In a story I broke yesterday, 90’s disposable pop is back. We learned that with the Britney Spears Blackout (see Part 1), she should have stayed in the 90’s. Today it is the kings of disposable pop, the Backstreet Boys, attempt to be relevant almost a decade after their heyday. And while we are talking disposable 90’s pop, a happy birthday today to Rob van Winkle himself, Vanilla Ice. On a completely unrelated note, a melancholy happy trails to Robert Goulet.
Unbreakable - Backstreet Boys
The new Backstreet Boys album Unbreakable is notable as it is the first from the group as a quartet. One can assume the fifth one is too busy hosting Don’t Forget the Lyrics or something to be bothered with recording. But it is not like the group is Boyz II Men who are losing a tenor; the Backstreet Boys all basically just sing the melody anyways except when the weird one does some vocal gymnastics at the end of the song.
Unlike Britney Spears who thinks she could still make relevant dance music despite girls out there today with better voices, bodies, and ten years less mileage, the Backstreet Boys are trying to age gracefully. Yeah there are a few dance tracks like the first track (after the acapella opening) Everything but Mine but the bulk of the album fall much more into the adult contemporary category with the group acting like a five four-headed Richard Marx. I would venture to say there is more piano on this album than their previous ones combines. Yeah there is nothing karaoke worthy here as I Want it That Way, but then again there really are not that many other songs that are besides Glory Days, When Doves Cry, and Endless Love.
With that said, Unbreakable is extremely boring. We are talking the album could stop for no reason and you may not even notice for an hour that it did boring. And cheesy metaphors like, “I’m a house of cards in a hurricane” (Helpless When She Smiles) and the most over used line in songwriting history, “How come you never know what you got until it’s gone?” (Trouble Is) are not helping things. But the most inexplicable part of the album was Treat Me Right, which happens to be the worst song on the album was co-written by N’Syncer JC Chasez. What’s next, a member of Kris Kross helping out on the next Another Bad Creation album? Prince helping Michael Jackson write a song for him? Are there any religious scholars out there that can tell us if this is a sign of the apocalypse?
Back in 1999 there were no two bigger acts than Britney Spears and the Backstreet Boys. They had the top two selling albums that year along with two of the top five biggest singles. Britney was eventually showed up by Christina Aguilera who could actually sing while the Backstreet Boys were forgotten during the crappy pseudo-punk era of this decade. While most of the rest of their ilk have moved on to movies, Broadway, reality shows, or just obscurity, both Britney and the Boys are still trying to hang on to those late nineties hey-day by dropping albums today.
Blackout - Britney Spears
On a remix of Jadakiss’ Why, Common pondered, “Why they hype Britney up, they know she cant sing?” The simple answer was she could sell albums. Back when she was the number one pop princess she got the best songwriters, producers, and chorographer and elaborate stage shows. But all those people a currently working with the likes of Rihanna and the Pussycat Dolls. So instead of working with someone like Timbaland, Britney had to settle for a Timbaland lackey Nate Hills to help write and produce half of the songs on Blackout which come out sounding just a step above the Paris Hilton album. What’s worse if he starts speaking over Gimme More talking about how amazing Britney is. Who does he think he is, Puff Daddy? At least Diddy had a few actually hit under his belt before he pulled that stuff.
Without Max Martin or Diane Warren around, the lyrics are even worse than stale beats. E-Mail My Heart seems Dylanesque compared to some of the songs on Blackout. Piece of Me is Britney’s backlash at the press and paparazzi which would have been a little more meaningful had she actually had a hand in writing it. Hot as Ice, co-written by T-Pain, is just one cheesy metaphor after another. And yes she also mentions in the song that she is also “Cold as fire.” Then Get Naked (I Got a Plan) and Freakshow, where Britney inexplicably raps, will most likely be Exhibit U and V in Kevin Federline’s plan to get full custody.
The songs basically are just one bad techno track bleeding into each other which may work at a rave while on mind altering drugs, but for those of you that are sober, the album is as bad as you could expect. But at least Britney can in solace that it is better than her ex-husband’s. But not by much. Here is usually where I suggest a song to download but you are better off saving your money. Unless of course you are one of those annoying semi-ironic people, then go ahead and get the “It’s Britney (expletive deleted)” ringtone so you can be the biggest tool on your block.
