April 30, 2007

Hüsker Dü: All Tensed Up

Welcome to Monday. Before you go out and repossess cars or whatever your job happens to be, why not loosen up with a little vintage Minneapolis punk rock? Plenty more Hüsker Dü clips from YouTube user HUSKERchout.

You can still catch Greg Norton around town playing bass in The Gang Font feat. Interloper. And don't be surprised if Grant Hart shows up at your art opening.

Posted by Minnesota Stories at 01:45 AM | Comments (1)

April 27, 2007

Rising Stars

RISING STARS is a video made with blind and visually impaired students at Minnesota State Academy for the Blind. It plays on public television in Minnesota, TPT-17, on Sunday April 29 at 9:30pm.

Directed by Media Mike with support from Young Audiences and V S A arts of Minnesota, this film made by blind and low vision kids shines.

Learn more: The Center for International Education

Posted by Minnesota Stories at 01:25 AM | Comments (5)

April 26, 2007

Joanna James

Soulful singer/songwriter Joanna James celebrates her cd release tonight at the Varsity Theater. This video about Joanna was produced by Sharece Lamke of Brighid Films.

Posted by Minnesota Stories at 06:47 AM | Comments (0)

April 25, 2007

Robots are Very Dangerous

Aaron Cheeley has a new videoblog called Positive Contact. There's a lotta crazy stuff going on over there. About this video, he writes: "If there's one thing science fiction has taught me, it's that robots will one day rule over all humanity." True, dat.

Posted by Minnesota Stories at 12:55 AM | Comments (3)

April 24, 2007

Antibalas

Brooklyn, New York's Antibalas plays a funky, horn-driven afrobeat that is absolutely smokin' live. Here's a taste of the band at the SXSW Music Festival from March 2007.

Posted by Minnesota Stories at 03:08 AM | Comments (2)

April 20, 2007

Al Milgrom's Filmfest Picks

The 25th annual Minneapolis/St. Paul International Film Festival is in high gear, and who better to help us navigate the celluloid treasures than the legend himself, Al Milgrom.

Posted by Minnesota Stories at 04:06 AM | Comments (3)

April 18, 2007

Random Guy Dances at the Bus Stop

The most important video you will see this year. From YouTube user ctveitbakk

Posted by Minnesota Stories at 08:57 AM | Comments (4)

April 17, 2007

Our last exhale

A video poem from David Howell Studios. Watch for the loons.

Posted by Minnesota Stories at 12:31 AM | Comments (1)

April 16, 2007

Helping the Maasai

You may know Duluth native Hans Johnson as the drummer for Minneapolis funk sensation Dance Band (video). His music, and his life's mission, is intertwined with a people and a place far from here: The Maasai of Southern Kenya.

Hans set out to record the music of the Maasai and became part of their community. With a lot of help from Low's Alan Sparhawk, Hans used proceeds from Maasai cd sales to help build a school. He's also formed a foundation to help the Maasai with other needs, such as AIDS education and building wells for clean water.

The school is now built, but Hans still pays for two teacher salaries himself. Every cd sold goes directly to the Maasai. Visit laleyio.com to learn more about the Maasai, their culture and music, or to make a donation.

READ MORE COMMENTS ABOUT THIS VIDEO ON ROCKETBOOM

Posted by Minnesota Stories at 02:18 AM | Comments (3)

April 13, 2007

Will Spring Ever Come?

Snow storms in the middle of April: WTF?
Hopefully we're in the clear, barring any Friday the 13th curses.

Will Spring Ever Come? was made by Duane Kuss of DigElog ROCORI, who writes: During a time when you'd like to be thinking of tulips and birds nesting, Old Man Winter keeps whacking us with his beastly surprises As traumatc as this can be for you and me, have you ever thought about what it must be like for the first robins who come back to Minnesota ready to build a nest and raise a new family. This story will help you relate to the plight of our feather bearing friends in a Winter-like snow storm.

Posted by Minnesota Stories at 12:08 AM | Comments (5)

April 12, 2007

Arid Lands

Arid Lands takes us into a world of sports fishermen, tattoo artists, housing developers, ecologists, and radiation scientists living and working near the Hanford nuclear site in southeastern Washington state. Sixty years ago, Hanford produced plutonium for the atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki, and today the area is the focus of the largest environmental cleanup in history. Arid Lands tells the story of how people changed the landscape over time, and how the landscape affected their lives.

