Just how predictable have you become when a magazine gives you a negative review without actually listening to your album? In The Black Crowes defenses, how can you take a music review from Maxim seriously when they are best know for bringing you pictures of a half named Avril Lavigne? Still, you are not going to be too surprised with what you hear on Warpaint, the first album from the brothers Robinson is seven year, first since Kate Hudson tried to Yoko Ono the band. The band gets you right back into the fold with Goodbye Daughters of the Revolution which could have been created out of the same template of Jealous Again which itself pulls from classic southern rock of the seventies. The band does stretch its boundaries a bit like on the spacey Movin’ on Down the Line, the old time blues stomp of God’s Got It, and the eastern influences that creep into Whoa Mule but there isn’t here that will bring in any new listeners, but it won’t disappoint those that have waited on a new album from the band.
When you hear the phrase These Are Good Times People spoken by someone under the name The Presidents of the United States of America you may think it is another George Bush spin job as purported by Fox News. But it is just those Seattle goofballs who brought us such nineties classics as Lump and Peaches. Instead of silly songs about Boll Weevils and Dune Buggies we get to be entertained by songs about Ladybugs and French Girls. The highlights include Mixed Up S.O.B. which puts the pop in power-pop, the instantly catchy Sharpen Up Those Fangs, and More Bad Times, the happiest song about not being sad enough you will ever hear. Knowing that their sound can get old quick, the Presidents knew to keep the album at as listenable forty minutes with only two of the fourteen songs going over 3:15 mark.
These Are Good Times People gets a on my Terror Alert Scale.
21, in theaters March 28, looks like one of those movies that will be considered a box office bust but whose DVD will within a year or two be in every dormroom with a monologue from the movie being quoted at every poker game for the next decade. I’ll certainly be picking it up because Kate Bosworth is what I like to refer to as esculent. To keep it from being a box office bust, Sony is putting a marketing push into overdrive starting with the live webcast today at 7:15 PST (if my math’s correct that is 10:15 for those of us on the east coast) over at 21-Movie.com, and if you missed it you can view it in its entirety starting tomorrow (Thursday).
While you are there you can sample the 21 Soundtrack (look in the upper right corner) which is out March 18 which has an electric pop feel to it and features tracks from Mark Ronson, LCD Soundsystem and a the Rolling Stones remix. The movie is based on a book, Bringing Down the House about Jeff Ma who is coming out with his own how to count cards videos which can be found at his blog Wild World of Gambling. And of course the movie has its own Facebook page where you can become a fan of. Below is a Blackjack game that you can play and even put on your own website, MySpace or Facebook page as well as a pair of character profiles (I have three more which I’ll post as the movie release date approaches):
The Rock and Roll of Fame Induction Ceremony has been, since its inception, one the most reliable entertaining show on the awards calendar. But I think starting with this year it is going to get hit or miss and we will be lucky for two great acts being inducted in the same year. It really wasn’t a good sign that this year was headlined by The Dave Clark Five which would have anyone my age or younger asking, “Who?” Granted John Mellencamp, or even Madonna, deserved a higher billing, but that may just be my age bias. Here are some more thoughts on last night’s ceremony and inductees of which you can see in an edited version on VH1 on a week from Saturday:
- Up first is the songwriting team of Gamble and Huff who make the first of two Elliot Spitzer jokes of the night. Seriously, how does a guy that has busted a few prostitution rings in his day not realize just how he could get caught? But anyways, you may Gamble and Huff from such great songs as Me and Mrs. Jones and If You Don’t Know Me By Now.
- Harmonica player Little Walter is next in and shows just how much my harmonica knowledge goes when I expected the dude from Blues Traveler to show up to pay tribute.
- Only two classic cuts and if there was a year that needed the extra classic cuts, this would be it.
- The Ventures make a rare instrumental induction into the Hall (Booker T and the MG’s are the only other ones off the top of my head). Granted the band is way before my time.
- Leonard Cohen is another odd choice for induction, Songwriter Hall of Fame, definitely, Hallelujah is on of the best songs ever written; Rock Hall, that’s a stretch.
- Ever since she was announced as an inductee, I have been going back and forth on whether she deserved it. Yeah she left a lasting impact on the music industry, but for the most part it wasn’t a good one. And after hearing Justin Timberlake induct her, I fall firmly on that she doesn’t deserve in. But it was almost worth it to hear Iggy Pop perform for her. Just keep in mind that unlike Madonna, Iggy isn’t in himself or with The Stooges.
- Seeing Billy Joel induct John Mellencamp was going back to my ealy childhood as that was basically all I listen to back then, only Bruce Springsteen was missing. And they ended up giving the best speeches of the night. Wished John would have invited someone, anyone onstage with him though.
- And you thought Iggy Pop singing Madonna was weird, Joan Jett doing The Dave Clarke Five was almost as odd a choice. Which then led to the most boring all-star jam I’ve witness. But I guess that will happen when there are not that many stars in attendance.