The good people over at FX were kind enough to hook me up with the first two episodes of Nip/Tuck but before I get into the review of what I have seen a little breakdown of the post just in case you want to avoid anything you do not want to know. The first couple paragraphs will be a quick synopsis to get you caught up on the happenings of McNamara/Troy with some mild thematic and casting spoilers of the first episode that premieres tomorrow at 10:00 on FX. If you hate spoilers you may want to come back after you have seen the first episode. I will also clearly mark when I talk about the second episode. You have been warned.
As I have stated before, I have shied away from Nip/Tuck because I have a low threshold for blood and have been told that the surgery scenes are extremely graphic despite hearing good thing about the show. But sometimes you have to bite the bullet (or in my case having my hands ready to cover my eyes like a five year old girl allowed to watch Friday the 13th for the first time).
The show picks up a couple months after last season, and the boys are moved into their new practice on Rodeo Drive. In the plastic surgery capital of the world and the newly single Sean and the always look Christen would be having the times of their lives. Instead they quickly learn they are just a very small fish in a very large pond. So the boys take matters into their own hands to round up some clients at a local nightclub and found something you need almost as much in Los Angeles as client: a publicist in the form of Lauren Hutton.
Carly Summers, the name of the episode refers to Daphne Zuniga, a client of Hutton’s. And wouldn’t you know it she lands them a consultant job on the hit show Hearts and Scalpels staring Bradley Cooper as a hilariously overacting prima donna as well as Paula Marshall as the serious actor who gets all the nominations but hides a dark past (this is Nip/Tuck). Then there is the neurotic Oliver Platt as the creator of the show and the always good for a laugh Jennifer Coolidge as a patient on the show. Also expect Tia Carrere to stop by.
The show within a show is actually as entertain if not more entertain than the actual show. But don’t expect to see Julia in the first episode; she doesn’t visit LA until the second episode and Matt and Kimber are completely MIA for the first two aside from a voice over. But Liz did make the trip across the country with the boys. And for you die-hards, you will be glad to know that there are plenty of expletive surgery scenes and gratuitous male nudity in the first episode.
Nip/Tuck airs Tuesdays at 10:00 on FX.
Review of Second Episode Airing November 1st
So by the second episode, thanks to the show, McNamara/Troy is booked and quickly assimilating themselves to the LA lifestyle. Thanks to his speaking role on the show, Sean is dating a co-star (or at least that’s is what he wants people to think after Julia lets it be known she is going to move in with someone) and Christen is getting some attention of his own after he poses for some risqué pictures. The case of the week, Joyce and Sharon Monroe, focuses on two dueling Marilyn Monroe impersonator who try look more like the real thing than the other with each being backed by the opposing doctors. Also in the episode we learn of Marshall’s dark hidden secret and we even meet Julia’s new love. Also expect an appearance by Portia de Rossi.
Quote of the Week: What is the rate of exchange on the life of a bird because if equal to or greater than mine I gotta get back to my car. (Emerson, Pushing Daisies)
Song of the Week: Living in America - James Brown (Everybody Hates Chris)
Big News of the Week: Subscribe to My Comments: I could complain on how bad the Blogger comment system is but you get what you pay for so it is hard to complain about something that is free. But this week Blogger introduced a cool new function where you can subscribe to the comments where any further comments will be e-mailed to you (keep in mind it is e-mailed to whatever address your Google account is for). I was never sure what the protocol was for replying to comments, usually I reply in the comment section and by e-mail if I have it, but from now on I will assume that if you have left a comment you have subscribed to that comment if you wanted a response. Then you can always come back and respond to my response or other people’s comments and so on and so on. So feel free to try that out sometime soon, even on this post if you see fit.
Gratuitous Token Hot Chick Picture of the Week:
Chuck: Another episode ruined by too much Morgan. They really need to leave the comedy to Captain Awesome and Jayne because Morgan just ends up being more annoying than funny. Even all the other Buy More employees are more entertaining than him. Check out the latest episodes over at NBC.com. You can also download Chuck on iTunes.
