Maroon 5 created some of the best pop songs this decade with their four single of the debut album Songs about Jane selling over four million copies to date. As great as those for songs were, take them away from the album and what you are left with is a mediocre at best album aside from the great album closer Sweetest Goodbye. But the band has taken its time to record the follow up which was released back in 2002, three years before they picked up the Grammy for Best New Artist.
In the interim, lead singer Adam Levine took over John Mayer role as go to white boy for rappers, appearing on tracks by Kanye West and the Ying Yang Twins, as well as taking part in the Hollywood party scene, being link to more than a few “it” girls of the moment. Despite the long lay off between albums, the band’s sophomore effort, It Won’t Be Soon before Long could as well have been called Songs about Jane (or Jessica, Lindsay, etc.) II as the album again is very relationship heavy, leaning again towards the negative sides of them. There are a few quasi-political messages throughout the album, most notable in the first single, Makes Me Wonders, with lines like, “Give me something to believe in ‘cause I don’t believe in you anymore,” but too many people are reading into the political themes consider the lines, “Struggled to memorize the way it felt between your (suggestive lyric deleted),” also appear in the song.
The band also lets its influences shine threw more this time around as there are a few Studio 54 era dance tracks that sound like Michael Jackson through the Justin Timberlake filter (If I Never See Your Face Again, Makes Me Wonder) populate the album. Won’t Go Home without You could have been what She Will Be Loved may have sounded like had the band had been listening to Every Breath You Take on a loop while recording. Kiwi could be their tribute to early Prince complete with sexual innuendo this time with fruit instead of a car. And I dare you not to think of 3 Doors Down’s Kryptonite when listening to the opening chords of Goodnight, Goodnight.
Still nothing here comes close to the upper-echelon of the first record. Harder to Breathe remains the only good fast song the band has done. The band is still at its best when they slow things down like on Nothing Lasts Forever which is built around Levine’s vocals from Heard ‘em Say but the words fit much better here than backing a rap track as well as one of the nicest break up songs ever (take that Clarkson) with Better that We Break. Of course that was most likely just lip services as Levine probably just moved on to the next party girl.
All reality show are dependant on good casting but if there is one that hits or misses depending on its new castmenbers it is The Real World. Since they have upped the token frat boy quotient to two per season, the show has been unwatchable (granted the most recent season in Denver was its best in a long time thanks to the clinically insane, and I mean that in a good way, Brooke). But Survivor is a close second. The problem though is that most contestants know they can’t act like a nut job because they would leave the island just as quick as they got there. Somehow the producers of the show seemed to find the few people who have never seen the show and didn’t realize that acting a fool wouldn’t endear them to their tribemates.
Number one on the clinically insane list was the Sylvester Stallone without the steroids looking James “Rocky” Reid, your obligatory bartender from Los Angeles this season. How he stayed while a bunch of soft spoken (i.e.: boring) tribe members got voted off before him was a miracle even publicly berating Anthony Robinson multiple times and somehow made it as far to make it on the jury where, even though not allowed to speak, he still got enough screen time thanks to his non verbal.
Even more shocking than Rocky making it to the jury was cheerleading coach Andria “Dreamz” Herd actually sitting across from Rocky as one of the finalist. Here is a guy who would have been on the chopping block had his team would have lost early on, and then was the odd man out in his alliance where he was on the chopping block from week to week again. After turning on that alliance at the merge he still made it to the final three possible just because he made a deal with Yau-Man Chan to exchange the truck Yau-Man one for immunity if Dreamz would win at the final four.
And poor Yau-Man, played the best game this season, but Dreamz pulled a WWF type swerve when he reneged on their agreement. This was befuddling because it is one thing to go back on your word if you have an actual chance of winning, but Dreamz should had know by doing so there was no way he was going to win so he basically traded his word to finish third instead fourth. For me that is just not worth it. Not only did Dreamz not win, he didn’t even get a single vote as all went to Earl Cole (I believe I called that, see: First Impressions Survivor Fiji). For those keeping track at home, in the two times they have had a final three, three of the six finalists have received no votes. Hopefully they go back to the final two next season.
Speaking of which, for the first time in a while, Survivor is going to be land locked next season as the show will be the first American show to ever film a whole season inside China. Odd choices as it would have made more sense to hold off a China season until 2008 to capitalize on the Olympics, but who am I to comment on how networks should make their schedule as I would have kept Veronica Mars, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip and Knights of Prosperity around.
Quote of the Week: I can still do long division but I can’t quite remember all the continents. (Ronnie when Mac mentioned that love kills more brain cells then crystal meth - Veronica Mars)
Song of the Week: I Feel it All - Feist (as performed on a traveling bus, Jimmy Kimmel Live)
Flavor of Love Girls: Charm School: Okay, it is pretty much assumed that nineties percent of realty television is rigged and/or staged, but the judging on this show is just absurd, you have some girls going home because they need to much help, then Goldie Courtney goes home because the other girl need more help. With that said, I’ll still be tuning in next week. Download this episode on iTunes.
Survivor: I would just like everyone to check out my First Impressions: Survivor Fiji to see who I predicted back then who would win (let me give you a hint, it was Earl). Check out the latest episode on Innertube.
How I Met Your Mother: After seeing the last two episodes I understand why CBS was considering canceling the show. Way to save the worst two episodes for the end of the season. Were we actually supposed to believe that Robin and Ted were getting married, with child, or moving to Brazil? It didn’t take too long to realize that the big news was they were breaking up. Check out the latest episode on Innertube.