We are a week away from the first post-strike episodes starting with the CBS comedies. Grant it will be more of a trickle than a pour with the sitcoms coming back first while most of the dramas won’t be showing up until next month. To mark the return of the writers I have decided to make up a list of their best creations, the characters that make us laugh and cry week in and week out. And since it is much more fun if my homies get some, I decided to invite some to make up their own list (keeping it just to current television characters), then I threw all the ballots I received into my algorithm (patent pending) so complex that it would make Stephen Hawking stand and applaud to get on definitive list. Here are the results:
1. Kara “Starbuck” Thrace (Battlestar Galactica)
2. Tami Taylor (Friday Night Lights)
3. Barney Stinson (How I Met Your Mother)
4. Benjamin Linus (Lost)
5. Dexter Morgan (Dexter)
6. Coach Eric Taylor (Friday Night Lights)
7. Landry Clarke (Friday Night Lights)
8. Dwight Schrute (The Office)
9. Lily Rush (Cold Case)
10. Omar Little (The Wire)
11. Gaius Baltar (Battlestar Galactica)
12. Olive Snook (Pushing Daisies)
13. Shawn Spencer (Psych)
14. Sheldon Cooper PhD (The Big Bang Theory)
15. Dr. Juliet Burke (Lost)
16. Michael Weston (Burn Notice)
17. Captain Jack Harkness (Torchwood)
18. Dr. Miranda Bailey (Grey’s Anatomy)
19. Chuck Bartowski (Chuck)
20. Brenda Leigh Johnson (The Closer)
21. Emerson Cod (Pushing Daisies)
22. Ned “The Piemaker” (Pushing Daisies)
23. Liz Lemon (30 Rock)
24. Stephanie Lane (My Boys)
25. Stewie Griffin (Family Guy)
Also receiving multiple votes: Desmond Hume (Lost), Major John Casey (Chuck), Jack Donaghy (30 Rock)
Voters: Ducky, Jo, Kate, Sandie, Scooter McGavin, TVFan, Vance
For those keeping track at home, that Friday Night Lights and Pushing Daisies led the list with three characters each with Lost and Battlestar Galactica getting a pair each. I had asked everyone to send along the full name of their choices and was a little annoyed that the people who voted for Ned didn’t include his last name until I realized that we have yet to learn his full name. Where the Narrator calls everyone by their full name, he always refers to him as the Piemaker. And in a measure of full disclosure, here are the characters that made my top ten (for those that agree or disagree, that is what the comment section is for):
1. Landry Clarke (Friday Night Lights)
2. Sheldon Cooper PhD (The Big Bang Theory)
3. Emerson Cod (Pushing Daisies)
4. Major John Casey (Chuck)
5. Coach Eric Taylor (Friday Night Lights)
6. Earl Hickey (My Name Is Earl)
7. Barney Stinson (How I Met Your Mother)
8. Shawn Garrity (Rescue Me)
9. Maggie Decker (Eli Stone)
10. Frannie Morgan (Greek)
Quote of the Week: You’re asking me why? After everything I did to get you here. After everything I’ve done to keep you here. How can you possibly not understand (dramatic pause) that you’re mine! (Not-Henry, Lost)
Song of the Week: Who’ll Stop the Rain - Creedence Clearwater Revival (as sung by the lawyers, Eli Stone)
Big News of the Week: Friday Night Lights Closer to Returning: Early this week it was reported by everyone that NBC had reached a deal with DirecTV to co-broadcast the show on both station but no specifics like who would air episodes first. Well reported by everyone but NBC and DirecTV, so I am inclined to wait until an official announcement before I raise my hopes. One thing that has been officially announced is the release date for Friday Night Lights 2.x DVD set for release on April 22 for $20.99 (see right). A dollar more than the first season with seven less episodes but there will be an audio commentary for the season premiere with the producers.
Coalition Links of the Week: With the finale of The Wire looming, BuzzSugar wondered what series have had the best finales — and which should have ended better. (BuzzSugar)
Since FX's The Riches is returning on March 18, Sandie posted some behind the scenes videos for Season 2. (Daemon's TV)
Despondent about the end of The Wire? Marcia consoles herself with a drinking game for the final episode. It's an excellent way to dull the pain of losing such a brilliant show. (Pop Vultures)
With an overview of what to expect in its second season and what she talked to Courteney Cox about, Spads tried to convince everyone to give Dirt a try. (RTVW)
Vance gets reflective when he sells out to Oprah's Big Give, reviews quarterlife without ever having seen it, and notes how unconfortably similar Matthew's relationship with Old Christine is with his own sister. (Tapeworthy)
Hungry for some more culinary-themed reality mayhem this week, Jace took an advance look at the fiery season premiere of Top Chef. (Televisionary)
Dan ventured into music videos this week, exploring the concept of Room Clearers -- songs that you 20% love, 80% hate (first up, Escape Club's Wild Wild West). (TiFaux)
Kate made a list of the top ten scary/awesome things about The Real Housewives of New York City. (TV Filter)
Welcome to the Captain: Leave it to Super Dave Osborne to finally make me laugh at something on this show. Check him into the Captain now. Who am I kidding, they aren’t actually going to film anymore episodes of this show. Check out the latest episodes over at Innertube. You can also download or Welcome to the Captain on iTunes.
Survivor: For those keeping track at home, that is three straight fans blindside in a row. I actually thought this was the week that they were just making it look like there was going to be doubt that Chet would be voted out, but no, they actually dropped the Incredible Hulk instead. But Chet being tossed around like a rag doll may have been the funniest thing on the show in ages capped by the hilarious exchange of Chet saying he bumped his head with the Hulk saying he didn’t care. Brilliant. Check out the latest episode over at Innertube.
