The Decemberists & Grant Park Orchestra

One of a set of great free summer concerts happening across the nation, the Decemberists playing at the Jay Pritzker band shell in Millennium Park with the Grant Park Orchestra provided an opportunity that couldn’t be missed. With a slew of web-publicity (thanks Facebook) and the support of Metro – celebrating 25 years of amazing music – the turn out promised to be grand!

Just look at that set list!

When I arrived at the park at around 4 in the afternoon, the place was already filling up fast. Without blanket or picnic basket and wary of the rain forecast for that evening I decided to take my chances in the line curving around the green which promised entry into a 2,000 person public seating.

From what I heard the seating can actually hold 4,000 but half of those spots were already reserved for performance season ticket holders. Fortunately though, the line didn’t seem too bad and once things got moving getting in was pretty well organized - though it didn't quite look it!

As our line moved closer towards the seating the opportunity was ripe for people watching. Everyone and anyone seemed to be excited about this event. Apart from web saavy teens, bored college students, and your garden variety Indie kids there were a lot of “young professionals” enjoying the day, as well as parents indoctrinating their young kids to the joys of the Decemberists. Then, of course there were the people who had season passes for the Orchestra. Although you wouldn’t expect it, smartly dressed retirees apparently make for pretty avid Decemberists fans.

Two really funny things soon stood out as a mainstay of pretty much half of the people in the crowd. First of all, the number of people wearing Threadless shirts was insane, it seemed that every other person you passed sported another shirt from their endless online shirt catalogue. (I was glad I had worn mine the previous night instead of that day) What’s more, with the Harry Potter book release coming up fast, you could be sure that at least half a dozen people around you were toting a 600+ page book! They seemed just about as commonplace as any iPod – though hardly as portable … at least my copy of The Order of the Phoenix was already battered enough to withstand a day out on the town.

Well, getting back to the show, the seating that we managed to get was actually really decent. For what they had opened to the public we were just a couple of rows in and had a great view of the stage. Better than the people who were out in the grasslands, anyhow ...

The wait for the show wasn’t too bad either, by the time we had gotten our seats there was about an hour left to wait and that time soared by pretty fast. Again people watching moved things along rather briskly, and listening to the P.A. system kick in to say things like: if the music moves you to dance.

The show kicked off promptly at 6:30 PM – and after the orchestra had taken their seats and the Metro introduced the concert, the Decemberists came out to a roaring crowd.

Unfortunately that was about the same time that the rain started to come down. First it was a light drizzle, then the sky began to spark, and finally a little ways into the concert the sky just opened up!

Then the umbrellas came out … which provided the catalyst for one of the most annoying moments in crowd history that I can think of!

As the crowd started getting into the music it was rather unsettling to see everyone just sitting in their places. The ticket-holders seemed to set the standard, acting politely throughout the entire show. Yet pretty soon a couple of errant fans in the public seating would get up and start dancing – no one really seemed to mind. But then – as the umbrellas went up – more scattered groups began to stand in order to get a better view of the stage. Obviously, as this proved problematic for the people trying to see the stage behind them, loud jeers and cries of “sit down” became commonplace. As the rain kept coming down and the set progressed further and further in, the annoyance of these people could not help but interrupt the show.

I'm assuming that woman is thinking "what in the world"

Thankfully, after a bit the Decemberists themselves prompted everyone to stand as a particularly rousing song came up. With everyone in the crowd standing and clapping all animosity seemed to melt away. And then, as Colin Meloy himself ran through the aisles hi-fiving people, awesomeness was restored!

Blurry awesomeness!

Afterwards people generally mellowed out and began to enjoy the show once more, though the rain would come in periodically and the grumbling of thunder would add its sound to those of the orchestra. Once both the band and the orchestra got into the effect of the combined sounds were really something magnificent. The last part of The Tain was especially amazing - I managed to snag a clip of Tain V below - and as The Decemberists came to the conclusion of I Was Meant For The Stage the lighters even came out!

The Tain, Part V

Then the Decemberists died --

-- but were instantly reanimated with the call to abandon all seating arrangements
and rush towards the stage for the last two songs!

The result of this post Orchestral addendum was amazing. There are plenty of videos to document this change, but the crowd - which was previously seated and somewhat muted - erupted in the glee of a true Indie concert event. The last two songs: 16 Military Wives and the Mariner's Revenge song were completely animated and the Decemberists fed off of this energy, even getting the crowd to participate in a hearty back and forth of LaDeeDaa's and getting everyone to scream as if eaten by a giant whale - indicated by Chris Funk's running up and down the stage opening and closing his arms.

