There have been a couple of videos that have caught my eye lately so I though I’d give them some love since the death of Musical Television left a void for a forum on the art form so here they are courtesy of YouTube. I advise you to watch them before you read my reviews if you don’t want me to spoil things. If you are interested in buying the video through iTunes, click the title link (where available, if not the link goes to YouTube where you can watch the video in full screen). If you are interested in buying the song, look for a link in the analysis.
For a video that features a title sequence and actual actors like Kerry Washington, I except a little more. And what exactly is Kanye West bringing to the whole mini movie thing? It just seems like there was supposed to be an extended cut to this. But you really can’t hate on Common too much if the video was just an excuse to make a fake sex tap with Alicia Keys. I can be down with that.
Jimmy Eat World for some reason has been lumped into the horrible emo scene of the last couple years but they released one of the great rock songs of the decade in Pain and their break out hit The Middle isn’t the wo is me depressing songs of the genre. Yeah the video is pretty boring but Big Casino is up there as one of the best rock songs of the year.
Not entirely sure what Linkin Park is trying to get across with this video, but the melodic tune of Shadow of the Day is a nice diversion from their hard rock and rap of their other songs. Unfortunately it was covered up by all the riot sounds.
Sara Bareilles released her album right around the time Colbie Caillat dropped hers and it is a good thing I am not a betting man because I would have put my money on Bareilles as being more likely to break out of the two. Oh well. At least the video for Love Song is quirky fun.
Quote of the Week: I was with her a year ago. You figure for her that was like two hundred showers ago. You ask yourself: Is two hundred enough? (Barney, How I Met Your Mother)
Song of the Week: Where I Stood - Missy Higgins (Smallville)
Big News of the Week: Kristen Bell Week: After four episodes of being bored out my mind enough to switch over to I Love New York to see if Midget Mac was still around, this week we finally get our first look at Kristen Bell on Heroes. Unfortunately it looks like from the promo that Kristen will be acting opposite of the worst actor of our time, the Absorbing Guy. But she was able to come away from Pulse unscaved so hopefully he doesn’t rub off on her. And if that weren’t enough of Ms. Bell, Tuesday also sees the release of the third season of Veronica Mars on DVD (see right) which features the FBI pitch that was unfortunately not picked up by The CW and looking at the ratings of the shows it picked up instead, that decision is looking even worse than before.
On a non-Kristen Bell note, I have made it known my dislike for those TV writers who write under the guise of the “gossip” label because they hide behind “sources” that tend to be wrong when citing these “sources.” But I was trolling a Friday Night Lights site recently to see a gossiper that will go nameless who recently wrote, “According to an informant, the Peacock recently sent out a reader survey and one of the questions was, ‘Would you be more likely to watch Friday Night Lights if it followed Heroes on Monday?’” Informant? I totally reported this two weeks ago (See 57 Channels vol. II). So not only these people have shady “sources” they have no problem stealing news without credit. You should leave that to the bloggers. On a brighter not, I have a new segment that is inspired by showing pictures to give the ladies out there for a Halloween costume which is pretty self explanatory.
Gratuitous Token Hot Chick Picture of the Week:
Chuck: Can anyone explain to me why a DEA agent would have a eastern European accent? Seriously, couldn’t just saved this actress for the inevitable KGB episode? I know nothing can be perfect, but there seems to be something that really bugs me every week with this show. But my biggest problem this week was way too much Morgan. They really need to kill him off and promote Captain Awesome to series regular. Check out the latest episodes over at NBC.com. You can also download Chuck on iTunes.
Everybody Hates Chris: Holy Dwayne Wayne sighting! I wonder if Eurkle is sitting at home watching the parade of forgotten black actors and wondering when he is going to get a call.
The Big Bang Theory: After the sub par outing last week with little Sheldon, the show gets back on track with a Sheldon-centric episode. I’m not sold on the Token Hot Chick as a character but the more along time with Sheldon, like how they went shopping this week, and that could turn her around. The only problem I had is that they tried a little too hard to make his mom into your token hillbilly with a kid nothing like her. That is not to say I wouldn’t mind seeing more of Laurie Metcalf on the shoe. Check out the latest episodes over at Innertube. You can also download or The Big Bang Theory on iTunes.
Heroes: So last season they hyped this big bad even badder than Syler and it turned out to be Hearing Guy’s Dad? Seriously? We are supposed to believe and old balding fat dude is this completely evil. Yeah if this were a political show I could believe that, but as a superhero show I want something a little creepier than someone who looks like my high school science teacher. Speaking of Syler, we leave him last week in the middle of the jungle only to end up road side at the beginning of the next episode. Why even bother putting him in the middle of nowhere in the first place.
