Thursday, December 30, 2010

Mallman Contest Winner: Sohail Akhavein

So today, we did a fun Twitter contest calling for peeps to recount their favorite Mark Mallman anecdotes, and while we're pretty sure this one from Sohail Akhavein isn't quite true, it sure made us LOL. Congrats Sohail, you win!

"Mark Mallman. How do I begin to explain Mark Mallman? Mark Mallman is flawless. I hear his hair's insured for $10,000. I hear he does car commercials...in Japan. His favorite movie is Varsity Blues. One time he met John Stamos on a plane...and told him he was pretty. One time he punched me in the face. It was awesome."

The 5th Annual Varsity New Year's Eve with Mark Mallman & Friends happens this Friday. Tickets are currently still available via www.varsitytheater.org or by stopping into the Loring Pasta Bar. Click HERE for the Facebook event.

Just for fun, a goofy little promo vid for this year's bash at the Varsity!

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Jeremy Messersmith's Remix Album is Now Out

Jeremy Messersmith asked for your remixes and he got them. The Reluctant Graveyard Doctors Without Borders Remix is now up on Jeremy's site and it contains remixes by Byzantine Beatbox, Will Yates, Paris 1919 and more. You can listen to the tracks for free on the site or name your price and download the 10-track album to keep here. Proceeds go to Doctors Without Borders, so pony up!

Submitted by @marrina.

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Top local viral videos of 2010

It's been a big year for viral videos. And some of the videos that made us either LOL or OMG came with some local flavor. So we've rounded up the funniest, most-viewed and (of course) LOL/OMG-worthy videos of the year, in order of number of views. (What the hell, everyone else is doing it.)

Honorable Mention: Kanye West Rapping on a Plane
Just a few short hours after doing an intimate meet-and-greet and listening party in the Twin Cities, Kanye West decided to perform an impromptu show aboard his flight from Minneapolis to New York City on Delta. Watch him do a medley of "The Good Life" and "Gold Digger" via Hollywood Life. (Number of views info not available.)


10. Max Sparber's "Ballad of Steven Slater"
When news of disgruntled JetBlue flight attendant Steven Slater going ballastic on a rude passenger got out back in August, local songwriter and scribe Max Sparber offered his take with his "Ballad of Steven Slater." Another guy then added music and made a video, which later wound up on various news programs including CNN's Situation Room, garnering about 3,500 hits.



9. Brawl at TC Hip Hop Awards
The annual Twin Cities Hip Hop Awards at First Avenue turned violent this year - onstage, no less. With bar stools. It's crazy enough to have gotten over 21,000 hits since it went online back in January.



8. Gigamesh's "Double Rainbow" Remix
The epic double rainbow meme last July got a local twist when former Minneapolis DJ/producer (now based out of Miami) Gigamesh offered his totally danceable remix, nabbing over 27,000 hits.



7. Lady Gaga Flash Mob
When Lady Gaga did a two-night show at the Xcel in August, she made the local news after showing up to the Turf Club (and we posted exclusive pix). But the local Gaga-related video that went viral was the "Bad Romance"-performing Flash Mob that hit Nicollet Mall, getting over 38,000 hits.



6. GAYNGS Prom
Another big LOL/OMG story this year was the GAYNGS Prom at First Avenue, unparalleled in its sheer epicness. There was a balloon drop, show-goers dressed to the hilt in prom gear, the premier performance by the local supergroup (and also the biggest GAYNGS lineup they've ever had hit the stage). Oh, and Prince showed up. A bunch of videos were subsequently uploaded - including local filmmaker Isaac Gale's live video that got over 38,000 hits - but the most noteworthy was Pitchfork's:



5. "Empire State of Mind" Twin Cities Spoof
St. Cloud video makers Afternoon D Light are behind this Twin Cities take on Jay-Z and Alicia Keys' "Empire State of Mind," which has over 300,000 hits. If you can get past the lo-fi video quality and weak singing/rapping, there are classic references to black ice, Herb Brooks, and Joe Maurer. (Okay, this is technically from December 2009, but deal with it.)



4. Jeremy Messersmith's "Tatooiine" video
Another music-related video to get over 225,000 hits is the Star Wars-inspired "Tatooine" by local singer-songwriter Jeremy Messersmith. The video, created by filmmaker/animator, Eric Power, wraps up the Star Wars trilogy via paper cut outs. The video was quickly picked up by just about every cool blog out there, including Wired, Nylon, and New York Magazine, among others.



