Despite being a ratings juggernaut, American Karaoke has failed to launch that many careers after the karaokers have to start singing there own music. In six seasons only Kelly Clarkson has been able to produce two hit albums, although two may be her shelf life as her third album has bombed and her concert downgraded due to lack of sales. But on the bright side for Kelly, this moves her one step closer to hanging out with Topanga in the Surreal Life house.
Hoping to join her in the former karaoker two hit club is Carrie Underwood, whose first album Some Hearts (see my review: Oh, There’s Nothing Like Oklahoma) recently overtook Clarkson’s Breakaway as the highest selling post-karaoke album ever. But again, don’t feel too bad for Clarkson because she will soon get to bunk with Skee-Lo. And considering CMT recently devoted six straight hours of playing her new video for So Small, a second hit album is on the way.
Where the first album seemed to alternate between country and pop songs, the follow up Carnival Ride is a strictly honky-tonk affair. That is not a good thing because that means some of the country songs that you listen to and feel your IQ drop sneak onto the album in the form of filler. This no more evident than on The More Men I Meet where Carrie pontificates why the only male for her is one walks on all four and waves his tail. The worst of all though is when Carrie gets back to her karaoke roots with a cover of I Told You So by Randy Travis which would have been best left on the cutting room floor.
Then some of the better songs are just rehashes from the first album. So Small could have been called Jesus Take the Wheel part II with its religious themes. And if So Small is a sequel, then Last Name might very well be a prequel to Before He Cheats telling a tale of how the two met before the dude began to stray. But the problem with that Before He Cheats without the woman scorned angle just isn’t as entertaining with silly lines like, “It started out , ‘hey cutie where ya from?’ and turned into ‘oh no what have I’ve done?’” Maybe you should go back to singing Shania Karaoke.
That is not to say the album is completely lost, Carnival Ride starts off with banjo heavy Flat on the Floor, a ballroom brawler that is good as the Dixie Chicks at their angriest which includes the Led Zeppelin like, “Baby, baby, baby” line. Then there is the emotional roller coaster of Just a Dream seen through the eyes of a military wife at her husband’s funeral. And the powerful I Know You Won’t is the leading candidate of songs that the next batch of karaoker will fight over during Carrie Underwood night.
The highlight of the album though is the album closer Wheel of the World which not surprisingly is the least country song on the album. The song is a better written, lyrically and musically, version of So Small. Hopefully this is the direction Underwood takes for the third album or she just may be playing pool with the dude from My Two Dads not named Paul Reiser before Clarkson does.
It really isn’t a good sign for Heroes when people are spending more talking about how boring this season is then debating who the black hooded sweatshirt person who shoved Sulu over the building was (is it Adam Sandler, Bill Belichicken, the Unabomber?) which I am assuming is the big whodidit of the season. But with the first appearance of Kristen Bell tonight, of which I am equally excited for (because its Veronica Mars) and dreading (because its Veronica Mars reciting horrible dialogue surrounded by bad actors), I thought I would throw the show a bone and run down the odds of who could be killing off The Company members one by one. Even though anything is possible in this show, I think it is safe to say since they are nowhere near New York City that you can rule out the Bennett’s, the Wonder Twins and Syler, but I think almost everyone else could be a suspect. Go ahead and place your bets in the comment section*.
The Invisible Man (1000:1) - The hooded person seemed to disappear and dude definitely had a grudge against The Company. But that last time we saw him, he seemed content of being left alone, plus that was a long time ago.
Heidi Petrelli/Janise Parkman (500:1) - They both seemed normal but every other Heroes has been linked romantically to another Heroes, so I wouldn’t be surprised that either of them turn out to have one. Both also have been mentioned a couple times so it is only a matter of time before they show up again. But neither really have a motive at this point.
Kristen Bell (100:1) - I was rooting for Bell’s character to be the boogieman but we found that to be Parkman’s dad. Yawn. Being the hooded person seems a little far fetched at this point as from the promo she looks to be in Ireland but the show does have some timeline issues so not out of the realm of possibility that she flew out after the two hits. And maybe her ability is teleportation, which would make both hits probable. Plus I got a distinct chick vibe from the attacker.
Future Hiro (95:1) - Hiro has already come back from the future to warn of eminent danger before and since it is a different future now there may be a different threat. But since Ando is now alive, he won’t be cool Hiro anymore so Future Hiro may be too busy in the future with his man crush with him.
Mohinder (75:1) - It has been established that everyone who is blood related to each other are Heroes also. Well all except Mohinder whose sister is but he isn’t. Or is he and he doesn’t know it? Here’s my theory: when asleep, Mohinder sleep walks and uses his power of teleportation to do the killing.
Takezo Kensei (55:1) - We know that Kensei can heal himself, but what if his true power is more than that and he cannot die ever. It is obvious that his symbol keeps showing up isn’t a coincidence but maybe it wasn’t passed down and adopted by a new generation but he himself imported it and made it the symbol of The Company and now want to destroy the very thing he helped create for whatever reason.
The Field (50:1) - Do you have Micah, the Haitian, Mr. Muggles, or anyone else not mentioned, this is where you place you bets
Jessica (40:1) - We really haven’t seen much of Niki this season and I am pretty sure that we have yet to see Jessica. What if the reason why Niki is sick is that Jessica actually split from her body and she can’t like without her sister. And while on her own she is the one killing the remaining Company members because Linderman arranged that if anything happened to him, she would take the rest out.
A Charter Member of The Company We Haven’t Met (30:1) - The conversation between Sulu and Mama Petrelli made it sound like it was a fellow Company member that was doing it and since the only other members we have met are currently dead except for Mama and the Golden Dude.
