A plethora of cool press releases have been flooding my inbox recently that you may find interesting. This post will include blurbs on Voting Machines, High School Musical 3: Senior Year, Cha$e, Psychic Kids: Children of the Paranormal, Haunted History Collection: Volume 2, Redemption Song, and Crusoe.
- In a story I broke three years ago, electronic voting machines are faulty, unreliable, and will only lead to trouble (See: I Rocked the Vote (I Think)). I remember four years ago, when we first used the devises, that a county in my home state of Ohio managed to have 100% turnout with over 90% of that going for George Bush (granted Indiana managed to out do that by registering 110% of eligible votes this year). I bring this because the Sci-Fi Channel of all people have created a map showing how vulnerable each state is to voting fraud on DVISE their consumer electronic website. I’m surprised the site considers electronic voting lower in the error prone department because the three years I have had that type of voting there has been at least two machines with “Not Working” signs on them.
- Remember back in your youth when you would buy a movie ticket to The Little Mermaid then sneak into seeing Legal Eagles? This weekend may be the first time that this philosophy gets reverses with old dudes buying tickets to Saw V and sneaking into High School Musical 3. Expect an expose by Chris Hansen in the next couple months. Until then check out this blooper reel from High School Musical 3: Senior Year in theaters now or check the movie’s YouTube Channel for more behind the scenes action:
- The Sci-Fi Channel has a new reality show called Cha$e premiering on Tuesday, November 11 at 10:00 that looks interesting. Interesting may be an understatement considering it is bases on a Japanese game show. Here is a trailer for the show:
- Out on DVD tomorrow in time for Halloween is Psychic Kids: Children of the Paranormal from A&E. Here is a synopsis and if you are interested in buying, check out shop.aetv.com:
Watch as psychic/medium Chip Coffey and clinical psychologist Dr. Lisa Miller come to the aid of these remarkable children, who discover they are not alone. Follow them as they compare notes, discuss long held-in feelings, and with guidance, bravely seek out the spirits they dread in six eerie episodes.
Psychic Kids: Children of the Paranormal is an intense journey into the lives of children who live with gifts they frequently see as burdens. With the help of caring experts, they begin to understand and manage their powers, realizing their potential both as psychics and human beings.
- Already out on DVD is History Channel’s Haunted History Collection: Volume 2. Here is a synopsis and if you are interested in buying, check out history.com:
Haunted Histories Collection: Volume 2 takes you on a spine-tingling tour of truly frightening phenomena. Uncover the real stories behind American haunted houses, zombies, voodoo rituals, and a mad scientist caught up in the dark world of alchemy and body snatching. From bone-chilling interviews with eyewitnesses who have felt the presence of restless ghosts, seen the walking dead, or participated in spirit possession rituals to expert testimony from historians, scientists, and psychics. This collection features in-depth profiles of the world's scariest stories on 5 DVDs, including Haunted Houses, More Haunted Houses: Tortured Souls and Restless Spirits, Zombies, Voodoo Rituals, In Search of the Real Frankenstein.
- Remember the FUSE campaign of “Where the Music Is” taking pot shots of the lack of music videos MTV was playing. Well apparently is starting to show more non music video shows including the upcoming Redemption Song taking, as they say, the eleven hottest women in reality TV from the wrong side of the tracks, to compete in a singing competition. So it is basically Rock of Love: Charm School meets American Karaoke. Naturally wrestler Chris Jericho is hosting. The show premieres this Wednesday at 11:00. Check out a sneak peak below:
- NBC keeps on cranking out great online videos for their show, here is the latest showing how they designed the massive treehouse on Crusoe. Head over to NBC.com for more behind the scenes look at the show including how they come up with their intricate costumes:
The Big Bang Theory: I would have liked to laugh at this episode, but being the local mule in college as one of the few people in my dorm with a car, it just brought back bad memories of back seat drivers, especially the part about the Check Engine light. I even pulled the, “no, the light is just broke” line. Okay, I still laughed at the simulated driving part of the show. You can stream current episodes over at Innertube. You can also download The Big Bang Theory on iTunes.
Chuck: What sick and twisted world do we live in where Nicole Richie gets top billing over Ben Savage, the boy in Boy Meets World. He dated Topanga, was friends with Shawn Hunter and little brother to Fred and he becomes an afterthought to a reality star. Sacrilege. But DJ Casey almost made up for that. Almost. You can stream current episodes over at NBC.com. You can also download Chuck on iTunes.
How I Met your Mother: In a plot twist everyone saw coming, Stella was not the mother. Seeing the kids in the future and knowing she had a daughter really killed any chances. That she ended up with the sleaze ball ex-boyfriend was the shocking part. Isn’t it time for the baker to come back from France and just make her the mother already? Really, the show hasn’t been as consistent since Ashley Williams got on the plane, so just bring her back, make her the mother, and move on. You can stream current episodes over at Innertube. You can also download The Big Bang Theory on iTunes.