16 Military Wives

Oh, Colin Meloy ...


... the crowd loves you!

Introduction to The Mariner's Revenge Song (With Arm-chomping action below)

I don't know what's going on here ...

... no one did ...

... then it all made sense?

... and then The Decemberists died again.

At this point everyone in the crowd seemed amazingly satiated. Colin Meloy hopped a piggy-back ride off of the stage as the crowd cheered on. Then as the crowd gradually parted ways and in the momentary hubb-bubb everyone forgot that it was crazy and raining and dark outside. But even once the rain really started to pour the feeling of "it was totally worth it" remained - yay, fun story.

Tags: The Decemberists, Grant Park Orchestra, Millennium Park, Jay Pritzker Pavilion, Metro, July 18 2007, The Tain V, 16 Military Wives, The Mariner's Revenge Song, Colin Meloy, Chris Funk

This is the Day!

I'm a fan of M&M's. There's just something special about those iconic hard shelled sweets that can't be denied. Each lower case 'm' stamped individually onto each little bit of chocolate just seems like an affirmation of the magic of marketing and for the most part M&M's has been able to play the game relatively well over the years. Ultimately, while they may often compete with Starburst when facing off for my vending-machine change, they're a candy I just can't say no to.

Unless of course it's Lent, I've given up chocolate, but I get the chance to hop-skip through the 3 story tall M&M's store in New York City's Times Square ...

Fight it, fight it, fight it ...

But, I digress. I've been meaning to tackle this latest round of M&M's advertising, which has both my marketing sensibilities and candy love working over time. While I've found the anthropomorphized red and yellow characters to be great representatives of the brand, the idea has been expanded vastly to encompass not only the family of colors (the crazy minis, smexy green, etc) but now each and every member of the M&M's nation!

You can check out these "Inner M" commercials on the M&M's commercials page. Or right here:

Sure the idea is clever and they even have an M&M avatar promotion behind it, whereby you can make your own freaky 3D M&M avatar, but that's not the main reason why I've gotta love the commercials ... even though my M&M me is oh-so lovable.


The MAIN reason has definitely got to be the supremely good music choices M&M has recently begun to use for its commercials. While they can't touch the randomness factor of a good Starburst or Altoids commercial with a 10 foot pole, they can surely get enough music ear worms around that the commercials becomes memorable for almost that sole reason.

Case in point, the last commercial to get this treatment used Iron & Wine's Such Great Heights to an amazing effect - giving M&M's the mellow indie cred that is as almost as sweet as chocolate itself. As people returned from commercial, finding themselves unable to shake the tune of this catchy but obscure song, they were forced to look beyond the top pop charts and dig a little deeper. All the while then, M&M basked in the beautiful synergy of good music and web-literate listeners.

Now, as listeners come out of this latest round of commercials, yearning to find out more - they're pointed to the M&M's main page ... but, I can cut out that middle man. The source of this amazing song is none other than the eighties, nineties, and even 00's under appreciated sensation, The The.

Yes, that's right, the band's name is The The.

And here's the music video for their catchy chocolate commercial cameo. Enjoy!

What's more, if you're like me and need to have this song around - whether on computer or iPod, you can find it on The The's album Soul Mining (through The The's website) ... or listen to it here

The The - This is the Day (mp3 via Rapidshare)

So now that I've devoted an irretrievable part of my life to blogging about chocolate commercial tunes, I feel about ready to drown my self-pity in a sea of colorful chocolate friends ... hmm, M&M's you may have made the best possible choice yet, what with pandering to a demographic of New Wave loving bloggers! Kudos! While today may not be the day, tomorrow will be the day -- my life will surely change!

Tags: M&M, commercial, advertisement, Inner M, avatar, Iron & Wine, The The, This is the Day, music, music video

Candy Mountain?

At my last visit to Old Orchard Mall, I was taken aback by a certain shop stand that I saw while walking around the open air shopping center ...


Now I've seen Charlie the Unicorn enough times on YouTube to know that it's become a bit of an internet meme and quite possibly even one of those pop culture references that will drive people insane. But when I saw this stand, the first thing that came to my mind was "Candy Mountain, Charlie!" and I sincerely hope I'm not the only one whose mind jumped to that conclusion.