Lost: Just when I thought that things couldn’t get much worse that last week’s “Take us serious, we’re time traveling” episode, then we get this week’s worst romantic comedy ever episode. And Not-Henry certainly pulled out all the stops from the dinner party with that ended up having only two invitees to the anti-“you had me at hello” “You’re mine!” And what with magical disappearing chick from Rescue Me who really needs to lay off the botox? Was it actually her? Was it the smoke monster? Has she been with the Others the whole time? Did she really talk with Not-Henry? Check out the latest episode over at ABC.com.
Eli Stone: Let’s not have Eli be the case study ever again because it made for the least interesting trial to date. But the two speeches by Maggie and Jordan were great. Speaking of Jordan, am I the only one who, when hears his name spoken, initially thinks of the ex-fiancé because Jordan is more of a chick’s name. Check out the latest episode over at ABC.com. You can also download Eli Stone on iTunes.
You may have seen ads aleady for the movie 21 which hits theaters on match 28 and I may have more on it before then, but I wanted to let you know this Thursday at 7:15 PST they are having a live webchat over at the official site 21-Movie.com.
Next Week’s Pick: South Park, Wednesday at 10:00 on Comedy Central: Don’t even ask me what season this show is in but the latest season debuts this week. Matt and Trey are habitual procrastinators who usually turn in new episodes hours before they air so I have no clue what is in store but there is a good chance it will be funny.
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.
All the videos from the first Gnarls Barkley album were innovative and something to see, this is kind of underwhelming. The 80’s dance party theme has been down before. Foe a more jarring video, hunt down the leaked second single Who Will Save My Soul featuring ?uestlove. Speaking of ?uestlove…
…here is one from his group The Roots in a very Reservoir Dogs kind of video. If this song is any indication, Rising Down is going to be another classic.
My favorite song off of Missy Higgins album (see: Breathe Them Deep into Your Lungs) and thanks to this video, I know have a new way to stalk an ex by sending photo booth pictures to her. I will certainly have to try that out the next time I’m jilted.
Everyone has those songs that take you back to a certain place and nothing says Grade School dance more to me than this song from the Jeff Healey Band. And a melancholy happy trails to the namesake who passed away earlier this week. I never actually knew the guy was blind until I read about his passing. To read more about the life of Jeff Healey, check out this AP report.
You don’t need to watch South Park for reasons to blame Canada, just look at their exports over the last couple years: Céline Dion, Pamela Anderson, Nickelback. These are reasons enough to revoke NAFTA. If American Karaoke and Paris Hilton have taught us anything is there are plenty of talentless Americans that we really don’t need to fleece any from our neighbors from the north. Okay so it hasn’t been all bad, there is Norm McDonald, but for every Neil Young, there seems to be ten Shania Twain’s.
Much like Twain, Kathleen Edwards is a Canadian who has co-opted the music of the American heartland on three studio album, Asking for Flowers being the latest. But unlike Twain, she hasn’t endeared herself to country radio by making heartfelt music as apposed to songs about tractors or ticks. Oh, Canada could be the Cunuck version of Born in the U.S.A. where the title would have you believe the title is more patriotic than the lyrics would have you believe which at its heart tackles racism, with a scorching guitar solo out the end that would make Neil Young proud.
Mr. Young would also be proud of Oil Man’s War about a pair that head north to keep from fighting under a commander and chief who seems to care more about lining the pockets of his friends than doing what is right. But where Edwards really excels is at quirky lyrics and things don’t get much quirkier than I Make the Dough, You Get the Glory where she compares herself to everyone from Elvis to Marty McSorley. A hockey reference: how Canadian, eh.
Ever since the start of this political cycle I feared of a Rudy Giuliani vs. Hilary Clinton match up. Yeah I have had to vote for the president I though would screw up the country the least before but choosing between Giuliani and Clinton would make having to choose between George Bush and John Kerry or Al Gore seem like choosing my favorite Victoria Secret model in comparison.
Much to my surprise, the media didn’t get their Subway Series they were pushing for when Giuliani was the first out of the Republican race and it looked as if I would even get a chance to put the last nail into the coffin of Clinton’s presidential campaign, a though that made me extremely giddy. Of course I am a moron who forgot where I lived. I had bought into the Barack Obama momentum completely forgetting I live fifteen minutes from what is considered the Klu Klux Klan kapitol of the north. I really should have known better.
So the question shouldn’t be why did she won but how did she win. If you were to see the Ohio map, Obama won easily in Cleveland, Cincinnati, and Columbus, democratic strong holds, yet Hilarity dominated in the gun toting, God-fearing part of the state, winning my home county 61-38 which I was surprised to see it on CNN’s top three Republican counties in the state. Of course there is that KKK kontingent. But we still do border Cleveland and Akron.