Heroes: The show sucked a little less this week, mostly thanks to the slapstick comedy of Hiro and the African dude which sank into Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd territory. It didn’t even bother me that Hiro didn’t try to freeze time before getting hit in the head with the shovel. You can stream current episodes over at NBC.com.
Eli Stone: What may be sadder than the Nicole Richie top billing on Chuck is Katie Holmes is almost in the same league of stunt casting as Richie despite being a legitimate actress just as soon as five years ago. Any of you that read those trashy supermarket magazines or their even trashier internet counterparts are to blame for this. And it is not that she went and shaved her head, she just married a midget. You can stream current episodes over at ABC.com. You can also download Eli Stone on iTunes.
Pushing Daisies: You know when you see an actor that you just can’t place and go to bed thinking I’ll just check IMDB tomorrow when I’m at the computer, then at 2:00 you start to calculate how long it will take you to power up your computer, go to IMDB, power down the computer, then finally go to bed at around 3:00 when out of nowhere you think, “Oh, that was grandma Abbott” and finally are able to go to sleep? Nope, never happens to me either.
And what is with the recent resurgence of David Arquette lately? First he was on My Name Is Earl which left the door open for another appearance, then the same with Pushing Daisies. What’s next, a Scream 4? But who knew that Emerson would turn out to be the male version of Veronica Mars. Now if I could just figure out who played his mom. You can stream current episodes over at ABC.com.
Gary Unmarried: I used to think Ed Begley Jr. would be the scene stealer of the show but I am starting to think the daughter and all her nut-job social awareness plans could make her the liberal, female version of Alex P. Keaton of the new Millennium who railed against his hippy parents two decades ago. You can stream current episodes over at Innertube.
Survivor: Just by bad luck you are going to have the token hot chick exist early from the show, but with Kelly voted out I think this is the very first time no attractive women made it on the jury. This is a landmark moment in bad TV. You can stream current episodes over at Innertube.
Quote of the Week: I am 90% certain you just got served by the lead singer of The Spin Doctors. (Barney, How I Met Your Mother)
Song of the Week: Let it Be Me - Ray LaMontagne (Eli Stone)
Big News of the Week: Right Wing Nut Jobs Love Rock of Love; Liberal Communist Prefer Flavor of Love: As mentioned many times before on the 9th Green, I hate polls. There are too many ifs that you need to believe to find polls true, did the pollsters get the right sample size, are the questions misleading, did people answer truthfully, are the polls presented properly, is the margin of error too large to take seriously, etc. And polls are pretty offensive if you know how they are at the heart sexist, racist, ageist, and basically every kind of -ist you can think of as each poll if they pick you assumes that the closest1,000 people (depending on the sample size) of your gender, age group, race, income think the exact same way you do.
But there was one poll that caught my eye this week so absurd I had to pass it along even if like most polls I question the validity of the findings and considering the source, Nielsen, is the least reliable of all polling. The poll tracked the cable viewing habits of partisans like when it comes to FX, the Dems watch the morally bankrupt It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia while the GOP would rather watch the corporate corruption of Damages. Yeah, that sounds right. But the funniest finding was expressed in the title. When it comes to MTV, both parties can agree on The Hills, while those that don’t identify themselves to either party can agree that both political parties are filled with morons in legalized cults.
Gratuitous Token Hot Chick Picture of the Week:
Coalition Links of the Week: This week, Sandie shared an interview with Daniel Gerroll from The Starter Wife. (Daemon's TV)
The return of Roy (ok really David Denman) on The Office made GMMR very happy. As did Kristin Chenoweth's gut busting prank on Ellen. (Give Me My Remote)
Disappointed by the lack of a good directory of online web series, Rae wants to know what you're web series you're watching. (RTVW)
Vance is totally sweet on the Top 16 dancers on So You Think You Can Dance Canada. Plus appearances by Benji Schwimmer and High School Musical director Kenny Ortega! (Tapeworthy)
This week, Jace once again fell under the spell of Pushing Daisies and its goose down goodness, but wishes that more people were actually tuning in to watch this winsome series before it gets prematurely culled by ABC. (Televisionary)
Not watching Friday Night Lights so far this season? Well, Sara has a bit of a recap for all you stragglers. (TiFaux)
The TV Addict took a closer look at Simon Baker and The Mentalist. (The TV Addict)
Coming to you all the way from foggy ol’ London town, Ben and Gareth dip their bread soldiers into the hard-boiled Curate’s egg that is Heroes, only, again, to find they are left with more questions than answers. (TV Spy)
Free Download of the Week: Make You Crazy - Brett Dennen (Spinner): Earlier this week I featured s week and now you can get the song for free. Even though it is not free to download, you can stream the season premiere of 30 Rock for free over at NBC.com. Actually you can download the episode for free if you are the first person to e-mail me (subject: 30 Rock) asking for a free iTunes code I have burning a hole in my hard drive. Only people with valid US iTunes accounts are eligible to win.
