Best of the Week: 11/16/13

Quote of the Week: Oh and the last thing was Olivia Gondek, it says that I wanted to eat her (expletive deleted). Olivia Gondek. I’ve never said that in my life to her. I would never do that. I’m happily married. I’ve got more than enough to eat at home. (Toronto Mayor Rob Ford)

Song of the Week: Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now – Starship (The Goldbergs)

Scene of the Week:


Big News of the Week: The Typhoon in the Philippines: As usual in situations like this, if you have anything to give in this season of Thanksgiving, please donate to the redcross.org.

Preview Picture of the Week:

“Scared to Death” Ravenswood Fall Finale, Tuesday at 8:00 on ABC Family

Free Download / Deal of the Week: Google Play is having a rock classics sale where you can get music from Guns and Roses, Weezer, Bon Jovi, and The Velvet Underground for as low as $3.99 and free songs from each of those artists and six others.

New Album Release of the Week: Crossroads Guitar Festival 2013

New DVD Release of the Week: We're the Millers

Video of the Week: The quote of the week is usually reserved for the funniest or most poignant statement uttered on television over the past seven days, but no words were said this week than those of the crack smoking, black-out drunk mayor of Toronto. But the written words just does not do the quote justice, watch it with the whole segment on the mayor on The Daily Show where John Stewart reacts to the quote the way I, and I am sure everyone else responded the first time they heard the quote.


Next Week Pick of the Week: You Oughta Know Live, Thursday at 9:00 on VH1: Ever since the nineties, it seems like VH1 tries a new yearly live show every three years or so. First there was Divas Live, then Big In (insert year here) Awards, then Hip Hop snd Rock Honors (I wish they would bring back the Hip-Hop Honors). Now they are trotting out the You Oughta Know Live concert featuring artists that VH1 have highlighted over the past couple years (it is basically VH1’s version of Buzzworthy dating back to 2005 with Anna Nalick as the first artist that you should have known). Performing are The Lumineers, Lorde, Ed Sheeran, Haim, Matt Nathanson, Emeli Sandé, and someone named Johnnyswim (apparently they did not do a very good job getting the word out on that last group).There will also be some surprise collaborations. A video of Haim being joined on stage by Lorde to sing Sheryl Crow in the internet this week but was quickly taken down. Note to VH1: if you do not want your concert to hit the web before you air it, do not film the concert ten days in advance.

Best of the Week: 11/9/13

Quote of the Week: Saul, you don’t look like a man who landed the biggest asset of his career. (Majid Javadi, Homeland)

Song of the Week: I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) – The Proclaimers (How I Met Your Mother)

Scene of the Week:


Big News of the Week: Bullying in the NFL: Back when I played sports, hazing was an accepted practice, but we now live in a “It gets better world” (even though it does not, but that is a rant for another day) and apparently hazing is not even acceptable in the most “manly” of institutions the NFL. Sure what Richie Incognito said was horrible, but no worse than what is shouted at players every Sunday. That is not to say Incognito should not be cut (considering his rap sheet, no one should have signed him in the first place), but it is weird to continually hear about bullying in the NFL.

Preview Picture of the Week:

“Huang Wu” Sons of Anarchy, Tuesday at 10:00 on FX

Free Download of the Week: The Triple Threat – The Hush Sound (NoiseTrade): I am a bit surprised that The Hush Sound did not hit that wave of indie pop from the middle of last decade, Wine Red was ultra catchy and could have easily been the soundtrack to one of the silhouette iPod commercials. But the group recently got back together and has a sampler of their new work which sound more mature than their earlier songs.

Deal of the Week: Blu-Ray Under $10: Home Alone Collection, Zombieland, Inception, Gremlins 2: The New Batch

New Album Release of the Week: November - Grace and Tony

New DVD Release of the Week: Dexter: The Complete Final Season

Video of the Week: The new TBS comedy Ground Floor premieres Thursday but you can actually watch it now over at tbs.com. If you are not sure if you want to send the next twenty-minutes watching the whole thing, check out this short clip first.



Next Week Pick of the Week: Killing Kennedy, Sunday at 8:00 on National Geographic Channel: After the success of Killing Lincoln, it was only a matter of time before Bill-O’Reilly’s other books get their own movie. And just in time for the fifth anniversary of his assassination is Killing Lincoln with Rob Lowe in the titular role and Ginnifer Goodwin and Jackie O.

Best of the Week: 11/2/13

Quote of the Week: I would switch because I’m afraid I won’t do well in this duel because it’s a puzzle and I can’t even spell. But I would switch. (Kat Edorsson, Survivor: Blood vs. Water)

Song of the Week: Ghostbusters – Ray Parker Jr. (The Goldbergs)

Scene of the Week:


Big News of the Week: The Red Sox Win Another World Series: For the third time in a decade the Boston Red Sox with the face of the steroids scandal from their city winning the MVP. Wake me up when the asterisk era is finally over in Major League Baseball.

Preview Picture of the Week:

“John 8:32” Sons of Anarchy, Tuesday at 10:00 on FX

Free Download of the Week: 24 Hours – Sky Ferrera (iTunes)

Deal of the Week: 100 Albums for $5 Each: This month’s discounted albums include Johnny Cash, A Tribe Called Quest, Mazzy Star, and Passenger.


