Your one-stop place for music, TV, sports, and maybe some politics. So make sure you come back everyday or you'll pay, listen to what I say.
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Lyrics Quiz: Best Songs of 1997
Long before I even had a blog, at the end of the year I would countdown my favorite songs from the past twelve months and here are my twenty-five songs from a decade ago in their original order from that list (so please don’t mock me for those songs that haven’t quite stood the test of time, you know you liked them back them too). As always leave your guesses in the comment section, both song title and artist (Hint: all songs are from 1997, so make sure you list the artist that recorded the song that year which may not be the most well known version.). If you are correct, I will un-bold the lyric and give you credit. The person with the most correct lyrics will be added to the Winner’s list on my sidebar. Now on to the lyrics:
1. You’re always brilliant in the morning, smoking your cigarettes and talking over coffee. (Foolish Games - Jewel; guessed by Angie)
2. I will follow you down till the sound of my voice will haunt you. You’ll never get away from the sound of the woman that loves you. (Silver Springs - Fleetwood Mac; guessed by Monique)
3. I wipe the spots above the mirror; don’t leave the keys in the door. I never put white towels on the floor anymore. (You Were Meant for Me - Jewel; guessed by Angie)
4. She said, “It’s cold, feels like Independence Day and I can’t break away from this parade." (One Headlight - The Wallflowers; guessed by Angie)
5. Can't no Ph.D. (expletive deleted) hold me down. Cooter schooled me to the game, now I know my duty. Stay humble stay low blow like Hootie. (Mo Money, Mo Problems - The Notorious B.I.G. featuring Ma$e and Puff Daddy; guessed by Tony)
6. I watch you there through the window and I stare at you wear nothing but you wear it so well. (Crash Into Me - Dave Matthews Band; guessed by Angie)
7. My best friend took a weeks vacation to forget her. His girl took a weeks worth a Valium and slept. (The Freshmen - The Verve Pipe; guessed by Angie)
8. I can fill ya wit real millionaire (expletive deleted). Escargot, my car go, one sixty, swiftly. Wreck it buy a new one. Your crew run run run, your crew run run. (Hypnotize - The Notorious B.I.G.; guessed by Tony)
9. If I could find that Heina and that Sancho that she'd found well I'd pop a cap in Sancho and I'd slap her down. (Santeria - Sublime; guessed by Jonas)
10. I should have changed my (expletive deleted) lock, I would have made you leave your key if I had known for just one second you’d be back to bother me. (I Will Survive - Cake; guessed by Tony)
11. It’s kind of hard with you not around; I know you’re in heaven smiling down. Watching us while we pray for you, everyday we pray for you. (I'll Be Missing You - Puff Daddy featuring Faith Evans and 112; guessed by Angie)
12. You know sugar never ever was so sweet and I'm dying for ya, crying for ya, I adore ya. One hit of your love addicted me. Now I'm strung out on you darling. (Honey - Mariah Carey; guessed by Tony)
13. Drove up to Hillside Manor sometime after 2 A.M. and talked a little while about the year. (A Long December - Counting Crows; guessed by Anna)
14. He drinks a whiskey drink, he drinks a Vodka drink, he drinks a Laager drink, he drinks a cider drink. (Tubthumping - Chumbawumba; guessed by Angie)
15. Reason will not reach a solution. I will end up lost in confusion. I don't care if you really care as long as you don't go. (Lovefool - The Cardigans; guessed by Erica)
16. It feels like spring time in winter. It feels like Christmas in June. It feels like heaven has opened up its gates for me and you. (Everytime I Close My Eyes - Babyface; guessed by Tony)
17. Everywhere I go people stop and they see, twenty-five years old, my mother God rest her soul. (Fly - Sugar Ray; guessed by Anna)
18. You give us a tantrum and a know-it-all-grin just when we need one, when the evening’s thin. (Building a Mystery - Sarah McLachlan; guessed by Anna)
19. Referee won’t blow the whistle, God is great but will he listen. I’m nearly great, but there’s something missing. (Staring at the Sun - U2; guessed by Tony)
20. And their kids were hippie chicks all hypocrites because fashion is smashing the true meaning of it. (Walkin' on the Sun - Smash Mouth; guessed by Angie)
21. For those of you that think gospel music has gone too far. You think we got too radical with our message. Well I got news for you, you ain’t heard nothing yet, and if you don't know now you know. Glory, Glory!! (Stomp - Kirk Franklin's Nu Nation; guessed by Tony)
