Top Ten VHS Finds Of 2009
2009 was a banner year for the Found Footage Festival. We celebrated the five-year anniversary of the show, we launched a new website, we embarked on our biggest tour to date, and we found a ton of great VHS gems all across the country. As we prepare to roll out our 2010 tour, we thought we’d take a break to look back at some of our favorite finds of the past year. Machine-gun toting babes, inappropriate office jokesters, sweater-wearing bachelors, we salute you!
10. Michael Jackson Striptease
A fitting tribute to both Michael Jackson and hunks, this excerpt from a VHS tape called “California Big Hunks” stole our hearts in 2009.
9. Country Ham, City Ham
We’re not sure why, but this instructional video on meat carving won us over with its excessive repetition of the word “ham.”
8. Rock Vocals, Part 1
Perhaps the world’s gentlest rock vocals instructor wowed us with his incredible (and incredibly stupid) ability to sustain a note.
7. Babes With Machine Guns, Part 2
Who among us didn’t fall in love with the babes with machine guns this year? This particular clip was our favorite for the irrational contempt the last babe reserves for people who eat quiche.
6. At Home With English
We absolutely love the star of this show from Austin, Texas: a man named Greg who concocted some incredible scenarios to teach English to foreigners. And to top it off, we actually tracked him down and got to meet him a few months ago! Our interview with Greg is a bonus feature on our new DVD.
5. John & Johnny & Earrings
Not a new find, but one we found years ago in a warehouse in Wisconsin and recently unearthed for this bonus clip. If you needed any more proof that Johnny Rhodes was among the biggest goofballs ever to grace the small screen, his ventriloquism bit should seal the deal.
4. Harassment Comedy
This montage of inappropriate jokes from workplace harassment videos is so endlessly quotable that some phrases have already worked their way into our lexicon. For example, when someone asks you what you did last night, answer with “I watched that shark show. Did you guys see that? It was insane!” Plus, this clip features our favorite cameo of the year: The Jamaican Guy From The Third Floor.
3. Video Dating, Part 1
We cut together our favorite parts from this 1987 video dating reel (found by David Cross) and, after we posted them online, the internet went bonkers. The clip also got a ton of mileage on Attack Of The Show and Ellen back in September, but it still has staying power thanks in no small part to a bachelor who simply refused to date hamsters. More "Video Dating" can be found here.
2. Something Big
When our friend Jacy told us earlier this year that he’d found “something big” on an obscure British porno tape, we had no idea just how right he was. There is so much to love about this music video—the mustache, the blurry pictures of naked ladies, and the song, which we’ve come to genuinely love over the past few months.
1. B.B. Bunny
Finally, we know this may be controversial, but our favorite VHS find of 2009 was this segment from a 1983 Tucson public access show, featuring a reluctant, piano-playing rabbit and his overeager trainer. Will we see more B.B. Bunny and friends in 2010? You better believe it. Happy New Year!
Your Pals,
Joe & Nick
