The 50 Best Music Videos of 2009

I have embedded the first couple videos, the rest you can click the link to follow to YouTube and if you are interested in buying the videos, click the iTunes badge.

1. Nothing to Worry About - Peter Bjorn and John



2. True Player for Real - MC Lars featuring "Weird Al" Yankovic



3. (If You're Wondering if I Want You To) I Want You To - Weezer



4. Low Rising - The Swell Season



5. Daniel - Bat for Lashes



6. Run This Town - Jay-Z, Rihanna, and Kanye West

7. CNR - "Weird Al" Yankovic

8. Chasing Pirates - Norah Jones

9. I Could Break Your Heart Any Day of the Week - Mandy Moore

10. People C'mon - Delta Spirit

11. WTF - OK Go

12. Wrong - Depeche Mode

13. Cousins - Vampire Weekend

14. Falling Down - Oasis

15. Uprising - Muse

16. Heartless - The Fray

17. Goodnight, Travel Well - The Killers

18. Lessons Learned - Matt and Kim

19. Who'd Have Known - Lily Allen

20. Grapevine Fires - Death Cab for Cutie

21. Stay Up! (Viagra) - 88-Keys featuring Kanye West

22. Treat Me Like Your Mother - The Dead Weather

23. Cowboy Casanova - Carrie Underwood

24. Sleep Alone - Bat for Lashes

25. Nothing but a Miracle - Diane Birch

26. Death to All But Metal - Steel Panther

27. Sweet About Me - Gabriella Cilmi

28. 21 Guns - Green Day

29. A Dustland Fairytale - The Killers

30. You Belong With Me - Taylor Swift

31. I Love College - Asher Roth

32. He's Frank - The B.P.A. featuring Iggy Pop

33. (Expletive Deleted) You - Lily Allen

34. We Made You - Eminem

35. Carol Brown - Flight of the Concords

36. Brick by Boring Brick - Paramore

37. Money - N.A.S.A., David Byrne, Chuck D, Ras Congo, Seu Jorge and Z-Trip

38. Life In Technicolor ii - Coldplay

39. Life Is Better - Q-Tip and Norah Jones

40. Mykonos - Fleet Foxes

41. You And Me - Dave Matthews Band

42. Don't Forget - Demi Lovato

43. Give Me the Meltdown - Rob Thomas

44. Best I Ever Had - Drake

45. She's a Genius - Jet

46. The Fear - Lily Allen

47. Melody - Kate Earl

48. Magnificant - U2

49. New in Town - Little Boots

50. Make Her Say - Kid Cudi, Kanye West, and Common

The 25 Best Albums of 2009

If you are interested in reading my original review of these albums, check out the link below the album and if you are interested in buying them on iTunes, click on the album link. If you want to buy the physical CD, head over to Scooter McGavin’s Amazon Store (or click on the album cover) where you can order them there:


1. Bible Belt – Diane Birch
Love Makes the Price Good Enough to Wanna Pay

2. Tell ‘em What Your Name Is! – Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears
Where My Horns At, Are You with Me?

