The Fight to the Famousest

Much like slowing down to check out a car crash, I feel oddly compelled to check out all the cheesy VH1 reality show. The granddaddy of them of course being The Surreal Life which had it start of the now defunct UPN but moved to Video Hits One that started the channel’s all reality most of the time scheduling philosophy. And like most reality shows that started earlier this decade, The Surreal Life finally got its own All-Stars edition in the form of The Surreal Life: Fame Games.

The ten Fame Gamers, as host Robin Leach liked to call them, were culled from all six seasons yet surprisingly didn’t include any of the past token reality contestant which every season features as they are the biggest fame mongers of them all. An even bigger surprise was that VH1 staple, Flavor Flav was nowhere to be found. Instead we get some of the more memorable housemates in the series history including Vanilla Ice, Brigitte Nielsen, and Chyna.

The contests themselves were pretty absurd with rules seem to shift and make little sense in the first place. But I guess the show was more about the journey than who actually win. The start of the show started with them dividing the contestants into “The A-List” and “The B-List” even though for many of them, being on “The B-List” would be an upgrade. This was a waste as they were haphazardly thrown back together on “The A-List” shortly after.

The judging for each contest was just as absurd especially when they had celebrity judges like when Kennedy was brought in to figure had the most famous friends with the lowest being eliminated in the only round that didn’t have a “Back to Reality” game to determine it. What was worse is they let Kathy Griffin solely decide who won the $100,000 prize, a prize that actually went to the winner, not charity unlike most celebrity edition. It is something sad that Traci Bingham was the actual winner.

Even though he didn’t win, Vanilla Ice remained the star of the show. It was guaranteed that every episode Ice would do something stupid. It was an added treat whenever he would do one in front of Robin just to see his “I didn’t know I would have to baby-sit during this gig” face. The silliest of his tirade is when he got caught in a gay homosexual scandal during the paparazzi challenge as if anyone would question his sexuality from looking at that picture. And he save the best for last when Ron Jeremy swore on his mother’s grave that he wouldn’t vote Ice to go home only to do just that. Classic. How soon until VH1 gives Ice his own demolition reality show?

The Surreal Life: Fame Games gets a on my Terror Alert Scale.

57 Channels and Only This Is On vol. XII

Quote of the Week: It’s not Rabbit-ussin, it’s Robitussin. (Julius, Everybody Hates Chris)

Song of the Week: Endless Love - Lionel Richie and Diana Ross (as sung by guest host Adam Sandler and Don Cheadle, The Late Show with David Letterman)

Big News of the Week: All the shows I watch are on the verge of being canceled: Last week I mentioned the cancellation rumors are already starting and now the “Save Our Shows” polls are popping up and wouldn’t you know it, almost every show I watch popped up on one poll including Friday Night Lights, How I Met Your Mother, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, Supernatural, and Veronica Mars. Head over to the webpage to vote. Now I’m not going to tell you to vote for Veronica Mars, but vote for Veronica Mars.

Pardon the Interruption: Here is one show I never miss. In fact I haven’t missed an episode since it premiered. Unfortunately Tony Kornheiser likes his reality show and three days a week we have to put up his lame American Karaoke ramblings. Another show he occasionally rambles on about is other show I avoid like the plague, Dancing with the Has Been’s and Never Were’s. I bring this up because they featured Apollo Anton Ono and more importantly his partner. If there were a reason why I’d watch that show it would be her. In fact if you know who she is or actually are her, shout me a holla.

How I Met Your Mother: I’m really hoping they break up Ted and Robin by the end of the season because the whole will they or won’t they end up together thing is getting tired considering we already know they aren’t ending up together. One thing not getting tired, Barney, his Top 10 was classic. Check out the latest episode on Innertube.

Friday Night Lights: Somewhat of a weak episode coming out of the hiatus aside from the boys night out at the high school. And I’m beginning to wonder if Riggins ever actually goes to school. Presumably if the kid has school, the high school would also been in session. But the episode did end with an “Oh, snap” moment when Lyla played demolition derby with her dad’s dealership. Check out the latest episode over at NBC.com.



Lost: Many point to an episode in season two where the show jumped the shark, for me it was when they killed off the token hot chick. But if the show jumped the shark back then, they need to find a completely new term for the latest episode. I’m not surew what was more inane, that Locke survive a eight story fall after being pushed through a window, Locke blowing up the submarine, or Locke’s father showing up on the island. For a comparison, if killing off the token hot chick was Britney Spears marring Kevin Federline, this past episode was Britney shaving her head. Oh and just when the show revealed the big secret that everyone already assume already last week with Jack and Claire being sibling, now how many seasons until we get the hyped, shocking revelation that the original Sawyer is Locke’s dad? Check out the latest episode over at ABC.com.



Survivor: Since the show was on Wednesday this week and I was already taping Friday Night Lights, I had to watch the episode online this week and the brain trust over at CBS.com decide to advertise that Anthony was going to be on Survivor Live ruining any suspense on who was getting voted out or winning immunity. Thanks guys. With that said, the immunity challenge has to go up there with one of the coolest in the show’s history and I would love to give that a try sometime. Check out the latest episode on Innertube.



Smallville: For those keeping track home, the three Zoners this season have been played by two WWF’ers and rapper Bow Wow. Think about that for a moment. And the Lana pregnancy takes another turn. Was Lex behind the miscarriage, and if so why? Hopefully we find out soon than later.

Don't forget to check out my review of The Loop 1.x: Exec by Day, Excess by Night.

Pick of the Week: Lost, Wednesday 10:00 ABC: Okay, so I didn’t care too much about the last episode but at least next week we get a Paulo/Nikki-centric episode. Wait, who are they again?

Exec by Day, Excess by Night

Since I have not watched anything on Fox since the series finale of Arrested Development, naturally I haven’t been up on the new shows that have debuted on the channel since. One such show is The Loop which I hadn’t heard of until someone was nice enough to send along a promotional copy of season one of the show. And since the first season only had seven episodes, it must be great because Fox doesn’t let quality shows get into the double digit number of episodes (see Firefly). The only problem with that is theory is on the package of DVD is a sticker saying the second season is coming soon. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that it will ever make to air as the network already cut the number of episodes and this is Fox so they could always burn the ones that have already been shot to run against the Opening Ceremony of the Olympics.

