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Music

20 of the Flat-Out Funniest Songs in Rock ‘n’ Roll

By Tom Hawking on

In an attempt to save you (not to mention ourselves) from the general Monday-morning awfulness that tends to follow a lovely spring weekend, Flavorwire has compiled a playlist of indie/rock/generally guitar-based songs that are genuinely funny. These are 20 of the flat-out wittiest and most amusing songs we know — and we guarantee that at least one of them will make you chuckle. (Note: we’re discounting actual comedy songs here, so no Lonely Island/Flight of the Conchords/etc.) Keep the hilarity going by adding to our list in the comments. … Read More

News

The Morning's Top 5 Pop Culture Stories

By Caroline Stanley on

1. Over a year later, a new inquest is being held into Amy Winehouse’s death because the assistant deputy coroner who oversaw the original examination lacked proper qualifications. [via ArtsBeat]

2. Odd Future has been accused of brutally attacking a 17-year-old fan who hopped on stage during a show in San Antonio. According to TMZ, the teen “suffered lacerations on his head, scratches, and burns to his body,” as well as two seizures, and now plans to sue the group. … Read More

Photography

Harry Benson’s Intimate Photos of Cultural Icons

By Paul Laster on

A Scottish-born photographer, Harry Benson’s big break came when he started traveling with The Beatles in 1964. His photo of the band having an impromptu pillow fight at a Paris hotel quickly became part of rock ‘n’ roll history, but his six decades of imagery have captured more than just the music world. A steadfast photojournalist, Benson has shot portraits of every American president from Dwight Eisenhower to Barack Obama. Photographing for Life magazine from 1970 to 2000 and producing more than 100 cover shots for People, the talented lensman has enjoyed unlimited access to celebrities while also spending time in the trenches to report on protests and conflicts around the world.

The subject of an extended exhibition at Staley-Wise Gallery in New York, Benson presents his quirky images of Jacqueline Kennedy, Michael Jackson, Frank Sinatra, R. Crumb, Andy Warhol, and Muhammad Ali, as well as a few recent portraits, including a dynamic 2007 shot of a vivacious Amy Winehouse. Click through to view a selection of our favorite photos from the show. … Read More

Music

10 of the Funniest Love Songs in History

By Tom Hawking on

Jens Lekman’s new record I Know What Love Isn’t is out this week, and on the whole it’s a pretty morose affair, as befits its status as a breakup album. Still, even on a record this subdued, Lekman’s signature humor can’t help but shine through, despite the fact that he’s left some of his funniest recent songs (namely “Waiting for Kirsten” and “An Argument With Myself”) off the tracklisting. The fact that Lekman’s songs are often as witty as they are moving is something that we’ve always liked about him — after all, love is frequently as bewildering, ridiculous, and, yes, funny as it is wonderful and inspiring, and love songs are a whole lot more effective if they eschew clichéd romanticism for realism. With that in mind, here’s a selection of wry, witty, and/or plain old silly love songs that make us laugh, starting with one of Jens’ best. Let us know your favorites in the comments. … Read More

Music

10 MP3s You Need to Download for Free This Week: Nas feat Amy Winehouse, Azealia Banks

By Tom Hawking on

It’s Friday, and we’re back with another installment of our regular roundup of downloadable MP3 goodness from around the web. This week, there’s a new Nas track, which features an appearance by the late and lamented Amy Winehouse. There’s also new Azealia Banks, a killer Coil remix, new tracks from Mi Ami and Tacocat, what… Read More

News

The Morning’s Top 5 Pop Culture Stories

By Caroline Stanley on

1. Vulture is exclusively reporting that Adam Sandler is in talks to replace Mark Wahlberg in Three Mississippi, a comedy about “two rival families who have an annual tackle football game at Thanksgiving” that already stars Will Ferrell.

2. Dan Deacon has announced that his new album is coming out on August 28… Read More

Music

The 10 Best Breakup Albums of All Time

By Tom Hawking on

If you’re in any way a regular Flavorwire reader, you’ll probably have noticed that we’ve been quietly beside ourselves for several months now at the prospect of a new Spiritualized album. Sweet Heart Sweet Light is finally here, but we’ve spent the intervening weeks listening to a whole lot of the band’s back catalog — including, of course, their 1997 classic Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space. Aside from being one of our favorite albums ever, Ladies and Gentlemen… is one of the best breakup records you’ll ever hear, its conception coinciding with Spiritualized main man Jason Pierce parting ways with keyboard player Kate Radley. Having the record on constant rotation led us to wallowing in some of our other favorite breakup albums — so here are ten of the best. … Read More

Art

Beautiful Celebrity Illustrations and Pop Culture Collages

By Alison Nastasi on

Barcelona-based illustrator Berto Martínez creates beautiful portraiture, and his “celebrity” gallery recently caught our eye. His subjects range from film stars and musicians to well-know writers. Martínez often combines several different figures in his compositions. The organic collages fit nicely together, providing a creative snapshot of pop culture moments in time. We were glad to see Michael J. Fox hanging out with Mark-Paul Gosselaar and friends. Visit Martínez’s illustrations of famous figures like Amy Winehouse and Quentin Tarantino past the break. … Read More

Music

‘Greatest Women in Music’ Picks VH1 Will Surely Come to Regret

By Judy Berman on

As you may have noticed, we do a lot of a list-making here at Flavorpill. So we’re particularly sensitive to the idea that anything purporting to be a definitive countdown of the 100 Greatest Women in Music had better be pretty freaking solid. Now, VH1 has already narrowed the field somewhat for this five-part series, specifying that it will only celebrate acts that have made significant contributions in the past 20 years. In a way, that’s good news — we won’t have to freak out about Katy Perry outranking Janis Joplin. But that doesn’t mean the network has managed to entirely steer clear of choices that are somewhat embarrassing now and will undoubtedly be utterly humiliating in a decade or so. After the jump, we round up their silliest selections and most questionable rankings. … Read More

Music

Magnificent Musician-Inspired Nail Art

By Judy Berman on

We’re not sure exactly what’s behind the recent nail art explosion, but as long as it continues to produce amazing pop-culture tributes on a tiny, personal scale, it has our attention. Last week, we brought you the blood-flecked fingertips of a Dexter groupie and some Arrested Development Mr. Banana Grabber press-ons in our roundup of amazing TV-inspired nails. Before that, we went highbrow with literary nail art paying tribute to everyone from F. Scott Fitzgerald to Harry Potter. Now, nail art superfans, are you ready to rock ‘n’ roll? Today’s haul of musician-inspired nail art includes a dazzling riff on David Bowie’s Aladdin Sane, a set of crazy Nicki Minaj claws, and even a perfectly executed Daniel Johnston manicure. … Read More