Pop Songs Done Better?: Oops, I Did It Again by Children of Bodom

Well this certainly is a thing that exists. As big a fan of weird pop song covers as we are, I can't help but think maybe Children of Bodom chose the wrong form of music to be making on their own. Perhaps a change to funk-laden, death pop is in order:

Toki Always Comes Back For Seconds...

We're nothing if not creatures of habit here at Fair Use Law: our childhoods a mishmash of the 8-bit and 16-bit video game generations leaving us with many notoriously difficult side scrolling platformers to beat. One that I just never defeat, be it at 10 on my old blown-upon NES or at 25 using MAME, was Toki, the lovable tale of a monkey who spits and those who try to stop his monkey spitting ways. Thankfully, coming soon to an Xbox Live Arcade near you, we're getting a 100% faithful re-imaging of the game featuring brand new hand drawn graphics, making your eventual defeat at our simian overlord just that much prettier:

Video Game Music Sorbet: Saturn Bomberman

Every week here at the Fair Use Law Shellshocked Black Friday Shopper Relief Tent/Blue Light Special Sales Cart, we like to sit back with a bag of over popped pop-corn and a bubblegum slushie as we relive our past through the music of video games. This week, we have a special little piece of auditory action in Saturn Bomberman, a game that just might be one of the few reasons to own the Sega Saturn. Don't go running to eBay to try to score a copy, though, all you need are these juicy licks:

Nothing Really Matters To The Muppets

Thanksgiving day can be a bit chaotic. Cooking, parades, having to deal with family... it can all catch up to you. Thankfully, the muppets released a new music video today that should definitely calm your mood and make your day:



Bonus points for using the Ma-Na-Ma-Naaaaa gang!

Episode 226 - "All Dick Does Is Smack Me Across The Face!"

Once again it’s time for the Thanksgiving Day traditional known as the Fair Use Law podcast. I hope we didn’t drink all your cranberry sauce. I hope we didn’t eat too much of your pumpkin pie. Because this week we rocked and the microphones rolled in the studio with special guest and former Medicant Downline bassist, Skeesix. In this spastic and educational episode, the tribunal discusses Sway’s excellent MTV News interviewing style, domestic violence, Tila Tequila’s breast-filled meltdown, and MTV Unplugged returning. We also confirm that Michael Stipe is in fact out of the closet and rumors of Gallagher’s death have been greatly exaggerated.

You might say to yourself: "Self, surely Fair Use Law can't find a music video that turns domestic violence and physical abuse into a sexy and raunchy dance routine featuring Shakira." You'd be wrong. Thanks internet:



To continue the music (please don't stop the please don't stop the music), here's Silversun Pickups doing Panic Switch on MTV Unplugged in what might be one of the best things MTV has filmed this year:



Want to see a drunk Tila Tequila epic fail-ishly fall of a chair during a striptease? Sure you do:



This holiday season surely someone you love will ask for a video game console or three. How do you invest your dollar votes wisely in this turbulent video game market, though? By basing your purchasing decision entirely on WWE Divas, of course:



And finally, with Black Friday looming over the horizon, it's hard to think about video games coming up in the near future. Thank god Atlus is making it easy for us by using only pixels in the first American trailer for 3D Dot Hero:

Get Real, Japan: Mucc - Zetsubou

Every week we like to import some of the obscure and visually striking music known as Visual Kei or J-Rock to our inane shores with a little bit we call Get Real, Japan. This week we shine the spotlight on Mucc, who combine the crunch of nu metal with just a hint of electronics in that way we love so much (Aside: I'd kill to play this in Rock Band 2). Also, their video for Zetsubou brings forth the perfect Black Friday metaphor: slowly going insane while feeling like you're dragging a large stuffed animal canine in mobs of people.

Where Crysis Goes It Don't Need Roads

It's been a pretty video game heavy week here at the Fair Use Law Quality Assurance tent/Emergency Preparedness Seminar with dozens of video game companies competing for the internet and their advertising eyeball capital. For a change, though, I present to you something that is completely free and not for sale: the Back to the Future Delorean mod for Crysis, which might be the most true-to-movie version I've ever seen:

Matt Hazard And You Can Solve Video Game Unemployment!