Mama Petrelli (25:1) - As one of the few Members we have seen alive, it wouldn’t put it past me that she faked her own attack to get people off her trail.
Papa Petrelli/Linderman/Shaft (20:1) - They are also charter members of The Company the only difference is they are all dead. But by my count, Papa Petrelli’s son has come back from the dead about five too many times. And one of my biggest problems with Heroes was they killed off Shaft early in the show. Seriously, why kill off a bad mother… well maybe I should just shut my mouth. But he did show up in what may or may not been a dream sequence late last season and I wouldn’t be surprised if he isn’t back this season.
Parkman’s Dad (7:1) - He is a member of The Company and has already been revealed as the Boogieman so I wouldn’t put it past the Heroes writers to make him the hooded killer too.
Future Peter (5:1) - It is pretty clear that the hooded person went over the edge with Sulu so either that person can fly, heal from the compact with the concrete or teleport, all of which Peter can do.
Before you go to the comment section to tell me who you are putting your money on* I want to quickly mention another show that premiere today. For those that enjoyed the ABC Family show Greek over the summer, you may want to head over to Virtualrush.com where six people are competing for a walk on role on the show for an online reality show Rush’d which will follow the six around for a hometown visit, a photo shoot, set visit to meet the cast as well as their audition for the producers. Then during the week of November 19-23 the Virtual Rush community will vote for their favorite finalists. At right is Laura Wise a.k.a. WhiteCup, the contestant who I’ll be voting for because 1) she’s also from Ohio, 2) she’s the most attractive.
* This game is strictly for entertainment purposes only, no money is meant to change hands. Unless of course you would like to donate to the Scooter McGavin Is Poor Fund.
When you are given the nickname Scooter McGavin you are required to enjoy anything by Adam Sandler. Sandler has made this easy by making movies that are essentially the same where he plays some sort of buffoon who screams and breaks things while being, or being surrounded by, sophomoric morons. Even his much touted serious role in Punch-Drunk Love didn’t deviate that far from the formula.
On the other hand Reign Over Me was truly Sandler’s chance at a serious role where he plays a former dentist who has shut himself off from the world after his wife, three daughters and dog were on one of the planes that crashed into the Twin Towers. Yeah, the role did call for Sandler to scream a couple times, but instead the screaming came from a place of pain, not for comic effect of a raving buffoon.
But the movie really belongs to Don Cheadle (Hotel Rwanda) as Sandler’s college roommate who has since lost touch with him after graduation even after trying to get in touch with him after September 11th to give his condolences. That is until a chance encounter with Sandler who is now channeling Bob Dylan with unkept graying hair whose mood can change on a dime if he thinks you are even coming close to bringing up the event he has spent nearly five years to forget.
This comes at a point where Cheadle looks to be hitting his midlife crisis. He can’t talk to his wife, Jada Pickett Smith (The Nutty Professor), anymore, he routinely creates a “chance” encounter with a psychiatrist, Liv Tyler (Empire Records), in his building so he can ask her questions about a “friend,” and an off kiltered patient is making his job harder when she makes advantages toward him. Running into an old college roommate who doesn’t talk to anyone, rides around scooter everywhere with his earphones blaring, and spends his free time (which seems to be every minute of the day) either remodeling his kitchen or playing Shadow of the Colossus the most normal thing in his life all day.
Does Sandler shine in this serious role? For the most part. There is a scene at the end where Sandler goes into scream mode where I couldn’t help laughing even though I felt bad because of the seriousness of the scene. But there are two very strong monologues he does give in the film which are up there with Cheadle very strong performance.
Quote of the Week: I was with her a year ago. You figure for her that was like two hundred showers ago. You ask yourself: Is two hundred enough? (Barney, How I Met Your Mother)
Song of the Week: Where I Stood - Missy Higgins (Smallville)
Big News of the Week: Kristen Bell Week: After four episodes of being bored out my mind enough to switch over to I Love New York to see if Midget Mac was still around, this week we finally get our first look at Kristen Bell on Heroes. Unfortunately it looks like from the promo that Kristen will be acting opposite of the worst actor of our time, the Absorbing Guy. But she was able to come away from Pulse unscaved so hopefully he doesn’t rub off on her. And if that weren’t enough of Ms. Bell, Tuesday also sees the release of the third season of Veronica Mars on DVD (see right) which features the FBI pitch that was unfortunately not picked up by The CW and looking at the ratings of the shows it picked up instead, that decision is looking even worse than before.
On a non-Kristen Bell note, I have made it known my dislike for those TV writers who write under the guise of the “gossip” label because they hide behind “sources” that tend to be wrong when citing these “sources.” But I was trolling a Friday Night Lights site recently to see a gossiper that will go nameless who recently wrote, “According to an informant, the Peacock recently sent out a reader survey and one of the questions was, ‘Would you be more likely to watch Friday Night Lights if it followed Heroes on Monday?’” Informant? I totally reported this two weeks ago (See 57 Channels vol. II). So not only these people have shady “sources” they have no problem stealing news without credit. You should leave that to the bloggers. On a brighter not, I have a new segment that is inspired by showing pictures to give the ladies out there for a Halloween costume which is pretty self explanatory.
Gratuitous Token Hot Chick Picture of the Week:
Chuck: Can anyone explain to me why a DEA agent would have a eastern European accent? Seriously, couldn’t just saved this actress for the inevitable KGB episode? I know nothing can be perfect, but there seems to be something that really bugs me every week with this show. But my biggest problem this week was way too much Morgan. They really need to kill him off and promote Captain Awesome to series regular. Check out the latest episodes over at NBC.com. You can also download Chuck on iTunes.