Heroes: Usually I can put two and two together especially on a not so cleavarly written show like this, but I never realized that the locating that Mr. Bennett was going to “shut down” was going to be the little girl. If the future episode is any indication, sign says that something happens to her otherwise Nathan/Sylar would have used her power to locate all the Heroes. Almost as shocking was the demise of Linderman at the hands, literally, of DL, who may or may not have been healed by Linderman as he killed him. If I’m not mistaken, he was supposable killed in the nuclear blast with Micah, although why wouldn’t Nikki be with them? Maybe we will find out next week but if I were a betting man, I would put my money on no. Check out the latest episode over at NBC.com.
Lost: Wow, an actual good episode, and I’m talking late first season good. This is surprising considering I stopped caring about the Desmond/Charlie storyline right around the time it started. The only problem I had with the episode was with Charlie’s long goodbye to Claire when I just sat there saying, “Just give her the ring to give to Turnip Head and get going.” Then we have the big shocker at the end with there is a tribe of Amazon women who are currently habituating The Looking Glass station. Are they Others? Dharma? Part of Rousseau’s team? Someone completely different? Check out the latest episodes over at ABC.com.
Smallville: The big rumor was that someone was going to die in the finale but two of the characters looked like they won’t be back next season with Lana’s car exploding and Chloe’s uber-lame superpower being if she cried on someone, they would switch mortal wounds. My guess is if one actually survived it was 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.
Next Week’s Pick: Veronica Mars, 8:00 Tuesday, The CW: The last Veronica Mars ever as well as the last time anyone will have a reason to watch the CW, the show goes off in fashion with two hours, starting at 8:00 so all you losers who will be watching the national karaoke championship, be sure to set your VCR’s (or for you pretentious types your Tivo’s). From the promo (see below), it looks like Ronnie will getting back to her bitter and vengeful self not fully seen since season one.
So let me get this straight, next season instead of Veronica Mars, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, or Let’s Rob Ray Ramono, we get Farmer Wants a Wife, another The Bionic Woman, and Cavemen. Seriously? I guess I should thank the networks for sucking because it looks like I will be watching a lot less television next year. Here are the few shows I will be watching next year:
Monday 8:00 - How I Met Your Mother (CBS) 8:30 - Everybody Hates Chris on tape (CW) 9:00 - Heroes (NBC)
Tuesday Um…
Wednesday Moving on…
Thursday 8:00 - Survivor (CBS) 9:00 - Smallville on tape (CW) 10:00 - My Name Is Earl on tape (NBC)
Friday 10:00 - Friday Night Lights (NBC)
Saturday Nope…
Sunday Maybe VH1 will have some good Celebreality
Wow, five and a half of network television next year. Again network television, thanks for sucking. That may go down to two and a half if that actually killed Lana and Chloe off Smallville (more on that later) and I finally give up on Heroes.
Now this is usually where I give my preseason top five but I can’t even find one new show that I even have the littlest interest in aside from Big Bang Theory where I have a very small interest if only because Kaley Cuoco is what I like to refer as uber-hot. But even her as the eye candy wasn’t enough for me to watch 7 Ideas that Shook Your Momma (or whatever that show was called) and really how funny can a show from the co-creator of Two and a Half Men be? And this preview is not doing much to wet my appetite, well, actually it is, but not in a way that it will make me want to tune in every week:
So I doubt I’d make it to the second episode. But then again I guess it is a good thing I didn’t make a preseason list because look at last year’s list:
1. Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (NBC) 2. Let’s Rob (ABC) 3. Heroes (NBC) 4. 20 Good Years (NBC) 5. The Nine (ABC)
Yeah, all but one got canceled while the one remaining show, although it had flashes of how good it could have been, was brought down by poor writing and even worse acting. Well here’s to a hopefully brighter 2008-2009 season.
When there is no arcing mystery, be it season long or part of a season, there just seems to be less to talk about without dissecting every scene, trying to figure out what are clues and what are red herrings and then break down who you think the perp is this week. With that said, the show has filled the time with some hot button topics, two weeks ago they talked terrorism, and this week it is genocide in Africa, insert Paul Rudd in-between and you have some solid episode.
Unfortunately taking the place of the overarching mysteries we get boring character driven storylines like with Mac and Max, they were much more interesting during the courting phase, as well as the Logan/Parker part. It was a little humorous the scene with Parker’s parents where they asked him his plans which called back the dinner he had with Keith earlier this season and was a nice tie in to Keith telling Ronnie that it was nice she had a boyfriend who cared more about things that how high the tide was.
Which is a nice transition to the great relationship, Ronnie and her dad arguing over who would get and did get on there PI test continues to show there are the best father-daughter combination on television. Then there is the shocking family time with Big Dick coming back to Neptune to turn himself in. Holy frak! When Little Dick walked onto the screen I got a big grin expecting another classic Dickism but I never expected a Dick Sr. would return. And who knew Ryan Hansen could act.
The return may have not been as shocking it is always good to see Cliff again who had one of the best lines of the night, “I hope you’ll understand why you won’t have my vote in the upcoming election.” And just like I mentioned last week, it looks Vinnie Van Lowe is conspiring with the Fitpatricks to be their patsy, and of course Neptune would be a much more entertaining place with him in charge of the police.
As for the story of the week, it was very well down and it is always a nice change of pace when someone out smarts Ronnie like Apollo did to use Vee to see if the father was after his money or not. And don’t forget to check out the website that was mention at the end of the episode, invisiblechildren.com, to see what you can do to help children in war torn Africa countries from becoming child soldiers or having to live in horrible conditions in displacement camps.