22. After all you been through, I will make it up to you, I promise you, baby. And after all that has been said and done, you’re just a part of me I can’t let go. (Hard to Say I'm Sorry - Az Yet and Peter Cetera; guessed by Monique)
23. I’m not black like Barry White; no I’m white like Frank Black is. (Fire Water Burn - The Bloodhound Gang; guessed by Anna)
24. Finally I figured out but it took a long, long time. But now there's a turnabout maybe ‘cause I'm trying. (All for You - Sister Hazel; guessed by Tony)
25. Trying to make a train at sunrise gonna have to run a red light. Tangling with my Carolina you know the girl kept me up all night. And when my Carolina throw down you know the girl knows how to fight. (Carolina Blues - Blues Traveler; guessed by Tony)
Monday, January 15, 2007
Happy Martin Luther King Day
Hopefully everyone had a fun and productive MLK Day. I just wanted to pop in to let everyone that this month's Lyrics Quiz will be postponed until tomorrow as I spent all day today painting. Actually I only spent about three hours painting, I spent the rest of the three day weekend stripping wallpaper. And I am ready to declare stripping wallpaper as the least fun thing ever. I defy anyone to come up with something they have ever done to be less fun. In fact if anyone is able to tell me something they have done that is less fun than stripping wallpaper and I agree, I will put you in the hopper to win my Knights of Prosperity Contest. Keep in mind that the contest ends this Wednesday at 11:59 EST. And don't forget to stop by tomorrow for the latest Lyrics Quiz.
Sunday, January 14, 2007
57 Channels and Only This Is On vol. II
Be sure to check out my contest to win your own Knights of Prosperity T-Shirt. Contest runs until this Wednesday.
Quote of the Week: You now the woman who could have been the next Faith Hill but somewhere along the way discovered Peach Daiquiris, her diaphragm went wrong and wound up smack down in the middle of trailer hell raising two kids. Yep she still manages to look hot and you can bounce a quarter off her butt; you got to take care of yourself, c’mon. Well that’s me, My Name Is Joy. (My Name Is Earl)
Song of the Week: Do Me! - Bell Biv DeVoe (Knights of Prosperity)
How I Met Your Mother: I have a bad experience with I Had the Time of My Life so this episode was painful to watch.
Beauty and the Geek: Anyone else find it suspicious that the four ethnic looking contestants on the show not only paired up but were the first two teams voted off?
Friday Night Light: Somewhat of an off episode this week, seriously where was Landry? Tyra is back though but it was hard to not laugh at her big scene. But I’m really surprised that it hasn’t turned knocked up from her one night stand with random dude and then claiming Riggins as the baby daddy. But the best scene of the week was when Julie told her parents that they were the best in the world then Coach started to bask in the kind words but mama knew her saying that meant something was wrong.
Presidential Address: When Charles Gibson comes on and goes point by point what George Bush is about to talk about, why do we have to sit through his broken English when we already know what he is going to say?
Let’s Rob Mick Jagger: While lesser people play stupid games like Gay, Straight or Taken, the Knights played a much better game of Intern: Gay or a Virgin. I also loved how they ended the show with the Knights where new shirts with Mick’s access code on them but the same bright orange color.
My Name Is
Smallville: Tori Spelling was the worst guest star since Paris Hilton on Veronica Mars.
Also check out my First Impressions of I’m From Rolling Stone, The Surreal Life Fame Games, Ego Trip’s The (White) Rapper Show, and why I’m not watching Armed and Famous.
Promo of the Week: Okay I said last week that it was just a onetime thing but here’s another one that caught my eye even though I don’t actually watch Gilmore Girls account that I’m a dude. But I love the line “I knew Tom Hanks when he was a Bosom Buddy,” and even though Regina Spector’s other song Fidelity is getting more attention, including closing out an episode of Veronica Mars, this song On the Radio is much better if just for the odd November Rain reference:
Next Week’s Pick: Smallville, 8:00 The CW: Over the last couple seasons Clark has run into a couple future Justice League members but this week sees them all together for the first time including one Beaver Casablancas as the Flash.