New Album Release of the Week: The Marshall Mathers LP2 - Eminem

New DVD Release of the Week: Mad Men: Season Six

Video of the Week: Sad day Wednesday when Kat was booted from Survivor. Sure I was prepared for it all week considering most of the Redemption challenges have been puzzles, and Kat cannot even spell let alone do a puzzle. It is a shame she did not make the merge to at the very least be part of the Jury because when she was voted out of One World was the single greatest Ponderosa episode ever in the history of the show. We did get Kat on the After Show and since it was Halloween, both Kat and host Parvoti Shallow dressed up like kats. Can they just make Kat the permanent co-host?


Next Week Pick of the Week: Once Upon a Time, Sunday at 8:00 on ABC: Considering mermaids showed up in the season premiere, it was only a matter of time before The Little Mermaid showed up (apparently I was wrong thinking that the mermaid they captured in the premiere was Ariel). But goodness the preview for next week looks bad, especially the poor Ursula CGI. At least it cannot be as boring as this week’s Captain Hook centric episode.

Best of the Week: 10/26/13

Quote of the Week: Our relationship is just starting and now I've, like, embarrassed all his friends. Who wants to date someone that doesn’t make the merge? (Kat Edorsson, Survivor: Blood vs. Water)

Song of the Week: This Town – Deacon Claybourne and Scarlett O’Conner (Nashville)

Scene of the Week:


And yes you can download If I Didn't Have You (Bernadette's Song) on iTunes

Big News of the Week: It’s the Start of the Jason Campbell Era in Cleveland: You want to know just how much it sucks to live in Cleveland, I actually got excited when I heard the Browns were benching Brandon Weeden after throwing two underhanded throws in consecutive weeks (in Weeden’s defense, only one of them was intercepted). Keep in mind Campbell will be the twentieth starting quarterback since the Browns returned in 1999.  That is two ahead of the Dolphins, the second most over that time period.  The league average is 11.3.  As Bill Simmons would say, God hates Cleveland.

Preview Picture of the Week:

“Death and the Maiden” Ravenswood, Tuesday at 8:00 on ABC Family

Free Download of the Week: Speak a Little Louder – Diane Birch (NoiseTrade): Earlier this week I reviewed Diane Birch’s latest album (see Musings from the Back 9: Music Edition) and if you want to get sense of the album you can download this three song sampler which also includes a fourth song, Nothing but a Miracle off her debut album.

New Album Release of the Week: Under the Influence: Holiday Edition - Straight No Chaser

New DVD Release of the Week: Springsteen & I

Video of the Week: Just in time for the next Thor to be released into theaters, the new Captain America trailer is out and Winter Soldier features some familiar faces (Nick Fury, Black Widow), some new ones (Robert Redford as one of the senior leaders of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Anthony Mackie as Falcon, a guy who can fly and talk to birds) and some dude with a mask (anyone who has read Winter Soldier knows who it is; or just anyone who recognizes him). Conspicuously absent is Emily Van Camp as another S.H.I.E.L.D. agent (she is not playing Kristen from statistics) or anyone from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. which probably did not even start casting by the time Winter Soldier wrapped shooting (though maybe Steve Rodgers may show up on the television show in the future to promote their movies, or even better, Natalie Portman; but the best bet is Emily Van Camp, who is already on ABC television, will pop up in a cameo eventual). Captain America: Winter Soldier hits theaters in April which is around the time we will probably get our first trailer for Guardians of the Galaxies which will feature Vin Diesel as a tree and Bradley Cooper as a raccoon.


Next Week Pick of the Week: American Blackout, Sunday at 9:00 on the National Geographic Channel: It does seem like our power grid going down is not a question of if rather a question of when (remember when some downed trees took out the eastern seaboard all the way to Canada and Ohio a decade ago; it is as east to shut down the western seaboard and Texas). The National Geographic Channel takes a look at what very well might happen with cell phone footage to add to the realism. Check out my full preview of American Blackout here.

Best of the Week: 10/19/13

Quote of the Week: My father used to say that all the time, that and who does one have to orally gratify to get a drink around here? (Sheldon Cooper, PhD., The Big Bang Theory)

Song of the Week: Royals – Lorde (Revenge)

Scene of the Week:


Big News of the Week: The Lorde Backlash Begins: There is an old saying that the only certain things in life are death and taxes. In the age of the internet, there is also the inevitable backlash to anything that becomes too popular. I first downloaded Lorde’s Royals back in March; I was taken aback by the stark song and anti-commercialism by a teenaged foreigner. By the time the summer hit, Royal started popping up in a few summer jams playlists (including my own) and then became a fixture in the iTunes top ten. By September Lorde finally pushed her way past the cheesy pop singer she makes fun of in her song and landed at number one where she has pretty much had on lock for over a month except for when a new high profile song is released and displays her for a day or two.

