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.
What is sad is that I was going to blast the latest Weezer video since Barenaked Ladies already did the internet phenomenon video until I realized that there has been so many new cross over sensations in the year since that video there really not much over lap. And I didn’t realize how attractive Miss South Carolina was when she wasn’t talking. But the Leave Britany Alone guy needs go back to obscurity and stay there.
Mercy is a nice upbeat throwback. The latest from Duffy is simple and effective, the song and the video. I am very close to putting her above Amy Winehouse in the latest import category.
Speaking of which the latest is Adele who, see if this sounds familiar, is a big hit in her native England, has a retro yet modern feel and is Mark Ronson approved. Nonetheless, a cool looking video, but are there any British people out there can explain what Chasing Pavement means to a Yank?
Download some of these somgs DRM free at Amazon MP3:
For those that may not have picked up on it, I have a mild case of Obsessive Compulsion Disorder. Basically if my daily routine is change even slightly it totally ruins my whole day. My afternoon routine goes as followed:
4:30 - Tape Jim Rome Is Burning 5:00 - Watch Hardball with Chris Matthews while start cooking dinner 5:30 - Watch Pardon the Interruption while eating dinner 6:00 - Watch Jim Rome Is Burning until the big finish of PTI is back on Sportscenter then walk the dogs
So Monday I get a call from my cousin who had some extra tickets to that night’s baseball game so I fire up my Time Warner Cable box and notice instead of the yellow TV Guide, it is now blue with a completely new interface and it takes two second between when I press the remote and when the screen actually moves. Yeah. For those that do not have the same thing I do let me explain how easy it is to record something. You go to the show you want to record, press the select button on the remote, it asks you if you want to record this show, then press select again. Viola, that’s it. Simple right? All you have to remember is to leave the VCR on.
So I set PTI, Sportscenter, How I Met Your Mother and The Big Bang Theory to record, but instead of asking me if I wanted to record these shows when I selected them, it asked if I wanted to set a reminder which I figure was the same thing. Well I get home from the game to check up on the days biggest sports stories and the funniest show on television only to hit the rewind button to find that there was nothing to rewind because nothing taped. Being the rational person that I am, after yelling a few obscenities at the screen, I decided to sleep on it and see what is up with this new screen the next day.
Then on Tuesday I manually taped Jim Rome, hitting the record button at 4:30, before going back to what I was doing previously. Later I figured Jim Rome didn’t tape because this new screen wiped out my scheduled tapping, I have the show set to record weekdays, so I check out the new options menu, including the two seconds it tapes for the screen to move from when I hit the remote, only to find you can no longer do this anymore. While going through the menu there was a commercial taking about their website for the new screen, mytwcnavigator.com. When I get there and finally find the how to record part of the guide, it tells me go to the show, select it, scroll to Record Series. The only problem is that there is not a Record Series option when I do this on my television. Apparently I am not the only one that is not having this problem because this FAQ page ranks a 1.4 out of 5.
Then on Wednesday I did what I was dreading to do since Monday, call customer service. I tell all of the above to the first English as a second language guy I talk to and he says that everything looks right on his end and he will have to talk to his supervisor. When he come back he tells me that I do not have a DVR (like I didn’t know that) and asks me if I would like him to transfer me ordering guy to sign up for a DVR. I asked if it cost anything, to which he responded five dollars a month. I followed that up with why would I pay that for something my VCR does for free, let me talk to this supervisor of yours.
Onto my second English as a second language guy who apparently wants me go through my whole story again leading me to believe he is not the previous guy supervisor, just another tech guy poising as a tech guy. His conclusion, you need to call your VCR manufacturer to see why it is not working. To which I respond that is does work, it records when I hit the record button, it just doesn’t record when I set the program guide.
This “call the VCR manufacturer/it isn’t the VCR” argument goes about five rounds before I calmly shout obscenities and now dude suggests that I change my box, something he actually had to do because his VCR wasn’t compatible with the old box and new software (which begs the question why did we waste five minutes on calling the VCR manufacturer when he had the same problem). I know there is a Time Warner Cable store in town but I ask for the address so I don’t have to look it up myself. Apparently the closest store with this box is twenty miles away. I say great, you want to reimburse the gas it will take me to drive the forty miles I am going to have to drive to get a box? Surprisingly he said no, in fact I am not getting credited for any of my inconvenience.
Sometime during my conversation I mentioned that everything I needed the box to did it on Sunday, why don’t you just upload the old software. Well apparently the brain trust at Time Warner Cable deleted the old software before working out all the kinks in the new software. And in all of this, my cable box has a new light on it, which is labeled bypass, which has never been on in the years I have had these cable boxes. Dude tells me that shouldn’t be on, and shouldn’t a picture, yet I do.