Promo of the Week: I feel honored because recieved an invitation to Andy and Angela's Wedding yesterday (you can get one too by clicking the link). In return, here is a deleted scene from The Office:
Next Week Pick of the Week: Greek, Tuesday at 9:00 on ABC Family: The mid-season finale of the show that hasn’t really been worth taking about much this season, but solid nonetheless. Hopefully they leave us with something to talk about for the next couple months we will have to go without the show.
I started going green a couple years ago mostly because it saves you money and helps you live a healthier lifestyle, the whole saving the Earth thing is just an added bonus. So I am always on the lookout for ways to better myself which is why I picked up Generation Green (even if the subtitle The Ultimate Guide to Living an Eco-Friendly Life puts me a little out of the target demo). The book comes from the mother-son team of Linda and Tosh Siversen.
As someone that goes out of his way to learn about living green, there really isn’t much in the book that helps me, but the book is perfect for those who are just getting into the Green movement no matter the age even if the book skews young with how to balance the new technology with living healthy so people of any age can come away with plenty of good practices to lower their carbon footprint with moving into a shack and growing their own organic food.
The book is also well arrange with plenty of attention grabbing blurbs and interviews for those that only have little spurts of time to read or just short attention spans. And if you do end up buying the book, be sure to pass it around to anyone who could learn something from it so it doesn’t just end up in a landfill when you are done.
And to start you novices on the right foot, here are five of my favorite hints:
1. Change Your Lightbulb: You don’t have to exchange all your bulbs now, but when they start burning out, replace them the energy efficient kind and even jungle them around so the lights you use the most are changed first. You can make back the extra price of an energy efficient back in one month for bulbs you use the most.
2. Turn off the Water when You Brush Your Teeth: Same goes for shaving and washing the dishes. In the summer when it is warm, I even turn off the shower when I wash myself to conserve water.
3. Turn the Thermostat Down When You Leave: Natural this is a suggestion for the upcoming winter, but when summer comes around again, turn the thermostat up when you leave. No need to heat/cool you habitat when you are not there.
4. Unplug Things You Are Not Using: Everything associated with my computer is plugged into one power strip and when the computer isn’t on, the power strip is turned off. Same for the TV (my cable box keeps the correct time, if your VCR keeps the time you may want to plug that into the wall so you don’t have to continually set it). These are called vampire appliance that still run even if they are turned “Off.”
5. Run Your Dishwasher at Night: Nighttime isn’t just for sunglass wearing anymore. But again, this is more for the summer as the heat from the appliance will make your air conditioner run harder and longer. Same goes for your washer/dryer. Then in the winter use the extra heat to your advantage. I even leave the oven open after I am done baking to use the extra heat.
Five easy way to cut your energy bill (and help the environment), four of which won’t cost you anything.
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 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.
If I were to make a list of the most disappoint things about the 00's, Sam’s Town by The Killers would have to make the list. Most of that was thanks to Brandon Flowers’ own Bruce Springsteen comparison. After that backlash, you would think Flowers would cool it on that, but he is on the record of calling Human a mix between Johnny Cash and the Pet Shop Boys. Um, yeah, okay. But looking at the video it is nice to see the band has ditched the silly Spaghetti Western look, but I have no idea what is with the feathered shoulder pads. Look for Day & Age out November 22.
Yeah Snoop Dogg just did the retro video a couple months ago, but what I have heard from The Renaissance, color me excited about the new Q-Tip album dropping on November 4.
What do you do when you’re a singer-songwriter and everyone ignores your first album? Well if you are Brett Dennen you find yourself a famous fan like Mandy Moore and put her in your video where you do your best Al Bundy impression. Works for me.
At this point it is almost silly trying to review a new AC/DC album because they haven’t changed their formula in thirty years and seventeen albums, even with a major line up change half way through. So on Black Ice there will be no power ballads, no political statements, no keyboards, no harmonica solos, no symphonies, no choirs.
But there is Angus Young in a school boy uniform. And songs about rocking (four of the fifteen song titles have some form of “rock” in them) and chick with innuendo and metaphors so blatant you start to wonder if they if they even count as literary devises. Except for War Machine which is a biting commentary on the War on Terror. Just kidding, the title is a loose metaphor of a man’s manhood (naturally). And there is Brian Johnson’s spot on Bon Scott impression. And all the songs are verse-sing a long chorus-verse-bridge and/or guitar solo-sing a long chorus.
So it is pretty silly to try to review Black Ice on its merits because if you have heard any AC/CD album before, you have heard this one. But what is remarkable is that despite doing any retooling, the band manages to sound fresh (maybe the eight year lay-off has something to do with that) even if some of the songs sound similar to past tracks, it is hard to listen to Money Made without thinking of Back in Black. It should be noted that the album is the band’s longest to date at just shy of an hour which makes the album a bit long for one that doesn’t deviate. And don’t look for Black Ice anywhere but at WalMart where it is being exclusively sold.
Song to Download - Considering the album isn’t being sold online and it is basically a pick ‘em on which one is best, picking one would be silly.
