We on Award Tour: 2010 Grammy Awards

Even though music dying, that isn’t going to stop them from be self congratulatory. And even though the awards themselves are worthless (Hilary Clinton has more than The Beach Boys; Neil Young won his first ever this year… for album packaging), there are still plenty of great performances, here are my thoughts on last night’s festivities.

- Remember when opening the Grammy’s was a big thing. Prince being join Beyoncé, Madonna being backed by the Gorillaz performing in 3-D for the first time, the reunited Police, U2 even got things started last year. This year we get the most overrated thing in music possibly ever. Well at least Lady Gaga only covered herslf in soot instead of fake menstrual blood for this performance. So there’s that.

- In lieu of an actual host yet again, we get Stephen Colbert for a pseudo-monologue trashing the music industry (and they still laugh) all but pointing out how Susan Boyle managed to sell more albums than anyone in the audience (sans Taylor Swift) in less than a month then they did all year). But his bit with his daughter was the highlight, if only the cameraman was a little quicker with the reaction shot.

- Just a reminder, Song of the Year is a songwriting award. Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It) won a songwriting award. Whoa-oh-oh Oh-oh-oh Oh- oh-oh-oh.

- Who invited Jennifer Lopez? Was it just to memorialize the ten year anniversary since she wore “The Dress”? (If so, where was the twentieth anniversary memorial to Milli Vanilli winning Best New Artist?) It’s been eight years since she put out a song anyone cared about or a movie anyone wanted to see.

- And even odder, she introduces Green Day and the cast of American Idiot which didn’t really work. Had there been distractingly bad lip-syncing, it could have been something out of Glee.

- And cheesiest idea award goes to Lincoln who wants you to vote on which artist will perform in their next commercial.

- You know you are in for a great performance when before a note is played and you go “Oh snap.” That was my first thought when I saw Beyoncé standing in front of her futuristic SWAT team. Granted my second thought was “If they start doing the Single Ladies dance, I’m throwing my remote at the television.” Luckily the SDTV was saved as we get a interesting medley of If I Were a Boy and You Oughta Know. Although I could have done without the crotch grab.

- Interestingly Best Comedy Album gets a primetime spot. I cannot remember that happening before. And finally daughter Colbert finds her dad cool.

- Kings of Leon wins Best Record. Wow, for the first I think ever, I agree with the winner of this category.

- Most actors show up with the Grammy to shamelessly shill their latest movie or their CBS show, but Robert Downey Jr. is just there to call himself, “The Most Self Important Actor of His Generation.”

- Sure Blame It is one of the worst songs in recent memory, but it is hard not to like that performance. They just kept pulling out random people like Doug E. Fresh and Slash who for whatever reason starts shredding the solo from November Rain. Love it.

- Maybe not a good sign for the Dave Matthews Band for Album of the Year when they couldn’t even win the genre specific award. Which begs the question, how does Lady Gaga and Black Eyed Peas get nominated for the big award over Green Day and U2?

- Why tease that Taylor Swift is going perform with one her idols only to show video of her singing with Stevie Nicks. Huruph. The Rhiannon performance was decent enough, but hearing Nicks singing the kiddie lyrics of You Belong with Me was almost as disturbing as Def Leppard singing Swift's tenth grade poetry.

- Please stop with the 3-D television events until you perfect the art because the Michael Jackson performance was less 3-D and more just a redder version of the performance. At least it was just a couple minutes unlike the hour long Chuck episode that gave me a headache. And Earth Song may be one of Jackson’s most underrated songs along with Will You Be There. And are Jackson’s kids really that old? The boy looked like he is already in Middle School and the girl is starting to look like Amanda Bynes.

- No Kanye West to accept the Rap-Sung Collaboration. Maybe he was banned (nor was invited to perform on the Drake track). Sure he is a douche, but award shows are a little less interesting without Kanye’s ego.

- For those who want to download the Haitian relief song by Mary J. Blige and Andrea Bocelli, go to iTunes.com/target (why Target, I have no clue).

- Old dude alert! And we get our yearly lecture on why downloading is bad. Yawn.

- Adam Sandler introducing the Dave Matthews Band: it like that did that just for me. Beyoncé made a valiant effort, but Dave and the boys, had the best performance of the night.

