Recently a bunch of television bloggers and I got together to share some of our favorite links from our sites with our readers (I am currently seeing how many Lou Bega references t takes before I am excommunicated). I will eventually end up incorporating this into my weekly 57 Channels segment, but I thought I would introduce it first plus I burned my main hunt and peck finger a typing finger so I doing this would limit some typing. You will notice a bunch of posts dedicated to the writer’s strike and the new Joss Whedon show but I haven’t written about either because I have yet to decide which story I care less about. So until I do so, feel free to check out the links below.
Mikey Likes TV: Mikey listed the many ways in which he’s disappointed by Heroes: Generations, was surprised by how much he likes the new season of Nip/Tuck and forgot about it all after news of Joss Whedon’s blissful TV partnership with Eliza Dushku.
There have been a couple of videos that have caught my eye lately so I though I’d give them some love since the death of Musical Television left a void for a forum on the art form so here they are courtesy of YouTube. I advise you to watch them before you read my reviews if you don’t want me to spoil things. If you are interested in buying the video through iTunes, click the title link (where available, if not the link goes to YouTube where you can watch the video in full screen). If you are interested in buying the song, look for a link in the analysis.
The song and video from John Mellencamp is an obvious reaction to the mess going on down in Jena, Louisiana (and if you were left scratching your head to it please work in some MSNBC or Newsweek into you life). Yeah what happened down there is an injustice but people are making the Jena 6 look like martyrs. The thing is they should be in jail for what they did. People are looking at the case the wrong way, they shouldn’t be released from jail because the hillbillies that started it are not, it is the hillbillies should be in the next cell over.
Do you ever get the feeling there is a huge joke going on and that no one has let you in on it yet? That is how I feel about American Karaoke and how Jordin Sparks actually won a singing competition (granted not as mind boggling as Taylor Hicks). Was everyone else actually worse than she is or was this some sort of vote for the worst thing? Either way how can people watch such bad singing twice a week for three months?
Heard this song by Taylor Swift on the radio this week and thought it was catchy. But I wasn’t surprised to learn that the chick that wrote it when she was like sixteen as it sounds like a sophomore poetry class. You’d think someone along the way would mention that the line, “wishing on a wishing star” was a little repetitive and maybe she should go with, wishing on a shooting star” instead. But since she is underage I would feel a little skeevy mentioning how bad her perm looks in the video. Nor will I mention how much better she looks in the video below. Nope, not gonna do it. I have no desired to run into Chris Hansen anytime soon.
Above is the unofficial Mt. Rushmore of new school hip hop circa 1993 and if you can name just ten of the rappers above we can be friends. Just the cover art alone could get Midnight Marauders into the Scooter Hall of Fame but the seminal A Tribe Called Quest album is more than worthy on the music as one of the greatest hip-hop album of all time.
The group’s first two albums were great in their own rights, but were still rough around the edges as the group, still teenagers at the time, were still finding themselves. Midnight Marauders is when the group came into their own and grew musically and emotionally. They have always been jazz based, but they took the beats to a new level on the disk with Award Tour, Midnight, and Electric Relaxation still ranking as three of the groups best.
As for the emotional point, here is where A Tribe Called Quest became more socially conscience dedicating a song to apartheid activist with Steve Biko (Stir it Up), called out a Sucka Nigga, and the Tour Guide for the album pointed out the increase of AIDS in the Black and Latino communities and letting you know, “You’re not any less of a man if you don’t pull the trigger; you’re not necessarily a man if you do.” But there are plenty of songs to get your groove on with Award Tour, We Can Get Down, and Oh My God to this day can start any house party.
Yeah the previously mentioned Tour Guide can get a little annoying after multiple listens and it really hurt right around the time Phife Dawg uttered the line, Your styles are incomplete same as Vinny Testaverde” he got traded to the Brown and replaced Bernie Kosar (another brilliant move by Bill Belichicken) as QB prompting the team to be so bad it moved. Even with all that, this outing from Q-Tip, Phife Dawg, and Ali Shaheed Muhammad not only is one of the greatest rap albums of all time but one of the greatest albums across all genres.
In a story I broke yesterday, 90’s disposable pop is back. We learned that with the Britney Spears Blackout (see Part 1), she should have stayed in the 90’s. Today it is the kings of disposable pop, the Backstreet Boys, attempt to be relevant almost a decade after their heyday. And while we are talking disposable 90’s pop, a happy birthday today to Rob van Winkle himself, Vanilla Ice. On a completely unrelated note, a melancholy happy trails to Robert Goulet.
