100

In terms of overall hipness, I would rate myself somewhere between Danny Tanner and Mr. Bean. That is to say, not very.

No one who knows me personally would disagree with this contention, but I am trying to keep up with the kids these days. I'm trying to you tubes, listening to eye pods (actually no I'm not, more on this in a bit), and think that these Seinfeld guys might be on to something.

In all seriousness, though, occasionally I'll come across some show (ex. Lost), band (ex. Spoon), or idea (ex. real estate investing) that everyone else had already caught onto years before. Often, the thing has already run its course in the national psyche, and I'm too late (coughrealestateinvestingcough).

Typical conversation:

Me: Holy crap, I just came across this Michael Jackson album, Thriller - dude how did I not know about this? This guy's gonna be hot!!

Guy at Bus Stop: ......(walks across street)

[Quick side note: According to Wikipedia, in 1982 Michael Jackson recorded a storybook version of ET: The Extra-Terrestrial, which featured him reading the book and also performing a song called "Someone In The Dark." Yikes. This album went on to win a Grammy for, "Best Album for Children." Double Yikes.]

Anyway, I note this because I just came across this band, Feist, which is I guess the solo project of a Canadian chick named Leslie Feist, who's been in several indie bands. How I came across her is that Apple Ipod commercial for the new Nanos, where as her video for "1234" is playing, someone keeps replacing the Nanos with different color Nanos. Now, for some unexplainable reason, I have this disdain for all things Apple. I don't own a Mac, an IPhone (totally unnecessary, and fuck having to switch to Cingular), or an IPod (I have the Dell knockoff!!) Maybe I don't like their business practices, their pricing practices, Steve Jobs, or their normally slam my head in the wall annoying ads. Maybe it's because I kept starving or getting dysentery on Oregon Trail on the Macs in our computer lab in 4th grade. Whatever the reason, with the exception of their superiority in computer graphic design and movie-making, I see no reason to buy an Apple product. Anyway.

So, Feist. That "1234" song is definitely catchy, and Feist herself seemed pretty girl-next-door sexy, so I decided to check them out. Gotta say, I'm a big fan. I'm aware that 99.99% of the rest of the world probably knows who they are, but (see above), I'm just now catching on.

Here's the "1234" video (sans Nano), which is pretty awesome. Not funny, just awesome. And catchy.



Also, check out their Letterman performance here, and their Jimmy Kimmel performance here (on a bus!!) Turns out they're good live too!