Video A-Go-Go: Epic Driving, Calcu-Hop, Allemanders, Hypnotism and Chiptunes

As strange as it is, if you’ve lived in Asheville long enough, you can start to buid up a tolerance to the fantastic local scenery. You start taking the stunning local vistas on everyday roads for granted, hardly noticing a view that might stop a tourist dead in their tracks. Fortunately, it’s relatively easy to get out of this rut, simply by taking a look at the same old views in a slightly new perspective. Like this timelapse video of a drive from Mount Mitchell and to Asheville, which turns from a regular drive to a near epic of winding road, lush scenery and dramatic weather. (The cinematic score doesn’t hurt, either.)

Thanks to the efforts of local performers like Secret Agent 23 Skidoo and his “kid-hop” innovations, Asheville is becoming a haven for iconoclastic, stereotype-bending hip-hop. This week, we may have uncovered yet another rhyme-and-beat based musical subgenre to brag about: Calculus rap. Sure, it’s probably more of an extra-credit assignment for an AP class at T.C. Roberson, but everyone has to start somewhere.

It’s hardly a secret that our area has a rich dance culture, from wall-thumping club experiences to some of the most refined movement theater in the region. And this isn’t only true for those young whippersnappers and their rump-shaking, either. For instance, here’s some footage from the Asheville Allemanders Jungle Dance, as featuring some experienced folks scuffing their shoes to “I’ll Fly Away.”

The human mind is a complex, powerful creation capable of a seemingly limitless range of activities, thoughts, emotions and ideas. But like many complex structures, it’s also capable of doing some strange and unexpected things when manipulated and motivated properly. And in the right context—like a live hypnotism show—the results can be more than a little funny. Here’s “comedy hypnotist” K.C. Cameron demonstrating this exact situation at a recent performance at UNC-Asheville.

This week, we’re breaking from our format of ending the roundup with a live music performance. Instead, we’re highlighting the work of local electronic/chiptune musician and composer Dep. The track is called “Walk,” and it’s from the album “Yes, but only if we walk forever.

Each week, dozens upon dozens of interesting local videos are uploaded to YouTube. It’s a lot to keep up with. Did we miss a particularly interesting, recently uploaded local video? Share it by leaving the video’s URL (but not the embed code) in the comment fields below. Also, please mark it Not Work Safe if there’s any controversial content to the video.

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One thought on “Video A-Go-Go: Epic Driving, Calcu-Hop, Allemanders, Hypnotism and Chiptunes

  1. Ezekiel

    I really like the time-lapse drive to Mt. Mitchell video. Don’t know what the music is, but it was used in “The Last of the Mohicans,” which was also filmed in this area.

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