark Knight
7. Casino Royale
8. Gladiator
9. Kill Bill Vol 1
   
10. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

Honorable mentions: Donny Darko, City of God, Sin City, Spirited Away, The Bourne Ultimatum, Battle Royale, Nightwatch, District 9, Last King of Scotland, Brick

90s uberdancelord Dr Alban has clearly been reading books on extending the brand, and now has his own (highly politicised) blog, as well as an online shop. And in so doing he has released this little slice of underwear-based genius into the world: Official Dr Alban Boxers.

But what next? Reel2Reel tiepins? Culture Beat neckerchiefs? Urban Cookie Collective driving gloves? When will this madness end?

Here’s an inventive way of using YouTube – once you’ve waited for the movie to load, you can click on different places in the timeline to play a corresponding piano key.

Of course, the first thing I did was a show-stopping performance of No Limits (which sounded amazing in case you’re interested), but I’m sure you can play other tunes too. So next time you fancy tinkling on the old ivories, pop down to YouTube.

Really cool digital idea from Lean Mean Fighting Machine, which used a silent disco to showcase the sound quality of the latest Samsung Beat DJ phone. Here’s how it worked:

On 7 July 2009, 100 individuals from across Europe competed in The Last Call, a 24-hour silent-disco contest, dancing to a non-stop playlist on their Beat DJ. If they received a call or a text, they were out. If they stayed in, they had the chance to win €10,000.

The contest was broadcast online for the full 24 hours. Visitors to the site could contribute to the competition playlist, upload video or images to be displayed live at the venue, and send in messages of support or distraction with Twitter.

And here’s what happened…

I love the fact that they’ve taken the key product message and turned it into a fun, interactive, completely on-brand event that probably didn’t even cost that much. I just wish that more clients would buy into this kind of thing…

I’m not a big fan of Kasabian’s unimaginative pub-rock mix of Oasis and The Stone Roses, but this is a pretty cool idea.

Basically it’s a large-scale version of Guitar Hero, but instead of using a plastic axe, you get to kick a football at a coloured square on a wall. Great idea that could be carried forward to funfairs/festivals etc.

Saturday night’s X-Factor was a beautiful exercise in pure prime-time panto heaven. It had everything – big bad Cowell heaping scorn on the glaringly sub-par performances, pop pixie Cheryl in tears being comforted by a prepubescent Welsh child, Louis completely un-notable by his absence, Danni almost managing to register emotion, Whitney Houston cracked up to the eyeballs…the list goes on.

But the undoubted highlight was the showstopping performance by John and Edward, two of the most obnoxious little upstarts ever to sully the face of this planet.

With hair modeled on a combination of Johnny Bravo and Vanilla Ice, and outfits that could curdle milk, they tackled Oops I Did It Again with a curious combination of arrhythmical dancing and tone-deaf singing. Quite how a pair of twins can display such a total lack of understanding of each other is baffling. But in so doing, managed to completely redefine the phrase, car crash entertainment.

It was in equal parts hideous, hysterical, irreproachable and unfathomable. It was unbridled genius. It was unmissable. It was everything Saturday night TV should be. As Pop Justice described it, it was the moment that light entertainment died, was reborn then ate itself.

These moments don’t come along often, so we should seize them whilst the ironic iron is still hot. Go on, seize it…