Conor Knighton, Sarah Haskins, Ben Hoffman, Brett Erlich, and Sergio Cilli take a look back at all crazy shit going on in the media for 2009.

Great show. Not only because I did all the animation work for the Retrospectatties, but in general one of my favorite shows on the air. Watch it.

First half of November has been pretty rough. Lost a close family member to cancer, and Current TV laid off a ton of people (I dodged the bullet this time). I’ll eventually write about both things (once I get a slice of free time) but in the meantime, here’s a video I stumbled across on the interwebs and it made me laugh out loud (seriously). I thought I’d share it with you. It’s my new goto “pick me up” video.

Much like everyone else on the planet, I never actually took the time to watch what was on Current TV. All I knew about it was that it was “Al Gore’s TV Network” and two of their reporters were arrested in North Korea. Back in July of this year I ended up doing a freelance gig for Current, and it turned into a full time position. That was the first real exposure I had to any of the content that they produce here. After being here a couple months, I have to say that not only is the quality of the shows made here very high, it’s without a doubt one of my favorite places to work.

But I digress. I spend most of my time at Current working on the Embedded and Vanguard series (and I’ve previously talked about them at length on this site). I was even lucky enough recently to have some of the work I did for Embedded ripped off by the Mr. Jon Bon Jovi. I do however want to highlight a show that many people probably haven’t seen, but should. It’s called infoMania. It’s an incredibly witty and funny show that airs once a week on Thursday nights. Current is even kind enough to host the shows after they air on it’s website.

Last night’s show was particularly funny and I wanted to share it with all 5 people who read this blog. Enjoy.

Bon Jovi loves the ironic. His newest music video is called “We Weren’t Born to Follow”, and somehow it manages to completely rip off the title sequence that Micah Hahn, Mike Beynart and myself created for Current TV’s Embedded Series. For a song who’s title claims they weren’t born to follow, whoever created the video missed the meaning.

Yes, I said it. The video is a rip-off, a copy, a fake. I’ve been noticing this for awhile tho, big name artists and the massive corporations behind them have no shame in biting off of the work of other artists who aren’t as big as they are; a prime example being one of the most blatent rip-off artists of all time, Timbaland.

I guess I should be flattered, but honestly, Jovi’s video isn’t just a blatant bite, but it’s a POORLY done rip-off. C’mon now, if you’re going to rip off my work, at least improve on it.

Now you might say “…but Bon Jovi’s video premiered Oct 10, 2009, and Embedded aired on Oct 14th!”. Well to that I’ll say that Embedded was originally supposed to air in early September, and promo’s for the show (which include segments of the title sequence) were viewable on Current.com and on Current TV for a good month or so in advance. You decide for yourself.

Embedded Title Sequence:

Bon Jovi’s “We Weren’t Born to Follow”…heh

This week on Embedded, The Silversun Pickups, K’Naan and Arcade Fire.

Another great episode. Check it out at 11pm ET/PT, 10pm CT/MT.
Current TV can be seen on: DirecTV 358, Dish 196, Comcast 107 or 125, Time Warner 103 or 142!
If you’re a total douche (or your cable sucks), you can also watch it on Hulu. So no excuses.

So I’ve been working at Current TV since this past July and I was immediately thrown into the chaos of a burgeoning new show being created called Embedded. I’m one of two artists/animators on the project (the other is the talented Mike Beynart). Mike and I have been on the project since inception working on the graphics, animations, transitions, extras, you name it.

The best way to sum up the question of “What is Embedded”, would be to go to the source. Pulled directly from the show’s descriptor:

“Embedded is a six part special that puts you on the ground and behind the scenes with unrivaled access to your favorite musicians. We’ve traveled the world, going beyond performances to bring you the most intimate and unfiltered moments in artists’ lives. When others stop the cameras, we capture the real story of today’s top musicians.”

Here’s the trailer for the show:

This show is good. It’s a documentary, but not in the whole lame and intelligently barren MTV style “documentaries” on music and musicians. Whereas most TV docs will try to sell you something, or try to promote something, Embedded just focuses on the artist. It’s unhosted, meaning the artist is speaking freely of his/her/their mind(s). This show is for people who really love music. And not that mainstream Britney Spears crap, but real artists. I’m very proud to have been apart of this show.

In the three months I’ve been working here, my friends and family have been asking to see what I’ve been working on, but I haven’t been able to show anything since there hasn’t been an aired episode yet. Here’s a clip of something I did for one of the outtakes on the Silversun Pickups Episode: A sing-a-long to the song “Panic Switch”.

I hope you all get to check it out tonight. Embedded airs at 11pm (ET & PT) and is preceded by Vanguard, a show I also have been spending a lot of time working on for the new season. Check them BOTH out with Vanguard starting at 10pm (ET & PT), followed at 11pm by Embedded! It’s intelligent TV.

Current TV can be seen on: DirecTV 358, Dish 196, Comcast 107 or 125, Time Warner 103 or 142!