How I Met Your Mother: Every once in a while something takes you out of a show early to the point that you can’t enjoy the rest of it, and the show totally ripping of the classic Just a Friend really irked me that I could never get into the show this week. C’mon, if you are going to call a girl Blah Blah, you at the very least mention she had 9/10 pants and a very big bra. Check out the latest episodes over at Innertube. You can also download How I Met Your Mother on iTunes.
The Big Bang Theory: Loved the bit of the whole week was Sheldon after finding the scarf on the doorknob from getting the Token hot Chick to figure out what the symbolism was, including how he was like twelve when he was in college, all the way to him squirming on the couch until morning. Check out the latest episodes over at Innertube. You can also download or The Big Bang Theory on iTunes.
Heroes: Leave it up to Heroes to set the bar so low they could step over it only to still find a way to limbo over it. Sure I want Veronica Mars to still be on the air, but there really was no reason to write Elle to be Ronnie but evil complete with an inner dialogue. Of course without a narration Elle had to do hers out loud. But the biggest crime was how little screen time Bell got. About ninety percent of it was already show in the promo from last week. And I could care less who Elle’s dad is unless of course it turns out to be Enrico Colantoni. But then again I’m not sure I could stand to hear another Mars alum recite horrible dialogue. With that aside, don’t forget to check out Oddsmaker: Who Is Under the Hoodie to bet on who is killing The Company members. I guess I can scratch off my far fetched Jessica and Kristen Bell ideas. Check out the latest episode over at NBC.com.
Journeyman: By far this was the strongest story of the week with the Vietnam vet hijacking a plane to help get a family that nursed him back to health out of Cambodia. Although back in the present, I didn’t care for the continuation of the gun in the gala last week. And unfortunately it looks like that may continue again with the guy still being in the hospital. If I were a betting man I would put money on the dude in the hospital being part of Dan’s journey sometime soon. Check out the latest episode over at NBC.com. You can also download Journeyman on iTunes.
Pushing Daisies: I was a little disappointed at first when Olive passed up the chance to out Chuck this week but after thinking about it, it was the better decision not to yet because Olive hanging out with the aunts is becoming yet another great part of the show proving all the people that thought Olive was the weak part of the show wrong. But the best part of the show is it is the only procedural where I cannot guess the outcome with good percentage because all the cases are so out there and I can just sit back and enjoy the show without over thinking every clue because I know there is no way I am gong to guess correctly. Check out the latest episodes over at ABC.com.
Bionic Woman: I didn’t give up the show completely but was more reading with the TV on, that is until Jamie started to speak with a British accent, which instantly turned her into uber-hot. I like how the tech dude that reminds me of a nerdier version of Herc from Friday Night Lights, who is the best part of the show, ok the only good part of the show, called her out for using the accent when she didn’t need to. I’m guessing this was an attempt of the show to be tongue in cheek (and failing) considering the actress is actually British. This begs the question with all the fake Americans on television these days where are the real British characters? I don’t think there has been one since a pre-fame Sienna Miller on Keen Eddie. Way to go with that one Fox. Check out the latest episodes over at NBC.com.
My Name Is Earl: There was nothing funnier on television this week than the “Enjoy Yourself: You Earned It” poster with the picture of Coach on it on the door of the conjugal visit room. The least funny on television this week was anything else involving Michael Rappaport. Can he just get shived already? Check out the latest episodes over at NBC.com. You can also download My Name Is Earl on iTunes.
Survivor: Wow, this has to be the most inept group of Survivors ever. Between the inability of Denise to beat James and Frosti finding out about the immunity idol I thought Todd’s head was going to explode because he seems like the only one there with a half a brain cell. And it was a little shady after saying last week he would never throw a challenge that he was quick to do so this week. Check out the latest episode over at Innertube.
Smallville: There is something to say about The Big Bang Theory when all I could think about when Lana was thrown off the building was Sheldon’s diatribe a couple weeks ago about the scientific inaccuracy of Superman catching Lois Lane.
Friday Night Lights: I really couldn’t get into the episode this week because my sister paid me Friday and brought her Devil Dogg (no seriously, it was born on 6/6/06) and since she just finished season one and hasn’t started season two yet I had to spend too much time explaining what has happened over the past couple episodes so I really need to rewatch this episode to fully enjoy it. One thing that I did catch and really appreciated was when the Tennessee coach came over to the Taylor’s to confront Coach Taylor foe being butch league. Ever since it was hinted that Taylor was coming back to Dillon I knew it would end up being shady to how he got back to being coach of the Panthers and I am glad that the writers had the piece of mind to point that out. Although the old coach saying they may meet again gives me a weird feeling they may meet in the playoffs ala Voodoo last year and that may be a little cheesy. But as much problems I had with this episode, next week’s promo looks real good (see below). Check out the latest episodes over at NBC.com.
