Saturday, April 17, 2021

Around the Tubes: April 17, 2021

       

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 ShrillCinema Toast, The Kings, Lord Huron, Paula Fuga, Lionel Ritchie, NOW That’s What I Call Music!, Cuspand A Cinderella Story: Starstuck.


Hulu's Shrill trailer has arrived, ready or not!  The final season premieres Friday, May 7, only on Hulu.  SYNOPSIS: Season three of Shrill finds Annie (Aidy Bryant) energized by her breakup with dud boyfriend Ryan and her newfound momentum at work. Annie feels like everything is finally falling into place for her, but does she actually know how to get what she wants?



 SHOWTIME has announced that the new anthology series CINEMA TOAST will premiere all 10 episodes on the SHOWTIME on-demand streaming and partner platforms on Tuesday, April 20. Created by Jeff Baena and produced by the Duplass Brothers, CINEMA TOAST is a post-modernist reinvention of older movies that turns pre-existing imagery from the public domain on its head to tell brand new unique stories. Directors include Baena, Jay Duplass, Mel Eslyn, Alex Ross Perry, Marta Cunningham, Aubrey Plaza, Numa Perrier, Jordan Firstman, Kris Rey and David Lowery. The episodes are voiced by actors including Alison Brie, Nick Offerman, Fred Armisen, John Early, Christina Ricci, Megan Mullally, Chloe Fineman and Chris Meloni.

In boxing, it is said that styles make fights. From 1980 through 1989, it was the style of four great fighters that not only made legendary fights, it ushered in a boxing renaissance. The fierce rivalry between world champions and future Hall of Famers known as the “Four Kings” – Roberto “Manos de Piedra” Durán, Marvelous Marvin Hagler, Thomas “The Hitman” Hearns, and Sugar Ray Leonard – produced a Golden Age defined by the nine world championship fights between them and solidified their place among the greatest to ever live.  SHOWTIME SPORTS DOCUMENTARY FILMS today announced THE KINGS, a four-part series chronicling the four fighters' dramatic and divergent ascents to greatness and the legendary matches they produced. The weekly series premieres on Sunday, June 6 at 8 p.m. ET /PT on SHOWTIME, with all episodes being made available across the network’s on-demand and streaming platforms at premiere.

Deepening the mystery of their current chapter, Lord Huron unveil a new song entitled “Long Lost” today. It stands out as the title track of their anxiously awaited fourth full-length album, LONG LOST, out May 21st via Whispering Pines Studios Inc./Republic RecordsListen to "Long LostHERE & watch the lyric video HERE.  Pre-order Long Lost HERE.

Paula Fuga announces new album Rain on Sunday, available June 18th through all digital services. “If Ever”, the lead track, available today along with a lyric video, is a duet with Jack Johnson featuring musician Ben Harper. Listen to “If Ever” and watch the accompanying lyric video here and to purchase, view here.  Rain on Sunday is Fuga’s much-anticipated second full-length album and also her debut album on Jack Johnson’s own Brushfire Records and Republic Records. In bringing Rain on Sunday to life, Fuga worked with producer Mike Love, recording live with her longtime bandmates and infusing every song with a kinetic and joyful energy. For the album’s creation, everything was tracked live, playing in a room together, which was of most importance to Fuga.

While Lionel Richie and his American Idol colleagues continue their mission to discover music’s next superstar, today marks the 25th anniversary of Louder Than Words, the Top-30 Billboard album that ushered in a new chapter for one of the most successful Pop and R&B artists of all time. Island Def Jam Music Group/UMe will celebrate this era in Lionel Richie’s illustrious career with digital deluxe editions of multiple albums throughout 2021, including Just For You (May 7) and Time (June 25). Each of the bonus tracks on the digital deluxe editions of Louder Than Words, Just For You and Time will make their streaming debut.  Kicking off these releases will be the 25th anniversary expanded digital deluxe edition of Louder Than Words, Richie’s fourth solo studio album and first for Mercury/Island Records, originally available on April 16, 1996. Available hereLouder Than Words, which at the time was Richie’s first full album in 10 years, features “Don’t Wanna Lose You,” co-written by Lionel Richie, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. Also featured are “I Wanna Take You Down,” “Paradise,” “Climbing,” “Ordinary Girl,” and Lionel Richie’s work with Babyface and David Foster. The bonus tracks include rare Spanish and Italian language versions of “Still In Love,” the radio version of “Don’t Wanna Lose You,” and non-album cuts “What Do They Know” and “Now You’re Gone.” Louder Than Words enhances Richie’s smooth R&B style with traces of funk and hip-hop for an emotional journey through heartbreak, anticipation and romance that speaks volumes.

