Relive the dying days of hair metal
VPW’s Hard Rock Heroes finds a new home on YouTube
Anthony Augustine


Hard Rock Heroes —geocities.com/hardrockheroes — When the art collective l’Atelier-National du Manitoba sliced together some classic public-access TV clips for their Garbage Hill retrospective a couple of years back, they not only resurrected some of the strangest moments in non-commercial TV but also got people thinking about other programs that had gone by the wayside. Thanks to the wonders of YouTube, you can relive the glory days of VPW and other public-access stations. If you were a metal fan living west of the Red River between 1990 and ’93, you were probably shotgunning beers and doing bong hits to episodes of Hard Rock Heroes, hosted by Beau Hajavitch. These two clips feature memorable moments with show guests such as Helix, Lee Aaron, Slik Toxik, Slaughter and a bunch of other acts you don’t really hear about anymore. Even Burton Cummings makes an appearance with Tooth N’ Nail.

SXSW—tinyurl.com/22bnu4 — For the third year in a row, the South by Southwest Film & Music Festival in Austin, Tex., has released a torrent featuring an MP3 from every act appearing at the event. Sifting through 739 bands can be a chore, but a quick scan of acts appearing suggests it will be worth your time. Featuring everything from Edmonton’s AA Sound System to Venice, Calif., punk rockers Youth Brigade, these clips mean you don’t need to make the trip to Austin to hear this year’s buzz bands live. The organizers are also promising to release a torrent with trailers for all the films playing at the festival.

Ikea Hacker— ikeahacker.blogspot.com — If you’re like Edward Norton’s character in Fight Club in that most of your house resembles an Ikea showroom, this DIY decorating blog is for you. Take a look as Ikea Hacker revises items from the Swedish furniture company in ways Martha Stewart could only dream about.

Beatbox cooking— tinyurl.com/2nz5z6 — If your only exposure to beatboxing is Justin Timberlake and his sloppy solos, you need to spend some time with the beatbox chef. Not only does he cook up a mean electro break, but his cooking-show segments are as original as his style.

Top 100 indie songs of all time — tinyurl.com/ys8m67 — It seems every blogger is coming out with his or her own Top 100 list these days. Pitchfork might have started the trend, but it’s not hard to find lists on everything from the top TV theme songs to the top independent cuts of all time. With Mötley Crüe’s Live Wire taking first place, this list is sure to be a good conversation starter at your next get-together. Too bad there aren’t MP3s to go along.

Russian subway photos— www.englishrussia.com/?p=252 — These photos are a cross between Vice’s Dos and Don’ts and a bunch of snapshots of the rag-tag collection of people you’ll find riding the first train in the morning after a long night out.
Top 100 indie songs of all time

Anthony Augustine is a freelance music, technology and pop culture writer. He can be heard every Tuesday morning at 9:00am on Hot 103 discussing the web. Got a site you think he should see? E-mail him at anthony.alloneword@gmail.com.