- Quentin Tarantino may be able to make some entertaining movies but his painfully uncool and his introduction was really cringeworthy.

- Note to Grammy producers, stop inviting artists to perform songs with copious amount of profanity. No one is enjoying these performances where the censors fall asleep on their mute button for most of the song. And did Lil Wayne pull out his Lil Wayne because my screen went yellow for about thirty seconds during the performance.

- One has to wonder if Taylor Swift wins this award for Album of the Year if Kanye West doesn’t turn her into America’s Sweetheart. I thought it was going to come down to Beyoncé edging out Dave Matthews Band with Swift just as a darkhouse (and Lady Gaga and the Black Eyed Peas with zero chance).

- Here is my favorite performance of the night:

57 Channels and Only This Is On vol. CXV

Chuck: You know you have a great episode of Chuck when even Morgan isn’t even that annoying. Of course pairing him with Casey can have that effect. Then you have the appearance of Lana Lang which put a grin on my face as big as Chuck’s. There are very few people that can out-hot Sarah and Lana is one of them. Hopefully, unlike most of her run on Smallville, the writers give her something interesting to do (except for being a double agent). Speaking of the Man of Steele, of course Superman needs thick reading glasses. And if Lana Lang wasn’t enough, we also get Stone Cold Steve Austin as the bad guy of the week and may very well be the best token bad guy the show has had. My only complaint with this episode was we didn’t get to see the volleyball incident with Casey at the company picnic that Morgan mentioned. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Castle on iTunes.

Greek: How were the girls really okay with Casey telling Cappie about burning down the house? She was the one that made the oath not to tell anyone. And with everyone’s obsession with cop show, how could no one realize that throwing the shovel right near where they buried the clipboard not the best idea? And why not just burn the clip board? Tell people you have started composting to help save the environment. On the bright side, Dale having interns was highly entertaining. Hopefully they stick around even though he didn’t get the grant. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu.



Castle: Maybe the most fun episode of the series, really embracing the will they or won’t they vibe of the two leads with them linked together in the paper then being preoccupied with each other and the case during dinner, but a little disappointing that there was no mention of Beckett’s mother breakthrough from last week. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Castle on iTunes. Also be sure to check out my chat with Stana Katic.

Leverage: No comment on this week’s episode because I was too tired to stay up Wednesday night so instead of taping it I would just stream it. The problem with that is the latest episode is still not available for streaming on TNT.tv. To make things worse, I check the On Demand feature on my cable box and the only episode there was the winter premiere from two and a half weeks ago. Is it really that hard to get episodes up the next day? I at least want to see it sometime before the next episode airs.

Best of the Week vol. XXXI

Quote of the Week: When he does, you act like your little girlish self. Scream like a banshee so he doesn’t think you’re a threat. When he pulls you out, you find a weapon and flash. (Casey, Chuck)

Song of the Week: Respect – Otis Redding (Chuck)

Big News of the Week: The CW Is Going Back to the 90’s… Again: I haven’t watch a second of The CW since Everybody Hate Chris went off the air (to score bigger rating for repeats on Nick at Night and BET then it did for orginal episodes on The CW), on account that I am too old and too male to watch the channel. I still inadvertently catch news coming from the outlet like when it broke this week that the channel will once again be trolling the 90’s for television idea even after 90210 and Melrose Place have been miserable failures. But sadly my prediction last year that Models Inc. would be next on The CW docket (which itself was a spin-off of Melrose Place) though The CW I going with the equally laughable La Femme Nikita, the show that ran on USA for five series. Although I am not sure why The CW is even developing shows because either 1) the network won’t even exist next season (which some predict), or 2) it will cut its programming down to only four nights a week (which I predict). But if they are still around in 2011, may I suggest your next crappy 90’s reboot be Cleopatra 2525.


Gratuitous Token Hot Chick Picture of the Week:



Free Download of the Week: Falling in Love (music video) – Raphael Saadiq (iTunes)

Deal of the Week: Up to 58% Off TV Shows (Freaks and Geeks, Leverage, Greek)

Video of the Week: Lana Lang in a Nerd Herd uniform? Yes please.

