The Sing-Off: Let me start off with a little admission, I routinely spend hours at a time scouring YouTube watching acapella groups. So despite my hatred for the national karaoke contest on Fox, The Sing-Off has been thoroughly entertaining. Whereas the other singing show features mediocre singers singing bland karaoke tunes, the contestants of The Sing-Off create unique renditions of familiar songs, something that is serious missing from that other karaoke contest. Bonus points for having Ben Folds and one half of Boyz II Men as judges (but negative bonus points for one of The Pussycat Dolls). Here is my favorite performance to date.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download The Sing-Off on iTunes. Head over NBC.com to vote for the final three.
How I Met Your Mother: I pretty much had the same reaction as the kids when learning they all were smoking. That episode was really just uncalled for. At least we didn’t get one of those annoying anti-smoking ads they put with any movie where characters are smoking. You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com. You can also download How I Met Your Mother on iTunes.
The Big Bang Theory: Sheldon finally gets some. I always thought it would be a drunken Penny that would lay one on him, but Leonard’s mom was definitely a funnier choise. Too bad Leonard wasn’t there to see it. You can download The Big Bang Theory on iTunes.
Survivor: Samoa: As the season keeps going, it gets more depressing that none of these people are smart enough to vote Russell out. And who is this kid that keeping winning the immunity necklace? Has he really been here all season? And I know I have complained about this before on how the woman look hotter without taking a bath for a month then they do on the jury, but Monica was the breaking point and now I am advocating the firing of the makeup lady on the show. She went from looking hot to a hooker, or even worse, a Tiger Woods mistress. This really needs to stop. Don’t go from no make up to caking on all that you can find. You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com.
Free Download of the Week: Eight Days of Hanukkah - Orrin Hatch (Amazon MP3); yes that is Republican, Mormon Utah Senator Orin Hatch attached to an ode to the Jewish holiday and not some SNL parody. Thankfully Hatch doesn’t actually sing on the track. For all the liberal communist who refuse to download music from a conservative nut job, but still want some holiday cheer, I suggest heading over to iTunes where you can grab Must Be Santa by Bob Dylan for free.
Deal of the Week: I posted these deals last week and they are still going on, so if you were thinking about them then, this may be the last chance to grab these DVD’s at these prices.
Video of the Week: For those that need their holiday cheer in moving pictures, Hulu is currently show a bunch of ABC Family originals including Holiday in Handcuffs, Snow, Snowglobe, and Snow 2 below. For all the Scrooges out there that would rather watch some sci-fi fare, The extended Caprica pilot is also currently on Hulu.
Next Week Pick of the Week: The Closer, Monday at 9:00 on TNT: This week, Brenda is stuck on a case she really doesn’t want that manages plenty of twist and turns you most likely won’t see coming.
I have gotten a plethora of cool press releases have been flooding my inbox recently that you may find interesting. This post will include blurbs on The Dog Whisperer, Dogtown, Christmas in Washington, Mercy, Old Friends, and holiday movie lists from Syfy and FX.
- Starting next week I am going knee deep into my Best of 2009 list so let me quickly mention two programs premiere during then, The Dog Whisperer Week kicks off on the National Geographic Channel Monday December 28 at 8:00 with Cesar heading Down Under. Presumably he will be tackling Australia’s worst puppies and won’t be switching over to kangaroos. Then Dogtown kicks off the New Year with its new season premiering on January 1 at 10:00 which be once again focusing on a pit bull rescued from Michael Vick. Check out a clip from that below:
This Sunday at 8:00 (with encores at 10:00 and 2:00 AM), TNT is airing their annual Christmas in Washington hosted by George Lopez and featuring the vocal talents of Mary J. Blige, Neil Diamond, Rob Thomas, Usher, Sugarland and some dude named Justin Beiber.
- Mercy is going to take the holidays off but will be nice and early in 2010 on January 6. Here is a quick catch you up of what has happen so far:
- The second season of Old Friends is set to premiere on Babblegum January 11, the first season was recently uploaded so head over there to check the web comedy out.