Now that the Rays have beaten the Evil Empire part Deux, TBS can finally stop running all those Frank TV ads and actually air the show itself with its second season debut tonight. Certainly the show isn’t breaking any new ground of sketch comedy that Saturday Night Live has since cornered the market for the last three decades. But what Frank TV does is eliminate all the run the mill sketches that have been more miss than hit and sticks almost exclusively to the impersonation. Because really, SNL isn’t hitting record numbers this season because people are tuning in to hear characters call each other Fart Face And it doesn’t hurt that the show only has to fill up thirty minutes so it is easier to trim the fat.
All of Frank Caliendo’s most notable impressions all show up early in the season with John Madden and Charles Barkley making appearances and George Bush even hosts a special election night special with Dick Cheney. And don’t worry, even though Frank skewers John McCain a couple times, he doesn’t try on Barack Obama, leaving that to new castmember Freddy Lockhart who does a much better impression of the Democratic candidate that Fred Armesen (although his Ice-T could use a little work in that he should never do it again in hopes that Ice-T never finds out he did it in the first place).
It isn’t just the real people that get parodied as there is a funny take on off duty Jedi and a look at who Congress is going to summon next to testify in a steroid abuse scandal. Other new characters in Frank’s arinel this season is James Gandolfini and a trio of Tom Brokaws. For more on the new season of Frank TV check out my interview with Frank Caliendo or watch the clip below or on TBS.com. Frank TV airs Tuesdays at 10:00 on TBS and can be downloaded on iTunes.
There are very few voices in music these days than that of the raspy mountain man Ray LaMontagne and the whiskey soaked quiet yell of Nikka Costa. Their respective third albums seem like a departure from their pasts as both sound as if they are listen to classic Stax albums, with Costa going so far as to have her record being distributed by the label.
The influence on LaMontagne comes and goes throughout Gossip in the Grain but is collimated in the opening track You Are the Best Thing with all its upbeat horns and back up singers which would lead you to look at the album cover to make sure you popped in the right album if it weren’t for the distinctive voice that you swear was singing a Sam Cooke cover. Then there is the jug band groove of Hey Me, Hey Mama. And really, there just isn’t enough use of jug bands in pop music these days.
Maybe most bizarre is the ode to The White Stripes drummer, Meg White, a marching love letter that sounds like something right out a bad western movie, yet disturbingly works in a Meg better get a restraining order soon kind of way. But don’t worry, there are plenty of heart felt, heart wrenching, and love lorn songs sung over sparse piano, acoustic guitars and string section that surrounds that voice perfectly and led you to discover the bearded wonder in the first place.
On the other hand, for Pebble to a Pearl, Nikka Costa completely drenches herself into soul with little of the dance funk that she made a name for on her previous solo album. Costa’s horns infused Aretha Franklin moment comes on the second track Can’t Please Everybody. Elsewhere on the album she effortlessly blends that sound with jazz (Love to Love You Less), eighties R&B (Without Love) and even some Marvin Gaye type social responsibility (Bullet in the Sky). Few artist can successfully transition from a wild child to a more mature sound, but count Nikka Costa as one of the few.
Pebble to a Pearl gets a on my Terror Alert Scale.
The Big Bang Theory: Another reason this should be an all Sheldon all the time kind of show, whenever an episode focuses on Raj it just isn’t entertaining, except for Sheldon tying to smile. You can stream current episodes over at Innertube. You can also download The Big Bang Theory on iTunes.
Chuck: Chuck really needs to stop going to the Bryce Larkin well because the stories always suffer when he is around. Speaking of storyline suffering, I was really hopping Michael Strahan was going to pummel Morgan out of the show. Why can’t Strahan be Chuck’s new best friend. And speaking of Strahan, did they really need all those gratuitous close up of his gap teeth? You can stream current episodes over at NBC.com. You can also download Chuck on iTunes.
Heroes: Like the show really need help ruining it’s own storylines, but the promo monkeys really ruined the episode by revealing the Papa Patrelli pulling the strings. And what the frak was with Hiro killing Ando. Being Heroes he certainly won’t stay dead, I’m sure Future Hiro will go back in time and tell Ando to put a steel plate and exploding ketchup packages under his shirt, but still this is extremely lame. You can stream current episodes over at NBC.com. You can also download Heroes on iTunes.
Eli Stone: The whole Nate gets the aneurism thing was also fairly lame. I am glad they corrested that fairly early in the season. On the bright side it gave us the great line about being stalked by the other dude in Wham! And it was odd that the mother sided with Eli while the daughter decided to fight it so vigorously. Seemed a little out of chachter. But with that out of the way hopefully the show gets back to the stride it was hitting last season. You can stream current episodes over at ABC.com. You can also download Eli Stone on iTunes.
Pushing Daisies: After a pair of episodes that took way too much time trying to explain to people who haven’t seen the show before, this was the first episode that really clicked like last season. Maybe it was because the gang was all together trying to figure out. That and it was the first who did it that I didn’t figure out before hand (something I don’t think I did at all last season). That is what the show does best is coming up with this completely absurd explanation that actually makes sense in the context of the plot. You can stream current episodes over at ABC.com.
