In this video from Pianote, the multi-talented Jon Batiste hears Green Day’s Holiday for the first time (drum & vocals only) and is challenged to come up with a piano accompaniment for it — and he really really gets into it. (How do you find a song that a musical encyclopedia like Batiste has never heard before though?)

These are always so fun to watch — see also Drummer Plays Metallica’s Enter Sandman After Hearing It Only Once. Oh and Green Day’s demastering of Dookie. (via @unlikelywords.bsky.social)

Tags: Green Day · Jon Batiste · music · remix · video

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Since I got started in the gravel riding scene I've been fascinated by what motivates the riders. Ever since the very first Trans Iowa in 2005, I have been curious about seeing what it takes to participate in these events, not to mention the finishing of such events. 

I was anticipating the experience of just being around the ultra-distance legends of the day back in 2005. Mike Curiak, Steve "Doom" Fassibinder, Ira Ryan, the LaLonde brothers in 2006, and several other stalwarts of the 24hr racing scene who came and allowed me to mingle amongst them. I wanted to learn from them, but more than anything else, I just wanted to observe how they went about their business. 

I got to soak in that for fourteen years of Trans Iowas, and as a participant in other events, like Odin's Revenge, Gravel Worlds, and the Dirty Kanza 200. I came to an understanding of the "what it takes" to do these events, and I know a bit about what these events do to a person. But explaining that, well, that's a tall order. 

But recently a man who goes by the name of Bill Jeffery documented his ride at the 2024 Unbound XL, a 350 mile gravel event that happens the same weekend as the Unbound 200. I thought the 37 minute documentary was eye-opening with some very compelling content. 

I think Mr. Jeffrey does a really great job here because he was motivated to share his experience in a very transparent way. He didn't have to put this out into the World. Secondly, this isn't some sponsored content. It isn't done from an influencer's viewpoint to drive clicks to any money-making for him. I think that all is important here because it speaks to an authenticity that is pretty solid. 

Finally, if you ever were curious, like I have been for years, about how a person gets up for one of these events, how that effort unfolds over the course of more than one day, and what can happen to your mind and body while doing an ultra-distance gravel event, then check this documentary out. There is a TON of course views as well, so if you've never experienced the Flint Hills of Kansas, this documentary will bring you all the good stuff to see. 

Anyway, I was impressed by the work of Mr. Jefferey and I recommend this as a good way to see into the workings of one ultra-endurance racer. And maybe you might get what this whole "Spirit of Gravel" thing is really about as well. See the documentary HERE.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a skate video like this before: a group of riders skating the smooth, flowing rocks on the Maltese island of Gozo (site of Calypso’s cave in the Odyssey). Skateboarding has always been such an urban-coded sport — surfing on concrete, reliant on the human-made infrastructure against which it rebels — that it’s a little bit of a mindbend to see it out in nature like this.

Tags: skateboarding · video

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These compilation videos of Ed People asking folks from around the world to teach him how to do their favorite dance moves has been going around social media for awhile. I finally sat down to watch them and they are as wonderful, charming, and happy-making as everyone says they are. (thx, caroline)

Tags: dance · Ed People · video

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It’s not like we need another reason why hummingbirds are so cool, but if you photograph them backlit by the sun, their wings turn into tiny rainbows. These great photos are by Christian Spencer, who used them in his book Birds: Poetry in the Sky. (via present & correct)

Tags: birds · Christian Spencer · photography

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Scrabble is one of those games where pro/expert gameplay differs so much from amateur/novice gameplay that it might as well be a totally different game. In this entertaining recap of the finals of the 2023 Scrabble World Championships, former US champ Will Anderson explains how finalists David Eldar and Harshan Lamabadusuriya think and strategize throughout the best-of-seven series.

Gameplay aside, the thing that stood out for me is how many of the words played I'd just never heard of before. Like, at least 60% of them. Like I said, it's just a completely different game at the expert level, with a shit-ton of memorization required. I don't play Scrabble for this reason — because if you don't have a bunch of two-letter words and Q,Z, & X words memorized and you're playing against someone who does, it's not fun. But it is fun to see two heavyweights of the game go at it on equal terms. (via peterme)

Tags: games · language · Scrabble · video