Friday, September 28, 2018

Around the Tubes: 9/28/2018


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 Circus, Cucuy: The Boogeyman, High Voltage, Lenny Kravitz, Noah Kahan, CinemAbility: The Art of Inclusion, 2018 American Music Awards, The Lost Tapesand whata is streaming on TNT and TBS.

- On the eve of a highly anticipated hearing regarding charges of sexual misconduct swirling around Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, new accuser Julie Swetnick gave her first and only TV interview since leveling shocking allegations against Kavanaugh to John Heilemann, co-host of The Circus on Showtime. Swetnick is the first Kavanaugh accuser to speak on camera.


- Hybrid Entertainment's upcoming original movie, Cucuy: The Boogeyman, scheduled to premiere on SyFy on Saturday, October 13th (7p/6p CT) is a timely twist on the indelible legend of a story young children are told by their mothers about a Latin American boogeyman known as the Cucuy who would come at night to snatch misbehaving children and take them back to his cave to be eaten.


- SP Releasing will release writer/director Alex Keledjian’s horror thriller High Voltage, set within the gritty and competitive Los Angeles music scene, releasing in limited theaters and on-demand on Friday, October 19th through SP Releasing’s output deal with Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. The film will open in at least ten cities, including New York City, Los Angeles, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, and more, and will also be available on all major digital platforms same day. DVD and Blu-Ray release will follow November 20th.
Written, produced and directed by Alex Keledjian (Project Greenlight; FEAST), the film stars David Arquette (SCREAM 1-4; EIGHT LEGGED FREAKS), Allie Gonino (The Red Road; GEOGRAPHY CLUB), Perrey Reeves (Entourage; OLD SCHOOL), and Luke Wilson (OLD SCHOOL; Roadies).

- Lenny Kravitz's first five albums - 1989's Let Love Rule, 1991's Mama Said, 1993's Are You Gonna Go My Way, 1995's Circus, and 1998's 5 - honored with an extensive vinyl reissue campaign courtesy of Virgin/UMe, with each release appearing on 2LP 180-gram black vinyl in addition to individualized limited-edition, color variants. Both the 2LP reissues and color variants for Mama Said, Are You Gonna Go My Way, Circus, and 5 are all available as of September 21, while Let Love Rule will kick off its 30th anniversary in style on November 30. Four of the five double-LP reissues also feature exceptional non-album tracks, many of them appearing on vinyl for the very first time.

- Today, global singer/songwriter sensation Noah Kahan unveils his latest single, “False Confidence,”—listen HERE. “False Confidence” sets the stage for further music to be released by Kahan this fall.

- Critically acclaimed German born pop iconoclast bülow releases brand new single “Two Punks In Love” today via Republic Records/ Wax Records. Listen HERE. Today, bülow also announces debut U.S. performances hitting the road to support Fickle Friends on a SOLD OUT tour this Fall.

- CinemAbility: The Art of Inclusion reveals a compelling and often amusing look at the history of disability portrayals in entertainment. From the early days of silent films to present-day Hollywood blockbusters, this historic film takes a detailed look at the evolution of “disability” in entertainment over the last 120 years by going behind the scenes to interview celebrities, filmmakers, and studio executives. With heart and humor, CinemAbility: The Art of Inclusion utilizes clips from Hollywood’s most beloved motion pictures and television programs to shine a light on how the media impacts society and the monumental effect these portrayals have on inclusion.


- dick clark productions and ABC yesterday announced an all-star lineup of soul and gospel legends who will come together to pay homage to the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, at the “2018 American Music Awards.” Gladys Knight, Ledisi, Mary Mary, Donnie McClurkin and CeCe Winans, friends of the late, luminary singer/songwriter, will take the AMAs stage for a moving tribute honoring Franklin’s gospel roots and iconic gospel album, Amazing Grace. Consulting Producer for the tribute is the Emmy Award®

- Twenty years later, in a country shaken by political unrest and the fight for gender equality, we’re still living with the legacy of the Clinton presidency. The 1998 impeachment of President Bill Clinton rocked the country to its core and set the stage for the next two decades of polarization and controversy in America. Now, a new episode of Smithsonian Channel’s critically acclaimed The Lost Tapes relives the scandal, using only contemporary film and audio to allow viewers to experience history without comment. The hour-long episode delves into the collective memory of America to pose the question: At a time when everyone took a side, would you take the same one now? The Lost Tapes: Clinton Impeachment airs Monday, October 29 at 9:00 on Smithsonian Channel.

- Turner’s TNT has secured critically acclaimed and Emmy® Award-nominated writer and producer Frank Pugliese (House of Cards) to serve as showrunner for The Angel of Darkness, a new limited series based on the sequel to author Caleb Carr’s best-selling The Alienist. A huge critical and ratings success, The Alienist is a top 10 cable drama, having reached more than 50 million people across multiple platforms.