3. I and Love and You – The Avett Brothers
If You're Loved by Some One You're Never Rejected

4. Big Whiskey and the Groo-Grux King – Dave Matthews Band
Somebody's Broken Heart Become Your Favorite Song

5. The Fall – Norah Jones
My Mind's Racing from Chasing Pirates

6. Troubadour – K’Naan
I Take Rappers on a Field Trip any Day

7. Amanda Leigh – Mandy Moore
Those Calendar Girls Ain't got Nothing on Me

8. No Line on the Horizon - U2
Let Me in the Sound

9. Kamaal the Abstract – Q-Tip
And Introduce You All to a New Sound to Pound

10. Love, Save the Empty – Erin McCarley
You Hold Your Head up to the Sky; You Say What Kind of Blue Are You

11. Backspacer – Pearl Jam
When Something's Lost, I Wanna Fight to Get it Back Again

12. Kate Earl – Kate Earl
The Music Within Makes Me Whole and a World I Built on My Own

13. LOtUSFLOW3R/MPLSoUND - Prince
Not Reviewed

14. Draw the Line – David Gray
Everyday Is a New Version Of

15. Battle Studies – John Mayer
It's Been a Long Time Since Twenty-Two

16. White Lies for Dark Times – Ben Harper and the Relentless7
The Very Thing that Drives You Can Drive You Insane

17. Far – Regina Spektor
It Was so Easy and the Words Were so Sweet

18. The Element of Freedom – Alicia Keys
I Don't Want to Come Down, Hope My Wings Don't Fail Me Now

19. The Blueprint 3 – Jay-Z
This Ain't for iTunes, This Ain't for Sing-a-Longs

20. Ben Folds Presents: University a Capella!
If There Is a God He Is Laughing at Us and Our Football Team

21. A Little Happiness – Aimee Allen
I'm Dancing with My Records On

22. It’s Not You, it’s Me – Lily Allen
I am a Weapon of Massive Consupmtion

23. 21st Century Breakdown – Green Day
You Know What's Worth Fighting For When it's not Worth Dieing For

24. Relapse – Eminem
You Think That's Bad You Should Hear the Rest of My Album

25. Play On – Carrie Underwood
Gives You Feeling You Don't Want to Fight

The 40 Worst Songs of 2009

For better or worse 2009 was the year of Lady Gaga. Okay it is mostly the later because she is everything wrong with music today promoting style over substance. Lady Gaga is just Marilyn Manson with a sunnier disposition and much more hype (and a lot of hype it was, keep in mind even though people consider Lady Gaga the artist of 2009, Susan Boyle sold more albums in one month then Lady Gaga did in over a year). But with all the horrible music she put out this year, 2009 was so abundant of ear-splitting music, she only managed two of worst forty twice and couldn’t even crack the top ten. Here are the thirty-eight other songs besides the white noise Lady Gaga dispensed songs from the past twelve months that I would live a better life if I never hear again.

1. If U Seek Amy - Britney Spears

2. Kiss Me Thru the Phon - Soulja Boy Tell ‘em featuring Sammy

3. Boom Boom Pow - Black Eyed Peas

4. I'm a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here Rap - Spencer Pratt

5. You're a Jerk - New Boyz

6. Right Now (Na Na Na) - Akon

7. Birthday Sex - Jeremih

8. All the Above - Maino featuring T-Pain

9. Turn My Swag On - Soulja Boy Tell ‘em

10. Stanky Legg - GS Boyz

11. LoveGame - Lady Gaga

12. Replay - Iyaz

13. Sugar - Flo Rider featuring Wynter

14. Don't Trust Me - 3OH!3

15. Fresh out the Oven - Jennifer Lopez featuring Pitbull

16. Dead and Gone - T.I. featuring Justin Timberlake

17. Take Your Shirt Off - T-Pain

18. I Gotta Feeling - Black Eyed Peas

19. Radar - Britney Spears

20. Right Round - Flo Rider

21. Shots - LMFAO and Lil' John

22. Hoedown Throwdown - Miley Cyrus

23. Whatcha Say - Jason Derula

24. Just Dance - Lady Gaga featuring Colby O’Donis

25. Love Sex Magic - Ciara featuring Justin Timberlake

26. I Hate This Part - Pussycat Dolls

27. Obsessed - Mariah Carey

28. Battlefield - Jordin Sparks

29. 3 - Britney Spears

30. Diva - Beyoncé

31. Beautiful - Akon featuring Colby O’Donis and Kardinal Offishial

32. Hush Hush; Hush Hush - The Pussycat Dolls

33. Hotel Room Service - Pitbull

34. Hot N Cold - Katy Perry

35. I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho) - Pitbull

36. S.O.S. (Let the Music Play) - Jordin Sparks

37. Fire Burning - Sean Kingston

38. Circus - Britney Spears

39. No Surprise - Daughtry

40. Prom Queen – Lil’ Wayne

I Plan on Making it as Miserable as Possible

This season of Survivor came down to the age old battle of Good vs. Evil. On one hand you had Russell Hantz who more than lived up to the title of the biggest villain in Survivor history. On the other was Natalie White, the sweet Christian from the south who epitomized the Southern Bell. (Oh yeah, and there was Mick Trimming, possibly the most boring finalist ever in the show’s history and reason to go back to a two personal final.) My faith in humanity was restored when the Jury did not reward Russell’s evil behavior instead giving the million dollars to Natalie. Of course that faith in humanity was lost when America as a whole voted Russell the Player of the Season.

