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Author: catherine

Christmas Programs: An Alternative View

catherine on December 21, 2009

Spray-on snow, gift-shopping mayhem, the same old reruns on TV… if you’ve already tired of Yuletide then why not go for something different this Christmas? Let this line-up of alternative festive fare inspire you.

Write your own Christmas songs with the help of The Carolers,  a band of merry gentleman who sing their own seasonal ditties, such as Touch my Balls, with alternative lyrics set to familiar Christmas music..

Go green with eco-friendly gift ideas like this one, which puts a new spin on the idea of “recycling”

Get away from it all and celebrate with the locals in a European city of your choice – such as Berlin, Copenhagen, Riga or Gothenburg

These days, you’re just not a celebrity if you haven’t starred in your very own sex tape. And Santa is no exception

Peace and goodwill don’t always come naturally in the holiday season,  as these  stick people would confirm – just don’t follow their example

Try your hand at riding a reindeer-pulled sleigh like comedian Jack Dee in Siberia. Santa made it look so easy…

And once Christmas is over, see in the New Year in one of the world’s most unlikely winter holiday destinations: Kabul

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On the road with Razorlight in an exclusive rock doc

catherine on December 9, 2009

We are proud to unveil Rock and Roll Lies, a music documentary premiering exclusively on Babelgum web and Babelgum Mobile, from today.

Award-winning Scottish filmmaker Charles Henri Belleville delved into the private world of Razorlight as he followed the band around the UK for five days during their summer tour.

The result is an intimate portrait of enigmatic frontman Johnny Borrell and his bandmates, offering behind-the-scenes glimpses of one of the most popular indie rock outfits of the ‘noughties.

In the words of our Music publisher Jason Lamont, “Rock ‘n’ Roll Lies is the first in a series of intimate and original music documentaries commissioned by Babelgum. We attached a young film maker to a well known artist, gave him a limited budget and asked him to show us something we’ve never seen before. I think Charlie has achieved this and I think the film celebrates the band for what they are – a truly great British rock band“.

See a short trailer below, the full documentary here and for more info see our special Razorlight page

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Pumpkin pie, roast turkey and other Thanksgiving traditions…

catherine on November 25, 2009

Happy Thanksgiving!

So, you’ve roasted your turkey. Now what? The Holiday Kitchen has a blow-by-blow video on how to carve a turkey that’ll show you exactly how to go about dismembering the centerpiece of the holiday menu.

As for the rest of the Thanksgiving dinner, look no further for inspiration. There are all sorts of recipes to choose from, such as cornbread stuffing, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie and more.

If someone else is doing the cooking, kick back and enjoy some droll Thanksgiving cartoons from the New Yorker, with Cavity Search (turkey surprise!) and Thanksgiving Tradition.

Meanwhile, this kids’ reenactment of the First Thanksgiving is a cute, tongue-in-cheek reminder of how it all started…

Kids Reenact the First Thanksgiving

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Babelgum’s House of Horrors

catherine on October 29, 2009

Jack O’Lantern? Check. Costume? Check. Tricks (or treats)? Check.

Scary movies, shorts and animation? Look no further!

We give you the Babelgum Halloween channel, now live on web and mobile.

Highlights include:

- classic full-length horror such as Nosferatu and Night of the Living Dead

- spine chilling shorts like Behind You and Trick or Treat

- close encounters at an asylum for the criminally insane in Transylvania

- fearless blood-sucking bugs feasting on a bat.

If cute monsters are more your thing, then join in the scarily fluffy Halloween puppy party, or the endearing animated hero of A Bat’s Life.

Ghosts, gore and more, right now on the Halloween channel.

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Weezer Want You To (…check out another Babelgum Exclusive)

catherine on October 22, 2009

We’ve got something special for Weezer fans and anybody who feels the need for some sunny alt-rock tunes to lift their spirits as the nights draw in: Weezer’s latest video “(If You’re Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To” is previewing right here, from today – yes, it’s another global exclusive for Babelgum web and mobile.

Ok, so the title doesn’t exactly trip off the tongue but the song’s catchiness more than makes up for it and the video features a “beautiful stranger” who shows up in Weezerville and rocks the band’s world…

The single is taken from the Grammy winners’ eclectic seventh album “Raditude”, out early November, which “sounds like a roomful of people having a great time”, according to lead singer/guitarist/songwriter Rivers Cuomo.

We also have behind the scenes footage including the making of the video (see below) and interviews with the band, cast and director Marc Webb. Also, stay tuned for our Weezer video-mashup competition, launching next week (prizes include Weezer Snuggies, LPs and the chance to work with the band themselves).