So it looks as if that 3:00 in the morning ad worked (of course, keep in mind she only gained somewhere between four to eight delegates last night), which I always found odd because if she does somehow eke out the nomination, John McCain would easily win that argument as well as her previous lead on day one stump speech. Speaking of McCain, his speech (I won’t talk about Hilary’s or Barack’s because theirs came after my bedtime) came with an interesting inclusion saying, “the next president must explain how he or she intents to bring that war to its swiftest possible conclusion with out exacerbating a sectarian conflict.” Now I was never one of those morons who took McCain’s 100 years war out of context (who followed up that comment by saying as song as the soldiers were not in harm’s way) but I was surprised at how quick he is to get to the middle on the subject.
It is hard to go platinum nine times with your debut record and be virtually unknown to most Americans. For Missy Higgins, the platinum status of her melodic, piano based The Sound of White was just in her home of Australia but barely made a dent her stateside. Her follow up On a Clear Night has been available to her Aussie countrymen for almost a year but is just getting its American release today.
The album cause a stir down under as the new album was more of an acoustic guitar driven sound than its predecessor. The transition from album to album was smooth as On a Clear Night starts off with the piano enhanced Where I Stood before Higgins stands up from the bench and straps on the guitar for most of the rest of the record.
The best of these acoustic guitar songs is Steer an upbeat, toe tapping sing-a-long that wouldn’t have been out of place a decade ago on the Lilith Fair current but still feels current for today. And it is isn’t just Missy playing the guitar on the album, Neil Finn, who may know better as the dude from Crowded House, shows up on Peachy a bouncy kiss off from a former boyfriend.
Elsewhere on the album, Higgins expands her repertoire. Secret is a slow burning, album bluesy song where she provides some sultry lyrics to. Then the album caps with the folksy Forgive Me, a low-fi track that sounds like it may have been recorded in a bathroom, but that only adds to the mystique of the song. Undoubtedly you will be hearing more of Higgins on television shows that features lazy writers who have to insert musical montages because they run out of anything interesting to write as the most of the songs are television ready. In fact you may remember Where I Stood from an episode of Smallville from earlier this season.
If you watched ABC last Thursday then you probably saw an ad hyping new show Squeegees and thought to yourself, “huh?” That shouldn’t have been a surprising response considering the new online show was just announced Thursday, the day the first two episodes hit the ABC.com website. Luckily the show is co-exclusive to YouTube because ABC.com is my least favorite of all the network websites. And since it is on YouTube, there is no reason for me to ramble on about it when I can just embed the episodes and you can judge the show for yourself (it will take you under fifteen minutes to watch all three).
Mildly entertaining and certainly better than the unwatchable Quarterlife with a nice cameo from the chick from American Dreams not named Brittany Snow. You can expect new episodes of the show every Monday and Friday and features the comedy team Handsome Donkey members Adam Countee, Brendan Countee, Marc Gilbar and Aaron Greenberg.
Squeegees is produced by Stage 9 which is headed by Academy Award-winning short-form producer Barry Josson. The studio has an active slate of more than 20 programs in comedy, drama, animation and reality ranging from traditional linear episodic storytelling to fully immersive interactive content. You can also look out for the original science fiction action thriller Trenches, sometime this spring from Shane Felux, the critically-acclaimed filmmaker and creator of Pitching George Lucas and Star Wars Revelations. Set in another time, on another planet, Trenches begins in the waning days of a grueling war. A botched rescue attempt forces a young soldier and his unit to team up with their enemy to survive a brutal threat and escape the planet.
Quote of the Week: Town’s about a block long Veronica Mars. (Eli Stone, Eli Stone)
Song of the Week: One More Try - George Michael (as sung by Ms. Hendricks, Eli Stone)
Big News of the Week: Comings and Goings on TBS: This Tuesday is the season finale of 10 Items or Less at 11:00 which features an employee picnic conveniently inside the store. Then on Wednesday at 10:00 there are two new episodes of House of Payne featuring guests Michael Jai White and Robin Givens. Right after the new episodes, you can participate in a live chat with the cast over at tbs.com starting at 11:00 (keep in mind this is EST so for those on the west coast you can chat before the episodes air). For those that that prefer dramas, TNT for three straight days starting tomorrow (Monday), they will be airing the best of Saving Grace starring Holly Hunter at 10:00 and 11:00.
Coalition Links of the Week:
Buzz picked out some favorite TV catchphrases. If you disagree, we'll have to hug it out. (BuzzSugar)
Eric wondered who your Constant is after watching this week's episode of Lost. (Daemon's TV)
Mikey suggests some great, middle-aged TV alums for Psych to consider casting now that Shawn needs a mom for the upcoming third season. (Mikey Likes TV)
Plattie praised the BBC's Being Human, which features a vampire, a werewolf and a ghost and yet somehow lacks a full series order. (Pop Vultures)
Rae wants you to help her create the perfect “Memorable TV Moments” mix-tape. (RTVW)
Because Vance is so shallow, he analyzes the boys chances for winning/surviving American Idol(/beating David Archuleta) based on their hairdo's in a week where he shamelessly celebrates the hotties to watch for. (Tapeworthy)
While his attention were pulled towards new episodes of Last Restaurant Standing, Top Model, and Project Runway, this week Jace's constant was his love for Lost. (Televisionary)
Welcome to the Captain is the best little show you're probably not watching -- so says Dan. (TiFaux)
This week, the TV Addict proposed to NBC President Ben Silverman that he actually re-make a show people care about. Meaning, it's time for The West Wing: The Next Generation. (the TV Addict)
Raoul interviewed Yau-Man from Survivor. (TV Filter)
The Oscars: I didn’t watch because 1) The only movie I saw that was nominated for anything was Norbit, 2) I am under forty, 3) I’m not pretentious enough to care what old people think are good movies, 4) I’m not shallow enough to care what clothes celebrities wear. If they ever bring back Chris Rock, maybe I’ll tune in. But I bring up the show because I was happy to see that Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova wrangled the award for Best Song from the Disney for Falling Slowly. It is a shame that a song like that can’t get played on the radio yet it seems like Fergie is always on. I would post their performance but the tools over at the Academy have stripped all the YouTube videos. But if you are interested in downloading the song, you can get it for free at the Once website.
