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Wednesday, January 24, 2024
View from the Peak - Everything coming to Paramount+ in February 2024
Saturday, January 20, 2024
Around the Tubes: January 20, 2024
I have gotten a plethora of cool press releases have been flooding my inbox recently that you may find interesting. This post includes blurbs on Ariana Grande, Sister Hazel, Zara Larsson, Kool and the Gang, Marcus King, Modern English, The Thread, and The Last Repair Shop.
- GRAMMY® Award-winning, multi-platinum recording artist and international superstar, Ariana Grande announces her highly anticipated seventh full length album, eternal sunshine, to be released on March 8th via Republic Records and available now for pre-order HERE. Last Friday, Ariana Grande released the album’s lead single “yes, and?” - written and produced by Ariana Grande, Max Martin, and Ilya Salmanzadeh - accompanied by an official video directed by Christian Breslauer.
- Kicking off 2024, platinum-selling, iconic country/rock band Sister Hazel announced the release of their new track, "Love You More," on Glide Magazine earlier this week. "We wanted this song to be fun and to represent a positive way forward after hard times. Life keeps going and there can always be a person that loves you for who you are," said band's guitarist Ryan Newell when he explained the personal message of the song to Glide Magazine. Sister Hazel is not afraid to be vulnerable, and that shows on their new single about taking a chance on love after being burned. "Love You More" was written by Andrew Copeland, Ryan Newell, and Jack Sizemore, and was produced and mixed by Ben Jackson. The song is being released today by Nashville-based label Rock Ridge Music, with distribution via Warner/ADA. "Love You More" is available for streaming and download here.
- Multiplatinum chart-topping global pop powerhouse Zara Larsson has premiered anthemic new single, “You Love Who You Love.” Get it HERE. The song is the latest track to be taken from her upcoming new album VENUS, due February 9, 2024 Sommer House/Epic Records. Get “You Love Who You Love” HERE and pre-order/pre-save VENUS HERE. VENUS’ goddess-energy is exemplified on “You Love Who You Love,” where Zara summons the Scandi pop-rock anthems of Max Martin in this cautionary tale on toxic relationships. Produced by rising duo MTHR and penned with Larsson’s frequent collaborator MNEK, Zara recalls that “we started writing over PRIDE, and began talking about how amazing it is that anyone can love anyone - but that doesn’t mean you always should! We’ve all had that friend, or been that friend, who keeps going back to someone who’s bad for them, and ‘You Love Who You Love’ is saying enough is enough.”
- The Norwegian Pearl will be sparkling with mirror balls, glitter, and a full-lighted dance floor as The Ultimate Disco Cruise & Beyond embarks from Miami, Florida, on February 19, 2025, for its 5-day voyage. Music lovers from the 70’s era of Disco will take a journey back in time as they relive some of the most fun-loving songs that everyone sings along to. Filled with non-stop music entertainment that includes award-winning hitmakers KOOL & THE GANG, the latest members of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame THE SPINNERS, SHALAMAR featuring HOWARD HEWETT, CAROLYN GRIFFEY, and JEFFREY DANIEL, TAVARES, ROSE ROYCE, THE BROTHERS JOHNSON, LISA LISA, THE LEGENDARY BLUE NOTES, THE TRAMMPS featuring EARL YOUNG, ORIGINAL STONE CITY BAND, GEORGE McCRAE, DOUBLE EXPOSURE, BEE GEES GOLD, and BOOGIE WONDER BAND among others.
- Marcus King announced the release of his new Rick Rubin-produced song “F*ck My Life Up Again,” via American/Republic records. Listen to the song, HERE. Watch the visualizer video, HERE. The new song marks a significant sonic shift for Marcus King, who has historically been hailed for his virtuosic guitar riffs and preternatural talent. But on “F*ck Up My Life Again,” King lets the spotlight shine on his deeply soulful and arresting vocals, perfectly enhanced with r&b percussion, shimmering organ, lush string arrangements and even a Marcus King guitar solo, though in true Rick Rubin experimental fashion, glitched up and played backwards. The hook is unshakeable, harkening timeless symphonic soul with a decidedly modern take. King lays his feelings bare, reflecting on his tendency to chase unhealthy codependent relationships.
