- The big sports story of the week was that Antonio Davis went into the stands while his New York Knicks were visiting the Chicago Bulls. I’m really surprised that after the Artest brawl last year that we didn’t see a rash of fans hoping to goad players into a million dollar lawsuit. More surprisingly the fan in the incident, Michael Axelrod, was willing not to file a million dollar lawsuit in exchange for an apology. For some reason Davis has decided not to apologize which means he’ll end up paying Axelrod thousands of dollars for the lawsuit to go away. Hopefully the 22 year old will spend the money on some Rogaine because he is way too young to be sporting the Matt Hasselback hairdo.
- After a hard fought Ice Skating National Championships to decide who gets to go to the Olympics they still named someone who didn’t even compete just to show why Ice Skating isn’t a sport and should be banned from the Olympics. You didn’t see the Jets, who many thought would make the playoffs in the preseason, petition the NFL to get a free pass into the playoffs because Chad Pennington went down? But it’s almost poetic justice that Michelle Kwan got an exemption considering she was the one bumped to alternate when Nancy Kerrigan got knee-capped. But I don’t blame Kwan considering where Kerrigan is these days but I’m sure when the next Winter Olympics come around Kwan will be on Skating with the Stars too with her partner Nelly.
- The big news out of the Australian Open, and really the only reason I know it’s going on is the reports that Andy Roddick and Maria Sharapova are hooking up down under. For those keeping track at home, if this is true, Roddick has pulled off one of the greatest feats of our lifetime by somehow being able to upgrade from Mandy Moore. But both tennis stars are denying the reports and have even pulled out the Friends Card. I never understood this tactic from a guy’s point of view. Why would anyone deny that he’s hooking up with one of the hottest chicks in the world? Even if it weren’t true, that doesn’t mean you need to lie and say you are, but you don’t have to deny it either, just play coy or evade the question, which would in turn make everyone believe its true and you don’t have to lie.
- Alex Rodriguez finally decided he is going to play for the U.S.A. in the World Baseball Classic. This is most likely the best chose because no one in America will be watching when he chokes because we’ll all be watching March Madness. Had he when with the Dominican Republic he would have disgraced a whole nation, who would be watching every pitch of the tournament, when he strikes out in the bottom of the 9th to eliminate his team.
- Not really sports related but here’s another exclusive picture courtesy of UPN/Warner Bros. (all rights reserved and all that other legal stuff) from the upcoming Veronica Mars
episode on Wednesday at 9:00 so thanks to them.
Longtime reader know I like all types of music from all the genres but if one were to put a gun to my head, I would say that soul music is my favorite and Wilson Pickett was the quintessential soul man of the 60’s. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991. Like most people of my generation, I wasn’t introduced to Pickett until I saw The Commitments where the band in the movie’s main goal in life was to perform with the soul singer and once I heard Pickett I could understand why. Even though Pickett was a soul singer, his song, Mustang Sally has become the greatest bar band song of all time and should be a requirement for every new rock band to learn. In addition to Mustang Sally, In the Midnight Hour is also an all time classic and Land of 1000 Dances has spawn a thousand covers and parodies most notable the WWF’s version featuring the golden era of the early 80’s wresters singing the song. It’s also worth checking out his amazing version of the Beatles Hey Jude. Pickett was 64 years old.
For more information on Wilson Pickett check out 'Mustang Sally' Singer Wilson Pickett Dies of Heart Attack
After a lackluster start to its second season, it looks as if Lost is finally turning around and regaining the intrigue that made the first season great. Granted last night’s episode started out much like this season, extremely predictable. The first thing I though when I saw the token hot Latina chick was, Jack’s totally gonna hit that prompting Carol Vessey to leave him because she has something on the side too.