Survivor: Yet another brilliant episode. How the old people convinced the Incredible Hulk to keep Chet instead of Mikey B is beyond me but it madr for yet another great tribal council. And one more thing on Mikey B, I just realized this past episode that he is the only Mike on the cast, so why the “B”? Is this a Grandmaster B situation where that is what he wanted everyone to call him? But anyways. It looks like the show will only get better next week when they switch up the tribes and you know someone is going to turn on their former tribemates because there is a lot of hate going around this season. Please let Cirie and Jonathan end up on the same tribe. Check out the latest episode over at Innertube.
Lost: What a worthless hour of television. Just what I thought Desmond’s visions were as lame as it could get, now we have this is he or isn’t he time traveling mind fart of an episode. And it made no sense. The whole business of The Constant should have been resolved early because Daniel could have been it. He talked to him both in the present and the past. And how was Desmond able to travel across England so quickly without going back to 2004? Just when I was beginning to like this season they go all metaphysical. Check out the latest episode over at ABC.com.
Eli Stone: There is nothing I dislike more than episodes that start in the third act then flash back to the beginning. And there seemed to be no reason for this to do so except when you found out that someone was missing, you already new it would be in Hawaii and it made his beach visions less ambiguous. Of course they totally made up for it with the Veronica Mars reference made about Mac’s roommate. Then the most shock moment of the night didn’t belong to Lost but instead was the revelation that Dr. Abbott had came down with a case of the Jungle Fever a couple years ago. Never saw that coming. Check out the latest episode over at ABC.com. You can also download Eli Stone on iTunes.
Saturday Night Live: Thanks to a glitch I didn’t tape last night’s episode so I check out Hulu only to find out they don’t bother to stream full episodes just a couple clips. Really why bother. I guess I’ll have to wait for a repeat to check the whole thing out.
Promo of the Week: Wednesday also sees the season premiere of Ghost Hunters and here is a promo for the new season:
Next Week’s Pick: My Name Is Earl, Monday at 10:00 on TBS: It is a slow week next week (although you can always check out Eli Stone in hopes for more Veronica Mars references) so if you haven’t caught the funniest show currently on television when it first ran, here is your chance to catch up with back to back episodes every Monday starting with the funniest half hour of television ever in the history of the world.
There are many things that make March the greatest month of the year, St. Patrick’s Day, March Madness, the beginning of spring, the occasional Mardi Gras or Easter. But there is no greater March ritual than McDonald’s Shamrock Shakes, the minty goodness that the restaurant chain rolls out each year to celebrate the Irish’s special day and this month’s induction into the Scooter Hall of Fame. Unfortunately it seems I am not the only person enamored by the drink because it seems whenever I drive by my local establishment they say they are already out which leads me on a pilgrimage to all the McDonald’s in a twenty-five mile radius.
Hopefully you all are familiar with Shamrock Shakes because I’m not entirely sure if the whole nation gets the specialty shake this time of year as I was in San Diego a couple years ago in early March when I asked person at the counter in the airport if they had any Shamrock Shakes and he gave me this look as if I was speaking another language (okay, maybe that isn’t an unusual reaction I get from strangers). So for those unfamiliar with them and to show that I am, indeed, not insane, here is a commercial. God bless YouTube.
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.
The first will.i.am man love video for Barak Obama was entertaining in a where did they find Ashley Banks kind of way. But this is just overkill. C’mon, Landry, I expect better of you. And like a dude from Texas in a Christian death metal band would ever vote Democrat. The only thing than can be considered entertaining about this video is figuring out which “stars” appear because the whole heartedly think Obama would make a great president and which ones just signed on for self promotion. This harkens back to the last election cycle with Diddy’s Vote or Die campaign when some of the spokespeople weren’t even registered to vote (*cough* Paris Hilton *cough*). And Jessica Alba’s diatribe makes me think that it is about time to bring back the IQ test for voting.
I am not entirely sure if this is a serious video from Mariah Carey or if she is thinking she is semi-ironic. I guess I am too busy figuring out why she wears less clothing the older she gets. Can we expect a Playboy layout when she his sixty?
What do you do when people don’t find you funny anymore, well if you are Willie Nelson you get Owen Wilson, Woody Harrelson and, um, Jessica Simpson to drive lawnmowers. And unlike the previous video, this one is legitimately funny.
Warning: mild spoilers ahead for the new season of Dirt which premieres this Sunday at 10:00 on FX.