And now the inevitable backlash has begun because in this day and age, you will always find a contrarian or million of them. First out the gate is some feminist blogger who claims Royals is racist with the title: Wow that Lorde song is racist. Wow, you are a moron. The writer claims that putting people with gold teeth, Cristal, and Maybachs means that Lorde is unfairly targeting wealthy rappers. How many black people drive around in their Maybach’s sipping Cristal through their gold teeth? Less than one percent? Anyone who thinks Lorde’s is racist because they think she is attacking black people in her song is vastly more racist.

What is worse is the writer goes on to say, “Why aren’t we critiquing wealth by taking hits at golf or polo or Central Park East?” Right in between the lines about gold teeth and Maybach is the line , “Blood stains, ball gowns, trashing the hotel room.” Which is obviously directed at rock stars of the Caucasian variety. And I do not know many, if any rappers that have, “Jet planes, islands, tigers on a gold leash.” That sound more like the very white Richard Branson than Jay-Z. And the song is not even a complete take down of the rapper lifestyle because Lorde is driving Cadillac’s in her dreams. But most importantly, people with gold teeth need to be ridiculed and so does the writer of this article.

Preview Picture of the Week:

"Grave New World" Pertty Little Liars, Tuesday at 8:00 on ABC Family

Free Download of the Week: Expired Lover – Emily Kinney (Noise Trade): I had two takeaways from The Walking Dead this week, 1) why are the killing off all the guest stars I recognize and, 2) when did the other Greene sister get hot? Last season, the Greene sisters entertained the prison with some song and apparently the other Greene sister is an actual singer, get her first single off her upcoming album for free.

Deal of the Week: Vampires Sale: Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Priest, and Underworld

New Album Release of the Week: Smoke and Mirrors - Brett Dennen

New DVD Release of the Week: Brave Enough: Live at the Variety

Video of the Week: The 2014 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nominations were announced this week headlined by Nirvana (for those that did the math and did not think they were eligible for another three years, the band released a single Love Buzz back in 1988). I was surprised to see Hall and Oates on the list because I would have assumed the greatest duo in rock and roll history would already be in there. This is the second time the Rock Hall is actually letting fans vote (before you start spamming the website, keep in mind the top five vote getters from the fan vote will go on the Fan’s Ballot which will be only one of over 600 ballots). In a measure of full disclosure, I voted for Hall and Oates, N.W.A., Peter Gabriel, Cat Stevens, and The Replacements. Again, this is the first year Hall and Oates made the ballot even though they have been eligible for the past sixteen years. I have to wonder if it was their horrible eighties music videos like Adult Education that has kept them out of the Hall all these years.


Next Week Pick of the Week: Ravenswood, Tuesday at 9:00 on ABC Family: After creating a show based on another book written by the Pretty Little Liars failed, ABC Family is taking a more direct approach with a direct spin-off of their biggest show. Over the past season the Liars have taken a couple trips to creepy Ravenswood including the season finale which will also be the setting of its Halloween special. In the hour they have to explain when Caleb is just going to up and move to the town without warning. Supposedly there is a curse so maybe it will keep him from leaving and keep Hanna and the rest of Rosewood forget him. Unless they are going to continue their relationship on two different shows.

Best of the Week: 10/12/13

Quote of the Week: Normally we have naked cootchies lined up on the sink… but its slow. (Betty DiMello, Masters of Sex)

Song of the Week: Hey Man, Nice Shot – Filter (The Blacklist)

Scene of the Week:


Big News of the Week: A New Low: During the Republican primaries, as the candidates tried to out-crazy each other (I’ll see your Herbert Cain and raise you a Michelle Bachman) I floated a conspiracy theory that some of them were actually Manchurian Candidates placed by the Democrats to make the Republicans look unelectable except to the crazies in the south. And it worked, even though Barck Obama did a poor job in his first term, a poor Obama seemed more palatable than the crazy courting Mitt Romney.

You would think after the loss, the Republicans would disown the crazy wing of the party, but nope, they doubled down as if they want another four to eight years of President Clinton. They spent years of complaining that Obamacare would destroy the economy, and instead trying to fix it, waited their time trying to defund it over seventy times (you know, because fifty just is not enough) and even shut down the government which actually is hurting the economy months before Obamacare even goes into effect. So Obamacare did ruin the economy, but instead of being Obama’s fault, it lies at the feet of the Republicans. And now the Republican party has the lowest approval rating (28%) ever reported by Gallop since they started asking the question back in 1992. They also have a record high disapproval rating at 60%. For comparison the Democrats are at 43% approval and 49% disapproval. (All ratings have a margin of error of +/-4). So Republicans, stop being idiots, it is getting you nowhere. You have two years to shape up so we do not get stuck with a President Clinton because as we saw with President Bush’s, the sequel is significantly worse than the original.

Preview Picture of the Week:

“Salvage” Sons of Anarchy, Tuesday at 10:00 on FX

Free Download of the Week: Broken Over You – Vertical Horizon (NoiseTrade)

Deal of the Week: The Zombie Sale: Up to 51% Off: Zombieland, multiple Resident Evil movies, Zombie Strippers

New Album Release of the Week: Magpie And The Dandelion - The Avett Brothers

New DVD Release of the Week: Pacific Rim

Video of the Week: You will have to wait about another nine months until the season four premiere of Falling Skies, but you can check out the first look now which features even more bad apocalypse hair, a creepy military school, a new creepy hot blonde now that Karen is presumably dead, and what sound like a new enemy for the humans to fight (which may have something to do with the new creepy hot blonde) . The only thing missing is the creepy baby turned creepy grade schooler. Granted by the time the season starts, she may be a creepy teenager.