Saturday, January 13, 2007
The Class Goes Live
Now I gave up on the show around the time Everybody Hates Chris moved to Mondays, but I may have been a little too hard on The Class considering that it is by far the funniest new show about a chance reunion this season. Speaking of In Case of Emergency, I gave it a second chance and actually laughed less at the second episode. So for those keeping track at home, in two episodes, there has been a total of one laugh. But anyways. Back to The Class, the show is doing something really cool next week and here's a press release and some pictures courtesy of Warner Brothers and CBS:
Attention, fans! It’s time to go to class. “The Class,” that is. Warner Bros. Television and CBS Interactive invite viewers to experience, for the first time ever, a pair of live events that will provide a unique, behind-the-scenes look at the process of producing an original episode of a major network television series.
First Stop: The Table Read

The Run-Thru: Halfway There

The Class”—from comedy kings David Crane (“Friends”) & Jeffrey Klarik (“Mad About You”), along with veteran director/executive producer James Burrows (“Taxi,” “Cheers”)—follows a group of former third-grade classmates whose lives become inextricably bound together after they reunite 20 years later. The series stars Andrea Anders, Jon Bernthal, Lizzy Caplan, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Heather Goldenhersh, Sean Maguire and Jason Ritter, and it comes from craneklarik productions in association with Warner Bros. Television.
Don’t forget to watch “The Class” Mondays at 8:30 p.m. on the CBS Television Network.
Friday, January 12, 2007
First Impressions: The (White) Rapper Show
I’m not entirely sure who or what Ego Trip is, but they were behind what could have been the best or worst new show of the year. With a name like The (White) Rapper Show there really wasn’t going to be much between. Luckily for those that like to be entertained, it closer to the best side of things. The show takes ten rappers from all around the world of the Caucasian persuasion and has them battle it out to be the next big white hope.



Verdict: All of the contestants are closer to Kevin Federline than Eminem but they are all so loony there’s bound to be a can’t miss moment every episode. And despite al the silliness there a sense of responsibility like when Persia drops why too many N-Bombs and is punished for it and they get a history lesson for Rock and Hall of Fame inductee Grandmaster Flash (surely the Flavor Flav guest spot is inevitable). And hey, at least it is more entertaining than just dudes singing karaoke.
Thursday, January 11, 2007
The Return of Big Head Barry and the Monsters

This wasn’t the best week for oversized domes as surely you all know by now that the original Big Head, Mark McGwire was rejected in his first try into the Baseball Hall of Fame garnishing on 23.5 percent of the 75 percent needed to get in. I never understood the argument for McGwire getting in because even if you took away the cloud of steroids out of the equation he was a mediocre at best player who just had about three great years which were based mostly on the number of home runs he hit. He couldn’t much else and was at times a liability on the field. Other oversized domes didn’t fair as well as McGwire as former Surreal Lifer Jose Canseco only got 1.1 percent of the votes while the first steroid admitter, the late Ken Caminiti received just two votes. Also not receiving enough votes to stay on the ballot for next year (you need at least 5 percent of the vote) was Joey Bell at 3.5 who I’m surprised has avoided all the steroids talk as he is a known cheater who sent a bat boy through the air ducts to steal his corked bats from the umpires.

Wednesday, January 10, 2007
I'd Rather Spend Eternity Eating Shards of Broken Glass
A quick programming note: The Knights of Prosperity, or as I like to call it Let’s Rob Mick Jagger will be on tonight following the Presidential Address at 9:25 so set your alarm clock, VCR, or if your cool enough, your Tivo. If you end up missing it, you can always check it out at ABC.com. And don’t forget to check out my contest on how to win a Knights of Prosperity T-Shirt.
But today I don’t want to talk about entertaining shows like Let’s Rob Mick Jagger or Ego Trip’s The (White) Rapper Show which I’ll be talking about tomorrow. Earlier this week I summed up In Case of Emergency as the least funny show since Four Kings. But there are some shows debuting this year that are so bad that there is no way you can get me to watch them. Topping that list is the Jennifer Lopez driven Dance Life. Just when I think the J-Lo era is finally over they give her and her uber-lame husband their own reality show. Thanks MTV, this better not lead to another crappy album from her.