So instead of driving way out of my way to get a box that may or may not work, we decide to have someone come out to my house to hook up a new box. Next Thursday. So if I am overtly cranky, even more so than usually, you have Time Warner Cable to that because they will be messing up my daily routine for the next week.
That is unless I decide to switch to DirecTV so I do not have to deal with TWC ever again. And get to watch Friday Night Lights in the fall instead of having to wait until winter.
One song I was listening a lot to last month was Someday We'll All Be Free by Donny Hathaway. Hathaway (no relation to Anne) is a lost gem of seventies soul that has seemed to not get the credit he deserves despite the string of hits that decade. But some of the biggest artist of today list him as an influence and he even got named dropped by Amy Winehouse when she said she would rather stay at home with Mr. Hathaway than go to rehab. And I utilized Alicia Keys version of the song in my fifth anniversary of 9/11 post. But everyone should have the original in there collection somewhere.
Recently I read an article calling How I Met Your Mother this decade’s Friends to which laughed at. Then I thought about it and realized the write was on to something, a show that had a solid first season that started going downhill when the characters started hooking up with each other. I usually trace the shark jumping moment to when the hot baker chick went off to France, but the show really started to lose its bearings in the second season when they spent the whole year focusing on the Ted/Robin coupling when we already knew that she was not the mother.
But that relationship thankfully ended at the end of last season, thus getting us back to Ted’s search for the mother mentioned in the title. We were teased early of the woman with the yellow umbrella(ella-ella-eh-eh-eh) that would end up being the mother. That umbrella even shows up at a bar later in the season, but it was almost as if the writers forgot all about it when they were too busy picketing.
Which makes the cliffhanger excruciatingly bad. You have either two scenarios; the writer completely dropped the umbrella thing (or will cheesily add it later) and Stella turned out to be the Mother (which adds another continually problem because if that makes her daughter the chick in the future, her brother would be much younger than her); or Future Ted just insanely not only spent way too much time telling his kids about his lengthy sex life with Aunt Robin, he also told them he proposed to some chick that isn’t their mother. Certainly Barney’s inevitable courtship of Robin next season will not be legendary.
Much less frustrating was the first season of The Big Bang Theory which transformed from a bland, and borderline insulting to those of us with triple digit IQ’s, to the funniest show on television. And of course educational, am assuming I am not the only one to go straight to Wikipedia after the finally to read up on Schrodinger's Cat. And there in lies the genius of Sheldon Cooper, and I am not even referring to his IQ.
Sheldon always had the right thing to say all season, even when his lack of a filter wouldn’t stop him when it wasn’t the right thing to say. The ying and yan with him and Penny may be the best duo on television as each is a worth foil for the other and I would be content if the show was just them. Think about the best moments from the first season and a large proportion involve the two together: Sheldon being sick, shopping for a birthday present, Penny the whole cat discussion. In fact it is hard to compile the best of the other character with only Raj’s failing to ask out Sheldon’s twin only coming to mind.
I am not sure who I feel about the season ending with the cat not being alive. I really do not see a Penny/Leonard coupling working out (see the above two examples of a show falling apart when the characters start hooking up). I am really hoping that the date is disastrous and the two decide to stay friends while Sheldon has to analyze why his theory didn’t work. But what I really hope for is no Britany Spears sightings.
There is no artist that is more hit or miss than Jason Mraz. He creates these annoying pseudo raps that he surely thinks are clever but get old quick. But he also makes really heartfelt love songs that you cannot help but sing along. And it is odd that he would name We Dance, We Sing, We Steal Things when he isn’t really known for two of the three.
It doesn’t take too long to figure out where the first part comes from as the opening track Make it Mine sounds like a long lost track of a rock band trying out that new disco thing in the seventies. A couple tracks later, Butterfly bust outs with horns straight from the Ohio Players handbook.
The We Sing portion on the album is highlighted by I’m Yours, the quintessential fireside ditty that is easily the best of his career and should be played at every beach this summer. The other standout is the heartbreaking slid guitar aided Love for a Child, a song seen through the eyes of a kid whose parent are divorced debating the pro (having two birthday cakes, less rules) and cons (loss of innocence, drug addled parents) of the split.
Mraz brings along two friends on the album, most notably is the bubbly girl herself Colbie Caillat on Lucky that could have been easily a leftover from her album as it is simple and enjoyable as anything on her disk, but nothing extraordinary. Later on the album James Morrison pops up on Details in the Fabric where the two voices really play off each other well with the backdrop of a haunting acoustic guitar.
Unfortunately that pseudo rap does show up on The Dynamo of Volition with silly lyrics about Gun n’ Roses finally finishing their album and blisters from playing Nintendo. And there is a weird answering machine type message that bleeds into and out of Details in the Fabric. But for the most part Mraz is on the right track with this album.
