In what is fast becoming a Wake-Up Video tradition, today we celebrate the birth of somebody attached to the worldwide phenomenon that is the "Harry Potter" book and movie franchise. Today's birthday is significant, because without this person, the whole of "Potter" wouldn't exist. It is, of course, writer J.K. Rowling's birthday today, so if you pass the British novelist in the street today, congratulate her on being 44 years young. She's had a hell of a run, having turned stories she made up for the benefit of her children into a billion dollar industry that is mostly based around books, which is nothing short of staggering in the 21st century.
Of all the wonderful cameos in the "Harry Potter" movies, the greatest was Jarvis Cocker's appearance in "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire." Cocker, the former frontman of British class-warfare rockers Pulp, appears as the singer of the Weird Sisters, the musical entertainment for the Yule Ball. The Weird Sisters (also containing members of Radiohead and Add N to X) play the song "Do the Hippogriff" in one of the wackier scenes in the series' history (though it's hard not to be charmed by a lyric like "Boogie down like a unicorn"). While he's something of a folk hero in his native England, Cocker's popularity in the United States has always been a bit spotty (not surprising, considering Pulp's particular brand of Britpop was heavily steeped in the British class system and relied a lot on slang), but he's been making progress as a solo artist. He's put out two albums (including this year's Steve Albini-produced Further Complications), and has even produced a memorable video in "Don't Let Him Waste Your Time." So toast J.K. Rowling, shake a bit to Jarvis and have a happy Friday.