But the predictability went out the window with the reappearance of Zeke whose beard was looking extremely more fake this time around. And with their powwow, they brought up two long forgotten characters that have bugging me with their absence. First, there was Alex, the one who brought Kate to Zeke, who is obviously the crazy French chick’s kid. Then Jack brought up Ethan was sent to spy on them to which Zeke responded “Now that’s an interesting theory.” This lends credence to my theory that there are two tribes of Others. The other Others as in Them. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the tailles have not adopted the Others name but still talk about them as Them. So for those keeping track of my theory at home:
The Others – Kidnapped Walt and Alex; spied on the passengers via the black smoke a.k.a. the Monster. Possibly also have cameras filming them in the bunker.
Them – Kidnapped the kids from the tail section; spied on the passengers via Ethan and Goodwin.
Then the ending was exactly what I have been waiting for all season when Jack asked how long it would take to train an army. Once Michael and the boys came back, I don’t know why they didn’t start up a war room in hopes of finding Walt. All I hope is that Ana Lucia’s answer will be “not long.” But I have a feeling it will take until around the end of the season.
Other interesting tidbits in this week’s show are that Jin actually took an order from his wife. I thought even after Sun’s plea that he was still going to chase after Michael. Another person who didn’t seem too thrilled he was left out of the search party was Sayid, so that may cause some tension, not too mention Jack asking Ana Lucia about training an army considering Sayid was in an actual army. Also Hurley thinks he has a chance with Libby because of the “If you’re stranded on a desert island” theory. Apparently he forgot that it only works when you’re the only two. He still has to compete with about twenty-five other dudes on the island. Plus I have a theory about Libby that I will get to later.
One theory I want to dispute that I seen multiple times is that Carol Vessey left Jack for Sawyer. Yeah, it crossed my mind briefly but there is no way anyone is going to leave a doctor to shack up with a vagabond. But I’m not against a theory that she hooked up with someone else on the island but it is easy to discredit everyone else:
Mr. Eko – In another country
Sayid – In another country
Jin – In another country
Charlie - In another country, would know if your wife is dating a rock star
Locke – Had to resort to 1-900 numbers
Michael – Too poor to lure a doctor’s wife away
Boone – possibly underage at the time (plus since he’s dead, doubtfully he will be included in any major back flash plot twist)
So even though I think we have yet to meet the other man, here are the top three guesses of those people we’ve meet:
3. Hurley – You don’t go from Jack to Hurley, but dude is loaded so outside chance
2. Libby – We don’t know anything about her except she is a psychologist maybe she plays for the other team and got Carol to switch.
1. Desmond – Just have a feeling
Next week it looks like we get another Charlie-centric episode. There were a lot of shots of Aaron in the preview, but I have a feeling most of them were drug induced images. I guess we have to wait a week to find out.
As for Veronica Mars, it was preempted here again this week, this time for a Cavs game. Hopefully this doesn’t become a problem as there were two Cavs games on during the recent string of repeats and they don’t preempt a new episode. There is nothing in the iTunes directory that I would pay for if I missed an episode, but if Veronica Mars got preempted, I would definitely shell out $1.99 as opposed to waiting until the weekend to see the re-airing of the show.
In a story I broke here last week, Xena the Warrior Princess will be making an appearance in Neptune next week as an FBI agent (okay I didn’t break the story, I just love it whenever the guys on PTI use the phrase so I will be stealing it for my own use). Apparently all of my guess on why the FBI was making a stop in Neptune were wrong and the new evil TV Guide revealed she is in town on an entirely new case. And thanks to the fine people over at UPN, I have exclusive pictures of the former Warrior Princess naturally questioning Veronica about the case she is working on (this not being a joke and I’m supposed to mention that the pictures are courtesy of UPN/Warner Bros. so please don’t steal them):
If I had put together a list of most anticipated Midseason Shows, Love Monkey would have been on the top of the list. It would have also topped the lamest show name list too, but that’s a different story. The main reason is that the show follows around a record executive who just got booted from one of the major labels and now works at an indie so that means there will be a lot of up and coming artist that will be highlighted on the show as well as established act including Ben Folds and Aimee Man who’ve already been booked. And next week there is a cameo by LeAnn Rimes.