Promo of the Week:
Next Week’s Pick: Nip/Tuck, Tuesday at 10:00 on FX: I am going to go into more detail on this show tomorrow when I preview the first two episodes of the new season.
You may best remember Jimmy Eat World from their huge hit earlier this decade, The Middle. Unfortunately fore some that will be your only memory of Jimmy Eat World even though they are one of the great rock bands of the past ten years. Unlike the fellow emo bands they get lumped in, they are not as uber-depressing enough for the shoe gazers that are into that scene, but haven’t recorded something that has been as accessible to the soccer moms as The Middle.
With their fifth album, Chase This Light, it looks like the group is doing their best to open themselves up to a wider audience by bringing in Butch Vig, who produce some of the biggest alternative albums of the early nineties before becoming the drummer for Garbage, to polish their latest album. And more polished it does sound. The opening song Big Casino is the loudest song on the album with a layered guitar crunch, but doesn’t come close to the bombast of previous rocker like Pain from the last album.
That is followed by Let it Happen which features the head scratching chorus, “I can laugh it off. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha.” Jim Adkins has written some deep, introspective, and uplifting lyrics on the previous albums so certainly he could have come up with something better than laughing through a chorus. Luckily that is the only misstep on the album. The finger snapping intro of Always Be and the power pop of all of two and a half minutes of Feeling Lucky could get them back on Adult Contemporary radio stations that made The Middle a hit.
Elsewhere the haunting bassline, the soft vocals, and strings at the end of Gotta Be Somebody’s Blues makes it a stand out track and adds some depth to the album. Here it Goes almost has an underlining techno beat over the guitars and hand claps that could actually make the song danceable. But it is the title track that seems like all their great songs crammed into one song with its driving bass that builds the song into a great uplifting song for any occasion. Then the album closes out with the emotional punch of Dizzy. If you have forgotten about Jimmy Eat World after The Middle faded from the radio, it is time to pick up Chase This Light to get reintroduced.
Earlier this month, Santana released a greatest hits album, Ultimate Santana with an auspicious track list that may or may not have been compiled by monkeys. Seriously, the song with Steven Tyler is included? Two versions of The Game of Love? Two appearances by the dude from Nickleback? But anyways. Unfortunately my favorite song in Santana’s recent grab random singers catalogue was not included on the hits package: Nothing at All with Musiq Soulchild from the Shaman album. Now if I were ever to audition for some lame national karaoke contest, this would be the song I would sing. Fun fact: the song was written by Rob Thomas (of Matchbox Twenty fame, not Veronica Mars).
You know a song is a hidden gem when there is only one YouTube video featuring the song. (Granted there are about five random people singing the song into their webcams.) I have no clue what the video that goes along with the video is for and the song doesn’t actually start until the fourteen second mark. But it is worth the listen.
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.
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.
Nip/Tuck returns this coming Tuesday, October 30th on FX and for those in the greater Los Angeles I have a treat for you. Tomorrow (Wednesday, October 25th) is the unveiling of the new Hollywood & Highland McNamara/Troy offices from 6:30 – 8:30pm. Bystanders will see into McNamara/Troy’s waiting room, featuring a live “patient” and will get a voyeuristic view into the plastic surgeons’ exam room as they remove the bandages from a beautiful patient.
Dylan Walsh (“Dr. Sean McNamara”) and Julian McMahon (“Dr. Christian Troy”) will see themselves for the first time in holographic form and will also be available to meet with fans for an autograph signing. Click below to enlarge the official invitation:
But for those of you like me that are not close to sunny LA (unfortunately it is starting to feel like autumn here as it barely got above 50 today) you can stream the event at http://www.mcnamaratroyla.com/losangeles/ (keep in mind I assume the time is PST so take that in account when tuning in). But you can check out the site now as it has exclusive video, an image gallery, and you can even get McNamara/Troy to make a house call to a friend (and by house call I mean they will call them). It also has driving directions to their office for those that can make it in person. And be on the look out for my review of the season opener coming soon.