Now if at this point you have no idea what I'm talking about, just watch the video below:

What do you guys think, could the unicorns truly be funneling their kidney-sale monies to shoddy mall ventures? Is this a coincidence enough to make some sort of valid connection? Could letter shaped plush toys ever be popular enough with mall dwelling pre-teens without the push of a catchy online fad? Or are you all just non-believers ... ("Shun the non-believer. Shuuuuunn, shuuuuunuunnnNAH!")

The Truth is out there!

Tags: Old Orchard Mall, Candy Mountain, Charlie the Unicorn, Letters, Shop, Letter Y, conspiracy

Altoids: Curious Advertising

When I was in New York City last month (and walking pretty much everywhere for four days straight) my camera and I happened upon a couple of instances of clever, but seemingly unassuming Altoids advertising.

Careful, It's a trap.

Sure it wasn't some new fangled viral marketing or anything, but the minimal approach to the ads - a nice clean design paired with a witty phrase - was enough for me to get out my camera and take a photo. There was something about the subtle way Altoids managed to sneak a bit of humor or radomness in, without making it something absurd or over the top, that really appealed to me.

Well, after being pulled in by this minimalistic but effective approach to their posted adverts I really was 'curious' to learn more (har har). Apparently after making an appearance on Valentine's day (with a jab at sentimentality) this follow up series of street advertisements was meant to further awareness of the new "curiously chocolate" Altoids. Chocolate you say? Well, after seeing the success of their usual peppermint, cinnamon, and ginger flavors what natural progression was left but to dip them in dark chocolate!

(image originally posted on candyaddict.com)

While my initial reaction to this news was of ... well, puzzlement. I do have to confess that other combinations which I had previously been skeptical of - chocolate covered pretzels, for instance - have fast become some of my favorite food hybrids. So, curious combination aside, it seems Altoids genuinely has something special on its hands. While I'm yet to pick up a box of these choco-mints, others have taken the liberty of reviewing the different flavors, which apparently are pretty good!

Plus it seems Altoids not only has this clever series of paper ads, but also a number of quirky commercials that play with the notion of consumer's initial surprise at seeing this hybrid. Truly, if you couldn't think of anything more bizarre than chocolate covered mints these commercials provide some close alternatives.

Banana-Hands Allen


Half-Deer Edwards

Produced Biscuit filmworks under Leo Burnett-Chicago and directed by Tim Godsall, the series of four commercials definitely continue the vein of weird, yet humorous ads that have come to define the Altoids brand. The two spots I posted above were definitely the ones I enjoyed the most, but if you want to see them all there's also Blow-Hole Bob and the Australian Double-Back - but I'll leave these up to your discretion.

While I'm not sure that these commercials can top my love of the ad-sense portrayed by the Skittles brand, the similar vein of quirky humor and that mix of surreality with the sense of mundane definitely brings them to the top of my list.

Now I just need to get my hands on some of these buggers -- why in the world must the deer men hoard them so? If you've tried these already let me know where I can find them, and what flavor you'd recommend. Otherwise, let me know which Altoids spot you enjoyed the most!

Tags: Altoids, Dark Chocolate Dipped Mints, New York City, advertisement, billboard, bonbomb, curious, commercials, banana hands allen, half deer edwards, blow hole bob, australian double-back, Biscuit filmworks, Leo Burnett, Tim Godsall

Let's Explore the Airport

I know that for some people flying isn't a big deal. But I have to admit that ever since I was little the airport has held a certain magical appeal for me - perhaps it was all those hours of playing "Let's Explore the Airport" with Buzzy the Knowledge Bug in elementary school ... and I kid you not, that was the actual title! But really, there is just a certain magical charm to knowing that this specialized building facilitates the hurtling of you and your possessions through high altitudes in a winged metal tube - a charming vision of flight indeed.

Well, like Buzzy, I guess I too want to share my fascination with the whole process of commercialized aviation. Having flow internationally only twice before, taking an American Airlines flight round trip between ORD and LGA was pretty exciting time for me. It's no wonder then that I arrived at the airport carrying-on my very own American Airlines t-shirt, which I had bought at Wal-Mart just the day before for it's prominent use of eagle (see Colbert Report).

Eneagled!

Well, let me tell you, the American Airlines experience at the O'Hare International airport involved way more than just slightly disturbing cross-promotional apparel. After acquiring my boarding pass via one of those neat check-in stations and passing a the prerequisite security checkpoint the marvels of the airport were open to me! Overpriced literature, noisy food courts, and bustling travelers all called to me ... yet, something was missing ... sure the interactive weather and news display was there, but after meandering the length of the terminal, each further step reverberating the sound of my sad realization, I had to face the truth - there were simply no moving walkways in this section of the airport.