- Modern English is excited to announce the Friday, February 23 release of 1 2 3 4, the legendary British new wave/post-punk band’s first album of new material in eight years. Produced by Mario J. McNulty (David Bowie, Lou Reed, Nine Inch Nails), mixed by Cenzo Townsend and mastered at Abbey Road, 1 2 3 4 retains the intrinsic spirit of its early post-punk days, and is also a sterling sonic example of what Modern English have always done best. The album encompasses seething songs with a punk bite (“Long in The Tooth,” “Plastic”), keyboard-forward melodic rockers ("Not Fake,” "Crazy Lovers") and simmering, darkwave-meets-post-punk gems (“Exploding,” “Out to Lunch”). With a touch of subtle themes lifted from After the Snow (1982) and Ricochet Days (1984) that include the environment, aging, failed relationships, love and more, 1 2 3 4 finds the legendary band delving into nostalgia but, as always, exploring new creative territory. With singles “Long in the Tooth” and “Crazy Lovers” released in advance of the announcement, today the band offers “Not My Leader,” a scathing observation on politics in both the U.S. and the UK and how they aren’t dissimilar.
- Life Stories, a nonprofit media organization that produces and distributes films about people whose lives inspire meaningful change, announced it will stream THE THREAD, a new documentary interview series on YouTube in which exceptional individuals share the different paths they have taken to lead meaningful lives. 16 episodes of THE THREAD will premiere weekly from March 4 - June 17, 2024 and feature interviews with Gloria Estefan, Martin Sheen, Kurt "Big Boy" Alexander, Tony Hawk, Katie Couric, Mitt Romney, and other notable figures. THE THREAD will be made available to the public through the Life Stories website (LifeStories.org), Life Stories YouTube channel, and as a podcast across all major platforms. THE THREAD: Season One trailer can be seen here: https://youtu.be/jE6blJo48Sw
- ALLBLK, the popular streaming service for Black television and film from AMC Networks, presents the world premiere of new sci-fi movie, Lunar Lockdown. The movie premieres on ALLBLK on Thursday, February 1, 2024. In the year 2075, the Earth is no longer the home of the United States’ most violent criminals. These convicts are sent to the moon to serve their time under the rule of Warden Felicity Myers (LisaRaye McCoy, A House Divided, Single Ladies). When inmate Christina Jenkins (Laila Odom, Salt-N-Pepa) arrives at the prison she quickly finds out that serving her time quietly is not an option. The women of Orion Colony Prison are used in every way a human can be for personal gain. When an opportunity arises, Jenkins and a group of inmates come together to fight to regain their freedom and dignity. Additional cast includes Cameo Sherrell (The Haves and the Have Nots), Janeshia Adams-Ginyard (Station 19), Jhone Y. Lucas (The Gen Zone), Leila Weisberg (Deadly Desire), Erica Peeples (All American: Homecoming), Mark Fleischmann (Infinite), and Nari Blair- Mangat (Cinderella).
- From Oscar® and Grammy®-nominated and Emmy®-winning filmmaker, musician and LAUSD star alumni Kris Bowers (A Concerto is a Conversation, Green Book, King Richard, Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story) and Oscar® winning director Ben Proudfoot (two-time Oscar® nominee for The Queen of Basketball and A Concerto is a Conversation), comes THE LAST REPAIR SHOP, a film about LAUSD’s unique free and freely-repaired musical instrument repair shop, which helped launch countless illustrious careers and millions of music lovers. Watch Now Here (Full 39-Minute Film): https://youtu.be/xttrkgKXtZ4?si=HO02BhzJAZPN5rMO
Friday, January 19, 2024
Previewing the Woman in the Wall
You know you are in for an interesting show when it starts
off with a whisper before a woman wakes up in the middle of the road,
surrounded by cows, with a little blood on her white nightgown. When she gets home, “Stay awake” is scribbled
on a door and a knife in the picture of Jesus.
