I usually do a “Most Anticipated” list here but overlooking the scheduled lists of album being released in time for Christmas, I really cannot say I am overtly excited for more than two or three of them. Please note while looking over the list for yourself, twenty years ago last weekend, Nevermind, The Low End Theory, and Blood Sugar Sex Magik were all released on the same day (that does not even include the very first CD I ever bought: Waking Up the Neighbours - Bryan Adams by Bryan Adams). Unfortunately most of the albums I am most looking for are in the dreaded “TBD” section which usually means if they do not have a release date by now or even a title; we will not likely see them until early next year at the soonest. For those that want to pre-order the album on Amazon, click its name, or the artist’s name to be taken to iTunes.
October is the month of scary and what better way to celebrate the spook than with a sit down with Stephen King talking about the horror genre? For A Night at the Movies, King discusses everything from the first movie to scare him (Bambi, no seriously) to the movies based on his writing he calls The Shining, “A beautiful car without an engine in it.”) He even breaks down the sub-genres like creature features, freaks, hauntings, vampires (he calls Bella Lugosi a, “wacked out concert pianist”), and of course slashers.
With Halloween close approaching, King also talks about the horror films that have influenced his work going all the way back to Freaks which was released in 1932 and current films that scare him (learn what modern film he walked out of he was so scared). He even delves deep in to our psyche to figure out what these films scare us and make us coming back for more. This special is a must for any Steven King fan and fans of the genre that will undoubtedly discover new films to put in their queue this month. But be warned, major spoilers are revealed about many of the films talked about, so if you are new and catching up on some horror classics, you may want to skip this. Also be sure not to skip the credits as King discusses his Desert Island Movies.
A Night at the Movies: The Horrors of Stephen King airs tonight at 8:00 on TCM. The special will kick off an entire month of classic horror on TCM, with each Monday night's lineup packed with memorable chillers. The offerings include Universal classics like Frankenstein (1931) and The Wolf Man (1941), Val Lewton thrillers like Cat People (1942) and I Walked with a Zombie (1943), Hammer classics like Horror of Dracula (1958) and cult favorites from William Castle and Roger Corman, to name a few. Also this Wednesday John Carpenter will be the guest programmer starting at 8:00. Below is a promo for the special on tonight.
How I Met Your Mother: Wait, Ted cheated on Victoria with Robin? Did this actually happen and I just forgot (it would have been about six years ago I think) are did they do some revisionist history on it? But I did like how Victoria totally called out Ted’s creepy threesome relationship with Robin and Barney. But I still wish Victoria would stick around longer.
You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com. You can also download How I Met Your Mother on iTunes.
The Sing Off: It is hard not to get behind a group that features Antoine Merriweather, which is why I have them number one on my first ever The Sing Off Power Ranking below. As for the other performances, I am still trying to figure out what was more bizarre, a bunch of high schoolers doing an acapella version of a Ozzy Osbourne song (which followed a Hair medley) or the acapella dance version of Wicked Game. But anyway, here is my power ranking from the first round.
The Lying Game: I loved how Sutton basically explaining the plot of the show got her locked up in the loony bin. That is always a good sign for a guilty pleasure.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download The Lying Game on iTunes.
Castle: I am surprised the show missed an opportunity at a meta moment when Castle did not say the superhero he most wanted to be was Green Lantern (he lent his voice to the recent animated film Green Lantern: Emerald Knights). You cannot blame ABC’s affiliation with Marvel because his chose ended up being DC’s Batman.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Castle on iTunes.
Weeds: I could have sworn the creator said that she planned on this season to be the show’s last (though the network disagreed) because that finale was pretty cliffhangery. Unless she meant it to be some sort of Tony Soprano fade to black situation.
Parenthood: Wow, they actually gave Drew something to do. I do not think he has had a storyline since playing baseball and I think that only lasted an episode or two. And for anyone who wonder what I looked like when trying to flirt with a girl in high school (or in college, or last week at the grocery store) refer to the scene when Drew was “returning” the hedge clippers.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Parenthood on iTunes.
Sons of Anarchy: I wonder if the murdered club member connected to the leaving member is foreshadowing for something that will happen with SAMCRO this season.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Sons of Anarchy on iTunes.