Next up on the now way I’m ever watching list: Gay, Straight or Taken. What’s worse is this is on Lifetime. So this is what woman do for entertainment? Not only that, wasn’t this a Fox reality show called Playing it Straight at one point? Speaking of ripping off other show, there is I Love New York. What brain trust thought this was a good idea? Didn’t these people learned form The Bachelorette which killed off The Bachelor franchise? Not to mention Flavor Flav is a star, New York, not so much.
Which leads me to tonight’s premiere of another show you won’t ever catch me watching: Armed and Famous. Yeah, why not in the middle of the War on Terror deputize a bunch of publicity seekers who will only mock the profession of protecting us? I have a sinking suspicion that this was the very reality show Jordan McDeere passed on for NBS. But surpisingly it wasn’t picked up by Fox, nope this stinker will air on CBS. And the cast makes the Surreal Life Fame Gamers look like actual A-Listers: Erik Estrada looks like he is trying to beat his Surreal cast mate Trishelle for shaming themselves for the most reality show, LaToya Jackson is a sixth rate Jackson after Michael, Janet, Joe, Tito and Germaine, Jack Osbourne is also the least interesting in his family, Jason Acuna known to drunken frat boys everywhere as Wee Man, and Trish Stratus who left wrestling for this trash. Oh and I have pictures courtesy of CBS:








Want more, head over to Ficken Chingers where Angie has amateur pictures of Wee Man and Jack as she lives in Muncie, Indiana where the show was film. Somehow she didn't get any camera time herself even though I know she watched My Name Is Earl this past week and should have had plenty of suggestions on how to get on a reality cop show. But anyways. For those interested in the show, and I can’t imagine anyone outside of Muncie would, the show airs tonight at 8:00. Me, I'll be watching quality programming like Friday Night Lights and Beauty and the Geek at that hour. Oh and don’t forget Let's Rob Mick Jagger after Bush’s speech. Oh and for those that din't catch it, the title for this post is from a Weird Al song.
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
First Impressions: The Surreal Life Fame Games



Wait, no Flavor Flav? How can VH1 do a reality show without Flavor Flav?
Back to the game, I’m really not sure what the rules of the game are. Supposedly someone gets kicked off the show until there is only one celeb left. But all that happened was two contestants, Chyna and Mini-Me, were banished to the B-List but weren’t eliminated, or so I took from it. And instead of all the other celebrity editions game show, the person the wins gets to keep the money, and is not playing for charity which is something cheap. Couldn’t they have at least gone halfsies?
Verdict: Complete and utter trash. And I’ll be watching every week despite the disturbing Brigitte and Chyna hookup in the first episode. Go Webster! The Surreal Life Fame Games airs Sundays at 9:00 on VH1 and will most likely be repeated contantly throughout the week and will probably have twenty marathons before Groundhog’s Day.
Monday, January 08, 2007
First Impressions: I'm From Rolling Stone
After Let’s Rob Mick Jagger, my second most anticipated new show of the year was I’m From Rolling Stone. I got my very first Rolling Stone way back in 1993 with the iconic Cindy Crawford cover with her holding her boobs sparking a trend that still goes on today. Needless to say, with that as my first issue, I’m still a loyal subscriber to this day. And that is why I was so excited for the premiere of this reality show as it follows six interns with one getting a contributing editor job at the end of the summer. Yes summer, as in last summer, and there is one of the cons to this show in that it can’t be to hard to find out who won.
Although another is that after one episode, I really don’t care to do the easy research to find out who won as most of the interns are not all that interesting. The only two that stand out, and not by much are Peter Maiden, the resident drunk (hey, this is still a reality show on MTV), and the rebel without a clue Russell Moore who was so brazen when Jann Wenner called to tell him he got the internship Moore said he didn’t want it afterwards only to say he was just kidding. Of course that was better than Krishtine de Leon who butchered Wenner’s name. How do you apply for a job for the most well known music magazine in the world and not know the Founder, Publisher and Editor of the magazine? Maybe it’s me, but I make it a point note to know any potential bosses name.
Rounding out the contestants is Krystal Simpson, the bright-eyed one with the least amount of world experience. Colin Stutz is your token modern day hipster who wasn’t that memorable from the first episode. And if I were to make a preseason pick on who gets the contributor job I would put my money on Tika Milan who seems the most dedicated of the bunch. The first episode was basically just them getting the call as well as getting their first assignment which was then critiqued by Executive Editor Joel Levy.