Whenever I stand in the grocery checkout line and glance over to see a headline to the effect of, “Jamie Lynn Spears tells boyfriend he’s not her baby daddy” I always feel a little dirty. Which would make Dirt the perfect title for a show about a tabloid magazine. The show was created by Courteney Cox and David Arquette and follows Cox as DirtNow’s editor in chief and dealing in rumors and innuendos didn’t help her character as she was stabbed by one of her biggest target of the first season in the finale who subsequently was hit by a car after fleeing the scene.
Despite the nausea inducing concept of following the lowest of the low on the human evolutionary scale, the show has a quick wit and more than a few interesting characters most notably the lead paparazzo that carries on conversations with his cat. The new season also sees a new reporter that Dirt fleeces from a more respectable newspaper who has to unlearn what he studied in journalism school to get ahead in his new job and Willa (Alex Breckenridge) has no problem showing him the ropes.
Naturally the cliffhanger of Cox is resolved quickly (surprise, she’s alive) and she is back to work to find that somehow she has been scooped on her own stabbing by the other tabloids and is out to find a new story. The first she finds is story about a pregnant former stripper who inherited a substantial sum from her much older billionaire husband. Mmm, where have I hear this before?
Other stories under consideration are a starlet who is caught chasing after he former assistant’s mom, again strangely familiar. Then there is the sitcom star, as played by Tom Arnold who knows a thing or two about tabloids, who has a answering machine message calling his daughter names leaked to the internet (it’s like déjà vu…) followed by a YouTube phenomenon where he is drunk on the kitchen eating a pasta bowl (…all over again).
Then there is the famous for being famous heiress Milan Carlton, played by the chick from Point Pleasant, who drunkenly drives on the off ramp prompting some jail time. An heiress with no redeemable talent and a city in Europe first name and a hotel for the last who spent time jail; why does that sound familiar? This is going to bug me for a while until I can figure that out. But I do not remember the real life story ending as hilariously.
You can try to figure it out for yourself when the second season premiere of Dirt airs this Sunday at 10:00 on FX. You can also check out Dirt on iTunes or Amazon Unbox.
Before I get into the debate itself, let me thank the local NBC station for preempting the series premiere of Quaterlife, sparing my neighbors from even the opportunity of seeing the show. I had seen an advanced copy of the first episode almost a year ago and was surprised to learn that not only they decided to make more for the internet that they would actually put it on network television. The show is horribly acted with dialogue that is too talky, and obviously written by dudes on the wrong side of fifty, spoken by characters that are not at all likable. As someone who recently went through a Quaterlife crisis I am offended by such crap.
As for the debate itself, you know your campaign is in trouble if you are complaining about always having to answer the questions first. One should be happy to get to answer a question first so you can get the chance to set the tone and the tone Hilary Clinton set last night is that she is a complainer. And she didn’t help dig herself out of that whole when she awkwardly referenced the Saturday Night Live, asking Barak Obama (seriously, Fred Armesen?) if he would like a pillow. Not only did she did not get a laugh when she paused for one, there was a dead silence followed by a spattering of boos.
That was basically about the involvement of the Cleveland crowd which seemed to be about as bored as I was, no cheering, no real booing, not even an applaud line. And the pre-show Hardball with Chris Matthews from the Cleveland State University, the background was almost as sedate to the point I was embarrassed to have taken classes there. Usually when Hardball is on a college campus, the crowd is raucous with opposing signs and warring chants for their candidate of choice even if they were not there. Instead we got what looked like a church choir with blue shirts which was puzzling because I though Green was school color.
I know it was so snowy to the point instead of announcing all the school closings, the local radio DJ just said, “If you can hear my voice, you don’t have to go to school today,” (not to mentioned I have had to shovel three times in the past two days with snow banks getting up to my waist) you’d think there would be some student that would take the five minute walk from the dorm to where the debate was just for the change of getting national television. This doesn’t bode well for Obama if the weather is bad come November. Oh and here is the previously mentioned SNL sketch:
Another Country is a perfect title for an album by Tift Merritt. Even though she is a country artist in the traditional sense, but she certainly isn’t like mainstream country has become over the past three decades which insults the intelligences of those of us north of the Mason-Dixon Line with at the very least a high school diploma. While listening songs about how sexy tractors or checking chicks for chicks, you can almost here the Nashville record executives telling artist to dumb it down for those who are still so amused by the Doppler Effect they are willing to watch cars turn left for hours on end.
So unfortunately true country artist like Merritt, Ryan Adams and Shelby Lynne get lost in the shuffle as the country label scares off the educated but their songs are too high brow for country radio (ironically enough Lupe Fiasco wrote Dumb it Down for the rap radio which is starting to fill up with as much morons as country radio). But do not let the country label scare you; Merritt is more Emmylou Harris than a redneck woman like Gretchen Wilson.
In fact the album is virtually void of fiddles and banjos (there is plenty of slide guitar though) and her Carolina drawl isn’t overwhelming she can certainly finds her way around a melody. Where country radio is filled with the same tired guitar riffs and done me wrong lyrics, Another Country effortlessly deviates from the formula with songs that pull in influences from rock, folk, bluegrass and even and even a song with some R&B influenced horns. And she probably doesn’t invite any new country listeners in with her album closer which is sung in French.
