If Only I Could Afford Sasquatch Tix

So I have lived in Washington state for about three years now, give or take. There are many reasons I was excited to move out here, with escaping the Midwest topping the list. Music and culture were also on that long list.

Since moving out here, I have never actually been inside the Seattle Art Museum, just the lobby and restrooms. There have been no plays or theatre performances in my time here. What kills me the most, is the lack of music experiences in my life. Forget about the EMP Museum in Seattle, or any of the billions (it seems) of different musical fests going on. I have never even been to concert in the last three years!

Woe is me, I know. The one concert festival that really makes me upset I'm broke is Sasquatch. For those of that don't know yet, Sasquatch is a four day concert festival held at The Gorge Ampitheatre in George, Washington. This area is perfect for camping, and if you want to see this awesome show you will be shelling out over $300 for a four day pass. Then you throw in extra fees (parking, camping, gas, etc...) and this is a pretty pricey show.

What do you get for all this cash? Headliners include Jack White and Beck. I like Beck, but the real push here is Jack White. The man is talented as all get up and this is supporting his first ever solo album. Have you heard the new single, Love Interruption?

I really like it. It has the bluesy sound we have come to expect from Jack White, but reminds me of The White Stripes era. What do you guys think?

The rest of the Sasquatch 2012 lineup can be found at their official site. Bands of note so far are Tenacious D, The Shins, The Roots, Silversun Pickups, Feist, Of Monsters and Men, fun., Grouplove, and so many more.

Video of the Day | Jim Carrey's Daughter on American Idol

I am a huge Jim Carrey fan. I love everything from Ace Ventura to Truman Show (recently he has been less than awesome). When I saw that his daughter, Jane, auditioned for this season's American Idol I had to share it with everyone. 
Some people are saying she only got through because of Jim Carrey. I watched and think she is ok. She probably should have moved on to the next round, but I do not see her winning this season. What do you guys think?

Video of the Day | Sublime-Smoke Two Joints

Sharkey here: I once again am highjacking the Video of the Day! I have chosen one of my favorite songs right now. Enjoy Sublime's cover of Smoke Two Joints :)

Video of the Day | Taco Del Rio FIGHT!!

 

So sitting here with the boyfriend this morning watching Tosh and he played this video clip of the Taco Del Rio fight and it is hilarious! So we went on a video search and found that they had a couple different angles from inside the restaurant and we decided to post all the angles for Video of the Day today!  My favorite part is when the guy in the brown shirt runs head into the counter at the end!  Enjoy your Sunday! Sharkey

 

 

Taco Del Rio fight

 

Taco Del Rio fight angle 2

 

 

Taco Del Rio fight 3 different views

Video of the Day | Crypticon 2012

Every year a dark force returns to Seattle. This dark force threatens to steal the souls of those living within its grasp. Once again, this force returns in 2012 with scary monsters and even scarier guests. Crypticon is the annual horror convention that takes place in Seattle every year. This year promises to be even more awesome than the past (mostly cause I will be there). Check out the official trailers for Crypticon 2012.

Crypticon 2012 Teaser 1

Crypticon 2012 Teaser 2

Video of the Day | Etta James - At Last (Live)

This is a very sad day. The music legend Etta James has passed away due to complications from leukemia, CNN reported a few moments ago. The soulful singer was 73. Through a life of hardships, addiction, and health problems, Etta managed to win Grammys, be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and bring pleasure to millions of people with her one of a kind voice.

Video of the Day | Monster Marijuana 2010

For today's very late Video of the Day, I found this short vid of some big ass plants. Enjoy.

Reefer Madness: Great Propaganda or Greatest Propaganda?

I finally sat down and watched one of the most famous propaganda movies of all time - Reefer Madness. Shortest review ever - great! Reefer Madness  is a hilarious romp through the paranoid and uneducated minds of 1930's America. If you have ever picked up a joint or hit a bowl, chances are you have at least heard, if not seen, this now cult classic.

Made in 1936 as an anti-marijuana propaganda film, Reefer Madness portrays marijuana users as sex crazed and violent drug fiends, on par with the likes of heroin and other hard drug users. The story tells a tale of seedy drug pushers in business suits hunting high school children to get hooked. They bring these kids to Mae's apartment, one of the pushers though she prefers to sell to adults.

This marijuana den is a non-stop party for young and old alike. This good Christian film takes a turn for the decidedly dark when one of the pushers - and marijuana addict - attempts to rape one of the high school girls. This attempted rape causes a chain reaction of events, including a murder, that ends with one man's permanent insanity.

These marijuana smokers also commit hit and runs and have sex like it's the 1970's. To add to the truth of this film, the filmmakers (I use that term loosely) add in accounts of marijuana users ax murdering their families and having group sex. These filmmakers were a church group that made this film to educate parents on the dangers of marijuana use.

To be completely honest, as extreme as these claims are, they are not much more out there than some recent claims.