Verdict: The first episode was a snore fest but hopefully now that the introductions are over with things will start to pick up. I’m From Rolling Stone airs Sundays at 10:00 on MTV.
In other music news, the latest crop of inductions into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame were announced today with R.E.M., Van Halen, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, Patti Smith, and The Ronettes all entering the Hall on March 12. Interesting to see which, if any, former Van Halen front men will show up and/or perform. Not to mention it wasn’t too long ago when Eddie Van Halen announced that he replaced original bassist Michael Anthony with his son Wolfgang. I’m sure to have a full recap of the festivities whenever it airs on VH1.
Sunday, January 07, 2007
Don't Download These Videos vol. VIII
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 (but no (Expletive Deleted) in a Box; when it first aired on SNL it was funny, when you’re the 1000th blog to feature it, not so much). 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.
Okay, I’m a big history guy so whenever you get a video like this I’m watching it over and over again. It hard to quibble with the selections (okay, maybe a little: no Springsteen, Prince, or Beastie Boys). This video just missed the cut off for The Best Videos of 2006 list but it’s already the video to beat for 2007’s list. Now this is where I link the video in iTunes but there is only one problem, you can’t buy the song. Yeah you can get it if you buy the U218 Singles greatest hit package, but the problem is, I already own all the other songs on the album. And record companies wonder why people still resort to staling songs.
Surely everyone has seen what boils down to as a commercial for the cheesy nighttime General Hospital show, but this version is a much better fit for the song (rumor has it the lead singer of The Fray wrote this song after having a talk with a depressed kid who then went home committed suicide one day) and so transplanting hacks with actually people is a vast upgrade.
This video seemed to escape me when it was originally released a couple months ago even though Eisley is one of my favorite bands in recent years with their album Room Noises, which happens to be the first album I ever reviewed on this site (see: You Humor Me Today) and landed at number four on my Best Albums of 2005 list. Some cool effect throughout the video. The band is currently working on a follow up that should be out this year so look out for that and surely it will be reviewed here whenever it is released.
Just a quick story, when I listen to iTunes I usually have it on shuffle which occasionally pops up some great songs that I haven’t heard in a while. Yesterday it shuffled on Santana featuring Musiq with Nothing at All and I forgot how much I loved the song. In fact if I were to ever try out for some lame karaoke show, this would be my audition song. Well either that or When Doves Cry because you haven’t lived until you have heard my drunken rendition of When Doves Cry.
One last thing I forgot to mention during my TV post was that Showtime send me some promo stuff for The L Word which fourth season starts tonight. Unfortunately they didn't let me check out the first episode like they did for Dexter but they did point me in the way of this not all that safe for work video: The Most Awesome Make-Out Montage and it definately lives up to its title. And if you order Showtime now and you can get an exclusive designer top from The L Word collection (retail value $179). Keep in mind this is more of an offer for chicks, but check out that offer here.
Saturday, January 06, 2007
57 Channels and Only This Is On
Starting a new weekly segment today where every week (no set date, just sometime during the weekend, maybe Monday at the latest) I discuss my favorite things that happened on television the past week. In honor of this new segment I have a new contest:

* Fine Print: This contest is open only to those in the US and Canada. Also the only shirt size available is Large. Want more chances to win Knights of Prosperity swag? Swing over to >Ducky’s brand new website to win the contest he's running as well as the TV Addict who is also running one. And don’t forget to watch Knights of Prosperity Wednesdays at 9:00 or you can always stream the latest episode for free at ABC.com.
Now for my favorite moments on television for the past week:
Best Quote of the Week (Friday Night Lights, Coach Taylor’s wife to the failing Tim Riggins): “It’s my job to make sure you don’t grow up stupid; it’s bad for the world.” (Every teacher across the country should hang this quote up somewhere in their classroom.)
Friday Night Lights: Finally they gave my boy Landry an actual storyline this week with trying to tutor Riggins and by tutoring I mean reading Of Mice and Men
My Name Is Earl: Quite possible the funniest half hour on television since the My Name Is Earl pilot. As funny as it is to see Earl cross things off his list, seeing what he does to get such things on his list may be funnier. For this episode I’ll start at the end because there has been nothing funnier on TV this season that Randy getting shot out of the tree with a tranquillizer gun. Someone needs to send a clip of that to Tony Kornheiser quick.