We get a new hero this week with Does Things from TV Girl. I would have liked her more if they didn’t sell her early with the tomato scene and had her first heroic scene being the wresting move. But anyways. This is usually where whine about how boring the episode was and I ask when Kristen Bell is showing up, but we all know when now. Check out the latest episode over at NBC.com.
Journeyman: Did Dan really start off the episode with an, "Oh boy"? And that may be my biggest problem with the show is that it takes itself too seriously except for a line or two per episode. They really need to work in an absurd storyline soon where Dan follows a carnie or maybe an animal. Just a whole episode of comic relief. But we did get a big twist this week where the science guy was able to call Dan in the past. I think it is easy to assume that the science guy’s association with Dan’s dad will have a major impact on the show. Although I’m not sure how Olivia would fit into all of this. Check out the latest episode over at NBC.com. You can also download Journeyman on iTunes.
Pushing Daisies: I am not really fond of the show going back and revisiting the first case like this. IT may have been better if they did back to back episode or a two hour premiere, but it seems like a step back. And devoting the first segment of every show to retell Ned’s power has gotten old real quick. They really don’t need to dumb down the show that much, the “previously on” has done a decent enough job explaining to newcomers. But is a little hard to be too disappointing when the show also featured a hillbilly Chinese dude fighting Ned, the wannabe Jedi. Check out the latest episodes over at ABC.com.
Bionic Woman: Yeah, I think I am done with the show. And this past episode added confusion to the unlikable characters and boring writing. Like what happened to the doctor and why was the one dude so eager to kill him? How could they not have restraints strong enough for the Bionic Woman? They know how strong she is. I may catch it every once and a while to see if it ever reaches its potential, but it is officially off my must see TV list. Check out the latest episodes over at NBC.com.
My Name Is Earl: To all the kids out there, this past episode is the very reason you should stay off drugs. That’s pretty much all I have to say about this episode. Check out the latest episodes over at NBC.com. You can also download My Name Is Earl on iTunes.
Survivor: Can someone explain to me how the contestants got their bathing suits? Did I miss something? They made a big deal about living with no possessions the first week only to give them running shoes that episode and now they all have bathing suits. Cheap. And that wasn’t even the worst part about the episode with the two girls throwing the challenge. Now I am not one to argue their strategic element of doing so, but you can’t do it so blatantly then giggle about it. Now there is no way either of those two win. Check out the latest episode over at Innertube.
Friday Night Lights: This is the tale of two episodes. The scenes with Riggins and Lyla, Landry and Tyra, Matt trying to get the nurse to do his laundry, and Coach Taylor’s passive aggressive chat with Buddy on the phone were classic Friday Night Lights. But there were some eye rolling moments with Julie in the car, Matt tackling Smash after the game, and of course bringing up the murder again. Although from the promo, it looks like next week will be the make or break storyline for the murder so I will hold off final judgment of that until at least then. Check out the latest episodes over at NBC.com.
I would also like to mention that the kind people over at FX were nice enough to hook me up with the first two episodes of Nip/Tuck and I’ve watch the first one so far and there is a show inside the show staring Bradley Cooper and Paula Marshall, Hearts and Scalpels, that is extremely hilarious, although the explicate surgery scene reminded me why I didn’t start watching the show in the first place (not too mention the gratuitous male nudity I could have done without). I’ll have a more in-depth post on the show closer to the season premiere October 30.
Promo of the Week: Interesting that NBC would prominently feature Kristen Bell in the Heroes promo this week. Apparently they know something that The CW could never figure out. Well I guess that is an obvious statement for many other reasons that just the use of Bell.
Next Week’s Pick: Saving a Species, Friday at 9:00 on the Animal Planet: Why watch this Gorillas on the Brink documentary? Two words: Natalie Portman. Oh, and the whole bring a light to the endangered species of mountain gorillas is a worthy cause. The episode follows Portman along with Jack Hanna as they visit Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park.
There have been a couple of videos that have caught my eye lately so I though I’d give them some love since the death of Musical Television left a void for a forum on the art form so here they are courtesy of YouTube. I advise you to watch them before you read my reviews if you don’t want me to spoil things. If you are interested in buying the video through iTunes, click the title link (where available, if not the link goes to YouTube where you can watch the video in full screen). If you are interested in buying the song, look for a link in the analysis.
Just in time for Halloween, quite possibly the scariest music video since Thiller. Seriously, the Marilyn Manson pop bride and uber-bangs looks just are not working for Avril Lavigne. Although in a measure of full disclosure the green get up almost makes Avril look attractive. Now if only she would get rid of the silly pink extension.