3. "Minnesota Gurls"
Coming in at over 1,400,000 hits was the Minnesota-made video, "Minnesota Gurls," inspired by Katy Perry's summer hit "California Gurls." The autotune singing is sort of unlistenable and the video quality is poor, but they get credit for lyrics that name-drop Grain Belt, lutefisk and 10,000 lakes and expound the virtues of "waterproof boots with flannel on top."



2. Randy Moss Remixed in "One Clap"
Former Viking Randy Moss is known as much for his skills on the field as for his narcissistic, hilarious, Kanye West-esque quotes. In October, NYC/LA-based DJ Steve Porter compiled his best lines and remixed them into a seriously catchy video, "One Clap," right as it was announced that Moss was returning to the Vikings. That move lasted only a week before Moss was fired, but this video will last into infamy. It was aired on NFL Sunday Countdown and became an instant viral hit, garnering over a whopping 2,590,000 hits.



1. Metrodome Collapse
Closing off a year of Vikings drama was the truly epic Metrodome collapse earlier this month. The pillowy roof of the Dome collapsed under the heavy snow of the #blizzard #snowpocalypse #whateveryouwanttocallit and got a staggering 5,000,000 hits. Luckily, Fox News was there with a camera on the ready after getting a tip that the Dome was leaking.

501 Club to close on January 8th

Yes, it's true. One of our favorite hangouts in town, the 501 Club, is shuttering after just two years due to high overhead associated with the downtown location.

The bar posted this on their website today:

Sadly, the 501 club will be closing its doors after Saturday January 8th. We have had lots of great memories and done lots of great things over the 2 years which makes it such a difficult and sad event. Thank you everybody who has been a part of the club as artists, customers and employees. Make sure to stop by and have brunch one last time or just to see your fave bartender. Lets have a great last few weeks at the 501 and send the place off right.

Despite its relatively short lifespan, all the good times we've had at the art-centric live music venue are experiences that will stick with us. Local bands of all genres have graced the small stage of the 501, a place known for its eclectic and locally-sourced lineups, as well as its generally no-cover admission.

Co-owner Jon Oulman sent out a bittersweet status update via Facebook today:


On a personal note, co-owner Jarret Oulman was integral in helping us craft the original concept of our monthly LOL/OMG meetups at the club, which have been some of our favorite Thursday nights on record. The Oulmans still retain their Northeast companion piece, the 331 Club. Previously scheduled shows at the 501 will likely be moved to other venues (and yes, we will be moving our monthly meetup to a new location TBD - feel free to offer suggestions in the comments section!)

Upcoming shows at the 501:

Dec 28th: Cyn Hosts: Humanda
Dec 29th: 501 Mini-Series w/ Turn Back Now!
Dec 31st: NYE Throwdown w/ Sims & Kristoff Krane
Jan 1st: Zoo Animal w/ Tyler Burkum (all ages)
Jan 2nd: 501 Trivia / Music TBA
Jan 6th: LOL/OMG Meetup (yay! That's us!)
Jan 7th: Buildings, Central Division, Desert Vest, Safewords
Jan 8th: Last 501 Brunch (10am-2pm) / Curtiss A / Elvis Birthday Party (9:30)

UPDATE: Andrea Swensson at Gimme Noise has more details on the closing HERE.

All the Pretty Horses play the LOL/OMG Meetup #5 at the 501 / photo by Erik Hess

Submitted by @TheIverson

Monday, December 27, 2010

How the Grinch (Almost) Stole Christmas

You've probably heard the story of Pedro Flores: Flores stole dozens of Christmas packages from doorsteps in St. Paul's West End neighborhood (designer robes, clothing, a scooter, a Nintendo Wii sports package and other gift items sent via FedEx). Luckily, Flores has been arrested and charged with one count of felony theft by the Ramsey County attorney's office. Some of the stolen items were retrieved, some were not. Snyder family, authors of The Snyder 5 blog, were amongst Flores' "victims" and here's what they posted on December 24th:

The police officer explained that he didn't say what he had done with the goods, but in all likelihood, he had taken them to a bar and sold them.

Which is all fine and good. Well not really, it still sucks. But for those of you who read the story earlier in the week, you might recall that I didn't say what was in the boxes. I just said that they were very personal items that would mean nothing to anyone else.

Because they were bathrobes. Really nice, heavy, personalized bathrobes. For all 12 of us, ranging from size 3T to adult sizes.

So the thought of this guy hitting skeezy bars offering personalized bathrobes for sale is alternately horrifying and hilarious.
...

....

Yup, that was us. We are the expensive bathrobe people.



And the (expensive bathrobe) havenots...

Too. Funny. Read more here.

Submitted by @marrina.

LOL/OMG Meetup #6 lineup announced!