- Only would Syfy consider a movie starring Bruce Campbell part of their “Holiday Programming. And here is that rundown for you:
December 19 at 9:00 - My Name Is Bruce
December 20 at 9:00 - Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist
December 21 at 8:00 - The Mummy
December 22 at 8:00 – Freddy vs. Jason
All Day Christmas Eve – Ghost Hunters Marathon
- FX also has some new movies coming to its channel this January. Here is the rundown:
January 14 at 8:00 – The Simpsons Movie
January 21 at 7:30 – Superbad
January 25 at 7:30 – We Own the Night
January 29 at 8:00 – 28 Weeks Later
Then on New Year’s Day they are running a “Stay in Bed Marathon from 7:00 AM until 1:00 AM featuring the movies Everyone’s Hero, Flicka, Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties, Ice Age: The Meltdown, Cheaper by the Dozen 2, Night at the Museum, and There’s Something About Mary.
We are almost two weeks before I run down my 100 favorite songs of 2009 (if you want to voice your opinion on your favorite, please send me an e-mail of your ten favorite to ScooterKSU(at)aol(dot)com for The 9th Green’s Readers Favorite Songs of 2009 Poll, you can even win free music, click here for full information on how) and I thought I would give quick mention to a song that should fair very well on the list that I have not talked about and many of you may have not heard of, Mykonos by the Fleet Foxes.
Mykonos by the Fleet Foxes sounds like Bruce Springsteen if he were part of Crosby, Stills, Nash and sometimes Young. And the accompanying video “(which may also show up on next week’s Best Videos of 2009) is a geometry teacher’s dream. And for those that are fans of free, you can currently download this song at that price over at RCRD LBL. Merry Christmas.
They say you cannot judge a book by its cover, but you can surely judge an album by its first single. Like earlier this year when John Mayer released the lackluster Who Says which led to the lackluster Battle Studies. When Doesn’t Mean Anything was the first released by Alicia Keys off her upcoming The Element of Freedom it was hard no to think, “That was kind of boring.” Yeah, it is a decent baby-making song and a deeper album cut, but certainly not first single worthy.
Which is why the record label probably rushed Dreaming with a Broken Heart but again a song that fell a little flat with an over exaggerated beat who Keys coos a little too much over. It didn’t help very much that the two singles were vastly overshadowed by her contribution to Jay-Z’s Empire State of Mind. The Element of Freedom even features Empire State of Mind (Part II) Broken Down, a more melancholy (albeit Jay-Z less) version of the song.
Mrs. Jay-Z does make an appearance and continues Keys streak of underwhelming duets with other singers (see John Mayer, Jack White) for Put it in a Love Song which might as well been called Put a Ring on It (Part II) I’m Going to Break You Down. Love Is Blind doesn’t sound like Alicia Keys for most of the song and is too dark of a song then the singer should try. Then Like the Sea just gets to repetitive to listen to it multiple times.
That’s not to say The Element of Freedom is a bad album, “bad” Alicia Keys is still better than ninety-five percent of R&B released this decade, it just doesn’t stand up to the rest of the catalogue. There is still plenty to listen to on the album. That’s How Strong My Love Is is a classic Keys love songs. Alicia lets loose on Love Is My Disease which in a lesser hand could have come off as another clichéd metaphor, but her voice makes you believe every word. This Bed could have been a long lost Prince song.
How it Feels to Fly should become a requirement for every high school choir to learn. Distance and Time is where the entire album comes together and is exactly what you expect and want from an Alicia Keys song. Romantic, touching and something you want to play when that someone special is near you, and with the theme of the song, it is a perfect song to put on when they are not near to make them closer than they are.
The songs are listed chronologically from when I put them in my iTunes playlist that helps me track the best songs throughout the years. As always leave your guesses, both artist and song title, in the comment section or e-mail me. If you are correct I will un-bold the lyric. Please keep in mind the lyrics quiz is for entertainment purposes only so please only use your own meandering mind to guess them. Now onto the last lyric quiz of the year:
1. I am a weapon of massive consumption; it’s not my fault it’s how I’m programmed to function. (The Fear - Lily Allen; guessed by Anonymous) 2. You hold your head up to the sky; you say “What kind of blue are you?”
