The MonaLisa Twins at Hotel California

In this post at Shades of Gray, I lamented the fact that I'd not see a good video for "Hotel California." It's a spooky song that BEGS for a great video treatment, yet no one has done one.

That said, teenaged Austrian sister-act the MonaLisa Twins has covered the Eagles classic AND been featured in a good video for it. It's still not the spooky mini-horror flick this song needs, but it's a good clip for a good cover of a great song.

Then she lit up a candle, and she showed me the way

Is there anyone out there who doesn't love "Hotel California"? It's a great tune and a great spook story!

Here's a moody metal cover of the classic Eagles song. (Not much of a video, but then no one has really made one.)

Then she lit up a candle and she showed me the way

Welcome to the Hotel California, Iran

There may be maniacal mullahs running the country, but this is one rockin' clip from Iranian television.


And here's a straight version of the song from Iranian-Armenian pop star Andy.

Remember the Time...

... when Michael Jackson was King?

This 1992 video certainly represents those days. It also reflects the glory days of the music video. The song itself isn't exactly my favorite kind of pop, but the video certainly is fantastic. And with an all-star cast, to boot.

Remember the Time (1992)
Starring: Michael Jackson, Iman, Eddie Murphy, and Magic Johnson
Director: John Singleton
Rating: Nine of Ten Stars



And if you click here, you can see a bit of clever recycling by a YouTube user. He (or she) took the Bangles hit "Walk Like An Egyptian" and set parts of the "Remember the Time" video to it. The dance sequence might even work better this way. (For some reason, I can't embed the video, but the link will open a new window and the video will play.)

Everything's better with Mike Oldfield!

Okay, so maybe the title of this post is a slight exageration, but if this remix of Christina Aguilera's "Not Myself Tonight", which crosses that song with Oldfield's "Tubular Bells" that been the actual single, maybe it would have been a Top Ten hit somewhere other than Japan and South Korea.

Christina Aguilera vs. Mike Oldfield via DJs From Mars... "Not My Tubular Bells Tonight"!

Mike Oldfield's Crime of Passion

I'm not aware of this song ever being released on an album, but I remember hearing it in music stores as a kid and seeing the video and thinking it was supremely creepy. I still feel that way about it. (The singer is Barry Palmer, the psychotic guitar player is Mike Oldfield.)




As a pleasant time-wasting activity to celebrate my birthday, I decided to go looking for different versions of Oldfield's masterful song. I found this neat acoustic cover that stays true to the mood of the original (but isn't quite as creepy).



Here's a cover by an outfit named Bramble B. It's not a bad cover, but it leaves one with a feeling that there might be a way to improve upon greatness. (I also wonder if they really got the song, given what they added to it.)



Yeah... two Mike Oldfield-related posts in one day, but he's one of my favorite composers/musicians, and it's my birthday! Please forgive me while I am even more self-indulgent than usual; SOMEONE'S got to celebrate me by celebrating stuff I like! Heck, maybe I'll do a few MORE Oldfield posts today... :)

Mike Oldfield: Music I Never Tire Of

Ever since I heard "Five Miles Out" on the radio as a kid, I've been in love with Mike Oldfield. To this day, the "Five Miles Out" album, "Ommadawn", "Crisis" and "Discover" are among my most-often played CDs.

The Man, the Myth, the Mike!

So, when it came to deciding what topic would be M for today, I went with Mike Oldfield. I could have gone with Mohammed, but I think I already have plenty of posts about the Perfect Man and the millions of psychopaths who worship him around the world.

But, I figure if "Everybody Draw Mohammed Day 2011" happens on May 20, I'll be talking about Mo-rons and the Perfect Man in this space quite a bit. So, I'm instead going to talk about my favorite modern composer and musician. While I haven't exactly loved his latest two albums, I didn't hate them either. And who knows? Maybe they'll grow on me the way "Earthmoving" and "Amarok" did, but I doubt it... they're just a little too "easy listening" for my ears.

That said, I was writing music reviews for a paper when "Earthmoving" came out, and I panned it like I'd never panned any release before. When I listened to it again some five years later, I had to ask myself "What the hell was I thinking?" It's a different Mike Oldfield effort--being a collection of slightly offbeat pop tunes--but it was petter than the majority of the crap out there and it still is. With "Amarok", one of Oldfield's all instrumental efforts, I hated it until one day I gave it my undivided attention and did nothing but sit and listen; that's when I fell in love with it as I have most of Oldfield's music. I might come around to feeling the same way about "Music of the Spheres" (his most recent release from 2008), but I can't see myself ever liking "Tres Luna" the way I like his other many and widely varied efforts.

Enough talk. Here's some music and some videos to enjoy. And please leave a comment about what YOUR favorite Mike Oldfield record/CD or song is. If you've never encountered Oldfield before, I think you'll find he gives modern popular musicians a run for their money; the videos featured here are for songs that are 20-30 years old.

First up is the song that started it all for me. It's got a great video to boot. Like someone said in the comments at YouTube "This is ART, man!"




Next is a video using a segment of "Tubular Bells II". It spotlights three things Mike Oldfield is most famous for: Great instrumentals, creative use of guitars, and the "Exorcist Theme" (of which this is one of the many variations he's created over the years).


(Of course, Mike Oldfield fans know that the "Exorcist Theme" is really the "Tubular Bells Theme".)


Next is the video for the single version of title track from "Heaven's Open". It's not anything like what I would have visualized, but it's an interesting effort for an interesting song.