We all know that marijuana kills brain cells, right? And that was found to be completely true:

Of course, if you don't care about your brain, you have to care about your country...

Both of these claims are untrue, of course. Video one explains itself and any search on marijuana production shows that it is such a widely grown crop domestically that importing would just be too expensive to supply the entire country.

Another great similarity to today's War on Drugs is the importance of protecting the kids. The original title of the film was Tell Your Children and geared at parents. A big chunk of arguments by today's anti marijuana voices want to keep it illegal to protect the children, which is a flimsy argument as well. But I digress...

I definitely suggest watching Reefer Madness  and maybe even picking up a copy cheap somewhere to show around. It is a great film for a night of tokin' and munchin'.

Video of the Day | D-Loc - Look at Me Now (Remix) (aka Rolling Papers)

For today's video fo the day, I have a brand new video that just debuted this morning over on BallerStatus.com. D-Loc, from the Kottonmouth Kings, just released Look at Me Now (Remix) (aka Rolling Papers) as a video, though it is not on any project of his yet.

Video of the Day | Dirty Heads Lay Me Down Ft. Rome from Sublime

Sharkey here and I got to pick the Video of the Day, so I chose a song that has been in my head for days! Enjoy!

Video of the Day | Chem Valley Kush Marijuana

While smoking and looking around YouTube, I came across a series of videos featuring ‘reviews’ of sweet weed. Not sure about the seed and weed reviews, but the music choices and gorgeous weed make the videos worth it. Check them out.

If any of you have a video that you think should be featured as the video of the day, please let me know at pop_420@yahoo.com.

Video of the Day | ZomBeans Game Intro

I love zombies. I love free apps. I love my hometown of Kenosha and I especially love my good friend Donovan Scherer of Ratatat graphics. His book series, Fear and Sunshine, is a fun story about a little hippie girl named Sunshine and a mad scientist. Sunshine learns that she is heiress to a great monster making dynasty and begins her life learning the trade. During one of her and the doc’s experiments, an accident occurs and ZomBeans are created. These terrible, undead beans can only be destroyed by flinging brains at them.

This is the story behind the addictive little app my buddy Don made. It is free to download, so check out ZomBeans. For today’s video, I bring you Fear and Sunchine Presents: ZomBeans…

Video of the Day | Zombie Float in Seattle

In the summer of 2011, the undead rose from the graves and invaded the streets of Seattle, Washington. This video clip shows them take control of the Solstice Festival Parade.  Be warned...

Review: Zombies Anonymous

So Netflix told me I should watch the movie ZA: Zombies Anonymous and I agreed. So here I am, watching a movie that takes place in a world where the mortally challenged and the living coexist. These zombies can walk, talk, think, and act just like the living - so check any sense of reality at the door.

The story follows Angela, a woman who is murdered by her boyfriend and becomes a zombie. She is then sucked into a battle between a group of living militants and a group of undead extremists. Her boyfriend joins the battle against the undead and tons of bloodshed ensues.

First thing I want to note is that ZA: Zombie Anonymous is not a comedy, at least not intentionally. It is cheesy with some bad acting, which is to be expected at this level, and that does make it seem more comical at times. The story is a civil rights drama at its core. Angela ends up losing her job since many places will not employ zombies. The living are zombie bashing like it's a sport, and no zombie is safe. This causes a zombie calling herself Mother Solstice to start a group of the undead to fight against the humans.

The movie is not a bad concept, as a whole, and I think given a budget and a re-write, there is a great concept in there. What this movie does do is make you think, if even a little. What if Z Day comes and the dead are not the mindless, corpses we have all envisioned and trained for? Your mom comes back from the dead and is completely normal (minus the breathing thing), could you shoot her?

When I first started watching this movie, I was not expecting what I got. That was due in part to Netflix not knowing what a comedy is, but also partly that it got me into it, plain and simple. I know this sounds bad, but low budget, cheesy horror is usually a real struggle for me to get into. ZA: Zombies Anonymous started out that way, but after a little bit, I saw myself pausing to use the bathroom instead of just letting it play. That's gotta say something, right?

I would recommend this movie for most zombie fans. It has some (cheesy) gore, but it is a little different than the norm. I am a sucker for civil rights dramas in bizarre settings (White Man's Burden ), and this has its decent moments where you really root for Angela and feel for the undead. Check this movie out on a rental and enjoy and hour and a half of cheesy zombie drama.

Notable Scene: The Commandant takes a new recruit turned zombie out to kill him. The scene sucks you in as the new zombie begs for his life and just the chance to say good bye to his mom. Real heart shines through here.

You can find ZA: Zombies Anonymous at many online outlets, including here at Amazon.

ZA: Zombies Anonymous Cast

Gina Ramsden - Angela

Joshua Nelson - Josh

Written and Directed by Marc Fratto

Video of the Day | Super Troopers Opening

Sharkey here! So today I am picking the video of the day! This is a tease for my next post coming this week. For the 420 fans can you spot the error in the opening scene here of Super Troopers? I will give you a few days to try to find it! Enjoy a clip from one of my favorite movies and check back in for my Super Troopers post in a few days!