Everybody Hates Chris: Holy Dwayne Wayne sighting! I wonder if Eurkle is sitting at home watching the parade of forgotten black actors and wondering when he is going to get a call.
The Big Bang Theory: After the sub par outing last week with little Sheldon, the show gets back on track with a Sheldon-centric episode. I’m not sold on the Token Hot Chick as a character but the more along time with Sheldon, like how they went shopping this week, and that could turn her around. The only problem I had is that they tried a little too hard to make his mom into your token hillbilly with a kid nothing like her. That is not to say I wouldn’t mind seeing more of Laurie Metcalf on the shoe. Check out the latest episodes over at Innertube. You can also download or The Big Bang Theory on iTunes.
Heroes: So last season they hyped this big bad even badder than Syler and it turned out to be Hearing Guy’s Dad? Seriously? We are supposed to believe and old balding fat dude is this completely evil. Yeah if this were a political show I could believe that, but as a superhero show I want something a little creepier than someone who looks like my high school science teacher. Speaking of Syler, we leave him last week in the middle of the jungle only to end up road side at the beginning of the next episode. Why even bother putting him in the middle of nowhere in the first place.
We get a new hero this week with Does Things from TV Girl. I would have liked her more if they didn’t sell her early with the tomato scene and had her first heroic scene being the wresting move. But anyways. This is usually where whine about how boring the episode was and I ask when Kristen Bell is showing up, but we all know when now. Check out the latest episode over at NBC.com.
Journeyman: Did Dan really start off the episode with an, "Oh boy"? And that may be my biggest problem with the show is that it takes itself too seriously except for a line or two per episode. They really need to work in an absurd storyline soon where Dan follows a carnie or maybe an animal. Just a whole episode of comic relief. But we did get a big twist this week where the science guy was able to call Dan in the past. I think it is easy to assume that the science guy’s association with Dan’s dad will have a major impact on the show. Although I’m not sure how Olivia would fit into all of this. Check out the latest episode over at NBC.com. You can also download Journeyman on iTunes.
Pushing Daisies: I am not really fond of the show going back and revisiting the first case like this. IT may have been better if they did back to back episode or a two hour premiere, but it seems like a step back. And devoting the first segment of every show to retell Ned’s power has gotten old real quick. They really don’t need to dumb down the show that much, the “previously on” has done a decent enough job explaining to newcomers. But is a little hard to be too disappointing when the show also featured a hillbilly Chinese dude fighting Ned, the wannabe Jedi. Check out the latest episodes over at ABC.com.
Bionic Woman: Yeah, I think I am done with the show. And this past episode added confusion to the unlikable characters and boring writing. Like what happened to the doctor and why was the one dude so eager to kill him? How could they not have restraints strong enough for the Bionic Woman? They know how strong she is. I may catch it every once and a while to see if it ever reaches its potential, but it is officially off my must see TV list. Check out the latest episodes over at NBC.com.
My Name Is Earl: To all the kids out there, this past episode is the very reason you should stay off drugs. That’s pretty much all I have to say about this episode. Check out the latest episodes over at NBC.com. You can also download My Name Is Earl on iTunes.
Survivor: Can someone explain to me how the contestants got their bathing suits? Did I miss something? They made a big deal about living with no possessions the first week only to give them running shoes that episode and now they all have bathing suits. Cheap. And that wasn’t even the worst part about the episode with the two girls throwing the challenge. Now I am not one to argue their strategic element of doing so, but you can’t do it so blatantly then giggle about it. Now there is no way either of those two win. Check out the latest episode over at Innertube.
Friday Night Lights: This is the tale of two episodes. The scenes with Riggins and Lyla, Landry and Tyra, Matt trying to get the nurse to do his laundry, and Coach Taylor’s passive aggressive chat with Buddy on the phone were classic Friday Night Lights. But there were some eye rolling moments with Julie in the car, Matt tackling Smash after the game, and of course bringing up the murder again. Although from the promo, it looks like next week will be the make or break storyline for the murder so I will hold off final judgment of that until at least then. Check out the latest episodes over at NBC.com.
I would also like to mention that the kind people over at FX were nice enough to hook me up with the first two episodes of Nip/Tuck and I’ve watch the first one so far and there is a show inside the show staring Bradley Cooper and Paula Marshall, Hearts and Scalpels, that is extremely hilarious, although the explicate surgery scene reminded me why I didn’t start watching the show in the first place (not too mention the gratuitous male nudity I could have done without). I’ll have a more in-depth post on the show closer to the season premiere October 30.
Promo of the Week: Interesting that NBC would prominently feature Kristen Bell in the Heroes promo this week. Apparently they know something that The CW could never figure out. Well I guess that is an obvious statement for many other reasons that just the use of Bell.
Next Week’s Pick: Saving a Species, Friday at 9:00 on the Animal Planet: Why watch this Gorillas on the Brink documentary? Two words: Natalie Portman. Oh, and the whole bring a light to the endangered species of mountain gorillas is a worthy cause. The episode follows Portman along with Jack Hanna as they visit Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park.
For those of you that like Amy Winehouse but can do without all the cursing, the creepy beehive, and the imminent drug overdose, I have an artist for you: Sharon Jones. Much like Winehouse, Sharon sounds like an old, overweight black lady, but unlike Winehouse she actually is an old overweight black lady, and if we have learned anything from Aretha Franklin, the amount of soul someone is directly proportional to their waistline.
The similar sounds to the two artists are thanks to the Dap-Kings, the backing band for Jones who also appeared on Winehouse’s Back in Black thanks to their new found friend Mark Ronson. But Where back to Black sounded like a retro ode to sixties soul tunes, the third album from Jones and the boys, 100 Days, 100 Nights sounds like it come out of the Stax recording studio.
