Around the Tubes: December 3, 2022

 

 I have gotten a plethora of cool press releases have been flooding my inbox recently that you may find interesting.  This post includes blurbs on Tell Me Lies, Louis Armstrong, The Beach Boys, Quinn XCII, Game of Thrones, Joy Oladokun, and Game Show Network.

- Hulu Originals drama series “Tell Me Lies” has been renewed for a second season.  “Tell Me Lies” follows a tumultuous but intoxicating relationship as it unfolds over the course of 8 years. When Lucy Albright and Stephen DeMarco meet at college, they are at that formative age when seemingly mundane choices lead the way to irrevocable consequences. Although their relationship begins like any typical campus romance, they quickly fall into an addictive entanglement that will permanently alter not only their lives, but the lives of everyone around them.  The renewal comes as Hulu Originals prepares to launch several other book-to-television adaptions including “Tiny Beautiful Things,” “Washington Black,” “Saint X,” and “Interior Chinatown.” 

- More than 50 years after his passing, the legendary Louis Armstrong is back on the charts with the release of his first-ever Christmas album, Louis Wishes You A Cool Yule (Verve/UMe). The collection debuted in the Top 10 across multiple Billboard charts (dated Nov. 26), including Top Holiday Albums where it bowed at No. 9 and launches in the top 10 on Jazz Albums (No. 4), Traditional Jazz Albums (No. 4), Top Album Sales (No. 7), Top Current Album Sales (No. 6) and Vinyl Albums (No. 7). It debuted at No. 122 on the Billboard 200, becoming Armstrong’s highest charting album since Hello Dolly spent six weeks at No. 1 in 1964.  “Louis Armstrong’s first album of holiday-associated songs is an auspicious aural example of why he was a man for all seasons, singing and playing his Promethean trumpet in the cause of happiness,” said Wynton Marsalis, president of the Louis Armstrong Educational Foundation (LAEF). “Whether you’re seven or 70, these evergreen selections featuring the great composer/arranger Benny Carter, and the incomparable vocalists Ella Fitzgerald and Velma Middleton are illuminated by Pops’ down-home vocals. His reading of ‘The Night Before Christmas,’ with my New Orleans homeboy, Sullivan Fortner on piano, is a swinging Crescent City Christmas card. If anybody can bring joy to the world, Louis Armstrong can!”  “A Visit From St. Nicholas” has been vividly brought to life with a beautiful animated video to usher in the holiday season. Produced and directed by Tom Readdy and Lucy Dawkins at the award-winning creative house Yes Please Productions, the video was animated in a vintage storybook style by animators Sam Shaw, Jac Clinch and Chris Bowles. Watch “A Visit From St. Nicholas” here: https://louisarmstrong.lnk.to/VisitFromStNicholasMV

- Selected by Uncut as their “Reissue of the Month” and garnering rave four- and five-star reviews from MOJO, Record Collector, Goldmine, Shindig! and others, The Beach Boys expansive new box set, Sail On Sailor – 1972, available now via Capitol/UMe, is the latest acclaimed chapter in the Beach Boys archival series. The set documents and dives deep into their transformative and fruitful 1972 era, which bore the landmark albums, 1972’s Carl and the Passions – “So Tough” and 1973’s Holland.  In addition to the 6CD Super Deluxe Edition, Sail on Sailor - 1972 is available as a 5LP+7-inch EP vinyl box set, which includes the entire Carnegie Hall concerts, a variety of bonus material (also found on the Super Deluxe), and for the first time ever, a reproduction of Brian Wilson’s EP, Mount Vernon and Fairway (A Fairytale) on 7-inch, the format it was originally released on as a companion to Holland. The vinyl box is available on its own or as a limited edition set with lithographs. A variety of abbreviated versions are also available, including a 2LP+7-inch EP set, available with or without a limited edition reproduction of the original Holland promotional book telling the story of the making of the album; a 2CD deluxe edition; and digitally. For more information about the formats or to purchase visit: https://TheBeachBoys.lnk.to/SailOnSailorPR

- Following the recent announcement of his upcoming new album The People’s Champ out January 27^th, today, Quinn XCII and Chelsea Cutler team up once again for his new single “Let Me Down”—listen HERE. “Let Me Down” marks the sixth collaboration between the dynamic singer and songwriter duo, as they continue to make the most of their longstanding creative partnership.  Together on “Let Me Down,” Quinn XCII and Chelsea Cutler paint a picture of relatable relationship regrets against a New York City backdrop. The song’s airy synths underscore their unshakable back-and-forth, with fans anticipating the release for months following the artists teasing the track online. Quinn XCII and Chelsea Cutler have previously joined forces on the Gold-Certified “Flare Guns” and “Stay Next To Me,” in addition to “Calling All Angels,” “Giving Up Ground,” and Louis The Child’s “Little Things.” Stay tuned for the arrival of the music video to accompany the song soon!