Seven Mary Three is best known for their biggest (arguably only though Water’s Edge rocked too) hit Cumbersome. The song was the epitome of southern rock with crunching post-grunge guitars and a singer with such a menacing voice it sounded like he gargles with Whiskey for a month before he laid his growl to the record. The fact that the dude rocked a Fu-Manchu somehow made the song even. To this day, you can still hear drunken bar dwellers who can come up with a quarter to put in a jukebox that hasn’t changed its tracks in a decade chant “I have become cumbersome” despite not having a clue what that even means.
Twelve years and five years later Seven Mary Three is still at it with their latest album Day&nightdriving. And what makes the album so disappointing is the loss of that month long Whisjey gargling voice. It is almost as if they replaced the lead singer with someone who takes shots of milk and walks right out of a club if he sees just one person smoking inside. If it were not for Cumbersome, Day&nightdriving would be a decent southern rock jam that is the right mix of rock and roll, country, and folk. But if you love the nineties as much as VH1, it would be hard to listen to the album without hoping that the singer just lets loose the distinctive snarl from their most famous song.
Quote of the Week: You just Scooby Doo’d me, didn’t you? (Hurley, Lost)
Song of the Week: Good Lovin’ - The Young Rascals (As song by multiple Coma Guys, Eli Stone)
Big News of the Week: Friday Night Lights Shines On, Maybe: In a story I broke two weeks ago, Ben Silverman Is a Humongous Tool. Since then there were rumors of a Friday Night Lights movie to wrap up the show which I discredited because that is the token cool down the fanatics but making them think they will get a movie. Of course I’m still waiting an Angel movie The WB promised after it unceremoniously axed that show.
Then Variety posted an article (which I found courtesy of Herc of Ain’t It Cool fame) which said not only is there a possibility of a third season of Friday Night Lights, but it may be on multiple channels (think what NBC did this year with one of its five hundred Law and Order’s airing earlier on USA and saw a ratings boost). What makes me suspicious of this article is that NBC declined to comment, and there is no source mention in the article. Plus the network floated for sharing the show are The CW (why would they share with another network channel), E! (which only airs trashy shows, so FNL would not fit between The Girls Next Door reruns), and G4 (you know, the video game channel, granted Madden is one of the best selling video games and it does syndicate the also canceled too soon Arrested Development). More credible channels mentioned were TNT (who know drama so would fit perfectly) and Direct TV (which previously picked up daytime NBC show Passions). But even then, unlike the L&O case, none of these are owned by NBC Universal like USA. So until I hear anything official from NBC, my hopes will not be raised.
Coalition Links of the Week: Buzz wondered if a movie version of The Wire would be a good idea. (BuzzSugar)
Sandie shared a preview clip from the new season of FX's Dirt. (Daemon's TV)
The return of live American Idol makes Mikey nostalgic for the TV of yesteryear. (Mikey Likes TV)
Marcia considered whether Ashes to Ashes was a worthy successor to Life on Mars. (Pop Vultures)
Rae dissected what she liked and disliked about the Knight Rider movie and admits she'd probably still give it a shot if NBC picks it up. (RTVW)
Cover your ears, TV fans. Jennifer couldn’t contain her anger and ranted against NBC for canceling Las Vegas. (Tube Talk)
The TV Addict helps pitch Friday Night Lighta to the CW, TNT and SCI FI. (the TV Addict)
Vance LOVES Lost even though he is completely lost while trying to follow the show. (Tapeworthy)
This week, Jace was underwhelmed by Knight Rider, entranced by Lost, and hungry for more of BBC's culinary competition, Last Restaurant Standing. (Televisionary)
Dan dug up some reality show contestants' porno past, including folks from Survivor and American Gladiators. (TiFaux)
Welcome to the Captain: Still isn’t funny. Seriously, a cameo by Chunky Spice from *NSYNC? Check out the latest episodes over at Innertube. You can also download or Welcome to the Captain on iTunes.
My Dad Is Better Than Your Dad: Okay, I didn’t actually watch this. But from the five seconds they showed on Best Night Ever, I’m thinking Family Double Dare should sue.
Survivor: There has to be an inverse correlation between the intelligence of the survivors to the enjoyably of a season and thank God the favorites are some of the dumbest that have played the game. First you have Cirie deciding to go with the two couples instead of the loosely configured alliance. Then instead of trying to convince her of getting back into their alliance, Jonathan decides to berate her at camp and tribal council. And out of nowhere, Amy decides to vote for Cirie instead of with her alliance. And to make the episode even more enjoyable, they allowed contact between the survivor in the immunity challenge which always end badly. And by badly, I mean highly enjoyable. You had dudes body slamming chicks, people pull off other people’s clothes, Mike hitting on the other tribe. They really need to have more full contact challenges per seasons. Check out the latest episode over at Innertube.
Lost: Ugg, it looks like Lost may be falling back into its cycle of fifty-five minutes of tedium boredom with five minutes of jaw dropping plot twists. And even Not-Henry was calling out the show for recycling its plots with Locke locking up in a room bringing him food like in season two. Really the only thing that happened in the first fifty-five minutes was the revelation that everyone off the island thinks that only the Oceanic Six survived the crash aside from two that died after the crash. Of course being Lost this will end up sounding more important that it actually will be.