The show centers around Bret Harrison (Grounded for Life) who is straddling the line between work, where he is the youngest executive at the twelfth largest airline, and his life at home with his three roommates are still reveling in their mid-twenties party lifestyle. This leads to two basically different shows, the zany workplace type show with quirky co-workers (see Night Court) and friends hanging out at their apartment and favorite watering hole (see, well, Friends) with one working much better than the other.

The part that works is the time at work thanks mostly to Phil Baker Hall (Ghostbusters II) as Harrison’s boss who isn’t afraid to say what he means and never fails to make you laugh as well as Joy Osmanski as Harrison’s jaded secretary who is quick to remind anyone about her fancy degree and the irony that they are the same name. The weak link at the office though is Mimi Rogers (the first Mrs. Tom Cruise) as the token cougar who for some reason goes in-between trying to hook up with Harrison and making gay jokes about him in every other episode.

The other part of the show is something we have seen before, not too mention done better currently on How I Met Your Mother and no one has done a better job in expressing the post college life than Wonderfalls, but of course Fox canceled it. But anyways. At home, Harrison lives with his older brother, played by Eric Christian Olsen (Dumb and Dumberer) who averages about a new job per episode including three in the Pilot. Also living college friend and Harrison crush that, of course doesn’t know he does, Amanda Loncar. Rounding out the roommates is the very serviceable token hot chick Sarah Mason (7th Heaven) who works at the bar the group patrons.

The episodes are pretty hit or miss that run the gambit from thoroughly funny to something only a Fox audience would find funny for instance in the Pilot having Harrison change from his work clothes to his party one while driving which ends up being part of the opening credits (don’t try that at home kids) and text on the screen that mentions that Olen’s mother smoked herb while pregnant. The text, that shows up occasionally really has no purpose as for the most part it states the obvious. Well this is from Fox whose viewers need a game show to figure out if they are smarter than a fifth grader.

Sadly another negative is Harrison himself who is the least interesting character on the show which wouldn’t be so bad as Ted is the least interesting on How I Met Your Mother as well as Will and Grace from their show, but what makes thing worse is Harrison for some reason ends every sentence by having his voice go up two octaves.

In the end, with only seven episodes, the show is a good way to kill a lazy afternoon especially at the low cost of the DVD or just throw it into you favorite movie rental queue. Just don’t expect much in the way of extras on the disk as it only feature a short featurette just has the cast members going over the premise of the show. Although the disk does start off with your usual, “The views expressed in the commentaries…” yet I couldn’t actually find any commentaries anywhere. But I implore any fifth grader to actually find them. For those just interested in the token hot chick, just go straight to Tiger Express where she decides to dance whenever someone buys a certain drink of course leading to someone taking advantage of the situation and Bear Drop Soup where I only have one word: hot tub.

The Loop 1.x gets a on my Terror Alert Scale.

Don't Download These Videos vol. XII

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.

Trapped in the Drive-Thru - “Weird Al” Yankovic



The greatness that is R Kelly’s Trapped in the Closet is parody proof mainly because the opera is basically a parody upon itself so everyone who have tried to make a parody of it has failed. Well until now. Leave it up to the parody king “Weird Al” Yankovic to come up with the best try to date. Granted that doesn’t mean his version comes close to the original and could have done better job. First the narrator only takes on three different characters and he doesn’t split the song into chapters lie the original. But he does leave it on a cliffhanger so maybe we will get more someday. As for the video, it could have been much better had it been live action with Al playing all the different characters. That would have been classic.


Bump de Hump - Red Hot Chili Peppers



Seriously, how can you go wrong with the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Chris Rock? Well I guess only when you put the band in “ironic” grillz. The only thing that would be lamer is if they would have ironically claimed to be bringing SexyBack will wearing the grillz. Other than that this video is pretty cool with the Peppers playing Rock’s block party.


Say OK - Vanessa Hudgens



I just wanted to showcase this video to see if anyone can explain to me why Vanessa Hudgens is wearing one of the drive thru mikes along with a hand held mike. What makes that combo odder is I wouldn’t be all surprised if she’s pulling a Milli Vanilli. With that said, I actually find the song entertaining.


In other news, a melancholy happy trails to Calvert DeForrest, better known as Larry “Bud” Melman. I have been a long time Letterman fan and it was always great whenever Bud would show up. My favorite was whenever Letterman would hype for the first part of the show a big A-lister like George Clooney would be reading the Top 10, only for Bud to come out. Below is a classic appearance:

She Hides in the Melody

What better way for a teenage girl to reintroduce herself than with a soliloquy from footballer Vinnie Jones. Um, yeah, okay. Of course we Americans would call him a soccer player best known for his hilarious turn in Eurotrip. Joss Sone named her latest album the Introducing of Joss Stone because as she says the album is the first that is “truly her,” granted I though she was saying pretty much the same thing about her last album after debuting with an album of cover songs. But anyways.

Even though the album is supposed to reintroduce us to Joss Stone, the album doesn’t sound that different from her past album with Joss goring through neo-soul and Motown era R&B tracks with Aretha Franklin type vocal gymnastics. The biggest changes happened behind the scene. First, unlike her last album that sported seven different producers, there are only two credited on the latest outing, Stone and Raphael Saadiq.

With Saadiq being a master of neo-soul (some credit him as starting the trend), the blame most likely fall on the shoulders of Stone herself as the songs tend too far into the hip-hop genre making the songs sound like all the other bland pop songs littering the radio these days. Maybe a little worse as some of the song fall flat in places. The hip-hop flavor is sometime saved by masters of the genre like Common on Tell Me What We’re Gonna Do Now and Lauryn Hill even comes out of hiding for Music, giving a much more inspired verse than the much ignored Fugees reunion song.

