| Cult of Mac

Hello, Jack! The Kindness Show is the kids show we need [Apple TV+ review]

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Hello, Jack! The Kindness Show
Jack McBrayer gets a long-overdue showcase in Apple TV+'s winning new kids show.
Photo: Apple TV+

Apple TV+’s new kids show is another musical extravaganza, this time starring the inestimable Jack McBrayer, a comedy veteran with a heart of gold. Hello, Jack! The Kindness Show, which debuts today, treats us to the sensibility of someone who wants us to know about life’s challenges and meet them head on in classic Sesame Street fashion.

Will McBrayer’s inoffensive brand of comedy catch on as easily as the OK Go songs on the Hello, Jack! soundtrack? (They’re written expressly to get stuck in your head, BTW.) And can McBrayer become a household name like he ought to be? Here’s hoping so, because if anyone’s earned that, it’s Jack.

You’d be crazy not to buy Chinese furniture from OK Go

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The boys are back...in a Chinese commercial. Photo: OK Go/Red Maccaline
The boys are back...in a Chinese commercial. Photo: OK Go/Red Maccaline

Rock band OK Go contains some incredibly talented folks. Their crazy-creative videos keep us dancing and guessing “how did they do that?” while they make iOS games and manage a successful touring and record-making career along the way.

Now the foursome is advertising for Red Star Macalline, a Chinese furniture company, with an advertisement using their hit song “I Won’t Let You Down,” including a video shot in China itself, as well as a remix of the tune for the ad.

Check it out below, but don’t say we didn’t warn you. Chair dancing will probably ensue (if you’re sitting down).

Stop whatever you’re doing and watch this insane OK Go video

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The latest video from OK Go is even more OK Go than ever. Photo: OK Go
The latest video from OK Go is even more OK Go than ever. Photo: OK Go

Indie rock band OK Go has a reputation for doing wild and crazy one-shot videos for it’s new releases, and today’s reveal on NBC’s Today show is no exception.

Check out this insane short film where the band performs its second single “I Won’t Let You Down” from the new album Hungry Ghosts. They chair dance atop Honda UNI-CUBs, “omni-directional driving wheel systems” that are in the development stage. Think sitting-down Segways and you’ll have an idea.

Better yet, check out the video below, filmed in Chiba Prefecture, Japan this past August. And make sure you stay for the final, mind-blowing minute where the shot goes high.

This Mac Pro-powered OK Go cart makes some awesome videos

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These wires and Mac Pro do some amazing work. Photo: Damian Kulash/Instagram
These wires and Mac Pro do some amazing work. Photo: Damian Kulash/Instagram

Just take a look at that beast above, posted by lead singer and guitarist for nerdtastic rock band OK Go, Damian Kulash. The Instagram photo, captioned “There is a machine that makes OK Go videos. This is that machine.”

Founded in 1998, OK Go consists of Damian Kulash (lead vocals, guitar), Tim Nordwind (bass guitar and vocals), Dan Konopka (drums and percussion) and Andy Ross (guitar, keyboards and vocals). They’re known for their extensive, quirky and technically complex music videos.

Here are a few of those awesome videos, made with the OK Go cart above.

Will Apple’s Bash finally bring the jams?

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Can't get much more bland than this smooth jazz outfit, who played The Bash in 2001
Can't get much more bland than this smooth jazz outfit, who played The Bash in 2001

Every year since 2000, Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference has concluded with a huge concert called The Bash. This party brings the white and nerdy devs to the yard with bands like Barenaked Ladies (2008), Cake (2009) and OK Go (2010).

We’d like to see Apple switch things up this year. With the recent Beats Music deal still echoing down the halls of Cupertino, it’d sure be nice to see a group up on the Apple stage with a bit more street cred than, say, The Rippingtons (2001).

OK Go Tells Us About Say The Same Thing, The iOS Game They Actually Made Real

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Hugs all around, guys!
Hugs all around, guys!

The band, OK Go, known as much for its fabulously nerdy and complex videos as for its quirky and upbeat pop music, have made an app. Before you go, “meh,” and move on, thinking that this is another one of those record publishing tie-in apps that, really, no one loves but the publicist trying to push it, take a look at the video here.

Get it? These guys made the app. Ok, mostly guitarist Andy Ross, but the other guys certainly had a hand in the app. They definitely appear in the video above. Singer and bassist, Tim Nordwind, had this to say when we asked about the app.