Survivor: South Pacific: I have said this before and will probably have to repeat it every week until he gets kicked off, but Brandon has some major issues. His “apology” to Mikayla involved him shouting here, then calling a tribe meeting solely to air his dirty laundry. I do not see how he sticks around once his tribes loses another immunity challenge.
You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com.
Modern Family: Fun fact: I actually shared a math class with my older sister in high school. And it was as awesome as Alex would have you believe.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu.
Revenge: Much more entertaining episode then the first. Once they got past the exposition that had to be done for the Pilot, it looks like we have settled in to Amy Abbott taking down a new person every week. But am annoyed in the back my mind knowing what happens later in the season, although I might be wrong of when that is. If this episode was “twelve weeks ago” I wonder if every episode is a week and the engagement party happens midseason. I could also do with the “this is how she did it” scene at the end of episode. Personally I had already figured out Amy stole the password from the massive clues that camera gave us, same with the poisoning last week.
You can stream current episodes on Hulu. You can also download Revenge on iTunes.
Community: Holy Bill Haverchuck sighting! More Annie on Annie violence this season or just Annie temper tantrums will do just fine.
You can stream current episodes on Hulu. You can also download Community on iTunes.
Last week news broke out of nowhere that Rock and Roll Hall of Famers R.E.M. were calling it quits after almost three decades and fifteen albums together. It was almost like hearing your grandparents were getting a divorce after all these years. What is most surprising is they are closing up shop after releasing their best album since drummer Bill Berry left the band. Of course this brings up the old sports question of do you retire after winning the championship or keep trying to get one when you are no longer productive, so maybe it is better to call it quits now or turn into The Rolling Stones who have not put out a listenable album in my lifetime.
R.E.M. hit their creative stride the early nineties. Ironically, after being the face of alternative music, or college rock as it was called then, for most of the eighties, the group made it big by going mellow just as alternative was making it into the mainstream. After two album, the band packed in their mandolins and dusted off the guitars for Monster, which was not even a back to their roots movement but ended up expanding their sound even more and this month’s induction into the Scooter Hall of Fame.
Monster started off with the heaviest guitar riff Peter Buck ever on What’s the Frequency Kenneth? setting the listener up for a louder and fuzzier sound. It also us a glimpse into the theme of celebrity that runs throughout the album, with the title of the song coming from a phrase an someone repeatedly yelled at Dan Rather while attacking him. The album also ends with another stalkerish track You which manages to be creepy and awesome at the same time. The other most notable song about celebrity was Let Me In, a tribute to Kurt Cobain who committed suicide months earlier.
Aside from the opening song, the other stand out track is Strange Currency. It is thematically closer to the songs on the previous two albums, but with much more feedback that makes it fit in with the rest of the tracks on Monster. The song may be the sweetest song the band ever wrote after Nightswimming and Michael Stipe shows why he has one of the great voices in the history of rock when he sings lines like, “I need a chance, a second chance, a third chance, a fourth chance…” Here is hoping that voice is not lost forever just because the band broke up.
Big News of the Week: Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Nominees Announced: The governing body (or whoever does the nominating) of the Rock Hall released the names of fifteen acts of which five will be inducted next year. Most notable include repeat nominees Beastie Boys, Red Hot Chili Peppers, newbies Eric B. & Rakim and Guns N' Roses. With both the Beasties and Peppers releasing albums this year, I bet both will make it this year (though I contend the Peppers should not get in until the 25th anniversary of Blood Sugar Sex Magic). I have GnR as a lock if only because everyone wants to see who will actually show up. And though a first ballot Hip Hop Hall of Fame inducted, Eric B. and Rakim will doubtfully get in especially with other rappers Beasties likely to be enshrined. If I were a betting man I would put Joan Jett & The Blackhearts and The Spinners grabbing the other two spots. If I am not mistaken, inductees will be announced in December with the ceremony taking place in March here in Cleveland (and I am available to cover the festivities if anyone wants to hook me up with a ticket). Stayed tuned next year when Debbie Gibson finally becomes eligible.
Free Download of the Week: Pilot - Pan Am, Season 1 (iTunes): For those that have missed what I decreed as the best pilot of the new season that I have seen so far, you can catch up before the second episode by downloading the episode on iTunes.