- For one night only, the critically acclaimed Game of Thrones Live Concert Experience featuring two-time Emmy® Award-winning composer Ramin Djawadi will return for a special encore event at the iconic Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, CA. Come relive this incredible concert on Saturday, May 13, 2023, the immersive live concert produced by Live Nation will have Djawadi conducting The Hollywood Studio Symphony Orchestra as they perform the iconic live music from all eight seasons from the blockbuster hit HBO® series including the “Main Title Theme,” “Light of the Seven,” “The Night King” and more. Complete with an array of big-screen visuals and dazzling bursts of pyrotechnics and fireworks, the concert will transport viewers to the world of Westeros once again while bringing to life one of the most memorable scores in television history. 

- Singer, songwriter, and voice for change Joy Oladokun shares a timely new anthem entitled “Power.” Listen to “Power”—HERE. The song notably serves as the end credits theme for the documentary LOUDMOUT about the life and battles of Reverend Al Sharpton. The film opens in theaters nationwide on December 9 and premieres on Amazon and Apple TV January 13, 2023. It was directed by Josh Alexander and executive produced by EGOT® winner John Legend. Watch the LOUDMOUTH trailer —HERE.  “Power” illuminates the power of Oladokun’s songcraft and delivery. Inspired by Reverend Al Sharpton’s historic journey crusading for Civil Rights, Oladokun wrote this potent anthem alone specifically for the film. It stretches from moments of vulnerability into a gospel-style crescendo with a skyscraping chorus meant as a call-to-action, “Power, help me use it. All of the people got it.”

- Game Show Network, the leader in game shows and competitive entertainment, is running a holiday block of classic game shows! The block will run Monday Dec. 5 through Friday Dec. 30.  The throwback shows running in the block include time-honored favorites such as: Press Your Luck, Super Password, Card Sharks (hosted by Jim Perry), Family Feud (hosted by Richard Dawson), Password Plus, To Tell The Truth, Match Game, I've Got A Secret, and What's My Line. Episodes airing from 1p - 3p are holiday themed episodes, featuring decorated sets, themed questions, and holiday sign offs. 

57 Channels and Only This Is On: November 27, 2022

 

The White Lotus:  So did Albie get a freebie or will Lucia expect payment for that?  Or does Lucia have something more nefarious going on where she will use that performance to blackmail the father?  And just how far will that condom misunderstanding go?  Will Harper try to get back at Ethan by hooking up with Cameron?  I always felt there was going to be some wife swapping, or at least offers, between those two couples.

 

The Walking Dead:  We have seen Glen fall into a crowd of zombies only to crawl under a trash bin to survive.  I thought that was going to go down as the most eye rolling moment in the show’s history, but they were saving the best (worst?) for last.  C’mon, Rosita, falling into the crowd, gets swarmed, breaks out like a pro wrestler in a dog pile, climbs on the truck, jumps from the truck to grab a pipe with a baby strapped to her, and then was able to climb on the second try was the most absurd thing ever thing ever.  A week later, I do not remember anything else that happened.

 

Let the Right One In:  Well, that was sad; they faked out the mother getting attacked early in the episode only for her to sacrifice herself later.  But why?  That was only a quick fix.  Now the father is alone and had to find the next fix all by himself.  But I guess the stargazer club was not the target of vampires, it was just random that Eleanor was attacked.  But that still begs the quest, why was the son targeted at that stargazer thing last week?  Now I am left wonder how the restaurant owner knows so much about vampire lore.  He knew the kid was going to attack her mother and that she needed to be allowed in the house.

 

Andor:  I am pretty sure the Stormtroopers killed more people in this episode than in the previous eleven movies and three shows previously combined.

 

Survivor:  I was really waiting for Gabler to blow up that plan.  This was the way to do it.  You have the two pairs and the four island of misfit toys.  If not now, when?  Time is dwindling.  Plus those two pairs have three Idols between them.

 

The Challenge: Ride or Dies:  Oh Nelson, maybe it was best you never won a daily challenge because he keeps on making dumb decisions.  And this would have been a great elimination to get Jordan out because Anissa is not climbing up that contraption.

 

Titans:  I just called the Rosita scene the most absurd thing ever, but Beast Boy morphing into a virus to infect a snake inside Super Boy gave it a run for its money.  But why leave Star Labs?  You had Super Boy in kryptonite cuffs.  Seemed like the threat was neutralized.  If Constantine could not get into Star Labs, would Mother Mayhem be able to?  Clearly the backup plan did not work.

 

Pennyworth:  So they are ending another season with London in chaos?  Of course last time that happened, they just yadda yaddaed what happened yet and just jumped five years in the future with the city back to normal, mostly.  But this time the city was bombed and the Prime Minister is presumed dead.

 

Fleishman Is in Trouble:  The music cues messed got me confused.   I thought they were in their late thirties / early forties (which is where the main actors are) but if they were listening to Hip-Hop Hooray, big in 19 Naughty 3, in college, that would make them late forties.  But then Tonight, Tonight, released in 1996, came on next which would put them more in the mid-forties range.  But then I realized, oh yeah, this show is sort of a period story taking place in 2016 making thing even more confusing.  But I guess hats off to any college party in the mid-nineties that transitioned from Naughty by Nature to the Smashing Pumpkins.  But after this episode, I realize I really did need anymore backstory to the relationship.