After over two years writing this blog I get a sense that my readers fall into one of two catergories, those that come to read about the latest music and those that want to see my thought on television (for those that fall in the latter catergory, be sure to check out my Win a Copy of Neptune Noir Contest). Well here is a post for the both of you: a lyrics quiz dedicated to songs features on television shows during the 2006-2007 season. As usual, place your guesses in the comment, both artist and song title, and if you are correct I will un-bold the lyric. You can also get a bonus point is you correctly guess which show(s) the song was featured on and double bonus points if you correctly guess the character how sang the song on the show if it was not performed by the original artist (you can steal the bonus point if and only if someone correctly guesses the lyrics). Now since I don’t watch every show on television and there are plenty of unoriginal shows out there that copy other show’s musical taste, I will only accept quality television shows, and I am the one who decides whether a show is quality. But as a hint, if dudes sang a karaoke version of the song or the song was featured in a montage at the end of a teen or medical drama because the writers were to lazy to write a couple more pages of dialogue, there is a good chance I won’t accept it. Now onto the lyrics (as a not so helpful hint, the songs are arranged by with the best song placements first, that is not to be confused with the best songs though):
Hints: (Some of these songs were Song of the Week on my weekly 57 Channels and Only This Is On posts) 3. This song was sung by one of the castmembers in a different launguage. 7. Will accept more bonus. 8. Who knew the dude from Clueless could sing?
1. And I want you, and I feel you crawling underneath my skin, like a hunger. (What's Left of Me - Nick Lashey; guessed by Slaygal1981; Bonus - Veronica Mars; guessed by Jules) 2. All my friends were vampires. I didn’t know they were vampires. (Devil Town - Daniel Johnston; guessed by Slaygal1981; Bonus - Friday Night Lights; guessed by Jules) 3. My son turned ten just the other day. He said, “Thanks for the ball, dad, come on let’s play.” (Cats in the Cradle - Harry Chapin; guessed by Monique; Bonus - Knights of Prosperity; guesed by Slaygal1981) 4. Though this feeling I can't change. Please don't take it badly, the Lord knows I'm to blame. (Free Bird - Lynyrd Skynrd; Bonus - My Name Is Earl; both guessed by Slaygal1981) 5. And when the money, comes in for the work I do I’ll pass almost every penny on to you. (I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) - The Proclaimers; Bonus - How I Met Your Mother; both guessed by Slaygal1981) 6. Gonna close my eyes, girl, and watch you go. Running through this life darling like a field of snow. (The One I Love - David Gray; Bonus - Rescue Me; both guessed by Slaygal1981) 7. I can’t care ‘bout anything but you. (Lovefool - The Cardigans; Bonus - The Office; both guessed by Slaygal1981) 8. I’m the kind of guy who laughs at a funeral. Can’t understand what I mean? Well, you soon will. (One Week - Barenaked Ladies; Bonus - Veronica Mars; both guessed by Slaygal1981) 9. Can't we give ourselves one more chance? Why can't we give love, ‘cos love's such an old fashioned word? (Under Pressure - Queen and David Bowie; Bonus - Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip; both guessed by Slaygal1981) 10. Cracks a code on the Rosetta Stone. Said the word for alone is alone. (My Before and After - Cotton Mather; Bonus Veronica Mars as sung by Desmond Fellows; Both guessed by Slaygal1981) 11. All the lights that lead us there are blinding. (Wonderwall - Oasis; guessed by Jo; Bonus: Lost as sung by Charlie; guessed by Slaygal1981) 12. I’ve got a cow that went dry and a hen that won’t lay. A big stack of bills that get bigger each day. (Busted - Johnny Cash; Bonus - Veronica Mars; both guessed by Slaygal1981) 13. Just the good ol’ boys, never meaning no harm. (Theme from Dukes of Hazzard Theme - Waylon Jennings; Bonus - My Name Is Earl; both guessed by Slaygal1981) 14. Check baby check baby 1, 2, 3, 4. (Rump Shaker - Wreckx-N-Effect; guessed by Doug; Bonus - Lost and Veronica Mars; guessed by Slaygal1981) 15. I once got busy in a Burger King bathroom. (The Humpty Dance - Digital Underground; guessed by Slaygal1981; Bonus - My Name Is Earl; guessed by Slaygal1981) 16. Strike up the band and make the fireflies dance, silver moon’s sparkling. (Kiss Me - Sixpence None the Richer; guessed by Slaygal1981; Bonus - Knights of Prosperity; guesed by Slaygal1981) 17. One pair of candy lips and your bubblegum tongue. (Your Body Is a Wonderland - John Mayer; Bonus - The Office; both guessed by Slaygal1981) 18. It’s time to bring this ship into the shore, and throw away the oars, forever. (Can't Fight This Feeling - REO Speedwagon; guessed by Monique; Bonus - Supernatural; guessed by Jules) 19. They’re watching you watching you watching you watching you. (Private Eyes - Hall and Oates; guessed by Monique; Bonus - Knights of Prosperity; guessed by Slaygal1981) 20. Smack it up, flip it, rub it down. (Do Me! - Bell Bive DeVoe; guessed by Slaygal1981; Bonus - My Name Is Earl; guessed by Slaygal1981) 21. The stars are blazing like rebel diamonds cut out of the sun. (Read My Mind - The Killers; guessed by Slaygal1981; Bonus - Friday Night Lights; guessed by Slaygal1981) 22. And by protecting my heart truly I got lost in the sounds. (Fidelity - Regina Spektor; guessed by Monique; Bonus - Veronica Mars; guessed by Slaygal1981) 23. See the west wind move like a lover so upon the fields of barley. (Fields of Gold - Sting; Bonus guessed by Slaygal1981) 24. Hands, touching hands. Reaching out, touching me, touching you. (Sweet Caroline - Neil Diamond; guessed by Jo; Bonus - Veronica Mars; guessed by Doug) 25. It’s not a silly little moment, it’s not the calm before the storm. (Slow Dancing in a Buring Room - John Mayer; Bonus - CSI; both guessed by Slaygal1981)
Bonus: A list of the best song placements on television would be incomplete without this song but it is hard to use the song in a lyrics quiz because the only words to the song are the ones in the title. So as a bonus (double points for each), name the song, the artist, and the show that I am speaking of. (Right Here, Right Now - Fatboy Slim; Bonus - Veronica Mars; both guessed by Slaygal1981)
Honorable Mention to Bad Day - Daniel Powder as sung by Veronica Mars which happened after I made this list.
