The new Muppets movie is almost here! To elevate your sheer excitement click play above and take in seven minutes of the original soundtrack. You’ll hear vocals from all of your favorite Henson characters as well as stars Jason Segal, Amy Adams, Chris Cooper, and more. Preorder the soundtrack at iTunes today. It releases tomorrow, November 20. And the movie comes out this Wednesday, November 23.
Category Archives: Video
Google Music comes out of beta, Music store gets added to Android Market
On Wednesday Google stripped the “b” word from Music Beta by Google and transitioned Google Music into a one-stop shop for uploading, purchasing, and sharing music. Like Music Beta, Google Music will allow users to upload up to 20,000 songs to the cloud for free. The music.google.com portal still exists and looks nearly identical to its beta version. Users can upload their music to the cloud by clicking the “Upload Music” link in the top right corner; this will prompt you to open the Music Manager software, just like before. What’s new, however, is the link “Shop.” That’s right, Google is ready to go head-to-head with Apple and Amazon by selling songs directly to users. The Android Market has a new section called Music living among Apps, Books, and Movies. At this new Music store users can browse, preview, and purchase individual tracks and albums. Google has worked out deals with three of the four major labels–Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, and EMI–and many independent labels to offer over 13 million tracks. Google has yet to partner with Warner Music Group, and the absence of their inclusion stings a bit. To ease the pain, they are offering exclusive content from some of the most popular artists like Coldplay, The Rolling Stones, and Dave Matthews Band. Free tracks and live concert albums are currently in the mix from a handful of artists. When you download music from the Android Market, the tracks automatically fly into the cloud and populate your Google Music library on your computer and mobile devices. If you have an Android device running 2.2 or higher the Music section of the Market is rolling out to you soon and you’ll be able to download tracks on the go. The Google Music app has already received an update and can be downloaded at the Market today. After downloading music from the store, Google lets you share your purchase with your Circles on Google+. When your friends see a track or album shared on their stream, they have the option to listen to your music once in its entirety! Next there’s the Google Music Artist Hub. The kind folks at Google are giving independent artists a means to upload their music to the Android Market. If you have the rights to distribute music, Google has built a simple interface to create your own artist page, upload original tracks, set prices, and sell content directly to customers. Indie artists keep 70 percent of the profits and Google gets the remaining 30. If this tickles your fancy, visit the Artist Hub to get started. Last, the G-Men have released a Google Music app for Google TV. It’ll let you can access your music library right on the TV.
And just like that, Google has set itself up to become a formidable contender in the music space. Video after the break.
[Via Google 1, 2] Continue reading Google Music comes out of beta, Music store gets added to Android Market
Trailer: Pixar’s ‘Brave’
Princess Merida (voiced by Kelly Macdonald) stars in this first full-length trailer for Pixar’s upcoming thirteenth animated film, Brave. Though this longer introduction isn’t as breathtaking as the teaser trailer that came before it, the sheer beauty of the animation style still holds up and my anticipation for the June 22, 2012 3D release doesn’t waver. What do you think of this grander look at Pixar’s latest?
3D re-release trailers: ‘Titanic’ & ‘Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace’ [Update: ‘Beauty and the Beast’]
Two classic movies are being re-released in 3D. First up is James Cameron’s 1997 emotional roller coaster Titanic. The director who imagined Avatar is re-releasing the tragic love story in 3D on April 6, 2012. This date falls right around the 100 year anniversary of the sailing of the ship. Titanic is considered one of the greatest movies of all time, but do you feel comfortable watching all those people lose their lives in eye-popping 3D? Tough call.
Next up is the re-release of The Phantom Menace, the first prequel movie from George Lucas’ famed Star Wars franchise. Lucas’ Industrial Light & Magic special FX company is converting all six Star Wars films to play in 3D. Episode 1 comes back to theatres on February 10, 2012, and the remaining five films will follow suit over the course of consecutive years. Watch the new trailer after the break.
Update: Disney has released a trailer promoting their next foray into 3D. After re-releasing The Lion King in 3D into the wild, Disney is reaching its hand into the vault again and this time they’re sharing Beauty and the Beast with the world again. Skip after the break to watch new trailer. The Disney classic returns January 13, 2012. Continue reading 3D re-release trailers: ‘Titanic’ & ‘Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace’ [Update: ‘Beauty and the Beast’]
Donald “Childish Gambino” Glover drops rap album ‘Camp’
Community star Donald Glover is a rapper, if you didn’t know. After submitting data into a Wu-Tang Clan name generator, he decided to make the result his alter-ego rap name: Childish Gambino. Glover has been making music since 2008, outputting mixtapes and albums and headlining national tours over the years. Today his latest studio album Camp released and it includes 13 tracks. The lead single “Bonfire” has a music video and it’s embedded above. Before starring in the NBC sitcom and writing for 30 Rock, Glover made viral videos with his troup Derrick Comedy. Dan Eckman, a member of that comedy troup, directed the clip for “Bonfire.” Fair warning: the lyrics contain lots ‘o expletives. For an actor-rapper, the production value hold up pretty well, and Glover is gifted with hustle and flow. The music video includes a story and twist ending that is well worth your time; visually it’s enticing and at the same time it’ll introduce you to Glover’s rap style. Need to hear more before you purchase Camp at iTunes? NPR is currently streaming the album in its entirety.
Trailer: ‘The Hunger Games’
For those of you who read the books, this should get you amped. Lionsgate has released the first full-length trailer for The Hunger Games, the first of three movies based on the novel trilogy by Suzanne Collins. Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Willow Shields, Elizabeth Banks, and Lenny Kravitz star as Katniss Everdeen, Peeta Mellark, Gale Hawthorne, Haymitch Abernathy, Primrose Everdeen, Effie Trinket, and Cinna, respectively. Though I haven’t read the books, and the trailer is well made and energetic enough to make me want to visit a theatre and introduce myself to the story. I can only imagine what readers of the franchise feel after watching this; I’ve heard it can induce tears of joy and sheer anticipation. If you’ve read the books share your initial reactions in the comment section below. The Hunger Games releases March 23, 2011.