Another reason is the main character is portrayed by Tom Cavanagh who was also the title character on Ed which is my favorite show this decade not named Veronica Mars, so expectation for the show were high. Granted things were brought down a little with such a horrible name in Love Monkey but Buffy the Vampire Slayer overcame a horrible name and worse movie so there is hope. Plus it's good to see a show on CBS that isn't about finding killers, although I have a feeling Love Monkey will be relaced in the fall by CSI: Cleveland.
The show doesn’t solely follow Cavanaugh’s character, Tom Farrell, around the music business but also spends much time with his personal life. Unfortunately Tom doesn’t hang out with anyone as interesting as Ed did so there is no Phil, Warren, or even a Dr. Jerome but Tom does play basketball with his buddies much like he did with Mike. The closest is what basically boils down to a black version of Doogie Howser from How I Met Your Mother but instead of the Lemon Law there’s Grant’s Law (think Hugh, not the tomb guy). The black Doogie is played by Larenz Tate who has appeared in many “urban” movies so naturally, this is the first time I’ve seen him in anything (okay, I’m not big of a racist, I did see Menace II Society and Dead Presidents, I just don’t remember him).
Also filling in the other buddy roles are the guy from Beverly Hills 90210 who wasn’t Dylan, who just happens to the husband of Tom’s very pregnant sister. There’s also former baseball star who gave the biggest shock of the episode in a montage at the end of the episode where he’s standing in front of a door with flowers and a dude opens the door. This is shocking because the other buddies seem to regard him as a man’s man. Hopefully the whole in the closet storyline ends quickly because I’m already weary of it.
Playing the role of Carol Vessey is Judy Greer, last seen as the Bluth’s discarded secretary with a lazy eye and a penchant for flashing people on Arrested Development. The only problem is that it doesn’t seem that Tom figured out that she’s the one just yet although it seems as if Greer’s Brandy, or Bran as she’s referred to for some reason, has an inkling.
As for the music aspect, Tom is fired after giving an inspired speech about how it should be about the music except his boss much prefers money so Tom has to let go. So Tom decides to start up a music label of his own in hopes to sign his latest find, Wayne, out from under his former employee. Neither end up getting Wayne as he signs with an independent label who just so happens to hire Tom on. Wayne is actually played by a singer, Teddy Geiger, basically a John Mayer rip-off. This is a problem considering not even John Mayer wants to bite his old style. And a look Geiger IMDB page shows that he was a finalist for the lame VH1 Partridge Family reality show. This really isn’t a good start for his career, but if you’re interested look for his CD, Underage Thinking, to drop in March. (Apperently the show really helped, yesterday the album was ranked 33,195 on Amazon but today it's up to 412.)
If there is one glaring problem is the narration. I’ve lost count of the amount of new shows that use the devise this year. The great thing about Ed it that he over thought everything and was more than happy to express these feelings to other people. Tom instead has all these pent up emotions that he only feels obligated to tell the audience. I would have no problem if the narration magically disappears in the near future.
Verdict: Not as entertaining as Ed but could grow into something as good. Plus I love all the musical references as I constantly do the same in my own life. And when Tom’s girlfriend quoted Sting when breaking up with him was brilliant.
Since I didn't have room for her in the review, above is apperently Tom's first love on the show before he eventually ends up with Brandy. Lucky dog, or lucky monkey I guess. They really need to change the name of the show.
Hints Below
As I mentioned during my Best Songs of 2005, I have been compiling end of the year lists since 1996. That is pretty much because that was the year a buddy of mine got a CD burner to make a Best of… CD for that year. 1996 was also a special year as I have regarded it as the best year for music in my lifetime. So to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the year I’m dedicating to the top 25 songs from that year. Keep in mind I am compiling the songs from the list I made at the end of 1996 so please don’t mock some of the songs that really haven’t stood the test of time but I sure everyone loved them as much as I did back then. As always leave your guesses in the comment section, both song title and artist. If you are correct, I will un-bold the lyric and give you credit. The person with the most correct lyrics will be added to the Winner’s list on my sidebar. Now on to the lyrics:
Hints:
11. This former member of Leaders of the New School is so animated, this, his solo debut, includes an exclamation point in the title. He may be hard to reconize this days as he cut off his iconic dreads.