In my adult life, I can count on one hand the amount of books I have read. In fact I could have lost a couple in shop class and still be able to count them. (Before you write me off as having an aversion to reading, I do subscribe to two magazines, Newsweek and Rolling Stone.) And those few I read took me literally years to finish. But when the good people over at BenBella Books sent me a copy of Neptune Noir: Unauthorized Investigation into Veronica Mars, I went threw all 212 pages within a week.
The book is a collection of eighteen essays, most seemingly written between the second and third seasons, dissecting every aspect of the show and no matter why it is you watch the show, whether it be for the noir, the girl power, or the Veronica/Logan relationship, there is an essay for you. Well unless you are like me and watch the show for the latest Dickisms as only survivor still left in Neptune only gets fleeting mentions. And oddly a whole essay is devoted to the cars of Veronica Mars and what they tell you about the show and the characters that drive them, but no one devolves fully into Ronnie’s love life instead the writers side with Logan or Duncan with Troy and Deputy Leo left as footnotes.
The book starts of with an introduction from the show’s creator, Rob Thomas, which even at seven pages makes the book worth the price of admission as he recounts his professional life between moving out to Los Angeles up to the point of Veronica Mars getting picked up. Most interesting of this part was the pilot he wrote for Fox in-between Cupid and Veronica Mars, but of course since Fox is allergic to quality programming, they passed.
Thomas then also gives an introduction to each essay sometime discounting the essay in its entirety like the one about the cars (Full disclosure: I’m not a car guy) and seemed a little uneasy that someone devoted a whole essay about the campy side of the show (When something on Veronica Mars feels, campy, it means we have failed). The title of the review came from what Thomas said when the network asked what the show was about, but as anyone who has watched the show, it is much more as seen in the essays complied for the book. It would take too long to review each individual but here were the most interesting to me.
Chris McCubbin devoted his essay, The Duck and the Detective, on why Veronica Mars plays better in Red States than Blue. This piece stuck me as a resident of a Red State and life long Republican (well up until my brethren elected the most inept president ever, twice). My television schedule has never been influenced by my political beliefs, I even loved the unapologetically liberal Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, yet it still fascinated me especially after when a few liberals were up in arms because of the abortion pill episode. McCubbin liked to bring up the South Park republicans, but the big difference between South Park and Veronica Mars is that that Matt Stone has said, “I hate conservatives, but I really (expletive deleted) hate liberals” while Thomas readily admits, “he is “part of the Hollywood Loberal Media Elite.”
The other essay that caught my eye was the one from John Ramos, Couch Baron of Television Without Pity, I Cannot Tell a Lie. And if You Believe That… Ramos dissects the level of lies, from the white lies that help her solve a case to the big fat ones that have major consequences like when she played her father while helping Duncan get out of the country with his baby in tow. Add to that The New Normal by Kristen Kiddler where she looks into Vee’s vigilantism and it interesting to see people complain in season three that Ronnie has gotten so mean. The first season was all about making people pay, the person who killed Lily, the person who raped her and anyone who was an accomplice, even if inadvertent will be in her crosshairs. She still to this day harbors deep hatred for Madison Sinclair for handing her the drink that led to her rape.
Even though there is plenty of great essays for every type of Veronica Mars fan, there will be certainly a few that will not be as good as others depending on what brings you to the show. For me I could do without the essays on the cars as well as the one devoted to the “epic” love. But this is definitely a must read for anyone who has watched the show. You can order Neptune Noir: Unauthorized Investigation into Veronica Mars at the BenBella Books website. Also any television fan who is dreading the upcoming summer without your favorite shows should check out other books in their Smart Pop Anthology Series including books dedicated to Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Simpsons, Gilmore Girls among others. And do not forget to check out my Win a Copy of Neptune Noir Contest.
Neptune Noir: Unauthorized Investigation into Veronica Mars gets a on my Terror Alert Scale.
Quote of the Week: Running from the law wasn’t as easy as they made it look on The Dukes of Hazard. (Joy - My Name Is Earl)
Song of the Week: My Before and After - Cotton Mather (as sung by Desmond Fellows, Veronica Mars)
Big News of the Week: Up Fronts: All the internet gossipers with their “sources” have been speculating for weeks what is in and what is out for the 2007-08 television season but all the rumor will be put to rest this week as all the networks unveils their schedules for next season. So everyone will know for sure if their favorite shows will be coming back and which nights. I’ll have my final wrap up Friday of what I’ll be watching as well as my preseason picks for best new shows.