This week I watched four hours of prime time television which is exactly the amount of Survivor I watched last week. I guess there is the writer’s strike to thank for that because many show just disappeared never to be seen again, or at least next fall. Maybe it is because of that strike that there is much less fan fare to the upfronts this week, you can also thank NBC who announced their line up last month. And maybe the strike is to thank for the less than interesting new shows, a list even less interesting than last year, with only one piquing my interest. But anyways. Here is what I’ll be watching next fall:
At the beginning of last year I thought that Chuck would be the one to out nerd the boys of The Big Bang Theory, but thanks to Sheldon it looks like I’ll be watching the CBS comedies live with Chuck saved to Tuesday. Granted if Heroes continues to be excruciatingly painful to watch, I may end up watching Chuck at that time. But all the scripted television will have to be put on hold when the Cleveland Browns, who got the max number of night games, play their first Monday Night Football game in over a decade.
I haven’t watched primetime television on Tuesday since Veronica Mars went off the air. And to be honest I may not technically watch it again this year because 10:00 is past my bedtime, but being the most improved show of the year getting better each episode, Eli Stone will be worth watching a day late. Now if only they would sign Dr. Abbott as a regular.
Just three years ago I watch more television on Thursday than every other night combined; now I’m just down to an hour and a half, an hour less than I’ll be watching on Friday’s. Not that I’m complaining, as it actually give me time to actually productive in real life.
Fridays 8:00 - Everybody Hates Chris (The CW) 9:00 - Friday Night Lights (DirecTV in the fall; NBC in the winter) 9:00 - The Ex-List (CBS)
My sister recently moved and I told her that she should go with DirecTV for her television provider so she could tape Friday Night Lights for me, but alas she went with cable instead. Punk. So if there is anyone in Northeast Ohio with DirecTV, please shout me a holla.
Saturdays, Sundays
I got nothing aside from when the Browns play on Sunday Night Football.
In my schedule above I didn’t talk about the new shows because I wanted to go more into depth here in my preseason top five:
1. The Goode Family (ABC): The latest animated show from the dude who brought us Beavis and Butt-head and King of the Hill set for midseason. Yep Mike Judge voices the head of a family of do-gooders. Speaking of Judge who also does extremely hilarious live action movies Office Space and Idocrasy, be on the look out for Extract starring Jason Bateman which will also be out next sometime year.
2. The Ex-List (CBS): All you really need to know about The Ex-List is that it is produced by Diane Ruggiero who wrote some of the best episodes of Veronica Mars, which is saying a lot. It also co-stars Rachel Boston of American Dreams fame. What makes me skeptical is that it is about a woman (Elizabeth Reaser) who has a year to find her soulmate, which happened to be someone she already dated, or she will be alone forever. Which begs the question, what happens in the second season?
3. I Love Money (VH1): I get typically get physically ill whenever I flip by Flavor of Love, Rock of Love of I Love New York, but thoroughly enjoyed Flavor of Love School Girls: Charm School and openly hoped they would do another season pitting them against Bret Michael and/or New York castoffs. Well someone over at VH1 must read the 9th Green because they just announced an elimination style show with physical and mental challenges including my boy Midget Mac.
4. Project Gary (CBS): This may be a episode by episode thing because it doesn’t seem that interested but does star Paula Marshall (Cupid) and Jay Mohr (Action).
5. Dollhouse (FOX): This should be higher on the list, but it got bumped to the bottom because I won’t be watching it. I won’t be watching it of course because it won’t last a month. For an extended reason why I won’t be watching Dollhouse check out Fool Me Once, Shame on Me; Fool Me Ten Times…
Speaking of Cupid and Veronica Mars, I noticed that it, along with the other Rob Thomas produced Good Behavior, were conspicuously missing from the ABC schedule. But anyways. For a complete grid of next fall television check out Ain’t it Cool News. You can also watch clips of the new shows here.
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.
I remember reading that the latest Coldplay song was political and thinking that it was just a sign that there was trouble in Gwyneth land with lines like, “If you love me won’t you let me know,” but a closer listen I guess there are some military themes. And the lampooning of politicians only drives that home. George Bush recently said he gave up golf because it didn’t seem right to do it in wartime, yet he continues to dance as seen here. Well at least he still isn’t as bad as Boris Yeltsin.
Usually the latest Gnarls Barkley video is an event for me but I am extremely bitter that the dudes in the video totally stole my go to dance moves when I am inebriated. Hrumph. Ironically while dancing like this I see weird things in door too.
Please, if you will, hop into the 9th Green Timwe Machine (patent pending) and go all the way back to 10/23/07 where I wrote, “then Last Name might very well be a prequel to Before He Cheats.” It looks like someone took note and turned a whole video into that concept. I still haven’t decided if this song is the worst thing ever or worthy of the guilty pleasure title, but all off Carrie Underwood’s hair flipping in the video has me leaning towards the latter.