The other big change is that Joss took complete reigns of writing the songs, which in this case is not a good thing. Joss is an incredible singer but much like the karaokers on American Idol, her strength is not creating melodies on her own and does a much better job when she has a template to work off of. So much like post-Idol albums where the karaokers have to sing their own songs, Introducing Joss Stone fall flat, albeit Joss’s voice does save thing a little unlike the karaokers who are unable to get a record contract without appearing on a reality show. Maybe it time too think about hooking up with ?uestlove for a second Soul Session.

Song to Download - Arms of My Baby

Introducing Joss Stone gets a on my Terror Alert Scale.

Coming Home

Today marks the fourth anniversary of combat in Iraq and I’m sure everyone has seen the numbers so I won’t reprint them here, and if you haven’t seen the numbers, it’s time to trade in your subscription to US Weekly for Newsweek. I really don’t want to get into the debate over troop withdrawal and troop surge. I’m sure no matter what side of the political spectrum you lie on, you are hoping that all are troops return home safely. Recently I have been listening a lot to John Legend’s latest album, Once Again, and stuck at the end, after almost an hour of love songs, is the moving song Coming Home about a soldier stuck in the middle of the war. I did a YouTube search and there were a couple of tributes to the troops using the song as a backdrop. Here was the first one on the list and I would like to send it out to all the troops in harms way; hopefully you’ll be coming home safe:

I Ain't No Hood, No Crook, No Robber

Back in 2000, Musiq Soulchild rode the wave of neo-soul with the likes of Jill Scott, D’Angelo but straddled the line between old and new with songs like Just Friends (Sunny) where you could play at any house party, Love which could have fit in well with heyday of soul in the seventies, and Halfcrazy, a song they you just want to put on when you are all alone with the repeat on when going through relationship problems. But after releasing three albums in just over three years, Musiq went on hiatus for four year, in the interim; he brought back the Souldchild surname which dropped for his third album.

Musiq is back not a moment too soon as the R&B genre has been overtaken by raunchy lyrics and over exaggerated hip hop beats. His fourth album Luvanmusiq is much like his predecessors where the singer effortlessly goes between new and old school. As for the new there is B.u.d.d.y. which may be this first song from Musiq that could fit in at a club as it has a very danceable feel to it. But the highlight of the newer sound is Betterman (not a Pearl Jam cover) produced by Raphael Saadiq with it’s driving bass line that will make you either bob your head or clap along, possibly both, and heartfelt lyrics from Musiq himself, who wrote all the album aside from a co-writing credit from Ne-Yo on Ms.philadelphia.

For those who like to kick it old school, head towards the end of the album with Lullaby and Greatestlove along with Thequestions earlier in the album. These two songs that you will want to put on when you are with your special love whether it is in front of the fireplace in the winter or underneath the stars on your porch in the summer. With the return of Musiq, and the rise of John Legend and Anthany Hamilton, hopefully we are on the verge of another neo-soul era that will make the radio safe for those that prefer romantic songs over the sleazy ones.

Song to Download - Betterman

Luvanmusiq gets a on my Terror Alert Scale.

57 Channels and Only This Is On vol. XI

Quote of the Week: People ask, are we ready for a black president.? Why not, we just had a (expiative deleted) one. (Chris Rock, Late Night with Conan O’Brien) 

Song of the Week: You Could Be Happy - Snow Patrol (Smallville) 

Big News of the Week: Look at all these rumors, surrounding me everyday, I just need some time, some time to get away. It seems like every year the “who will get another season and who won’t” discussion starts earlier and earlier. It got into full swing this week as someone posted that Veronica Mars was canceled. That was then retracted minutes later but that didn’t stop people from thinking the show wasn’t coming back for a fourth season. 

Now I fully understand that Veronica Mars is definitely on the bubble, but I have a hard time believing someone who writes in the “gossip” section of an internet site. Making me believe even less was the “Exclusive!” tag in front of the post. Whenever I see exclusive anywhere, I usually take it to mean, “I wanted to be the first even though it may not be true.” There in lies what is wrong with all these gossip writers, they care more about being first than being right. This individual gossiper is one of the worst as they have been wrong when it comes to executive decisions than right yet there is no accountability. Nor do we ever know who the “sources” are. Not only do we not know who the sources are, we don’t even know why they are reliable. 

Of course this begs the question how some that is wrong so many times have “reliable” sources. Now onto a rumor that I actually hope is true. Word from a just as unreliable source as the one who “broke” the Veronica Mars story is that Knights of Prosperity may actually get a second season despite being unceremoniously pulled from the schedule two weeks ago. This unreliable source says the head honcho over at ABC loves the show so much they will give the show a second chance hoping that it will pick up viewers in the second much like The Office. Keep in mind this is from a completely unreliable source, but if this is true, ABC should keep in mind that in that second season, The Office has the hilarious My Name Is Earl as a lead in so they better have something great in the pipe to help the Knights of Prosperity find an audience and I’m not talking about the proposed Caveman show and definitely keep it away from In Case of Emergency, According to Jim and the George Lopez Show. Even though it is still currently off the air, you can still stream every episode of Knights of Prosperity over at ABC.com. 

Lost: A surprisingly solid episode this week considering I figured the “shocking connection” a year ago and hate the whole Desmond seeing into the future storyline. Like I predicted, Claire and Jack share the same father, leading to yet another castaway with daddy. But Claire was disturbingly attractive with the dark hair. And back on the island, Charlie lives another day. Yippee. But once again, the best part of the episode happened away from the beach as Locke is back to his ambiguous ways. Not entirely sure what his motive is with bring the C4. But more intriguing was that Eye Patch Man let it slip that Not-Henry isn’t “Him.” I’m still putting my money on Penny’s dad being the “Him” behind everything along with all the other daddies of the castaways leading back to the whole daddy issue thing. Check out the latest episode over at ABC.com.

Smallville: I’m totally surpised that the wedding went off as planned, I never thought Lana would go threw with it ever since they got engaged. But it was nice to see evil Lionel back in full force. I always thought that Lana wouldn’t actually come to term, but now I’m not so sure. But I am beginning to think that the big mystery behind her pregnancy is that she is a test subject for a biologically engineered meteor freak.