Despite being a ratings juggernaut, American Karaoke has failed to launch that many careers after the karaokers have to start singing there own music. In six seasons only Kelly Clarkson has been able to produce two hit albums, although two may be her shelf life as her third album has bombed and her concert downgraded due to lack of sales. But on the bright side for Kelly, this moves her one step closer to hanging out with Topanga in the Surreal Life house.
Hoping to join her in the former karaoker two hit club is Carrie Underwood, whose first album Some Hearts (see my review: Oh, There’s Nothing Like Oklahoma) recently overtook Clarkson’s Breakaway as the highest selling post-karaoke album ever. But again, don’t feel too bad for Clarkson because she will soon get to bunk with Skee-Lo. And considering CMT recently devoted six straight hours of playing her new video for So Small, a second hit album is on the way.
Where the first album seemed to alternate between country and pop songs, the follow up Carnival Ride is a strictly honky-tonk affair. That is not a good thing because that means some of the country songs that you listen to and feel your IQ drop sneak onto the album in the form of filler. This no more evident than on The More Men I Meet where Carrie pontificates why the only male for her is one walks on all four and waves his tail. The worst of all though is when Carrie gets back to her karaoke roots with a cover of I Told You So by Randy Travis which would have been best left on the cutting room floor.
Then some of the better songs are just rehashes from the first album. So Small could have been called Jesus Take the Wheel part II with its religious themes. And if So Small is a sequel, then Last Name might very well be a prequel to Before He Cheats telling a tale of how the two met before the dude began to stray. But the problem with that Before He Cheats without the woman scorned angle just isn’t as entertaining with silly lines like, “It started out , ‘hey cutie where ya from?’ and turned into ‘oh no what have I’ve done?’” Maybe you should go back to singing Shania Karaoke.
That is not to say the album is completely lost, Carnival Ride starts off with banjo heavy Flat on the Floor, a ballroom brawler that is good as the Dixie Chicks at their angriest which includes the Led Zeppelin like, “Baby, baby, baby” line. Then there is the emotional roller coaster of Just a Dream seen through the eyes of a military wife at her husband’s funeral. And the powerful I Know You Won’t is the leading candidate of songs that the next batch of karaoker will fight over during Carrie Underwood night.
The highlight of the album though is the album closer Wheel of the World which not surprisingly is the least country song on the album. The song is a better written, lyrically and musically, version of So Small. Hopefully this is the direction Underwood takes for the third album or she just may be playing pool with the dude from My Two Dads not named Paul Reiser before Clarkson does.
It really isn’t a good sign for Heroes when people are spending more talking about how boring this season is then debating who the black hooded sweatshirt person who shoved Sulu over the building was (is it Adam Sandler, Bill Belichicken, the Unabomber?) which I am assuming is the big whodidit of the season. But with the first appearance of Kristen Bell tonight, of which I am equally excited for (because its Veronica Mars) and dreading (because its Veronica Mars reciting horrible dialogue surrounded by bad actors), I thought I would throw the show a bone and run down the odds of who could be killing off The Company members one by one. Even though anything is possible in this show, I think it is safe to say since they are nowhere near New York City that you can rule out the Bennett’s, the Wonder Twins and Syler, but I think almost everyone else could be a suspect. Go ahead and place your bets in the comment section*.
The Invisible Man (1000:1) - The hooded person seemed to disappear and dude definitely had a grudge against The Company. But that last time we saw him, he seemed content of being left alone, plus that was a long time ago.
Heidi Petrelli/Janise Parkman (500:1) - They both seemed normal but every other Heroes has been linked romantically to another Heroes, so I wouldn’t be surprised that either of them turn out to have one. Both also have been mentioned a couple times so it is only a matter of time before they show up again. But neither really have a motive at this point.
Kristen Bell (100:1) - I was rooting for Bell’s character to be the boogieman but we found that to be Parkman’s dad. Yawn. Being the hooded person seems a little far fetched at this point as from the promo she looks to be in Ireland but the show does have some timeline issues so not out of the realm of possibility that she flew out after the two hits. And maybe her ability is teleportation, which would make both hits probable. Plus I got a distinct chick vibe from the attacker.