Next On: More Action, More Chuck


Next Week Pick of the Week: Lost, Tuesday at 8:00 on ABC: The long awaited final season of Lost commences this Tuesday and I am ready. I have been mentally preparing for a letdown since around the third season. And looking over Sci-Fi Wire’s The 100 Questions Lost Better Answer or We’ll Be Pissed, all I could think was, “Only 100?”

Around the Tubes vol. XXXVI

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 Inside Polygamy: Life Is Bountiful, Fight Science, Temple Grandin, Caprica, and the new slate of TNT shows.

- For those that watch Big Love and enjoy the fictitious polygamy fun, will want to tune into the upcoming National Geographic Channel special Inside Polygamy: Life Is Bountiful coming February 10 at 9:00 which features Winston Blackmore who will be passing out more than twenty chocolate boxes this Valentine’s Day. But he will more than make that back on Father’s Day from his over one hundred children. For more, check out the cover story for February’s National Geographic magazine which went on sale yesterday.

- In other National Geographic news, a sneak peak at their new series, Fight Science airs this coming Monday February 1 at 10 before settling in on its regular timeslot on Thursdays. Here is a sneak peak of the sneak peak:



- For those of you with HBO, next Saturday, February 6 at 8:00, you can check out their latest film, a biopic about the best-selling author, animal scientist and autism advocate Temple Grandin starring Claire Danes in the title role. Check out the trailer below:

HBO Films: Temple Grandin Trailer (HBO)


- For those of you that saw the Caprica pilot long before it aired, just a reminder that the first new episode airs tonight at 9 on Syfy. But you will have to wait until the March 5 to get a first glimpse of Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s James Marsters on the show. Until then, here is a supertrailer for the show.

Caprica Season Preview


- As some networks are figuring out ways to air less programming, TNT is upping their slate of new shows greenlighting three new series including the much talked about (and still untitled) Steven Spielberg produced, Noah Wiley starring alien invasion series coming sometime in 2011, Delta Blues starring Jason Lee, and recent Chuck guest Angie Harmon starring in Rizzoli and Isles, both set to premiere sometime this year. All shows are set for ten episodes each. To get you used to a mustacheless Jason Lee, below is a promotional photo for the show.

My Heart Recalls That It All Seems the Same

It is heartbreaking listing to The Sea, the sophomore outing from Corrine Bailey Rae. For those unaware, Bailey Rae’s husband was found dead in March of 2008 after seven years of marriage. And she doesn’t shy away from that subject, even starting out the album with the one-two emotional punch of Are You Here, where you your heart swells when she asks the title question and ends the song with the line, “Wait till you see those eyes.” And even though it was written before his untimely death, I’d Do it All Again, it takes on a different meaning the way she sings it after the event.

But it is where tries something new where The Sea really shines. Feels Like the First Time starts off with an ominous piano riff before going back to her smooth self reminiscent of her first album, but that riff comes back for the chorus to much effect. She fulfills that genre defying promise of Feel Like the First Time with the bass heavy, near rock of The Blackest Lily complete with the organ flair of a rock group complete with Bailey Rae unleashing her inner rock star on the chorus and a weird Peter Frampton vocal distortion (which sound refreshing today with everyone else in her genre abusing auto-tune).

The most accessible song of the set, is the breezy Paris Nights / New York Mornings which may not have the sing a long vibe as her breakout hit Put Your Records On but is just as fun and will most like be over abused in upcoming romantic comedies. Add some new wave type synthesizers and some attitude to that and then you get Paper Doll. But those songs are just a diversion for the heart break that starts off the album.

Song to Download – Feels Like the First Time

The Sea gets a on my Terror Alert Scale.

I Want My Music Television vol. LXXII

There have been a couple of videos that have caught my eye lately so I thought 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 you are interested in buying the song, look for a link in the analysis.


On to the Next One – Jay-Z featuring Swiss Beatz



Pretty wise of Jay-Z to debut a video called On to the Next One as the first of the decade. But dude sure likes his black and white videos just like his last one. No comment on all the weird vinaigrettes aside from following up the Obama line with a picture of a crucifix and bullets.