Here's a collaboration between Mike Oldfield and Jon Anderson of Yes. Enjoy the trippy video with its quirky animation and weird cinematic trickery, and wait for the ripping guitar solo from Oldfield.




Oldfield has so far only scored one film--"Tubular Bells" predates its use in "The Exorcist"--and here's a selection of that music, along with a video. The film was "The Killing Fields" and the track is titled "Etude."





Finally (for now, at least) here's a song with vocals by Anita Hegerland.


(And if you want more, here are a couple of Oldfield's other collaborations with Hegerland.)

The ultimate Numa-Numa song and video

Is this the ultimate Numa-Numa song/video?


Or maybe this?


And then there's this one...


Or maybe this Old Skool version from the crew of the USS Enterprise?


Or this from #1 Numa Fan?

Mike Oldfield and the Queen of Chance

Here are some videos and versions of Mike Oldfield's great tune "To France."

First, the original song with vocals by Maggie Reilly.


Here's a dance version of the tune from Novaspace. The video's pretty neat, but I wonder if they knew what the song is about?)


The version from Blind Guardian doesn't have much of a video, but it's a great listen.

There's bad...

... and then there's Christina Aguilera performing the National Anthem at the 2011 Super Bowl.

She couldn't even get the lyrics right... and one has to wonder if she even knows what they mean, given where she placed inflections.



She should have rehearsed a couple of times before stepping in front of a national audience. Well, at least she was fully clothed, so she didn't endanger anything but her own reputation.

Great Mike Oldfield songs with trippy videos

Here are a pair of classic tunes from the great Mike Oldfield with vocals by Anita Hegerland.

Mike Oldfield and Anita Hegerland

Merry Christmas to all my readers!

I hope everyone out there is having a great holiday weekend with family and friends. (And if you're one of those people who don't like being wished a Merry Christmas, please accept the alternative well-wishes at my Multi-cultural, Ultra-hip Holiday Page!)

And here are some Christmas tunes and videos for you to enjoy!















(In case you can't tell, "Little Drummer Boy" is one of my favorite Christmas tunes.)

The Christmas Gargoyle that appears outside a friend's house every December!

The S-U-I-C-I-D-E Song & Dance Number

If you're inclined to shout "alluha akbar!" or make excuses and justifications for death-worshiping freaks when you see stories like "Car Bomb: Christmas Jihad in Stockholm," don't watch this scene cut from "Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead."



(This post was part of a Cinema Steve-wide celebration in honor of Jihadists everywhere.)

Merry Christmas from Full Moon Features

With this little Holiday themed promo for the forthcoming "Evil Bong 3-D: Wrath of Bong", one gets the sense that Charles Band and Full Moon are trying to give Lloyd Kaufman and Troma a run for their money.

(Note: This video is Rated R for drug-related content, strong language, and ridiculousness.)

Numa-Numa covered by Alina

With a video that's almost as incoherent as the song itself, here's a cover of "Numa-Numa" titled "When You Leave." The performer is Alina Smith--who is mostly uncovered as she covers the song--and it was released in July of 2009.



I'm not sure what makes more sense. Some of the parody lyrics I've posted in the past, or this Alina song.

Get Down Goblin!

Here's a black-and-white music video from the "so bad it's good [or at least amusing]" category, presented in anticipation of Halloween. Love it or hate it, you may find yourself humming song's refrain after you've watched it



For a little background on Jan Terri, not to mention more of her videos, check out this post at Andrew Green's blog Who Wants Taters?

Mike Oldfield and the Moonlight Shadows

Here are some videos for and covers of one of the best songs from the great Mike Oldfield. Although his past two releases have disappointed me, I hold out hope that he will rediscover the creative well-spring that brought the world "Hergest Ridge," "Ommadawn, "Five Miles Out," "Crisis," "Discovery," and numerous other great musical works.

First, here's the original video for the original single version of "Moonlight Shadow." Part of it seems to work contrary to the dark nature of the song, but overall the music and the visuals compliment each other nicely.



Here's a remix of the song by Italian producer and DJ Gigi D'Agostino. More often than not, remixes are inferior to the original song as they stretch it out and dilute it, sapping the life from even the greatest of music. Not so with this effort. D'Agostino brings a freshness to "Moonlight Shadow" that is worthy of the original.


Here's a cover by Aselin Debison set to a homemade video by a YouTuber. Not a bad cover, with a Celtic flavor that I think Oldfield would appreciate.


Polish metal band Pathfinder covered "Moonlight Shadow," providing us with a version so overblown it seems like a parody. Still, the durability of this great song is evident, and you'll be entertained. (I don't know if you'll be as amused as I was, but I hope so.)


Finnish speed metal band Deathlike Silence slowed down a bit when they covered "Moonlight Shadow." It's not a bad version, but they made the mistake of replacing the guitar solo bridge from the original song with some mess of their own creation.



Here's a techno version of the song by E-Rotic. It's apparently very popular with anime fans--there are literally dozens of different YouTube videos featuring this version with everything from anime stills to clips from computer games or anime used as visuals. Of the ones I checked out, I liked this one the best. It uses footage from "Vampire Hunter D."


Finally, bringing us full circle, we have Mike Oldfield's original song again, this time set to clips from the Dr. Who episode where Billie Piper's character Rose got stranded in an alternate universe. If you didn't know better, you might the music and the visuals were created to go together.


Fun Fact: Mike Oldfield has explained that the song was inspired by the movie "Houdini," starring Tony Curtis.