Most would agree that the primary problem that plagued Gus Van Sant’s shot-by-shot remake of “Psycho” was that it treated the original film with too much reverance. By stripping any sense of fun or originality out of the proceedings, the undoubtedly excellent concept landed in theaters feeling as lifeless as anything you’d find at Madame Tussaud’s.

Fortch for all of us who feel that “The Last Waltz” is the all-time greatest rock doc ever committed to celluloid (with the possible exception of “Stop Making Sense”), director Dave Yonkman successfully avoiding repeating Van Sant’s mistakes by injecting a healthy dose of livelihood into both the storyboarding and shooting phases of “Guster’s Last Waltz.” Developed as promo for the upcoming tribute album dedicated to the work of The Band (due in stores at the end of the month), the Gusters took this opportunity to once again capitalize on the powers of The Internerd™ to satiate the appetites of their hungry and loyal fanbase.

And as an added bonus to those of you who spent anytime in Ann Arbor, be sure and pay particular attention to the opening scene. It was shot in the legendary 8 Ball Saloon, located in the basement of the Blind Pig. Only Yahweh knows how many cans of Schlitz were consumed and games of darts were lost by your Uncle Grambo there over the years.

RELATED: While you’re YouTubin’, be sure and check out Guster’s equally enjoyable video for “C’mon” … I bet you dollars to donuts that somewhere off the coast of Connecticut, Dean Kamen is smiling.

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It’s been a LONG while since your Uncle Grambo really let loose on a bunch of wholly unrelated topics, bullet stizz. With that in mind, here’s some choice thoughts on some neglected linkage that’s been gathering dust in the corner for the past few weeks…

• Aside from some of the more obvious things that I miss most about Detroit (family, friends, coney dogs), one of the most difficult parts of my transition to life in NYC has been coping with the loss of my sports radio touchstones at WDFN. I’m talkin’ legends like Stoney and Wojo, Jamie and Brady, Diesel Dery and even Eric Pate. These guys had been a daily staple in my pop culture diet for the better part of the last 10 years, and quitting them cold turkey has not been easy. Sure, they’re still accessible to me via streaming radio, but like many of my fellow X’ers, I’m staunchly averse to the whole streaming bandwagon. But there’s one thing that might get me to change my mind … the return of Art Regner.

  As much as I loved WDFN (which was a LOT), I always abhored Sean Baligian. I mean, I understood his appeal — that of the consummate Downriver fanboy — but his schtick always irritated me to the high heavens. Now that Art Regner is a free agent (back on the market after getting canned at WXYT), I implore the program managers at The Fan to let bygones be bygones and bring him back in the fold (preferably in Baligian’s 9am slot). Regner isn’t the outrageous wild man he was during the heyday of his late `90s popularity, but there’s no arguing that he’s far better equipped to represent the Everyman voice of Detroit Fan than the inarticulate slob with least imaginative catch phrase in the business (“It is what it is”). Developing!

• While we’re on the sports tip, Gorilla Mask put together a hilarious list of Bill Walton’s well-documented forays into hyperbole. Example: “Greg Ostertag is one of the top centers on this planet!” Essential. [via SportsByBrooks]

• Talk about SNL revealed! Egotastic managed to get their hands on some topless Poehler buzz. Wonder what Uncle Rick would think?

• If there’s one thing that we all know about Prince Rogers Nelson, it’s that dude is all abouts brevity when it comes to spelling. If you think about it, his stylistic shortcuts (like “4″, “U” and dozens of others) predated the whole IM/text message revolution by a full 10 years (at least). But your Uncle Grambo feels like holmes is treading into questionable artistic territory when, on an upcoming tribute record, he rechristens Joni Mitchell’s classic as “A Case Of U”. Come on now, Prince. Let’s be rease.

• These barely SFW shots of Rebecca Loos make your Uncle Grambo’s head spin and pants dance. Giggity, indeed.