Next Week Pick of the Week: The Walking Dead, Sunday at 9:00 on AMC: During the boring farm season, everyone who read the graphic novel kept saying, wait until they get to the prison and meet the Governor. We got a glimpse of the prison at the end of season two and meet the governor shortly into the third season. And it really was not worth the wait. But as long as there are some gruesome zombie deaths, it is hard to get too disappointed with The Walking Dead.

Best of the Week: 8/5/13

Quote of the Week: What is it you’re smoking Ms. Masterson? (Senator Andrew Lockhart, Homeland)

Song of the Week: Gonna Get Even – Layla Grant (Nashville)

Scene of the Week:


Big News of the Week: Believeland: Forget the government shutdown, there is bigger news this week: the Cleveland Browns are alone in first place for the first time in maybe two decades!!! Things looks grim here in Cleveland after the Browns traded away their top three pick from just last year (which also cost them another late round pick to boot) for what will probably be a draft pick in the teens next year signifying the sixth rebuilding year of the past fourteen seasons. Except after they traded Trent Richardson, the won two straight games to earn them a tie in the AFC Central and with a Thursday Night Football game could get them a sole place at the top with a win.

But this is Cleveland and nothing is easy. Brain Hoyer, who looked competent in his first two starts, made the most awkward looking slide ever in the first quarter which landed him a torn ACL and out for the season. So back in was Brandon Weeden, the sophomore quarterback who turns thirty later this year. Yep God hates Cleveland. Except the Buffalo quarterback got injured himself, and the Bill backup managed to be worse than Brandon completing only around five passes, and one of those was to cornerback TJ Ward, cliching the Browns win. So seriously President Obama and House Republicans, if the Cleveland Browns can be in first place during the fifth week of the season, you can hammer out a way to get the government up and running again.

Preview Picture of the Week:

"Heavy Petting" The League, Wednesday at 10:30 on FXX

Free Download of the Week: Ribs – Lorde (iTunes): Get the fifth best song off of Pure Heroine for free. But really, just buy the whole album. You can read why in my review: I'm Kinda of Over Being Told to Throw My Hands in the Air.

Deal of the Week: 100 Albums for $5: This months discounted album on Amazon MP3 include Greatest Hits packages from Tom Petty, Boyz II Men, Bruce Springsteen, and DMX.


New Album Release of the Week: Mountains of Sorrow, Rivers of Song - Amos Lee

New DVD Release of the Week: Lifeguard

Video of the Week: When I think of great reality moments, I always go back to the time CT wore Johnny Bananas as a backpack on The Challenge. This week’s Immunity Challenge on Survivor may make the list. Sure we have seen this exact challenge before on the show, the sumo pillow fight over the water or mud, but this is the first time we have seen it with relatives going against each other. There we only three same sex loved ones left on the show but they all went up against each other (I am glad Colton quit earlier in the episode, but I would have loved to see him go against Caleb, or even better NFL lineman Brad, in this). First up you have Vytas cheap shot his brother Aras and still lose, and then you had two mothers beat their daughters half their age. Laura beating Ciera was a bit understandable, Ciera is so small got knocked off the platform when Kat just sneezed on her, but Katie has over twenty-five years on her mother, a couple inches, and a quite few pounds on her mother and still lost. This was really the first time I did not hate the Blood vs. Water theme. For reference, to skip the less interesting undercard, the Ciera vs. Kat battle start at 3:00.


Next Week Pick of the Week: Once Upon a Time: Wonderland, Thursday at 8:00 on Thursday on ABC: The Once Upon a Time spin-off was originally conceived as a filler show for when the main show went on winter hiatus, but the people at ABC liked it so much that they gave it a full order and a spot on its fall lineup, one that is not even on the same night as the original show. Of course it did not like it enough to give it a better spot on it schedule than Thursdays at 8:00 where the network has failed to launch a new drama since Ugly Betty moved out of the spot in 2009. And the promos make me wonder what exactly what the execs saw because the CGI heavy sets do not look very good and instead of a Once Upon a Time spin-off, it looks like a television adaptation of Sucker Punch (which was conceived as Alice in Wonderland with guns but panned by critics).