Pick of the Week: Bring it On: All or Nothing, Sunday, 8:00, ABCFamily: Okay so it is a slow week, but I got a press release along with some pictures for the movie which is apparently the third in the franchise, granted I totally missed the second. Those Heroes fans that like the show but are disappointed that Claire’s cheerleading team got disbanded and since stopped wearing her cheerleading outfit, this movie is for you as it stars Hayden Hayden Panettiere as, of course, a cheerleader. Also along for the ride is Beyoncé’s sister, Solonge Knowles as her rival. And for all of those missing Claire in her cheerleading outfit, below is a picture to tie you over (over at my sister site, Scooter McGavin Takes Pictures, you can view all the promo pictures I have including one I posted today that is most likely to get you visit from Chris Hansen) along with the press release:

 

BEFORE SHE HAD TO SAVE THE WORLD, TV’S HEROIC CHEERLEADER HAYDEN PANETTIERE HAD TO “BRING IT ON: ALL OR NOTHING” SMASH HIT DVD MAKES ITS BROADCAST DEBUT ON ABC FAMILY MARCH 25th The Film Also Stars Solange Knowles-Smith (“Johnson Family Vacation”)

Burbank, CA (February 26, 2007) — In the third film of the “Bring It On” series, the sassy yet spirited cheerleaders bust out with hotter moves, hotter music and hotter dance sequences when “Bring It On: All or Nothing” airs Sunday, March 25 (8:00 – 10:00 PM ET/PT). Life is good for Britney Allen (Hayden Panettiere), making her the envy of all girls at Pacific Vista High School. She’s beautiful, captain of the cheer squad, has the perfect boyfriend and is the front runner for homecoming queen. All comes to a halt when her father’s job moves them out of their posh neighborhood forcing Britney to join the squad of her rival, Crenshaw Heights High School. Despite Crenshaw Heights’ tough head cheerleader Camille (Solange Knowles-Smith), Britney proves to be a force to reckon with and secures a spot on the squad. Britney and her new squad work vehemently together to prepare their routine to audition for an opportunity to perform on television with pop star Rihanna (as herself). In a heated competition, Britney finds herself in a cheer-off between her new squad and old -- but only one can be #1!

March Madness 2007 Update

Well I certainly hope no one took my March Madness advice because I had the worst first round ever. It was so bad that I’m currently sitting in the 11% of all Yahoo brakets. On the bright side I only had one Elite 8 teams and one other Sweet 16 teams bounced so far (Notre Dame, Old Dominion). I actually had a year once where I only lost one game on the first day, but that one lost was a Final Four team which just ruined any chance of winning despite having the best first round score (darn you Stanford). But I’ll pretty much have to run the table to take home any money this year. Maybe this year may be the best time to start up a second chance bracket. But anyways. If your braket is as cooked as mine, you could always participate in Band Madness, with a whopping 512 bands taking on each other. And at least it is St. Patrick’s Day so I have a socially acceptable way to drown my sorrows, time to cue up the Traditional Irish Folk Song.

In other news, Congratulations to Dara for winner her second consecutive Lyrics Quiz putter her in a tie for most wins ever at three. I’m sure being subscribe to this blog is something that has helped her to victory by being one of the first to learn when each post is uploaded helps. So to keep up with her, be sure to click on the orange button on the top of the sidebar and subscribe to your favorite feed reader. And if you don’t have a favorite, I highly recommend Bloglines.

She of course won the Rock and Roll Edition of the Lyrics Quiz. The Hall recently released their list of 200 must have albums. I haven’t talked about them up to know because every time I looked at the list, I’d see something that really irked me (Celine Dion in the top 100, more Dixie Chicks than Johnny Cash, No Paul's Boutique, etc.). But I have since calmed down and here is that list in its entirety with the must own albums that I actually own in bold (42 by my count):

