Favorite video channels: Postmodern Jukebox, Darth Blender, Honest Trailers

It’s been a while since I listed some cool video channels on YouTube. It was March 2018, in fact.
What follows are a few video sites that appeal to pop culture aficionados like me.

Postmodern Jukebox

Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox reimagines today’s hit music in the style of various yesteryears. He describes his work as “New music, old style.”
Recent videos include a ’70s roller disco-style cover of “Sucker” by the Jonas Brothers sung by Stefano, a cover of “Old Town Road” by Lil Nas X sung by blues legend Miche Braden, and a tango style cover of “Bad Guy” by Billie Eilish sung by Ariana Savalas.
Bradlee and Postmodern Jukebox have a residency at the Mirage resort in Las Vegas and also tour. Check out their website.

Eclectic Method

Eclectic Method, aka Jonny Wilson, is a video remixer, music maker and DJ. He started out as a digital outlaw who spliced together music, TV and movies and set it to high-energy dance beats. That led to him professional gigs and collaborations with Chuck D, Donald Glover and others.

Darth Blender

Darth Blender creates fun video mashups for nerds and pop culture geeks. The site likes to mess with Marvel, DC, Star Wars characters and more.
His work reminds me of remix sites like 80’s Style Trailers by Erick Solis and Premakes by Whoiseyevan. Both of those sites are inactive.

Honest Trailers

Honest Trailers by Screen Junkies provides funny, brutally honest critiques on movies present and past in the form of fake movie trailers.

Photo: Postmodern Jukebox (Scott Bradlee)

Everybody wants to be a DJ, including kids

Video game publishers and toy makers recently have tried to cash in on the popularity of modern DJs.
Activision released its “DJ Hero” video game, including turntable controller, on Oct. 27. The $120 video game includes exclusive dance club mixes from a host of internationally renowned DJs.
Mattel’s Radica Games unit is selling a DJ-style music device called U-Create Music for kids 8 to 14 years old. The $40 device allows kids to create their own music by mixing beats, riffs, licks, loops and samples.
I’ve seen it advertised on cable television channels targeting kids and the ads are pretty dorky. But Toyrus.com and Walmart.com list the product as “out of stock” and “temporarily unavailable.” Amazon.com says it has the product in limited quantities. So maybe the product is selling pretty well. We'll see.
Check out the dorky ad at One Stop Video.

DJ Tiësto rocks Microsoft party in New York

World-renowned electronic dance music producer DJ Tiësto provided the entertainment Tuesday night for the inaugural Microsoft Open House at the Park Avenue Armory in New York City.
Tiësto put on a great show for the small crowd of about 100 guests at an evening reception. The Microsoft event was set up to show the media what products the tech company has planned for the holiday shopping season. Smart phones, Xbox video games, Zune HD media players, Windows 7, computer peripherals and other products were on display and available to demo.
It must have been an interesting experience for Tiësto, who is used to playing packed nightclubs. In Europe, the Dutch DJ entertains thousands of fans at big venues.
Still, Tiësto worked the mixing table with zest and appeared to enjoy playing for the assembled VIPs. Certainly the ladies in attendance appreciated his music (and perhaps his good looks) and danced along.
Tiësto is in the middle of a North American tour. His fourth studio album, “Kaleidoscope,” was just released this month. Check out his Web site.

Photos:
DJ Tiësto at the Microsoft Open House event in New York City on Oct. 6, 2009 (top)
Two lovely ladies dance to Tiësto’s grooves at the Microsoft Open House
For comparison’s sake, the bottom photo shows Tiësto playing at Creamfields in Daresbury, U.K., on Aug. 24, 2008. Note the huge crowd at the music festival.

‘DJ Hero’ video game looks like a winner

Activision has a likely hit on its hands with the new “DJ Hero” video game.
The game, an extension of the company’s popular Guitar Hero platform, features dance club music and a turntable controller.
Activision demoed the new game at the E3 show in Los Angeles earlier this week. A DJ played along with some cool mixes such as Rick James’ “Give It To Me Baby” and Gwen Stefani’s “Hollaback Girl” in one session.
Activision says the new game will bring the DJ culture and new music genres, including hip-hop, electronic, R&B and soul music, to the Guitar Hero platform. The turntable controller features familiar DJ tools including a fully-rotating turntable, sample buttons, effects dial and crossfader.
“Players master various DJ techniques as they play along to visual cues for scratching, blending, crossfading and sampling, and can also add their own creative spark by choosing to add a variety of effects, samples and scratches,” an Activision press release says.
“DJ Hero” is set for release on Oct. 27. It’s being developed by FreeStyleGames for Microsoft’s Xbox 360, Sony’s PlayStation 2 and 3, and Nintendo's Wii. console It will retail for $120 for the current generation consoles and $100 for the PS2 version.
At the same time, Genius Products is developing a competing DJ video game for release this fall, called “Scratch: The Ultimate DJ.” It’s set for release on Nov. 30. May the best DJ win.

Photos:
Jamie Jackson, art director for “DJ Hero,” plays the video game at Activision’s E3 2009 booth.

DJs gaining rock-star status

Since when did spinning records make someone the object of adulation?
DJs in recent years have become celebrities. They’re dating Hollywood stars, attracting big crowds for their gigs, and getting written up in the gossip pages with the A-listers.
I recently caught a music video of a Dutch DJ named Tiësto and couldn’t believe my eyes. He was on stage playing recorded music for a crowd of thousands who were going wild for him. He just stood at his turntables and digital mixing controls, wearing his headphones and played music. He didn’t sing, dance, or play a guitar, keyboard or drums. He simply smiled and pumped his fist in the air while playing his dance beats and grooves. Not very compelling for a live performance. But the fans loved it. Maybe it’s a European thing.
I like electronic dance music – house, rave, trance, you name it. But I wouldn’t join thousands of fans to hear or see a particular DJ.
Enjoying the work of a good DJ in a club is one thing. But in a stadium or arena setting? No thanks. It’s bad enough going to see a rock concert at a big stadium and ending up watching the video screens because you’re so far away. But a DJ is a lot less interesting to watch.
There’s a range of DJs – from those who mash up and remix other people’s recordings like Girl Talk to those who create their own beats and melodies. Some like DJ Colette from Chicago even sing their own songs.
DJs have been around for a long time, but mostly as an underground culture with a devoted, but niche following.
Now U.S. DJs like Samantha Ronson and DJ AM are frequently in the gossip columns.
Kids are learning about DJs thanks to “Yo Gabba Gabba!,” a show on Nickelodeon in which DJ Lance Rock orchestrates the activities.
Later this year, everybody will get a chance to play DJ when video game publisher Activision Blizzard releases the music game “DJ Hero.” An extension of the company’s “Guitar Hero” rock music franchise, “DJ Hero” will feature a new genre of music and different game controls.
I’m sure it comes with everything you need to be a DJ. Except the adoring crowds.

Photo of Tiësto from djtiesto.com.
Photo of DC Lance Rock and characters from “Yo Gabba Gabba!”