- What is streaming on TNT and TBS in October:
Star Wars saga: Episodes I through VI streaming 10/1-10/30
The Conjuring 2: Streaming 9/24 - 10/31
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice: Streaming 10/1 - 10/30
Frankenweenie: Streaming 10/1 - 10/31
The Interview: Streaming 10/1 - 12/31
Godzilla: Streaming 10/1 - 10/31

Monday, September 24, 2018

2018 Fall Music Preview


Good riddance summer. It hit ninety way too many times this year and was still hitting the upper eighties as late as last week. I saw this was the second hottest summer here in recorded history. I am ready for it to be cold so I can put on a blanket and watch television in real time again. Hopefully there will be some good tunes this fall after a pretty good first three quarters of a year. Though looking at the list I compiled it may be slim pickings for great unless everything in TBA gets released. That include three possible albums by Kanye West who started the summer producing five mostly uninspiring albums. After that he announced his intention to do that for an entire year. Here is hoping he just stays in the studio until he have seven great tracks. But anyway. Here are the albums that should be coming out before Christmas. Click on the album title to pre-order on Amazon. Click on the artist name to be taken to iTunes.


Last Week
Piano & A Microphone: 1983 - Prince
Coordinates - The Band Perry
Drogas Wave - Lupe Fiasco

This Week
Elephants On Acid - Cypress Hill
Blood Red Roses - Rod Stewart
American Treasure - Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
Joe Strummer 001 - Joe Strummer

October 5
Wax - KT Tunstall
Wanderer - Cat Power
C'est La Vie - Phosphorescent
New Compassion - Haerts
Sings His Sad Heart - Matt Nathanson
My American Dream - Will Hoge
Guide Me Back Home - City and Colour
Traces - Steve Perry

October 12
The Atlas Underground - Tom Morello
Up and Hang Around - Blues Traveler
Mirror Master - Young the Giant
Look Now - Elvis Costello & The Imposters
The Eclipse Sessions - John Hiatt
Give Out But Don't Give Up: The Original Memphis Sessions - Primal Scream
Happy X-Mas - Eric Clapton

October 19
Shake the Spirit - Elle King
Anthem of a Peaceful Army - Greta Van Fleet
Broken Politics - Neneh Cherry
Darker Days - Peter Bjorn and John
Natural Rebel - Richard Ashcroft
R.E.M. at the BBC - R.E.M.
Christmas Party - The Monkees
Live from the Ryman - Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit

October 26
Honey - Robyn
Young and Dangerous - The Struts
LIFE - Culture Club
Here If You Listen - David Crosby
Reason for the Season - Mike Love
Ingrid Michaelson's Songs for the Season - Ingrid Michaelson

November 2
Post-Apocalypto - Tenacious D


November 9
String Theory - Hanson
The Messenger - Rhett Miller
Black Velvet - Charles Bradley
Electric Ladyland Deluxe Edition - The Jimi Hendrix Experience


November 16
Delta - Mumford & Sons
Other People's Stuff - John Mellencamp
Shiny and Oh So Bright, Vol. 1 / LP: No Past. No Future. No Sun - Smashing Pumpkins
Chris Cornell - Chris Cornell
Acoustic Live, Vol. 1 - Needtobreathe
Love the Holidays - Old 97's

November 30
A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships - The 1975


TBA
Watch the Thrones 2 - Kanye West and Jay-Z
Front Portch - Joy Williams
Good Ass Job - Kanye West and Chance the Rapper
Yessus 2 - Kanye West
Avril Lavigne
Broken Bells
Carly Rae Jepsen
Mandy Moore
Nas
Oh Land
Prophets of Rage
Rihanna
Selena Gomez
Sheryl Crow
Taylor Swift
Vampire Weekend

And of course this could be the season that Dr. Dre drops Detox.



Sunday, September 23, 2018

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 9/23/2018



Shameless: Every season I say the show could not do anything more shameless than what they have done in past seasons, but Carl volunteering to euthanize dogs in cars may be an all-time low. Frank’s reverse racism would be up there if it were not so funny. Though Mo White is a little on the nose.

Fear the Walking Dead: How has a bunch of people who have manage to make it this long in the zombie apocalypse be as so stupid to pull a paraplegic along the road? Seriously, did none of them get up to ninth grade science? Not only are you pulling his weight, but the friction is only adding to the force. You would have exerted much less energy just to carry him. But when you are down a wheelchair, the hospital was the right call. Granted it would have been smart to get in, grab, the chair, and keep moving.
You can download Fear the Walking Dead on iTunes.

The Last Ship: My big takeaway from the episode is the New Colombians have a very weird salute.
You can download The Last Ship on iTunes.

You: So Joe’s last girlfriend weirdly went to Rome with some other dude after they broke up? There has to be more to that story. And what exactly is going to have to Benji, in real life and the digital world? Is Joe just going to dump the body somewhere and have people believe he got the wrong drink or if he just going to continue to make daily douchebag hashtags in perpetuity?
You can download You on iTunes.

The Challenge: Final Reckoning: Oh snap, TJ pulled out the our female testers were able to do this faster than anyone insult. I was kind of wondering if they tested that challenge from a couple weeks ago where they were dunking people underwater to solve a hard puzzle. Just how well did those testers do on that one?
You can download The Challenge: Final Reckoning on iTunes.