But the season belong to Russell who for some reason thought wearing his evilness on his sleeve would endear him to a jury of his peers which should go down as one of the worst strategies ever. If there were a runner up to Russell is was the mullet rocking former marine Shannon Waters who just goes by the moniker Shambo. She was the typical outsider (she was blindsided by half the votes because no one decided to tell her the plan) who lucked into a dominate team that didn’t lose to give them a chance to vote her out and Shambo then turned out to be the Galu downfall.

It is apropos that since the final vote came down to a battle between good and evil (and Mick) that for its twentieth season, Survivor is heading back to the South Pacific for a season called Heroes vs. Villains (yeah, the Real Road/Road Rules Challenge already did this three years ago). No word on what former players will be returning (except Richard Hatch won’t since he wasn’t allowed to leave Rhode Island) but I know which side I will be rooting for.

And Natalie over Russell managed not to be the biggest upset yesterday as CBS announced that Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains won’t get the coveted post-Super Bowl slot like the previous All Star edition and the second season (or even The Big Bang Theory, but something called Undercover Boss which sounds just slightly less lame than Kid Nation. Instead look for the new season of Survivor February 11.

Survivor: Samoa gets a on my Terror Alert Scale.

Christmas Just Isn't Christmas Without...

They say Christmas is the most wonderful time of year and it is hard to argue with them (aside from the freezing temperatures) and that is thanks in part to the soundtrack of the season because you really have to try to make a horrible Christmas song especially if you pick from the ten songs below which is just not Christmas if I don’t hear these songs multiple times. I have also listed the definitive versions of the song if you are downloading them for yourself:


1. Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) (Definitive version: U2)


2. O Holy Night (Definitive version - Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip)



3. Santa Clause Is Coming to Town (Definitive version: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band)


4. Christmas in Hollis (definitive version: Run-DMC)
5. All I Want for Christmas Is You (Definitive version Mariah Carey)
6. The Christmas Song (definitive version: Nat King Cole)
7. Silent Night (Definitive version - Boyz II Men)
8. Children Go Where I Send Thee (definite version: Natalie Merchant)
9. Let it Snow! Let it Snow Let it Snow! (Definitive version: Harry Connick Jr.)
10. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas (Definitive version: Coldplay and Conan O’Brien)

Honorable Mention: Do They Know it’s Christmas because Christmas just isn’t Christmas without Bono telling me to “Thank God tonight it’s them instead of you.”

57 Channels and Only This Is On vol. CXI

Quote of the Week: Why didn’t you tell me you were tapping my homegirl? (Leonard’s Mom, The Big Bang Theory)

Song of the Week: Just a Friend – Biz Markie (as sung by Michael Wilbon, Pardon the Interruption)

Big News of the Week: Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 2010 Class Announced: The Stooges, Genesis, ABBA, Jimmy Cliff and The Hollies are all coming to Cleveland. Alrighty.

The Sing-Off: Let me start off with a little admission, I routinely spend hours at a time scouring YouTube watching acapella groups. So despite my hatred for the national karaoke contest on Fox, The Sing-Off has been thoroughly entertaining. Whereas the other singing show features mediocre singers singing bland karaoke tunes, the contestants of The Sing-Off create unique renditions of familiar songs, something that is serious missing from that other karaoke contest. Bonus points for having Ben Folds and one half of Boyz II Men as judges (but negative bonus points for one of The Pussycat Dolls). Here is my favorite performance to date.