Best of the Week: 9/28/13

Quote of the Week: Here’s one I thought I’d take to the grave: a while back YouTube changed its user interface from a star based rating system to a thumbs up ratings system. I tell people I’m okay with it but I’m really not. (Sheldon Cooper PhD, The Big Bang Theory)

Song of the Week: Islands In the Stream – Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton (as sung by Wayne Brady and Wayne Brady, How I Met Your Mother)

Scene of the Week:


Big News of the Week: Power Rankings of New Fall Television: Television came back in full force this week with a slew of new shows. Surprisingly only one came D.O.A. (do not get too attacked to Lucky 7). Granted a lot of the more poorly reviewed show (We Are Men, Super Fun Night, Sean Saves the World, The Millers, Ironside, Welcome to the Family) do not premiere until next week. I did watch just over half of the ten new shows and here is absurdly premature Power Rankings:

1. The Blacklist
2. Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
3. The Michael J. Fox Show
4. Back in the Game
5. The Goldbergs
6. The Crazy Ones

But who cares what I think. Here is how the shows stack up in total viewers in millions. As you can tell, it is very helpful to air after the two of the most watched shows on television like the top two shows here and not very helpful to air after another new show like the bottom three:

1. The Crazy Ones (15.52)
2. The Blacklist (12.58)
3. Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D (12.12)
4. The Goldbergs (8.94)
5. Back in the Game (8.01)
6. Mom (7.99)
7. The Michael J. Fox Show (7.50)
8. Hostages (7.41)
9. Trophy Wife (6.69)
10. Lucky 7 (4.43)

Although if you go by the ever more important 18-49 demo ratings, the rankings go like this:

1. Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D (4.7)
2. The Crazy Ones (3.9)
3. The Blacklist (3.8)
4. The Goldbergs (3.1)
5. Mom (2.5)
6. Trophy Wife (2.3)
7. Back in the Game (2.2)
8. The Michael J. Fox Show (2.2)
9. Hostages (1.8)
10. Lucky 7 (1.3)

Preview Picture of the Week:

“Wolfsangel” Sons of Anarchy, Tuesday at 10:00 on FX

Free Download of the Week: The Mother We Share – Chvrches (iTunes)

Deal of the Week: $3.99 Albums: Amazon is hosting a secret sale of albums that should be in everyone’s library including ones by Nirvana, Beastie Boys, The Police, and Boyz II Men. Update your library now on the cheap if there are holes.


New Album Release of the Week: Pure Heroine - Lorde

New DVD Release of the Week: This Is The End

Video of the Week: The triumphant return of Kenny Powers is tomorrow when the fourth and final season of Eastbound and Down premieres of HBO at 10:00. Check out a preview clip below:


Next Week Pick of the Week: Masters of Sex, Sunday at 10:00 on Showtime: Masters of Sex did not make my Power Ranking from above because it does not air until tomorrow, but if it was, it would have been number one with a bullet. To read more, check out my preview of Masters of Sex here.

Best of the Week: 9/21/13

Quote of the Week: Contrary to popular belief, no money mo problems. (Larry Bird, The Neighbors)

Song of the Week: Push the Sky Away – Nick Cave and the Bad Seed (The Bridge)

Scene of the Week:


Big News of the Week: God Still Hates Cleveland: It has not been a good year for Browns fans, last season the former Browns won their second Super Bowl (which in one more than the number of Browns playoff appearances in that time) and went through yet another regime change. And then they started off with two straight losses where the AARP member sophomore quarterback Brandon Weeden hurt his thumb. Word came down Wednesday that Weeden would not be starting Sunday but instead of second string and former semi-successful starting quarterback Jason Campbell starting in his place, some dude named Brian Hoyer, who is on his fourth team in the past year, would start. You would think this would be the worst news coming out of Cleveland this week, but nope, as Bill Simmons would say, “God Hates Cleveland” and that was not even the worst news that day.

A couple hours later I was scrolling through my feed reader and saw “Trent Richardson traded to Indy for First Round Draft Pick”. At first I thought I accidentally subscribed to the least funny The Onion sports rip-off site, but no, this was no joke, the Browns traded away their top four pick from just last season (which also cost them a second rounder because they moved up to get him) and arguably their best offensive threat for a pick that, best case scenario (barring an Andrew Luck injury) will be in the teens, worst case scenario in the twenties. So welcome to Cleveland rebuilding 8.1. Yep, God Hates Cleveland.

Preview Picture of the Week:

"And the Soft Opening" 2 Broke Girls, Monday at 9:30 on CBS

Free Download of the Week: Pillow Talk – Wild Child (Noise Trade)

New Album Release of the Week: Mechanical Bull - Kings of Leon

New DVD Release of the Week: Hannibal: Season One

Video of the Week: The most anticipated show of the fall does not premiere until next Sunday, but those that cannot wait, you can watch the premiere of Master of Sex now on YouTube. Sure, Showtime edits out all the mature content from there previews so if you already subscribe, you probably want to wait the week to see the unedited episode. But if you do not subscribe, and want to check it out to see if it is worth subscribing to the premium channel (between this and the third season of Homeland, the answer is a resounding yes), you will just have to imagine the actual sex while watching. Please note embedding has been disabled so you have to head over YouTube to watch.

Next Week Pick of the Week: Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Tuesday at 8:00 on ABC: Almost everything premieres next week but there is one show that stand out above all the new, and even the returning shows: Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (after just writing the show out two times around, I am beginning to think I may soon just shorten it to SHIELD in the very near future). This is the first television show created by Joss Weadon since Dollhouse and firs since he directed the blockbuster The Avengers. But the thing is, the show will either end up being the biggest show on television by the end of the year or quite possibly the biggest bust ever. It is also a bit weird that there are no reviews yet because it seems like ABC did not send out many screeners for the show. Not screening something for critics is rarely a good sign which leads me to believe that the at least the Pilot is mediocre at best and ABC did not want tepid review to hurt the show and is content that name recognition will pull in more than enough viewers.