Next to escalators and self-opening doors, the moving walkway represents for me one of the marvels in modern convenience. Why exert yourself unnecessarily if technology provides a simplified solution? After all, the whole of our modern society is framed around this principle, with everything from computers to the popularized notion of an 'easy button.'

Alas then, it was with sad resignation that I returned to my boarding area, knowing that I could not in fact pay tribute my favorite ambient/electronic airport fusion inspired work (and no, I'm not referring to Brian Eno or his pretentious Music for Airports!).

Ah, Royksopp - how perfectly your mellow beats frame the irony of my plight. For all of the American Airline terminal's technological innovation: cavemen can ride the dream of the future, but I cannot!

Fortunately though, this sad state did not linger for too long (it clearly only expresses itself periodically in the form of these rants, er, posts). As the plane boarded and the prospect of flight elevated my spirits, the crowning shining pinnacle'd zenith of my aviation endeavor finally revealed itself! As the sound system crackled into life, the safety demonstration began ...

For this I salute you, flight stewards and stewardesses of the world!

Like an interpretive dance heralding the birth of creativity - the lethargic and seemingly asexual forms of the flight attendants came into motion. Prompted by colorful props and whimsical gestures the story of aviation safety came to life! The struggle for survival, for well-being and safety had never before been presented in such an enthralling fashion. With all of the excitement I finally understood the true dedication that must've been exerted by the attendants to maintain a listless and bored look on their faces. Even I, at the edge of my seat, suppressed the urge to jump and laud them with praise - masking it instead with a disinterested rifling through an in-flight magazine. This was thus, perhaps one of greatest performances of our time, each and every passenger and crew member playing the role of 'indifferent person' without even a the single hint at their deeply focused character acting. I was floored, at a loss for words - but of course, outwardly, I was just glancing over the safety brochure.

With the dazzling spectacle of this preflight ritual over, it was fun to look over what the safety instruction manual had to offer. With a radical departure from the forms common to Ikea instructional booklets or the traditional 'generic passenger' clip-art in airplane publications - the manual I held in my hands portrayed real people ... from the bygone era of what I would assume was the early 90s.


After being trapped for more than a decade on the pages of their staged emergency situations, these people had developed some amazing abilities. Not only were they able to levitate down inflated slides (as if by magic!), but the one woman in blue clearly manifests an ability to manipulate time and space itself. While she's initially depicted pushing the main in the heinous horizontally striped shirt down the slide in the middle frame, the last frame show her already off of the slide and behind the man in the heinous vertically striped shirt!


For this to have been possible, she (A) would have somehow had to get ahead of the guy she had just propelled into the air (B) and gotten on the ground (a) before he had even finished sliding (b), ergo magical powers! Note, the magical circles drawn around here are there to facilitate the effect *

I know, perhaps I'm desperate for Heroes to come back from hiatus ... but in all honesty, before anyone can say a word she'll probably have whisked off into the non-existent landscape, never to be heard from again ... except perhaps when she mysteriously turns up at another emergency landing! Coincidence? I think not. Perhaps Homeland Security should be tracking down subversive elements like her instead of just letting her parouse through our defined notions of scene continuity (Hmpf)

But for all of the inherent insanity of this image, I'm thankfully not the only one who thinks these safety manuals are weird. In fact there are some hilariously appropriate captions added to other airplane manuals via Airtoons. What's more even the Fight Club idea for a 'realistic' emergency leaflet has been realized!

Honestly, if you're going to have one satisfying experience at the airport, it's not taking the experience with such passivity or annoyance - instead enjoy it! Take advantage of the time when your flight it delayed to muse over the implications of time travel or let your mind wander towards randomness as you engage in your own rituals of bag identification or the ever skilled dance of the fallen-asleep leg. Have fun with it!

Tags: Let's Explore the Airport, Buzzy the Knowledge Bug, Airport, American Airlines, Eagle Shirt, O'Hare, Wal-Mart, Walkway, Royksopp, Commercial, Safety Demonstration, Safety Manual, Emergency Booklet, Airtoons, Fight Club

History? I LOVE HISTORY!

Ok, so I realize I haven't posted for quite some time - and that a three month hiatus is probably not the best way to assure the blog's reader(s) of The Ostrich Egg's sheer vitality and true exciti-tude. But if I know one thing better than anything else, it's that an 'exclusive' and fascinating post will surely rejuvenate the spirits of this once ... flourishing ... persisting ... not nonliving blog. So what better way to brighten up the doldrums of winter than with a blog post on HISTORY!