1. BEATLES – SGT. PEPPER’S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND
2. PINK FLOYD – DARK SIDE OF THE MOON
3. MICHAEL JACKSON – THRILLER
4. LED ZEPPELIN – LED ZEPPELIN IV
5. U2 – JOSHUA TREE
6. ROLLING STONES – EXILE ON MAIN STREET
7. CAROLE KING – TAPESTRY
8. BOB DYLAN – HIGHWAY ‘61 REVISITED
9. BEACH BOYS – PET SOUNDS
10. NIRVANA – NEVERMIND
11. PEARL JAM – TEN
12. BEATLES – ABBEY ROAD
13. SANTANA – SUPERNATURAL
14. METALLICA – METALLICA
15. BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN – BORN TO RUN
16. PRINCE – PURPLE RAIN
17. AC/DC – BACK IN BLACK
18. ROLLING STONES – LET IT BLEED
19. DOORS – DOORS
20. GRATEFUL DEAD – AMERICAN BEAUTY
21. SHANIA TWAIN – COME ON OVER
22. WHO – WHO’S NEXT
23. STEVIE WONDER – SONGS IN THE KEY OF LIFE
24. FLEETWOOD MAC – RUMOURS
25. PINK FLOYD – THE WALL
26. ALANIS MORISSETTE – JAGGED LITTLE PILL
27. NORAH JONES – COME AWAY WITH ME
28. EMINEM – MARSHALL MATHERS LP
29. OUTKAST – SPEAKERBOXX-LOVE BELOW
30. DR. DRE – CHRONIC
31. BEASTIE BOYS – LICENSED TO ILL
32. GUNS ‘N ROSES –APPETITE FOR DESTRUCTION
33. DIXIE CHICKS – WIDE OPEN SPACES
34. MILES DAVIS – KIND OF BLUE
35. EAGLES – HOTEL CALIFORNIA
36. DEF LEPPARD – HYSTERIA
37. SOUNDTRACK – GREASE
38. MARVIN GAYE – WHAT’S GOING ON
39. BEATLES – WHITE ALBUM
40. SOUNDTRACK – SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER
41. JIMI HENDRIX – ARE YOU EXPERIENCED?
42. BEATLES – REVOLVER
43. BOSTON – BOSTON
44. BON JOVI – SLIPPERY WHEN WET
45. U2 – ACHTUNG BABY
46. WHITNEY HOUSTON – WHITNEY HOUSTON
47. LED ZEPPELIN – LED ZEPPELIN II
48. DAVE MATTHEWS BAND – CRASH
49. ROLLING STONES – STICKY FINGERS
50. GREEN DAY – DOOKIE
51. LED ZEPPELIN – HOUSES OF THE HOLY
52. JONI MITCHELL – BLUE
53. ELVIS PRESLEY – ELVIS AT SUN
54. AEROSMITH – TOYS IN THE ATTIC
55. LAURYN HILL – MISEDUCATION OF LAURYN HILL
56. BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN – BORN IN THE U.S.A.
57. 50 CENT – GET RICH OR DIE TRYIN’
58. AC/DC – HIGHWAY TO HELL
59. NOTORIOUS B.I.G. – LIFE AFTER DEATH
60. VAN HALEN – VAN HALEN
61. GREEN DAY – AMERICAN IDIOT
62. BLACK SABBATH – PARANOID
63. EMINEM – EMINEM SHOW
64. JEWEL – PIECES OF YOU
65. COLDPLAY – RUSH OF BLOOD TO THE HEAD
66. MEATLOAF – BAT OUT OF HELL
67. USHER – CONFESSIONS
68. KID ROCK – DEVIL WITHOUT A CAUSE
69. GEORGE HARRISON – ALL THINGS MUST PASS
70. BILLY JOEL – STRANGER
71. EAGLES – HELL FREEZES OVER
72. VAN MORRISON – MOONDANCE
73. REM – AUTOMATIC FOR THE PEOPLE
74. PHIL COLLINS – NO JACKET REQUIRED
75. METALLICA – MASTER OF PUPPETS
76. FAITH HILL – BREATHE
77. JOHNNY CASH – AT FOLSOM PRISON
78. JOHN COLTRANE – LOVE SUPREME
79. PINK FLOYD – WISH YOU WERE HERE
80. MICHAEL JACKSON – OFF THE WALL
81. MARVIN GAYE – LET’S GET IT ON
82. BOB SEGER – NIGHT MOVES
83. PAUL SIMON – GRACELAND
84. LINKIN PARK – HYBRID THEORY
85. PRINCE – 1999
86. DEF LEPPARD – PYROMANIA
87. JANET JACKSON – CONTROL
88. RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS – BLOOD SUGAR SEX MAGIK
89. DIRE STRAITS – BROTHERS IN ARMS
90. TUPAC – ALL EYEZ ON ME
91. MATCHBOX TWENTY – YOURSELF OR SOMEONE LIKE YOU
92. RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS – CALIFORNICATION
93. LED ZEPPELIN – PHYSICAL GRAFFITI
94. NELLY – COUNTRY GRAMMAR
95. CREED – HUMAN CLAY
96. CLASH – LONDON CALLING
97. CELINE DION – FALLING INTO YOU
98. NEIL YOUNG – HARVEST
99. SOUNDTRACK – DIRTY DANCING
100. DIXIE CHICKS – HOME
101. TOM PETTY – FULL MOON FEVER
102. VAN HALEN – 1984
103. SOUNDTRACK – TITANIC
104. CROSBY STILLS & NASH – DÉJÀ VU
105. TLC – CRAZYSEXYCOOL
106. BECK – ODELAY
107. KENNY G – BREATHLESS
108. NWA. – STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON
109. SEX PISTOLS – NEVER MIND THE BOLLOCKS
110. BEATLES – RUBBER SOUL
111. RADIOHEAD – O.K. COMPUTER
112. SIMON & GARFUNKEL – BRIDGE OVER TROUBLED WATER
113. DIXIE CHICKS – FLY
114. METALLICA – AND JUSTICE FOR ALL
115. MICHAEL JACKSON – DANGEROUS
116. MARIAH CAREY – DAYDREAM
117. SOUNDTRACK – TOP GUN
118. ELTON JOHN – GOODBYE YELLOW BRICK ROAD
119. POLICE – SYNCHRONICITY
120. NO DOUBT – TRAGIC KINGDOM
121. ROLLING STONES – BEGGAR’S BANQUET
122. R KELLY – R
123. TOOL – LATERALUS
124. OASIS – WHAT’S THE STORY MORNING GLORY
125. BOB MARLEY – EXODUS
126. JOURNEY – ESCAPE
127. CHRISTINA AGUILERA – CHRISTINA AGUILERA
128. JAY-Z – BLUEPRINT
129. ALICIA KEYS – DIARY OF ALICIA KEYS
130. SOUNDTRACK – O BROTHER WHERE ART THOU?
131. CARS – CARS
132. ENYA – DAY WITHOUT RAIN
133. NATALIE COLE – UNFORGETTABLE WITH LOVE NATALIE COLE
134. SOUNDTRACK – FOOTLOOSE
135. LIONEL RICHIE – CAN’T SLOW DOWN
136. SARAH MCLACHLAN – SURFACING
137. BONNIE RAITT – NICK OF TIME
138. METALLICA – RIDE THE LIGHTNING
139. SHERYL CROW – TUESDAY NIGHT MUSIC CLUB
140. FRANK SINATRA – IN THE WEE SMALL HOURS
141. EARTH WIND FIRE – GRATITUDE
142. ZZ TOP – ELIMINATOR
143. WILLIE NELSON – RED HEADED STRANGER
144. JOHN LENNON – IMAGINE
145. TONI BRAXTON – TONI BRAXTON
146. ETTA JAMES – AT LAST
147. ELVIS PRESLEY – ELVIS PRESLEY
148. CAT STEVENS – TEA FOR THE TILLERMAN
149. SMASHING PUMPKINS – MELLON COLLIE & THE INFINITE SADNESS
150. DAVE BRUBECK – TIME OUT
151. JANET JACKSON – JANET
152. QUEEN – A NIGHT AT THE OPERA
153. OZZY OSBOURNE – BLIZZARD OF OZZ
154. WILL SMITH – BIG WILLIE STYLE
155. PRINCE – SIGN OF THE TIMES
156. PUBLIC ENEMY – IT TAKES A NATION OF MILLIONS TO HOLD US BACK
157. BOB DYLAN – BLOOD ON THE TRACKS
158. GEORGE MICHAEL – FAITH
159. BOYZ II MEN – COOLEYHIGHHARMONY
160. DESTINY’S CHILD – WRITING’S ON THE WALL
161. JAY-Z – BLACK ALBUM
162. AVRIL LAVIGNE – LET GO
163. FUGEES – SCORE
164. MADONNA – LIKE A VIRGIN
165. LED ZEPPELIN – LED ZEPPELIN
166. STEVIE RAY VAUGHN – TEXAS FLOOD
167. STONE TEMPLE PILOTS – CORE
168. ORIGINAL CAST – PHANTOM OF THE OPERA HIGHLIGHTS
169. JETHRO TULL – AQUALUNG
170. TUPAC – ME AGAINST THE WORLD
171. DAVID BOWIE – RISE AND FALL OF ZIGGY STARDUST
172. SHAKIRA – LAUNDRY SERVICE
173. SOUNDTRACK – FORREST GUMP
174. AL GREEN – CALL ME
175. CURTIS MAYFIELD – SUPERFLY
176. LIVE – THROWING COPPER
177. GEORGE BENSON – BREEZIN’
178. WHITE STRIPES – WHITE BLOOD CELLS
179. LYNYRD SKYNYRD – PRONOUNCED LEH-NERD SKIN-ERD
180. SADE – DIAMOND LIFE
181. FLEETWOOD MAC – FLEETWOOD MAC
182. PAUL MCCARTNEY & WINGS – BAND ON THE RUN
183. BEYONCE – DANGEROUSLY IN LOVE
184. ANITA BAKER – RAPTURE
185. NAS – IIIMATIC
186. BARBRA STREISAND – A STAR IS BORN
187. EARTH WIND FIRE – THAT’S THE WAY OF THE WORLD
188. ANITA BAKER – RHYTHM OF LOVE
189. JAY-Z – IN MY LIFETIME VOL 1
190. LL COOL J – MAMA SAID KNOCK YOU OUT
191. STEELY DAN – AJA
192. WILLIE NELSON – STARDUST
193. ARETHA FRANKLIN – SPARKLE
194. ANDREA BOCELLI – ANDREA
195. BOB DYLAN – BRINGING IT ALL BACK HOME
196. LUTHER VANDROSS – NEVER TOO MUCH
197. U2 – ALL THAT YOU CAN’T LEAVE BEHIND
198. RUSH – 2112
199. OUTKAST – AQUEMINI
200. GRAND FUNK RAILROAD – WE’RE AN AMERICAN BAND

