Before NoBunny sprang onto the stage, a mellow, almost sleepy, energy floated through the club. It was just another Friday night at Bottom of the Hill in San Francisco’s Protrero neighborhood. And then it wasn’t. NoBunny transformed us into a jumping slamming body-surfing field of bodies with their high-energy punk-n-pop sounds and the semi-nude bouncy charisma of the lead singer Justin Champlin.
[iPhone video by Josh Buchanan]
The hypnotic beat compels me to move my body… I’m listening to the music on the commuter train through my iPhone headset so I’m not free to dance right now. But I feel my body relax and a smile spreads across my face. These lyrics from my youth remind me of the explorations of romance which were often filled with missteps and yes, perhaps even lies… Depeche Mode’s lyrics resonated with the uncertainties fueled by the restlessness of our youth… their beat encouraged us to enjoy our youthful vibrancy…
Come on and lay with me
Come on and lie to me
Tell me you love me
Say I’m the only one…
In High School, I’d stay up until past midnight (unbeknownst to my parents) to watch the Twilight Zone show. Now, at 40-something, I own many of the episodes on DVD and have watched them at least three times. One of the most memorable episodes is titled To Serve Man, a story that any TZ fan will certainly know.
But even more than the iconoclastic themes of the episodes, its the theme music of the original Twilight Zone that will resonate for fans.
Many years ago, when I was sharing a house in Boston with three other people, one of my roomates was learning to play guitar and the TZ theme was one of the first tunes that he learned. Two decades later, I’m sometimes reminded of him playing the tune when I hear it.
| This is an Ocarina. | This too is an Ocarina. | |
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An Ocarina is a wind instrument that sounds similar to a flute.
Within 5 minutes of hearing about it from a friend, I am able to purchase an Ocarina for 99 cents and play it. It’s easy on the iPhone. I just blow into the microphone and touch the blue spots to vary the sound. I can also listen to someone playing in Lisbon, Portugal (and many other cities) by switching to a global listening view. That’s the “social” part.
It had to happen. Last week Outsourced; this week Bollywood invades The Big Bang Theory. Great job by “Bernadette” in capturing some of the signature Bollywood dance gestures.
