For people who have been visiting my blog awhile, you know I like to do a ‘Video Roundup’ on occasion, of music videos I’ve discovered and watched several times over on Youtube.
(In fact, you can check them out right here: Vol 1 is here, Vol 2 here, Vol 3 here & Vol 4 here.)
In the meantime, here’s my latest favorites but these are different:
- They’re not really music videos.
- I searched for NONE of these.
These were recommended to me by Youtube for reasons I both do & don’t get.
Still, the same rules apply. If I watched & enjoyed them several times over… welcome to the roundup!
7. “This guy is the cat’s—I mean bat’s pajamas”
Shortyverse is a graphic designer, Photoshop expert & Spanish artist who likes to take today’s superheroes and re-imagine them in the year 1920. Supergirl, Flash, Robocop--I’ve watched them all, but I grew up reading Batman comics, and this one is my favorite. It’s eerie & otherworldly.
6. “I’ve amassed a closet that would make ANY woman absolutely jealous…”
DISCLAIMER: I do not subscribe to Alice Little’s channel. I have no intention of traveling to Nevada, visiting the infamous ‘Chicken Ranch’ brothel or hiring a sex worker!
Still, I can’t deny Alice (and her 5 most popular dresses) are a guilty pleasure…
5. “In order to form a more perfect union…”
Who’s the genius that got the bright idea of making Star Trek Original Series trailers, in the style of Mission Impossible from the 1960s?
This genius, that’s who!
4. “Meanwhile, at the Friars Club…”
We all loved James Cagney, right? And we all knew the man could dance, right? Well, Bob Hope could too and I DIDN’T know that—he surprised me here.
Do you suppose there was ever a time when old fuddy duddies sat in tuxedos and cheered on middle aged fellas having a dance-off after their banquet?
I’d be asking where the giant cake was with the showgirl inside!
3. “Let’s see one more of those Star Trek: Impossible trailers”
These are too good to show just one, and frankly I can’t get enough of the evil starship Enterprise.
2. “I know what you’re thinking—what’s a video roundup without the Osmond Family?”
Since the early days of Hollywood, actors (who would never dream of appearing in American television commercials) would have no problem appearing in Asian ones for the loot. Leonardo diCaprio did a Japanese commecial in 2013 for Jim Beam whiskey.
The Osmonds were no exception, and in the early 1970s starred in 20-25 Japanese commercials for ‘Calpis’, a milky soft drink. You don’t have to watch this entire video, just the first 2 commercials—you’ll see an awkward looking Marie Osmond in her first acting performance. “Umm… Calpis!”
1. “And finally, Clair de Lune for Ampan”
From 2018, Ampan is a gentle female elephant, 80 years old and blind. She lives on an elephant sanctuary in Thailand, and this brought tears to my eyes the first time I watched it. I don’t know why.
Thanks for the fun round-up this morning. Love the Ampan video. I wonder how that guy got the piano out there.
ReplyDeleteThanks Tom... I wondered that too. He's actually made several of these videos, this was the first one I watched.
DeleteI enjoyed the Bob Hope dance video. David and I saw him and Dolores at Hickam Air Force Base in Hawaii back in the 1990s. He was blind and had to be guided to the podium where he gave a short speech to commemorate the armed forces. Afterwards, we all danced to music and had a good time in the large hangar. Bob Hope did not dance unfortunately, as he was in his 90s and very frail.
ReplyDeleteWow Gigi, very cool you got to see him in person. I admit I was never a Bob Hope fan, but I did admire him greatly for what he did for our military. Thank you for sharing. :^)
DeleteI loved the "Mirror, Mirror" episode of ST. John and I watched a youtube of the worst TNG episodes and I agreed with all of them; there were some of the silly Holodeck ones and a few with Q or Luwaxana Troi. Blech. It reminded me that even great shows have awful episodes!
ReplyDeleteMargaret, I would agree there are some pretty cringe-worthy TNG episodes; as for the original series, only two made me wince. The space hippies and the one with the giant rabbit from Alice in wonderland! 😩
DeleteP.S. Clair de lune brings tears to my eyes every time I hear it. Surely one of the most beautiful pieces of music ever.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing that Margaret, it really is. 🙂
DeleteHi Doug, thanks for sharing this interesting mix of videos. I loved the Mirror, Mirror episode of Star Trek. Never realized the Osmond's did these commercials.They were pretty bad!😳 The video with Ampan the elephant was beautiful. She seemed to be enjoying the music.