Oh yeah, and by the end of the first episode, there will be a woman in
the wall. Hence the title: The Woman in the Wall.
The woman who wakes up in the middle of the road is played
by Ruth Wilson (The Affair). She has a long history of trauma-based sleepwalking
that goes back to her time in the infamous Magdalene Laundries, institutions that
housed promiscuous woman who were forced to work without pay aside from some meager
food provisions. They were essentially
prisons. Wilson’s painful time there is
resurrected when she receives note saying, “I know what happened to your child”
with a phone number on the back.
Around the same time, Daryl McCormack (Bad Sisters) is investigating the death of a priest of whom he has a
history with. It does not take very long
before the woman and the wall and the dead priest start to interconnect. The Woman in the Wall is a harrowing tale
focusing on one of Ireland’s deepest shame which is only heightened by an
unreliable narrator who’s ever growing sleep problems are making her mental state
get worse as the show goes along.
The Woman in the Wall
airs Sundays at 9:00 on Showtime with Paramount+. Episodes are streaming the previous Friday on
Paramount+ with the Showtime plan.
Sunday, January 14, 2024
57 Channels and Only This Is On: January 14: 2024
Percy Jackson and the
Olympians: I typically only subscribed to Disney whenever
a Marvel and/or Star Wars show was on, but I am now getting it for free so I was
able to catch up on this show. I never
read the books, but saw the movie. It
seems like they are taking 10-15 minute scenes from the movie and turning them
into 35-45 minute episodes, just with actual children instead of casting adults
to play teenagers. This show really
could have used some Daddario because the kids are kind of annoying, especially
the titular character. At least some of
the Gods are fun. Jason Mantzoukus as Dionysus
is one of the most inspired casting choices.
Professional wrestler Edge as Ares is another on the nose casting choice
that worked. Shame they did not get Daddario
to be Medusa. Oh well.
La Brea: So Eve was lost to time last season (how gullible
do you have to be to believe she just happened to still be in the same time
being held by whoever those evil people are), Josh and Riley are also in some
TBD time (why were they so certain they are going to a place with a hospital) and
Ty somehow warped to two weeks before the show began. What a wild start.
Fargo: YMCA
as the soundtrack to the militia rounding up certainly was an inspired choice. But I do wonder how the weirdo was able to
enter the farm undetected with another person, but Dot, whom I have to assume
knows the farm, could not sneak out undetected.
The Challenge: Battle
for a New Challenge: Can we just end
Chaos already? It has been a full month
since anyone went home. We at still have
at least CT left for the Champs. It seems like
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters:
If they needed the ball to get home, how
exactly did young Kurt Russell get home?
Will he not be able to get home the same way now? Sigh.
This was a failed experiment; hopefully they do not do any more of
this. Just stick to the mildly entertaining
movies.
Saturday, January 13, 2024
Around the Tubes: January 13, 2024
I have gotten a plethora of cool press releases have been flooding my inbox recently that you may find interesting. This post includes blurbs on Wednesday, Rick and Morty, Ariana Grande, The Black Crowes, Kid Cudi, Superhot: and The Spicy World of Pepper People.
- From the creators Alfred Gough and Miles Millar (“Smallville”), and director Tim Burton (The Nightmare Before Christmas, Beetlejuice), the kooky and spooky first season of “Wednesday,” the TV series based on Wednesday Addams of the iconic Addams Family, which streams on Netflix and is produced by MGM Television, a division of Amazon MGM Studios, comes to DVD and Blu-ray March 26, 2024. "Wednesday" Season One will be available to purchase online and in-store from major retailers. Pre-order your copy now. The series stars Jenna Ortega as Wednesday, Gwendoline Christie as Principal Larissa Weems, Jamie McShane as Sheriff Donovan Galpin, Hunter Doohan as Tyler Galpin, Percy Hynes White as Xavier Thorpe, Emma Myers as Enid Sinclair, and Joy Sunday as Bianca Barclay. Guest stars include Catherine Zeta-Jones as Morticia Addams, Luis Guzmán as Gomez Addams, Isaac Ordonez as Pugsley Addams, and Fred Armisen as Uncle Fester.