You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download The Sing-Off on iTunes. Head over NBC.com to vote for the final three.

How I Met Your Mother: I pretty much had the same reaction as the kids when learning they all were smoking. That episode was really just uncalled for. At least we didn’t get one of those annoying anti-smoking ads they put with any movie where characters are smoking. You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com. You can also download How I Met Your Mother on iTunes.

The Big Bang Theory: Sheldon finally gets some. I always thought it would be a drunken Penny that would lay one on him, but Leonard’s mom was definitely a funnier choise. Too bad Leonard wasn’t there to see it. You can download The Big Bang Theory on iTunes.

Survivor: Samoa: As the season keeps going, it gets more depressing that none of these people are smart enough to vote Russell out. And who is this kid that keeping winning the immunity necklace? Has he really been here all season? And I know I have complained about this before on how the woman look hotter without taking a bath for a month then they do on the jury, but Monica was the breaking point and now I am advocating the firing of the makeup lady on the show. She went from looking hot to a hooker, or even worse, a Tiger Woods mistress. This really needs to stop. Don’t go from no make up to caking on all that you can find. You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com.



Free Download of the Week: Eight Days of Hanukkah - Orrin Hatch (Amazon MP3); yes that is Republican, Mormon Utah Senator Orin Hatch attached to an ode to the Jewish holiday and not some SNL parody. Thankfully Hatch doesn’t actually sing on the track. For all the liberal communist who refuse to download music from a conservative nut job, but still want some holiday cheer, I suggest heading over to iTunes where you can grab Must Be Santa by Bob Dylan for free.

Deal of the Week: I posted these deals last week and they are still going on, so if you were thinking about them then, this may be the last chance to grab these DVD’s at these prices.

Veronica Mars - The Complete Series ($62.49)
Friday Night Lights 1.x ($14.99)
Rome: The Complete Series [Blu-ray] ($83.99)
Chuck 1.x ($17.99)
Rescue Me 1.x ($20.99)
Deadwood: The Complete Series ($97.49)
The Big Bang Theory 1.x ($19.99)
Pushing Daisies 1.x ($19.99)
Dead Like Me: The Complete Collection ($42.99)
Dexter 3.x ($18.99)
How I Met Your Mother 1.x ($14.99)
Everwood 1.x & 2.x ($38.99)
Chuck 1.x [Blu-ray] ($29.99)
Pushing Daisies 1.x [Blu-ray] ($23.99)

Video of the Week: For those that need their holiday cheer in moving pictures, Hulu is currently show a bunch of ABC Family originals including Holiday in Handcuffs, Snow, Snowglobe, and Snow 2 below. For all the Scrooges out there that would rather watch some sci-fi fare, The extended Caprica pilot is also currently on Hulu.



Next Week Pick of the Week: The Closer, Monday at 9:00 on TNT: This week, Brenda is stuck on a case she really doesn’t want that manages plenty of twist and turns you most likely won’t see coming.

Around the Tubes vol. XXXIV

I have gotten a plethora of cool press releases have been flooding my inbox recently that you may find interesting. This post will include blurbs on The Dog Whisperer, Dogtown, Christmas in Washington, Mercy, Old Friends, and holiday movie lists from Syfy and FX.

- Starting next week I am going knee deep into my Best of 2009 list so let me quickly mention two programs premiere during then, The Dog Whisperer Week kicks off on the National Geographic Channel Monday December 28 at 8:00 with Cesar heading Down Under. Presumably he will be tackling Australia’s worst puppies and won’t be switching over to kangaroos. Then Dogtown kicks off the New Year with its new season premiering on January 1 at 10:00 which be once again focusing on a pit bull rescued from Michael Vick. Check out a clip from that below:



This Sunday at 8:00 (with encores at 10:00 and 2:00 AM), TNT is airing their annual Christmas in Washington hosted by George Lopez and featuring the vocal talents of Mary J. Blige, Neil Diamond, Rob Thomas, Usher, Sugarland and some dude named Justin Beiber.