Best of the Week: 9/14/13

Quote of the Week: Thank you for telling me that deeply depressing story Shawn. You actually make m feel really good about myself, and that is awesome. (Daniel Frye, The Bridge)

Song of the Week: (Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay – Otis Redding (as sung by Tig, Sons of Anarchy)

Big News of the Week: 25 Anniversary of Alternative Charts: The alternative charts hit its silver anniversary this week. Granted I only knew the alternative charts still exists because Billboard ran an article last month saying that Royals was the first solo female artist to top that chart since before she was born (Tracy Bonham was the last to do so five months before Lorde was even born). Before that I just assumed the Alternative charts folded in the nineties.

Like many anniversaries, Billboard included a list of The Top 100 Alternative Song in the chart’s history and like many of Billboard lists, it sucked massively. Going into the list I assumed the obvious number one would be Smells Like Teen Spirit but apparently grunge was not alternative for Billboard because that was the only song on the list and it was only 16, it was the only Nirvana song on the list (though a scan of Wikipeadia showed that Heart Shaped Box, All Apologies, and About a Girl all topped the chart at one point) and no other iconic Seattle band made the list.

Though Billboard releases the worst lists anywhere on the internet, 100-10 was a nice trip down memory lane with great tracks by Primitive Radio Gods, Better Than Ezra, 311 (and a few artists I have never heard of, Julian Cope anyone?). Then I got to the top which was filled with mind numbingly bad selections. Muse was not only number one, but had two of the top three spots (Uprising and Madness) with some band named Rise Against in between with a song that not only never reached number one, it peaked at number three. I think most people would agree that the Golden Age of Alternative Music occurred during the nineties yet seven of the top eight sings were from the twenty-first century. This is just a farce, c’mon, no one is bouncing their grandchildren on their knees telling them about the alternative scene from the late 00’s.

Preview Picture of the Week:

“Take the Ride, Pay the Toll” The Bridge, Wednesday at 10:00 on FX

Free Download of the Week: The Hearse - Wampire (Amazon MP3)

Deal of the Week: 90's Television Shows Sale: Newsradio, Mad About You, Dawson’s Creek

New Album Release of the Week: Wise Up Ghost - Elvis Costello and The Roots

New DVD Release of the Week: Grimm: Season Two

Video of the Week: I was out on The Voice last season when the bored housewives and weirdoes pushed The Swon Brothers and Michelle Chamuel much further than their talent dictated. So I was hesitant going into season five. Then I saw this promo and after thirty seconds I am cautiously back in for two reasons: 1) I am pretty sure Cee-Lo shaved Bam Bam Bigalo’s head tattoo into his scalp, and 2) I am already ready to anoint the chick who sings The Scientist the winner after just five second. And to answer your questions to make cyber stalking easier, yes she has already been identified: Holly Henry (bonus points for the strong name, I am a big fan of name alliterations), and yes, she has a YouTube page (bonus points for The xx cover) so you do not have to put her five seconds from the video on a loop for the next ten days. You are welcome. Here is hoping Holly end up on Blake’s team assuming he does not go all country again this season (since the Blind Audition were taped after last season, I wonder if his country only season will deter non-country artists from picking him this season), and she does not get Caroline Glasered so the bored housewives and weirdoes push mediocrity through the Live Rounds. And if Holly does get Glasered, I probably will stop watching and will skip season six. Unless of course Cee-Lo shows up with a Kid n Play flattop. (Holly does cover Your Song on YouTube so if her and Caroline cannot find success after The Voice, they should think about teaming up and start an Elton John cover band).




Next Week Pick of the Week: Survivor, Wednesday at 8:00 on CBS: For the sixth time in eight seasons, Survivor is bringing back former contestants and like last season’s Fans vs. Favorites, half the cast will be made up of returnees. But unlike last season, they will not be battling fans but as the title suggest blood relatives. Okay, half are married or just dating couples, but let’s not quibble too much because there are bigger things to complain about. First and foremost is the return of Colton Crumbie, the gay racist Republican from Alabama (who will be teamed up with his fiancé Caleb). There are villains on this show that you love to hate, but Colton was not one of those, he is someone you hate so much you want to change the channel and never return.

It may not take an act of God to get rid of Colton this time around because this season will also see the return of Redemption Island (I told you there were plenty other things worth complaining about) and each tribe will be sending member straight to there at the start of the show and Colton seems like the obvious pick for the returnees (it has to be either him or season two winner Tina Wesson) while for the “Blood” Rupert Boneham’s wife Laura will probably get the early boot. And just to make things complicated, if your loved one sent to Redemption Island, you can actually take their place and they will take your place on the tribe so I fully expect Rupert to fall on the sword and take his wife’s spot (and I am guessing will be the only one to do so except maybe the two mothers) only for his wife to be the third person voted into Redemption. While I am in the predicting mood, let me go ahead and predict one of the greatest people to ever have played this game, or even walked this Earth will win this season: Kat Edorsson from One World.