Saturday Night Live: the 90’s: A thoroughly good retrospective of some of the best years in the history of the show. Some interesting stories including that the original cowbell skit failed in dress rehearsal earlier that season because it was Christopher Walken who made that skit, but I wonder who the original guest host was when the skit got cut. The early years were top heavy with the like of Sandler (who was conspicuously absent), Myers, Carvey, and Rock while the last half was carried by Norm MacDonald. Surprisingly they spent a decent amount of time on his firing. It is a shame the Burt Reynolds cross over didn’t happen because of it. Now it would be too easy to say the Celebrity Jeopardy was my favorite Norm scetch so here is my favorite on:
Flavor of Love Girls: Charm School: Mo’Nique is a moron. Seriously, she had a professional Speech and Debate dude their and she didn’t even respect his decision on who won. Not to mention it was obvious to me that the right team one. Download the latest episode on iTunes.
How I Met Your Mother: From my first impression, I called the show a televised version of a chick flick that is saved by the hilarity that is Barney, but not even Barney could save this week’s episode. Although the random dude, should I have known who that was, chasing Scooter (no relation) almost did. Check out the latest episode on Innertube.
Heroes: The whole snow-globe scene was cool, the rest of the episode, not so much. So we have Peter who knows that he is going to blow up th city, who instead of high tailing it out of the city to avoid that happening, instead goes in search of radioactive man, who is the very person that would cause him to blow up the season. And the show once again teases my greatest hope for the show, that Claire puts a bullet in the back of his head, killing him for good. Please let this be real this time. Check out the latest episode over at NBC.com.
Veronica Mars: Another reason to subscribe to the Veronica Mars Podcast; you learn little tidbits like Desmond Fellows dead band mate in the My Pretty Pony video was played by Rob Thomas. Also if you are a fan of the show, be sure to check out my Win a Copy of Neptune Noir Contest. Check out the latest episode over at CWTV.com or download over at iTunes.
Lost: I totally called Juliet pulling a swerve on the Other with Jack in on it. Now with that said let move to the bulk of the episode; what the frack was that? Not-Henry and Locke talking to a fracking invisible man? Are you fracking kidding me? The reason why eyepatch dude didn’t die was because the wattage apparently wasn’t high enough? That’s fracking lame. Future obscenities aside, I guess we learned a few thing this episode like Not-Henry was, in fact, not born on the island. Apparently The Hostiles don’t age, or at the very least the Hispanic one doesn’t. The Workman in the van was Not-Henry’s dad. But there were plenty of new questions like how did Not-Henry, an outsider to the group, become the leader of The Others? Why didn’t the Hostiles purge the people in the Pearl Station? Is the little girl dead? Is Locke really dead? The show must have one frack of a finale if it expects me, along with other viewers to wait eight months before the show starts up again. Check out the latest episodes over at ABC.com.
Survivor: Yau-Man may have made the best move in the history of Survivor. With six contestant left, he set into motion a plan that very well will put him into the top three. He used the immunity idol to get himself into the top five and if he or Earl gets immunity he’ll get into the top four where if he or Dreamz gets immunity he is automatically in the final (assuming there is a three person finale again). But it will all depend on if the jury rewards him for the plan or give the vote to someone else to spite him. Check out the latest episode on Innertube.
My Name Is Earl: Much better finale than last year with Earl hitting on Joy’s lawyer and the reveal that she was actually on his list and the shocking twist the Earl threw himself on the bomb went to jail for Joy. As great as the show is with Earl crossing things off his list, an Earl in jail so could be just as funny as long as Ralph signs onto the show full time. But I suspect Earl will be out, and most likely back in the motel, by the second episode next season. Check out the latest episode over at NBC.com or download on iTunes.
Next Week’s Pick: Smallville, Thursday, 8:00, The CW: There is something big going down of the season finale of the show. Unfortunately someone’s lack of spoiler warning has, well, spoiled me, but I’ll be turning in just the same. Not to mention, no one does humongous cliffhanger like Smallville.
Download these shows on Amazon UnBox and watch them on your computer or transfer them to your Tivo:
When the movie version of Friday Night Lights first came out I passed on it because most sports movies are all the same and really you cannot write anything better than Flutie’s Hail Mary, Gibson’s home run, or the many heartbreaks of Cleveland sports. But after going through a season of the hands down best new show of the season of the same name, I decided to finally give the film that it based on a try. My first assumption that you cannot write anything better than actual events in sports gets thrown out the window because the film is based on a true story, which can sometimes is a little dubious because you, as the viewer never really know exactly how much is real and how much was exaggerated by the writer (but be sure to see the excellent DVD extra interviewing the real Panthers to get a sense of what really went down).
Much like the show, the movie itself is inspired by a book by the same name, coincidentally written by H.G. Bissinger, the cousin of Peter Berg, writer and director of the movie and creator of the television show. Bissinger followed the Permian Panthers of Odessa Texas around for their 1988 season and did Bissinger pick a good season to chronicle. For those who have seen the show knows just how much Texans take the high school foottball and for those who haven’t, just for an example, whenever the team happened to lose, the coach would return tom his house where fans have placed a “For Sale” sign in his yard.
Even though the television show isa fictional account set in current day Dillon Texas, there are a few themes that overlap: Brash running back that referes to himself in a third person nickname, check; a quaterback with a maternal figure that has mental issues, check; star player goes down thretening any hopes at state, check; Connie Britton as the coach’s wife, check; hot cheerleaders in their mid-twenties, well you can’t have everything I guess. But there is the dude who plays Buddy Garrity with a mustashe.