This is one of those pairing so inane I am convinced that the manatee writers over at Family Guy has to be involved somehow. Maroon5 and Rihanna? Where is Eric Cartman when you need him?
You can also buy these songs DRM free, and sometimes a dime cheaper, over at Amazon MP3, check out the widget below:
Quote of the Week: Unless my people were freed by Benjamin Franklin and his five twin brothers you are wasting your time. (Black Nurse, The Big Bang Theory)
Big News of the Week: Networks Announce Their New Schedule: For the first time in a long time I am not physically upset at a show being left off the fall schedule with Friday Night Lights, Eli Stone, Pushing Daisies and The Big Bang Theory all making room on their respective networks. Be sure to be on the lookout early next week for what I will be watching including my preseason top five of the new shows.
But before we get to fall shows, there are the summer shows to debut first. In fact I recently received a postcard from PJ of My Boys fame on her trip to Italy where she met a mystery man. I think I missed something because I was unaware she even went to Italy, the last thing I remember was her making out with her roommate. But anyways. The new season of My Boys premiere’s Thursday, June 12 at 9:30 on TBS. Also coming back that night at 9:00 is The Bill Engvall Show which I will have more on closer to that date.
Coalition Links of the Week: BuzzSugar got the awesome opportunity to chat with the adorable Bret Harrison (a.k.a. Sam the bounty hunter for the Devil) about the future of Reaper. (BuzzSugar)
Mikey is generally pleased (if slightly underwhelmed) with this year's network upfront presentations. As for the social skills of the So You Think You Can Dance dancers, he's just kind of horrified. (Mikey Likes TV)
If only Kevin and Scotty waited one more week, they could have had a real marriage instead of just a big ol' gay commitment ceremony out there in California! Either way, it was extremely sweet and wrapped up an uneven season of Brothers & Sisters on a high note, well, at least until the whole not-incest thing between Rebecca and Justin. (Tapeworthy)
While Jace attended the upfronts this week and broke down the networks' scheduling decisions, he was more captivating with pondering just who the Final Cylon is on Battlestar Galactica and offered up his theory on who the last sleeper agent might be. (Televisionary)
Dan didn't (still hasn't, actually) get a chance to see this week's Top Chef, but you can get a chance to create your own episode through this Top Chef Mad Lib. (TiFaux)
This week, the TV Addict spent some time in New York professionally reporting on the TV Network UpFronts. Oh who are we kidding... we met 90210's Kelly Taylor! (the TV Addict)
Raoul chatted with Survivor winner Parvati. (TV Filter)
The Big Bang Theory: Maybe the funniest of their post strike episodes and really anything that has an overabundance of Sheldon and Penny scenes is alright in my book. They should really give these two there own episode, which the Sheldon is sick episode should have been as they should have skipped the unfunny Planet of the Apes subplot. Check out the latest episodes over at Innertube. You can also download or The Big Bang Theory on iTunes.
How I Met Your Mother: Please no more Britany Spears. I would almost rather the show die. In fact they should reveal her to be the mother next week and ended the show like that. Check out the latest episodes over at Innertube. You can also download How I Met Your Mother on iTunes.
My Name Is Earl: The anti-list plot was funny and got rid of Billy hopefully forever, but I feel cheated that Earl crossed “stole a chick’s leg” off his list so easily. That deserved an episode by itself. And did I miss the episode where Earl knocked over Joy’s trailer. I have been wondering when that happened for a while. Check out the latest episodes over at NBC.com. You can also download My Name Is Earl on iTunes.
Lost: Earlier this year when I compiled my list of my Favorite Characters on Television, I had left Not-Henry because the wuss they turned him into this season. But after a couple of weeks of him playing the curmudgeon in the worst buddy road trip flick ever I am ready to get him back onto that list. The flash forwards were fairly uninteresting. Jack learning Claire is (was?) his sister was one of the most anticlimactic scenes ever. We learned how everyone thinks they got off the island, but not how they actually got off the island or why they are lying or even who the two who “died” on the island were except that one wasn’t Jin. If we don’t see someone from the island not part of the Oceanic 6 in a flashforward in the finale I will be extremely disappointed. And Not-Henry or ghosts don’t count. Check out the latest episode over at ABC.com.
Promo of the Week: I can’t say I am too thrilled with the latest installment of the Indiana Jones series because old action heroes just doesn’t work and most importantly I can no longer call it my favorite trilogy of all time. Although I have a feeling in time I will ignore The Crystal Skull ever existed and still call the series my favorite trilogy. It is also not a good sign that the promo for The Sci-Fi Channel’s Mystery of the Crystal Skulls airing tomorrow, Sunday, at 9:00 looks more interesting than the movie trailer. Take a look:
(Pardon the technical difficulties, I hope to have the video uploaded soon)
Next Week’s Pick: The Big Bang Theory, Monday at 8:00 on CBS: The funniest new show since My Name Is Earl caps off its freshman season with hopefully more nerdisms. And those that didn’t catch the show yet or just want to see it again, there is also a repeat on Thursday at 8:00.