In a shocking twist to a Maroon 5 video, it doesn’t feature Adam Levine (not to be confused with the previously mentioned Avril Lavigne) making out with various token hot chicks. And if I am not mistaken, the chick that Levine doesn’t make out with looks a lot like Rousseau’s daughter on Lost after a couple showers. Can anyone get confirmation to if that is her?
Well that well was gratuitous. Um, not that I am complaining or anything. The song is actually kind of catchy too, which is a plus so I don’t have to watch it with the mute button on. But should I know who this NeYo character is?
Speaking of gratuitous, did we really need the five minute intro of some Lohan type being dropped off at some weird model detox place? The Notorious riff at the end was a nice touch though. As for the song, with Timbaland as the producer, it still sound what one would expect a Duran Duran song would sound like. Hopefully there are better tracks when the Red Carpet Massacre is released later this year.
Next week sees the release of the very first live album in the twenty-six year career of R.E.M. in the form of a two CD and DVD set, some of which you can preview on their YouTube Channel. Okay, so I am a little disappointed that my personal favorite R.E.M. song was not included. But that is why I am featuring Nightswimming on my latest installment of Feed Your iPod.
The first time I ever heard the song was when I bought Automatic for the People so long ago it was on cassette tape and among a bunch of great songs, Nightswimming stood out above all of them. I am always a sucker for piano ballads and the subtle string section just put the song in legendary status as they back the great Michael Stipe vocals (my favorite line: “I’m pining for the moon”). The song was never as a single stateside, but was in England along with the accompanying video.
Feed Your iPod is meant to highlight songs that may not have been big hits but should be on everyone’s mp3 player. Shoot me an e-mail if there is a song you think should be included along with a short paragraph why and maybe it will be featured in a future segment.
There have been a couple of videos that have caught my eye lately so I though I’d give them some love since the death of Musical Television left a void for a forum on the art form so here they are courtesy of YouTube. I advise you to watch them before you read my reviews if you don’t want me to spoil things. If you are interested in buying the video through iTunes, click the title link (where available, if not the link goes to YouTube where you can watch the video in full screen). If you are interested in buying the song, look for a link in the analysis.
Let’s just get this out of the way quick, the song sucks massively, the video looks like a fan video version they uploaded to YouTube until you see a couple bad wigs and realize it is the official video, and is Exhibit T that will keep her from ever having custody of her kids ever again. And to those that made Gimme More the number one song on iTunes for the last week; you are the reason why the terrorists hate us. Okay, let’s move on to real music.
Last year, Lupe Fiasco rode a wave of hype to the release of his debut album, Food and Liquor, which ended up as a let down. The flow was there but the beats were just too recycled to get mass appeal. Lupe finally lives up to the hype with the release of his new single Dumb it Down with a beat that sounds classic Neptunes and lyrics that definitely don't take the advise of the title. Hopefully the rest of the album, The Cool out December 18th, is more of the same. But as the video goes, I was a little disappointed that I didn’t get cast as the corny white dude. Oh well.
Say what you want about the personal life of Amy Winehouse while office pools across the nation bet on what month she will kick the bucket (I got March 2011), but the music is scandal proof. This song, built around Ain’t No Mountain High Enough, is just another instant classic from her album. The video is surprisingly dull considering it was directed by David LaChapelle.
For those of you wondering who will be next in the line of British songstress to take America by storm but without the threat of not reaching the age of thirty, look no further than Kate Nash. Nash, much like Lily Allen and Winehouse before her conquered her native country before anyone state stateside, but unlike the two doesn’t have Mark Ronson creating Motown inspired backing tracks for instead going with a Regina Spektor influenced piano based sound, but she still retains Allen’s attitude. But we will have to wait until early next year before we get the whole album stateside.
Quote of the Week: Who else thinks the Civil War ain’t over, it’s just half-time? (Earl, My Name Is Earl)
Song of the Week: Look After You - The Fray (Journeyman)
Big News of the Week: New CW Shows Tank: Congratulations The CW you just spent millions of dollars promoting a show in Reaper, including paying off critics to make people believe the show was worth watching, only for it to debut with numbers worse than Veronica Mars scored in its first week last year in the same timeslot; a show you promoted with about as much money as you found in your couch cushion. Then to add more insult to injury, your other “show that will bring viewers to The CW,” Gossip Girl almost scored almost a full million less viewer in its first week with any competition this week too compared to that Veronica Mars premiere. So The CW, you may want to get on the phone as soon as possible and beg Rob Thomas and Kristen Bell to get Veronica Mars: The FBI Years ready for the 2008 season and hope all the bridges you burned for canceling the show the first time will be rebuilt by then. Because if you are going to put on shows that get low rating, at least put on one with a loyal fan base that doesn’t cost you as much money. (Full Disclosure: The Nielsen Rating are a sham and I tend not to believe any of the numbers used to make the argument above, but since The CW are stupid enough to think the numbers are accurate it works in the aurgument.)