New DVD Release of the Week: Friday Night Lights: The Complete Series We are 85 shopping days until Christmas and for those wondering what you can get me, this will do just fine.
Video of the Week: After a slew of some pretty poor chick flicks, Kristen Bell is returning to television this January for House of Lies. I did not know until this teaser that the show is actually a comedy. And hopefully the pantsuit is not a sign of Bell’s wardrobe on the show, but I am always down for watching her dance more.
Next Week Pick of the Week: Pop Up Video, Weekdays at noon on VH1: I have no idea why they ever canceled Pop Up Video returns after a ten year hiatus Monday for sixty new episodes. Personally I cannot wait until the first weekend marathon where I can veg out and enjoy the new episodes for a whole day.
On a side note, "Weird Al" Yankovic Live! - The Alpocalypse Tour hits shelves Tuesday but for those that cannot wait until then or just rather watch it for free, tune in tomorrow to watch Weird Al perform songs from his new album like TMZ, classics like Smells Live Nirvana and of course some polka, most in his traditional costumes. And since the special was filmed in Toronto, Al naturally breaks out Canadian Idiot.
The most obvious theme of the fall season are retro hot chick jobs from the sixties, but a more rampant theme of this fall are shows that sound like a good idea for a movie but how do you make it into an actual series (shows that fall into this category include Terra Nova, Ringer, Revenge, Persons of Interest, A Gifted Man, midseason shows like Apartment 23, Bent, Awake, The River and let’s not forget Heart of Dixie which was actually a movie, but was called Doc Hollywood back then). You can extend that to cable with Showtime’s Homeland.
The show follows Claire Danes (The Mod Squad) as a CIA operative who gets some questionable intelligence that Al-Qaeda had turned a prisoner of war and is convince that long presumed dead Marine sergeant Damien Lewis (Robinson Crusoe) who is found alive after eight years in captivity may be some sort of Manchurian Candidate. Much like Jack Bower before her (the show is from the creators of 24), Danes goes further than the Patriot Act would allow to see if her suspicions are correct much to the dismay of her old boss and mentor Mandy Patinkin (Alien Nation) who is still dealing with his superiors at how Claire got her original intel in the first place.
Also having rough time with Lewis’s return is his family who has long thought he was dead. His daughter has reached the rebellious phase and his son is too young to even remember a time when he was around. His wife Morena Baccarin (whose hair has thankfully grown out to a much hotter length than her time on V, but still kind of still looks like an alien) has even moved on since her husband had been declared dead and naturally she started hooking up with his best friend Diego Klattenhoff (Mercy).
If gaining intelligence from someone about to be executed in exchange to keep his family safe, Danes is also facing her own demons that may stem from her blaming herself for not stopping what happen on September 11, 2011, but may actually go back further. Homeland plays like a less heady and more action version of AMC’s short-lived intelligence based show Rubicon. As great as the first fifty minutes of the premiere episode is, I really did not like the ending (which I really cannot explain why without giving away major spoilers). If Homeland was a one hundred minute movie and what happened and the episode was actually the start of a third act of a movie, I would be fine, but it seems like they are showing their cards way too early for a twelve episode season. Hopefully they prove me wrong for the second episode.
Redneck hit their boon in the nineties, Jeff Foxworthy turned his popular phrase (You might be a redneck if…) into bestselling books and a television series on two different networks, Garth Brooks outsold everyone in the decade, redneck fashion mainstays mullets, flannel and overalls broke into the mainstream and we even elected our first hillbillies president in Bill Clinton. But the pop culture stranglehold the Caucasian subculture seemed to be released when we elected our second redneck president and the sub culture just did not seem as entertaining anymore.
Mow that brush clearing George Bush is long gone, maybe it is time for a redneck resurgence and first up is Rocket City Rednecks. But the men of the show are not your regular Jethro or Cletus, they are redneck rocket scientists. No seriously, the main redneck on the show works at NASA’s Marshall Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, and the group of five members boast eight advanced degrees among them. But do not let the degrees fool you, they are also certifiable rednecks who scoffs when one asks, “Where are you gonna find 500 beer cans.”