Arid Lands was produced by Minnesota filmmakers Grant Aaker & Josh Wallaert. The film makes its Midwestern debut at The Bell Auditorium. Thursday, April 12, 7 pm. 10 Church St. SE Minneapolis. Followed by a panel discussion with co-director Josh Wallaert and University of Minnesota geographers Bruce Braun and George Henderson. Tickets $5 and $7 at the door.

Related Links:
City Pages review
MN Daily review

Posted by Minnesota Stories at 04:50 AM | Comments (2)

April 11, 2007

Voltage: Fashion Amplified

The much-anticipated, likely sold-out Voltage07 - Fashion Amplified show is tonight, fusing indie rock and fashion into one of the hottest events of the year.

Here's a look back at the first Voltage event in 2005, including an interview with the lovely and talented producer Anna Lee. Also watch for members of Mike Gunther & His Restless Souls talking about their sweet western-styled threads.

Posted by Minnesota Stories at 12:41 AM | Comments (3)

April 10, 2007

Ruby Isle Road Trip

msgmag.com's Megan Wiley roadtripped to Austin, TX in Mark Mallman's van with his new band Ruby Isle. Life will never be the same.

Posted by Minnesota Stories at 08:01 AM | Comments (2)

April 09, 2007

Peace protest @ Sen. Coleman's office

Here's some first-hand cellphone camera footage from the peace protest at Sen. Norm Coleman's office. Read more and see photos of a peace nun in handcuffs at Ella Goes.

Related Links:
Buzz.mn: Protest, Minnesota style
Pioneer Press: War protesters removed from Coleman's office
Minnesota Monitor: Who Owns the J-Word? Videoblogger's Jailing Raises Questions for Journalists

Posted by Minnesota Stories at 06:44 AM | Comments (0)

April 06, 2007

Paranoid

Now at Rosalux Gallery, "Fragment Nation" featuring new work by Jonathan Nelson (aka Escape Mechanism) and photographer Robert Roscoe.

This is a video collage I made for the Escape Mechanism song/collage "Paranoid." The piece is on display in the gallery through April 22, 2007.

RELATED LINK:
mnartists: Jonathan Nelson

Posted by Minnesota Stories at 06:42 AM | Comments (0)

April 05, 2007

Karina is a Super Taster

Karina found out she's a super taster! Be sure to check out her Videoblogging Week 2007 videos. For example, her Craig Finn impersonation.

Tag: videobloggingweek2007

Posted by Minnesota Stories at 12:07 AM | Comments (1)

April 04, 2007

Rep. John Kline on Tuition and Taxes

Mike McIntee, the producer of Inside Minnesota Politics, attended Congressman John Kline's Town Hall meeting. In spite of a tightly controlled environment, McIntee was one of at least 7 camera-toting citizen journalists at the meeting.

Mike writes: In response to a question from a college student about tuition costs, Congressman Kline said he was looking for ways to bring college costs down, but he didn't have any solutions and would welcome some. Be careful what you ask for, the student offered a solution.

DIGG it here

RELATED LINK:
Minnesota Monitor, Kline Town Hall Marked by Passion, Not Bitterness

Posted by Minnesota Stories at 04:36 AM | Comments (3)

April 03, 2007

Little Man

Little Man could be your favorite new band. Before even hearing them I was intrigued, thanks to Pete Scholtes' excellent City Pages profile. I then realized "that one song" I loved hearing on The Current was Little Man's "Undertow" [MP3]. So I was quite excited to see them play live at SXSW and talk to singer/songwriter Chris Perricelli about the inspiration for his songs and, of course, his magic stones.

Check out more Twin Cities band videos from SXSW over at mspmag.com.

Posted by Minnesota Stories at 03:10 AM | Comments (0)

April 02, 2007

Overnight at Work

Meet William Hessian, otherwise known as Billyjay on the Jumpcut video sharing web site. This video of what Billy does while bored at work may remind you a bit of another midwest vlog hero, Josh Leo.

Be sure to check out some of Billy's other videos, like chubby creatures and Just a Helmet.

Happy Videdoblogging Week 2007! There's no better time than the present to share yourself in video - Freevlog.org explains how. Drop a line to story [at] mnstories.com if you made a video with a Minnesota connection.

Posted by Minnesota Stories at 08:23 AM | Comments (2)