- Go on an intergalactic adventure across the multi-verse with the critically acclaimed animated hit comedy series from Adult Swim when Rick and Morty: The Complete Seventh Season will be available to own Steelbook Blu-ray Disc, Blu-ray Disc and DVD beginning March 12, 2024. Get ready to binge on one of cables #1 watched comedies - and follow the misadventures of America’s favorite crazy scientist and his grandchildren with this outrageous set which includes all 10 episodes from Season 7, along with copious special features curated for the fans, including a deep look into season 7 and its characters: "Directing Unmortricken", "The Characters of Season 7", and "Inside Season 7" Rick & Morty has won 2 Emmy Awards and has received 5 Emmy nominations, including Outstanding Animation Program for 2023.
- GRAMMY® Award-winning, multi-platinum recording artist and international superstar, Ariana Grande releases the official video “yes, and?” today directed by Christian Breslauer. Watch HERE. The video comes just hours after she dropped the single via Republic Records – listen HERE.
- Legendary rock band The Black Crowes announce their hugely anticipated new album, Happiness Bastards, set for worldwide release March 15 via the band’s own Silver Arrow Records. Produced by GRAMMY Award-Winning producer Jay Joyce, the project is The Black Crowes’ tenth studio album and their first original music in 15 years. Happiness Bastards is a blistering record that is both fresh, yet quintessential rock n’ roll. The thrilling news is kicked off with the release of the riff-ripping lead single “Wanting and Waiting,” an exhilarating taste of what’s to come with the signature flair and attitude of one of the most vital rock bands of this generation. Listen to “Wanting and Waiting” HERE and watch the single reveal HERE. 2024 marks 40 years since the inception of The Black Crowes, and the Robinson Brothers are claiming this momentous year as their own. Following decades marked by sex, drugs, fights, breakups, and divorce, they are leaving their bullshit behind. Serving as a salute to their past and a celebration of the present and future, the new album includes 10 original tracks, with a very special feature from GRAMMY-nominated superstar Lainey Wilson. While they have dealt with their share of differences over the years, they are now two happy bastards, with a triumphant album to show for it. Pre-Order Happiness Bastards HERE.
- After much anticipation, GRAMMY® Award-winning multi-platinum sonic visionary, artist, producer, actor and director Kid Cudi proudly presents his anxiously awaited ninth studio album, INSANO, out now via Republic Records. Listen HERE. It stands out as his first full-length offering since 2022 and features Travis Scott, Pharrell Williams, A$AP Rocky, Lil Wayne, Young Thug, Lil Yachty, DJ Drama as well as the late XXXTentacion. The INSANO album art will come with 4 cover-art variations featuring artwork by renowned artist and designer, KAWS as well as one rendition featuring a character by renowned multimedia artist Glassface. Check them out HERE.
- Hulu has debuted the trailer for upcoming original docu-series "Superhot: The Spicy World of Pepper People." The docu-series will premiere all ten episodes on January 22, only on Hulu. Superhot spicy peppers are on fire lately - but while most experiment with heat, others live their lives in pursuit of fire. “Superhot” is a wild ride into the Spicy World of Pepper People – the self-proclaimed chili heads who have taken the chili pill and want to find out how deep the rabbit hole goes. This 10-part series goes deep into a subculture fueled by spice: from the elite growers who strive to create new superhots to the chili eaters who chase the endorphin rush of consuming them. Along the way, one legendary chili head sets out on a quest to answer the spiciest of questions: is there a pepper that can challenge the world’s hottest?