It hard to say who is more valuable on the disk, Jones or the Kings. Jones sings from her soul without having to wave her hand like some of the modern day pop princesses while the Dap-Kings are crisp throughout positioning themselves as the greatest house band since Booker T & the MG’s. Whoever you decide on, we can at least agree that it is a good thing the two hooked up.
This has almost inadvertently become A Tribe Called Quest month with a couple of posts dedicated to the seminal rap group (and another on the way), but if any group deserves a month in their honor it would be Q-Tip, Phife Dawg and crew. And if you only have room for one A Tribe Called Quest song on your iPod, Award Tour should be that song.
The song is the one that really got me into A Tribe Called Quest. I had appreciation for their first two albums, but for the most part when they came out I was your token annoying suburbanite kid that listened to mostly hardcore gangsta rap. But Midnight Marauders came out right around the time I was widening my musical spectrum and Award Tour had this refreshing jazzy vibe compared to all the P-Funk and James Brown samples coming from the gangsta.
The song, which feature fellow Native Tongues members De La Soul on the track and in the video, also taught me an important lesson that, “You can be white and blue but don’t crap the roll.” So give the song a listen and if it isn’t already there consider feeding your iPod.
Feed Your iPod is meant to highlight songs that may not have been big hits but should be on everyone’s mp3 player. Shoot me an e-mail if there is a song you think should be included along with a short paragraph why and maybe it will be featured in a future segment.
Quietly a couple weeks ago Amazon launched its own music download store, the aptly title Amazon MP3 store. This is noteworthy compared to the other online music stores that still get crushed by iTunes is that Amazon MP3 is the first online store that offers DRM-free songs from major record labels. For you non computer geeks out there DRM (Digital Rights Media) is what keeps you from putting songs you download from iTunes on other MP3 players, tells you how many computers you can put the song or how many times you can burn a song to CD. So songs downloaded from Amazon MP3 are free for you to do whatever you want with them like the ones you downloaded from Napster years ago. Granted this also means they have significantly less number of songs than any other music store. Here is what Amazon says about its new store:
Amazon MP3 offers Earth's biggest selection of a la carte, DRM-free MP3 music downloads. With over 2 million songs from more than 180,000 artists represented by over 20,000 major and independent labels, Amazon MP3 complements Amazon.com’s existing selection of over 1 million CDs to offer customers more selection of physical and digital music than any other retailer.
Every song and album on Amazon MP3 is available exclusively in the MP3 format without digital rights management (DRM) software. This means that Amazon MP3 customers are free to enjoy their music downloads using any hardware device; organize their music using any music management application, and burn songs to CDs.
Most songs are priced from 89 cents to 99 cents, with more than 1 million of the 2 million songs priced at 89 cents. The top 100 best-selling songs are 89 cents, unless marked otherwise. Most albums are priced from $5.99 to $9.99. The top 100 best-selling albums are $8.99 or less, unless marked otherwise.
Every song on Amazon MP3 is encoded at 256 kilobits per second, which gives customers high audio quality at a manageable file size.
For those of you like me that like to dip their toes in the pool before diving in, the store is offering a free download of Energy by The Apples in Stereo where you can test out their product without actually spending the money. It only take a couple minutes to set thing up, it is no way as near as frustrating as the Unbox set up and download, and you should have the song playing within five minutes.
For anyone who is interested I will keep a link to Amazon MP3 on my sidebar for easy access from the 9th Green (full disclosure: I get a whopping 20% commission, granted that is only 20 cents per song, but I would be able to buy that gumball I’ve been eyeballing) and you can always buy the songs through the album ad for Amazon I post in every music review. And since the songs are DRM-free and sometimes cheaper (DRM-Free songs on iTunes are $1.29 per song), it is always worth looking to see if Amazon has it first before buying from iTunes. For fun below is a widget featuring songs from my list of 100 Best Songs of 2006 below (for those keeping track at home, only 22 songs on the list are available through Amazon MP3):
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.
Just in time for Halloween, quite possibly the scariest music video since Thiller. Seriously, the Marilyn Manson pop bride and uber-bangs looks just are not working for Avril Lavigne. Although in a measure of full disclosure the green get up almost makes Avril look attractive. Now if only she would get rid of the silly pink extension.
In a shocking twist to a Maroon 5 video, it doesn’t feature Adam Levine (not to be confused with the previously mentioned Avril Lavigne) making out with various token hot chicks. And if I am not mistaken, the chick that Levine doesn’t make out with looks a lot like Rousseau’s daughter on Lost after a couple showers. Can anyone get confirmation to if that is her?
Well that well was gratuitous. Um, not that I am complaining or anything. The song is actually kind of catchy too, which is a plus so I don’t have to watch it with the mute button on. But should I know who this NeYo character is?
Speaking of gratuitous, did we really need the five minute intro of some Lohan type being dropped off at some weird model detox place? The Notorious riff at the end was a nice touch though. As for the song, with Timbaland as the producer, it still sound what one would expect a Duran Duran song would sound like. Hopefully there are better tracks when the Red Carpet Massacre is released later this year.
Supposedly today is Blog Action Day where people are to write about the environment. I really hate these types of events because getting people to do something for one day does not make a habit and in the big picture rare put a dent on whatever they are trying to accomplish. Personally everyday I try to cut down my carbon footprint, I have been using energy efficient products for a couple years now and am pretty diligent to turn thing off at the surge protector when not in use. I haven’t yet converted to an energy efficient car yet on account that I’m poor. Although if Al Gore truly cared about the environment he would use his Nobel Prize money to buy me a Prius. Granted if Al Gore truly cared about the environment, he wouldn’t have flown to the ceremony in a private jet. But anyways.