Survivor: How do you not out the Immunity Idol when you have the chance? The longer one has the Idol, the harder it is to get that person out. Best case scenario Sugar gets voted out and the Idol is put back in play. Worst case scenario Sugar plays it, GC is voted out and the Idol again is put back in play. It just blows the mind how stupid some of these Survivors are sometime. You can stream current episodes over at Innertube.
2008 Presidential Debates: Saturday Night Live right in that the winner was whoever you thought was going to win. And the post-debate coverage is the most bizarre thing ever. They actually interview people from something called “The Spin Room” which is like saying, “Let’s interview someone who will straight up lie to you and we won’t bother to call them out on their blatant lies. While all the pundits blow hard about who won, it is safe to say who the loser was: anyone who watched any of the debate. What is sad is that the very next night, John McCain and Barack Obama had this to say about each other:
Imagine how much more entertaining the debates would have been if that was how they went after each other.
Everybody Hates Chris: The guy who was trying to do Bill Cosby wasn’t very good. And wasn’t he Chris’ teacher at one point?
Big News of the Week: 57 Channels gets Expanded: The origin of 57 Channels and Only This Is On started as a weekly post to wax poetic about the shows I watched but then I thought it would be cool to add a Quote of the Week, and kept adding Of the Week segments to the point last year writing 57 Channels became a little too cumbersome. I had planned on splitting the post but then the writers strike hit and suddenly their wasn’t much to write about. Now with the new season in full swing, 57 Channels became cumbersome again, and if it tedious to write I assume that it may be tedious to read every week so starting this week I will be splitting it up to make it easier on you and me. Certainly when shows start going into repeats and weeks when their isn’t much to write about and summertime, it will all be condensed back into one post. If you have a suggestion for a better title or another “Of the Week” segment you would like, drop a comment in the comment section.
Gratuitous Token Hot Chick Picture of the Week:
Coalition Links of the Week: In light of David E. Kelley's new NBC project, Buzz is taking votes for the best Kelley series of all time. (BuzzSugar)
GMMR readers chime in on their favorite episodes of The West Wing for our new segment - Take 5 - which takes a look back at our favorite shows of yesteryear. (Give Me My Remote)
Marcia considered some of the most successful TV-to-film transitions. Not on the list: David Caruso. (Pop Vultures)
She might be the only person still watching ER but, after the way she cried her way through the end of this week's episode, Rae had to take moment to say farewell to Abby. (RTVW)
It was Canadian Thanksgiving last week and Vance had a lot to be thankful for, including Friday Night Lights, Ugly Betty, Grey's Anatomy, Burn Notice, Greek, The Office, How I Met Your Mother and many more! (Tapeworthy)
This week, Jace took an advance look at the first two episodes of 30 Rock's upcoming third season and offered five suggestions on how to improve Fringe. (Televisionary)
Dan found a show you most definitely aren't watching. The internet cooking show Cooking With Dog mixes the art of Japanese cuisine with gimmicky kitsch, resulting in a hypnotically pleasing canine cooking show. (TiFaux)
The TV Addict offered up a closer look at some How I Met Your Mother clues that you may have missed. (The TV Addict)
Kate became fascinated with Valentine, because it's pretty much the worst show ever made. (TV Filter)
Free Download of the Week: Spaceballs: The Animated Series (iTunes): Why didn’t anyone bother to tell me there was a Spaceball cartoon out there before? The Mel Brooks classic is a Scooter Hall of Fame inductee and apparently the show started airing a couple weeks ago on G4. Luckily that means there will likely be plenty of repeats. If you missed it like me you can start catching up with downloading the two part pilot for free. As an added bonus, for those that need a reminder of what happened in the first season or want to just jump right in, you can download the Eli Stone Starter Kit for free on iTunes also.
Promo of the Week: NBC is getting Chuck into the online game. First it was the Buy More website and now some webisodes featuring Casey and Big Mike which you can see below (I sometimes have trouble embedding NBC videos so if you cannot see it, head over to NBC.com to see them):
Next Week Pick of the Week: Frank TV, Tuesday at 11:00 on TBS: The man of a million impressions is back for a second season and brought along a tall black dude along for the fun (you didn’t think Frank would try Barack Obama himself?). I will have more on the show before the show, until then check out my interview with the star: Chatting with Frank Caliendo.
A plethora of cool press releases have been flooding my inbox recently that you may find interesting. This post will include blurbs on Caruso, Share Our Strength, Morning Light, Iconoclasts, Web Therapy, Puppy Love, My Boys, and a “Mysterious” video.