Tuesday, January 09, 2024
The Ten Most Anticipated Events of 2024
The strikes really put a damper on 2024 as a bunch of things
got delay. Here are the few things this
year worth getting at least a little excited about.
10. Obligatory Super-Hero Mentions: It seems like we may be close to the end of
the superhero era. There will be no DC
movies and just one set in the MCU. Yet,
for some reason, Sony’s Spiderverse is still plowing full steam ahead with
movies based on characters named Madam Webb and Kraven the Hunter. Yeah, I have no clue who they are either.
9. 2024 Elections (November 5): Usually elections are higher on my anticipated
lists, but if we are barreling towards a race between a senile old man and a
senile old man who is also a raving lunatic, my excitement level is fairly
low. Only one of those old farts kicking
the bucket or the 14th Amendment can save us now.
8. Mean Girls (January 12): A movie musical based on a musical that was based
on a movie sounds like a horrible idea, but I am still mildly intrigued by
this.
7. The Final Season of La Brea January 9): Sigh, the guiltiest guilty pleasure on
television is coming to an end.
6. True Detective: Night Country (January
14): I am cautiously optimistic about
this one considering it has been diminishing returns since the first season. But putting it up north adds an interesting
wrinkle.
5. House of the Dragon (TBD): It seemed like the first season was just a preamble
with all the time jumping. Things should
finally pick in the second season.
4. Shōgun (February 27): I am all for a cool samurai show.
3. Ballerina (June 7): The first attempt at John Wick without John
Wick did not get good reviews and was probably little watched as it was on Peacock. But center a movie around Ana De Armas could
be a better second attempt.
2. Self Reliance (January 12): I am always up for an Anna Kendrick movie especially
when it premieres on Hulu.
1. 2024 Paris Olympics (July 26): There is nothing I get more excited more than the Olympics. I usually watch as much as I can. Then to make this installment even better, NBC just announced that they hired Snoop Dogg to be a correspondent.
Monday, January 08, 2024
The Twenty-Five Best Movies I Saw in 2023
1. CODA
2. Everything Everywhere All at Once
3. John Wick: Chapter 4
4. Joy Ride
5. Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
6. Plane
7. Beastie Boys Story
8. The Beanie Bubble
9. Do Revenge
10. Fall
11. Quiz Lady
12. Boston Strangler
13. No One Will Save You
14. The Choice Is Yours
15. Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs. the Reverend
16. Flora and Son
17. All the Bright Places
18. Shazam! Fury of the Gods
19. Scream
20. Kate
21. Werewolves Within
22. Wildflower
23. X
24. See You on Venus
25. Avatar: The Way of Water
Sunday, January 07, 2024
57 Channels and Only This Is On: January 7, 2024
The Challenge: Battle
for a New Challenge: Ha ha ha, Cara
Maria talked all this trash and got beat at a physical challenge by a literal
stick figure.
Monarch: Legacy of
Monsters: Once half the cast went through the portal last week, the grandmother
still being alive was the easiest best ever, even though the last time we saw
her she was being eaten by giant bugs.
Now the question is just how long does she think it has been since was
sucked into the portal. But at least
they explained how Kurt Russell does not look 90 like his character should
be. But trying to figure out how time
works down there and when will they actually come out when they find a way out
is now hurting my brain.
Saturday, January 06, 2024
Around the Tubes: January 6, 2024
I have gotten a plethora of cool press releases have been flooding my inbox recently that you may find interesting. This post includes blurbs on Death and Other Details, The Woman in the Wall, The Chosen, Hazbin Hotel, and The Super Bowl Soulful Celebration.