Future Hiro (95:1) - Hiro has already come back from the future to warn of eminent danger before and since it is a different future now there may be a different threat. But since Ando is now alive, he won’t be cool Hiro anymore so Future Hiro may be too busy in the future with his man crush with him.
Mohinder (75:1) - It has been established that everyone who is blood related to each other are Heroes also. Well all except Mohinder whose sister is but he isn’t. Or is he and he doesn’t know it? Here’s my theory: when asleep, Mohinder sleep walks and uses his power of teleportation to do the killing.
Takezo Kensei (55:1) - We know that Kensei can heal himself, but what if his true power is more than that and he cannot die ever. It is obvious that his symbol keeps showing up isn’t a coincidence but maybe it wasn’t passed down and adopted by a new generation but he himself imported it and made it the symbol of The Company and now want to destroy the very thing he helped create for whatever reason.
The Field (50:1) - Do you have Micah, the Haitian, Mr. Muggles, or anyone else not mentioned, this is where you place you bets
Jessica (40:1) - We really haven’t seen much of Niki this season and I am pretty sure that we have yet to see Jessica. What if the reason why Niki is sick is that Jessica actually split from her body and she can’t like without her sister. And while on her own she is the one killing the remaining Company members because Linderman arranged that if anything happened to him, she would take the rest out.
A Charter Member of The Company We Haven’t Met (30:1) - The conversation between Sulu and Mama Petrelli made it sound like it was a fellow Company member that was doing it and since the only other members we have met are currently dead except for Mama and the Golden Dude.
Mama Petrelli (25:1) - As one of the few Members we have seen alive, it wouldn’t put it past me that she faked her own attack to get people off her trail.
Papa Petrelli/Linderman/Shaft (20:1) - They are also charter members of The Company the only difference is they are all dead. But by my count, Papa Petrelli’s son has come back from the dead about five too many times. And one of my biggest problems with Heroes was they killed off Shaft early in the show. Seriously, why kill off a bad mother… well maybe I should just shut my mouth. But he did show up in what may or may not been a dream sequence late last season and I wouldn’t be surprised if he isn’t back this season.
Parkman’s Dad (7:1) - He is a member of The Company and has already been revealed as the Boogieman so I wouldn’t put it past the Heroes writers to make him the hooded killer too.
Future Peter (5:1) - It is pretty clear that the hooded person went over the edge with Sulu so either that person can fly, heal from the compact with the concrete or teleport, all of which Peter can do.
Before you go to the comment section to tell me who you are putting your money on* I want to quickly mention another show that premiere today. For those that enjoyed the ABC Family show Greek over the summer, you may want to head over to Virtualrush.com where six people are competing for a walk on role on the show for an online reality show Rush’d which will follow the six around for a hometown visit, a photo shoot, set visit to meet the cast as well as their audition for the producers. Then during the week of November 19-23 the Virtual Rush community will vote for their favorite finalists. At right is Laura Wise a.k.a. WhiteCup, the contestant who I’ll be voting for because 1) she’s also from Ohio, 2) she’s the most attractive.
* This game is strictly for entertainment purposes only, no money is meant to change hands. Unless of course you would like to donate to the Scooter McGavin Is Poor Fund.
When you are given the nickname Scooter McGavin you are required to enjoy anything by Adam Sandler. Sandler has made this easy by making movies that are essentially the same where he plays some sort of buffoon who screams and breaks things while being, or being surrounded by, sophomoric morons. Even his much touted serious role in Punch-Drunk Love didn’t deviate that far from the formula.
On the other hand Reign Over Me was truly Sandler’s chance at a serious role where he plays a former dentist who has shut himself off from the world after his wife, three daughters and dog were on one of the planes that crashed into the Twin Towers. Yeah, the role did call for Sandler to scream a couple times, but instead the screaming came from a place of pain, not for comic effect of a raving buffoon.
But the movie really belongs to Don Cheadle (Hotel Rwanda) as Sandler’s college roommate who has since lost touch with him after graduation even after trying to get in touch with him after September 11th to give his condolences. That is until a chance encounter with Sandler who is now channeling Bob Dylan with unkept graying hair whose mood can change on a dime if he thinks you are even coming close to bringing up the event he has spent nearly five years to forget.