Lyrics Quiz: Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Edition

This past Monday, five new artists were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and so with this month’s Lyrics Quiz I thought I would look back at the past inductees. I have taken my favorite Hall of Famer from each induction class and taken a lyric from my favorite song of theirs in order of their induction. Since there have only been twenty-two ceremonies, I back loaded the most recent inductees. As always leave your guesses in the comment section, both song title and artist. If you are correct, I will un-bold the lyric and give you credit. The person with the most correct lyrics will be added to the Winner’s list on my sidebar. Now on to the lyrics:


1. Oh let our love survive or dry the tears from your eyes. Let’s don’t let a good thing die when honey, you know I’ve never lied to you. (Suspicious Minds - Elvis Presley; guessed by Rosemarie)
2. Ah things ain't what they used to be, no, no. Oil wasted on the ocean and upon our seas, fish full of mercury. (Mercy, Mercy Me (The Ecology) - Marvin Gaye; guessed by Rosemarie)
3. I may not always love you but long as there are stars above you, you never need to doubt it. I’ll make you so sure about it. (God Only Knows - The Beach Boys - guessed by Kristi)
4. Thirteen month old baby. Broke the lookin’ glass. Seven years of bad luck, the good things in your past. (Superstition - Stevie Wonder; guessed by Rosemarie)
5. Laughing on the bus. Playing games with the faces. She said, “The man in the gabardine suit was a spy.” I said, “Be careful his bowtie is really a camera.” (America - Simon and Garfunkel; guessed by Kristi)
6. There ain’t no room for the hopeless sinner who would hurt all mankind just to save his own. Believe me now. Have pity on those whose chance has grown thinner ‘cause there is no hiding place against the kingdom’s throne. (People Get Ready - The Immpressions; guessed by Tony)
7. The judge said, “Son, what is your alibi? If you were somewhere else then you won’t have to die.” I spoke not a world though it meant my life. I’d been in the arms of my best friend’s wife. (Long Black Veil - Johnny Cash; guessed by Tony)
8. I hear hurricanes a blowing. I know the end is coming soon. I fear rivers overflowing. I hear the voice of rage and ruin. (Bad Moon Rising - Creedence Clearwater Revival; guessed by Rosemarie)
9. Old pirates, yes, they rob I; Sold I to the merchant ships. (Redemption Song - Bob Marley; guessed by Kristi)
10. Heard you told him, yes baby, that you'd love him till the end of time. Well you know, that's the same thing that you told me, well, it seems like just the other day. ((Ain't it) Funny How Time Slips Away - Al Green; guessed by Tony)
11. Did you exchange a walk-on part in the war for a lead role in a cage? (Wish You Were Here - Pink Floyd; guessed by Dara)
12. I have been around the world, lookin’ for that woman/girl who knows love can endure. And you know it will. (Southern Cross - Crosby, Stills, and Nash; guessed by Kristi)
13. There she stood in the doorway, heard the mission bell. I was thinking to myself, “This could be Heaven or this could be Hell.” (Hotel California - The Eagles; guessed by Slaygal1981)
14. Sometimes it’s like somebody took a knife, baby, edgy ands dull, and put a six inch valley in the middle of my skull. (I'm on Fire - Bruce Springsteen; guessed by Dara)
15. If you wanna hang out you've got to take her out… If you wanna get down, down on the ground. (Cocaine - Eric Clapton; guessed by Kristi)
16. Left alone with big fat Fanny, she was such a naughty nanny. Heap big woman you made a bad boy out of me. (Fat Bottomed Girls - Queen; guessed by Slaygirl1981)
17. Who’s the black private dick that’s a sex machine to all the chicks? (Theme from Shaft - Isaac Hayes; guessed by Monique)
18. Do I have to tell the story of a thousand rainy days since we first met? It’s a big enough umbrella but it’s always me that ends up getting wet. (Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic - The Police; guessed by Dara)
19. I asked if she wanted 2 dance and she said all she wanted was a good man and wanted 2 know if I thought I was qualified, yeah. And I said, baby don't waste your time, I know what's on your mind. I may be qualified 4 a one night stand. (I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man - Prince; guessed by Dara)
20. You say you want diamonds on a ring of gold. You say you want your story to remain untold. But all the promises we make from the cradle to the grave. (All I Want Is You - U2; guessed by Dara)
21. Now Watergate doesn’t bother me, does your conscience bother you? Tell the truth. (Sweet Home Alabama - Lynyrd Skynyrd; guessed by Dara)
22. My brother's doin’ fast, on my mother's TV. Says she watches too much, it's just not healthy, All My Children in the daytime, "Dallas" at night, can’t even see the game or the Sugar Ray fight. (The Message - Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five)
23. Yeah we’re runnin’ a little bit hot tonight. I can barely see the road from the heat coming off of it. Reach down in between my legs, ease the seat back. (Panama - Van Halen; guessed by Dara)
24. Try and understand, desire is hunger is the fire I breathe. Love is a banquet on which we feed. (Because the Night - Patti Smith; guessed by Dara)
25. September's coming soon. I'm pining for the moon. And what if there were two side by side in orbit around the fairest sun? (Nightswimming - R.E.M.; guessed by Dara)

