YOUTUBE: UQAM I Gotta Feeling

The Black Eyed Peas hit single "I Gotta Feeling" was everywhere this summer and continues to gain popularity with it's anthemic declaration to simply have a great time! Well, it looks like the students majoring in communications at l'Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) had a great time creating this video for the song.

Using one single moving shot, throughout what I can only assume to be one of the University's buildings, a little of two hours of organization time, and nearly 200 students, they have created a well choreographed and smile-inducing interpretation to do the BEP proud. I don't even want to think about the logistical nightmares in organizing something like this but I am impressed! No doubt we will be seeing some imitators in the future; if not with this song than with another!

Be sure to watch the video a couple times to catch hidden bits of humor you may have missed during your first viewing. Some things, like Wonder Woman and Waldo (of "Where's" variety) doing make sense other than the fact that they are having a good time, but watch for the costumes of the students on the stairs and the details like the days of the week on the shot glasses and kid eating a "Sunday." I also like how intricate some of the parts are, with some lip-syncers only mouthing a sound that goes relatively unnoticed in the audio otherwise.

Sergio del Limónar

YOUTUBE: Korean Pachelbel Breakdance

Green apples on a ham & cheese sandwich. A slow motion gun fight in an action movie while a backing soundtrack of Vienna choir boys sings an Italian aria. A photograph of little girl in a beautiful pink dress with a tiara standing next to a pile of burning refuse.

I love it when two things that aren't supposed to go together do. I love it even more when the fusion of the two seemingly opposite facets is ingenious. That is the case here. Take a couple break dancers, a beat-boxer, and Pachelbel's Canon in G being played on 12-stringed Korean harps called gayageums and you have this video.

Buzzy

MUSIC: "Evacuate The Dance Floor"

This weekend I was at a crazy wedding and the DJ played a song called "Evacuate The Dance Floor" which did exactly the opposite. By the German electro-pop group CASCADA who brought us the overplayed "Every Time We Touch" back in 2006, the catchy dance track demands that the DJ clear the party because the music being played is just too damn infectious! Now there's a fiesta I want to be at!

This may be my new life soundtrack for awhile. Perhaps Davey can do some pop 'n' lockin' in front of the Eiffel Tower or some equally German landmark* with this playing.

Sergio del Limónar

* I studied the French language for five years in high school. I apologize for my lack of German tourist sites. I'm aware there was a wall but didn't that was (a) there anymore or (b) appropriate to dance to a great song in front of.

WEB: Davey Dance Blog

This is your ZONINO! Monday pick-me-up. Davey Dance Blog is a collection of videos posted by some intrepid guy named Davey who like to travel, dance, and listen to some pretty awesome music. It seems Davey picks a spot in front of some tourist site, sets up his camera, cues up a song, and rocks out for a few minutes.

It's kind of nice to escape to someone else's "happy place" for awhile...

Sergio del Limónar

PS: Shout out to Amir from Jake & Amir who posted a video from Davey's site on his own blog.

MUSIC: "Take Me On The Floor"

I love it when I'm out at a party somewhere - heck, sometimes in a Target store truth be known - and I hear a song I suddenly can't live without. I was at a bar with a couple friends last weekend when I was hypnotically dragged to the dance floor by this amazing electro-pop gem by TheVeronicas called "Take Me On The Dance Floor."

I'm not generally a fan of anything closely resembling a techno beat, but the Australian duo has crafted something special here. Lyrics that are borderline trashy with a rhythm that makes it okay to say "what? I like the beat" as you shake it all over, under the disco ball lights. Needless to say, I downloaded this one the second I got home and have pretty much set it on repeat ever since. Dance party to go with your morning shower? Yes, please!

Buzzy

YOUTUBE: Do-Re-Mi Dance

There is a form of art where performers show up and "spontaneously" put on some form of show and then leave immediately following it's conclusion. Sometimes seen as a prank or visual farce, these performances are fun to experience in person, should you be so fortunate, and even more enjoyable to watch when as an outsider looking at the unsuspecting spectators' faces.

This clip, shot at a train station in Antwerp, Belgium, has been making the rounds on YouTube for a few months now. Filmed during peak commuter hours for a Belgian reality show, it uses a remixed version of the Sound of Music classic "Do-Re-Mi" to amuse and remind the stunned train-goers of their childhood days. I love the old woman dancing on the side-lines around the 2:50 mark; that is what these types of performances are all about!

Mrs. Fitzsimmons 1

YOUTUBE: George Sampson

George Sampson is the 15 year old street dancing (seems similar to break-dancing) winner of last season's Britian's Got Talent. I recently saw him perform on Oprah when she did a show highlighting the smartest and most talented kids, and I must say, he certainly is!

After winning Britian's Got Talent, he told Oprah that he used some of his earnings to pay off his mom's mortgage, and hasn't touched the rest. He's got the greatest little British accent, and coupled with that adorable face, if he were 5 years older, I'd date him. Who am I kidding, 4 years older.

Anyway, check out the performance that won him first place, the Mint Royale version of "Singin' in the Rain."

Mrs. Fitz 2