Other great scenes from the episode are too many to name, but it was great to see former guests including the one-legged woman, Earl’s ex who thought he was dead, the gay dude (anyone else notice he was circling around the block with the naked dude with the snake scene), the cop who’s badge Earl stole, the voice box dude and we even learned how the mailman lost his eye. The only person missing was Ralph (Giovanni Ribisi); you know Ralph wouldn’t miss a chance to be on Cops. We were even introduced to some other Camden County locals including local celebrity Timothy Stack (who just so happened to write the episode) and Mimi from The Drew Carey Show. I can’t wait to see how Earl crosses her off his list for stealing her cop car.
If you missed the episode or just want to see it again, NBC.com has started streaming episodes of the show, so head over there to see it.
In Case of Emergency: It’s not a good sign when The Class is the funniest new impromptu reunion show of the season. In fact I haven’t laughed this little since Four Kings (the one lone laugh “Is there any chance your fiancée is a chick?”).
Also check out my First Impressions of Let's Rob Mick Jagger and Beauty and the Geek 3.
This most likely won’t be a weekly segment in these posts, but the best promo of the season goes to this Supernatural one that aired multiple times during the Beauty and the Geek premiere. It may come to a shock to some of you but I’m a huge Johnny Cash fan and this is just a great use of God’s Gonna Cut You Down (they need to get whoever made this promo to do one like this for Veronica Mars):
Friday, January 05, 2007
First Impressions: Knights of Prosperity



- “Wisdom? Who do you think I am, Morgan Freeman?”
- The generous of the Incredible Bongo Band’s Apache throughout the episode
- Eugene’s grand entrance
- Everyone’s reaction to Eugene’s “Let’s rob Mick Jagger” proposition
- “I don’t get it, why Mick Jagger? Why not some other celebrity like Alex Trebeck, Willem Defoe, James Wonder Beek, or Jeff Conoway?” “Who?” “Kenicki”
- “Whoa, whoa, Gory-what did-you-just-call-him? Yeah I’m just gonna call you Gary”

- Being criminals with bright orange shirts (win one here)
- Donating to charities like Feline Aides.
- The intern listening to Meredith Brooks lone hit
- “Then why didn’t you think of it Pocahontas” and basically every racial slur Gary and Squatch hurl at each other
- Mick’s indoor penalty kicks
- Squatch’s photo hat.
- Gary’s favorite part of a woman
- Bridges of Madison Country: Wasn’t that a movie?
- The token hot chick’s back story in Colombia
- The guys’ response to the token hot chick’s asking to join the gang: “Mi Casa Su Casa Baby”
- Instead of changing out his janitorial clothes, Eugene puts duct tape over his name
- The token hot chick packing heat. A lot of heat. “What are you, criminals or children?”
- “If either of you come near my Maria again I will humpty dumpy you punks”
- The reveal of Mick’s security while the musak version of Start Me Up plays
course it looks like Mick won’t be the other target as there will be plenty of guests for the Knights to rob including
Verdict: Now this is must see TV. It may not be as funny as My Name Is Earl but it’s by far the funniest new show this season. Surely it will take a while for them to rob Mick Jagger because even though they were smart enough to steal the key they weren’t smart enough to steal the key to the storage locker. Knights of Prosperity airs Wednesdays at 9:00 on ABC but you can watch an encore of the first episode tonight at 9:00 or you can watch the most recent episodes at ABC.com.

Thursday, January 04, 2007
First Impressions: Beauty and the Geek 3
Before I get into this post, let me first say that no, I’m not the Scooter from the show. My lucky knee high socks are white with three neon green strips at the top. Also when I sport a beard I look more like the dude from The Notebook (or so I’ve been told). But if there are there are any Playboy models who want to jump on the hang out with dudes named Scooter bandwagon, shout a holla. Now back to your regularly scheduled post.



Verdict: After a sophomore slump Beauty and the Geek is back in fine form. It looks like I may have to bump Friday Night Lights back into the taping category at lest for the Geek’s seven week run. Beauty and the Geek airs Wednesday at 8:00 on The CW.