- Caruso looks like a show right up my alley if done right, but I am not sure about the time slot as it premieres tonight at 8:00 with two hours. It may just end up being a DVD’er for me as I only put the chance at a second season at under 20% if this were Playing the Percentages. But the coolest part of the show has to be the Tree Fort, check out the video below for a tour (more videos can be found over at NBC.com:
- Sticking with Caruso, you will want to check out SaveCaruso.com where, despite being shipwrecked, Robinson still can communicate via Facebook and Twitter. Also each day you will have an opportunity to win a Microsoft Zune as well as enter a larger sweepstakes for a Sharp Aquos LCD Flat Screen Television, 120 gig Zune and a Microsoft XBOX 360 Elite.
- Over at E-Bay, there is currently an aution going n where you can bid on featured dishes by from Oprah Winfrey, Lauren Conrad, Alec Baldwin, Jeff Probst and more. The auction is being sponsored by Bertolli and the proceeds will go to Share Our Strength to end childhood hunger. The auction ends Saturday 18 at midnight.
- In theaters today for documentary buffs is Morning Light from Roy E. Disney (yes he’s related) and the guys that brought you the surfer film Riding Giants. Below is a trailer:
- Premiering last night was the latest season of Iconoclasts. Oops. Not that I would have been able to watch it anyways because I do not have the Sundance Channel, but apparently Sir Richard Branson taught Archbishop Desmond Tutu how to swim. Look for these hookup this season all at 10:00, Stella McCartney and Edward Ruscha (Oct. 23), Tony Hawk a nd Jon Favreau (Oct. 30) Bill Maher and Clive Davis (Nov. 6) Venus Williams and Wyclef Jean (Nov. 13) Cameron Diaz and Cameron Sinclair (Nov. 20).
- It looks like the internet may soon be the new must see tv. New startup L Studio has two new shows Web Therapy staring Lisa Kudrow and Puppy Love with Famka Janssen, Ally Sheedy, and Sarah Paulson. Below are the links:
- In my never-ending attempted to be the last to bring you breaking news, let me pleasantly be the last to tell you My Boys has been renewed for a third season. You’re welcome.
- Nothing better to stroke the ego then seeing “Exclusive” staring back at you in your e-mail box. Granted nothing deflates the ego like after opening up the “Exclusive” mail to find something you have already seen elsewhere like over at RTVW. My deflated ego aside, this video is described as “mysterious” where a “group of randomly selected individuals were invited to participate in a screening, what they were shown was 100% real. As they watched the footage, their reactions were caught on film. After the screening, they were then interviewed. Their reactions and comments are also 100% authentic.” To follow the clues, head over this YouTube page. (Considering the user name is Sewhattheysaw and the Halloween release date, I would like to put what is left in my 401(k) after the market collaspe on the latest Saw movie.)
One has to wonder why some groups don’t just close up shop after scoring that one hit they know they are never going to top. Does Lou Bega actually think the country is clamoring for Mambo #6? You have to hand it to the New Radicals who disbanded after assaulting our ears with You Get What You Give. Yet some bound for one hit wonderdom actually do score that allusive second hit, but let’s face it, Beck is an exception to the rule. Her are a couple of artist hoping to some him by defying the odds.
Plain White T's scored their big hit with the prom anthem of last year Hey There Delilah, an ode to a steeplechase runner. No seriously, that is who the real Delilah was. While nothing on Big Bad World could ever reach the allure of the acoustic gem, what the T’s got for them is what seems to be unending well of sing a long disposable pop hooks and melodies. After just one listen to Natural Disaster, I dare to try and not emphasize the "Oh" in the chorus while you sing with the band. But the key word in the review is disposable, so buy the tenth listen you be wanting to movie onto something new. If you are hoping for the band to get back on upper part of the charts check out the charming 1, 2, 3, 4 (to answer your question, no it’s not) as sweet as Delilah but with much more depth. But stay away from Sunlight, an unnecessary try at Beatle-esque psychedelic pop.
Everlast is the rarest of all one hit wonders because to my knowledge he is the only act who managed to actually amass two one hit wonders in his career, Jump Around as a member of House of Pain then again with his solo outing What It’s Like. And if you have heard his previous three solo album there really isn’t much new ground to hear on Love, War and the Ghost of Whitey Ford which just retreads his folk-hop hybrid that actually sounded fresh ten years ago when songs like Kill the Emperor and Tuesday Mornin’ may have sounded better. The only song of note is Folsom Prison Blue (to answer your question, yes it is) where Everlast sing the Johnny Cash classic over the beat of Insane In the Brain. I wish I were joking. Needless to say if the Kid RockAll Summer Long mash up of Sweet Home Alabama and Werewolves of London made you queasy, you will want to stay away from this song too.
Love, War and the Ghost of Whitey Ford gets a on my Terror Alert Scale.
Most artists wait a few albums in before releasing a rarities album, but The Killers recently did so just after two albums, so why not the recent queen of the music montage Ingrid Michaelson. And as a plus part of the proceeds of Be OK go to the charity Stand Up to Cancer. Obviously her one hit Way I Am shows up here via a live recording the same for a rousing version of The Chain (to answer your question, no it’s not). As for actual cover songs, there are hits, a live piano version of Can’t Help Falling in Love, and misses, a way too slow version of Somewhere Over the Rainbow. The gem of the set is the title track that bookend the album with an acoustic version too, a upbeat song that is a fitting anthem to the cause it is supporting.