Matt Hazard: Eat Lead was an ambitious duck-and-cover shooter for the PS3 and 360, featuring a ton of potshots at other video games and the voice work of Neil Patrick Harris and Will Arnette. Unfortunately, some of the nuances of making such game were lost leaving a game with pretty packaging and unbalanced, difficult, and unfun gameplay. Thankfully, they are giving the tongue-in-cheek franchise another go with Matt Hazard: Blood, Bath, and Beyond, a 2D sidescroller coming to the PS3 and Xbox live arcade. Judging by the trailer? This could be the best parody of video games with guns you can buy.

Video Game Music Sorbet: Mighty Final Fight

Every Saturday at the Fair Use Law underground Fight Club/After school Tutor Hall, we like to rest up from a hard week's algebra equations and full force punches to the jaw with some of the best video game music from our past. This week: what do we love more than senseless 8-Bit violence? Super deformed, chibi senseless 8-Bit Violence. And adjectives! Luckily, Mighty Final Fight for the NES brought that in spades along with some truly funky music:

Episode 225 - "It Literally Is Sudoku Of The Mind"

Welcome ladies and gentlemen to episode 225 of the Fair Use Law Podcast, second case file. This week the studio is awash in painkillers and gaping face holes as we bring you Adventures in Mis-Dentry. Also up for your listening consideration is an obscenely in-depth sociological experiment called "Stop Letting Your Kids Go To Movie Theaters We Go To" and a look at the Fourth Kind, along with the usual ADHD, video game talk, and song references we bring you each and every week.

As usual we start with our new sponsor. This week it's Mr. T, leading the Hack The Warcraft World committee:



Also this week, Nintendo released the New Super Mario Bros Wii. In America, we get Nintendo advertisements featuring big A-list celebrities like Beyonce and... uh... Lisa Kudrow? In Japan, they get adorable commercials where the little girl who sang the Ponyo theme appears to suffer a traumatic breakdown via Boos:



Her eventual nightmares = INSTANT BUY!

Breaking show notes news! Apparently Sensational Sherri and the Macho King have gotten to the bottom of Miss Elizabeth's secret potion:



A mild Raspberry Kool-Aid, you say? I'd say there's no such thing as a "mild" Raspberry Kool-Aid as even the faintest berry of Rasp can lead to a sexy nighttime party such as this:



And finally, since we talk about her latest movie this week and posted her latest musical offering with Puscifier earlier this week, here is Milla Jovovich back when she was a career musician, performing her first single on her first appearance on the Conan O'Brien show. For those at work, a warning: it must have been VERY cold in that studio that day:

Mass: We Pray - 128 Bit Salvation

It's very rare that an online satire sketch is actually funny. But thankfully this one is so on the nose that you can almost see it being an actual thing that exists, which makes it funnier:

Good Music You Should Know About - Puscifer with Milla Jovovich

When you are known as the enigmatic front man of one of the most prolific progressive metal bands of the 90s and 00s, what better way to alienate your audience than with an underground industrial dub project featuring almost no guitars? Maynard James Keenan did just that, forming an almost Pigface like revolving door of guest musicians to help him groove with some sinister beats. For a scant few, this might actually hit a chord more than the last few Tool CDs. In their latest video, they add a bit more of a snarled groove to the vocals with the help of Milla Jovovich, who more than holds her own vocally:

Do The Mario With Magic Johnson

Another week has begun, so what better way to dance your troubles away than by doing the Mario? Captain Lou might have left this mortal coil, but he left us with a lasting legacy in plumbing (and histories of music) as this video clip will attest. For an added bonus: marvel at how they seamless use state of the art CGI and computer technology to make it appear that Magic Johnson really does live in the medicine cabinet of the Mario Brothers' bathroom. It's almost... magic!

With Skinny Puppy, You Goth Served!

