Five Things You Had to See Online This Week
This week in “Thanks, Internet” — Jens Lekman drops a mixtape,a dog hits the beach, Cookie Monster eats John Oliver’s tie,an 8-bit adieu to Miyazaki, and a GIF that summarizes a season.
1. What Would Jens Do?
Jens Lekmandropped a mixtapethis week and its 33 minutes prove the Swedish raconteur hasn’t lost an iota of his charmor taste in the two years since his last release. He got the idea for the collection’s title, WWJD, from a bracelet he picked up for $1.99 at a gas station in the Midwest. The musician wondered “What would Jens do?” and, as the opening track explains:
And since my life turned into a country song
It’s time to ask myself where things went wrong
And what would Jens do?
And then do the opposite of that…There’s a lesson learned
A good old friendwho taps you on the shoulder
Says don’t do that again
What would Jens do?
Well, is what we’re not going to do
2. Release The Hound!
Schools may say summer is over, but a few heroesreminded us the season is more a state of mind. One strapped a camera to his canine, removed his leash, and let the pup take us exactly where we long to go.
3. John Oliver Meets His Match
John Oliver and the Cookie Monster made us want to have kids this week— not so we could experience the joys of child-rearing, but so we could stay at home and watch more Sesame Street. W-ORD Channel 7 News With John Oliver And Cookie Monsteris theworld’s most entertaining and satisfying news broadcast. Cameos from Kate McKinnon and Nick Offerman never hurt. Also: outtakes.
4. 8-Bit Adieu
Hayao Miyazaki says The Wind Risesis his last film. His influence spans generations, as we were reminded this week when Vimeo userwhoispablomade a slightly sappy, totally heart-warming 8-bit tribute to the animation master. Watch for cameos from everyone in Miyzaki’s universe.
5. The GIF That Grieves
This summer will be remembered as a rough one. In between visits to the beach, we were buffeted with bad news, from Malaysia Flight 17 to Michael Brown to the rise of ISIS. Visual storytellerChristoph Neiman,who was also responsible for the best World Cup coverage we saw this summer,powerfullycaptured the season’s mixed emotions forThe New Yorker.