It's that time again! The LOL/OMG Social Media Meetup & Rock Show is back at the 501 Club for its 6th installment on Thursday, January 6th with a fun lineup of bands! Social hour from 9pm followed by music at 10pm. Check in on Foursquare and show the bartender to score a FREE shot. Official hashtag: #LOLOMG

Featuring some bands we're pretty excited about for 2011!

El le Faunt & His Traveling Circus

Pictures of Then

Young Quitters (Ft. Joey Rizzo & Danny Sigelman)

10pm / 21+ / FREE

El Le Faunt


Pictures of Then


Young Quitters

This Week in (Uploaded) Pictures: Christmas Edition

Maritza Ramirez smokes what looks like a pretzel stick.


The sheer brilliance of Ben Fredrickson overwhelms us!


Nick Grzechowiak and fam take a holiday vaca and run into some Banksy.


Juleana Enright celebrated Pagan-style.


Dana Lade enjoyed some embellished Chex Mix on Christmas!


Brian Garrity shoots metal band Impaler for a City Pages article on the band by Danny Sigelman. Slide show on City Pages here, article here.


Ed & Ashley Ackerson's dog Wiggy watches Frosty the Snowman!


Sarah Edwards' should be a professional cookie decorator. LOL!


Dena Alspach spent the holidays on the North Shore.


Tim Ritter and Angie Heitz spent Christmas in Mexico. Lucky bastards.


The Broken Bicycles have a new wintery promo shot. Photo by Caitlin Angelica


Robyn Lewis and pals have holiday spirit!


Beatrix Jar in chalk.


Clare Gardner spent the holidays with a little monster.


We want to take a nap under Christopher Atkins' pretty x-mas tree!


Danielle Morris snaps the snowy situation.


Mallman buys himself a Christmas present.


Former local Teri Anvid manages to creep us out, all the way from Atlanta.


Keith Williams kicks it at the Wants vs. Cryphy party on X-mas Eve-Eve at Honey. Photo by C-Rocka.

Upload a cool pic this week? Send us the link for consideration to omg@letoilemagazine.com.

Submitted by @TheIverson

Weekend Twitterings: Christmas Edition

What, Christmas is already behind us? To. Soon. We are, however, happy to see you all got to spend some quality time with your family and that you all got what you wanted. OK, that's not entirely true, but some of you got iPads, bacon floss and other useful items. So, enjoy the Weekend Twitterings - Christmas edition!


So it begins..


That sounds like lazy dancing to us!


LOL. Well, not so much for Krista..


Ouch.


Oh, yes.


Yep.


Aaw.


Not. Cool.


Coolest. dad. Husband. Ever.


Yay, iPad!


Oh, Tom Waits, you really know how to keep it festive.


Black Swan: a Christmas movie? Who knew.


Bacon is always good.


Our editor's mom gets the award for best Christmas tree decorations.


He stole her thunder and is about to pay.


That's naughty, NOT nice!


Ooops.


Really.


Merry Christmas!


You are right about that..


We'd drink that.


Submitted by @marrina


Saturday, December 25, 2010

Local musician robbed on Christmas!

Definitely not LOL, but certainly OMG, today's Christmas news is certainly disheartening. Eric Lovold of local band The Alarmists posted some bad news on Facebook early Christmas morning. Lovold returned to his St. Paul home and studio to find it robbed and looted. Many items were stolen, but most disturbingly, the veteran musician's Mac Pro, which contained two completed albums that were almost ready to be mastered. The police were called, prints dusted for, etc - hopefully the computer and Eric's other belongings will turn up! Anyone with any info is of course encouraged to call the po-po.


Tonight at 10pm, the musician is slated to be on Kare 11 news talking about the loss of the music and the robbery.

Submitted by @theiverson

Thursday, December 23, 2010

TRON Guy Scandal

James Lileks posted an update on Twitter this morning regarding Jay Maynard, aka the TRON Guy, that immediately caught our attention:

No! Lileks followed up with Maynard and got more information on the "incident":

What happened was TMZ, they wanted me to get pictures appearing at the theater in costume. I was going to go to the 3d theater in Mankato up at the mall. I saw it here at Fairmont, where the theater doesn’t do it justice, so I was going to go see it at a good theater. It’s a 50 mile drive, and I thought it probably best not to spring them on it cold. I called the theater and asked, and they said they would greatly prefer that I not.

See more here and here.

Really, Mankato???


Submitted by @marrina.

Holiday procrastinators, fear not!

Secrets of the City has the lollygaggers among you covered with this last minute, locally-sourced holiday gift guide roundup.

Happy Holidays from BNLX

Local rockers BNLX posts a special holiday tune right in time for x-mas! Download or listen for free here.