Best of the Week: 8/24/13

Quote of the Week: Digging the whole Erika Badu thing you got going on… turban. (Ray, The Bridge)

Song of the Week: Don't You (Forget About Me) – Simple Minds (Perception)

Scene of the Week:


Big News of the Week: And Your New Batman Is…: I actually had a long diatribe on the official announcement on the new cast of Survivor and the disastrous return of Colton and Redemption Island but I am going to put that off until the season premieres because a much bigger news item dropped Friday morning. Usually I write my Big News of the Week early on Wednesday or Thursday because traditionally nothing happens of Friday, the day is historically a slow news day because people are too busy preparing for the weekend to care about news. Most people dump bad news on Friday hoping it will disappear without anyone caring.

This makes you wonder why Warner Bros. would hold off the announcement of the next Batman, arguably the biggest superhero on the planet, until a Friday instead of Monday to maximize the impact and news. Well that is until you learn who would be putting on the cowl next: Ben Affeck commonly considered the worst superhero ever (depending on your feelings towards Ryan Reynolds) after the disastrous Daredevil. Naturally the internets almost combusted on itself after the new broke. What makes this worse is that this announcement came after word leaked that Ryan Gosling was on the shortlist (a shortlist that did not even include Affleck). I would have even taken Josh Brolin, who also rumored for the part over Affleck. Sometime I wonder if Warner Bros. and DC Comics do not mind playing second fiddle to the Marvel even though DC has the far superior roster of superheroes.

I am sure Survivor and Grantland, who released their disastrous The Best Song of the Millennium bracket Thursday, which befuddling left Crazy by Gnarls Barkley off the pool of sixty-four (to put things in perspective, the people over at Grantland did think Tik Tok by Ke$ha is one of the sixty four best songs of the millennium; though any longtime reader of Grantland cannot be too surprised that their list is made up of mostly middling rap songs horrible pop songs and pretentious indie music no one cares about), were happy that the announcement was released Friday to pull all the internet hatred away from them and unto Affleck.

Preview Picture of the Week:

"Now You See Me, Now You Don’t" Pretty Little Liars, Tuesday at 8:00 on ABC Family

Free Download of the Week: The Living Room Sessions – Sheryl Crow (NoiseTrade): Get Sheryl Crow’s move towards country with a free EP, but if you are so inclines to tip for being generous, Portions of any money collected from the "tip jar" will be sent to one of Sheryl's favorite charities, St Jude Children's Research Hospital.

New Album Release of the Week: Electric Slave - Black Joe Lewis

New DVD Release of the Week: The Great Gatsby

Video of the Week: If you have watched MTV over the past month, which is to say if you have watched The Challenge in the past month because it is the only programming on the channel worth watching this decade aside the short lived Beavis and Butt-Head revival (which I guess is not coming back), you would be surprised to hear an actual good song being played as No Sleep Till Brooklyn has become the theme of this year’s Video Music Awards since the show will be held in the borough for the first time tomorrow. It is nice that the channel actually is playing a great song for once, but really ruins the sentiment when the ads also feature Katy Perry, Miley Cyrus, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis. But MTV recently did an oral history of the Beastie Boys song. Sure it is short and does not feature stories from any of the Boys themselves, but it is still worth a view. The VMA’s airs tomorrow at 9:00 and will feature performances by artists no one over fourteen will want to watch so you may want to go to sleep before the show gets to Brooklyn. Actually all the old people you loved the Beastie Boys back in the day will probably be watching Breaking Bad instead.

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2013 VMA, Artists.MTV, Music

Next Week Pick of the Week: Pretty Little Liars, Tuesday at 8:00 on ABC Family: #WorldWarA is upon us and… I cannot say I am all that excited. Is redcoat A? If so why are the Liars calling her buy both names? It gets too confusing. All I know is that CeCe is way too obvious. I am still predicting Allison is Redcoat / A, whether they tell us that in the summer finale or not is debatable. They like to stretch mysteries out like turkey meat.

Best of the Week: 8/17/13

Quote of the Week: She trusts me. I’m a cop. (Sonya Cross, The Bridge)

Song of the Week: Ain't No Sunshine – Bill Withers (as sung by Bridget Donovan and Marvin Gaye, Ray Donovan)

Big News of the Week: The Return of Crappy Music: 2013 has been a bad year for music. And not only has there been a lack of great music, there really has not been any horrible music either. Unfortunately we will have to wait a bit longer for some more great music, but horrible music came back with a vengeance this week when both new songs from Katy Perry and Lade Gaga leaked last week and then both rushed to iTunes on Monday.

Both made grand preoccupations of growth and expansions of their sound, Perry even went as far as burning relics from her California Gurls days George Michael style, except when Roar came out, it did not sound all that different from Firework (or Sara Bareilles’s Brave as everyone has pointed). While Lady Gaga has spent the last month trying to out hyperbole Kanye West but where Yeezus actually pushed the envelope for better or worse (I would argue worse) Gaga’s Applause is a crappy disco song that sounds like it got rejected from her first album for not being good enough. It does look like Perry is easily winning the battle of bad music as Roar has kept Applause out of the top slot all week and by Friday Applause had dropped to four after Blurred Lines and some country song.