18. This song was off the last album the band ever recorded as the lead singer overdosed a couple years later. I'm also on the record as calling their song Would? the best song of the Grunge era.
19. Today, this artist is better know for writing operas and being mocked by Dave Chappelle for certain home made videos.
22. This was the hardest lyric to come up with because I can't tell a word that this group is saying most of the time. And it's not because of thier dialect because this rap group grew up about 20 miles north of me.
1. Getting paid is her forte, each and everyday. (No Diggity - Blackstreet; guessed by Jetting Through Life)
2. I don’t believe that anyone feels the way I do about you now. (Wonderwall - Oasis; guessed by Black Eyed Gurl)
3. We’ll mix up hip hop and reggae if we say it’s so. (All Mixed Up - 311; guessed by Russ)
4. Swim out past the breaker, watch the world die. (Santa Monica - Everclear; guessed by Jetting Through Life)
5. But it’s you I fell into. (Big Me - Foo Fighters; guessed by Black Eyed Gurl)
6. All at once you look across the room and see the way that light attaches to a girl. (A Long December - Counting Crows; guessed by Black Eyed Gurl)
7. Strumming my pain with his fingers (One time). (Killing Me Softly with His Song - The Fugees; guessed by Guppyman)
8. I got chills, they’re multiplying. (Grease Megamix - John Travolta and Olivia Newton John; guessed by Black Eyed Gurl)
9. I asked you to go to the Green Day concert. You say you never heard of them. How cool is that? (El Scorcho - Weezer; guessed by Black Eyed Gurl)
10. The cops want someone to bust down on Orleans Ave. (Who Will Save Your Soul - Jewel; guessed by Black Eyed Gurl)
11. Do the bogle dance, I'll do the pepperseed.
12. Your alias says you’re Captain Jean Luc Picard of the United Federation of Planets cause he won’t speak English anyways. (Banditos - The Refreshments; guessed by Black Eyed Gurl)
13. Hold me hold me cause I wanna get higher and higher. (I Go Blind - Hootie and the Blowfish; guessed by Angie)
14. I never put white towels on the floor anymore. (You Were Meant for Me - Jewel; guessed by Angie)
15. I’ve been downhearted baby, ever since the day we met. (Standing Outside a Broken Phone Booth with Money in My Hand - Primitive Radio Gods; guessed by Howard who also correctly named the sample that the lyric is based on, BB King's How Blue Can You Get? although the group's singer also sings the line at the very end of the long titled song)
16. Pasadena, where you at? (California Love - 2Pac & Dr. Dre; guessed by Russ)
17. “I know,” she said,” Before you met me you were free.” (Sad Caper - Hootie and the Blowfish; guessed by Black Eyed Gurl)
18. Why, why you slap me in my face? I didn’t say it was okay.
19. Something like my bank account, I wanna spend it.
20. I met God this afternoon riding on an uptown train. (Everything Falls Apart - Dog's Eye View; guessed by Black Eyed Gurl)
21. That five-sided fist-a-gon. (Bulls on Parade - Rage Against the Machine; guessed by Black Eyed Gurl)
22. Exactly how many days you got last, you laughing? We passing, passing away.
23. Hike up you’re skirt a little more and show your world to me. (Crash Into Me - Dave Matthews Band; guessed by Angie)
24. Sorry I never told you all I wanted to say. (One Sweet Day - Boyz II Men and Mariah Carey; guessed by Jetting Through Life)
25. I play my enemies like a game of chess. (Ready or Not - The Fugees; guessed by Black Eyed Gurl)