Last month's quiz was based on Billboard's Hot 100's Top 100 of all time and there were enough lyrics from the bottom half of the list I decided to devote this month's quiz to the list. As always you need to put both artist and title in the comments section (or you can e-mail me) and if you are correct I will un-bold it and give you credit. The Lyrics Quiz is for entertainment purposes only so please do not use anything besides your own meandering mind to help you up with the answers (that mean no searching for the list to help you). Now onto the quiz:
1. When I can't sleep at night without holding you tight. Girl each time I try I just break down and cry. 2. She went to the doctor and got lypo with you're money. She walking around looking like Michael with you're money. (Gold Digger - Kanye West; guessed by Rebekah) 3. Know it's gonna drag you up into the light where you belong, but where do you belong. 4. She was pure like snowflake, no one can ever stain the memory of my Angel. (Centerfold - J. Geils Band; guessed by Rebekah) 5. So I decided to write you this song. Just to let you know exactly the way I feel. To let you know my love is real. 6. Saw him dancing there by the record machine. I knew he must have been about seventeen. (I Love Rock 'n Roll - Joan Jett and the Blackhearts; guessed by Rebekah) 7. Why double omp as I flow to the fly from the school of old. Hardcore kick the folk lore wreck. Three to the two and one mic-check, mad skill flow ill on the mesh of steel. 8. You're a whister of a summer breeze. You're a kiss that puts my soul at ease. What I'm saying is I'm to you. 9. I bet you're wondering how I knew 'bout your plans to make me blue. (I Heard it Through the Grapevine - Marvin Gaye; guessed by Rebekah) 10. When I first saw you, I saw love. And the first time you touched me, I felt love. 11. I gotta be down with the hood team. Too much television watching got me chasing dreams. 12. I wanna reach out annd grab ya. (Abracadabra - The Steve Miller Band; guessed by Taylor Blue) 13. People always told me be careful of what you do and don't go around breaking young girls' hearts. (Billie Jean - Michael Jackson; guessed by Rebekah) 14. Now first it wasn't easy changing Rock and Roll and minds. And things were getting shaky, I thought I'd have to leave it behind. 15. I had a dream I had an awesome dream. People in the park playing games in the dark. (Say You, Say Me - Lionel Richie; guessed by Rebekah) 16. Never gonna stop, give it up, such a dirty mind. I always get it up for the touch of the younger kind. (My Sharona - The Knack; guessed by Taylor Blue) 17. Yeah, once you get started you can't sit down. Come join the fun it's a merry go round. Everyone's dancing their troubles away. (All Night Long (All Night) - Lionel Richie; guessed by Taylor Blue) 18. It's been seven hours and fifteen days since you took your love away. (Nothing Compares 2 U - Sinéad O'Connor; guessed by Taylor Blue) 19. ...by the moon and the stars in the sky. ...like the shadow that's by your side. (I Swear - All 4 One; guessed by Taylor Blue) 20. Don't need no hateration, holleration in this dancery. 21. Now, I know it's right from the moment I wake up till deep in the night. There's no where on earth that I'd rather be than holding you, tenderly. 22. I felt all flushed with fever, embarrassed by the crowd. I felt he found my letters and read each one out loud. (Killing Me Softly with His Song - Roberta Flack; guessed by Rebekah) 23. When I was a young boy, said put away those young boy ways. Now that I'm gettin' older, so much older I love all those young boy days. (Hurt so Good - John Couger; guessed by Rebekah) 24. She reminds me of a west side story. Growing up in Spanish Harlem. She's living the life just like a movie star. (Maria, Maria - Santana; guessed by Taylor Blue) 25. But now I hold my head up high and you see me somebody new I'm not that chained up little person still in love with you. (I Will Survive - Gloria Gaynor; guessed by Rebekah)
Out today is the new album by Nikka Costa, Pebble to a Pearl, which I may have a review later this week (if not, a quick thought: her first Stax release is worthy of a release on that legendary record label). As for the one song of Costa’s that should be on your MP3 player is Like a Feather, a song that if there were a list of the greatest beats of this decades, this song would be in the discussion for the top spot.
For any music fan, you know a title of the 1000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die is worth a look. For novice fans, the book makes good suggestions ranging every musical genre you can think off. For the music fanatic you can read it to pick it apart, because even with a thousand entries, certainly everyone can come up with a least of a hundred recordings that should have been included in the list and a few that you make you scratch your head at their inclusion.
From his picture on the back of the book, it should be noted that author Tom Moon is of the Baby Boomer generation so naturally there is an overabundance of music from the sixties while Bob Dylan and the Beatles are more than represented. Okay old people, we get it, you really loved the Beatles, but really eight albums featuring the band members? Dylan landed four while a few ranked twice. Keep in mind Bruce Springsteen (Born to Run) and Pink Floyd (Dark Side of the Moon) and U2 (The Joshua Tree) only made the list once. I would really like Moon to justify just how Usher’s Confessions, Britney Spears’ Toxic and No Doubt’s Rock Steady (which isn’t even the band’s best work) rank higher than Born in the USA, Wish You Were Here and Achtung Baby.