Speaking of Nielsen, as I mentioned earlier this week, I am up for their TV Blogger of the Year Award despite actually being a TV blog. It was somewhat prestigious when they first made me award of the award being one of about ten blog including actual credible blogs like Television Without Pity and Brilliant But Canceled (okay, I missed how either were actual blogs themselves, but that would be like the story of the kettle and the pot), but now the contest has ballooned up to about a hundred. Yawn. And I realized their whole voting system is pretty hard to figure out. And their website, which was interesting when I had an exclusive beta invitation, has just turned into a place for spammers for their favorite crappy shows. But if you have too much time on you hand, or have already signed up for the site, feel free to head over and give me a pity vote (I have pretty much given up on winning a t-shirt). Also don’t forget to check out my contest where you can win the fourth season of Nip/Tuck on DVD.
How I Met Your Mother: Better than most of the second season, but something just felt off. Maybe it was the recycling of the lower back tattoo that played out two years ago. Maybe it was they didn’t spend enough time with the special guest stars Mandy Moore and Enrique Iglesias (who shouldn’t quit his day job). Of course maybe it was because they totally stole my break-up beard routine. Granted I typically demoted my beard from goatee to fu Manchu to Charlie Chaplin moustache before going bare. And I don’t want to seem as obsessed with hair as Tony Kornheiser, but what was with both of the female’s hair. It is time to fire the show’s stylist. But we are one step closer to meeting the mother, although it was a little insulting to the intelligence to end the show with all black umbrellas with one lone yellow umbrella(ella, ella, eh,eh,eh). Check out the latest episode over at Innertube. The show also showed up in iTunes this week and you can download the last two episodes from last season for free as I write this, but be warned, those were two of the worst episodes in the series history.
Heroes: Darn you Heroes for once again teasing me that you killed off Absorbing Guy just to reveal once again that he wasn’t in fact dead like everyone think. For the love of good acting, the next time you kill him off make sure he stays dead. Of course it would be pretty apropos if Kristen Bell is the one that finally does the deed having one of the best actors today kill off one of the worst. But anyways.
Horrible acting aside, I could also complain how uninteresting the Spanish people are or how they have created so many Heroes that they have already started to recycling abilities (flight) but I want to talk about how funny the premiere was. No seriously, I think I laughed more during Heroes that I did How I Met Your Mother, The Big Bang Theory, and Chuck combined. First, despite starting to be grating during the end of last season, Hero meeting his hero, who just happened to be a drunk British guy. Yeah the premise sounds like a cheesy blockbuster film that should star Martin Laurence or Tom Cruise, yet somehow the actor somehow made it work. Then there was Noah’s boss whom I hope turns out to be a hero himself and much like Samson have his powers being drawn from his moustache. And I’m not even sure why I found it funny but the Bennet family dinner, complete with Mr. Muggles, was so inane I just busted out laughing the whole scene. Check out the latest episode over at NBC.com.
My Name Is Earl: A strong start and it was nice to see that Earl could still cross off things on his list while in prison. But I still prefer my sitcoms in half hour portions and some of the jokes started to get stretched too long. At least the new guy at NBC said he was getting rid of those stupid Supersized episodes, so we don’t have to worry with those anymore. The best part of the episode though was Joy taking in Randy and trying to teach him how to fend for himself. Check out the latest episode over at NBC.com.
Survivor: Wow, I can’t believe they actually let the wrestler get voted off, but I guess when someone goes unanimously, it is hard to swing some votes to keep her on. But I wouldn’t be surprised if they bring back the castoff survivors like they did in the Panama season. We also get to see the big twist this season with the winning reward challenge tribe getting to kidnap an opposing tribe member who in part gets to give a hint to the not so hidden immunity idol. Should be interesting who tells who about what is going down. And I am beginning to think that my prediction of the one tribe never winning anything is actually going to come true. Check out the latest episode over at Innertube.
Smallville: Nobody does season finale/premieres quite like Smallville. In the finales almost every character is in some dire situation and everything is somehow back to normal by the end of the finale. We even had two deaths in the finale, and both were seen alive and kicking by the final scene of the premiere. Of course if you actually thought Lana was dead, you weren’t paying attention (and I not just taking about her still being in the credits); let take the time machine back to May 20th, “Lana who actually got in the van that passed by preventing Lionel (who may or may not be in on it) to reach her, and then remotely blew up the car to fake her own death.”
Also check out my First Impressions of these shows:
Chuck (where you can also check out a Bloggers Must Watch Guide at the bottom)
You can also check out my season review of Dexter: In the Blood (everyone got the Better than Ezra reference right? Anybody? Anybody at all?)