- Mercy is going to take the holidays off but will be nice and early in 2010 on January 6. Here is a quick catch you up of what has happen so far:

Catch Me Up – Mercy


- The second season of Old Friends is set to premiere on Babblegum January 11, the first season was recently uploaded so head over there to check the web comedy out.

- Only would Syfy consider a movie starring Bruce Campbell part of their “Holiday Programming. And here is that rundown for you:

December 19 at 9:00 - My Name Is Bruce
December 20 at 9:00 - Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist
December 21 at 8:00 - The Mummy
December 22 at 8:00 – Freddy vs. Jason
All Day Christmas Eve – Ghost Hunters Marathon

- FX also has some new movies coming to its channel this January. Here is the rundown:

January 14 at 8:00 – The Simpsons Movie
January 21 at 7:30 – Superbad
January 25 at 7:30 – We Own the Night
January 29 at 8:00 – 28 Weeks Later
Then on New Year’s Day they are running a “Stay in Bed Marathon from 7:00 AM until 1:00 AM featuring the movies Everyone’s Hero, Flicka, Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties, Ice Age: The Meltdown, Cheaper by the Dozen 2, Night at the Museum, and There’s Something About Mary.

Feed Your iPod vol. XXXX: Mykonos

We are almost two weeks before I run down my 100 favorite songs of 2009 (if you want to voice your opinion on your favorite, please send me an e-mail of your ten favorite to ScooterKSU(at)aol(dot)com for The 9th Green’s Readers Favorite Songs of 2009 Poll, you can even win free music, click here for full information on how) and I thought I would give quick mention to a song that should fair very well on the list that I have not talked about and many of you may have not heard of, Mykonos by the Fleet Foxes.

Mykonos by the Fleet Foxes sounds like Bruce Springsteen if he were part of Crosby, Stills, Nash and sometimes Young. And the accompanying video “(which may also show up on next week’s Best Videos of 2009) is a geometry teacher’s dream. And for those that are fans of free, you can currently download this song at that price over at RCRD LBL. Merry Christmas.

Mykonos – Fleet Foxes

I Don't Want to Come Down, Hope My Wings Don't Fail Me Now

They say you cannot judge a book by its cover, but you can surely judge an album by its first single. Like earlier this year when John Mayer released the lackluster Who Says which led to the lackluster Battle Studies. When Doesn’t Mean Anything was the first released by Alicia Keys off her upcoming The Element of Freedom it was hard no to think, “That was kind of boring.” Yeah, it is a decent baby-making song and a deeper album cut, but certainly not first single worthy.

Which is why the record label probably rushed Dreaming with a Broken Heart but again a song that fell a little flat with an over exaggerated beat who Keys coos a little too much over. It didn’t help very much that the two singles were vastly overshadowed by her contribution to Jay-Z’s Empire State of Mind. The Element of Freedom even features Empire State of Mind (Part II) Broken Down, a more melancholy (albeit Jay-Z less) version of the song.

Mrs. Jay-Z does make an appearance and continues Keys streak of underwhelming duets with other singers (see John Mayer, Jack White) for Put it in a Love Song which might as well been called Put a Ring on It (Part II) I’m Going to Break You Down. Love Is Blind doesn’t sound like Alicia Keys for most of the song and is too dark of a song then the singer should try. Then Like the Sea just gets to repetitive to listen to it multiple times.

That’s not to say The Element of Freedom is a bad album, “bad” Alicia Keys is still better than ninety-five percent of R&B released this decade, it just doesn’t stand up to the rest of the catalogue. There is still plenty to listen to on the album. That’s How Strong My Love Is is a classic Keys love songs. Alicia lets loose on Love Is My Disease which in a lesser hand could have come off as another clichéd metaphor, but her voice makes you believe every word. This Bed could have been a long lost Prince song.

How it Feels to Fly should become a requirement for every high school choir to learn. Distance and Time is where the entire album comes together and is exactly what you expect and want from an Alicia Keys song. Romantic, touching and something you want to play when that someone special is near you, and with the theme of the song, it is a perfect song to put on when they are not near to make them closer than they are.

