Topic: The Beatles

Nickelodeon Is Basically Remaking Beatles Movies Starring Their Boy Band Big Time Rush

Nickelodeon Is Basically Remaking Beatles Movies Starring Their Boy Band Big Time Rush

It may sound a bit hyperbolic, but I believe that (pre)teens today love boy bands like the Jonas Brothers as much as my parents’ generation revered the Beatles, so it’s not so surprising that Nickelodeon is casting its in-house band Big Time Rush as the Beatles’ descendants. The network has decided that the band’s first TV movie, Big Time Movie, will cover several Beatles hits as well as emulate the plots of their wacky adventure movies from the ’60s. More »

Lady Gaga and 15 Other Musicians Who Have Guest Starred On ‘The Simpsons’

Lady Gaga and 15 Other Musicians Who Have Guest Starred On 'The Simpsons'
The White Stripes
Elvis Costello, Mick Jagger, Lenny Kravitz, Tom Petty, Keith Richards, and Brian Setzer
Aerosmith
Britney Spears
Flight of the Conchords

I suppose it was inevitable: Lady Gaga just finished recording her lines for an appearance she’ll be making on The Simpsons. Though apparently it was a little nerve-wracking for her– singing does not equal voiceovers, apparently– she seems pretty psyched about it; she told EW, “My dad’s probably going to do 80 backflips when the episode comes out.” Which, by the way, will be the spring of 2012 with the episode “Lisa Goes Gaga.” But as you may well know, The Simpsons has a long and storied history of rendering not just actors and comedians, but also musicians in animated form. Though tuest-his is by no means a comprehensive list, here’s a guide to some of the more entertaining choices of musicians who have guest-starred on The Simpsons. More »

Video Gallery: The Best of LEGO Pop Culture Animations

Video Gallery: The Best of LEGO Pop Culture Animations

Have any of you ever played any of the numerous LEGO video games there are? Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Batman, Harry Potter… I’m addicted to them all. Though honestly, I can’t really explain that. They’re not even particularly good games, as far as video games go. No, I suspect it’s simpler than that: There is something enormously amusing about running around a little LEGO world as a little LEGO person. Add in the fact that you get to run around a little LEGO Barnett College as a little LEGO Indiana Jones, and well… you get the picture. This might also explain my obsession with LEGO stop-motion animation: There are scores and scores of extremely clever people out there who take common pop culture icons, build them in LEGO, and then go the extra step further and MAKE THEM COME ALIVE. There have been LEGO film scenes, LEGO music videos, even LEGO recreations of classic Nintendo games… the list goes on. Here, we have assembled some of our very favorite LEGO animations for your viewing pleasure, courtesy of YouTube. Happy watching! More »

10 Subversive Rock Songs Used In Commercials To Sell Stuff

10 Subversive Rock Songs Used In Commercials To Sell Stuff

Remember the Lou Reed/Susan Boyle controversy-that-wasn’t-really-a-controversy? In brief, Susan wasn’t allowed to sing Lou’s song “Perfect Day” on America’s Got Talent and everyone thought it was because Lou wasn’t a fan of the reality show performer. But it turns out Lou maybe didn’t have a problem with Susan tackling his song after all, and he even ended up directing the music video for her cover of the tune.

Well, the aging punker totally never had a leg to stand on. As anyone who has seen HP’s most recent commercial now knows, Lou is totally lame! The ad, which is sort of a general survey of their products, features a version of Lou’s transsexual-and-hustler-themed 1972 classic “Walk on the Wild Side” with insanely uncool lyrics that reference HP’s products. Ridiculous, right? Pretty much. Check out our video gallery of nine other subversive tunes that were misappropriated by the advertising powers that be. More »

Kids Freak Out After Getting SAT Test Question About Reality TV

Kids Freak Out After Getting SAT Test Question About Reality TV

During this past weekend’s round of SAT tests, students who were already tearing their hair out were faced with a question that, surprisingly, invoked anxiety: Do we benefit from forms of entertainment that show so-called “reality,” or are such shows harmful? According to the New York Daily News, many high schoolers were sure they had flunked the essay portion. (Side note: Remember when you were terrified of blurting out even a scant detail about the SAT essay question, for fear of having your exam disregarded? Guess that’s not as big a threat these days.) Apparently they didn’t consider reality television a universal enough topic to be acceptable for this wide-ranging test of aptitude. More »

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