Skeletons – The Yeah Yeah Yeahs



On to the next artsy video, this time courtesy of The Yeah Yeah Yeahs. But the video does fit the song very well.


Dreamer – K’naan



K’naan landed three songs on my Best Songs of 2009 list and it looks like he may land another one for the 2010 list and maybe be crack the Best Videos list with this one.


I’ll Never Let You Go – Flavor Flav



So this Flavor Flav video happened. If Jay-Z wasn’t able to kill auto-tune, this song may inadvertently do the trick.

Breaking Down the Best Songs of the Year

At the end of every year since 1996, I have gathered up my favorite songs from that year for a countdown of my favorite. I was interested in seeing who were the artist that appeared most on those list over the past decade and here are the top 25 (well since there was a tie there are actually 31). I counted any song of which they were listed as a featured artist, not just when they were the lead artist. Also keep in mind this list has nothing to do with my upcoming Greatest Songs of the 00’s which I promise to release before the next decade ends. I also included a list of the number 1’s of the past twelve years as well as Mr. Irrelevant (the song that was last that year).  For the full list for the past five years, click the Best Songs label at the bottom of the post.

1. Kanye West - 25

2. Alicia Keys – 15

John Mayer – 15 (Solo, 14 and John Mayer Trio, 1)

4. U2 - 14

5. Jay-Z - 13

6. Carrie Underwood – 11

Coldplay – 11

8. Nelly Furtado – 10

9. Beyoncé – 9 (Solo, 6 and Destiny’s Child, 3)

Dave Matthews – 9 (solo, 1 and Dave Matthews Band, 8)

Eminem – 9

The Killers – 9

Michelle Branch – 9 (solo, 6 and The Wreckers, 3)

Nas – 9

Ryan Adams – 9

Snoop Dogg – 9

Snow Patrol – 9

3 Doors Down - 9

19. Christina Aguilera – 8

Jack Johnson – 8

Jack White - 8 (The Raconteurs, 2 and The White Stripes, 6)

Lily Allen – 8

Maroon 5 – 8

Santana - 8

25. Common – 7

Death Cab for Cutie – 7

Jimmy Eat World – 7

Rihanna – 7

The Roots – 7

Taylor Swift – 7

Weezer - 7


Most Top Ten Songs

7 - John Mayer

Kanye West

4 - Michelle Branch (solo, 2 and The Wreckers, 2)

Santana

3 - Coldplay

David Gray

Death Cab for Cutie

Jay-Z

The Killers

Ryan Adams

U2


Shortest Song: Fell in Love with a Girl – The White Stripes (1:50)

Longest Song: I Will Possess Your Heart – Death Cab for Cutie (8:36)

Longest Break Between Charting: 10 Years (Ben Harper, Steal My Kisses in 2000; Fly One Time in 2009)

Number One Songs by Year

2000: Maria, Maria – Santana featuring the Product G&B

2001: Everywhere – Michelle Branch

2002: Fell in Love with a Girl – The White Stripes

2003: The Seed (2.0) – The Roots featuring Cody ChestnuTT

2004: All Falls Down – Kanye West

2005: Landed – Ben Folds

2006: Crazy – Gnarls Barkley

2007: Drivin’ Me Wild – Common featuring Lily Allen

2008: I’m Yours – Jason Mraz

2009: Use Somebody – Kings of Leon


Mr. Irrelevant

2000: The Bad Touch – The Bloodhound Gang

2001: Standing Still – Jewel

2002: Friends and Family – Trik Turner

2003: Make Me a Song – Kiley Dean

2004: Some Girls – Rachel Stevens

2005: Give a Little Bit – Goo Goo Dolls

2006: Lithium – Evanescence

2007: This Ain’t a Scene, it’s an Arms Race – Fall Out Boy

2008: Stuck to You – Nikka Costa

2009: Let’s Take a Walk – Raphael Saadiq

Recasting We Are the World

When Michael Jackson passed away, like most people I went back and listened to the music of his on my iPod which included We Are the World. That got me to thinking it that there was still plenty of poverty in Africa and it may be time to remake the song for a newer generation (especially considering Do They Know it's Christmas? is already on it'd third version). While doing research, I realized the twenty-fifth anniversary was this year so I sat on the suggestions I made at the time so I could release it to coincide with the anniversary. Then new came out last week that the co-writers of the song Lionel Richie and Quincy Jones (along with Jackson) were planning on doing so after the Grammy’s next week to benefit Haitian relief (so I guess they will be renaming the group USA for Haiti). So here are my suggestions next to those that did the original part. And as a point of reference, here is the original song:




Lionel Richie – Ne-Yo

Stevie Wonder – Maxwell

Paul Simon – John Mayer

Kenny Rogers – Taylor Swift

James Ingram – John Legend

Tina Turner - Beyoncé

Billy Joel – Norah Jones

Michael Jackson – Michael Jackson

Diana Ross – Christina Aguilera

Dionne Warwick – Alicia Keys

Willie Nelson – Keith Urban

Al Jarreau – Justin Timberlake

Bruce Springsteen – dude from Green Day

Kenny Loggins – dude from Fall Out Boy

Steve Perry – dude from Maroon 5

Daryl Hall – Robin Thicke

Michael Jackson – Michael Jackson

Huey Lewis – dude from The Fray

Cyndi Lauper – Lady Gaga

Kim Carnes – Kelly Clarkson

Bob Dylan – Dave Matthews

Ray Charles – Jamie Foxx

Stevie Wonder – Stevie Wonder

Bruce Springsteen – Bruce Springsteen

Dan Akroyd – Adam Sandler

Jackson Family Chorus – Jonas Brothers and other Disney stars Chorus


Naturally the hardest singer to recast was Michael Jackson himself and came I up with three alternatives; Bono, who technically is not American; Prince, who was actually supposed to duet with Jackson in the original but didn’t show up the first time; or have a chorus do all his part. But maybe it would be best to just pipe in his original vocals. And even though I recast their earlier parts, I still have to bring back Bruce Springsteen and Stevie Wonder to recreate their duet which was the highlight the orginal. Not bringing them back would have been like not asking Bono to sing "Tonight thank God it's them instead of you" for the new Do They Know it's Christmas? versions.

57 Channels and Only This Is On vol. CXIV

Hope for Haiti Now: Stevie Wonder singing Simon and Garfunkel, Taylor Swift covering Better Than Ezra, Jay-Z teaming up with Bono, The Edge, and Rihanna, Neil Young and Dave Matthews dueting, Chris Martin playing piano for Beyoncé, The Roots backing Shakira, Mary J. Blige, and Jennifer Hudson. It almost seems like a steal to buy all these performances, twenty in total, for $7.99, but you can download Hope for Haiti Now on iTunes and Amazon MP3 (see below) both of which also includes a studio version of the Jay-Z, U2, Rihanna song Stranded (Haiti Mon Amour). And you can also download the whole video in both places for $2.99. 100% of all purchases from either site will go to various Haitian relief charities such as Red Cross and the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund.



Chuck: We finally get to meet Shaw and no surprise it is Superman even though I still don’t see how he pulls rank on Beckman when, as Casey puts it, he has back issues of Guns and Ammo older than him. And it is not surprising dude is a tool either. And his big secret: he’s married? When he pulled out the ring I thought, Oh my, he’s part of THE Ring, then he put it on his ring finger and thought, that is an odd reveal. Could Superman’s wife possibly be the upcoming guest star Lana Lang? And the drunken Casey excuse: hilarious. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Castle on iTunes.

How I Met Your Mother: Nothing groundbreaking as we have all had the Settler vs. Reacher debate (well, at least I have) and created our own stupid drinking game (well, at least I have). It was a little odd that they would bring in Amanda Peet for such a thankless role, especially when I would put a good chunk of change on her in a real fight vs. Alyson Hannigan. You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com. You can also download How I Met Your Mother on iTunes.

The Big Bang Theory: Of course Sheldon hates Windows 7 because it is more user friendly. But I am shocked that he didn’t have a contingency plan in case, or to keep someone from robbing him. Like he hasn’t put a GPS on his gaming systems. You can download The Big Bang Theory on iTunes.