Why history? Well, why not - posting clips of Mr. T and Ikea lamps really didn't seem to do anything for my blog-cred, so what do I have to lose? Admittedly, I accept the fact that history and wintertime fun have in the past appeared to be mutually exclusive. For a thorough documentation see the second season episode of The Simpsons, Bart Gets an F (check it out via peekvid.com). But even though the episode features one agonizing scene where Bart forces himself to study the American Revolution in a dark, dank basement while outside the town of Springfield is celebrating 'Snow Day - The Funnest Day in the History of Springfield' ... this post is really all about breaking those negative and all too true stereotypes. History really can be fun!


Alright, fine, so what can I do to convince you? It seems pretty clear that countless pages written by historians, sociologists, and philosophers throughout time have all harped on the importance of studying history. One of the most accessible arguments is neatly broken down by Peter N. Stearns of the American Historical Association (AHA) in an exposition titled Why Study History? In it he claims that history "should be studied because it is essential to individuals and to society, and because it harbors beauty." Furthermore he goes on to detail many of the functional aspects that this study provides both for the individual and society alike, aiding in the formation of fundamental skills that define who we are ... but I can sense that this approach isn't really helping my cause either. After all one can simply claim that this man is grossly biased in favor of history, why should anyone wanting an objective opinion listen to a man in AHA's pocket? (Not to be confused with Aha, New Wave originators of the 80s classic Take on Me)

So that leads me to Old Navy, and the reason for this blog post in the first place. As a company whose motto has been "Get Your Fash-On!" ever since it's ubiquitous commercial campaign in the summer and fall of 2006, one would doubt that Old Navy would be the harbinger of a new appreciation for history. And yet, even three years after their last round of catchy advertisements, one phrase remains etched deep in my psyche, and that of my peers (I would assume): "History? I LOVE History!" In what was one of the most generation defining commercials of my time, the Old Navy 'History' commercial remains, in my opinion, the most successful pro-history campaign ever unleashed on the youth of America. While other groups have tried to combine the appeal of pop culture, design, and youth-centric adverts, none have been nearly as effective as Old Navy with this regard. See for yourself, and just try to deny the effectiveness of this advertisement ...



In all reality, this commercial really is the perfect vehicle for history education. The shrill, exuberant cries of the young college student reverberate as easily through the silent lecture hall as through our minds, while the effectiveness of this technique ensures that the words will become permanently lodged there (next to other unforgiving slogans). Furthermore, the fact that the student's rant appears to be evoked just as easily by Old Navy's back to school sale as by the prospect of studying history, the commercial itself makes the idea of being passionate about something like history accessible to all (though for some it may also require the consumption of ungoldy amounts of caffeine in preparation for a midterm). The very fact that multitudes of students have gone on to study history after viewing the commercial, and continue to do so even years later, makes my point all the more valid!

If you still aren't convinced by my random correlations, just listen to this: Old Navy isn't the only on to have picked up the model of catchy advertising in order to indoctrinating the youth with messages of history's virtues. While none can hold a candle up to the brilliance of the original, the popularity of this approach has clearly spurred others to try and follow suit.

Catchy slogans, reverse psychology, and the sex appeal of Napoleon Bonaparte - who could refuse?

Artist Eduardo Recife (www.eduardorecife.com), whose style and creative influence I greatly admire has lent his expertise to the development of a promo for the upcoming HBO series, Assume the Position. The premise of the show is formed around the supposition that most of our notions about historical fact are in reality based on popular culture, and it is our job as inquisitive students of history to vocally question and debunk hearsay. Robert Whul, the man charged with reformatting the common student's approach to history, is the most vocal figure present in the college classroom setting picked for the show. A couple of seconds into the promo, as his booming voice fills the lecture hall, the excitement of discovery present in the subtleties of his tone - I can't help but bring myself back to those simple beginnings when $20 capris were all that it took to get one so worked up over history.

The promo which you can check out in a 40 second and 60 second format, is really a clear sign that the youth, nurtured by Old Navy commercials of yore, have grown up to be actual college students, deserving of more mature historically infused advertisements and pop-culturally savvy programming.

I for one will keep the tradition started all those years ago by Old Navy strong, and my love for history will forever ring out, in the immortal words of that annoying girl: "...Something happens... Then something else happens! It's so sequential! Thanks... first guy! For writing history down! ...LET'S STUDY!" And I'm pretty positive others see it that way too.