The problems with the movies are definitely ironed out with the television show. Hot cheerleaders aside, with a twenty two hour television show we get to know the characters much better off the field which are rarely touched upon in the two hour movie. Most of the movie is dedicated to the football and even that is severely condenses to about four games. And at the end of the day, I’m taking Kyle Chandler over Billy Bob Thornton as my coach. But if there is one thing the movie does better is Tim McGraw (yes that Tim McGraw) as the former Panther standout turned disappointed, alcoholic dad of the current tailback. This was somewhat touched upon with Riggins’s dad, but the movie did a much better, and creeper, portrayal of the situation.
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.
When I first heard this song I liked it. It was breezy and soothing. With that said, this may be the cheesiest video of the year. Yeah I’ll take as many Mandy Moore’s as possible, but this whole tower of people is pretty lame, in a Third Eye Blind has already done it kind of way. Note to Mandy, if you are going for a new folksy sound, don’t make a big budget video that still looks cheap. Just go out to the local field with a dude and an acoustic guitar and look cute. That would have saved you a couple thousand dollars and would have been better on top of it.
It is doubtful this is the song that will lift Fountains of Wayne out of the pantheon of One Hit Wonders and the video is certainly missing Rachel Hunter, but it is entertaining in a sad kind of way. Seriously, no one should be resigned to watching King of Queens along. Actually is that show still on. Is this another Will and Grace situation where a show is still around five years after I though it was canceled?
I can’t say I really liked this song at first listen but all the sudden it showed up on my iPod and I’m really starting to dig it now. Yeah the video as a movie trailer has already been done by My Chemical Romance, but they suck massively (much apologies to all the fourteen year old white girls who aren’t cool enough to be cheerleaders) and Cold War Kids did a much better job with the noir themed trailer. Speaking of noir, don’t forget to check out my contest where you can Win a Copy of Neptune Noir. Okay, end shameless plug.
Found this little gem over at Tapeworthy and apparently Eva Avila is Canada’s top karaoker. What does it say about are karaokers when they can only come up with one song better than the top Canadian karaoker and the best karaoker in all of New Zealand, James Morrison put out a much better album than any of ours have. But anyways. And not did Eva create a much superior song to any song not named Since U Been Gone, so is certainly more attractive to any of our karaokers, winners or losers. I don’t know what it is, but the mismatched socks are uber-cute.
This contest has ended, congradulations to those that have won, if you did not win, you can order the book at the BenBella Books website. You can check out my review of Neptune Noir here: Well it's About a 17 Year Old Girl Who Happens to Be a Detective. Also any television fan who is dreading the upcoming summer without your favorite shows should check out other books in their Smart Pop Anthology Series including books dedicated to Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Simpsons, Gilmore Girls among others.
A must have for any fan of Veronica Mars, the good people over at BenBella Books have given me the opportunity to give away up to five (5) copies of Neptune Noir: Unauthorized Investigations into Veronica Mars. I got my advance copy a couple days ago and will have a review of it up in the next couple days but here is a synopsis:
More than just a high school drama, Veronica Mars is a smart and savvy teen detective show that offers complex mysteries and rapier wit, engaging social commentary, and noir sensibilities—with the occasional murder thrown in for good measure. This collection, edited by the creator and executive producer of the show, offers supreme insight into the class struggles and love stories of the series. Essays by top writers intelligently address a multitude of questions such as Is Veronica a modern-day vigilante? Why is a show that features rape, potential incest, and a teen girl outsmarting local authorities so popular with America’s conservative population? and Why is Veronica and Logan’s relationship the most important story-driving factor in the show?
So know you know what you will be getting, here is how you can enter the contest to win yourself. There are three different ways you can enter to win:
1. Name your two (2) favorite cases that Ronnie has worked on over the three season of the show, you are not allowed to pick more than one mini or full arc mysteries, and in a hundred (100) words or less tell me why they are your favorites.
2. For those that haven’t seen the show but want a good read, watch the first episode of the third season, Welcome Wagon, which you can download on iTunes or Amazon Unbox or stream it on MSN.com, and in a hundred (100) words or less, review the episode.
3. Link this contest on your blog or link it a message board (only one entry allowed per message board).
You can e-mail your entries to ScooterKSU(at)aol(dot)com (subject: Neptune Noir) or leave them here in the comment section (but if you leave a comment make sure there is an easy way for me to find how to contact you). If you link the contest, make sure you let me know somehow so you get credited with an entry. You may enter multiple times (up to three times), but can only win once. The contest ends Sunday, May 20th at 11:59 PM EST. The winners will be picked at random from all eligible entries and will be contacted shortly after. Also this contest is only open to people with shipping addresses in the Untied States or Canada.
Have a final tonight and I also have a take home final due today so again I will make some quick notes on last night’s episode of Veronica Mars. If you have yet to see the episode, you can stream Debasement Tapes over at CWTV.com or download it on iTunes or Amazon Unbox.
- You know a recurring character is a good one when you smile just by seeing them on screen much like with Jeff Ratner, Deputy Leo, and Vinnie Van Lowe.
- Something is fishy with Vinnie, well more than usual. He was on retainer for the Fitzpatricks then he “infiltrated” their gang; remember Danny Boyd was part of the heist, using just a cheap mustache. Boyd ain’t the smartest person in the class, but I’m sure even he could tell the difference. I have a feeling this was all a set up to get Vinnie into the race.
