The Walsh Brothers, my favorite Boston comedians, are finally looking to get their shot at the big time. They're leaving for LA in March, so they're having a final hurrah of four shows at Jimmy Tingle's in Somerville. I'm not sure if any of their online clips come close to doing their hilarity justice, but at the very least have a look at the Channel 5 profile above. Below is a sketch they did for Boston.tv.



******



Most of the stuff on MHD, MTV's all-HD channel, is awful. But occasionally they have something kind of cool, like the Gorillaz live show at the Apollo Theater. They got about 8,000 different musicians involved over the course of the concert, with Damon Albarn and the main band in silhouette most of the time.

That said, the most, uh...interesting guest performer is definitely Shaun Ryder, the one-time frontman of the defunct '80s Manchester rave band Happy Mondays. The video above is not from the Harlem show, but the general idea is the same. The chick doing the vocals basically tries to avoid getting too close to Ryder while he moves around awkwardly and incoherently adds his vocal part here and there.

Happy Mondays were among the bands featured in 24 Hour Party People, the 2002 Steve Coogan film chronicling the rise and fall of Factory Records. And if you watch the trailer, you get a good feel for what Shaun Ryder is all about.

******

I loved "Float On" but can't say I'm otherwise really a Modest Mouse fan. So maybe that's why I'm really liking their new single, "Dashboard," which you can download for free right over yonder. From what I gather, some "hardcore" Modest Mouse fans are a little annoyed at the song, because I guess it's too enjoyable to listen to or something.

******

If your claim to fame involves the phrases "ejaculating into" and "a bottle of ranch dressing," then your name is probably Marco Castro.

******

Jemele Hill provides an interesting piece over at ESPN on the recent violence against black athletes.

Contrary to stodgy opinions, young men have a right to go out. They want to hang with their peers. They want to talk to women. They want to show off a little of their success. Nothing wrong with any of that – as long as they're careful.

Who they're with, what time they're out and what they have is only a small part of the issue. The larger problem here is the one no one is ready to openly discuss.

While America is generally a violent place, no culture in this country glorifies violence more than the African-American community. And consequently, no other racial group is as disproportionately affected by it.

This isn't to say black people invented violence or have a penchant for it. But far too many of us glorify shooting people for revenge, perceived slights or to prove toughness. Two things you almost always see when "MTV Cribs" features a black superstar: a poster of Tony Montana and a poster of the Godfather. Montana and Michael Corleone, though fictional, are considered heroes by young black men everywhere. Montana and Corleone had one thing in common: both killed people to gain respect.

BET, the same network that saw fit to cut its nightly news program, has a new show called "American Gangster," which "chronicles the life and times of some of Black America's most notorious crime figures." It's explained that the program has a strong moral component and doesn't seek to glorify violence, but on BET's Web site the show is promoted by showing Ving Rhames, the king of cool, in slick gangster apparel – as if he were promoting a music video, not a show about violent criminals.

And sure enough, right beneath Rhames' promo ad, a BET dot.commer says, "Young, black males will look at this [show] as an inspiration."

******


Arsenal v. Chelsea: Just embarrassing

Chelsea striker Didier Drogba is quite possibly my least favorite athlete in the world. Yes, there's way too much diving in soccer, and look no further than one of the strongest on-the-ball players in the world for great proof of that. Here's a compilation of some his most recent greatest flops.

******

If you're an NBA fan then you probably appreciate the zaniness of Gilbert Arenas. After tearing my heart out with a 32-foot buzzer-beating game winner against the Bucks, he held court on his MVP-caliber start to the year. "My swag was phenomenal" may be the NBA quote of the year.

******

One thing I always wonder about each holiday season is how much more money Santa Clauses get who have real white beards compared to the guys who have to wear the fake ones. Think about it--there's got to be a serious premium for the real beard. As it turns out, Slate recently offered this explanation for how to be a mall Santa:

Sign up with a Santa distributor. While would-be Santas can apply to smaller shopping centers directly, national staffing services farm out talent to the larger malls. Noerr Programs Corp. serves as the North Pole's version of central casting: It supplies St. Nicks to 169 major malls across the country. At Noerr, aspiring Santas are carefully interrogated about their willingness to travel, experience with kids, and, if applicable, their own memorable moments playing Santa. One key question: What does Christmas mean to you? Preferred answer: It's all about the children. Santas can be of any ethnicity—certain malls prefer African-American or bilingual Santas—but they must be male, in keeping with tradition. Having a natural beard is also a prerequisite.

Maybe I just go to really ghetto malls, but I thought the fake beard was fairly common.

******

Kids around the globe just keep hanging themselves in the wake of the Saddam execution.

******

I'd like to announce another nomination for dumbest band name.

******

What's the worst gift idea on Amazon? I don't think it's close. I'm not sure why anyone would pay $5 for this thing, much less $140.

******

Pluto's year in a nutshell: lose status as planet, win award for "word of the year."