But since the day fell on the 15th I figure I would do my very little part and have a environment themed Lyrics Quiz. Much like every Lyrics Quiz, please post your guesses, title and artist, in the comment section (or you can e-mail me) and if you are correct I will unbold the lyric and give you credit. The Lyrics Quiz is for entertainment purposes only so please do not use anything besides your own meandering mind to help you up with the answers. Now onto the Lyrics Quiz:
Hints:
1. I went with the more environmental lyrics but my favorite line is “What about the babies (Whole Lotta Money)” far apparent reason once you figure out the artist
3. To the astute music fans, the numbers should tip you off to who the artist is.
16. The lead singer of this band recently released an album surprisingly named after this band of which he spent decades feuding with after disbanding it.
17. The budget for this video was donated to various charities with the video itself showing where that money went.
24. One of the very first rock acts to get eco-friendly possibly thanks to the lead singer’s love of surfing.
1. What about sunrise, what about rain? What about all the things you said we were to gain? 2. Oil wasted on the ocean and upon our seas, fish full of mercury. (Mercy, Mercy Me (The Ecology) - Marvin Gaye; guessed by Slaygal1981)
3. Don’t hang on, nothing lasts forever but the earth and sky. It slips away; all your money won’t another minute buy. (Dust in the Wind - Kansas; guessed by Dara) 4. Hey now, maybe we can find a good reason 2 send a child off 2 war. So what if we’re controlling all the oil is it worth a child dying 4? 5. We can live beside the ocean; leave them far behind. Swim out past the breaker; watch the world die. (Santa Monica- Everclear; guessed by Slaygal1981)
6. Got Styrofoam boxes for the ozone layer. Got a man of the people, says keep hope alive. Got fuel to burn, got roads to drive. (Rockin' in the Free World - Neil Young; guessed by Slaygal1981)
7. I want to feel sunlight on my face. I see the dust cloud disappear without a trace. I want to take shelter from the poison rain. (Where the Streets Have No Name - U2; guessed by Slaygal1981)
8. I can breathe my own air. I can sleep more soundly upon these poor souls. I’ll build heaven and call it home. (Don't Drink the Water - Dave Matthews Band; guessed by Angie)
9. People are lonely and only animals with too many tools that can build all the junk that we sell. (The Horizon Has Been Defeated - Jack Johnson; guessed by Slaygal1981)
10. In the middle of the night I go walking in my sleep through the jungle of doubt. (The River of Dreams - Billy Joel; guessed by Slaygal1981)
11. Her green plastic watering can for her fake Chinese rubber plant. (Fake Plastic Trees - Radiohead; guessed by Dara)
12. The oil down the desert way has been shakin’ to the top. The sheik he drove his Cadillac, he went a cruising down the ‘ville. (Rock the Casbah - The Clash; guessed by Slaygal1981)
13. This old man I've talked about broke his own heart, poured it in the ground, big red tree grew up and out. (Feed the Tree - Belly; guessed by Dara)
14. Farmer put away your DDT. I don’t care about spots on my apple; leave me the birds and the bees. (Big Yellow Taxi - Joni Mitchell; guessed by Angie)
15. I want to breathe in the open wind. I want to kiss like lovers do. I want to dive into your ocean. (Here Comes the Rain Again - The Eurthymics; guessed by Slaygal1981) 16. I can hear the bullfrog calling me. Wonder if my ropes still hanging to the tree. Love to kick my feet way down the shallow water. Shoefly, dragonfly, get back to your mother.
17. I’ll tap into the water try and bring my share. Try to bring more, more then I can handle. Bring it to the table, bring what I am able. 18. The tiny island sails downstream ‘cause the life that lived is dead. (Wind Cries Mary - Jimi Hendrix Experience; guessed by Slaygal1981)
19. Hanging on to hope when there is no hope to speak of. And the wounded skies above say it’s much, much too late. (Praying for Time - George Michaels; guessed by Slaygal1981)
20. Check it, since 1516 minds attacked and overseen. Now crawl amidst the ruins of this empty dream. (People of the Sun - Rage Against the Machine; guessed by Slaygal1981)
21. Now back at the homestead where the air makes you choke. (Walk on the Ocean - Toad the Wet Sproket; guessed by Dara)
22. Nations dropping bombs. Chemical gasses filling lungs of little ones. With ongoing suffering as the youth die young. (Where Is the Love? - Black Eyed Peas; guessed by Slaygal1981)
23. Out where the river broke. The bloodwood and the desert oak. Holden wrecks and boiling diesels. Steam in forty five degrees. (Beds Are Burning - Midnight Oil; guessed by Slaygal1981) 24. It's a shame to awake in a world of pain. What does it mean when a war has taken over? 25. Little darling I feel that ice is slowly melting. Little darling it seems like years since it’s been clear. (Here Comes the Sun - The Beatles; guessed by Slaygal1981)
Aw alcohol, the great equalizer. This is the reason why I tend to volunteer to be the designator driver, not because I enjoy driving drunken people around but because I would much rather be the mistake than make the mistake. Off course the free Coke’s are a nice bonus. And this mistake in lies the premise for Knocked Up. Although in a twist, it is the boy who is playing the role of coyote ugly.
The movie is the next in a string of hit movies by Judd Apatow and in true Apatow style the film is full of actors he has previously worked with on like the prematurely canceled shows Freaks and Geeks (Seth Rogan, Jason Segal, Martin Starr, and James Franco in a cameo), and Undeclared (Jay Baruchel, Seth Rogan) as well as his break out hit as writer, director, producer, The 40-Year-Old Virgin (Jonah Hill, Lesie Mann, Seth Rogan, Paul Rudd and Steve Carell in a cameo).