Promo of the Week:
Next Week’s Pick: Friday Night Lights, Friday 9:00 on NBC: A new day for last year’s best new show. I still have avoided temptation from watching the premiere episode on Yahoo, but from the promo above, you can tell at least one of Dillion’s finest who will be showing up in swimwear in the premiere. I would be remised if I also didn’t mention Pushing Daisies which has its series premiere on Wednesday at 8:00 on ABC. Let’s hope that it lives up to the hype.
Check out some of the shows mentioned above on Amazon Unbox which you can transfer to you Tivo (if you are one of those pretencious types, everyone else will have to watch on theor computer; also notice how How I Met Your Mother is currently 0.00 which all the math classes I have taken in taken in my life would have me believe that makes the show free for download):
Big News of the Week: The New Television Season Starts This Week: Or so I’m told. There is only one show on my schedule this week. Only one hour of network television: I guess I can catch up on my reading. Naw, I’ll waste it playing video games. Of course if you cannot wait for some of the new shows, many of them have popped up on Amazon’s Unbox. But be warned for those new to Unbox as the DRM is more strict that iTunes (or so my token geeky friend would have me believe) and has an excruciatingly long download time (seriously five hours for a twenty minute show is way too long), but hey, they are free. Here is a rundown of all the shows you can get and links to where you can download them:
And not to be left out, iTunes is offering up Gossip Girl. Although oddly the show’s page is no longer link from the TV section in iTunes but you can get there by following the link on the name. Now I’m not entirely sure why shows about bored rich kids who have nothing better to do but have sex, do drugs, whiled being followed around by crappy music (see Beverly Hills 90210, The OC, Laguna Beach, The Hills, New Port Harbor, any E! new special on Paris Hilton) but I would sooner watch the Britney Spears performance from the VMA’s on a loop than watch another second of this show. And any fan of Veronica Mars may stick a pencil in their ear hearing Kristen Bell talk like someone who is bitter that they weren’t picked for MY Super Sweet 16. So watch at your own risk and do so without any access to sharp objects.
Greek: You think that an episode featuring Cameron Frye, Cordilia Chase and Kendall Casablancas would be a can’t miss but the finale was, in a word, underwhelming. The one saving grace was Frannie who is quickly moving up my favorite characters on television list (granted over half of them were on shows that were axed so I do a complete repopulating of the list). Her Ronald Reagan reference had me on the floor for a while. If you know anyone like Frannie, have her shout me a holla. Download the current season of Greek on iTunes.
Rescue Me: Speaking of underwhelming, that is the best word to describe the whole fourth season of Rescue Me. There we rumblings of this season ending up as just a figment of Tommy’s imagination but that may have been for the best, just take a mulligan and start over again next season with Tommy being pulled out of the beach house fire. And the ending storylines were just inane, Franco allowing Rich to get married, Lou’s cousin setting him up with the fat black chick for the revenge sex, Shawn and Maggie giving up on their marriage for I believe the fifth time this season, and the death of Tommy’s dad, who just popped up for the first time this season not too long ago just continued everything.
Promo of the Week: Last week I mentioned the Mandy Moore promo for the season premiere of How I Met Your Mother and in my neverending quest to find it (which I still haven’t) I came across this video hyping a December (although the Grammy homepage says November 30th) special celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Grammy’s. You can head over to Grammy.com to vote for your favorite; presumably the top vote getters will be counted down in the special. Not surprisingly all the performances you can vote for are post-1980 and there are some questionable inclusions in the 50 you can choose from (seriously Seal?). I may have to do some research and come up with my definitive list one of these days.
Pick of the Week: Survivor: China, Thursday at 8:00 on CBS: As you may heard this is the first time any major television show has been allowed to film in the country. But if you look back at the past Survivor seasons, the some of the worst have been the land locked ones (see Africa). And CBS had the unfortunate luck of including a WWE wrestler not foreseeing the Chris Benoit incident and the ensuing steroids in pro wresting scandal. But hey, at least the is a chicken farmer named Chicken. Mmm, I wonder how he got that nickname. And what the hey, I’ll go ahead and say Chicken is my pre-season pick to win it all.
And now here is my official watching schedule of Fall 2007. Please note that either Chuck or The Big Bang Theory with likely be dumped. Chuck is currently leading just because the have the hotter Token Hot Chick. Also I may watch Journeyman if NBC.com streams the episodes.
Monday 8:00 - How I Met Your Mother (CBS September 24) 8:00 - Chuck (NBC September 24) 8:00 - Everybody Hates Chris (CW October 1) 8:30 - Big Bang Theory (CBS September 24) 9:00 - Heroes (NBC September 24)
Tuesday Since network television didn’t bother putting on anything worth watching on this night I’ll take this time to continue watching some shows on DVD including the second season of Rome and the first of Big Love. Anyone have any other suggestions?