Castle: I was just wondering when they were going to bring up Beckett’s mother’s death and here they do in a big way. And she kills the person who did it. Wow. But one thing that bugs me is who in the police force is signing up to be a decoy (sorry unlucky token Asian guy on the NYPD)? While putting on his bullet proof vest all I could think is the mark is a trained assassin, former marine and could probably easily take someone out with a headshot. Lucky for Token Asian Dude the plan itself was a decoy for the assassin. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Castle on iTunes. Also be sure to check out my chat with Stana Katic.

Mercy: Oh snap, Ronnie gets turned down because of a cat. I didn’t see that one coming. Although why was that Still Bill’s one premonition? Did I miss a scene wit Ronnie telling the comatose Still Bill she was? But I love how Dr. Sands’ inner circle consists of his drugged out sister, and the emotionally stunted bearded doctor. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Mercy on iTunes.

Modern Family: Holy Dylan sighting! The really need to get this guy involved more often. I miss him and the Rusty Zippers. But I wonder if the show is getting too stale already. Last week it was pretty easy to figure out it was Phil downloading porn and this week it didn’t take a detective to deduce that Manny’s date was going to overaged (and then come on to the gay Cameron). You can stream recent episodes on Hulu.



Also check out my First Impressions of The Deep End.

Best of the Week vol. XXX

Quote of the Week: (Facebook) is all about finding people you never got a chance to sleep with in high school or college. It’s annoying. (Ronnie, Mercy)

Song of the Week: The End – Pearl Jam (Castle)

Big News of the Week: Scott Brown, Your Newest Senator: It is hard to be surprised by political outcomes considering our last three presidents were black, brain-dead from cocaine use, and a hillbilly (two of which were even reelected). There is even a politician in Minnesota that managed to lose to both Jesse “The Body” Ventura and Al “Stuart Smalley” Franklin. But it is hard not raise an eyebrow at the special election in the very liberal Massachusetts that filled the senate seat that was held by someone with the last name Kennedy for fifty-four of the last fifty-six years by a Republican. Not only that but a Republican who has posed nude, his wife appeared in a 1984 music video for Digney Fignus's The Girl With the Curious Hand (I have never heard of it either but of course it is on YouTube) and has a daughter who was on American Karaoke (and she is single fellas, as her father so elegantly put in his victory speech). God bless American.

Gratuitous Token Hot Chick Picture of the Week:



Free Download of the Week: Cousins (Video) – Vampire Weekend (iTunes)

Deal of the Week: Save Up to 56% on Boxed Sets (Mel Brooks Collection, Home Alone, X-Men Trilogy)

Video of the Week: The episode of Chuck I have been waiting for since I first heard Kristin Kreuk (who ranked in at #2 of The Hottest Hot Chicks of the 00's) would be appearing this season, and here is a promo of that episode, and as an added bonus, it also features Stone Cold Steve Austin. Color me excited.

Next On: Going Solo


Next Week Pick of the Week: Greek, Monday at 10:00 on ABC Family: When we last left Cypress Rhodes, Casey and her sisters burnt down a rival’s sorority house. That should lead to some entertainment when the show returns. What won’t will be Casey hooking up with Cappie which will probably be lame especially if the add Evan for a love triangle and Rebecca after that for a love quadrangle. I am not a fan of the newly late start time, but on an already crowded Monday, I most likely would have caught on Hulu later in the week anyway.

First Impressions: The Deep End

There are shows that are so bad they are entertaining (see Mercy or some of VH1’s Celebreality) and then there are ones that are just plain bad. The Deep End falls clearly into the latter category. It is hard to tell if the writers are morons are they expect the viewing public to be so. For instance there is plot point where a legal assistant is having problems with her boyfriend while simultaneously the boss’ wife thinks he is cheating on her. Then there is a “duh, duh, duh” moment at the end that the boss and the assistant were the couple even though anyone with a double digit IQ could have figured that out in the first act. Writing this bad is usually reserved for shows on The CW.

The bad writing is exasperated by the writers don’t seem to know if they want to be a drama or comedy and cannot to either very well and have horrible pacing trying to combine the two. Just the pacing in general was painful to watch as there are more than a few moments where I sit there wondering if I missed a scene or two as the plots just jump weirdly. But the most egregious writing problem was they made Dr. Harold Abbott completely unlikeable. That is something I never want to happen (please note he was also on the far superior Eli Stone which ABC dumped to air this crap).