Dueling Snow White trailers: ‘Snow White and the Huntsman’ & ‘Mirror Mirror’
Universal Pictures is prepping a new movie that warps the classic Disney fairy tale Snow White and the Seven Dwarves into an epic action-adventure starring Kristen Stewart (Twilight) as Snow White, Charlize Theron as the Evil Queen, and Chris Hemsworth (Thor) as a huntsman who teaches Snow White the art of war. The trailer, narrated by Theron in character, is quite epic in scale and has me anticipating the June 1, 2012 release date. However, I am not so sure how it is going to hold up with Stewart in the lead role; her acting turns in Twilight and Adventureland have me a bit worried.
Hop after the break to watch the trailer for another Snow White adaptation, Mirror Mirror. Continue reading Dueling Snow White trailers: ‘Snow White and the Huntsman’ & ‘Mirror Mirror’
Mars500 crew returns home from simulated mission to space
Well here’s a story worth following up on. Last summer a six man crew embarked on a simulated journey to Mars, in Moscow, Russia. On Friday November 4, the Mars500 experiment concluded and all six crew members returned “home” healthy, safe and sound. For 520 days the team essentially pretended to fly to the distant Red Planet, explore its features, and return to Earth. Their objective was to simulate the psychological and physiological stresses of a real space mission to Mars, and according to the latest reports the data collected from this experiment will indeed be useful for further space exploration. When he stepped out of hatch of the Mars500 spacecraft, European Space Agency participant Diego Urbina said this: “On the Mars500 mission, we have achieved on Earth the longest space voyage ever so that humankind can one day greet a new dawn on the surface of a distant, but reachable, planet.” And for that we are all thankful and truly impressed, might I add. Though weightlessness was not experienced for obvious reasons, the team was forced to wear space suits and endure many other symptoms of a space mission including communication delays. Even though they were stationed on Earth, messages sent to and from the Mars500 simulator could sometimes take up to 25 minutes to reach its destination. During their trip, stress and hormone levels, sleep patterns and moods were monitered closely and dietary supplements were tested. For science! And the future of real space exploration! Watch the crew return to Earth in a video embedded after the break.
[Via BBC News; Engadget] Continue reading Mars500 crew returns home from simulated mission to space
YouTube musician Kina Grannis has fun with jelly beans in new stop-motion music video
Have you ever heard of jelly bean art? Well it exists. And now so does a jelly bean music video. YouTube star Kina Grannis wrote a song called “In Your Arms” and developed a music video with director Greg Jardin involving 288,000 jelly beans. The insanely impressive stop-motion video, which includes a total of 2,460 individual frames, took 22 months (1,357 hours) to complete. Sure the song is catchy and Grannis has an infectious charm about her, but it’s the sheer level of dedication put into this music video that has elevated to viral status. In under a week it has amassed about 1.5 million well deserved views. After you wipe the saliva off your mouth when the video ends (and that’s either because you’re so impressed or you’re craving Jelly Belly jelly beans, or both) make sure you jump after the break to watch a seven minute making-of video that shows just how much hard work and patience was required to make the music video a reality. With “In Your Arms” Grannis has proved she’s a creative force to be reckoned with, and I cannot wait to see what she comes up with next. Continue reading YouTube musician Kina Grannis has fun with jelly beans in new stop-motion music video
Jimmy Fallon becomes Justin Bieber to sing “(It’s Not My) Baby”, teams with Timberlake for another History of Rap
If you’ve been following the last in pop culture news, then you should be aware that a 20-year-old California woman filed a paternity suit against teen idol Justin Bieber. Biebs is denying it of course, but that doesn’t mean late night host and Bieber impersonator Jimmy Fallon can’t play around with the hit single “Baby” and intelligently turn it into “(It’s Not My) Baby” noooo! Jimmy hits all the right notes and Roots rapper Black Thought plays a convincing Ludacris feature in the spoof embedded above.
And as the post title alludes to, Jimmy teamed up with Justin Timberlake yet again for “History of Rap 3.” That one’s waiting after the break. Continue reading Jimmy Fallon becomes Justin Bieber to sing “(It’s Not My) Baby”, teams with Timberlake for another History of Rap
Jimmy Kimmel’s Halloween candy challenge makes kids cry, everyone else laugh
During his monologue on Halloween night, Jimmy Kimmel issued a fun challenge for parents: to say that they ate all of their children’s Halloween candy, record their reactions, and upload it to YouTube. Kimmel stitched together a bunch of the most entertaining videos and the compilation sits above. It’s funny; almost every clip involves a young child hearing the devastating news and immediately drooping their heads in tears of sadness and frustration. You’ll want to make it to the end because the final clip involving two brothers might just be the best thing I’ve watched in a while. Enjoy!
The future of productivity… according to Microsoft
The company behind Windows has manufactured a glimpse into a future “where technology extends and highlights our productive capabilities.” The concept video, embedded above for your wonderment, includes ideas for products that take advantage of current technology (speech recognition, data visualization, etc.) and magical things that have yet to be invented like glasses that translate speech in real time and transparent refrigerator doors with data overlays. Microsoft “see[s] technology moving from a passive tool to a more active assistant, helping us get things done, and strengthening our interactions with one another.” Tap play and journey into Microsoft’s vision of the future. Spoiler: so many screens. It’s good to know that physical QWERTY keyboards will still exist in the future, right? Right?
[Via MicrosoftBlog]