- There is just something entertaining about the way Ronnie says “Ratner.” Hopefully her falsely accusing him will become a running theme.
- When everyone argues Duncan or Logan, Logan or Piz, my favorite ex of Vee has always been Deputy Leo. And by the look on Ronnie’s face when he said they would be seeing more of each other seems that he may still have a shot.
- It was also good to see Piz’s hot boss again. I was hoping she would be recurring ever since Piz got the job but sadly has been MIA since. Hopefully we don’t have to wait long for another sighting.
- But the episode belonged to Paul Rudd. His radio interview was an instant classic. His new names for Piz were great. Dude can actually sing. Loved his argument with Keith (the Beatles are overrated by the way, had Brian Wilson had been shot in 1980 instead of John Lennon, everyone would be talking about how the Beach Boys were the greatest band ever, but anyways). And his conversation with Dick was hilarious.
- But as funny as Rudd was, Dick still had the funniest moment of the night as he watched himself “Ghost Riding the Whip.” The expression on my face was pretty much the same as his during that scene.
- I much prefer Max to Bronson. Although I would have loved to see Mac trying to play Ultimate.
- For some reason I know have a strange craving for Wrigley's Extra Gum.
I may have more to say this weekend about the episode during my weekly television round up. And be sure to stop by early tomorrow as I have big news (and by early I mean 4-ish).
As I was busy working on my major project last week, there a couple of albums worth reviewing that were released last we, here are a quick review of those:
Indiana - Jon McLaughlin
Aw, Indiana, the great state that has given us John Mellencamp, David Letterman and, un, certainly there has to be more, oh yeah, and Dan Quayle. The latest export from the Land of the Indians is singer-songwriter Jon McLaughlin who named his debut album after his home state. Unlike his fellow Hoosier, McLaughlin’s music in not distinctively Midwestern instead focuses on more uplifting fair of love in a small town. And instead of a guitar as his instrument of choice, he instead goes with the piano listing Billy Joel and Ben Folds as influences. But McLaughlin lacks the wit of Folds and the emotion of Joel leading to songs best fit to play over the speakers in your local supermarket with songs that won’t make you run for the exit but won’t make you stop and wonder who that was. Of course with Mother’s Day this weekend, Indiana would make the perfect gift if your mother doesn’t already have the latest Norah Jones album.
Indiana gets a on my Terror Alert Scale.
The Reminder - Feist
Speaking of exports, Canada doesn’t really have the best track record. It seems for every great artist like Sarah McLachlan or Neil Young we get, they send us artists like Avril Lavigne, Shania Twain, Sum 41, and Nickelback. The latest artist to come stateside from the Great White North is Feist (Leslie Fiest to her friends and family) and quickly became an indie queen. Her latest album, The Reminder, got some early buzz thanks to a really cool video (featured here not to long ago). On the album, Feist somehow is able to sound subdued yet have a big song, thanks to multi-instrument tracks, at the same time. When listing to The Reminder, it can seem longer than its fifty minutes which can be a good or bad thing depending on your mood. So thanks Canada for finally sending down some good music again, but not all is forgiven for Celine Dion yet.
During the nineties and before, record companies would con fans into buying movie soundtracks even though they may have only featured on artist they wanted to listen to much Ghostbusters II did so I could get the Bobby Brown song (hey I was young). But with the advent of downloading, which enables fans to pick and choosing their favorites without actually buying the whole album, has pretty much killed the movie soundtrack business. This hasn’t stopped Spider-Man from releasing a soundtrack for each of its movies full of songs that haven’t actually appeared in the movies sans the end credits. The beginning of the album is top heavy with songs from Snow Patrol, The Killers, and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs with songs not as good as anything on their most recent albums. The rest of the album is filled with modern rock bands most people have never heard of except stuck in the middle of the trainwreck is Chubby Checker’s version of The Twist. The most interesting song here (keep in mind interesting is not synonymous with the best) is The Flaming Lips’ The Supreme Being Teaches Spider-Man How to Be in Love, a song that follows a bout between the web slinger and Muhammad Ali of all people.
Quote of the Week: “I've been studied up, I watched My Super Sweet 16. That reminds me, you don't know where I can get a dozen eunuchs do you?” (Logan, Veronica Mars)
Song of the Week: Hurts So Good - John Cougar Mellencamp (Everybody Hates Chris)
Big News of the Week: Gilmore Girls Going, Studio 60 Coming Back: Okay so I have never watched Gilmore Girls except maybe the last five minutes of the current season as I prepare for Veronica Mars. But with its demise you got to wonder if this gives Veronica Mars a better chance to return next season now with three extra hours than The CW had last fall. The channel did green light fifteen pilots, a third of which were reality programs. Then there is Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip which is returning May 24 in ER’s timeslot.
Everybody Hates Chris: One of the main problems about doing an episode about dirty jokes is that you can’t actually tell them on national television. But they did do a clever thing avoid the seven words you can’t say on TV especially with Craig talking about his parents going back and forth calling each other four and five. Check out the latest episode on CWTV.com.
Heroes: Okay, Hollywood, I get it, George Bush is evil and exploited 9/11 for his own political gain. There is no need to continually put these not so thinly veiled allusions to him and his administration in your movies and television show. And when Heroes wasn’t exploiting someone exploiting a tragedy this week, they were totally ripping off the Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode where Cordelia wished herself into a parallel universe where Buffy never came to Sunnydale and everyone, sans Giles, ended up dieing. But will all the Heroes dieing in the future, why was Nikki the lone hero spared? What really bugged me about this whole thing is why did Future Hiro keep on going back to make sure everything happened to ensure Sylar didn’t blow up New York City but never thought to go back and kill Sylar himself? Speaking of Hiro, he gets a little to happy to see Ando when they have been apart and Future Hiro is uber depressed without him, could Hiro have a man crush on Ando? Check out the latest episode over at NBC.com.