The shame of it is, most of the cast is likeable headlined by Tina Majorino (Water World) as the push over of the new first year lawyers. Matt Long (Sydney White) is your Captain American of the group, Ben Lawson is your horny British dude, and the moderately attractive Leah Pipes (Sorority Row) as, well, the writers really didn’t define her character very well. All of them managed to almost get fired in the first episode and there was a fifth first year that showed up for half a minute and disappeared. And in the span of their first week four of them managed to sleep with each other (but not at the same time). But really, Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains cannot start soon enough.

The Deep Ends airs Thursdays at 8:00 on ABC. You can stream episodes on Hulu.

Around the Tubes vol. XXXV

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 Caprica, How to Make it in America, Secret Diary of a Call Girl, Screen Actors Guild Awards, Ice Road Truckers, Men of a Certain Age, Yo Gabba Gabba! Live! and the Winter Olympics.

- The wait is over for Battlestar Galactica fans as the premiere of the prequel Caprica is tomorrow on SyFy at 9:00 (unless of course you already bought/rent the DVD, downloaded it on iTunes or streamed on Hulu, if so, be sure to return next week for a new episode). Below is the trailer. Fans will also want to check out the Caprica Facebook page.

New Caprica Trailer


- HBO is launching their new series next month, here is the trailer for How to Make it in America which will featuring the acting talents of Bryan Greenberg (Prime, HBO's Unscripted), Victor Rasuk (Lords of Dogtown, Raising Victor Vargas), Luis Guzman (Anger Management, HBO's Oz), Lake Bell (Boston Legal, What Happens in Vegas) and hit recording artist Scott "Kid Cudi" Mescudi (Man on The Moon, MOTOWN Records).


How to Make it in America Tease (HBO)


- A Week before the return of Secret Diary of a Call Girl, Showtime is airing an interview where the star of the show Billie Piper talks to the former call girl that her character is based on, Brooke Magnanti, the original Belle de Jour. It will take place this Monday at this coming Monday at 10:00.

- The 16th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards will be simulated on both TNT and TBS this Saturday at 8:00 (encore at 11:00) with the Red Carpet show starting a half hour with the live webcast at TNT.tv and TBS.com starting at 6:15. Betty White will be honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award at this year’s telecast.

- For the fans of Ice Road Truckers, you will want to check out the show’s new Facebook app.

- Robert Loggia will be showing up on Monday’s episode of Men of a Certain Age, which just got renewed for a second season, as Ray Romano’s recently retired father.

- For those with little ones running around who needs something kill the winter blues, you may want to check out Yo Gabba Gabba! Live! Of course you need to live near Minneapolis (3/13), Milwaukee (3/14), Toronto (3/16), Fort Wayne (3/19), Cincinnati (3/20), or St. Louis (3/21). Each date has two showings that day, check out yogabbagabbalive.com for more information.

- The Winter Olympic schedule is now online over at nbcolympics.com. As for the most important event, the start of Curling is Tuesday February 16 at noon on USA with the American men taking on the Germans. For some reason Curling doesn’t get a primetime slot all Olympics, but if we have learned anything from the last two week, NBC executives are not the smartest people in the room.

Got Nothing to Lose but Loneliness and Patterns

Spoon just may be the biggest band to never have actually hit it big. The formed right around the time of the alternative music boon of the mid nineties but were never able to capitalize on it before the tide turned to teen pop later that decade. They never cracked the top ten albums chart until 2007 at a time when people stopped buying albums. But the band had cultivated a loyal fan base many of which list their occupation as music supervisor because their music continually shows up in movies and television shows like the most recent episode of Chuck which generously used their song Got Nuffin off their latest album (their song Don’t Make Me a Target also got that treatment throughout a season one episode of the show).

If all you know of Spoon are those thirty second spurts on your favorite television shows, Transference probably isn’t the album that will convert you into a fan. In fact after maybe their most pop accessible album in their catalog, Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, Transference is a big U-turn back to a very raw sounding which may be due to that it is the band’s first self produced album which was recorded in lead singer Brit Daniel’s house and why most of the songs feel like demo tracks.