Unbreakable - Backstreet Boys
The new Backstreet Boys album Unbreakable is notable as it is the first from the group as a quartet. One can assume the fifth one is too busy hosting Don’t Forget the Lyrics or something to be bothered with recording. But it is not like the group is Boyz II Men who are losing a tenor; the Backstreet Boys all basically just sing the melody anyways except when the weird one does some vocal gymnastics at the end of the song.
Unlike Britney Spears who thinks she could still make relevant dance music despite girls out there today with better voices, bodies, and ten years less mileage, the Backstreet Boys are trying to age gracefully. Yeah there are a few dance tracks like the first track (after the acapella opening) Everything but Mine but the bulk of the album fall much more into the adult contemporary category with the group acting like a five four-headed Richard Marx. I would venture to say there is more piano on this album than their previous ones combines. Yeah there is nothing karaoke worthy here as I Want it That Way, but then again there really are not that many other songs that are besides Glory Days, When Doves Cry, and Endless Love.
With that said, Unbreakable is extremely boring. We are talking the album could stop for no reason and you may not even notice for an hour that it did boring. And cheesy metaphors like, “I’m a house of cards in a hurricane” (Helpless When She Smiles) and the most over used line in songwriting history, “How come you never know what you got until it’s gone?” (Trouble Is) are not helping things. But the most inexplicable part of the album was Treat Me Right, which happens to be the worst song on the album was co-written by N’Syncer JC Chasez. What’s next, a member of Kris Kross helping out on the next Another Bad Creation album? Prince helping Michael Jackson write a song for him? Are there any religious scholars out there that can tell us if this is a sign of the apocalypse?
Back in 1999 there were no two bigger acts than Britney Spears and the Backstreet Boys. They had the top two selling albums that year along with two of the top five biggest singles. Britney was eventually showed up by Christina Aguilera who could actually sing while the Backstreet Boys were forgotten during the crappy pseudo-punk era of this decade. While most of the rest of their ilk have moved on to movies, Broadway, reality shows, or just obscurity, both Britney and the Boys are still trying to hang on to those late nineties hey-day by dropping albums today.
Blackout - Britney Spears
On a remix of Jadakiss’ Why, Common pondered, “Why they hype Britney up, they know she cant sing?” The simple answer was she could sell albums. Back when she was the number one pop princess she got the best songwriters, producers, and chorographer and elaborate stage shows. But all those people a currently working with the likes of Rihanna and the Pussycat Dolls. So instead of working with someone like Timbaland, Britney had to settle for a Timbaland lackey Nate Hills to help write and produce half of the songs on Blackout which come out sounding just a step above the Paris Hilton album. What’s worse if he starts speaking over Gimme More talking about how amazing Britney is. Who does he think he is, Puff Daddy? At least Diddy had a few actually hit under his belt before he pulled that stuff.
Without Max Martin or Diane Warren around, the lyrics are even worse than stale beats. E-Mail My Heart seems Dylanesque compared to some of the songs on Blackout. Piece of Me is Britney’s backlash at the press and paparazzi which would have been a little more meaningful had she actually had a hand in writing it. Hot as Ice, co-written by T-Pain, is just one cheesy metaphor after another. And yes she also mentions in the song that she is also “Cold as fire.” Then Get Naked (I Got a Plan) and Freakshow, where Britney inexplicably raps, will most likely be Exhibit U and V in Kevin Federline’s plan to get full custody.
The songs basically are just one bad techno track bleeding into each other which may work at a rave while on mind altering drugs, but for those of you that are sober, the album is as bad as you could expect. But at least Britney can in solace that it is better than her ex-husband’s. But not by much. Here is usually where I suggest a song to download but you are better off saving your money. Unless of course you are one of those annoying semi-ironic people, then go ahead and get the “It’s Britney (expletive deleted)” ringtone so you can be the biggest tool on your block.
The good people over at FX were kind enough to hook me up with the first two episodes of Nip/Tuck but before I get into the review of what I have seen a little breakdown of the post just in case you want to avoid anything you do not want to know. The first couple paragraphs will be a quick synopsis to get you caught up on the happenings of McNamara/Troy with some mild thematic and casting spoilers of the first episode that premieres tomorrow at 10:00 on FX. If you hate spoilers you may want to come back after you have seen the first episode. I will also clearly mark when I talk about the second episode. You have been warned.
