Worth your time.

http://www.letigreworld.com/_qt/deceptaconweb_256kfs.mov

Off-topic style.

I watched that whooooole thing...

And I have no idea why.

Because it looks like what happens when Devo has sex.

but i do know this.. i want to know who made that song. and where i can get a decent copy.. is it on a "hits of the 80s" compilation? maybe a "misses of the 80s"?

maybe it's not from the freakin' 80s at all! ..the good part is, i'm not really concerned with WHEN it's from.. just WHO!

..and, umm.. could just be me, but those two in the video? maybe they've listened to that tune a few too many times.. either that or they fashion themselves as some sort of underground Devo team?

bah.. whatever.. i dug the tune is all i'm saying.

(and was -somewhat- amused by the video.)

This sounds like the Go-Go's in their early postpunk days... but this song (with an F word in it) would never have been played on the radio no matter who did it.

Edit: The website says the band is "Le Tigre" and the song is "Decepticon" from their 1999 self-titled debut album.

Proof positive that Men's Synchronized Swimming is just on the horizon. Now, if they can just figure out the aesthetics of wearing a protective cup in a Speedo . . .

I can't believe I watched the whole thing.

I've been a fan of Le Tigre for a while but I haven't seen the video before. I love it.

~Ulrika~

YES!!!!!

LE TIGRE AND A F'ED UP DEVO-ESQUE VIDEO!!!!!

my day is now complete.

This would make an excellent syncronized dance animation.

::hint:::hint:::

Ooh, I like Le Tigre, I'll have to check out this video when I get home!

Here is the stupidest video ever (but I love the song because of MJ chorus ):

http://pdl.stream.aol.com/aol/us/aolmusic/musicpartner/universal/rockwell/rockwell_somebodyswatchingme_00602498819227_dl.mov

And this video is fun:

http://www.rhfilms.com/movies/freetime.html

Thursday, September 14, 2000

FINA approving men for synchronized swimming


By PAUL NEWBERRY -- Associated Press

SYDNEY -- Martin Short, Olympian?
The hilarious "Saturday Night Live" skit, in which Short donned a life jacket to pursue his dream of becoming the first man to win a gold medal in synchronized swimming, has turned out to be no laughing matter.

FINA, the governing body of world swimming, took a major step Thursday toward approving men for synchronized events, fulfilling the virtually one-man campaign of American Bill May.

"I'm ecstatic," May said in a telephone interview from his home in California. "I can't believe it happened. I didn't even know they were going to be voting. It kind of freaked me out."

May, a 21-year-old native of Cicero, N.Y., has bucked FINA's rules limiting synchronized swimming to women. Along the way, he's endured his share of ridicule -- much of it stemming from comparisons with Short.

"There's always people who put you down," May said. "Luckily, I've been around a lot of people who encouraged me. That made it easier to go after what I wanted."

Short and Harry Shearer starred in the memorable "SNL" skit in the early 1980s, displaying hokey routines and longing for the day when men would be accepted in synchronized swimming.

Of course, it didn't help that Short wore a bulky life preserver and nose plug during his time in the water. As he explained, "I'm not that strong a swimmer."

May is an excellent swimmer but stands alone in his quest for acceptance.

"I've never competed against another man," he conceded.

Nevertheless, FINA approved a U.S.-backed proposal to allow mixed pairs in international competition, beginning with the 2002 World Cup in Zurich, Switzerland.

May, who was considering retirement, is now looking forward to competing at the 2004 Olympic Games. Mixed pairs have been approved for the European championships, and several American men have followed May into the sport.

"People are accepting this," he said. "There's a great chance it will pass for Athens."

FINA referred the matter to its technical committee, which will draft rules next year for mixed pairs. While the current guidelines do not specifically bar men from competing, the general program includes no categories for males or mixed pairs.

American rules are more lenient.

May and his partner, Olympian Kristina Lum, won the national duet championships in 1998 and 2000. In their only opportunity to compete against the best teams in the world, they earned a silver medal at the 1998 Goodwill Games.

"Of course, I'm very disappointed that Bill is not here with me," said Lum, who will compete in the team event at Sydney. "He had the same dream I had."

May gave his partner a stuffed animal before she left for the Olympics.

"I took a part of him with me," Lum said. "He said it will bring me good luck."

American coach Chris Carver called the inclusion of men a natural progression in the sport.

"It will take the choreography to a new level," Carver said. "Mixed pairs is something we're used to in figure skating. Why not synchronized swimming?"

Another U.S. Olympian, Heather Pease-Olson, supported FINA's decision.

"There's a whole new aspect with males," she said. "It's a lot like the pairs in figure skating. There's a lot of interplay, a lot of high lifts, that are not there with the (women-only) duets. It's all very exciting."

Short: "Don't point at him like you're mad. It is more like, 'Hey, you. I know you. I know you'."

The fact that Martin Short was wearing a life preserver through that entire skit elevated it to Fine Art.

Hey...you...I know you, I know you....