The big shocker of course being that Kate is now taking care of Aaron and it sounds as if she is making people believe that it is hers, this also presumably answers the question of who Kate had to get back to in the finale. But of course it creates more questions than it answered. Like does Aaron count as part of the six? I can see this going either way. Why would Jack avoid Aaron? Does he not know it is him? Or is his guilt so large that he doesn’t want to be reminded of what he did? I guess he hasn’t found out that it is his nephew. What happens to Claire? Does she die? Is she still on the island? Did she give up Aaron voluntarily so he didn’t have to grow up on the island? And where were the creepy black dude and/or his minions during the episodes, the one that approached Hurley and presumably Sayid is killing?
But during the uber-boring first part, I got to thinking of the Oceanic 6’s celebrity and the funeral that Jack went to last season. Many assumed Locke but it seems unlikely that a member of the Oceanic 6 would have no one show up at their funeral, certainly there are the morbid celerity seekers that would show up. My other thought back then was Not-Henry, but he seemed too powerful to end up like that. I am wondering if it were one of the Other Redux, the one whom he made a plan with to get off the island that ended up in the casket, Miles maybe. Check out the latest episode over at ABC.com.
Eli Stone: In my First Impressions, I mentioned that if Andrew from Buffy the Vampire Slayer showed up I may have to check myself for an aneurism, well Uncle Phil showing up is close enough. Seriously, this show may have the best casting director on television, well if it weren’t for the chick from Species. If only the writing were as good, it was pretty well telegraphed that the nappy headed lawyer would end up being offered a job. Check out the latest episode over at ABC.com. You can also download Eli Stone on iTunes.
Promo of the Week: After hyping the free Sports Illustrated Swimsuit video last week, I did a little stalking researching of the host of the video Brooklyn Decker and found that she was cast in failed NBC pilot, Lipshitz Saves the World and even though the show did not get picked up, of course a trailer for the show popped up on YouTube:
Seriously, how was this not picked up. I had the making of instantly being the funniest show on television. It would be like Chuck: The High School Years but actually funny and somehow with a hotter Token Hot Chick. Plus it has Leslie Nielsen playing Leslie Nielsen. Hopefully it is not too late for a slot on newly announced NBC year long television season or at the very least the concepy would make for a great movie idea. Someone get Judd Apatow on the phone for that.
Next Week’s Pick: Democratic Debate, Tuesday at 9:00 on MSNBC: You think the marketing people at a major network would be able to come up with a better nickname than Super Tuesday II but apparently that is what they are going with. A week before Texas and Ohio go to the polls, the two candidate’s debate just north of me. This may be Hilary Clinton’s last stand as she hasn’t won a primary or caucus since the original Super Tuesday. Nor can she be happy that Dave Schuster got reinstated just before the debate on the same channel. But it is hard to feel sorry for her about the pimping comments when she is eager to make light of her husband’s infidelities at the last debate. You really can’t take the moral high ground when you do that. But anyways. Since I am within driving distance (and have a working Cleveland State student ID), if MSNBC, the Democratic Party, or anyone who can hook me up with some tickets, credentials, or get my questions included in the debate, or get me into a Frank Luntz focus group, shout me a holla.
Inexplicably Scarlett Johansson of all people will soon be releasing an album of Tom Waits covers. Thankfully my personal favorite song of his didn’t make her cut. I Hope That I Don’t Fall in Love with You always remind me of closing time circa college in the winter. There is a very cold feeling to the song that really hits on the loneliness of the winter months which we are smack dab in the middle of right now.
![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.
(look in the upper right corner) which is out March 18 which has an electric pop feel to it and features tracks from Mark Ronson, LCD Soundsystem and a the Rolling Stones remix. The movie is based on a book, 
about Jeff Ma who is coming out with his own how to count cards videos which can be found at his blog 
![Terror Alert Level: High [ORANGE]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhebDZ0qqwOVKMZj7oFSUe8Hm3ax54U9Hp1fThJPgiddTyzcdwx_5SV6E3b7hkKyxbaDiym4COmUXT2YJnsKCUjBHI_a2xZtNoY7qFQRslP5AGO5gLkJwn2ZbO0wIF80ycbKrgPPA/s400/small_high.png)
on my 
, 2) I am under forty, 3) I’m not pretentious enough to care what old people think are good movies, 4) I’m not shallow enough to care what clothes celebrities wear. If they ever bring back 
reference made about Mac’s roommate. Then the most shock moment of the night didn’t belong to Lost but instead was the revelation that Dr. Abbott had came down with a case of the Jungle Fever a couple years ago. Never saw that coming. Check out the latest episode over at 
, who drunkenly drives on the off ramp prompting some jail time. An heiress with no redeemable talent and a city in Europe first name and a hotel for the last who spent time jail; why does that sound familiar? This is going to bug me for a while until I can figure that out. But I do not remember the real life story ending as hilariously.
.
for free on Amazon MP3.
movie The WB promised after it unceremoniously axed that show.
is one of the best selling video games and it does syndicate the also canceled too soon 
). More credible channels mentioned were TNT (who know drama so would fit perfectly) and Direct TV (which previously picked up daytime NBC show Passions). But even then, unlike the L&O case, none of these are owned by NBC Universal like USA. So until I hear anything official from NBC, my hopes will not be raised.