For all this and more go to our very own Weezer channel, updated daily here

The Making Of (If You’re Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To

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Sally Potter’s RAGE: A Star-Studded Film Premiere In Your Pocket

catherine on September 21, 2009


This is a 21st-century cinema milestone—the first time a feature film starring award-winning actors like Jude Law (in drag!), Steve Buscemi, Judi Dench, Eddie Izzard, Lily Cole (the list goes on) will premiere on mobile phones. No velvet ropes, no guest lists, just film fans around the world watching the debut of a new work by a renowned filmmaker.

As director Sally Potter points out, “There is, potentially, no hierarchy of who gets to see the film first. A teenager in her bedroom in a village in Spain, a rancher in a small town in Australia, a movie star in a Penthouse in New York, all are in it together, simultaneously; [...] a vast web of parallel experience.”

RAGE is set in the glamorous and chaotic world of a New York fashion house preparing for a runway show. The film has a simple but radical structure. It consists entirely of documentary-style interviews with individual characters—a designer, his models and everyone from a media mogul to a seamstress—shot by an (unseen) student named Michelangelo on his cellphone behind the scenes at New York Fashion Week. Unexpectedly, the budding filmmaker ends up witnessing an accident on the catwalk that spirals into a murder investigation.

This is one movie that’s actually perfect for mobile phones. The one-on-one interviews make for intimate viewing because the actors seem to be talking to you the entire time. Seeing it on a handheld screen only enhances that feeling of intimacy. The film has been custom-edited into seven episodes for Babelgum Mobile, with a new episode being released each day, premiering September 21. One week later on the 28th, after all the episodes have debuted, they will also be available here on the Babelgum website.

If you want to take part in this distribution revolution, download the free Babelgum Mobile app at the iTunes store (or click here if you have Google Android) and watch all the episodes of RAGE beginning today, September 21.

Further reading on the RAGE release:
The Independent
NY Times
Art Beats Blog NY Times
THR
ScreenDaily
indieWire.com
London Times
BBC (video interview with Sally Potter)
Netribution
And for more info, sneak peeks, trailer and links see the RAGE page on our website

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Tokyo Stories 4: Mark Harmon

catherine on September 15, 2009

You Can’t Stop Your Body When the Reggae Music Starts

By Mark Harmon

Mark_Harmon

And nobody knows it more than me. If there’s one thing Mark Harmon loves, it is getting down to some dope riddim’ and get irie.

But seriously, if you want a real taste of culture-to-culture incongruity, check out the emerging style of reggae dancing in Tokyo.

These girls have a lot more flavor than just wasabi. Have you ever heard that song ‘Bailamos’? It’s about dancing, you know. Anyway, there is a line in that song that says “Let the rhythm take you over,” and that’s exactly how I feel when I see sexy women dancing.

You know, when I starred in the 80’s teen comedy “Summer School,” I thought I’d never have that much fun again. Well lucky for me, I got to go to Tokyo, and now I can come home knowing what it feels like to have that rhythm take me over.

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Our Coldplay application swings into action on iPhone

catherine on August 3, 2009

Hot on the heels of our July 14th world première of Coldplay’s latest video Strawberry Swing (directed by creative whizkid outfit Shynola), we have just launched a mobile app dedicated to Chris Martin and co., available now on an iPhone near you.

coldplay app

The application not only features Strawberry Swing, a Coldplay newsfeed and videos from Coldplay’s back catalogue,  there’s also a multi-level game in which you get to help superhero Chris battle a giant squirrel and sea monsters in order to save a princess in a world drawn in chalk (yes, the game is as surreal as the video itself!)

Coldplay game

Find out more on our Coldplay page or download the app here.

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Peter Doherty’s new video premiering on Babelgum

catherine on July 1, 2009

He’s the UK’s best-loved “indie laureate”, a charismatic, enigmatic singer songwriter with a unique poetic voice: Peter Doherty recently released his solo album Grace/Wastelands, to widespread critical acclaim.

Broken Love Song is the second single from the album, and Peter chose to première it exclusively here on Babelgum. To accompany it, we also have a never before seen interview with the man himself, two live acoustic performances of Arcady and Lady Don’t Fall Backwards, and some highlights from Peter’s career to date.

Click here to view the selection of videos and find out more.

Peter Doherty

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The Prodigy, live and exclusive

catherine on June 23, 2009

the prodigy

Who’d have thought that  firestarting big beat legends The Prodigy like to go fabric shopping in between gigs?  Well, that’s just one of the odd titbits revealed in the exclusive documentary and live footage showing now on Babelgum Web and Mobile.

Shot on the road by Dugdale during the band’s explosive “Invaders Must Die” tour earlier this year, the footage delves into the adrenaline pumping world of Liam, Keith, Maxim and the crew as they tour the UK, with a documentary (Part 1 and Part 2).  It also includes backstage interviews with the band, camping tips from Keith Flint, wardrobe crises, alsations on the loose  and some thumping performances filmed live at Wembley, with tracks such as Invaders Must Die and Run With The Wolves.

For more info, links and an interview visit The Prodigy on Babelgum.

Keith Flint backstage

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