As I have stated before, I have shied away from Nip/Tuck because I have a low threshold for blood and have been told that the surgery scenes are extremely graphic despite hearing good thing about the show. But sometimes you have to bite the bullet (or in my case having my hands ready to cover my eyes like a five year old girl allowed to watch Friday the 13th for the first time).
The show picks up a couple months after last season, and the boys are moved into their new practice on Rodeo Drive. In the plastic surgery capital of the world and the newly single Sean and the always look Christen would be having the times of their lives. Instead they quickly learn they are just a very small fish in a very large pond. So the boys take matters into their own hands to round up some clients at a local nightclub and found something you need almost as much in Los Angeles as client: a publicist in the form of Lauren Hutton.
Carly Summers, the name of the episode refers to Daphne Zuniga, a client of Hutton’s. And wouldn’t you know it she lands them a consultant job on the hit show Hearts and Scalpels staring Bradley Cooper as a hilariously overacting prima donna as well as Paula Marshall as the serious actor who gets all the nominations but hides a dark past (this is Nip/Tuck). Then there is the neurotic Oliver Platt as the creator of the show and the always good for a laugh Jennifer Coolidge as a patient on the show. Also expect Tia Carrere to stop by.
The show within a show is actually as entertain if not more entertain than the actual show. But don’t expect to see Julia in the first episode; she doesn’t visit LA until the second episode and Matt and Kimber are completely MIA for the first two aside from a voice over. But Liz did make the trip across the country with the boys. And for you die-hards, you will be glad to know that there are plenty of expletive surgery scenes and gratuitous male nudity in the first episode.
Nip/Tuck airs Tuesdays at 10:00 on FX.
Review of Second Episode Airing November 1st
So by the second episode, thanks to the show, McNamara/Troy is booked and quickly assimilating themselves to the LA lifestyle. Thanks to his speaking role on the show, Sean is dating a co-star (or at least that’s is what he wants people to think after Julia lets it be known she is going to move in with someone) and Christen is getting some attention of his own after he poses for some risqué pictures. The case of the week, Joyce and Sharon Monroe, focuses on two dueling Marilyn Monroe impersonator who try look more like the real thing than the other with each being backed by the opposing doctors. Also in the episode we learn of Marshall’s dark hidden secret and we even meet Julia’s new love. Also expect an appearance by Portia de Rossi.
Quote of the Week: What is the rate of exchange on the life of a bird because if equal to or greater than mine I gotta get back to my car. (Emerson, Pushing Daisies)
Song of the Week: Living in America - James Brown (Everybody Hates Chris)
Big News of the Week: Subscribe to My Comments: I could complain on how bad the Blogger comment system is but you get what you pay for so it is hard to complain about something that is free. But this week Blogger introduced a cool new function where you can subscribe to the comments where any further comments will be e-mailed to you (keep in mind it is e-mailed to whatever address your Google account is for). I was never sure what the protocol was for replying to comments, usually I reply in the comment section and by e-mail if I have it, but from now on I will assume that if you have left a comment you have subscribed to that comment if you wanted a response. Then you can always come back and respond to my response or other people’s comments and so on and so on. So feel free to try that out sometime soon, even on this post if you see fit.
Gratuitous Token Hot Chick Picture of the Week:
Chuck: Another episode ruined by too much Morgan. They really need to leave the comedy to Captain Awesome and Jayne because Morgan just ends up being more annoying than funny. Even all the other Buy More employees are more entertaining than him. Check out the latest episodes over at NBC.com. You can also download Chuck on iTunes.
How I Met Your Mother: Every once in a while something takes you out of a show early to the point that you can’t enjoy the rest of it, and the show totally ripping of the classic Just a Friend really irked me that I could never get into the show this week. C’mon, if you are going to call a girl Blah Blah, you at the very least mention she had 9/10 pants and a very big bra. Check out the latest episodes over at Innertube. You can also download How I Met Your Mother on iTunes.
The Big Bang Theory: Loved the bit of the whole week was Sheldon after finding the scarf on the doorknob from getting the Token hot Chick to figure out what the symbolism was, including how he was like twelve when he was in college, all the way to him squirming on the couch until morning. Check out the latest episodes over at Innertube. You can also download or The Big Bang Theory on iTunes.