Veronica Mars: Just an addition to I Like This Show, It’s Tawdry from earlier this week. Someone made a video of all the great elevator scenes in the show’s history (see below) and it is really interesting the elevator played a part with Ronnie catching Logan with Kendall and Logan catching Vee with Piz. On a side note, I am totally disappointed that Dick hasn’t accepted my friends request on MySpace. Check out the latest episode on CWTV.com or download it on iTunes.
Lost: Lost is really good this season for giving huge hints to their big reveals that when they are actually revealed, they are not that surprising (see Jack and Claire being siblings). After the last Locke-centric I wrote on this very blog, “how many seasons until we get the hyped, shocking revelation that the original Sawyer is Locke’s dad?” Okay so we didn’t have to wait that long, but it wasn’t any less shocking. The big new this episode was Juliet and Jack argued over whether to tell Kate something big, which of course this being Lost, they didn’t. I’m putting my money on her planning on turning on the Others and wanted to let Kate in on the kidnapping that is about to occur as Sawyer most likely impregnated her. Although assuming that Sun is also on the list, who is the third? Check out the latest episodes over at ABC.com.
Smallville: Loved the noir parts of the episode, the other part, not so much. They really should have made this more stand alone having only about five minutes of “real life.”
My Name Is Earl: Maybe I looked forward to the whole scratch and stiff way too much, or that the last two episode were two of the series best, but this episode was a bit of a let down. Sadly the funniest part of the show was in an interview the show’s creator gave complaining that he wasn’t given smell approval and not to blame him if the smells don’t quite smell like they should. Check out the latest episode over at NBC.com or download it on iTunes.
Next Week’s Pick: Lost, Wednesday, 10:00, ABC: It seems like every week I complain how useless the flashbacks are because there have been just way too many from Jack, Kate and Locke. And not so surprisingly the best episodes this season have been the Juliet and those random people centric one. Next week may top them all as we get flashbacks from a guy not named Henry.
Download these shows on Amazon UnBox and watch them on your computer or transfer them to your Tivo:
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.
This is the story of two Kelly Clarkson’s. You have the Clarkson in white, who is definitely serviceable. Then there is the creepy Clarkson who makes you realize why the dude in the song would drop her for somewhere else. The video oddly reminds me of Owner of a Lonely Heart without the animals and unfortunately she doesn’t force the dude to jump off a building. And as I said before, the song is no Since U Been Gone (or Behind These Hazel Eyes for that matter) but there is something I like about the lyric, “Give me that Sunday school answer.”
Rihanna is good for at least one good song per album. Okay she is good for only one good song per album. But Umbrella definitely isn’t going to be that one for her upcoming release. And you really have to blame Jay-Z, ever since he unretired, everything he has touched has been sub par; Déjà vu with Beyonce was a cheap rip off of Crazy in Love; Kingdom Come was a massive flop, and this song just plain sucks. And as much as I like moderately attractive chicks naked, that body paint made me feel like I was watching some creepy soft-core robot porn.
I would much rather Tom Morello to focus more on continuing the Rage Against the Machine reunion, as his Nightwatchman isn’t nearly as good, but this video is a good watch.
Do we really need a serious song and accompanying video from Bowling for Soup? Probably not. The video is a little too soap opera-y, but effective nonetheless.
![Terror Alert Level: Elevated [YELLOW]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6-iVFV0hXCTSYP16K_V0Rrxp3GqFrtBIJKeTUyQ2LpxZQ9XKHFj6QGtqqa7oxhLadLV8vUj8R84AftD8IKUSfN0u_u0CYDtJwhrpCPN2DBWquAIDv0jbVlhZL0mDFKlPKluGyxw/s400/small_elevated.png)
on my Terror Alert Scale.
![Terror Alert Level: High [ORANGE]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhebDZ0qqwOVKMZj7oFSUe8Hm3ax54U9Hp1fThJPgiddTyzcdwx_5SV6E3b7hkKyxbaDiym4COmUXT2YJnsKCUjBHI_a2xZtNoY7qFQRslP5AGO5gLkJwn2ZbO0wIF80ycbKrgPPA/s400/small_high.png)
on my 
![Terror Alert Level: Severe [RED]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidjcsCV5I3jWQDVTcnVoXbArSx3kHl02FZ8FkOHBBKP2w8mQulcCF614SIw1GjuB2JtKV2YcQOKXtMlnW2ulLSOvYvvXzDwZ3JF4Mlh0Dt2nfEL1oGLh0sk7O-GRHWbCPvJmMMKg/s400/small_severe.png)
on my 
1. Name your two (2) favorite cases that Ronnie has worked on over the three season of the show, you are not allowed to pick more than one mini or full arc mysteries, and in a hundred (100) words or less tell me why they are your favorites.![Terror Alert Level: Guarded [BLUE]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzCbHfExiuXqojow1zxkBUX6j-9BHg9IyrfzqR77jnja2Xq6dbv-7iiqMFzp_UKXGcUF9FyAHqCkNxa5uitXa5Xu2Q1OboN9-TLjsaeI1a2eoGLORU4vkTQ54l1C-_cZyn81QHyQ/s400/small_guarded.png)
on my 