• Sometime last month, your Uncle Grambo was stumbling home from a sake-filled evening with R. Mills and the Stereogum gents when I stumbled upon this place: the BAMN! Automat. Fresh out of a “Lost In Translation”-era Sofia Coppola cream dream, this new(ish) hotspot in St. Mark’s Place allows you to order up wacky foodstuffs like mini-burgers and deep-fried mac and cheese on a stick, self-serve stizz! Not only is the food certifiably Yummers McGee, but the lack of any human intervention COMPLETELY eliminates any of the embarrassment that sometimes comes along with ordering carnie food. If you ever decide to make your way over to this mecca of besteverness, be sure to bring either small bills or a sockful of quarters — these machines only take coins! Totes jawesome, y’all!

• Remember Super Toe? I do. Along with Crossbows and Catapaults, it was one of those rare toys that rewarded both extensive precision in pre-move planning AND brute force. Geens.

• And in “closing the loop” news, your Uncle Grambo wants to call attention to Sarah Klein’s scathing Detroit kiss-off that ran last month in the Metro Times. There’s no two ways about it, her column was one of the most fearlessly honest pieces about the state of the city that I have EVER read in the local mainstream(ish) media. Whether or not you still give two shits about the future of downtown Detroit, Klein deserves attention and applause for standing in such stark contrast to the toothless “We can do it!” puff pieces that run each week in Model D. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a firm believer in the power of positivity and its importance in the revitalization efforts to rebuild Detroit. But after nearly two years of living and working in one of the nicer parts of the city (”nicer” being a relative term, obvs) , I can relate to nearly everything that Klein stated as a reason that she ultimately decided to leave the city. There isn’t a day that goes by where I don’t miss all of my friends and family back in The D (not to mention the coney dogs and sports radio), but at the same time, there hasn’t been a single day since I’ve left where I’ve missed ANYTHING about the city itself. Speaking from experience, I’ve got a good feeling that Sarah Klein will find the grass to be greener in the next place that she decides to settle down.

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Face it, our squad didn’t even deserve to be on the same field as them. And no, your Uncle Grambo isn’t talking about the University Of Michigan football team (more on them some other time); I’m talking about our pathetic excuse for a cheerleading squad. Please understand that I’m fully cognizant of the fact that there are more “ugly Michigan girl” jokes than there are minutes in the day, but SURELY there has got to be at least ten chicks in Ann Arbor between the ages of 18 and 22 who can nail a couple of back handsprings AND look good in a short skirt. And SURELY The U can find a couple of spare bucks in the athletic budget to hire a stylist who doesn’t complicate matters by making the best chicks we have to offer look like Nancy Lopez’s back-up dancers. Am I right or am I right?

Fortunately for us Wolverine fans, the thing about yesterday’s game that’s getting the most ink is NOT actually the game. Instead, the Case Of The USC Song Girl and Her Missing Underwear is dominating the headlines. Not since the good ole days of Mystery Booty have the internets banded together so fastidiously in an attempt to solve a mystery of such international consequence.

As of press time, only one piece of this puzzle has been solved. While the debate still rages on as to whether or not the Song Girl in question is Megan or Alli (you can follow said debate over at Deadspin), the Encyclopedia Browns over at Michigan Sports Center have acquired HD screenshots that prove that the Trojan Tushy was indeed clad with some sort of underwears. As they say in the bizz, DEVELOPING!

UPDATE: Mystery solved. Boi From Troy says it’s Megan after all. [via Deadspin]

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When asked to name the greatest minds of our times, most people are apt to regurgitate names like Einstein, Hawking, Salk or maybe even Fermi. Not your Uncle Grambo, no sir. My money’s on Jeffrey Wells.

Wells. Honestly. There is no rival for his all-time besteverness. Dude is LEGENDARY. Take, for instance, his thoughts on New Year’s Eve:

“Nothing’s ‘happy’…nobody’s ‘happy’ anywhere. At best, people are content, joyously turned on for the moment, laughing or telling a funny story or a good joke, placated, relaxed, energetic, enthused, full of dreams, generous of heart, intellectually alive…but ‘happy’?

I hate everything about New Year’s Eve, especially young guys going ‘ooowwwooooh!’ in animal bars as midnight approaches … We all know the same mistakes are going to be made over the next twelve months, and that the only thing certain is that everything will be more expensive twelve months from now.”

Animal bars! That hat! Wells! Can’t imagine a better start to 2007. Here’s hoping Lloyd and the boys keep up the 2007 hottness and BRING it this afternoon!

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