NOW That’s What I Call Music!, the world’s bestselling multiple-artist album series, showcases today's biggest hits across chart-topping numbered volumes and themed releases. NOW’s latest numbered volume, NOW That's What I Call Music! Vol. 78, will be released April 30 on CD and digitally. On the same date, NOW That’s What I Call A Decade! 1990s will also be available on CD and digitally.  Preorder NOW:  NOW That’s What I Call Music! Vol. 78 (CD, Digital): https://now.lnk.to/NOW78  NOW That’s What I Call A Decade! 1990s (CD, Digital): https://now.lnk.to/Decade1990s

SHOWTIME Documentary Films announced that it has acquired worldwide rights to CUSP, the documentary feature from directors Parker Hill and Isabel Bethencourt, winners of the Emerging Filmmaker Special Jury Award at the Sundance® Film Festival, where the film premiered earlier this year. Set in a small military town in Texas, CUSP chases three wild-spirited teenage girls as they live out a fever-dream summer, when the strictures of adolescence clash with the growing desire for personal agency. SHOWTIME is planning a theatrical release ahead of a network premiere later this year.  Shot in vérité style, CUSP captures authentic moments of female friendship while examining what it means to grow up in a culture of toxic masculinity. Though the girls’ experiences are completely unique to their upbringing, CUSP is also a strikingly universal coming-of-age tale — and true-to-life, at turns funny, tragic, complicated and stirring.

Lights, Camera, Action! Warner Bros. Home Entertainment will have you singing and dancing in your seat with the release of A Cinderella Story: Starstuck, on Digital beginning June 29th, and on DVD on July 13th. The all-new musical film set in Dreary, Idaho stars Bailee Madison (A Week Away) as our modern-day heroine Finley Tremain and Michael Evans Behling (All American) as her charming romantic interest, Jackson Stone. Other featured actors include April Telek (Chris Watts: Confession of a Killer) as the cruel stepmother, Valerian, and step-siblings Saffron and Kale, played respectively by Lillian Doucet-Roche (A Cinderella Story: Christmas Wish) and Richard Harmon (The 100).  A Cinderella Story: Starstruck will be available on Digital for $14.99 SRP ($14.99 in Canada), and on DVD for $19.98 SRP ($24.98 in Canada).

 

Sunday, April 11, 2021

57 Channels and Only This Is On: April 11, 2021

  

Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist:  For the first time this season, maybe ever, an episode filled with all great songs that I actually own them all.  Well, except the Australian’s sex song about Zoey, unless you count Maroon 5’s This Love which they clearly borrowed the guitar lick from.  It also included the greatest Disco song of all time, though I wish it had been more of an ensemble than just Simon singing with everyone else being a back-up singer/dancer.  I would have been fine had they done the full song.  It was easily my favorite performance of the season so far. 

 

Also my favorite episode of the season, bumping off last week’s episode.  As much grief as I give the guy for living I  San Francisco most of his life yet having a strong Australian accent, I am beginning to enjoy Aiden’s presence,  Though I am not sure how much we will see him after getting rejected by Zoey.  I am also beginning to like the coder chick and her new weird thing with Tobin.  I even like Max’s camp buddy (can’t go wrong if you sing a little INXS).  After a rough start, things are starting to come together this season.

 

Shameless:  So the chick that may have rapped Carl by not using a condom a couple episodes ago who claimed to be on the pill and had a latex allergy is now ready to pop?  So juts what is she up to?  Is she scamming someone else and pretending it is Carl’s baby?  Has time passed that much since that episode?  More confusing is Debbie hanging out the chick who threatened to kill her daughter.  And I thought Lip was supposed to be the smart one.  It never dawned on him that selling to the other person on the other side of the three was a possibility? 

 

The Walking Dead:  So before the dead started to rise, Negan was good… but not really… but kind of was?  What a mess of an episode.  Maybe Memento is the only one that can properly tell a story backwards.

 

Debris:  Oh hey, Cocoon… but they got to actually look young too.  They the two agents came clean about the not so dead father.  This show is kind of boring.

 

Supergirl:  If there is one bright side of being sent to the Phantom Zone is it somehow got rid of Supergirl’s hideous bangs.  Oh yeah, and she found her not so dead father.  Though he seems like a complete waste of a person now.  But I am not entirely sure just how Lex got off.

 

The Challenge: Double Agents:  Kam forked up.  They came up with this brilliant plan, but decided against utilizing it when just because Fessy ruined the meaning Leroy would end up with Nany.  But had Kam forced Corey to go in, if Fessy wins and picks Casey, then Kam could pick Leroy as a partner.  But we got our fourth Hall Brawl of the season and second in a row, which makes me wonder if they were being lazy or being really manipulative by benefiting the Big Brother alliance.

 

The Challenge: All-Stars:  My favorite part of the episode did not actually happen on the episode by the aftershow when Darrell kept complaining that Neiamiah actually got asked to spell “Challenge” backwards with the word plastered all over the rig.  Not sure how that qualifies as ancient Challenge history.  He also complained that Neiamiah got a Wes question and it was just weird to think Neiahaih who has not been seen in a decade started on a season with Wes who has been on almost every season in the past decade.

 

Manifest:  So the meth heads were in a picture with the chick from the Americans?  That is a bizarre coincidence.  I do not remember anyone having their paths cross like that before.  Kind of ripping of Lost there.

 

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier:  So Zemo had every chance to escape last week, but just bolts this week?  I guess the Wakanda warriors are that scary is they are coming for you.  But this was the first time I remember anyone dying by being thrown into something by someone with super strength.