On a side note, I’d be remised to mention that this is my 700th post here at the 9th Green. Hooray for me. Although though it looks, for the second straight year blogiversary came and went with myself forgetting once again. Of course I am a guy so I tend to forget things like that.

I Told Ya I Was Trouble

Imagine, if you will, that Christina Aguilera, didn’t live her formative years at the Happiest Place on Earth, instead in the outskirts of London, that she wasn’t pressured to fit into the teen pop genre and instead of dressing like a pin up girl, like she has recently, she actually had tattoos of pin up girls on her arm, then she may have ended up much like Amy Winehouse. Certainly another comparison you will here is to that of Lily Allen as both British ladies blew up in their native land in recent years without anyone stateside knowing there name. Then there’s the whole biting black music. But where Allen mixes modern day hip-hop and reggae, Winehouse instead goes deeper making contemporary songs that are heavily influenced by jazz, soul, and R&B girl groups from the sixties.

Despite the old time feel to all the songs, her second album, Back to Black (her debut Frank hasn’t gotten released stateside) starts off with a song that definitely is a modern tale. Now I cannot confirm if Britney Spears or Lindsay Lohan have been listening to Rehab on a loop for months, with lyrics like, “They tried to make me go to rehab but I said, no, no, no” and tales of making it to the check in counter only to leave, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they had. But the reason why Winehouse is drinking isn’t to keep up the Paris Hilton lifestyle; she instead seeks the comfort of the bottle because she is in fear of losing here man a theme that comes up quite frequently on the rest of the album.

This is best represented on Me and Mr. Jones (not to be confused with Billy Paul’s Me and Mrs. Jones) where the love/hate relationship with her man goes on high where she takes him to task for making her miss the Slick Rick concert but says, “Side from Sammy you're my best black Jew.” And this girl likes her shout-out, aside from Slick Rick, and Mr. Davis Jr., she also give love to Ray (Charles), and Mr. Hathaway whom I assume she is referring to Donnie, not Anne’s dad. Marvin Gaye also gets some love as Tears Dry on Their Own is built around Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.

The best of this set though is You Know I’m No Good, a great romp with a funky baseline and horns that come in and out at exactly the right times. And we American get an extra treat with a bonus version of the song featuring Ghostface Killer (granted you could have found the song on his More Fish album), and really, anyone down with the Wu is down with me. Now Lily Allen may have made the better album (see my review: Sun Is in the Sky, oh Why, oh Why Would I Want to be Anywhere Else), and has had the more buzz here, but this should be a battle to look forward for years to com.

Song to Download - You Know I’m No Good (featuring Ghostface Killer)

Back to Black gets a on my Terror Alert Scale.

We on Award Tour: 2007 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony

Yesterday when I was talking about all the great events that happen in the middle of March I left out one very important even, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. You may not agree with some of the inductees, but undeniably you will get some unforgettable, sometimes surreal, performances and this year was no exception. Well the biggest exception is that for the first time ever you could watch the ceremony live on either VH1 Classic, which re-airs the whole thing in its entirety this Friday at 8:00 or stream over at AOL.com where you can currently stream the event on demand. For those that don’t have the time to devote the four hours to the show can watch the usual VH1 butchered show this Saturday at 9:00, because who doesn’t want to spend St. Patrick’s Day in front of the television. Now onto my thoughts:

- Of course the show is emanating from New York City instead of the actual Hall, here in Northeast Ohio. Not that I’m bitter or anything.

- The show starts off with Jann Winner of Rolling Stone talking about one of the co-founders of the Hall who passed and get a proper tribute of the guy from two time inductee Stephen Stills as well as a performance by Aretha Franklin for some reason. We also get your token In Memoriam package which obviously goes beyond just those inducted as they included the dude from Molly Hatchet. But why was a roadie for the Grateful Dead included?