Wednesday 8:00 - Pushing Daisies (ABC October 3)
Thursday 8:00 - Survivor (CBS September 20) 8:00 - My Name Is Earl (NBC September 27) 8:00 - Smallville (CW September 27)
There have been a couple of videos that have caught my eye lately so I though I’d give them some love since the death of Musical Television left a void for a forum on the art form so here they are courtesy of YouTube. I advise you to watch them before you read my reviews if you don’t want me to spoil things. If you are interested in buying the video through iTunes, click the title link (where available, if not the link goes to YouTube where you can watch the video in full screen). If you are interested in buying the song, look for a link in the analysis.
You got to love how Kanye West releases a video for a song that gives a shout-out to his release date buddy 50 Cent, who he is destroying after first day sales. It looks like Kanye will end up selling more albums in one day than 50 does all week. The video though is just your basic computer graphic enhanced clip with him and T-Pain doing their best Puff Daddy/Mase impressions. And what is with the two cuts Kanye is sporting the profile view? Well, at least it wasn’t his eyebrows.
This is one of the new songs featured on the upcoming Matchbox Twenty greatest hits package Exile on Mainstream. Get it? Instead of Main Street. Oh never mind. Can’t say I was ever the biggest fan of the band. Maybe because I had a neighbor who I shared a paper thin wall will in college who would blast Long Day for an entire month. That’s it. No other song, just Long Day. As for the video I doubt it will get any spins on television thanks to the equal air-time laws. And really why bother it is not like either Barack Obama or Hilary Clinton could win the national election.
What do you do when you want to make a video but the person who sung the song is in rehab? Well if you are Mark Ronson you just pull a couple of look-a-like out of the crowd Courtney Cox style. Between his record, and the ones he produced for Lily Allen, Amy Winehouse and Christina Aguilera, if Ronson doesn’t take home producer of the year at the Grammy’s this year, there is something seriously wrong.
Pretty cool effects in this video especially the melting record. But since the last two singles haven’t caught on I’m not sure this one will either. Between Evanescence and Kelly Clarkson this hasn’t been that good of a year for angry white chicks. No wonder Alanis Morissette has been hiding lately.
There have been a couple of videos that have caught my eye lately so I though I’d give them some love since the death of Musical Television left a void for a forum on the art form so here they are courtesy of YouTube. I advise you to watch them before you read my reviews if you don’t want me to spoil things. If you are interested in buying the video through iTunes, click the title link (where available, if not the link goes to YouTube where you can watch the video in full screen). If you are interested in buying the song, look for a link in the analysis.
Yesterday I mentioned you could download this video for free on iTunes but I didn’t actually watch it because I was too loopy on drugs to do so (currently I’m just down to Day and NyQuil, or as I like to call it: my Elvis regiment). Wow was this creepy, in a bad way. It is like U2’s Numb but without the unintentional comedy. The video was directed by Dave Matthews himself, who also played all the instruments too. Let’s hope he keeps the rest of his band around so he doesn’t do something like this again.
Your token Bruce Springsteen video, the song rocks but the video is pretty standard. Can’t they call Courtney Cox to make another cameo? Hopefully you picked up this song on iTunes last week when it was free, if not you can still pre-order the album.
This is a new track from Santana’s upcoming greatest hits package. The dude from Nickelback had already show up on one of Santana’s previous all-star albums (a song much better than this one) but for some reason the song was released to the radio with the dude from The Calling singing. And like most new songs added to a greatest hits album, the song doesn’t live up to the being part of the greatest hits. And if any of you out their actually know the dude from Nickelback, please tell him never to straighten his hair ever again. He’s scaring the children.
In a story I broke this weekend, starting yesterday you could rent through Blockbuster a DVD that featured the first episodes of NBC’s Chuck, Journeyman, and Life. For those without a Blockbuster card, starting September 10 (next Monday) you can download all three of those shows, as well as Bionic Woman, from Amazon Unbox for free. And for you pretentious types that have Tivo’s, you can transfer any Unbox download to your Tivo so you can watch it on your televisions. In other television news, The CW sent me more exclusive videos of Reaper except I have been too lazy to watch them. But they also mentioned that they started up an Official Reaper YouTube Channel although I’m not sure if the “exclusive” videos they send me are the same anyone can regularly get in the YouTube channel. And they even started up special toll free number (1-877-IN 4 HELL) to call for further information about the show from Lucifer himself. Or at least the dude who plays the devil on the show.
