Trendspotting: UI Artists’ Obama Prophecy

If you have been paying attention at all this past year, we could’ve told you ages ago that Obama would come out on top. From the Democratic primaries to the main event, artists such as Marnie Stern, Stereolab, Genji Siraisi, Ben Taylor and Sam Champion had all cast their votes in the right direction, or at least on Uncensored Interview. Even the Canadians. Yup! Clara Lofaro, too.

How certain were we? Let’s just say that a certain interviewee of ours was actually inspired to change their band name. Now that’s just straight up ballsy! I mean, Port O’Brien (aka Port Obama) even made the buttons to match! It’s like a team that ends up in the Superbowl and makes anticipatory hats that say “Superbowl Champion.” Is this blind optimism? Unshakable faith? A will making a way? Or perhaps it is something mystical at work.

To that end, note this ritualistic chant (even Xena: Warrior Princess couldn’t have done it better) by Yo! Mama. We believe that much like a Native American rain dance, this had some strong influence over the outcome of the election.

We can’t help it if these clairvoyant images come to us in dreams and crystal balls…or in video clips. Whatever. And though we kinda hate to say we told you so, we don’t really have to. Our artists did it for us already.

To check out all the UI clips pertaining to our outgoing president and incoming leader, visit http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=E0A6DA53081B6EA0 and http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=A9A5773014A48209, respectively.

Many travel woes are anticipated as Inauguration day approaches. Conservative estimates anticipate a turnout of at least two million people, but some early projections estimated even double this amount. Naturally, in situations such as this, the use of public transportation is highly encouraged. Nevertheless, we also know this event will be cause for many additional cars on the roadways, and in light of coming events, I would like to highlight a short video clip.

I know, I know. This is a bad driving habit we’ve all been guilty of at one point or another. However, sometimes it’s good to learn from the mistakes of others and not repeat them yourself (thanks Bridges and Powerlines!). Let’s take a moment to review an important rule in indie driver’s safety. DON’T E-MAIL IN THE CAR ON YOUR iPHONE (or any phone) IF YOU ARE THE ONE DRIVING IT.

And for that matter, don’t text, play BrickBreaker, check Facebook or any other activity on your phone that would cause you to hit another car….twice….in ten minutes. The two million to four million other people traveling will thank you for it. Because wouldn’t it be unfortunate if the thing you hit turned out not to be just another vehicle. Remember kids–safety first!

Well, it’s January and there seems to be no end to the weight loss plans and fads that are being advertised. Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig and Nutrisystem (Sorry Jillian Barberie–I know you just lost a ton of weight, but you still kinda look scary) are all putting in their overtime to lure in the glutton-guilty clientele. But not everyone has time for the gym or some elaborate diet plan, especially not the indie musician.

This is why I’m here to tell you. Forget all that other nonsense. UI is privy to a couple of the best kept secrets in keeping fit that you won’t find anywhere else. How do we know it works? I mean, hey, look at how skinny all these indie musicians are. It doesn’t just magically happen. Welcome to alternative exercise 101. You gotta work at looking this good people.*

• The “last man standing” parking lot throwdown

People in Planes channel the primal aspects of male behavior to produce a surefire calorie burning regimen.

• The ice cream sprint

The Morning Benders have taken the concept of dangling the carrot in front of the donkey and made it significantly tastier. If ice cream isn’t incentive to go running, I don’t know what is. Hint: As an alternative to running after your ice cream, try using it as a hand weight for an increased arm workout as well.

*Results not typical. Please seek a real diet and exercise plan if you’re remotely serious about getting fit and losing weight. For those of you who don’t enjoy actual exercise, we totally get it.

Seriously. Nobody likes a big ol’ sausage party, not even the ladies. So you can see why the girls of Tilly and the Wall were so psyched. According to the Chinese Zodiac, 2008 was the year of the rat, but in the world of indie music, it was the year of “Damn, who’s that?” Everywhere you looked there was a hot indie band with a totally hot woman up front, and Uncensored Interview was there to document this undeniable trend. We caught up with cuties like Alexandra from Ra Ra Riot and the no longer so rare sight of the all-female indie power house like The Donnas and Vivian Girls.

Hey, if you can rock a pair of stilettos, and you can rock the stage even harder, then you won’t hear any complaints from us. This trend doesn’t seem to be going anywhere, so stay tuned in 2009 for indie with even more estrogen and style. Oh, but for those of you out there who miss the bands of ugly dudes whom you could probably smell from 50 feet away and wouldn’t sleep with for 50 dollars or less, not to worry. I don’t think we’ll be experiencing a shortage of those for a long time to come.

How could something so bad be so good? The answer is simple ma chéries. If it weren’t so bad, it just wouldn’t be as good! It’s a classic paradox and also what makes Michael Bolton a prime make-it-hurt-so-good candidate. We just had to be around to catch The Matches admit it on tape. Oh, and bad music is only the beginning folks.

“How Many Licks” is going to take a weekly look at all things hidden beneath the shiny candy shell surface of indie – all manner of guilty pleasures, obsessions, the what-you-didn’t-knows – and take you to the ooey-gooey center of the artists. Because as with all things, there’s a lesson to be learned. In this case, surprising musical choices from our artist reveal a deep moral: A bad song is like a misfit toy. As long as there is someone out there who loves it, it will never fade into obscurity. How’s that for a holiday message?!

So in a time of the year when this moment’s guilty pleasure will become next year’s resolution, let’s embrace the bad music we love so much. What other vices could we indulge in over and over and not have to worry about ending up in weight watchers, therapy or in jail?

Here’s a bit of “How Many Licks: UI Artists’ 08 Guilty Pleasures” year in review:

Teedra Moses is a Soulja Girl, so you’d better walk like this:

(MORE LICKS: UI ARTIST’S GUILTY PLEASURES)

I heard a disturbing statistic the other day: the average person consumes 4500 calories during Thanksgiving dinner. Yes, you read that correctly. Not the entire day, just dinner.

Even as a fatkid, part of me finds this statistic slightly disgusting…and slightly awesome at the same time! Consider the numbers. Our standard nutritional information is based upon a 2,000 calorie per day diet. So 4,500 calories is enough food to feed one adult for two days. That’s also the equivalent of feeding four small children (or perhaps eating four small children as that would seem the only way to account for the ridiculous number of calories ingested, but that’s a different story altogether).

(ALL THOSE CALORIES! KEEP READING!)