And you might be a redneck if you star in episodes named Bomb-Proof My Pick-Up and Moonshine Rocket Fuel. But this is not Jackass for Hicks, the rednecks will be putting those PhD’s to good use for instance they are trying bomb-proofing their truck in hopes to use their idea for armored trucks in war. Plus this is where the 500 beer cans come in. And since they cannot find anyone to be a crash test dummy, they make their own out of fruit and eggs. As for the moonshine rocket fuel, NASA is also looking for ways to lower fuel cost and the boys have an idea that moonshine just may work but first they have to put it to the test. Both episodes air tonight.
The Rocket City Rednecks have plenty of great one liners throughout the episodes including their motto “Safty Third” (tune in to find out what is one and two) and “it is easier to get forgiveness than permission sometimes.” Also this season the redneck try to creat a lightweight, bullet-proof exoskeleton, build a homemade submarine out of kegs, proctect the Earth from an asteroid, convert an RV into an interplanetary spaceship, use hydroelectricity to power their custom built pontoon boat, and build a spy satellite. The show also has a theme song even the Clampett’s would enjoy.
Rocket City Rednecks airs Wedenesdays at 9:00 with back to back episodes on the National Geographic Channel. Check out a preview of tonight’s premiere below:
Happy Endings seemed like one of those midseason replacements that a network just picked up in case something failed miserably in the fall and ends up burning off during the summer if they do not air earlier. The show looked headed for that fate, being scheduled at the non-sitcom friendly 10:00 and back to back episodes at that. But the new brass at ABC saw something they liked be it either alright ratings in a bad timeslot or something else but not only did they renew Happy Endings but gave it its cushiest place on it schedule, the post-Modern Family timeslot.
Happy Endings returns for its second season tomorrow and little has changed (except for Eliza Coupe hotter new haircut) and the opening scenes is so bizarre with the gang finally using Dave and Alex’s honeymoon suite a year later that will make fans of the first season happy though I am not sure how it will endure to Modern Family fans to stick around to give the show a shot. With the show’s renewal, Penny has decided to declare this The Year of Penny with her newly bought condo while Brad invests in an interesting new wardrobe. Guys may want to tune in just to see Elisha Cuthbert’s hula-hoop dance.
Next week Penny and Alex run into some mean girls, one of which who was actually in Mean Girls (sorry, no Amanda Seyfried or Rachael McAdams, it is Nicole Gale Anderson from Mean Girls 2) and fans of the eighties will enjoy the Cocktail montage that happens. But the highlight of next week is when Jane tries to find out if the egg she donated in college turned into a nine year old little-Jane walking around Chicago to a disastrous effect. And by disastrous I mean hilarious. But a warning to hip-hop fans Max wrongfully attributes an N.W.A. lyric to Biggie (sure they both stole the line from the same movie, but N.W.A. stole it first). Though not seen in the first two episodes, expect Megan Mullally (Party Down) to sow up sometime soon as Penny’s optimistic mother.
Happy Endings airs Wednesdays at 9:30 on ABC. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Happy Endings on iTunes. If you missed the first season or just want to rewatch it in its intended order, including the mysterious thirteenth episode that ABC did not air until late August, as well as about ten minutes of deleted scenes, you can but it on DVD (see below).
There have been a couple of videos that have caught my eye lately so I thought I’d give them some love since the death of Musical Television left a void for a forum on the art form. If you are interested in buying the video through iTunes, click the title link (where available). If you are interested in buying the song, look for a link in the analysis.
Sure nine of the songs featured in the song made my Worst Songs of the Year lists (as opposed to three that made a Best list) but “Weird Al” Yankovic has the Midas touch in his ability of turning crap into gold.
Dawes makes Los Angeles sound a little drab in this song but do you know what the city of Angels has that, say Cleveland does not? When you throw a house party there, it is stocked with absurdly attractive chick even if the dudes look like darned dirty hippies while here Mellissa McCarthy would be one of the more attractive party-goers if she attended. And it is even worse in the winter when what constitutes as hot chicks here seem to go into hibernation. I really need to spend some time in Los Angeles.
An interesting video from The Cab only told through cell phone messages, but they really over played the amount of pictures, something that has been done before, they should have kept it to a more realistic amount. Well except for the sexting scene, more pictures there would have been preferable.