Just to show how bad things have gotten for the music industry, in one day, Grand Theft Auto IV sold more games than all but one album sold in all of 2007. Ironically, one of the things that makes the game so enjoyable is that you can just cruise around in your car listening to music. I have found myself playing the game sitting in the car waiting for the song to end before I got out of the car to get some hot coffee. This month’s quiz is dedicated to songs that can be found in a previous GTA games. As always you need to put both artist and title in the comments section (or you can e-mail me) and if you are correct I will un-bold it and give you credit. The Lyrics Quiz is for entertainment purposes only so please do not use anything besides your own meandering mind to help you up with the answers. Now onto the quiz:
1. Reaching out for something to hold, looking for a love where the climate is cold. Manic moves and drowsy dreams or living in the middle between the two extremes. (Out of Touch - Hall and Oates; guessed by Dara) 2. I am the one who would dance on the floor in a round. (Billie Jean - Michael Jackson; guessed by Angie) 3. Oh, the night is my world. City light, painted girl. (Self Control - Laura Branigan; guessed by Angie) 4. I know her love is true, but it is so damn easy making love to you. (Run to You - Bryan Adams; guessed by Angie) 5. We are young but getting old before our time. We’ll leave the TV and radio behind. 6. Heart of the city street is beating. Light from the neon’s turning dark today. 7. So you think my singing’s out of time: it makes me money. I don’t know why. 8. I said to my reflection, “Let’s get out of this place.” (Tempted - Squeeze - guessed by Dara) 9. Diary sits by the bedside table. Curtains are closed, cat’s in a cradle. ((I Just) Died in Your Arms - Cutting Crew; guessed by Angie) 10. Baby it’s all I know that you’re half the flesh and blood that makes me whole. (Broken Wings - Mr. Mister; guesed by Angie) 11. And so the conversation turned until the sun went down. And many fantasies were learned on that day. ((Keep Feelin ) Fascination - Human League; guessed by Angie) 12. Ladies love me; girls adore me I mean even the ones that never seen me like the way that I rhyme at a show. (It Takes Two - Rob Base and D.J. E-Z Rock; guessed by Angie) 13. Your bark was loud, but your bite wasn't vicious and them rhymes you were kicking were quite bootylicious. 14. Some drop science, well I’m dropping English. 15. Lovers, I know you've had a few. But hide your heart beneath the covers and tell 'em they're the only one. 16. Worried, why do I let myself worry. Wondering what in the world did I do? (Crazy - Willie Nelson; guessed by Dara) 17. I love to hear the thunder, watch the lightning when it lights up the sky. You know it makes me feel good. (I Love a Rainy Night - Eddie Rabbit; guessed by Angie) 18. Patti gave birth to a ten pound baby boy. (Young Turks - Rod Stewart; guessed by Angie) 19. Got a surprise especially for you, something that both of us have always wanted to do. We’ve waited so long. (Two Tickets to Paradise - Eddie Money; guessed by Dara) 20. After three days, in the desert fun, I was looking at a river bed and the story it told, of a river that flowed made me sad to think it was dead. (A Horse with No Name - America; guessed by Angie) 21. Never trust a big butt and a smile. (Poison - Bell Biv DeVoe; guessed by Angie) 22. From fancy cars to diamond rings, I've just about given you everything. There’s really not much I won't do for you. I bought you twelve yellow roses and candy, too. (Don't Be Cruel - Bobby Brown; guessed by Angie) 23. If you got the money, honey, we got your disease. (Welcome to the Jungle - Guns n' Roses; guessed by Angie) 24. Neon lights, Nobel Prize. When a leader speaks, that leader dies. (Cult of Personality - Living Colour; guessed by Dara) 25. Where you going with the mask I found? (Plush - Stone Temple Pilots; guessed by Angie)
In a measure of full discloser, I have never seen an episode of Tripping the Rift, or could even tell you what channel it is on, before checking out the aptly titled Tripping the Rift: The Movie. So this review is from that point of view and if you are a longtime fan of the show you may want to skip this review.
For those that haven’t seen the show, it wants to believe it is South Park meets Star Trek in that the characters are fowl mouthed in a setting of space. But the planets that they visit should look familiar because they are all based on pop culture. First the crew head to a black and white setting reminiscent of the old Frankenstein, followed by trips to an Indiana Jones themed planet before going low key on Hysteria Lane surround by desperate, albeit green, housewives.