- The first inductees were The Ronettes. A little before my time as I mainly associate them for contributing a song to the Dirty Dancing Soundtrack and one of them did a song with Eddie Money, who got a shout out. One person that didn’t get a shout out was their producer Phil Spector who they went out of their way to not mention. Making that even odder was after they performed Paul Shaffer read a note from Spector, who is rumored to be the reason the group hadn’t been inducted yet, congratulating them. Only at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Well maybe until Big Head Barry gets inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

- One thing we don’t get to see is on the edited telecasts is the intermissions in between induction. The first is a montage of memorable moments from past induction, the best part are the estranged moments of band members that probably haven’t spoke to each other since they broke up. Other intermissions are filled with individual performances which one being one of my personal favorite from 2004 with the all-star jam for While My Guitar Gently Weeps featuring a rancorous solo by Prince who ended it with throwing his guitar behind him then just walks off stage. Can we induct Prince every year? C’mon, you can at least put him in with The Revolution and The New Power Generation.

- Holy Zach del la Rocha sighting! Dude been in an Axl Rose type hibernation since breaking up Rage Against the Machine. And it looks like during the interim he has been growing one silly afro. He’s there to induct Patti Smith, another artist I never really got into. The only Smith story I have was I once gave a presentation on racism in popular culture and played her song Rock and Roll (Expletive Deleted) during it. And wouldn’t you know she played that very song saying it was her mom’s favorite song to vacuum to. If only there were a camera on the Rev. Al Sharpton when the chorus kicked in as I would have liked to see his reaction.

- Speaking of Sharpton he was there to once again to eulogized inaugural Hall of Fame inductee, James Brown. Luckily a Christina Aguilera tribute didn’t follow. I would have liked an actual musician to have done thins instead of Sharpton milking his friendship of Brown yet again. But anyways.

- The moment that everyone has been waiting for of course failed to live up to the hype. I’m speaking of the Van Halen induction that didn’t actually feature either of the band’s namesakes and more surprisingly absent was David Lee Roth who is never one to turn down a public appearance. According to Scott Weiland, whose Velvet Revolver inducted the band as well as handled the performance, invited Roth to sing one of their earlier songs, but balked when the band wouldn’t agree to perform Jump because of that whole, they don’t have a keyboard player thing. Almost as surprising is they actually let Sammy Hagar perform backed by booted bassist Michael Anthony, who actually gave a shout out to Gary Cherone during his acceptance speech, and Paul Shaffer and the CBS Hall of Fame Orchestra. Nice to have the two members currently not in the band are the only ones to actually show up.

- Jay-Z is up next to induct Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. Oddly for a guy who is highly touted for never writing down his lyrics, Jay never looked up while reading his speech, from his Blackberry. I like how Mele Mel called out the younger generation during his speech, although it will undoubtedly fall on deaf ears as the new generation can’t hear anything with their massive diamond earrings in their ears. Great performance too adding some theater to the program but I wish they would have spent longer on each song instead of jumping around.

- Last in this year are R.E.M. who get the induction treatment from Eddie Vedder who correctly calls out Mike Mills for hid Elvis type suits in the mid-nineties. I’m sure many of the longtime readers may wonder what my favorite song of all-time in, and you are likely to get a different answer at different times you ask, but one song that comes up quite frequently is the band’s Nightswimming. R.E.M. is also one of the few bands that I’ve created a personal Best of CD for my collection, which I will certainly share the track with everyone one of these days. I was a little disappointed with the band’s song selection as I would have like them to focus on their nineties work aside from Vedder joining them for Man on the Moon.

- The show ends with a couple of collaborations with Smith joining R.E.M. for I Wanna Be Your Dog, a jab at the Hall for not letting The Stooges in yet. That was followed by most of the inductees and inductor (Grandmaster Flash and the Furious 5 were conspicuously absent although one of the guys who was in their performance was bouncing around) closing the show with Smith’s People Have the Power.

- Tune in late this year to see if acts like Beatie Boys, Metallica, Sting, Madonna, or Janet Jackson can get in with their first year of eligibility or if multiple finalist like The Stooges or the Dave Clark Five finally get in.

It's March Madness Baby! 2007 Edition

It's my favorite time of the year, St. Patrick's Day, my birthday, Peeps (during the occasional March Easter), spring training, Shamrock Shakes, and most importantly March Madness. One of my very first ever posts was the rules to follow, a year where I had my best finish ever (check out: It’s March Madness Baby!) I’m a little worried about this year because I’m breaking three of my rules: Rule 2: Never Beat on the Big 10 (I have both Ohio St. and Wisconsin going to the Sweet 16); Rule 3: Duke Always Makes it to the Sweet 16 (I have them out in the second round, granted if I were a man I’d bounce them in the first round); Rule 4: The MAC Is Always Good for a Win (I have Miami losing to Oregon in the first round).

Speaking of the MAC, how sad is it to lose on a last second banked three? I guess that is for the best because seeing Akron in March Madness could be one of the signs of the apocalypse. Seriously, how long has it been Zips? As a whole it wasn’t a good year for mid-majors with only six at large bids, the lowest number in years. So much for the George Mason run from last year helping them out. This is a shame, because the first weekend is much more exciting watching Cinderellas win a couple of games than see the sixth and seventh teams in from the ACC inevitability lose and most likely lose big. Oh well, here are my picks:

St. Louis
Finals: Florida (1) vs. Oregon (3)
Upset Special: Old Dominion (12)

San Jose
Finals: UCLA (2) vs. Southern Illinois (4)
Upset Special: Gonzaga (10)

East Rutherford
Finals: Georgetown (2) vs. Texas (4)
Upset Special: Texas Tech (10)

San Antonio
Ohio St. (1) vs. Memphis (2)
Upset Special: Long Beach St. (12)

Final Four
Florida over UCLA
Memphis over Texas

Finals
Memphis over Florida (75-72)

Aside from March Madness, the month sees the second best sports moment of the year, fantasy baseball draft. If you would like to join one of my leagues (I’m running both an NL Only and Full leagues), shout me a holla, my e-mail’s on my Blogger Profile page or just leave a comment. Drafts are on the next Tuesday and the one after that.