How I Met Your Mother: The writers are just messing with us. Multiple time future Ted said they were close to the end only to pull a “psych!” But the end of the second episode did give me some hope. I have long asserted that the show has not been consistently good since Victoria went off to Paris so hopefully she sticks around for the whole season even if she still turns out not to be the mother.
You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com. You can also download How I Met Your Mother on iTunes.
The Sing Off: Watching Sara Bareilles in her debut makes me wonder why anyone would tune into a show featuring a Pussycat Doll as a judge. She knocked it out of the park and this show clearly has the best and most entertaining judging panel of any show currently on television. My early favorites are Urban Method and Yellowjackets.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download songs from The Sing-Off on iTunes.
The Lying Game:As I long suspected, all the parents of the main cast knew the twins mother, now I just need conformation that one of the dads is actually their birth dads. Otherwise a fairly boring episode until the dude punched the other one.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download The Lying Game on iTunes.
Castle: Even though I knew there was no chance Beckett was not going to make it, those first couple minutes were still pretty intense. As for the case of the week, I almost buy why dude stayed in the room, but why ball up under the bed right where the blood was seeping through, are why hide under the bed at all?
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Castle on iTunes.
Parenthood: I really don’t understand why the parents of the boy Vince assaulted are pressing charges. Doesn’t the district attorney turn around and arrest the parents for having teen drinking at their house? Maybe it is not in California, but that is a pretty big offence that will get you a couple weeks in jail for. But I really like the pregnant latte girl, the rejection scene was one where you keep on rewinding with saying no, just more heartbreaking the previous time. Her facial expressions just sold the scene. Is it too late to get this actress her own show for midseason?
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Parenthood on iTunes.
Sons of Anarchy: There is a reason why I never watch any of those torture porn films like Hostel and when the only thing I can think about from this episode is the fire ant scene is the very reason why not.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Sons of Anarchy on iTunes.
Survivor: South Pacific: We got a small preview of it last week, but Brandon is clearly certifiable. The way he looks and talks about Mikayla (dude blamed her for him being attractive to her) is beyond creepy and if one of them is not voted out soon I fear for her safety. If Coach were smart he would cut Brandon loose as soon as he can (and replace him with Edna in his alliance) because you cannot have a guy like that around. But this is Coach we are talking about so we will have to see.
You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com.
Modern Family: Nooooooooo!!! They cannot leave Dylan in Colorado, I would rather have him marry Hayley then have him left a hundred miles away.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu.
Revenge: Longtime readers of the 9th Green know how much I hate when episodes start off in the third act before flashing back to the beginning moments later. It shows lazy writing and they are basically saying to the audience “the first part of the episode is boring so we are going to start the episode off with the most interesting scene instead.” So image how my head almost exploded when Revenge started off the season with what I am assuming is the season finale (if the story starts on Memorial Day, it makes sense it will end on Labor Day). If it were not for Amy Abbott I may have turned the television off right then.
You can stream current episodes on Hulu. You can also download Revenge on iTunes.
The Big Bang Theory: When Penny slept with Raj last season I really thought that that really rued her character by doing so. Apparently someone on the show figured that out over the summer hiatus and revised that Raj had some performance issues which I guess is better than a dream sequence. But I did find the discussion of who Penny would have slept with first had Howard not had a fiancé funny.
You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com. You can also download The Big Bang Theory on iTunes.
Community: Yeah, this show completely went off the deep end.
You can stream current episodes on Hulu. You can also download Community on iTunes.
Big News of the Week: Winners and Losers of Week One: The biggest loser has to be Simon Cowell who’s ego thought he was the reason that tuned into American Karaoke but his new show The X-Factor, which is basically his old show for older people, did not even come close to what his former show did without him last season. The big winner was comedy. After years of people talking about the demise of the sitcom, both Modern Family and The Big Bang Theory beat the heavily hyped X-Factor head to head while the Charlie Sheen-less Two and a Half Men pulled in the most eyeballs this week and helped 2 Broke Girls become the most watched sitcom premiere in a decade (to show you how bad sitcoms have gotten, the last show that premiered that high was Inside Schwartz), while over cable the Charlie Sheen helped his Comedy Central Roast to record breaking ratings. Cancel watch is out for NBC’s The Playboy Club and Free Agents while the surprise hit of the season goes to ABC’s Revenge, but one has to wonder how the rating will be next week when Happy Endings is its lead in instead of Modern Family.