The lead cartoon Chode (voiced by Office Space’s Stephen Root) is your typical purple captain who cares more about sex than, well, just about everything else combines. Which could explain the inclusion of Six (voiced by Singled Out’s Jenny McCarthy) in the crew, a sex slave cyborg. Rounding out the rest of the crew is Chode’s inept nephew Whip, T’nuk, who sounds like a combination of every lunch lady ever (prudes and females in general may not want to spell her name backwards), and the ambiguously gay robot Gus. Although they should have learned from Ace and Gary, ambiguously gay dudes are much funnier in pairs.
Also thrown in the mix for the movie is a killer robot clown from the future sent back in time to kill Chode. Yes this is an obvious Terminator reference, but instead of going into a biker bar to get cloths, it is a bar that launches plenty of Gus jokes. There are plenty of decent laughs throughout the movie that it almost makes me want to hunt down where the television show airs. Almost.
Much has been made of the eight and a half minute epic first single from Death Cab for Cutie, I Will Possess Your Heart and its four and a half minutes of a bass line on a constant loop before a single lyric is uttered. But ironically Narrow Stairs starts right off with the voice of Ben Gibbard. In fact Bixby Canyon Bridge sounds like it could have been an unheard track off of their last album Plans. That is until the track deconstructs around the two thirty mark into a fuzzy distortion for the last nearly singer-less three minutes. Which could explain why it takes the next track, I Will Possess Your Heart took almost as long to finally find its groove.
Aside from the extended outro and intro of the first two songs, Narrow Stairs really doesn’t deviate too far from the band’s previous sound. Sure you find some more feedback on Talking Bird and the organ bounce of You Can Do Better Than Me is reminiscent of the golden era of The Beach Boys as well as the abrupt end of Pity and Fear. While the track length ranges from under two minutes to over eight.
As the music of the band evolves, the songwriting really doesn’t deviate as Gibbard’s old stand bys of love, loss, and obsession are still preeminent. The latter of course show up in I Will Possess Your Heart (how disturbingly great is that title) which could be the best song written by a stalker since Crash into Me. The ode to California wildfires Grapevine Fires is beautiful and heartbreaking at the same time.
And no one is better at making depressing things sound gloomy like when he asks what became of a girl “in a hand-me-down wedding dress” on Cath… Then there is something funny yet sad about the girl in Your New Twin Sized Bed who downgrades from a queen because she just doesn’t need the extra space after realizing no one was going to it take up. But Gibbard saved the most lovelorn story for himself when he declares on You Can Do Better than Me that he can’t do better than her.
Survivor has been consistently entertaining even though it has hit a double digits number of seasons and despite it being obvious who will get voted out next as soon as the previews from the previous week’s episode. Not that the editors didn’t try to put a speck of doubt in your mind not that made the next castoff any less apparent. But those editors must have had a field day during the most recent installment Fan vs. Favorites.
In previous season we were lucky to get more than one shocking tribal council, but in this installment we had eight blindsides, two removals because of injury, one quitter, and even thought he was voted out, you had Johnny Fairplay asking to be voted for. Then you can throw in that two people got tossed while in the possession of a hidden immunity idol (Ozzy Lusth and Jason Siska), a surprised played idol by Amanda Kimmel as well as a fake idol that Eliza Orlins.
Then there was the most shocking tribal council play possibly ever and unarguable dumbest move ever in the history Survivor when ice cream scooper Erik Reichenbach inexplicably gave up his immunity necklace and promptly got voted out unanimously. I have been racking my brains these last couple days and I cannot even come up with a dumber move ever in the history of reality television in fact.
What was almost as worse is that earlier in the season, the same thing should have happened to Jason when he stupidly agree to step out of the immunity challenge if everyone promised not to vote for him. You know what else can get people to not vote for you at tribal council? Actually having the immunity necklace. The only thing that saved him was half the tribe wanted to blindside Ozzy.
Usually as good as any season is, the finale is always the most boring episode because there are so little contestants left, the stupid remember the fallen segment, the last challenge is a boring endurance one, and the final tribal councils tend to be anti-climatic. But not this one. First was the twist of a final two that no one saw coming. Granted I realized it back when James left thanks to counting out the remaining episodes. And thanks to Natalie's bizarre question about Parvati's bedroom habits, which she did not actually answer, the final tribal was almost enjoyable. Granted Ozzy ruined it with his lame melodrama. Which made me glad Parvati won just to spite him.
Big News of the Week: Men in Trees Canceled: I think I speak for every straight dude out there when I say, “Wait, Men in Trees was still on the air?”
Coalition Links of the Week: With her mind fully blown by a Wire character joining the 90210 spinoff, Buzz asks which actors you'll always associate with particular characters. (BuzzSugar)
Amie shared her thoughts on MTV's The Hills' latest episode "No Place Like Home." (Daemon's TV)
"Fame, I'dols going to live forever, I'dols going to learn how to fly, high!" Vance notes how this weeks American Idol fit into the lyrics of "Fame" eerily well. (Tapeworthy)
While once again obsessed with Lost, Jace remembered why he loves Battlestar Galactica so frakking much. (Televisionary)
Once again, TiFaux's kinky side reared its ugly head as Dan discussed which TV star tattoos were the hottest. Vote on who you think is the hottest! (TiFaux)
Tube Talk vents its frustration at ABC for cancelling Men in Trees. (Tube Talk.
