365 Old Favorites that you didn’t know were Old or Favorite

Ubuweb relaunches (though I have to confess, I missed the initial launching) its 365 Days Project: 365 mp3s of crazy, eccentric, off-the-wall recordings.

Wild and crazy stuff, like Casper The Friendly Ghost singing Motorcycle Policeman (yes, that Casper the Friendly Ghost), and Van Morrison singing songs called Ring Worm, You Say France And I Whistle, and Want A Danish (yes, that Van Morrison), and Barbie and Ken singing Nobody Taught Me (yes—incredibly—that Barbie and Ken). Though of course, being what it is, there are also lots of tunes from groups you’ve never heard of, like Leslie Harris and the House of Fire, and the, er, Badger Theatre Movie Phone, which isn’t quite a “group,” but you get the idea.

Lots of great stuff, browse away. Commentary and pictures for almost all the entries.

(via MeFi [June 24, 2004])

Tom Forsyth's art

Also: Speaking of Barbie, here’s an interesting news bite:

A Utah artist… won a five-year legal battle with Mattel Inc. over his photographs of Barbie dolls sometimes naked and paired with kitchen appliances on Tuesday…

Forsythe incurred Mattel’s wrath with his “Food Chain Barbie” series of 78 photographs featuring the popular plastic doll in kitchen appliances ranging from a martini glass to a fondue pot. Other photos showed the doll stuffed into a tortilla, a fondue pot and a blender.

U.S. District judge Ronald Lew… [wrote] “There was little risk of consumer confusion… Defendant’s parodic intent was clear.”

(Reuters: “Artist Hails Court Win Over Barbie Parody” [June 30, 2004])