3. There she goes again the dopest Ethiopian, and in other words she came through exploding in Napoleon dynamite.
4. You’re like a rain cloud if it rains mushroom cloud. Everybody hits the ground, arms folded, heads down. (Magick - Ryan Adams; guessed by Teresa) 5. We are our own devils and we make this world our hell.
6. Yes, I know, that I'm a man, man, man, man, man, man eater. But still you're surprised-prised-prised when I eat ya. (People Got a Lot of Nerve - Neko Case; guessed by Anonymous) 7. Those calendar girls ain’t got nothing on me.
8. Tonight is telling us we’re way too young. Oh, alright. I got forever on the tip of my tongue.
9. Somewhere we went wrong, our love is like a song but you won’t sing along. Have you forgotten about us? (Don't Forget - Demi Lovato; guessed by Anonymous) 10. Somebody’s heart is broken – it becomes your favorite song.
11. I’ve roaming around, always looking down at all I see. Painted faces fill the places I can’t reach. (Use Somebody - Kings of Leon; guessed by AJ)
12. I am champion at beer pong. Allen Iverson. Hakeem Olajuwon. (I Love College - Asher Roth; guessed by Anonymous)
13. We don’t cop plea’s, but ya’ll don’t cop nothing. Police come around don’t nobody say nothing. And you be with the cops, you (expletive deleted) is McLovin. (Chillin' - Wale featuring Lady Gaga; guessed by Rose)
14. No guilt, all pleasure. C’mon, I want to hear you yell it now: no guilt, all pleasure. (What's So Bad (About Feeling Good)? - Ben Lee; guessed by Rebekah)
15. It’s the age of princesses and pirate ships and the seven dwarfs. (The Best Day - Taylor Swift; guessed by Anonymous)
16. I’m gonna take you out tonight, I’m gonna make you feel alright. I don’t have a lot of money though we’ll be fine. No I don’t have a penny but I’ll show you a good, good time. (New in Town - Little Boots; guessed by Anonymous)
17. Saw Cinderella in a party dress, she was looking for a nightgown. I saw the devil wrapping up his hands; he’s getting ready for the showdown. (A Dustland Fairytale - The Killers; guessed by Anonymous)
18. I got seniority, with the sorority. So that explains why I love college. Getting brain in the library ‘cause I love knowledge when you use your medulla oblongata. (Make Her Say - Kid Cudi, Kanye West and Common; guessed by Rose)
19. You rappers singing too much. Get back to rap, you T-Paining too much. (D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune) - Jay-Z; guessed by Rose)
20. The Eiffel tower built to smaller scale. The freshest oxygen I ever inhaled. (Little Bribes - Death Cab for Cutie; guessed by Rebekah)
21. But God could be funny. At a cocktail party when listening to a good God themed joke. (Laughing With - Regina Spektor; guessed by Anonymous)
22. My shirt ain’t got no stripes, but I can make your (expletive deleted) whistle… like the Andy Griffin theme song. (Best I Ever Had - Drake; guessed by Rose)
23. Every beauty needs to go out with an idiot. (I'll Go Crazy if I Don't Go Crazy Tonight - U2; guessed by Taylor Blue) 24. I gotta go out and buy myself one of those little black dresses ‘cause I’m so tired of this t-shirt.