- Hulu has debuted the trailer for the upcoming original series "Death and Other Details." The 10-episode murder mystery series premieres January 16, 2024 with two episodes, then one episode weekly, with a two-episode finale on March 5, 2024. Set amidst the glamor of the global elite, “Death and Other Details” centers on the brilliant and restless Imogene Scott (Violett Beane), who finds herself in the wrong place/wrong time (okay, it was kinda her fault) and becomes the prime suspect in a locked room murder mystery. The setting? A lavishly restored Mediterranean ocean liner. Suspects? Every pampered guest and every exhausted crew member. The problem? To prove her innocence, she must partner with a man she despises—Rufus Cotesworth (Mandy Patinkin), the world’s greatest detective.
- SHOWTIME today unveiled the official trailer and key art for THE WOMAN IN THE WALL, the six-episode thriller starring and executive produced by BAFTA and Golden Globe Award winner Ruth Wilson (THE AFFAIR, His Dark Materials) and co-starring BAFTA Award nominee Daryl McCormack (Good Luck to You, Leo Grande, Peaky Blinders). THE WOMAN IN THE WALL will premiere on streaming and on demand for Paramount+ subscribers with the Paramount+ with SHOWTIME® plan on Friday, January 19, before making its on-air debut on Paramount+ with SHOWTIME on Sunday, January 21, at 9 p.m. ET/PT. The series also will premiere on Paramount+ on January 19 in Canada, on January 20 in Latin America, Brazil, South Korea, Italy, France, Germany, Switzerland and Austria, and later in the year in Japan. Written and created by BAFTA Award nominee Joe Murtagh (Calm with Horses), THE WOMAN IN THE WALL centers on Lorna Brady (Wilson), a woman from the small, fictional Irish town of Kilkinure, who wakes one morning to find a corpse in her house. Chillingly, Lorna has no idea who the dead woman is or if she, herself, might be responsible for the apparent murder. That’s because Lorna has long suffered from extreme bouts of sleepwalking ever since she was ripped from her life at the age of 15 and incarcerated in The Kilkinure Convent, a (fictional) home to one of Ireland’s infamous Magdalene Laundries for women. There, Lorna gave birth to her daughter Agnes, who cruelly was taken from her and whose fate Lorna never has known.
- Tickets are now on sale for Season 4 of The Chosen's theatrical release, the first time all episodes of a full season of a TV series will debut exclusively in theaters. The official Season 4 trailer also premiered recently: Watch The Chosen: Official Season 4 Trailer Here The Chosen Season 4’s theatrical release is distributed by Fathom Events. Tickets can be purchased at: wwww.TheChosenRiseup.com.
- A24 Music and Prime Video shared the second single, “Poison,” from the highly anticipated adult animation series Hazbin Hotel. The high-energy pop track is written and produced by composers Sam Haft and Andrew Underberg, and features showstopping vocals by Blake Roman. The first season of Hazbin Hotel consists of eight episodes, with four episodes premiering on Prime Video January 19, 2024 and two episodes rolling out weekly through February 2. The series will be available in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide. Fans can continue to visit HazbinHotel.com to pre-order special packages that include exclusive Season One merchandise until January 12, when early access to the first two episodes will be available to stream on the A24 App one week before they release on Prime Video, along with a virtual Q&A event with Vivienne Medrano and special guests. They can listen to the first single, “Happy Day in Hell,” which debuted October 20, here.
- CBS presents THE SUPER BOWL SOULFUL CELEBRATION 25th ANNIVERSARY, (previously known as the “Super Bowl Gospel Celebration”), to air Saturday, February 10 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network and stream on Paramount+ (live for Paramount+ with SHOWTIME subscribers, or on demand on Pluto TV and cbs.com the day after the special airs)*. Cedric the Entertainer and Tichina Arnold of CBS’ THE NEIGHBORHOOD are confirmed to host. “I’m thrilled to return to the Super Bowl Soulful Celebration stage in Vegas as co-host of the 25th anniversary broadcast on CBS with my dear friend and ‘The Neighborhood’ co-star, Tichina Arnold,” said Cedric the Entertainer. “A huge congratulations to Melanie Few for creating this amazing celebration of music, faith, and football."
Sunday, December 31, 2023
The 100 Best Songs of 2023