Heroes: Leave it up to Heroes to set the bar so low they could step over it only to still find a way to limbo over it. Sure I want Veronica Mars to still be on the air, but there really was no reason to write Elle to be Ronnie but evil complete with an inner dialogue. Of course without a narration Elle had to do hers out loud. But the biggest crime was how little screen time Bell got. About ninety percent of it was already show in the promo from last week. And I could care less who Elle’s dad is unless of course it turns out to be Enrico Colantoni. But then again I’m not sure I could stand to hear another Mars alum recite horrible dialogue. With that aside, don’t forget to check out Oddsmaker: Who Is Under the Hoodie to bet on who is killing The Company members. I guess I can scratch off my far fetched Jessica and Kristen Bell ideas. Check out the latest episode over at NBC.com.
Journeyman: By far this was the strongest story of the week with the Vietnam vet hijacking a plane to help get a family that nursed him back to health out of Cambodia. Although back in the present, I didn’t care for the continuation of the gun in the gala last week. And unfortunately it looks like that may continue again with the guy still being in the hospital. If I were a betting man I would put money on the dude in the hospital being part of Dan’s journey sometime soon. Check out the latest episode over at NBC.com. You can also download Journeyman on iTunes.
Pushing Daisies: I was a little disappointed at first when Olive passed up the chance to out Chuck this week but after thinking about it, it was the better decision not to yet because Olive hanging out with the aunts is becoming yet another great part of the show proving all the people that thought Olive was the weak part of the show wrong. But the best part of the show is it is the only procedural where I cannot guess the outcome with good percentage because all the cases are so out there and I can just sit back and enjoy the show without over thinking every clue because I know there is no way I am gong to guess correctly. Check out the latest episodes over at ABC.com.
Bionic Woman: I didn’t give up the show completely but was more reading with the TV on, that is until Jamie started to speak with a British accent, which instantly turned her into uber-hot. I like how the tech dude that reminds me of a nerdier version of Herc from Friday Night Lights, who is the best part of the show, ok the only good part of the show, called her out for using the accent when she didn’t need to. I’m guessing this was an attempt of the show to be tongue in cheek (and failing) considering the actress is actually British. This begs the question with all the fake Americans on television these days where are the real British characters? I don’t think there has been one since a pre-fame Sienna Miller on Keen Eddie. Way to go with that one Fox. Check out the latest episodes over at NBC.com.
My Name Is Earl: There was nothing funnier on television this week than the “Enjoy Yourself: You Earned It” poster with the picture of Coach on it on the door of the conjugal visit room. The least funny on television this week was anything else involving Michael Rappaport. Can he just get shived already? Check out the latest episodes over at NBC.com. You can also download My Name Is Earl on iTunes.
Survivor: Wow, this has to be the most inept group of Survivors ever. Between the inability of Denise to beat James and Frosti finding out about the immunity idol I thought Todd’s head was going to explode because he seems like the only one there with a half a brain cell. And it was a little shady after saying last week he would never throw a challenge that he was quick to do so this week. Check out the latest episode over at Innertube.
Smallville: There is something to say about The Big Bang Theory when all I could think about when Lana was thrown off the building was Sheldon’s diatribe a couple weeks ago about the scientific inaccuracy of Superman catching Lois Lane.
Friday Night Lights: I really couldn’t get into the episode this week because my sister paid me Friday and brought her Devil Dogg (no seriously, it was born on 6/6/06) and since she just finished season one and hasn’t started season two yet I had to spend too much time explaining what has happened over the past couple episodes so I really need to rewatch this episode to fully enjoy it. One thing that I did catch and really appreciated was when the Tennessee coach came over to the Taylor’s to confront Coach Taylor foe being butch league. Ever since it was hinted that Taylor was coming back to Dillon I knew it would end up being shady to how he got back to being coach of the Panthers and I am glad that the writers had the piece of mind to point that out. Although the old coach saying they may meet again gives me a weird feeling they may meet in the playoffs ala Voodoo last year and that may be a little cheesy. But as much problems I had with this episode, next week’s promo looks real good (see below). Check out the latest episodes over at NBC.com.
Promo of the Week:
Next Week’s Pick: Nip/Tuck, Tuesday at 10:00 on FX: I am going to go into more detail on this show tomorrow when I preview the first two episodes of the new season.
Recently a bunch of television bloggers and I got together to share some of our favorite links from our sites with our readers (I am currently seeing how many Lou Bega references t takes before I am excommunicated). I will eventually end up incorporating this into my weekly 57 Channels segment, but I thought I would introduce it first plus I burned 
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. Way to go with that one Fox. Check out the latest episodes over at 