With the rumblings in the press that Smallville's Allison Mack is getting ready to jump ship, this TV Addict thought he'd offer up a word of caution. (the TV Addict)
Kate broke down who will be in and who will be out when Project Runway makes its move to Lifetime. (TV Filter)
The Big Bang Theory: It is interesting how the first couple episodes made it look like Leonard courting Penny would be the big theme of the show until the writers quickly learned that Sheldon was the bread and butter of the show. So we get a second Sheldon family member visit which is two more than the four other characters combined. Granted the other three trying to ask the sister out was the funniest part of the episode. Check out the latest episodes over at Innertube. You can also download or The Big Bang Theory on iTunes.
How I Met Your Mother: Yeah this Ted not talking to Barney is just not going to work out well, aside from the one funny line, this episode was a bust. It is time for the others to start an intervention. Check out the latest episodes over at Innertube. You can also download How I Met Your Mother on iTunes.
My Name Is Earl: Finally Earl is back to crossing things off his list and not so coincidentally, the show got back to being funny even if it guest stared the dude from Napoleon Dynamite. Possibly the funniest episode of the season. All the grocery allusions had me laughing throughout. And the broken finger might be the funniest sight gag on television this year. They still need to get rid of Billy though. Check out the latest episodes over at NBC.com. You can also download My Name Is Earl on iTunes.
Survivor: There is really nothing else to say but Erik is going to go down as the dumbest Survivor contestant ever, in fact, possibly the dumbest reality contestant ever. Check out the latest episode over at Innertube.
Lost: I am convinced that the writers decided to put in as many “what the frak” moments this week even if there is no possible why they can or will ever explain them. Just off the top of my head, they include:
- What the frak is Claire doing in the cabin and what the frak was up with her grinning?
- Why the frak is Jack’s father talking to Locke and for Jacob?
- Where the frak is Jacob?
- What the frak is with all the time skipping?
- Why the frak won’t Michael die?
- What the frak is on the dude from Smoking Aces’ arm?
- What the frak were the Hispanic and black dude doing in Locke’s flashbacks?
- Why the frak does Locke have the same last name as his birth mother (don’t adopted kids take the name of their adopted parents?)?
- How the frak do you move an island (especially after the freighter dudes came back)?
- What the frak is the contingency plan?
- Why the frak do I still watch?
Oh yeah, it is because of Not-Henry’s bemused, I don’t care what you do anymore, but I’ll just play along as if I almost do look which is basically the look I had all episode. Check out the latest episode over at ABC.com.
Next Week’s Pick: My Name Is Earl, Thursday at 8:00 on NBC: For the shows that came back from the strike, their season premieres start rolling out this week, and looking at the list for the week, I am less than impressed by television this year. Hopefully My Name Is Earl can turn things around after a sub par year marred my jail time, comas, and little crossing off the list.
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.
Alicia Keys in eighties garb and a nightgown? Yes please. But I’m not sure what is more out of place, the inexplicable “2 Weeks Ago” or the for no reason inclusion of the epidemic in Africa. For a not out of place public service announcement check out:
Radiohead tends not to get much talk on the 9th Green on account that I am not pretentious enough to care even if they are letting people download their album for free. But this video does highlight a very serious subject with human trafficking and should get you to thinking the next time you head down to Walmart to buy, well, anything. There are reasons to how Walmart and stores of its ilk can keep there prices so low and it mostly has to do with 70% of their products come from China where employees tend not to get health insurance or anything that resembles minimum wage in the USA. For more information check out End Exploitation and Trafficking.
I was on the fence for this Michael Jackson remake, but after seeing this Fall Out Boy video, I think I may fall into the dislike side. John Mayer was wise to sit this one out. Unfortunately Buster Bluth didn’t follow his lead. What’s sad is I think I can find all the MJ references in the video.
Falling Down - Scarlett Johansson
Instead of using this space to talk about boring the song and video is, I would rather talk about the recent news that Scarlett Johansson is engaged to the dude from Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Parlor. Wait, huh? How did this happen? I know I am not up on the high school gossip of rags like US Weekly, but wasn’t she dating the equaling boring dude from 40 Days and 40 Nights?
“Today almost half of Americans hold a negative view of Islam. One in four hold “extreme” anti Muslim views.” I guess things like that happen when a group of Islamic men use airplanes as missiles if it is warranted or not. But as I have found in life, when you are quick to make fun of yourself, oddly enough the quicker people are to accept you. And that is what five comedians are doing as highlighted in the upcoming PBS series America at a Crossroads with their newest installment Stand Up: Muslim American Comics Come of Age premiering this Sunday, May 11 at 10:00 (you may want to still check your local listing just in case).