This comes at a point where Cheadle looks to be hitting his midlife crisis. He can’t talk to his wife, Jada Pickett Smith (The Nutty Professor), anymore, he routinely creates a “chance” encounter with a psychiatrist, Liv Tyler (Empire Records), in his building so he can ask her questions about a “friend,” and an off kiltered patient is making his job harder when she makes advantages toward him. Running into an old college roommate who doesn’t talk to anyone, rides around scooter everywhere with his earphones blaring, and spends his free time (which seems to be every minute of the day) either remodeling his kitchen or playing Shadow of the Colossus the most normal thing in his life all day.
Does Sandler shine in this serious role? For the most part. There is a scene at the end where Sandler goes into scream mode where I couldn’t help laughing even though I felt bad because of the seriousness of the scene. But there are two very strong monologues he does give in the film which are up there with Cheadle very strong performance.
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.
For those of you that like Amy Winehouse but can do without all the cursing, the creepy beehive, and the imminent drug overdose, I have an artist for you: Sharon Jones. Much like Winehouse, Sharon sounds like an old, overweight black lady, but unlike Winehouse she actually is an old overweight black lady, and if we have learned anything from Aretha Franklin, the amount of soul someone is directly proportional to their waistline.
The similar sounds to the two artists are thanks to the Dap-Kings, the backing band for Jones who also appeared on Winehouse’s Back in Black thanks to their new found friend Mark Ronson. But Where back to Black sounded like a retro ode to sixties soul tunes, the third album from Jones and the boys, 100 Days, 100 Nights sounds like it come out of the Stax recording studio.
It hard to say who is more valuable on the disk, Jones or the Kings. Jones sings from her soul without having to wave her hand like some of the modern day pop princesses while the Dap-Kings are crisp throughout positioning themselves as the greatest house band since Booker T & the MG’s. Whoever you decide on, we can at least agree that it is a good thing the two hooked up.
This has almost inadvertently become A Tribe Called Quest month with a couple of posts dedicated to the seminal rap group (and another on the way), but if any group deserves a month in their honor it would be Q-Tip, Phife Dawg and crew. And if you only have room for one A Tribe Called Quest song on your iPod, Award Tour should be that song.
The song is the one that really got me into A Tribe Called Quest. I had appreciation for their first two albums, but for the most part when they came out I was your token annoying suburbanite kid that listened to mostly hardcore gangsta rap. But Midnight Marauders came out right around the time I was widening my musical spectrum and Award Tour had this refreshing jazzy vibe compared to all the P-Funk and James Brown samples coming from the gangsta.
The song, which feature fellow Native Tongues members De La Soul on the track and in the video, also taught me an important lesson that, “You can be white and blue but don’t crap the roll.” So give the song a listen and if it isn’t already there consider feeding your iPod.
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.
Quietly a couple weeks ago Amazon launched its own music download store, the aptly title Amazon MP3 store. This is noteworthy compared to the other online music stores that still get crushed by iTunes is that Amazon MP3 is the first online store that offers DRM-free songs from major record labels. For you non computer geeks out there DRM (Digital Rights Media) is what keeps you from putting songs you download from iTunes on other MP3 players, tells you how many computers you can put the song or how many times you can burn a song to CD. So songs downloaded from Amazon MP3 are free for you to do whatever you want with them like the ones you downloaded from Napster years ago. Granted this also means they have significantly less number of songs than any other music store. Here is what Amazon says about its new store:
Amazon MP3 offers Earth's biggest selection of a la carte, DRM-free MP3 music downloads. With over 2 million songs from more than 180,000 artists represented by over 20,000 major and independent labels, Amazon MP3 complements Amazon.com’s existing selection of over 1 million CDs to offer customers more selection of physical and digital music than any other retailer.
Every song and album on Amazon MP3 is available exclusively in the MP3 format without digital rights management (DRM) software. This means that Amazon MP3 customers are free to enjoy their music downloads using any hardware device; organize their music using any music management application, and burn songs to CDs.
Most songs are priced from 89 cents to 99 cents, with more than 1 million of the 2 million songs priced at 89 cents. The top 100 best-selling songs are 89 cents, unless marked otherwise. Most albums are priced from $5.99 to $9.99. The top 100 best-selling albums are $8.99 or less, unless marked otherwise.