Video of the Day x2 | Original Nightmare on Elm Street

If hearing that creepy, little song got you a little excited (not like that, sicko), then you are my kind of Pop 420 fan. Hands down the greatest horror series of all time, Nightmare on Elm Street went from indie cult favorite to pop culture phenomenon. Even wit the release of at least one crappy ass sequel and a terrible (so I hear as I refuse to watch it) remake, this series still stands at the top of the horror franchise mountain.

Video of the Day | Tangled Ever After: The Rings

So for today's Video of the day, I bring you a clip Disney just released. This clip is a trailer for the new Tangled animated short that will be attached to Beauty and the Beast 3D when it is released on January 13 (Yup, Friday the 13th). I have never seen Tangled, though I do like Zachary Levi (Go Chuck!!) and will probably check it out now. Why the fudge did I pick this for the video of the day? Because I totally want to see Beauty and the Beast 3D but figured everybody and their pets have seen that trailer by now. So enjoy Tangled Ever After: The Rings...

Video of the Day | Cannibal the Musical - Hang the Bastard

It is no secret to anybody that knows me that I am a ginormous Trey Parker fan. Not only the brilliant South Park franchise, but his films, shorts, and tv shows as well. Many people still don't know all of the Trey Parker material that is out there (Surprising, I know!!).

One of my favorite movies of his is Cannibal! The Musical. This is a musical based on an old legend about an expedition that ended in the survivors eating each other - but funny like! For any of you that enjoy South Park, I highly recommend this movie.

'Hang the Bastard' from Cannibal! The Musical:

Video of the Day | Batman Batdance #2

Today begins a new feature here on Pop 420 - the Video of the Day! Everyday either myself, or one of the Pop 420 staff (once there becomes one), will pick a video of the day to show you guys. This is not a new concept, so on with the funny...

Batman Batdance #2 - Season One 1966

Bring 'OZ' Back Part 2

A couple days ago, I told you about my ambition to get the great HBO series OZ returned to the air. I promised to bring you a five part series on how awesome this show was and why it deserves a second chance at life. I then went on to quickly sum up the show as best I could. Today I am going to talk about the one thing that makes OZ stand out back then - and even today.

Petition by iPetitions.com

OZ was gritty, and not gritty in that family-friendly kinda way that NYPD Blue was. Those behind this iconic television series made sure that there was no envelope left unpushed. Like any prison or crime drama, there was rampant violence and drugs, but the show went deeper than that.

On the surface,  OZ looks like nothing more than a reason to show violence, drugs, and nudity for ratings. Every episode included one, if not all three, of those ratings boosters. The inmates of Oswald State Penitentiary were mostly looking for a way to make it from day to day. If this involved some murder and tit slinging (tits is the term for drugs within OZ), then so be it.

This violence was always increased when race was involved, which was a daily occurrence. The inmates generally associated with different groups, usually based on race. Within Emerald City, there was strict control over how many of each group is allowed in. Even though this measure was meant to reduce the race violence, it never seemed to work out that way.

Most of these groups are fighting for certain power, like the tit trade. Drugs are a major problem in Oswald. All day long inmates are either selling drugs, taking drugs, killing over drugs, or finding new ways to get drugs (no postage stamp is safe). The drug of choice among the inmates of OZ is heroin, but all sorts of drugs make an appearance.

This is all surface stuff, though. Below this, HBO and OZ take on a variety of deeper topics; the biggest of these topics being redemption and reform. Tim McManus, the man that runs Em City, has a heart of gold and tries everything he can to turn these prisoners into reformed members of society. Over and over, he gets burned by these lost causes; yet he continues to fight for them.

We get to watch the inmates as they struggle with doing the right thing and survival. You really begin to feel for these people. You actually realize that they are people. I understand this is a way over the top tale of life in prison, but it does make you wonder if it is possible to reform some people.

Still a hot topic today, capital punishment was another ongoing topic on the HBO series. Sister Peter Marie, a therapist and nun that worked at Oswald Prison, was strongly against capital punishment. A very vocal activist about capital punishment, she put her beliefs ahead of her job or any politics on a number of occasions. This really came to a head when she fought to save Cyrill O'Reily, a mentally ill prisoner, from being executed. Watching this man who has the mental capacity of a small child, try to deal with things like murder and execution, is a painful reminder of the real life problems of inmates such as Cyrill.

Other topics touched upon in OZ were religion, sexuality, homosexuality, love, and so much more. Nothing was off limits for the writers. This mentality is one that would play well in today's race for ratings. HBO has lost much of its foothold in the television drama market, and bringing back a show as gritty as OZ would be a ratings and cred boom for the cable network. The topics that could be touched upon are almost infinite.

Stay tuned for the rest of my Bring OZ Back series of blog posts. Make sure you sign and share the online petition to bring this classic series back.