Rogan, in his fourth outing with Apatow, is promoted to leading man this time around as he wins the DNA lottery when he impregnates Katherine Heigl (My Father the Hero). Well at least they want you tom think this is a coup for Rogan, but as Token Hot Chicks go, Heigl is up there in the overrated category, along with Megan Fox in recent memory. But much like a Chicago Bears quarterback, she isn’t there to win the game just not to lose it which she does for the most part (she have more that a few deer caught in the headlight look as some of them ad-lib which you can find in some of the deleted/extended scenes).
Instead Apatow regulars handle the brunt of the comedy load. Hill, Rogan and Rudd are on fire throughout the movie, which is pretty much the Dances with Wolves of comedies with a two plus hour running time (not to mention an extra hour of those deleted and extended scenes and three hours of features), but thanks to those three it rarely seems that long. Rogan and Rudd don’t have an exchange as funny as their improve “You know how I know you’re gay” routine from The 40 Year Old Virgin but Hill comes close as he explains why Brokeback Mountain is a horrible movie in a deleted scene while Heigl looks on with a why did I sign up for this movie look on her face.
Quote of the Week: Don’t tell me to become a man alright because if that is your definition of a man that’s extremely sad. (Landry, Friday Night Lights)
Song of the Week: Hopefully Devoted to You - Olivia Newton John (as sung by Olive, Pushing Daisies)
Big News of the Week: Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton on The 9: A couple months ago I highlighted my favorite video blog The 9 (see Now Get Back to Work) and who popped yesterday but none other that Coach and Mrs. Taylor. Chandler dropped what could possibly be a huge spoiler (especially if you put together what he said with next week’s promo) for the season so be warned. Also why you are there, take note at the bottom right of the page where you can submit your favorite things you find on the internet *cough* the 9th Green *cough*.
And since I have gotten a couple questions about it, the song that plays during the promos this season is Believe by The Bravery. It was also brought to my attention that you can buy a Crucifictorious in the NBC Store. So if you were ever wanting to know what to give a random dude whose stuff you read on the internet for Christmas, there you go (assuming a new iPod is too much to ask for). Unfortunately, even though you can buy a Tim Riggins one, Landry’s 85 jersey isn’t available for purchase.
Chuck: We get our first listen to the show’s theme song and it Short Skirt/Long Jacket. Seriously? That is the best they could come up with. Yeah I like the song and the accompanying videos were brilliant, but as a theme song to a spy show?
But anyways. At least the Token Hot Chick is still working at Weiner King and Jayne’s lurking thought the episode was frakking hilarious, though not as hilarious as Captain Awesome teaching Chuck the tango and for no apparent reason doing so in just his boxers. The spy part of the episode was a little shaky though, it was stressed that there were no known pictures of the arms dealer yet no one questioned how Chuck was able to ID him in the bathroom? That just bugged me. And I was extremely disappointed that Chuck was back to the industry standard ringtone. Check out the latest episodes over at NBC.com. You can also download Chuck on iTunes.
How I Met Your Mother: Way too many gapping holes in the episode. Seriously, it never donned on Robin that instead of shaving her legs in the restaurant bathroom with butter that she should hade just went home with him and used his shaving cream? Then, even though she had been in his bedroom once before and watched him go into his bedroom, Winnie Cooper and her sorority sister went into the other bedroom to full around? Then to top things off we don’t even find out if Ted sealed the deal. Pretty lame. Check out the latest episodes over at Innertube. You can also download How I Met Your Mother on iTunes.
Everybody Hates Chris: I’m not sure if anyone else caught it, but the funniest part of the episode was when Julius was filling up the sugar bowl with restaurant sugar packets. I don’t know why but I was falling on the floor when I saw that.
The Big Bang Theory: It was clear watching this episode that this show is going to depend exclusively Sheldon for entertainment. The scenes with Leonard hitting on the Token Hot Chick and his co-worker were excruciatingly boring. And isn’t a little too soon for the Token Hot Chick to figure out Leonard has the hots for her? Shouldn’t they save that awkwardness for at least the second season? Check out the latest episodes over at Innertube. You can also download or The Big Bang Theory on iTunes.
Heroes: Sylar’s back. Yawn. This may be the worst decision the show has ever made which says a lot. And what is with the Company having him guarded by only by the shape shifting chick (who definitely upgraded bodies)? Elsewhere, the Wonder Twins with the X-Files eyes: still lame. Invincible chick and Flaying Boy II: extremely cheesy CGI. My Two Dads: still boring. When is Kristen Bell going to show up again? Check out the latest episode over at NBC.com.
Journeyman: It is not a good sign that they are already going to the sensationalized history event already. If I am not mistaken, Quantum Leap waited a couple seasons before they pulled that. And it was a little weird that Dan was so surprised to go back to the same day saying he has never done that before. Um, this is only the third journey nothing should be too surprising yet (well aside from everything about it). And I guess we have to wait to see the blow up between Dan and his wife about him not telling her about Olivia at a later date. Check out the latest episode over at NBC.com. You can also download Journeyman on iTunes.
Pushing Daisies: Holy Professor Landry Sighting! Yeah, so that tipped me off a little early to who was behind the whole. The second episode was an improvement over the first (which says a lot if you read my review of it), but I can do without the narrator’s obsessive compulsiveness when it comes to telling us the exact time of things. I could have also done without the retelling of the main theme of the show, the “previously on” did a good enough job at that, hopefully they don’t try pounding that into us every episode. As a straight dude, it is in my DNA to have musicals, but if there is one that I hate the least it is definitely Grease. And the way it was done, I could completely believe that Olive would break out into song at that moment so I can really give the show a pass on that.