New DVD Release of the Week: Married...With Children - The Complete Series (note that as I write this, the set is listed at $39.99 so if my math is correct, that comes to 15 cents per episode.)
Video of the Week: One of the great “insert name here” song in recently memories is Barbra Streisand and mash-up artists have take the Duck Sauce song and ran with it inserting everyone from Michael Jackson to Gerry Rafferty into the song. Now Luis Guzman has gotten into the action to promote the return of his show How to Make It in America (returning next Sunday at 10:30) complete with its own video with many see if you can spot them cameos. HBO has also released a mixtape in celeb ration of the new season which you can stream or download on the show’s Facebook page featuring artists like Little Dragon, the Joy Formidable and more.
Next Week Pick of the Week: Pan Am, Sunday at 10:00: Watching the first episode of Pan Am made me wonder air travel has actually gotten worse over the past forty years. If an airplane experience was more like it is depicted on Pan Am than it was today, maybe I would not have a B.A. Baracus affliction to flying. But anyway. You can check out my preview of Pan Am here.
I have gotten a plethora of cool press releases have been flooding my inbox recently that you may find interesting. This post will include blurbs on Boardwalk Empire, Alphas, Weeds, The Big C, Troubadour, TX, Conspiracy Theory with Jesse Ventura, What's Trending, RÖKK, Shape, Redbook, Klout, and the Smithsonian Channel.
Boardwalk Empire returns to HBO this Sunday at 9:00, here is what you can expect from the second season:
- The first season of Alphas comes to an end this Monday on Syfy. Here is a sneak peak of the team as they go up against Red Flag.
- In other season finale news, Weeds and The Big C wrap up their seasons this Monday on Showtime.
- New show alert! Troubadour, TX debuts September 23 and 24 on most CW stations (check local listings for times) which follows the lives and careers of most than a dozen singers and songwriters from the Lone Star State.
- For the third season of Conspiracy Theory, Jesse Ventura and his team will be hitting the road and will be joined by his son Tyrel as well as Oliver Stone’s offspring Sean this time around. Look out for the eight new episodes in 2012 (assuming that the conspiracy theory about the world ending turns out not to be true).
- Common recently went on What’s Trending to talk about his new book where he talked about his new book One Day It'll All Make Sense as well as his views on homosexuality growing up, how it's up to US to change the state of “political warfare” and what he's most proud of from Hip Hop. Check out the interview below:
- Because every rapper needs their own vodka, The Lonely Island Boys are now the creative directors for RÖKK. Check out a preview of their first video.
- In the October issue of Shape magazine, Erin Andrews from ESPN demonstrates the latest workout craze, CrossFit. Check out a photo of her below:
- Also on newsstands this October is Redbook which will feature an interview with Buddy Valastro of Cake Boss with topics like the funniest cake request and what his life is like off camera.
- With the new television season just started, klout.com has counted down the ten most influential shows (though it looks to have a big slant towards summer shows).
- October is music month on the Smithsonian Channel and here is a rundown of what you can expect:
PHIL COLLINS: GOING BACK TO DETROIT premieres Sunday, October 2 at 8 p.m. ET/PT. This hour-long special features the music from Collin’s first solo album in eight years. It recounts the major influence that Motown music had on a young Phil Collins as he was finding his musical voice, and follows him on a journey to rediscover the roots of the Motown Sound. Teaming up with The Funk Brothers, three original Detroit session guitarists, Collins records his new album of Motown hits "Going Back," featuring some of Motown’s greatest songs including Dancing in the Streets, Nowhere to Run, My Girl and Papa Was A Rolling Stone . The program shows exclusive footage of Collins preparing for the album's accompanying concert tour.
The hour-long THE REAL WORLD OF PETER GABRIEL, premiering Sunday, October 9 at 8 p.m. ET/PT , was inspired by the 20th Anniversary of Gabriel's Real World Records and the release of his collaborative album "Big Blue Ball." This record was a result of some of the legendary 'Real World Recording Weeks' which took place in the 1990s, where musicians from all over the world got together and made music. The film gives an insight into the extraordinary atmosphere in which these sessions were held and also Real World's process of recording with producers and artists who come from different cultural backgrounds. The filmmakers spent time at Real World going through the archives and filming interviews with key staff, including Gabriel.