Judging how African Americans comedians such as Richard Pryor in the seventies, Eddie Murphy in the eighties, Chris Rock in the nineties, and Dave Chappelle this decade have been able to help thaw the race relations since the era of Jim Crowe by poking fun of their race and how everyone reacts to the color of their skin, these new Muslim comics just may be able to help ease the animosity that still lingers from the 9/11 attacks as seen in one review that had a caption reading, “trying not to suicide bomb” on stage.
The comics profiled are pretty diverse unto themselves, with only their religion sometimes binding them, with the five being descended from Iran, Palestine, India, Egypt, and one that is half Palestinian and half Italian. It is interesting see how each balances humor with their religion considering how none of them would be about to do their routine as is in their native country.
Here is a preview of America at a Crossroads:
My personal favorite of the five was Ahmed Ahmed:
Then a funny skit about Arabs being the new Black:
What up Mustafa? I am totally using that in the future. You can find a bunch more clips from America at a Crossroads on its YouTube page. And here is a little more information on America at a Crossroads for those that tend not to watch public television (personally I need my weekly Bob Ross fix):
Stand Up: Muslim American Comics Come of Age is part of the acclaimed series America at a Crossroads, created by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) to present an in-depth, provocative series of films exploring the challenges confronting the world post-9/11. CPB developed the initial concept for America at a Crossroads in 2004, with an open call for film projects. More than 400 proposals were submitted from public television stations and independent documentary filmmakers around the world. In 2006, CPB named WETA the producing station to oversee all films throughout production. Stand Up: Muslim American Comics Come of Age is part of a series of specials following the premiere week in April 2007. The series has a major interactive Web presence at www.pbs.org/crossroads. Funding for the series was provided by CPB.
in the fall instead of having to wait until winter.
to which laughed at. Then I thought about it and realized the write was on to something, a show that had a solid first season that started going downhill when the characters started hooking up with each other. I usually trace the shark jumping moment to when the hot baker chick went off to France, but the show really started to lose its bearings in the second season when they spent the whole year focusing on the Ted/Robin coupling when we already knew that she was not the mother.![Terror Alert Level: Elevated [YELLOW]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6-iVFV0hXCTSYP16K_V0Rrxp3GqFrtBIJKeTUyQ2LpxZQ9XKHFj6QGtqqa7oxhLadLV8vUj8R84AftD8IKUSfN0u_u0CYDtJwhrpCPN2DBWquAIDv0jbVlhZL0mDFKlPKluGyxw/s400/small_elevated.png)
on my ![Terror Alert Level: High [ORANGE]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhebDZ0qqwOVKMZj7oFSUe8Hm3ax54U9Hp1fThJPgiddTyzcdwx_5SV6E3b7hkKyxbaDiym4COmUXT2YJnsKCUjBHI_a2xZtNoY7qFQRslP5AGO5gLkJwn2ZbO0wIF80ycbKrgPPA/s400/small_high.png)
on my Terror Alert Scale.
went off the air. And to be honest I may not technically watch it again this year because 10:00 is past my bedtime, but being the most improved show of the year getting better each episode, Eli Stone will be worth watching a day late. Now if only they would sign Dr. Abbott as a regular.
sold more games than all but one album sold in all of 2007. Ironically, one of the things that makes the game so enjoyable is that you can just cruise around in your car listening to music. I have found myself playing the game sitting in the car waiting for the song to end before I got out of the car to get some hot coffee. This month’s quiz is dedicated to songs that can be found in a previous GTA games. As always you need to put both artist and title in the comments section (or you can e-mail me) and if you are correct I will un-bold it and give you credit. The Lyrics Quiz is for entertainment purposes only so please do not use anything besides your own meandering mind to help you up with the answers. Now onto the quiz:
meets 
in that the characters are fowl mouthed in a setting of space. But the planets that they visit should look familiar because they are all based on pop culture. First the crew head to a black and white setting reminiscent of the old Frankenstein, followed by trips to an Indiana Jones themed planet before going low key on Hysteria Lane surround by desperate, albeit green, housewives.
’s Stephen Root) is your typical purple captain who cares more about sex than, well, just about everything else combines. Which could explain the inclusion of Six (voiced by Singled Out’s Jenny McCarthy) in the crew, a sex slave cyborg. Rounding out the rest of the crew is Chode’s inept nephew Whip, T’nuk, who sounds like a combination of every lunch lady ever (prudes and females in general may not want to spell her name backwards), and the ambiguously gay robot Gus. Although they should have learned from 
, ambiguously gay dudes are much funnier in pairs.
didn’t follow his lead. What’s sad is I think I can find all the MJ references in the video.
?