The show did clear up one of the biggest questions I had with the first episode when I wondered why Ned couldn’t just pet his dog with a glove on and since he was able to kiss Chuck in the body bag (anyone else had visions of Naked Gun during that scene?) he could conceivable pet the dog with gloves. Although my other biggest question, can someone that Ned revive die naturally or does Ned have to touch them for them ever die again, wasn’t. Because seriously, that dog has to be pushing triple digits in dog years by now. That aside, my favorite part of the episode had to be all of Emerson’s knitting. C’mon, dual wool gun holsters: brilliant. Check out the latest episodes over at ABC.com.
Bionic Woman: Anyone else find it funny that right after the "Is she a lesbian" question they went straight to Isiah Washington? But anyways. After two episode, we finally get to see an actually human side of Jamie. Granted it only lasted five second while dancing with her sister. And the writers are really trying their best to ruin the original Bionic Woman. They introduce her as what looked to be the big bad of the series. The next episode she was more ambiguous. Then in the third episode she had humongous swings from trying to be sympathetic to sarcastic and back to complete evil. So I not sure if I, as a viewer, am supposed to hate her, feel bad for her, or laugh at her. I originally gave the show a month of episodes to win me over and next week is the make or break episode. I get a feeling it is going to be break. Check out the latest episodes over at NBC.com.
My Name Is Earl: For the love of good acting, what is Michael Rapaport doing on this show? Even without Rapaport, this would have been a sub par episode. Aside from Our Cops Is On, the show suffers a little when they do flashbacks and what really hurt this time is that we already knew some of the things that were going to happen. With that said, Darnell’s witness protection program bit were still funny. Check out the latest episodes over at NBC.com. You can also download My Name Is Earl on iTunes.
Survivor: To show you just how addicted to fantasy sports I am, I even play fantasy Survivor. I bring this up because I picked up Dave this week because I figured if he got naked last challenge he would be the new Richard Hatch only for min not only stay fully clothed the whole episode but he got voted off this week. This isn’t as frustrating as earlier this season when I picked up Ashley for basically the same reason to promptly get voted off because she was blurred almost the whole episode yet not naked point. To me if a person is unclothed enough to be blurred that should count as being naked. Check out the latest episode over at Innertube.
Smallville: Well it looked like last week wasn’t just jitters for Supergirl, that is pretty much her whole acting range. She may just challenge the absorbing dude on Heroes for worst actor on television award. But hey, at least she looks good in a bikini.
Friday Night Lights: I’m still not entirely sure how I feel about this episode. I have made it known that I am not a fan of the idea of Coach Taylor living in Austin and the Landry killing a dude plotlines, but I can’t say I am really that disappointed so far. But those two plot point would pale in comparison is Mrs. Taylor ends up cheating with the science teacher. I am really hoping that is not where that is going. And seriously how sad would it be to lose your eligibility over a Justin Timberlake concert? Check out the latest episodes over at NBC.com.
Promo of the Week: My contest to win a copy of Nip/Tuck on DVD may be over (check your e-mail if you entered because I notified the winner this morning) but I still have a couple more promos to share hyping the start of season 5 on October 30th. Here is one of them:
Next Week’s Pick: The Big Bang Theory, Monday at 8:30 on CBS: In the series first three episodes two featured former Rosanne costars, last week it was Sarah Gilbert as one of Leonard’s coworker and this week Laurie Metcalf stops by as Sheldon’s mom (which hopefully mean more Sheldon this week). Any one want to place bets to witch Becky will show up first on the show?
Next week sees the release of the very first live album in the twenty-six year career of R.E.M. in the form of a two CD and DVD set, some of which you can preview on their YouTube Channel. Okay, so I am a little disappointed that my personal favorite R.E.M. song was not included. But that is why I am featuring Nightswimming on my latest installment of Feed Your iPod.
The first time I ever heard the song was when I bought Automatic for the People so long ago it was on cassette tape and among a bunch of great songs, Nightswimming stood out above all of them. I am always a sucker for piano ballads and the subtle string section just put the song in legendary status as they back the great Michael Stipe vocals (my favorite line: “I’m pining for the moon”). The song was never as a single stateside, but was in England along with the accompanying video.
Feed Your iPod is meant to highlight songs that may not have been big hits but should be on everyone’s mp3 player. Shoot me an e-mail if there is a song you think should be included along with a short paragraph why and maybe it will be featured in a future segment.
In a bit of symbolism not seen since George Michaels burned his leather jacket and blew up his iconic jukebox all the while not bothering to show up in his Freedom ’90 video, for the first single from Heroes & Thieves, Vanessa Carlton drove her iconic piano into traffic only for it to get run over. The big difference between the two artists though was Michaels’ video was a statement that he was no longer beholden to the poppy image forced upon him and the video and accompanying song was a declaration of his new artistic freedom.
Carlton on the other hand was just bitter that her record label dropped her after her sophomore album bombed. The music on the new album hasn’t changed much with the label change even with horrible rap producer Irv Gotti helping out behind the boards. The only influence of his you can hear on the album is the drumline style percussions that open and close out the first single Nolita Fairytale. Instead we get more piano and strings driven introspective tunes.
In fact the new album seems much like a mash-up of her first two with songs having a more polished to them and accessible melodies like on her debut Be Not Nobody with more moodier lyrics like on the follow up Harmonium. Same as the second album, Stephan Jenkins of Third Eye Blind, helped write a few songs and crappy songwriter extraordinaire Linda Perry of 4 Non-Blondes help pen three tracks which are not surprisingly the most overwrought and skippable songs on the album even with Stevie Nicks adding harmonies on The One.