Be sure to check back tomorrow on my thoughts of Let’s Rob Mick Jagger which more than lived up to expectations. And don’t forget to check out my contest to win your own Knights of Prosperity T-Shirt. Also if you missed the show, head over to ABC.com to stream the episode for free or tune in this Friday at 9:00 when ABC will repair the pilot.
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
Best of 2006 Redux
Some last thoughts and list of 2006. First looking back at this blog, here are the top five post of the past year by page views (a big thanks to MTV for rerunning the first two seasons of Beauty and the Geek that brought in about 100 searchers for each marathon it ran) :
1. First Impressions - Beauty and the Geek 2
2. Worst Albums of 2006
3. Her Face Is the Map of the World (KT Tunstall album review)
4. Oddsmakers: The Hearst Rapist
5. Worst Songs of 2006
One cool addition to iTunes this year was the ability to add your reviews to each album. Unfortunately there isn’t a minimum amount of word you must write as many reviews on the site are less than a sentence. But then there are people like me who write lengthy reviews for others to read and I copied the ones I do for this site can add them on iTunes. Here are the top five most helpful reviews I put there (click the review title to read it on my site or click the album title to go to its iTunes page where you can buy it or just give me another helpful vote if you like):
1. The Final Word in the Final Sentence (Eyes Open - Snow Patrol)
2. Girl Go Ahead Let Your Hair Down (Corrine Bailey Rae - Corrine Bailey Ray)
3. It’s Not a Silly Little Moment, it’s Not the Calm Before the Storm (Continuum - John Mayer)
4. This Sounds Like Disco Tetris (The Sweet Escape - Gwen Stefani)
5. There’s No Stopping Curiosity (Sing-a-Longs and Lullabies from the Film Curious George - Jack Johnson and Friends)
As for the artist that made the most impact in the last year here are the ones that showed up most on my Best of lists (for those lists, click on the Best of 2006 label at the bottom of this post):
1. KT Tunstall (Best Songs - 11, 31, 97; Best Albums - 2, 28; Readers Poll - 11) - Tunstall started the year garnishing a rare [Extreme] rating on my Terror Alert Scale and even through in an acoustic album late in the year to boot. Yeah her music has been co-opted by some crappy television shows but that in no way takes away the fact that she produced one of the best pop albums in years.
2. Johnny Cash (Best Songs - 2, 52; Best Albums - 7; Best Videos - 1; Best Mash Ups - 1, 8; Reader’s Poll - 15) - As a long time fan, A Hundred Highways was a great swan song (although Rick Rubin says there may be one more after it) giving a song that not only stands up with any song from the American Recording era, but with anything his back catalog with God’s Gonna Cut You Done.
3. The Killers (Best Songs - 10, 94; Best Albums - 48; Best Videos - 6, 12; Reader’s Poll - 4) - I gave the guys a lot of crap this year on not living up to their own hype, but they did give us the best rock song of the year and two iconic videos.
4. Rhymefest (Best Songs - 25, 68; Best Albums - 10) In a year that wasn’t kind to hip hop (maybe Nas is right) with the failed comeback of Jay-Z and Lupe Fiasco not living up to the hype, this MC, who helped Kanye West write Jesus Walk, just may be the one to resurrect hip hop, well that’s if people start listening to him.
5. Gnarls Barkley (Best Songs - 1; Best Videos - 3, 19; Best Mash Ups - 4, 14, 23; Reader’s Poll - 1) No one has done so much with just one song, a song that is inching closer and closer to the top of the One Hit Wonder pantheon.
Since 1996 I have made a CD of my favorite music from the past year and here is the CD I have made from this past year but I like to put songs in reverse order as so they are counting down to the best song. This CD clocks in at 78:07 (for links to the songs and the full top 100 check out: The 100 Best Songs of 2006).