In tribute of Skinny Puppy playing but 45 minutes from us in Massachusetts with Randy's wife checking it out with all the rivethead of CT college radio today, I give you one of the most fun industrial music videos of all time for their single "Pro-Test." Enjoy and marvel that even Hot Topic dwellers can learn a thing or two from Fast Five Freddie and Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo.

Video Game Music Sorbet: Quake 2

Every Saturday here at the Fair Use Law bomb shelter/bible compound we like to sit back with a steamy hot corn dog, a pitcher of Long Island iced teas, and the best video game music of yesteryear. This week, in between our weekly nerf war in our huge mansion, we grooved out to the soundtrack of Quake 2. We respect that a band was able to not only follow Nine Inch Nails' soundtrack from the first game, but take it in a completely different direction quite well:

Get Real, Japan: HYDE - Countdown

Every week here at the Fair Use Law importorium/frozen banana stand, we like to present for your aural senses the best in Japanese visual rock. Mixing classic rock melodies with electronic influences and some epic choruses, most J-Rock bands are the perfect soundtrack to whatever JRPG you happen to be pirating on your DS at the moment. This week we present for your enjoyment Japanese Sex God HYDE's single, Countdown, and it's moodily dark video:

Bad Video Game Voice Acting Challenge

Are you a bad enough dude to sit through all top 50 examples of the worst voice acting in video game history? If you are, you just might be worthy to play the best 3D platforming games the Playstation 1 has to offer! That's right, Phil Hartman as Blasto might be your karmic reward:

Episode 224 - "With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility, Zack Morris!"

Welcome los listeneros de la Fair Use Law podcast-o, episode 24 of the second case file. This week we welcome back Baker into the Triceratop Tribunal for a rare week back in Northern Connecticut. Topics brought forth before us include fallout from Halloween plans gone awry, how awesome our costumes no one really saw were, Paranormal Activity, the possible mutant-like superpowers of Saved by the Bell's Zack Morris, being thrown out of an arcade/bar for being drunk, and more!

To start off the shownotes this week, a moral and a life lesson for us all. Friends Forever - People Everywhere:



I'd love to see the reaction of the session musicians being told their next job is to pretend to sing for Elizabeth Berkley...

We'd be remiss if we mention Saved By The Bell and not bring up the fact that Mr Belding somehow managed to sneak a catchphrase into every episode of the show under all of our collective radars:



From the same mind that brought you Mega Man vs. Donkey Kong, I give you the next epic installment in A Thing vs. Another Thing: Frogger vs. Grand Theft Auto, which is definitely a DLC pack I'd pay 20 bucks for on Xbox Live:



As much as we talk about Cloverfield on this show, and we sure do this episode, I'm surprised I haven't posted this yes. Ladies and gentlemen, footage of case designate: Groverfield:



OPEN. CLOSE. OPEN. CLOSE.

And finally, because we like to help our listeners keep track of former wrestling legends pissing away their own legacy, here's the latest Ric Flair promo for the Australian Hulkamania tour, featuring the Hulkster himself and a special cameo from future TNA X-Division champion Brian Knobbs:

Good Music You Should Know About - IAMX

Every week here on the Fair Use website/civil liberties emporium, we like to highlight a band that's just on the cusp of the mainstream that you should know about. This week our focus is on IAMX, a band that has a surprising start. Originally named the Sneaker Pimps, they had a big hit in the 90s with Six Underground featuring a quite cute female singer. When the band parted ways with her, however, they soon found radio had turned their back on the now male fronted singer. So with a name change and more of a focus on underground electronic melodic music, IAMX provides us one hell of a moving single with "Kiss + Swallow:"

Video Game Music Sorbet: MDK

Every Saturday here at the Fair Use Law training grounds/spiritual compound, we like to sit around the campfire, make traditional Amish smores, and listen to the great video game music we grew up on. After a week that's been pretty heavy in all things Japanese here on the Fair Use blog, I decided to go with a game that's decidedly domestic: MDK for the Playstation. Featuring some of the most innovative gameplay in the early 32 bit days and one hell of a great symphonic soundtrack, it's sure to be a direct headshot into your earballs:

Botchaman 106 - Not In The Face

A little backstory: Botchamania is a long running series of wrestling clips featuring segments/moves/anything that happens to go horribly wrong within the realm of "professional sports entertainment." Recently, thanks to copyright laws, new episodes have been harder to find thanks to mass YouTube account bans. Because it mixes two of our favorite things (unintentional and potentially serious injuries with class video game music) I'm going to be posting the latest episodes as they come here on the FUL site for your enjoyment:

We Need A Hero... And Finnish Melodic Rock!