There have been a couple of videos that have caught my eye lately so I though I’d give them some love since the death of Musical Television left a void for a forum on the art form.. I advise you to watch them before you read my reviews if you don’t want me to spoil things. If you are interested in buying the video through iTunes, click the title link (where available, if not the link goes to YouTube where you can watch the video in full screen). If you are interested in buying the song, look for a link in the analysis.
Here is a song to get your blood pumping. The latest single from Linkin Park certainly made a B-line to my workout playlist on my iPod. The video is memorizing in how simple it looks but for the life of me, no matter how many times I watch it, can I tell how they made it work and did what they did with the cameras. Plus what’s up with Chester’s plunging neckline? Did he raid Freddie Mercury’s closet?
I had to do a double take at the beginning of the video as the recreate the start of the most memorable video from Vanessa Carlton, A Thousand Miles. The destruction of the piano isn’t as iconic as when George Michaels blew up the Faith jukebox in Freedom! ’90, mostly because George was doing it to destroy the image he built up with Carlton seems to be doing so out of spite of her old record label that dropped her. And with the new label, The Ink, that may be thee switch in sounds as gone are the orchestration of her first album, replaced with a more percussion driven backing and the more come hither looks in the video. I wonder if she has been hanging out with Ashanti. It should be interesting to hear how the whole album turns out.
Yeah Talib Kweli completely ripped of those HP commercials for the first half of the video, but all of those are visually stunning and are an idea worth stealing. Granted the song wasn’t really the best choose for the next single off the album. And it is off that they would edit out Kanye’s verse for In the Mood.
If my calculations are correct, every song from Loose has been officially released as a single. Yet for the life of me I don’t remember this song being on the album at all. And the song is infectious in an if Madonna made listenable music back in the nineties kind of way.
Whenever creating a list of songs to include in a Lyrics Quiz I try to run a fine line of songs or lyrics that aren’t so easy that the first person can answer all of them and song or lyrics that are so obscure no one would get them. Every once and a while I’ll throw in one of my eclectic favorites to see if anyone will get it. So I was happy to see that Doug was able to pick out Passin' Me By from the Pharcyde during the latest Lyrics Quiz (which still has a couple left, plus some hints I added). I was so happy to see he get it that I was willing to overlook he somehow was also able to get Iesha and Live and Learn, two songs that probably should be forgotten by history.
In a time when gansta rap ruled, the Pharcyde were the rare old school cats that came out of South Central. And among all the braggadocios, they managed a minor hit about not getting the girl, something I was familiar with at the time. I even pulled out the line, “the only lying I would do is in the bed with you” to no avail. I even got to see the troop live when they came to my campus (and really, you have never lived until you heard the like version of Gangsta’s Paradise) where I picked up one of my favorite tour shirts with a dog having its way with a fire hydrant.
Passing Me By is easily in my top five rap songs of all time with its love lorn lyrics over a mix of Quincy Jones and Jimi Hendrix tracks. Take a listen for yourself below (sorry for the poor quality of the song, you’d think the record company would put up a much higher quality version):
Passin' Me By - The Pharcyde
Got a song you think everyone should feed their iPods? Send me an e-mail (see sidebar) along with a short paragraph why people should download it and/or what it means to you and maybe I will feature it in a future post. This segment is meant to highlight songs that may have slipped thought the cracks when released or maybe album tracks that you think should have been released as a single. So no Born in the U.S.A., Big Pimpin', or Your Body Is a Wonderland needed.
For most of the summer I have decried Umbrella by Rihanna as one of the worst songs ever in the history of recorded music. Back in May I said “Rihanna is good for at least one good song per album. But Umbrella definitely isn’t going to be that one for her upcoming release.” (see Don't Download These Videos vol. XVI) Then in June after calling the chorus annoying I added, “Seriously, how could no one, from the writer, producer, anyone at the label or Rihanna herself not hear that chorus and think, ‘yeah, that doesn’t work.’” (see Now That it's Raining More than Ever) But my hated for the song started to loosen up as I mentioned last week about the absurd rumor that the song is a euphemism for a lady’s kootchiepop.
Well it may be time to break out some crow because I am beginning to straight out like this song. Well not Rihanna’s overproduced version with her grating vocals, over exaggerated hip-hop beat and an unnecessary cameo from Jay-Z, but instead two cover versions that are currently floating around cyber space.