Song to Download – Distance and Time

The Element of Freedom gets a on my Terror Alert Scale.

Lyrics Quiz: Best of 2009

The songs are listed chronologically from when I put them in my iTunes playlist that helps me track the best songs throughout the years. As always leave your guesses, both artist and song title, in the comment section or e-mail me. If you are correct I will un-bold the lyric. Please keep in mind the lyrics quiz is for entertainment purposes only so please only use your own meandering mind to guess them. Now onto the last lyric quiz of the year:

1. I am a weapon of massive consumption; it’s not my fault it’s how I’m programmed to function. (The Fear - Lily Allen; guessed by Anonymous)
2. You hold your head up to the sky; you say “What kind of blue are you?”
3. There she goes again the dopest Ethiopian, and in other words she came through exploding in Napoleon dynamite.
4. You’re like a rain cloud if it rains mushroom cloud. Everybody hits the ground, arms folded, heads down. (Magick - Ryan Adams; guessed by Teresa)
5. We are our own devils and we make this world our hell.
6. Yes, I know, that I'm a man, man, man, man, man, man eater. But still you're surprised-prised-prised when I eat ya. (People Got a Lot of Nerve - Neko Case; guessed by Anonymous)
7. Those calendar girls ain’t got nothing on me.
8. Tonight is telling us we’re way too young. Oh, alright. I got forever on the tip of my tongue.
9. Somewhere we went wrong, our love is like a song but you won’t sing along. Have you forgotten about us?  (Don't Forget - Demi Lovato;  guessed by Anonymous)
10. Somebody’s heart is broken – it becomes your favorite song.
11. I’ve roaming around, always looking down at all I see. Painted faces fill the places I can’t reach. (Use Somebody - Kings of Leon; guessed by AJ)
12. I am champion at beer pong. Allen Iverson. Hakeem Olajuwon. (I Love College - Asher Roth; guessed by Anonymous)
13. We don’t cop plea’s, but ya’ll don’t cop nothing. Police come around don’t nobody say nothing. And you be with the cops, you (expletive deleted) is McLovin. (Chillin' - Wale featuring Lady Gaga; guessed by Rose)
14. No guilt, all pleasure. C’mon, I want to hear you yell it now: no guilt, all pleasure. (What's So Bad (About Feeling Good)? - Ben Lee; guessed by Rebekah)
15. It’s the age of princesses and pirate ships and the seven dwarfs.  (The Best Day - Taylor Swift;  guessed by Anonymous)
16. I’m gonna take you out tonight, I’m gonna make you feel alright. I don’t have a lot of money though we’ll be fine. No I don’t have a penny but I’ll show you a good, good time. (New in Town - Little Boots;  guessed by Anonymous)
17. Saw Cinderella in a party dress, she was looking for a nightgown. I saw the devil wrapping up his hands; he’s getting ready for the showdown. (A Dustland Fairytale - The Killers;  guessed by Anonymous)
18. I got seniority, with the sorority. So that explains why I love college. Getting brain in the library ‘cause I love knowledge when you use your medulla oblongata. (Make Her Say - Kid Cudi, Kanye West and Common; guessed by Rose)
19. You rappers singing too much. Get back to rap, you T-Paining too much. (D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune) - Jay-Z; guessed by Rose)
20. The Eiffel tower built to smaller scale. The freshest oxygen I ever inhaled. (Little Bribes - Death Cab for Cutie; guessed by Rebekah)
21. But God could be funny. At a cocktail party when listening to a good God themed joke.  (Laughing With - Regina Spektor;  guessed by Anonymous)
22. My shirt ain’t got no stripes, but I can make your (expletive deleted) whistle… like the Andy Griffin theme song. (Best I Ever Had - Drake; guessed by Rose)
23. Every beauty needs to go out with an idiot. (I'll Go Crazy if I Don't Go Crazy Tonight - U2; guessed by Taylor Blue)
24. I gotta go out and buy myself one of those little black dresses ‘cause I’m so tired of this t-shirt.
25. Every day he'll make the host of Match Game give him a piggyback ride. Yeah, two hour piggyback ride, giddy up Gene.
26. My lyrics spin round like a hurricane twister so get your hologram on off of Wolf Blitzer.
27. I fell in love with you and out of love with you, and back in love with you all in the same day. (A Whole Lot Better - Brendan Benson; guessed by Taylor Blue)
28. It’s been a long time since twenty-two. I don’t remember you looking any better. But then again I don’t remember you. (Who Says - John Mayer; guessed bu Anonymous)
29. When at first I learned to speak I used all my words to fight. With him and her and you and me, ah, but it's just a waste of time. (I and Love and You - The Avett Brothers; guessed by Rebekah)
30. The moon was shining on the lake at night. Your Slayer t-shirt fit the scene just right. ((If You're Wondering if I Want You To) I Want You To - Weezer; guessed by AJ)