25. Every day he'll make the host of Match Game give him a piggyback ride. Yeah, two hour piggyback ride, giddy up Gene.
26. My lyrics spin round like a hurricane twister so get your hologram on off of Wolf Blitzer.
27. I fell in love with you and out of love with you, and back in love with you all in the same day. (A Whole Lot Better - Brendan Benson; guessed by Taylor Blue)
28. It’s been a long time since twenty-two. I don’t remember you looking any better. But then again I don’t remember you. (Who Says - John Mayer; guessed bu Anonymous)
29. When at first I learned to speak I used all my words to fight. With him and her and you and me, ah, but it's just a waste of time. (I and Love and You - The Avett Brothers; guessed by Rebekah)
30. The moon was shining on the lake at night. Your Slayer t-shirt fit the scene just right. ((If You're Wondering if I Want You To) I Want You To - Weezer; guessed by AJ)
A wise man once pondered the title above, “War: what is it good for?” It is a valid question, but Edwin Starr shouldn’t have tried answering that question himself because it isn’t, “Absolutely nothing.” The actual answer is entertainment. There have been movies about war since the invention of moving pictures and Hollywood is still cranking them out with Defiance, The Hurt Locker and Inglourious Bastards all hit theaters this year. Call of Duty is one of the most popular video games with its six games (the next coming next year) in the series selling over 55 million copies. And if you went to high school undoubtedly you had to read All Quiet on the Western Front.
There is also plenty of war to be found on television; Ken Burns has done two successful documentaries for PBS. And without war, it is doubtful that there would even be a History channel who recently has its own successful documentary series WWII on HD (which you can find on iTunes if you missed it). For anyone who is a fan of war as entertainment, or has one on your Christmas list, I have a DVD set you will want to check out: The World Wars: The Complete History of WWI and WWII from History. Just how complete? How about 41 programs on 14 disks (including four bonus features) for over 25 hours of programming. I imagine if you have a History teacher on your Christmas list, you are not going to find a better gift.
The programs included are what you would expect from History and every angle from the two great wars are covered, air battles, navel battles, trench warfare, political ramifications, American, English, Russian, German points of view, episodes of Battlefield Detectives, Deep Sea Detectives and Biography, very few stones are uncovered. If there is one complaint to be had, these programs were produces individually and are thrown together into one set. So plenty of information found overlap many of the programs. If you didn’t know that the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria was the catalyst of WWI, you will never forget after going through this set as it is mentioned quite frequently.
You can find the The World Wars: The Complete History of WWI and WWII at shop.history.com for 79.99 (that comes to just under $6.00 a DVD). For you barging shoppers, you may want to try Amazon where it is currently on sale for 40.99 (which is less than $3.00 per disk, see below).
Tonight, the National Geographic Channel takes a look at two very different wars our government is currently waging. At 8:00, the war that hits close to home is the War on Drugs which is covered in Explorer: Narco State. While at 9:00, the channel goes Inside the Iraq War from the award winning producers of Inside 9/11 and Inside the Vietnam War.
For Explorer Narco State, former The View co-host Lisa Ling heads to Phoenix to follow the day to day operations of the DEA and local police as they deal with 1800 deaths of year that is cause by drugs traveling north from Mexico, with the Arizona city being the front line of the War. Part of the show features Ling follows a kidnapping case believed to be drug related as the police try to recover the hostage safely. Here is a preview:
The other program, Inside the Iraq War, follows the six year and counting war the starts with the invasion and details major moments including Shock and Awe, Abu Grab, and Saddam Hussein’s capture all the way up to the first visit from President Barack Obama with interviews. The two hour special also features interviews from about thirty military men and woman who spent time in the desert including Jessica Lynch and a few that left body parts and friends over in Iraq. Be warned that the program does have some graphic images. Check out a preview below:
- Orrin Hatch (Amazon MP3); yes that is Republican, Mormon Utah Senator Orin Hatch attached to an ode to the Jewish holiday and not some SNL parody. Thankfully Hatch doesn’t actually sing on the track. For all the liberal communist who refuse to download music from a conservative nut job, but still want some holiday cheer, I suggest heading over to iTunes where you can grab Must Be Santa by Bob Dylan for free.
![Terror Alert Level: Elevated [YELLOW]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6-iVFV0hXCTSYP16K_V0Rrxp3GqFrtBIJKeTUyQ2LpxZQ9XKHFj6QGtqqa7oxhLadLV8vUj8R84AftD8IKUSfN0u_u0CYDtJwhrpCPN2DBWquAIDv0jbVlhZL0mDFKlPKluGyxw/s400/small_elevated.png)
on my 