Thrilling: Dance of the Week

Everybody knows that a wedding reception wouldn’t be complete without a double dose of Michael Jackson. You know, at least Bille Jean and Thriller at some point during the evening. With that in mind, the Dance of the Week comes from Rob who is currently in the throes of his own wedding planning. Congratulations are in order!



From my experience, you also can’t escape these timeless nuptial dance floor favourites:

Boney M – Rasputin
Village People – YMCA
Led Zepplin – Misty Mountain Hop
Abba - Mamma Mia
Right Said Fred – I’m Too Sexy
Men Without Hats – Safety Dance
♪

CJSW's New Bloggernaut

Looks like I'll be posting a little less frequently on the Hipster's Guide to Calgary for the next little while. Have no fear, hip quips and zanily trivial factoids will abound as I take on a new role as the CJSW blog-o-sphere chieftan. Check this link over the next little while as new posts emerge. ♪

Dance of the Week, with a Twist!

This week's dance-a-thon just barely qualifies, because the dance lasts only about seven seconds out of a 66 second clip - or about 10.6% of the entire content. But, since Sunny D contains less that 5% real juice and is still considered a citrus drink, I think I'm off the hook. Again, I've picked something from the stop-motion wizards at Robot Chicken. This time, they spoof M. Night Shyamalan's Signs:



If stop-motion is your thing, you'd best check out Bruce Bickford's work in Baby Snakes. ♪

Dining Deliciously in Kensington

If you are navigating through the happenin’ neighborhood of Kensington and are feeling a bit peckish, you might want to consider stopping in at a couple of restaurants I’ve recently become acquainted with. First, for a tasty pizza pie, I urge you to go to Pulcinella. It occupies the space that used to belong to Stromboli’s (and is still run by the younger generation of the Tudda dynasty). I must say, it’s the best pizza I’ve had since going to Grimaldi’s in Brooklyn.


On your next trip to the area, since you’ll be too stuffed with pizza and risotto balls the first time around, don’t skip the Indochine Bistro. To me, it seems like Vietnamese food done right. From my experience, most other places around town throw too much filler (noodles, sprouts) into their recipes, which distracts from the core nourishment of the meal. Sure, Indochine might be a buck or two more than you are used to paying, but the quality is much higher. Also, the service and cleanliness of the restaurant was impressive.

Don’t just take my word for it, check out what John Gilchrist, local food celebrity, has to say about each place: Pulcinella – Indochine Bistro. ♪

CJSW Best of 2006

CJSW's Best of 2006 is now posted. Find out what other Calgarian hipsters think. Here's the link. ♪

Dance of the Week + Other Good Stuff

Starting things off right, the Dance of the Week might be something you’ve already seen, since it is among the Pitchfork Top 25 Music Videos of 2006. In any case, here’s OK GO doing “Here It Goes Again”:



These guys love low budget choreography. Want to see more?

I spent a few hours on Saturday night trying out my new dance moves at Mojo, the weekly toga party hosted by the Bamboo Tiki Room. Local funky phenom, Rob Faust spins there. There was plenty of James Brown to get everyone on their Good Foot. I took photos, but they didn't turn out, I must have put a greasy finger on my camera lens. C'est la vie.

This just in: Looking for a new party pad? Calgary real estate prices out of your budget? Well, Dracula’s Castle may be going up for sale to the public very soon. In Transylvania. For real. ♪

Stax is back!

Unlike Christmas Day, December 18, 2006, was a good day for the Funk! Legendary Southern-fried hit machine, Stax Records (a.k.a. Soulsville USA - in response to Motown’s Hitsville moniker), re-opened its studio after a long hiatus.

According to the official press release, Issac Hayes, among others, has been signed on to make/re-issue more material. From the article:

“Stax always has been and always will be Soul Music, I was a part of that,” said Hayes. “I am coming back to Stax because there is still so much to do. It’s like coming home.”

Then again, perhaps Mr. Hayes, or Chef, needed to find a way to keep busy, or cover legal expenses, as a result of the epic South Park/Scientology debacle.

In any case, this is the big news for Soul fans. If you need a funky fix, check out funky16corners. They encode and post rare 45s (in mp3 format) periodically for everyone’s benefit and euphonic enjoyment. They also did a stirring tribute to the late JB.


Credit where credit is due. I did check out the museum when I was in Memphis, TN a few years ago, but my photo of the old theatre pales in comparison to this one. ♪

Happy Flu Year

Things didn’t start off as planned this year. Last night I fell violently ill, in a way that I don’t recall ever feeling. So, in isolation and quarantine, I got caught up with some videos. Dig this Sly concert. It’s probably the coolest soul I’ve ever heard. And, don’t get me started on the perfectly spherical ‘fro. Wow, I’m jealous.



Getting the flu totally sucks. Not only does it feel awful, it cuts in to the fun stuff. I was supposed to check out the Flames versus the Canucks tonight. I rarely go to NHL games, so it would’ve been a treat. ♪