The international explosion of hip-hop culture and rap music is explored in the award- winning HIP-HOP: THE FURIOUS FORCE OF RHYMES, making its INSIDE THE MUSIC premiere on Friday, October 21 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Smithsonian Channel. The film traverses four continents and six countries, looking at hip-hop as trans-national protest music. Rap has found kindred souls in people as diverse as African Activists, Israeli Jews, French Arabs and even German skinhead punks, all of whom share a common musical language. Recognizing themselves in the oppression of American blacks, people in various parts of the world have adapted the music born on the streets of New York to their own causes.
INSIDE THE MUSIC ENCORES:
THE SWEET LADY WITH THE NASTY VOICE - Saturday, October 1 at 8 p.m. ET/PT - The story of the first lady of rockabilly and one of Elvis’s girlfriends – rock 'n' roll pioneer Wanda Jackson. As Rolling Stone said: "Jackson was the first to bring a woman’s intuition into the boy’s club of early rock-n-roll." The film follows the Grammy Award nominee and legendary singer as she performs in Maine, Austin, New York City, Oklahoma City, Washington, D.C., and overseas in Sweden and Finland.
THE ACCORDION KINGS - Friday, October 7 at 8 p.m. ET/PT - This is the story of the traditional beat at the heart of Latin America’s richest music, featuring an exclusive performance and interview with pop star and Grammy winner Carlos Vives as well as behind the scene footage of the legendary Vallenato Festival. In Colombia’s northern Magdalena Valley, "valley music" is the rage and the accordion is king. Even mega pop stars Shakira and Gloria Estefan have fused this rhythm into their songs. Every 10 years, Colombia’s top accordion virtuosi gather in the market town of Valledupar to compete in a fierce musical battle to decide who among them is the undisputed Accordion King.
ALL YOU NEED IS KLAUS - Saturday, October 8 at 8 p.m. ET/PT - A journey into the incredible life of Klaus Voormann. Respected as one of the finest bass guitarists of all time, Voormann is best known for his association with the most popular and most influential band in rock ‘n roll history, The Beatles. ALL YOU NEED IS KLAUS also features Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr,Carly Simon, and Randy Newman. Joe Walsh and Simon are also interviewed in the film, with Simon recounting Voormann’s influence on her big hit, You’re So Vain.
WORLDS OF SOUND: THE BALLAD OF FOLKWAYS - Friday, October 14 at 8 p.m. ET/PT - Folkways Records founder Moses Asch turned the music business model on its head. He avoided hit makers and catered to unknown musicians. He dug into vanishing traditions around the world to harness music and sounds that inspire people. Artists like Woody Guthrie and Lead Belly can still be heard on this original indie label.
ELECTRIFIED: THE GUITAR REVOLUTION – Sunday, October 23 at 8 p.m. ET/PT - Without it, there would be no Hendrix, Clapton, The Beatles or rock n’ roll for that matter. This 60-minute high-wattage history lesson salutes the inventors, pioneers and gods of the electric guitar. The electric guitar was invented to be heard among the brass instruments of the big band era, but it soon took on a sound and life of its own. From the early days of the Model U and the Frying Pan to the guitar wars of Fender and Gibson, experience its evolution through vintage footage, interviews with rock historians, and rousing live performances. Virtuosos like G.E. Smith of the Saturday Night Live Band bring to life the sound innovations of the electric guitar.
PLAY ON, JOHN: A LIFE IN MUSIC - Friday, October 28 at 8 p.m. ET/PT - Before Bob Dylan and the Band, there was John Cohen. Almost more than anyone else, he saved and celebrated traditional American Folk Music. Many believe that he is the inspiration for the Grateful Dead’s famous song “Uncle John's Band.” An American treasure, he is a musician, a painter, a documentary filmmaker, print maker and a photographer.