Every song on Amazon MP3 is encoded at 256 kilobits per second, which gives customers high audio quality at a manageable file size.
For those of you like me that like to dip their toes in the pool before diving in, the store is offering a free download of Energy by The Apples in Stereo where you can test out their product without actually spending the money. It only take a couple minutes to set thing up, it is no way as near as frustrating as the Unbox set up and download, and you should have the song playing within five minutes.
For anyone who is interested I will keep a link to Amazon MP3 on my sidebar for easy access from the 9th Green (full disclosure: I get a whopping 20% commission, granted that is only 20 cents per song, but I would be able to buy that gumball I’ve been eyeballing) and you can always buy the songs through the album ad for Amazon I post in every music review. And since the songs are DRM-free and sometimes cheaper (DRM-Free songs on iTunes are $1.29 per song), it is always worth looking to see if Amazon has it first before buying from iTunes. For fun below is a widget featuring songs from my list of 100 Best Songs of 2006 below (for those keeping track at home, only 22 songs on the list are available through Amazon MP3):
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.
![Terror Alert Level: Guarded [BLUE]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzCbHfExiuXqojow1zxkBUX6j-9BHg9IyrfzqR77jnja2Xq6dbv-7iiqMFzp_UKXGcUF9FyAHqCkNxa5uitXa5Xu2Q1OboN9-TLjsaeI1a2eoGLORU4vkTQ54l1C-_cZyn81QHyQ/s400/small_guarded.png)
on my Terror Alert Scale.
![Terror Alert Level: Low [GREEN]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV5jUNMqnrEt-A-laO7HQcvH_2mssvEmU-3Ljc21QB95bE8gBS-ozxxmgUMEDQnUAPq4VYFmBlF5RIkGoiRjdCR8euNAtMTAaPmay8ZF4Lg3LY4TNqjAOq_3qDmalmC9AxLMIoVw/s400/small_low.png)
on my 
. Way to go with that one Fox. Check out the latest episodes over at 
![Terror Alert Level: High [ORANGE]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhebDZ0qqwOVKMZj7oFSUe8Hm3ax54U9Hp1fThJPgiddTyzcdwx_5SV6E3b7hkKyxbaDiym4COmUXT2YJnsKCUjBHI_a2xZtNoY7qFQRslP5AGO5gLkJwn2ZbO0wIF80ycbKrgPPA/s400/small_high.png)
on my 
with an auspicious track list that may or may not have been compiled by monkeys. Seriously, the song with Steven Tyler is included? Two versions of The Game of Love? Two appearances by the dude from Nickleback? But anyways. Unfortunately my favorite song in Santana’s recent grab random singers catalogue was not included on the hits package: Nothing at All with Musiq Soulchild from the Shaman album. Now if I were ever to audition for some lame national karaoke contest, this would be the song I would sing. Fun fact: the song was written by Rob Thomas (of Matchbox Twenty fame, not 
![Terror Alert Level: Elevated [YELLOW]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6-iVFV0hXCTSYP16K_V0Rrxp3GqFrtBIJKeTUyQ2LpxZQ9XKHFj6QGtqqa7oxhLadLV8vUj8R84AftD8IKUSfN0u_u0CYDtJwhrpCPN2DBWquAIDv0jbVlhZL0mDFKlPKluGyxw/s400/small_elevated.png)
on my 
didn’t deviate that far from the formula.
) as Sandler’s college roommate who has since lost touch with him after graduation even after trying to get in touch with him after September 11th to give his condolences. That is until a chance encounter with Sandler who is now channeling Bob Dylan with unkept graying hair whose mood can change on a dime if he thinks you are even coming close to bringing up the event he has spent nearly five years to forget.
), anymore, he routinely creates a “chance” encounter with a psychiatrist, Liv Tyler (
), in his building so he can ask her questions about a “friend,” and an off kiltered patient is making his job harder when she makes advantages toward him. Running into an old college roommate who doesn’t talk to anyone, rides around scooter everywhere with his earphones blaring, and spends his free time (which seems to be every minute of the day) either remodeling his kitchen or playing 
the most normal thing in his life all day.
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.