I also am not sure if I should complain about the exclusion of any Eric Clapton album (seriously, no Slowhand), he does show up with Derek and the Dominos, Cream, John Mayall’s Blues Breakers, The Yardbirds, and Blind Faith. Where the sixties is well populated, looking at this book it is as the nineties didn’t exist unless you were a grunge band or a dead rapper. That did lead to possibly the best write up in the book for Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chamber) where Moon bizarrely starts up the review quoting poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge. But enough with the complaints of the selections because if I continued to nit-pick I would write a review that rivals the book’s 1007 pages.
116 of those pages are just indexes. But with indexes for Genre, Occasions (like Parties, Romance), Composers, and Performers. Although it would have been nice if they would have thrown in an extra five pages to list the recording chronologically. But each write up is well done even if Moon doesn’t seem to really understand any the music he included that release after 1980. Each recording also include Key Tracks, Catalog Choice, other works by the artist worth listening to, as well as Next Stop and After That, two recording that are related musically to selection worth checking out.
Easily the most interesting inclusion has to be The Grey Album by Danger Mouse considering that to listen to it you are technically breaking the law. For those unfamiliar, The Grey Album a mash up between The White Album by The Beatles (which of course is also listed) and The Black Album from Jay-Z (which is conspicuously missing from the list) that launched Danger Mouse into a succesful producer and one half of Gnarls Barkley.
But whatever type a music fan you are, there is plenty of gems to find in the book. And the short segment are perfect to have laying around when you only have short spurts of time to kill, as it is currently taking up space in my bathroom. Just keep in mind the 1007 page thick frame is a little cumbersome to hold at time, so the short spurts of reading is really ideal.
Aside from the reunion specials, the Of Love series were pretty much unwatchable. Yet some how their spin off shows Charm School and I Love Money were for the most part enjoyable. For the second go around it is the Bret Michaels cast-off who try to learn some class for a chance to win $100,000 on Rock of Love Girls: Charm School.
Mentoring the rock groupies for this season is Sharon Osborne who is as head scratching a choice as Mo’Nique for the Flavor Flav rejects. Although I’m not sure what is more bizarre, her mentoring girls are judging whether or not America has talent. At least Mo’Nique had a fashion magazine editor and a beauty contest judge by her side. For the Rock of Love Girls: Charm School, flanking Sharon are Riki Rachtman and the wife of former Guns n Roses guitarist Gilby Clarke.
Despite being married to Ozzy Osboure, a man who snorted ants cocaine style, needs subtitles when he speaks, and has a man backstage signing for him at his concerts whenever he forgets the words, you actually believe Sharon when she says the show is the hardest thing she has done in her life. And everyone you expect from the first two seasons of Rock of Love make an appearance including all the girls from I Love Money as well as the psycho red head and the black chick whom she got into it with. Also making an appearance is Jessica Kinni who is way to attractive to be having to slum it with a has been rocker who keeps his hair on with a bandana.
It is currently up in the air if the new season of Charm School will be better than the first. On one hand Lacey is in the running for most annoying reality contestant ever and the longer she stays on the show the less likely I will be to turn in. But on the other hand, this show could put us closer to the first ever reality show death where I truly believe show of these girls are capable of homicide and you cannot rule out alcohol poisoning (which begs the question, how is Ruthie from Real World: Hawaii the only reality star ever to get carted off to the hospital for this?).
Rock of Love: Charm School airs Sundays at 9:00 on VH1.
![Terror Alert Level: High [ORANGE]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhebDZ0qqwOVKMZj7oFSUe8Hm3ax54U9Hp1fThJPgiddTyzcdwx_5SV6E3b7hkKyxbaDiym4COmUXT2YJnsKCUjBHI_a2xZtNoY7qFQRslP5AGO5gLkJwn2ZbO0wIF80ycbKrgPPA/s400/small_high.png)
on my 
![Terror Alert Level: Elevated [YELLOW]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6-iVFV0hXCTSYP16K_V0Rrxp3GqFrtBIJKeTUyQ2LpxZQ9XKHFj6QGtqqa7oxhLadLV8vUj8R84AftD8IKUSfN0u_u0CYDtJwhrpCPN2DBWquAIDv0jbVlhZL0mDFKlPKluGyxw/s400/small_elevated.png)
on my ![Terror Alert Level: Guarded [BLUE]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzCbHfExiuXqojow1zxkBUX6j-9BHg9IyrfzqR77jnja2Xq6dbv-7iiqMFzp_UKXGcUF9FyAHqCkNxa5uitXa5Xu2Q1OboN9-TLjsaeI1a2eoGLORU4vkTQ54l1C-_cZyn81QHyQ/s400/small_guarded.png)
on my Terror Alert Scale.