ReplyDeleteTake care.❤️
Thank you Robin, always good to hear from another Trekkie and I couldn't agree more about loving that episode and those terrible Osmond commercials! But you know the Osmonds were always very popular in Japan, particularly Jimmy and I have no idea why. He had a hit record there before his older brothers did here. Thanks again for stopping by my friend. 🙂💗
DeleteI wish I knew more about the alogrithm that recommends videos to our YouTube landing pages - and what that says about us. I got one for a German duo performing a song called "Wienie Wienie" and I have no idea how they thought this would be something I'd like. But I watched it three times and I do like it. Spooky. Here it is in case you want to add it to a future round-up: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0S_mGdkqQsU
ReplyDeleteDavid, great question for Youtube--a month or so back, I had 4-5 recommended videos of professional binge eaters! What the ?? I wasn't even aware that was a vocation! Thank you for sharing the weenie weenie video, I'm going to watch it now! 😄
DeleteI've been enjoying the videos of pianist Paul Barton for years. He lives in Thailand with his wife and his daughter who also play piano and often sing in accompaniment. YouTube certainly plays a large role in my entertainment! And my fingers have gotten quite speedy on the mute button during commercials and skip button if not interested.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing Florence, I have to look at more of his videos. Paul Barton seems like a very dear man. And I have to admit, I enjoy YouTube a lot more than TV in fact. 🙂
DeleteOk Duggie, that's too much confusing entertainment for my tired brain at the moment. That IS an impressive chest working with the old Batman. If I don't know what I'm watching on non-cable, free TV, I google the channel and it tells me what movie I just started watching. I miss the old paper TV guides. Linda in Kansas
ReplyDeleteThanks Linda - - believe it or not, I miss the old paper TV Guides too. But this ain't tv, just some homegrown videos! I tried to select ones short in duration, but maybe I should just keep my viewing habits to myself. ☺️
DeleteThe only one of these I would watch more than once is the Bob Hope James Cagney dance routine. I've seen it before and knew that Bob Hope could dance. I think he does a routine with Shirley Temple too, but I may be mistaken. I often get stuck on you tube late at night when I can't sleep, watching dancing.
ReplyDeleteThe Star Trek/Mission Impossible ones are okay, but not for rewatching and the others? Just no.
Thanks River, I'm sorry these weren't more to your liking... 🙄
DeleteIt's your blog, you put up what pleases you. Vive la Difference!
DeleteThanks so much for these enjoyable videos. Loved the elephant one. I am sick with noro virus and this really lifted my spirits.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for these enjoyable videos. I loved the elephant one. I am sick with noro virus and this really lifted my spirits.
ReplyDeleteDonna, I'm very sorry to hear you're sick with the norovirus but thanks so much for your kind comment. I was kind of wondering if I should've shared this odd collection. Your comment here really cheered me up. I hope you get better real soon! :^)
DeleteDug, I never watch videos, but did watch yours. The Bob Hope one I enjoyed as I too didn't realize he could dance like that. And it looked like that elephant was enjoying the music. People don't give animals enough credit...
ReplyDeleteYou're very kind, thanks Rian. It seems that everyone liked the elephant or Bob Hope videos, no love for Batman or Alice Little! All kidding aside, I could not agree more what you said about animals not getting enough credit. Especially 80-year-old elephants. 🙂♥️
DeleteI was reluctant to comment as I expected that all would think, “Here’s His Grumpiness again”.
ReplyDeleteThen I thought, “Oh, why not?”
The Debussy was fine and the woman played it quite well. The elephant seemed to enjoy it.
It did rather raise the question: what’s a piano doing in the middle of the bush?
Because I like good music, I didn’t bother with the Osmonds.
I agree with you about Cagney, but I really don’t like Hope, so I gave that a miss, as I did with all the others as none interested me.
You can see why I was reluctant.
Oh, it was bloke playing piano. Oh ddear, I am getting old.
DeletePeter my fine friend, I appreciate your honesty, always. I knew this laid an egg so to speak, I probably shouldn't have shared this little mix of vids just because 'they struck my fancy'. I'll be a little more discriminating in the future, if you give me another chance. :^)
DeleteOf course I will.
DeleteAnyway, as River said, it’s your column to do as you please.
Hi Doug, This is a very interesting post, but it makes me sad in a way. Well, sad that I haven’t been following your blog more closely over recent years. 😊 It amuses me how much we are on the “same page.” In just the last week or so, and before seeing your post this morning, I had been wondering about adding some YouTube videos in future posts on John’s Island. Now that I see how cleverly you’ve done this I’m going to try it for sure. I enjoyed getting your take on the various videos. Have a good weekend and take care. John
ReplyDeleteJohn, thanks so much for the thoughtful feedback. In all honesty I was regretting sharing this latest bunch (as they're more silly than anything) so your words were very appreciated. At the same time, I hope you do this too in the near future, I'd be very interested to see what interests you. Thanks again. :^)
DeleteGosh... I'll never listen to Clair de Lune in the same way again without thinking of Ampan. I knew, of course, that James Cagney was an amazing dancer, but Bob Hope. That was a surprise. What fun!
ReplyDeleteAnd oh my gosh! Were the Osmonds really singing in Japanese or was that dubbed in, I wonder.
Thanks Kay, that was lovely what you said in regards to Clair de Lune. And I thought about you when I saw those early Osmond commercials--I did some reading up on them, and according to the youngest (Jimmy Osmond) they DID learn to sing those Japanese lyrics phonetically :^)
DeleteAnd they did it quite well too. Then again I was surprised when I heard Shirley Temple as a kid singing in Japanese too. https://youtu.be/3M3GuNEOVBY
DeleteI actually found the 1920s Batman vid fascinating and quite artistic. And the Clair de Lune piece played for dear Ampan was pure sweetness and love. Thank you for sharing, Doug. Kim in PA
ReplyDeleteHi Kim, thanks so much. Finally, a little love for 1920 Batman... 🦇🙂🦇
Delete