The album closer, No One Gets Me But You, might as well be about their fans. The fly on the wall of a Spoon rehearsal vibe of the album is what the draw is for those with some familiarity with the band. Guitars are not tuned perfectly, Brit’s voice cracks mid song, and there is the charm of the album. It’s a live album without an audience with the band’s usual minimalist cool.

The tracks of Transference are quintessential Spoon; Before the Destruction sets up the album with a slow burn before switching to the bouncing along with staccato riffs of Is Love Forever. The band is at their best when they let loose with the cocksure and that most evident with their first two singles, Got Nuffin, which re-kick starts the album after the twin ballads before it, and Written in Reverse is a piano pounding track full will attitude.

Song to Download – Got Nuffin

Transference gets a on my Terror Alert Scale.

Here Comes a Feeling You Thought You'd Forgotten

Vampire Weekend must be upset that they were born in the eighties instead of making music in it because they very may have been the biggest college radio band of the decade not named R.E.M. Maybe that is why they dress like a J Crew ad from the era. Now they have to resign to being the blogger buzz band of the month and sadly that month was in September 2007 and by the time their self-titled debut album was released in January 08, it seemed like the entire buzz died. Two years later, which in blog years might as well be eight, the band is back with their sophomore outing Contra (a reference to, the band insists, the awesome Nintendo game, not the political organization).

For the album, the band still comes up with melodies that would make River Cuomo jealous and music that weighs heavy on Graceland-era Paul Simon afro-centric beats and rhythms, but branches out into other influences such as synth-pop of the eighties, while the first single Cousins includes some surf rock flair right out of a Dick Dale song. On the flip side, the band also unfortunately discovers auto-tune on the reggae tinged California English which turns out to be a massive fail.

But the rest of Conta is the same preppy soundtrack fun you can find on their first album that will make you want to flip up the collar of your polo shirt while listening. Sure Cousins is a silly song, but try not to sing along to the chorus by your second listen. I have no idea what Horchata is, but I want to drink it at some high price resort drinking it, while listening to the song, I just won’t be wearing a balaclava (which they rhyme with the song title). Giving up the Gun is the culmination of everything the band strives to be, an assessable song with sing-a-long words, but is still a complex wall of sound where you can find a new blurt of sound every time you listen to.

Song to Download – Giving Up the Gun

Contra gets a on my Terror Alert Scale.

57 Channels and Only This Is On vol. CXIII

How I Met Your Mother: Didn’t we already have an episode where Marshall refused to acknowledge the hotness of a hot chick with Lily try to get him to say that while Robin tries to convince everyone she is hotter? If not I had a very strong case of déjà vu. You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com. You can also download How I Met Your Mother on iTunes.

The Big Bang Theory: Holy Winnie Cooper sighting! Though why do CBS comedies misuse her, first she is part of a Ted three-way and now she is just a Raj hook up. You would think The Big Bang Theory would appreciate that she is a legitimate math genius with her own theory and actually give her a better role or spare with Sheldon for a Cooper vs. Cooper showdown of great television characters. You can download The Big Bang Theory on iTunes.

Castle: As entertaining as it was to see Castle tried to get out of being duct taped to a chair, if he wanted to see how Nicky Heat got out of the chair, it would have been much more funny if he was able to get Beckett to take on the task. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Castle on iTunes. Also be sure to check out my chat with Stana Katic.

Mercy: Before this episode I would have said a hand is a hand, hook me up with whatever you got, but the whole “70% muscle memory” stuff really creeped me out to the point to unless it came from a surgeon, I may rather go with the Buster Bluth hook. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Mercy on iTunes.

Modern Family: Last week I said that a whole pig would make for a great birthday present for me, and this week I would like to add a dog butler to that list. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu.



Community: Even though I saw it coming, Senior Chang’s entrance after being presumed dead was pretty funny. I ams till not sure why a community college requires two semesters of a foreign language though. But nice callback to Getting Rid of Britta, Oh, yeah, and Jack Black was in this episode. You can stream current episodes on Hulu. You can also download Community on iTunes.

Also check out my First (Second and Third Impressions of Chuck as well as my previews of Leverage and Archer.