Even being an improvement the album is mired by not having that one big hit to get Carlton back on the charts. Despite the melodramatics of Perry on her songs, the rest of the album just sounds like they could have been the filler between A Thousand Miles and Ordinary Day from the first album. Hopefully Carlton took notes from Nicks on how to branch out musically but still have a signature sound on her next album.
Of all the rap-rockers of the late nineties, Kid Rock sucked the least. Unlike most of his contemporaries, Rock didn’t just pseudo-rap over loud guitars, he made sure all his influences, which he wore on his sleeve and routinely name dropped in songs, came thru from Run-DMC to Metallica to Hank Williams Jr. to fellow Detroiter Bob Seger. But the former Bob Ritchie has been more tabloid fodder than rock star thanks to the women he like to keep company, most notable the a couple month long marriage to Pamela Anderson.
With Anderson out of the picture (aside from a run in with her and her ex-husband at the Video Music Awards), Kid Rock is back to music with Rock n Roll Jesus. But Anderson isn’t completely forgotten as the line, “she’s half your age but twice as hot” seems like a not so thinly veiled reference to the former playmate who is currently on the wrong side of forty. Rounding out the final two country themed tracks is Lowlife (Living the Highlife) a song that could be a pot show at fellow Pam ex, Tommy Lee or possible just a tongue in check song about himself, with Kid Rock you really don’t know.
The rest of the album is still pretty eclectic as you get you share of rock anthems, some rapping, a couple of power ballads and Rock dips even further into his influence pool for the delta blues themed New Orleans. But like his most recent albums, the rock tracks just sound like retreads of past songs. The first single So Hott sounds like an homage to rock excess kings AC/DC (the cover art also conspicuously looks like Back in Black) but certainly Angus and the boys could have come up with a catchy chorus.
Speaking of retreads, that is nowhere more apparent, and this time intentional, than on Rock’s ode to the simpler times in one’s youth on All Summer Long which heavily borrows the piano chords from Werewolves of London that morphs into Sweet Home Alabama. This is a neat trick, but the song doesn’t really hold up to multiple listens. But Amen more than lives up to more than one spins. The acoustic gospel tune (no, seriously, Rock does a gospel song and does it well) takes aim at corrupt government and corporations, as well as the lazy, uninvolved and the ignorant. Yeah, Rock may not be the most moral person in the world, but when a song is this good, sometimes you don’t mind the blind preaching.
Song to Download - Amen (Kid Rock is still holding his catalogue off iTunes)
![Terror Alert Level: Elevated [YELLOW]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6-iVFV0hXCTSYP16K_V0Rrxp3GqFrtBIJKeTUyQ2LpxZQ9XKHFj6QGtqqa7oxhLadLV8vUj8R84AftD8IKUSfN0u_u0CYDtJwhrpCPN2DBWquAIDv0jbVlhZL0mDFKlPKluGyxw/s400/small_elevated.png)
on my Terror Alert Scale.
didn’t deviate that far from the formula.
) as Sandler’s college roommate who has since lost touch with him after graduation even after trying to get in touch with him after September 11th to give his condolences. That is until a chance encounter with Sandler who is now channeling Bob Dylan with unkept graying hair whose mood can change on a dime if he thinks you are even coming close to bringing up the event he has spent nearly five years to forget.
), anymore, he routinely creates a “chance” encounter with a psychiatrist, Liv Tyler (
), in his building so he can ask her questions about a “friend,” and an off kiltered patient is making his job harder when she makes advantages toward him. Running into an old college roommate who doesn’t talk to anyone, rides around scooter everywhere with his earphones blaring, and spends his free time (which seems to be every minute of the day) either remodeling his kitchen or playing 
the most normal thing in his life all day.![Terror Alert Level: High [ORANGE]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhebDZ0qqwOVKMZj7oFSUe8Hm3ax54U9Hp1fThJPgiddTyzcdwx_5SV6E3b7hkKyxbaDiym4COmUXT2YJnsKCUjBHI_a2xZtNoY7qFQRslP5AGO5gLkJwn2ZbO0wIF80ycbKrgPPA/s400/small_high.png)
on my 
unscaved so hopefully he doesn’t rub off on her. And if that weren’t enough of Ms. Bell, Tuesday also sees the release of the third season of Veronica Mars on DVD (see right) which features the FBI pitch that was unfortunately not picked up by The CW and looking at the ratings of the shows it picked up instead, that decision is looking even worse than before.
(Seth Rogan, Jason Segal, Martin Starr, and James Franco in a cameo), and 
(Jay Baruchel, Seth Rogan) as well as his break out hit as writer, director, producer, 
(Jonah Hill, Lesie Mann, Seth Rogan, Paul Rudd and Steve Carell in a cameo).
). Well at least they want you tom think this is a coup for Rogan, but as Token Hot Chicks go, Heigl is up there in the overrated category, along with Megan Fox in recent memory. But much like a Chicago Bears quarterback, she isn’t there to win the game just not to lose it which she does for the most part (she have more that a few deer caught in the headlight look as some of them ad-lib which you can find in some of the deleted/extended scenes).
of comedies with a two plus hour running time (not to mention an extra hour of those deleted and extended scenes and three hours of features), but thanks to those three it rarely seems that long. Rogan and Rudd don’t have an exchange as funny as their improve “You know how I know you’re gay” routine from The 40 Year Old Virgin but Hill comes close as he explains why 
is a horrible movie in a deleted scene while Heigl looks on with a why did I sign up for this movie look on her face.