Illinois delegation at National History Day 2006
See more of NHD on my Flickr photoset

Tags: advertising, AHA, American Historical Association, Assume The Position, Commercial, Eduardo Recife, HBO, History, I LOVE History, National History Day, Old Navy, Peter Stearns, Simpsons, Take On Me

Rabbit by Run Wrake

I know I haven't posted for a while, what with school and everything, and yes I do feel guilty about that. But believe me, I have procrastinated enough to find a lot of good material to cover over the next week!

So, in the hope of feigning the semblance of connections to past entries I think I'm going to work off of that image of the vintage Halloween card I posted about three weeks ago. It really is pretty neat looking ... with the pumpkin ... and the scared children ... and I suppose it could be seen as presenting some sort of moral notions of ... um ... not messing with pumpkins ... and ultimately it has that interesting art sensibility that the 1950s were privy to.


But yeah, it was this interesting art style that really brought to mind a rather bizarre and yet ultimately somewhat satisfying animation that I happened upon the other day over at YouTube. Employing this classic style the animation resonates with the look of an early reading primer, yet in combination with an unusual narrative progression this animation really does become remarkable.

The short synopsis reads as: A selection of 1950s educational stickers, discovered in a provincial junkshop twenty years ago, provide the ingredients for this adult fairytale. When a boy and girl find an idol in the stomach of a rabbit, its magical abilities lead to riches, but for how long? But hey, honestly, you should check this thing out for yourself, it really is something else.

Now the facts ... as you sit and process what you just witnessed. The short film was directed by none other than Run Wrake, who has a number of amazing works available on his website including illustrations and commissions by MTV and different music artists. Working with Channel 4, this fascinating work was commissioned by 'animate!' (the home of some amazing experimental works that definitely should not be missed). The animate! website has a wealth of background information on all of the animations that it supports, and the Rabbit information page has everything from stills to concept work and storyboards. So yeah!

And the moral of this story: don't trust golden idols who convince you to make blog posts at three in the morning ~

Tags: Video, YouTube, Rabbit, Run Wrake, animate!, animation, vintage, 1950s

This is Halloween

Ah, yes - it's finally Halloween - that amazing end of October event which always brings back fond memories of running down the block with a zealous greed for sugar, causing havoc for my parents all night long until finally settling down to sort out mounds of sweets in front of the television (while watching the latest Simpsons Treehouse of Horror). Now that I'm in college there is definitely an element of nostalgia when considering that its way more difficult to to justify trick-or-treating, but the internet is always there to help bring about the right mindset. Thats why in looking about the internets I've managed to find some rather interesting spooky tid-bits.

(source, Flickr Vintage Halloween Pool)

First off, it goes without saying that watching the Nightmare Before Christmas is the quintessential Halloween experience - not only is it a great movie for any time of the year but playing it to excess on Halloween can totally be justified. A great video was posted up on YouTube of the latest iteration of the 'This is Halloween' tune done by Marilyn Manson for the 3D release of this cult classic. While it preserves the original nature of the song, introducing the Manson flavor really does add that extra freaky factor to it. Of course, checking out the Panic! At The Disco cover of the song (mp3) as well as the original Danny Elfman score (mp3) will have you feeling that Halloween spirit in no time.

Moving on from the stop motion animated goodness of Nightmare, I found 3D animation short in the same sort of neat Halloween vein. Created by Digital Kitchen this quick animation draws you in to a Halloween Dream with a really catchy soundtrack. Apparently its been utilized as part of Screenvision's Halloween-themed movie preshow, dubbed SCREAMvision so you might've seen it in theaters - Not bad.

Seeing as this has really become more of an animated tribute to Halloween, why add another throwback to stop-motion animation? The magic of Halloween themed peeps comes across in this random, yet amazing, quick flick. I really have to try me some of those zombified peeps.

If your desire for Halloween saturated goodness hasn't been satiated yet, check out X-Entertainment Blog, a great place for blurbs on 80s toys, random advertising, and of course, at this time of the year, the home of the Halloween Countdown!

And remember, don't be a Hallowe'en grinch(ette) when the tick-or-treaters come by or else the Freaky Flying-Pumpkin Commandeering Witch will come for you and all of that hoarded candy you thought you could keep for yourself.

Tags: Halloween, Vintage, Nightmare Before Christmas, Marilyn Manson, Panic! At The Disco, Danny Elfman, Halloween Dream, Stop Motion Animation, Peeps, X-Entertainment Blog