Thanks to YouTube, tributes to Sci-Fi shows and anime set to kick ass music isn't isolated to just backdoor viewing rooms of anime conventions. Not only is this video pretty well edited, it introduces me to Finnish alternative rock band Poets of the Fall, who I quite enjoy. Please to enjoy "Locking Up The Sun":

Episode 223 - "Do You Think President Obama Will Pardon Virgil This Thanksgiving?"

Welcome ghouls and germs to a very spooky episode of the Fair Use Law podcast recorded on a very haunted Halloween night. Cringe and scream in horror as Dan and Randy discuss boom mics possessing a horror movie and turning it comical. Laugh nervously as we recommend other podcasts that we happen to enjoy, too. Watch as you reach the edge of your seat in terror as Dan describes the most evil thing to leave the island of Japan since Ringu, the Endless Eight. And to cap it all off we touch upon the spookiest of nightmare fuel discussed in the past: inappropriate Japanese dumpling recipes.

Perhaps I should stop for a second to review our show's record to make sure I have all bases covered... and by record, I mean VAGINA:



Speaking of Saw, Saw parodies on the internet are a dime a dozen and almost none of them could ever be as funny as my viewing of Saw VI. But this one comes pretty close:



The unsung hero of episode 223 this week was "Wrestling Superstar" Virgil, former right hand man of the Million Dollar Man Ted DiBiase. Not familiar with this future WWE Hall of Famer? Well here he is being squished by a 600 pound Samoan pretending to be Japanese:



Want to get the gist of the Endless Eight episodes of Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi but only have 36 seconds in which to cram in 2 hours of "story?" Well, Fair Use Law is always here to help!



Also this week on the podcast, we talked about never being able to eat a Japanese dumpling again due to the movie Cruel Restaurant. I wanted to include the trailer for this culinary horrorscape, but even YouTube couldn't provide one that was in any way suitable for most company. Luckily, though, they did have a video of the star of Cruel Restaurant punching out a creepy looking guy in a boxing match, which might be a fetish I never knew about until now:



And lastly this week I'd like to announce that, with the help of a time machine, we have a new sponsor: 1990s WWF Hasbro Toys at Toys R Us! Next time you want to boink Hulk Hogan at your local toy store, you'll be supporting Fair Use Law in your own way!

Get Real, Japan: D'espairsRay - KAMIKAZE

Every week here at the Fair Use Law insanitorium, we like to highlight an imported music video from that island we love so much: Japan. This week we feature one of my all time favorite Japanese Rock bands, D'espairsRay. With their third CD being released in the United States through the Topic de Hot much like Dir en Grey before them, hopefully more people will have access to their brand of industrial tinged Japanese visual rock. Here is their latest single, KAMIKAZE:

Hoobastank Ain't Afraid of No Ghosts

It seems the biggest trend with internet blog sites this year is posting pictures of celebrities in their Halloween costumes. Thankfully for us, Hoobastank decided to take it a step further and make it even easier for us by making a music video out of the festivities. And yes, Parker Jr's "Ghostbusters" is pretty sacred territory, but Hoobastank does it well... well enough to be taken as an apology for every one of their power ballads:

Ric Flair Would Glare In Disappointment

Remember the lavish retirement celebration the WWE gave Ric Flair to end his historic career? The one that involved inducting him into the Hall of Fame and giving him an iconic match against Shawn Michaels? Well, apparently the fact that he is both too old to wrestle and been out of the ring for almost two years isn't enough convince him that wrestling Hulk Hogan, who is in the same boat, is a bad idea. Almost going bankrupt, kids... it makes the elderly do crazy things: