This is the new video by Cincinnati indie pop heroes Bad Veins, and it’s a great song called “Dancing on TV” with an outstanding video which is not just outstanding because it stars our own Chris Hardwick as the host of a 1970′s TV dance show, although that’s nice, too. Go watch it, then we’ll talk.

Okay, you saw it? Good. It’s just an accident of timing that it’s been released this week in the wake of the passing of Don Cornelius, since it’s an homage to the kind of TV dance show of which Soul Train was a leading example (especially with the evocation of the “Soul Train Line”), but it’s fitting. As a member of Teh Olds, I will admit to having watched cheesy local dance shows of the era back when they actually roamed the earth and I can vouch for the video’s depiction of those shows. In fact, they were even cheesier (oh, for the days of Dancin’ on Air on channel 17 in Philly, with big-haired kids from South Philly and the Great Northeast fighting for camera time). And Chris’ rhyming patter practically channels old Philly DJ and TV dance show host Jerry Blavat (“The Geator with the Heater, the Big Boss with the Hot Sauce”), which would be REALLY eerie if Jerry Blavat wasn’t still alive.

Anyway, this video is a taste of Bad Veins’ new album “The Mess We’ve Made,” which will come out on April 24th. They’ll be touring throughout the Midwest, South, and Northeast in support of the release, too, first with We Were Promised Jetpacks, then, after shows on their own in Philly, Annapolis, Boston (Allston), and New York, with Two Door Cinema Club; the schedule’s at this link at Consequence of Sound. And if you see the movie Chronicle, their song “Gold and Warm” is on the soundtrack, so pay attention.

It’s all for you, Katniss.

HT: Claire Zulkey, WBEZ/Chicago

We need a Weird Al Super Bowl halftime show. Seriously, this HAS to happen.

The Super Bowl halftime show needs a truly iconic personality to make it work, but it really works best when the icon’s still relevant. And who’s more relevant than Weird Al Yankovic? He continues to record successful music, he sells out his concerts, and it would be way more entertaining than most of the halftime shows we’ve seen in years. Plus, there’s a strong chance Cirque du Soleil wouldn’t show up, which would be a net plus.  And if Weird Al does it, that means another year we won’t get a return performance by the Black Eyed Peas, so, yeah.

Anyway, I have no idea how to make this a reality. Do we hashtag tweets with #weirdalforsuperbowlhalftime? Do we send politely-worded but passionate emails to the NFL? You guys could probably come up with a way.

Weird Al for Super Bowl Halftime. Like #sixseasonsandamovie, it’s an idea whose time has come.

R-R-R-REEEEEMIX!

Recently I went on a road trip and put together an awesome road trip playlist consisting of everything from Spice Girls to Fleet Foxes to Paul Simon to Youth Lagoon. Little did I know that, despite the hours I spent putting together the PERFECT 7 hour playlist (for my 2 hour drive), I wouldn’t need any of it, for I listened to this ONE SONG on repeat for what seems to be the last week and a half.

The time has come. I knew it would happen. I have finally found a quality mashup worth posting on Nerdist. Though I will be honest, I definitely wouldn’t have guessed it would consist of Blink 182, David Guetta, Rich Boy, and Marvin Gaye, but life can still surprise us. This may be the bro-iest track I’ve ever posted… And I definitely didn’t run it by Matt G., my co-nerd-music-soulmate (because he would tell me I suck, probably), but if you don’t mildly swing your hips, bop your head or tap your foot, then I will slap myself in the face.

This song was put together by D. Veloped, an artist I can’t seem to find much about, no matter how many google searches I do, but his Soundcloud page is most definitely something worth checking out. So please, chuck your preconceived notions about David Guetta/Blink 182 remixes out the window and give this one a chance, Nerds! For it will make you smile on the most terrible of days!

P.S. Please throw some of your favorite remixes down in the comment section (see what I did there?)! I would love to hear them!

Follow my tweets!

Game – Composer – Song – Company – Console – Year (North American release unless otherwise indicated)

Super Monaco GP – Tokuhiko Uwabo – The Bitterness – Sega – Genesis – 1990

The only time I feel my age is when icons from my childhood pass on.  Today, Don Cornelius, the creator and host of Soul Train, died.  I remember many Saturday afternoons watching cartoons, Creature Double Feature, and Soul Train.  Soul Train was a large part of my musical development.  It also taught me cool dance moves; these moves have served me very well in marching.

Soul Train was a very important show for mainstream culture as well as music.  Don Cornelius was a genius!

Thank you Don Cornelius for the years of Soul Train.   …and as always in parting, we wish you love, peace… and SOUL.

For more genius observations of the world, follow me on twitter @dihard11

The Jingle Punks Hipster Orchestra is pretty adept at getting attention for their musical stunts, like string-heavy orchestral-style renditions of everything from the Black Keys to MGMT to a whole Nirvana covers EP, and for their recent offering of a hip-hop “lullaby” for the newborn Blue Ivy Carter. This time, they’ve posted their medley of TV themes, five minutes of songs you know by heart, and they’re wearing matching track suits, so you know they mean business. You get The Office, The Simpsons, Friends, and several others, and it’s also a reminder that the art of the TV theme is one that’s been diminished over the years (to the point where some shows barely have any music at all) but really should be preserved. Unless you don’t think the theme to Doctor Who (or, for that matter, Gilligan’s Island) is art, in which case I don’t know you anymore.

I currently live in Chicago, so a fifteen-minute walk outside, according to top scientists, is similar to being bitch-slapped by a throng of Siberian gypsies. Walking to CVS for Craisins and Nivea (For Men!!) shouldn’t be a life-threatening ordeal, and yet, I almost always end up looking like a Titanic survivor by the time I get to the topical analgesics aisle.

Not today, though! Don’t get me wrong, it was fucking freezing, but I had “In Your Light” by Gotye playing on repeat, and when I closed my eyes it almost felt as though, for once, I wasn’t being buried alive in permafrost.

Here are some reasons you might want to play this song in the blistering cold:

1. Gotye — aka Wally De Baker — is based out of Melbourne where he is currently enjoying a very hot summer (that bastard).

2. The lyrical focus could be very easily interpreted as an ode to the sun or the warmth of a lover –- “In your light just when I’m in your light/And I won’t get by if you take that light away.”

3. The production is ebulliently bright and optimistic. Like, Phil-Collins-Tarzan-soundtrack optimistic. Come to think of it, I distinctly remember feeling as happy as the intro scene of a Disney movie –I did get some pretty weird looks. I think I might have even given the homeless guy outside of CVS a thumbs up.

Follow me on twitter! @MattGrosinger

Our own Chris Hardwick is a melodica player of some note, but can he play a medley of club and Europop hits of the ’90s in one neatly segued medley like this guy? Hear Benny the Jukebox play C&C Music Factory, 2 Unlimited, Haddaway, Eiffel 65, “Barbie Girl,” the Macarena, “Baby Got Back,” “We Like to Party,” Ace of Base, and many more you may or may not remember or like, closing with that stadium anthem by Zombie Nation, “Kernkraft 400.”

And, hey, he’s been on the Nerdist Podcast. He’s Benny from Axis of Awesome. He says he can play any requests and challenges, because if he’s heard it, he claims, he can play it: try him at bennythejukebox@gmail.com.

Now, I’ll just go off and try to scrub “Cotton Eye Joe” out of my mind.

HT: Reddit

Game – Composer – Song – Company – Console – Year (North American release unless otherwise indicated)

Little Nemo: The Dream Master – Junko Tamiya – Night Sea (Level 4) – Capcom – NES – 1990

Super Mario Bros. 3 – Koji Kondo – Swimming in the Calm Water – Nintendo – NES – 1990