MAKING THE MONKEES - Sunday, October 23 at 8 p.m. ET/PT - Making the Monkees follows the story of four young men with varying degrees of musical talent who landed parts on a new TV series about a fictional band. That band went on to outsell The Beatles and Elvis Presley combined in 1967. But their success was short-lived, and their downfall was as fast as their rise to stardom.
After the ratings came in for The Playboy Club, I am sure there were many executives out there who thought to themselves, maybe it was not a very good idea to make a network television show inspired by a cable one that only gets about two million viewers per episode. And Pan Am, premiering Sunday, actually could have very well been a Mad Men spin-off from the episode where Don Draper nailed a stewardess from the airlines a couple seasons ago, the new show even features a character with the penchant of hooking up with the local Don Draper in-between flights.
Oh yeah, and imagine the stewardess Draper bedded also moonlights for the CIA, and then you have Pan Am. Before you groan implausibility; executive producer, and former Pan Am stewardess, Nancy Hutt Ganis says the airline employees as covert operatives contribute to the series’ authenticity claiming, “It was suspected but not discussed.” And do not think this plot twist will turn the series into Charlie's Angels in the sky because Kelli Garner (Taking Woodstock), the stewardess the CIA taps is no Sydney Bristow. She’s barely season one Chuck Bartowski.
This plot also looks to set up a Forrest Gumpian way the cast cross path with big moments in history, the crew even touches down in the Bay of Pigs in the first episode. I am guessing it is only a matter of time before we run into The Beatles, who famously used the airline on the first trip to the States and Frank Abagnale Jr., the real life character Leonardo DiCaprio played in Catch Me If You Can, who spent four years masquerading as a Pan Am pilot.
Also onboard for the ride are Christina Ricci (Mermaids), the rebel one who is reinstated in time for the show’s first flight after being suspended for forgetting to wear her girdle. One has to wonder, with Pan Am stewardess being forced into retirement from the profession when they get married or turn thirty-two, will this affect Ricci’s character since the actress turns that age next February in real life or will she be playing younger than that for the run of the show? The previously mentioned character who attracts Don Draper types in every new city is played by Karine Vanasse (Midnight in Paris) whose thick French accent may have reaching for the closed caption button. The token new stewardess and Garner’s younger sister is played by Australian Margot Robbie in her first job stateside and Margot rivals Amber Heard for the award of the hottest new token hot chick on television this season.
Unlike Eddie Cibrian who blatantly steals everything about Don Draper right down to his speech patterns, the men of Pan Am thankfully do not even try. Mike Vogel (The Help) is a new breed of pilot, the one’s that came before him all flew in World War II, on his first day as the first in command who is dating one of the stewardesses and hopes to get her to retire, and not because of her age. His second in command is Michael Mosley (Justified) who has a lot of fun at his new boss.
For those wondering the show starts to feel claustrophobic being featured inside an airplane, there is fair amount of flashbacks in the first episode though it is unclear if this will be a running theme in the show or just exposition into the background of the characters for the first episode, but considering flashbacks make up about forty percent of the Pilot, I am guessing the former. With the flashbacks and novice espionage angle, Pan Am has set up an interesting premise assuming they do not quickly devolve into a guess which famous historical figure show up this week type of show. Even then, seeing Margot Robbie in that uniform every week may be worth tuning in every week anyway.
Pan Am airs Sundays at 10:00 on ABC. You will be able to stream episodes after they air over at Hulu.
– Jack's Mannequin
– Lights
– Chicago
– Evanescence
– Mayer Hawthorne
– Rachael Yamagata
– Peter Gabriel
– James Morrison
– Ben Folds
– Johnny Gill
– Marketa Irglova
– Fishbone
– Ben Lee
– Chris Isaak
– Everlast
– Shelby Lynne
– Kelly Clarkson
– Deer Tick
– Boyz II Men
– She & Him
– Tom Waits
– Florence + The Machine
– Metallica and Lou Reed
– The Beach Boys
– Miranda Lambert
– Wale
– Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds
– Childish Gambino
– Snow Patrol
– Mary J. Blige
– Common
(No Country for Old Men, Sin City, Kill Bill)
- Feist
We are 85 shopping days until Christmas and for those wondering what you can get me, this will do just fine.
- Wilco
(note that as I write this, the set is listed at $39.99 so if my math is correct, that comes to 15 cents per episode.)