1. Over My Head (Cable Car) - The Fray
2. Save Room - John Legend
3. The Saints Are Coming - U2 & Green Day
4. Nothing Left to Lose - Mat Kearney
5. Chasing Cars - Snow Patrol
6. Smile - Lily Allen
7. Not Ready to Make Nice - Dixie Chicks
8. Hips Don’t Lie - Shakira & Wyclef Jean
9. Fidelity - Regina Spektor
10. Unwritten - Natasha Bedingfield
11. Black Horse and the Cherry Tree - KT Tunstall
12. When You Were Young - The Killers
13. I Will Follow You into the Dark - Death Cab for Cutie
14. Hurt - Christina Aguilera
15. Leave the Pieces - The Wreckers
16. One - Mary J. Blige & U2
17. How to Save a Life - The Fray
18. Boston - Augustana
19. Waiting on the World to Change - John Mayer
20. God’s Gonna Cut You Down - Johnny Cash
21. Crazy - Gnarls Barkley
Looking ahead 2007, I'm predicting Lily Allen to be the break out star of next year. Her first single Smile has gotten some buzz behind it so look out for the release of her album stateside later this month. Just remember when she is huge, you heard it her first. Although keep in mind I haven't correctly predicted the next big thing since Hootie and the Blowfish.
My other prediction is the demise of American Karaoke as it will get thrashed in the ratings by Let's Rob Mick Jagger (be sure to check out my contest and watch the show tonight at 9:00 on ABC). Okay maybe wishful thinking but before the latest crop of karaokers hit the stage I had a chance to her a couple of Katharine McPhee's new songs and, well, I'm less than impressed. She's trying to be Mariah Carey but the only problem is that Mariah Carey is still around and does a much better job at being Mariah Carey. There was one decent song out of the bunch, Love Story and you can take a listen for it yourself below.
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
Into Each Generation a Slayer Is Born

Very rarely do I ever do I start watching a show after it’s started, twice to be exact. The second time was when I stayed tune to watch the post-Super Bowl Alias. They had me sold with Jennifer Garner prancing in her underwear to Back in Black so I instantly queued the seasons I missed and watch them at mass. Unfortunately the show didn’t live up to the hype and I have yet to see the last season. But the only other show that I started watching during its run definitely lived up to the hype and that is why Buffy the Vampire Slayer is this month’s induction into the Scooter Hall of Fame.
The main reason why I skipped the show in its initial run was mostly because of the horrendous movie of the same name with Dylan McKay and Pee Wee Herman in his first acting appearance since, well, he opened the Video Music Awards. So there was no way after wasting and hour and a half of my life watching the movie would invest a whole hour every week for the a serialize version. But after all the praise the show received, I got a second chance when FX bought the syndication rights and started airing the show from the beginning around the start of the fifth season.
So every weekday for two hours I watch obsessively until I was fully caught up in about two months. And then the withdrawal started, going from ten episodes a week to just one was a big jolt. What really drew me into was the writing with it’s overly sarcastic characters and enough pop culture references to keep you scouring the internet each week to figure out the one’s you didn’t catch. The writing was so good it was even able to hind Sarah Michelle Gellar
But what drove the show year in and year out were the annual Big Bad’s who would make Buffy’s life miserable every year. It seemed that every Big Bad was badder than his or her predecessor. Well until we got to the nerd trio in season six, but what they lacked in scariness they definitely made up in comic relief. And who would have guessed in season six that Andrew would be the most entertain part of the last season as well as a great guest spot on Angel the following year? Thanks to the greatness of the Big Bad’s, one of the best scenes ever was the closing season of season seven’s premiere with Spike being haunted by all the other Big Bad’s.
Speaking of Spike, there is another great aspect of the show in that you never knew when a character would pop up again. Not even death kept some characters from making more appearances most notable Harmony who was actually more entertaining dead than alive and of course the previously mentioned Andrew who went from an obscure character from season one’s brother to the best part of the last season.
Unfortunately it’s not all fond memories for the show as Buffy remands the main reason why I avoid spoilers when I learned way too early that Tara would die causing Willow to become the Big Bad at the end of season six somewhat ruining that season for me. But the good definitely out weigh the bad with some iconic episodes like Hush where everyone on the show lost their voice for most of the episode. It’s weird to think that the show is now a decade old (well technically it will in March) but the episodes have aged well even with all the pop culture references and that is why Buffy the Vampire Slayer is the first induction into the SHoF for 2007. Unfortunately the Buffyverse has been on hiatus since Angel ended a year after Buffy and a Faith based show and Spike centered movies have since failed to go past planning stages but it was recently announced by Joss Whedon that he will doing a season eight of the series in comic book form so look out for that.
As I write this, you can currently get all seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer at Amazon.com
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)