Thankfully there is some good music on the way to join the stellar album by The Civil Wars next month by Janelle Monáe, Jack Johnson, Elvis Costello & The Roots, and for those looking for pop music that isn’t cheesy and boring, Haim and Lorde are both dropping their full length debut album on the 31 of September.

Preview Picture of the Week:

“Bring Down the Hoe” Pretty Little Liars Tuesday at 8:00 on ABC Family

Free Download of the Week: Pilot - Veronica Mars (iTunes): For those that have wonder what the whole Veronica Mars thing is about since a movie got Kickstarted, you can now watch the Pilot for the low, low price of free. And once you get addicted by watching the first episode, iTunes also currently has all three season at a discount. There is plenty of time to catch up by the time the movie is released.

Deal of the Week: Get twenty-five debut album for a discount including the first albums from Beastie Boys, Counting Crows, Norah Jones, and The Black Keys:


New Album Release of the Week: Paradise Valley - John Mayer

New DVD Release of the Week: Boardwalk Empire: The Complete Third Season

Video of the Week: This week TNT released its first trailer for the upcoming Mob City (formally Lost Angels), the first post-The Walking Dead show from Frank Darabont, which also stars that show’s Jon Bernthal. The fist look makes it seem very stylized, but I could not help but thinking about the underwhelming Gangster Squad while watching this. Still I am still skeptically optimistic. Mob City premieres December 4 on TNT.

Next Week Pick of the Week: Switched at Birth, Monday at 8:00 on ABC Family: It is wedding day on Switched At Birth and I put the odds at the wedding actually happening at fifty-fifty. Maybe the better question is who will be the one to call it off or who will be the people to finally reason with Toby or Nikki that getting married this early may not be the best idea. It probably will not be Daphne who is walking down the path of mutual destruction with Chip Coto. But what bomb could he lob at Daphne that could be as bad as knocking up with an intern? I am guessing her father's heart attack will be coming back into play.

Best of the Week: 8/10/13

Quote of the Week: Entonces sólo eres un asesino en serie si te gusta. (Fausto Galvan, The Bridge)

Song of the Week: Get Lucky – Daft Punk featuring Pharrell Williams (The Colbert Report)

Scene of the Week:


Big News of the Week: Do Not Piss Off Stephan Colbert: Stephan Colbert has been hyping a Daft Punk appearance for a while now which was a pretty big deal considering the robot duo does not do much television. They have not done anything since releasing their last album in May. But Tuesday came and went and no Daft Punk. The reason was not some canned excuses like illness and Stephan was more than willing to tell everyone the real reason Daft Punk did not show up: they were already booked exclusively to make a surprise appearance on the Video Music Awards sometime in September on VH1 hosted by Chris Brown (at least according to Colbert). So, surprise.

Sure the controversy does not quite pass the smell test considering Viacom owns both Comedy Central and MTV and it took an entire month to notice the conflict of interest. Not to mention Colbert says he did not learn of Daft Punk’s cancellation until Monday but had enough time to book Robin Thicke, who has that other massive summer hit, to replace Daft Punk (oh yeah, and it turns out he taped that segment last week) and create a video featuring Hugh Laurie, Jeff Bridges, Jimmy Fallon, the cast of Breaking Bad and America’s Got Talent, Jon Stewart, Matt Damon, and Henry Kissinger. But hey, Daft Punk is essentially confirmed the VMA’s which means there will be at least one reason to watch it. That is one more reason that last year’s show.

Preview Picture of the Week:

"Asylum" Perception, Tuesday at 10:00 on TNT

Free Download of the Week: The Wrong Direction EP – Passenger (NoiseTrade)

New Album Release of the Week: Paracosm - Washed Out

New DVD Release of the Week: Emperor

Video of the Week: We are seven week out until the third season premiere of Homeland and the series premiere Masters of Sex and Showtime recently released full trailers for both. Not that surprisingly the Homeland trailer features bombings, congressional hearings (they blew up the CIA last season all), a crazy wall map, and Brody sheering his signature ginger hair (although the only people that will not recognize him are the same people who do not recognize Superman when he is wearing glasses). And as I predicted way back in the first season, it looks like Dana may finally be converting to her father’s religion. But also a few shockers most notably Carrie in a hospital gown and handcuffs. Uh oh. And Dana texting seems like a creepy storyline. But then again it cannot be worse than the hit and run storyline. Feel free to watch the trailer on a loop for the next seven weeks, I probably will.


Showtime also released the first full trailer for Masters of Sex, but to be honest, they already had me at Lizzy Caplan starring in a show called Masters of Sex.


Next Week Pick of the Week: Franklin and Bash, Wednesday at 9:00 on TNT: Another TNT shut up for the summer next week and Franklin & Bash will be going out with a bang as the promo monkeys promise a guest star so big they cannot tell you who it is. Um, I hate to break it to you promo monkeys, but anyone who watched last week already realize that it is Rob Lowe. Pinder has been stalking him all season and even popped up at the end of the last scene, just seconds before you hyped a guest star so big you cannot tell us who it is. I really hate promo monkeys.