Yesterday I received a message from my good friend Mandy Moore suggesting I check out her version of the song that she did for Yahoo’s Cover Art. And since I’d certainly like to stand underneath her Umbrella (ella-ella-eh-eh-eh) I went to check it out. Ms. Moore takes everything wrong with the original and fixes them, so gone is Jay-Z, the hip-hop beat is replaced with a soothing acoustic sound that brings out the romantic lyrics to forefront (well assuming that the songs isn’t actually about, um, you know what), and softens the annoying ella-ella-eh-eh-eh part. Oh, and Mandy has a much better voice. Check it out for yourself below:
And Mandy isn’t the only one reworking Umbrella. Earlier this week in my normal Tuesday routine of checking out what’s new in the iTunes store I came across some chick named Marié Digby who has a new song that happened to be called Umbrella. I had to check out the 30 preview to see if it was in fact the same song, which it was. And after some research it turns out she is one of those annoying YouTubers who upload them singing other people song which I avoid because, much like I avoid American Karaoke, if these people were any good they wouldn’t need the internet, or reality show, to get a record deal. But even though Digby certainly won’t be winning any singing competitions anytime soon, her version, slightly faster than Mandy’s, is much better than the original. Check out her performance on Carson Daily (sorry you have to sit threw some Carson taking first) and you can download Marié Digby’s version of Umbrella here:
And in a completely unrelated note last week I got an e-mail about a new documentary by Leonardo DiCaprio called the 11th Hour about the impending climate crisis. So if you wanted to see An Inconvenient Truth but were like me and had absolutely no desire to see Al Gore talk about a bunch of slide for ninety minutes, this may be the film for you. The movie opens tomorrow in New York and Los Angeles, next week in selected cities and August 31 nationwide. Below is the trailer and you can check out the website at 11thhouraction.com:
Big News of the Week: More Rumors: If there is one think I hate about the internet it is how rumor become facts almost instantly. There was another one that popped up this week that will go unmentioned because it doesn’t deserve any more ink (or virtual ink as you may). When on the internet I rarely stray from big name site like ESPN or MSNBC yet I saw this rumor just spread like wildfire everywhere else. Just to show you how bad it was, my mom actually mentioned it this week. The actress at the center of the rumor was even on the Late Late Show Thursday and the rumor wasn’t even mentioned wasn’t even mentioned in the part I saw (my tape cut off because an unannounced half hour Master special pushed back the show, stupid CBS). So to all that posted about this and like rumors, when the next one inevitably makes the rounds, just think of the Timex Social Club song before you spread it.
Greek: Wow, they actually gave Lonelygirl15 more than one line. He character is easily the most entertaining on the show so hopefully she continues to get more screen time, but they hooked her up with Rusty a little too soon. He did a little too quick of a U-turn from trying to get far away from her just minutes earlier. And hopefully his roommate makes more appearances at Kappa Tau because he trying to convert Spitter’s brothers could be great. Not so great continues to be Casey and Evan. Why should we root for a couple who cheated on each other when we first met them? Download the current season of Greek on iTunes.
Rescue Me: Well I was wrong that Lou would end up getting the baby, but it is doubtful that Janet will let Sheila keep the kid so he may get it eventually. But that was a really creepy start of the episode with the fire in Tommy’s head although the chief was conspicuously missing. I wonder if he will ever show up again after his vocal comments out the door. And does the fire mean that is the last we will see of his brother and cousin?
The Knights of Prosperity: Oh Rockefeller Butts, how have I missed you? The gang was still in fine form, but who knew Ray Romano was funny. Had I known this maybe I would have watched Everybody Loves Raymond. His “serious” acting was classic. Coming in a close second though was Gary sing Summergirls in his cab (see below) and you can still watch the whole season at ABC.com.
Pirate Master: I’m definitely ready for this to end. I am getting to the point of not caring who wins. Watch the current season of Pirate Master on Innertube.
Pick of the Week: Trapped in the Closet, All Week, IFC: It has been too long since the last installment of Trapped in the Closet leaving us pondering such questions as how does the cop know Chuck and Rufus? Who send the Midget that he didn’t want to give up even though the cop had a gun in his face? How does the narrator fit into all of this? Why was Twan in jail? Where did R. Kelly get the inspiration for the overweight southern white woman (which is the highest of all high comedy)? But for the next two weeks we get a new chapter debuting everyday over at IFC.com/trapped. I am a little worried that Kells will be going overboard as he already plays two characters, Sylvester and the Narrator, and from the preview it looks like he raided Eddie Murphy’s closet and will be playing even more characters this time around. But really as long as the next chapters are just half as good as the previous one’s I’ll be happy. Over at the website you can currently review the previous chapters and check out the character map (should I know who Roxanne is?). And once again here is the recap/preview Chapter 12.5 to hold you over until Monday:
unscaved so hopefully he doesn’t rub off on her. And if that weren’t enough of Ms. Bell, Tuesday also sees the release of the third season of Veronica Mars on DVD (see right) which features the FBI pitch that was unfortunately not picked up by The CW and looking at the ratings of the shows it picked up instead, that decision is looking even worse than before.