War: What Is it Good For?

A wise man once pondered the title above, “War: what is it good for?” It is a valid question, but Edwin Starr shouldn’t have tried answering that question himself because it isn’t, “Absolutely nothing.” The actual answer is entertainment. There have been movies about war since the invention of moving pictures and Hollywood is still cranking them out with Defiance, The Hurt Locker and Inglourious Bastards all hit theaters this year. Call of Duty is one of the most popular video games with its six games (the next coming next year) in the series selling over 55 million copies. And if you went to high school undoubtedly you had to read All Quiet on the Western Front.

There is also plenty of war to be found on television; Ken Burns has done two successful documentaries for PBS. And without war, it is doubtful that there would even be a History channel who recently has its own successful documentary series WWII on HD (which you can find on iTunes if you missed it). For anyone who is a fan of war as entertainment, or has one on your Christmas list, I have a DVD set you will want to check out: The World Wars: The Complete History of WWI and WWII from History. Just how complete? How about 41 programs on 14 disks (including four bonus features) for over 25 hours of programming. I imagine if you have a History teacher on your Christmas list, you are not going to find a better gift.

The programs included are what you would expect from History and every angle from the two great wars are covered, air battles, navel battles, trench warfare, political ramifications, American, English, Russian, German points of view, episodes of Battlefield Detectives, Deep Sea Detectives and Biography, very few stones are uncovered. If there is one complaint to be had, these programs were produces individually and are thrown together into one set. So plenty of information found overlap many of the programs. If you didn’t know that the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria was the catalyst of WWI, you will never forget after going through this set as it is mentioned quite frequently.

You can find the The World Wars: The Complete History of WWI and WWII at shop.history.com for 79.99 (that comes to just under $6.00 a DVD). For you barging shoppers, you may want to try Amazon where it is currently on sale for 40.99 (which is less than $3.00 per disk, see below).

Previewing Explorer: Narco State and Inside the Iraq War

Tonight, the National Geographic Channel takes a look at two very different wars our government is currently waging. At 8:00, the war that hits close to home is the War on Drugs which is covered in Explorer: Narco State. While at 9:00, the channel goes Inside the Iraq War from the award winning producers of Inside 9/11 and Inside the Vietnam War.

For Explorer Narco State, former The View co-host Lisa Ling heads to Phoenix to follow the day to day operations of the DEA and local police as they deal with 1800 deaths of year that is cause by drugs traveling north from Mexico, with the Arizona city being the front line of the War. Part of the show features Ling follows a kidnapping case believed to be drug related as the police try to recover the hostage safely. Here is a preview:



The other program, Inside the Iraq War, follows the six year and counting war the starts with the invasion and details major moments including Shock and Awe, Abu Grab, and Saddam Hussein’s capture all the way up to the first visit from President Barack Obama with interviews. The two hour special also features interviews from about thirty military men and woman who spent time in the desert including Jessica Lynch and a few that left body parts and friends over in Iraq. Be warned that the program does have some graphic images. Check out a preview below: