Previewing Memphis Beat 2.x and Hawthorne 3.x

Tonight sees the return of the two TNT shows I just could not get in to. First up is Memphis Beat which a big disappointment to me because I had such high hopes for the show with Jason Lee coming right off of his great work on My Name Is Earl. And watching HBO’s Treme recently it became clear what was lacking on Memphis Beat and that is how you integrate a series into a show. On Treme New Orleans is its biggest character where Memphis tends to just be relegated to transition scenes and musical choices.

The good news is the first two episodes of the new season are better than the batch from the first one. The bad news is it is mostly because of the two guest star. Tonight starts off with the MPD hunting down a cop killer of an officer who may have been involved in some shady business that may have caused his death. This brings in Internal Affairs official (Beau Garrett, The Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer) to butt heads, and other body parts, with Lee. As seen on The Closer, detectives and IA do not care for each other and it goes even further when Jason learns her dislike of Memphis cuisine. Next week sees the appearance of another former mustache enthusiast Thomas Lennon (Reno 911) as a consultant that Lee reluctantly bring in to help solve a cold case that just got hot again and as per usual with Lennon, hilarity ensues when starts getting on the detectives nerves.

Memphis Beat airs Tuesdays at 9:00 on TNT. You can stream recent episodes on tnt.tv. You can also download Memphis Beat on iTunes.



Following Memphis Beat is the premiere of the third season of Hawthorne. The new season starts up with a wedding that naturally goes bad when an accident interrupts the festivities sending everyone in attendance into action. But it is a brutal attack in the hospital’s parking lot that sets things in motion for the season and brings Marc Anthony back into the picture to solve the crime. I am legally obligated not to go any further, but it is a huge plot twist.

Hawthorne airs Tuesdays at 9:00 on TNT. You can also download HawthoRNe on iTunes.

I Want My Music Television - 6/13/11

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.


Fast Lane - Bad Meets Evil



After his triumphant triumph of Recovery, Eminem has been quick for a follow up with Bad Meets Evil with his buddy, but I have to say if this were a rap battle I may have to give it to Royce the 5’9’’. But I got a little depressed at the chorus because it is hard not to wonder how better it would have been if Nate Dogg was still around to sing it.


Radio Message – R Kelly



It is a shame that the latest R. Kelly album is not getting as much love as it should be because it is easily his best non-Trapped in the Closet work in over a decade. Speaking of Trapped in the Closet, when are we going to get new chapters Kells, it has been over three years since the last one. I need to know what the package is.


Smarter - Eisley



There is no shortage of women done wrong songs in recent years, but this one from Eisley may be the most spiteful with each lyric more biting than the previous one. And the song gets better with every listen because of it.


My Ugly Mouth – Meg and Dia



I remember getting press releases from NBC about The Voice and checking song of the songs I liked being performed, one being Bubbly by Colbie Caillat. When I click on the link to see Dia Frampton I said to myself, “wait a second I know that girl, she’s from Meg and Dia.” I cannot say I was a big fan of the group’s emo rock chick music that ended up being popularized by Paramore. After Dia’s killer performance of Heartless last week I decide to reexamine the group and found this gem that they released earlier this year which is the catchiest pop song I have heard in a while with its Beatle-esque chorus and killer piano breakdown before the bridge which sees the sisters playfully sing against each other and I love the line “I am proud of my temper” which is ironic now that she has been dubbed The Quiet One on The Voice.

I also had a very lengthy post that I was going to post yesterday about The Voice, but I granted the first run somewhere else and they have taken long than I thought to publish it, so I have to wait until they post it first, hopefully I can repost it later today for a rare double post, but here is a little preview that I did not put in the post for the other site regarding Dia’s previous record deal and being on The Voice:

There have been a lot of complaining how many of the contestants on The Voice have already had record contract; seven of the remaining singers by my count seven, almost half of the finale sixteen, have released albums. I say to those who make that complaint: screw you hippies. One of my many reasons why I have never watched American Karaoke is that I believe if you have talent, you would not need a reality show to score a record contract, and considering American Karaoke and its strict no professionals rule is currently batting two for nine, I seem to be right. And though talent may land you a record deal, it does not always equate into stardom, you still need the right marketing. So having a show with season veterans like Dia or Javier Colon who never manage to get that breakout hit, The Voice can be that great marketing tool to get their music to the masses and makes for a better show.

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57 Channels and Only This Is On - 6/11/11

Quote of the Week: We are the cops (expletive deleted)-wipe. (Holder, The Killing)

Song of the Week: Heartless – Dia Frampton (The Voice, more on this tomorrow)

Big News of the Week: Anthony Weiner’s Umm…: No comment.


The Killing: Did they really spend a whole episode, the third to last at that, searching for Linden’s missing son, who just turned out to be with his father? Really!?! You can download The Killing on iTunes.

Switched at Birth: I basically tuned in because I wanted to see how two families explained how they could go sixteen years without realized they were raising a child of a different ethnicity and the closest thing to an excuse was that Lea Thompson’s mother is Italian. Alrighty. I had to laugh when they mentioned the guest house early in the episode because I thought to myself, there is no way they are actually going to have the poor family move it, that would be too sitcomy (note to self, pitch My Two Moms to a studio). But of course they did by the end of the episode. And here is a fun fact, the deaf girl’s very first acting gig: the episode of Veronica Mars where Mac learned she was switched at birth with Madison Sinclair. You can stream the show on Hulu. You can also download Switched At Birth on iTunes.

Covert Affairs: I think maybe this show was better than it was actually was because I was quite bored for most of the show. You can stream the show on Hulu. You can also download Covert Affairs on iTunes.

Franklin and Bash: I would just like to state on record that Natalie Zea can kill me with sex anytime. You can stream the show over at tnt.com. You can also download Franklin and Bash on iTunes.

Men of a Certain Age: This episode hit home with me because in my only organize softball appearance I turned a female catcher into my own personal Buster Posey for the game winner and promptly retired on top (well the guy I was playing for showed up for the second half of a double header which ended my softball career). You can stream the show over at tnt.tv. You can also download Men of a Certain Age on iTunes.


Free Download of the Week: Don't Sit Down 'Cause I've Moved Your Chair – Arctic Monkeys (iTunes)

Deal of the Week: Up to 58% Off Father's Day Gifts on DVD and Blu-ray (The Walking Dead, Saving Private Ryan, Drive Angry)

New Album Release of the Week: Marc Broussard - Marc Broussard

New DVD Release of the Week: Red Riding Hood

Video of the Week: HBO’s Summer Series will continue Monday at 9:00 with A Matter of Taste: Serving up Paul Liebrandt. The documentary will follow the cutting-edge chef over the course of nine and a half years. Check out a promo below:



Next Week Pick of the Week: The Nine Lives of Chloe King, Tuesday at 9:00 on ABC Family: Last summer ABC Family launched the guiltiest of guilty pleasures with Pretty Little Liars and now it is pairing it another new show which could claim that crown.

Around the Tubes - 6/10/11

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 Alphas, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Jon Benjamin has a Van, Happily Divorced, Tsboo, Locked Up Abroad, Conan, Chrysler, Castle, The Firm, It's Worth What, and Who's Still Standing.

- Nothing like, it’s like Heroes, to make me tune out, but I may still give Alphas a try because it cannot be as poorly written or as poorly acted as Heroes. Can it? Here is a first look of the Syfy series that premieres July 11.



- Curb Your Enthusiasm returns exactly a month from today to HBO and the show has released its official Season 8 poster, take a look:



- Jon Benjamin (who you may know better as the voice of FX’s Archer) has a van and a new show appropriately called Jon Benjamin has a Van which is premiering on Comedy Central next Tuesday at 10:30 and may do for news magazines what The Daily Show does for the nightly network news. Head over to ComedyCentral.com for some clips.

- In other premiere date news, the very next day on Wednesday is the debut of Happily Divorced at 10:30 with Ron Abel playing Ron Abel in a recurring role beating out James Van Deer Beek playing James Van Deer Beek by a couple months.

- In this Sunday’s episode of Taboo, the show is tackling ‘Forbidden Love.” No, not Romeo and Juliet or even Lolita and Humbert Humbert. The episode will feature dudes and a wall or cars or other inanimate objects. And yes there is a technical term: objectum sexual. Here is a clip:

In Love with the Berlin Wall


- In other National Geographic Channel news, they now have their own Locked Up Abroad app that you can find on iTunes.

- Very things go better together than summer and live music and this summer Conan will be commandeering the largest soundstage at Warner Bros. Studios for its first ever Conan Concert Series Presented by Kia Motors. Expect performances by KT Tunstall, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, Pitbull and Ke$ha to air throughout the summer on Conan and for online viewing over at teamcoco.com.

- This week on Fox Movie Channel’s Life After Film School, Mark Waters, director of the upcoming movie Mr. Popper’s Penguins, will be field questions from the film students.

- Chrysler latest Imported From Detroit ad is actually coming straight outta Compton with Dr. Dre cruising the streets of Los Angles because his Beats by Dr. Dre audio system is available with the all new 2012 Chrysler 300S.

Chrysler 300 Commercial / Beats by Dr. Dre – “Good Things”


- If you missed Castle when it first ran or want to watch it again but do not want to purchase the DVD’s, TNT has acquired the cable rights to the show and will start airing them in summer 2012.

- During the Upfronts, NBC announced a televised version of The Firm without filming a frame. Now they can start now they have found their new Tom Cruise: Josh Lucas of another lawyer book turned major motion picture The Lincoln Lawyer.

- A sooner approaching show for NBC that has also found a leader is new game show It’s Worth What which will be hosted by Cedric the Entertainer. It is a new game show premiering July 12 that features two contestants making their way through six challenges by estimating the value of items ranging from collectibles stowed in an attic for years to classic antiques. So Antique Roadshow meets the Price Is Right. Also coming to NBC soon is Who’s Still Standing? which will be hosted by Ben Bailey of Discovery Channel’s Cash Cab. The show will offer a single contestant the chance to win a cash prize of up to $1,000,000 by taking down each of their opponents (literally, you will fall through a trap door if they answer a question incorrectly) in fast-paced trivia battles. Now debut date is set yet.

My Twenty Favorite Dave Matthews Band Songs

While reading and writing my review of So Much to Say: Dave Matthews Band – Twenty Years on the Road (see my review: You and Me and All Our Friends, Such a Happy Human Race) I also spent the time listening to my DMB albums and I thought I would revise my list of the best songs from the band which I originally published right before the release of Stand Up (see DMB Week: Ranking the Songs) but upped the number to twenty to commemorate the number of years the band has been touring. This could also double as my fantasy set list (although I may throw in a cover like Long Black Veil in there) and tinker with the sequencing.


1. Bartender (The Lillywhite Sessions / Busted Stuff)

2. Warehouse (Recently / Under the Table and Dreaming)

3. Jimi Thing (Under the Table and Dreaming)

4. Grace Is Gone (The Lilywhite Sessions / Busted Stuff)

5. You Never Know (Busted Stuff)

6. Funny the Way It Is (Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King)

7. Halloween (Recently / Before These Crowded Streets)

8. The Stone (Before These Crowded Streets)

9. Out of My Hands (Stand Up)

10. Ants Marching (Remember Two Things / Under the Table and Dreaming)

11. You and Me (Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King)

12. Don't Drink the Water (Before These Crowded Streets)

13. The Best of What's Around (Under the Table and Dreaming)

14. Granny (Listener Supported)

15. Stay (Wasting Time) (Before These Crowded Streets)

16. Crush (Before These Crowded Streets)

17. Say Goodbye (Crash)

18. Recently (Recetnly)

19. Spaceman (Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King)

20. So Much to Say (Crash)

Previewing Locked Up Abroad 5.x

Locked Up Abroad is taking a few liberties with its name when it returns tonight for its new season. Sure Henry Hill has been locked up more than a few times, but technically never abroad unless you count a New Yorker doing time in Washington State. For those that wonder why the name Henry Hill sounds familiar, he was the real life counterpart of Ray Liotta in Goodfellas.

Though not arrested in a foreign land, the format of the show remains the same with Hill giving a first person account of being incarcerated and what led up to the arrest, or arrests in his case with reenactments sprinkled throughout (but no clips from the movie, all the reenactments were reshot, the actor replacing Robert De Niro was particularly entertain as he was clearly doing a bad De Niro impression the whole time). Listening to Hill’s account it is clear that Martin Scorsese paid a lot of attention to detail, but ended up leaving some aspects of Hill’s downfall on the cutting room floor as Hill goes into much more detail about his involvement in the drug world than the movie did. Also the last part of the episode deals with Hill’s time after the movie ended with his time in witness protection and his arrest while under federal protection. Check out a clip below:

Henry Hill Speaks


Next week’s episode may not have been made into a major motion picture, but has all the elements of one: forbidden love, adultery, stranger in a strange land, unplanned pregnancy, bribery, guns, and a daring escape attempt. After meeting a Filipino online, a British man falls in love and when he comes to visit her, she gets pregnant (note to self: next time you meet with National Geographic executive, pitch new show Knocked Up Abroad). Problems arise when her estranged husband gets them both arrested on adultery charges than could land them up to fourteen years in prison. The couples only choices: do the time or flee the country (which could almost double their sentence if caught).

Locked Up Abroad airs Wednesdays at 10:00 on National Geographic Channel. You can also download Locked Up Abroad on iTunes

You and Me and All Our Friends, Such a Happy Human Race

Back in April, the Dave Matthews Band celebrated the twentieth anniversary of their very first performance together. Ironically to commemorate the occasion, the group decided to take the summer off for the first since that very first show in the band’s hometown of Charlottesville. Dave and the boys are playing four festival shows in Atlantic City (June 24-26), Chicago (July 8-10), New York), August 26-28), and their annual Labor Day weekend at The Gorge in Washington (September 2-4). Head over to DMBCaravan for more details for full lineups (act ranging from Ray LaMontange to The Roots to The Flaming Lips performing Dark Side of the Moon at different sites) and tickets.

If you cannot make it to one of the show but still need your Dave Matthews Band fix aside from all the Live Trax concerts you own, writer and DMB enthusiast Nikki Van Noy is celebrating the band’s vigintennial with her book So Much to Say: Dave Matthews Band – 20 Years on the Road. And if you are going to one (or more) of the festivals, the book makes for a great read in between sets as you brush up on your DMB history before the band writes its next chapter.

After starting off the book with her own history with the band (An Evening Spent Dancing) where she went from a reluctant concert goer to an instant fan, Nikki goes into a chronological history of the band starting with their formation (Getting Started) to the start of heavy touring schedule (The Little Red Van). The book then veers into the studio with their best known music (The Big Three), then the Lillywhite Sessions and the two albums born directly out of it (The Album That Wasn’t), and the following album Stand Up (Searching for the Sound). Then there is the tragic death of the band’s saxophonist (LeRoi Holloway Moore) and the album that was born from his death (LeRoi’s Legacy).

Yes the band’s history is the core of the book, but So Much to Say is as much about the band is it is about the fans of the Dave Matthews Band. Van Noy included personal accounts from every stage of the band’s careers from those that were there at the launch and talk about the shows from their weekly engagement as the now defunct Trax to fans as far flung as Australia where the band has only visited twice in the band’s career. The book even includes more than thirty-five original fan photos.

What really becomes clear throughout So Much to Say is there is no band out there that harnessed the internet better than the Dave Matthews Band and their fans. In the early years, word of mouth traveled easy from the early users of the new electronic-mail: college student. Then came mailing lists, message boards, blogs to today (seriously, type “Dave Matthews Band” in YouTube and see just how many performances have been uploaded); Nikki pulls quotes and talks to users and the people behind the sites frequently in the book. She even makes an apt comparison that the stat heavy national pastime is similar to DMB fans, just go to sites like DMBAlmanac to see just how true it is. Really the final two chapters in the books are pretty much just about the fans.

Some great tidbits throughout the book include a section on how some of the song titles came about (like how Dave liked to number the songs he wrote in order yet #27 was actually the 133rd song he wrote) to a part on wrong names that were dubbed by soundman Jeff “Bagby” Thomas (I’ll Back You Up labeled Let’s Get a Beer and rarity Heathcliff’s Haiku Warriors actually keeping its wrong name). There is also plenty of mythology sprinkled by fans during the book (a couple pages get devoted to the holy grail of DMB songs: Machead) which reminds me of the time my college roommate told me a tale of how his sister who went to Virginia saw Dave Matthews Band and Hootie & The Blowfish at the same frat house on the same night. And of course a good portion of the book is devoted to the band’s taping culture, which may have as much to do with the band’s success than anything else, and how it evolved over the years.

It’s hard to recommend So Much to Say to anyone not already a fan of Dave Matthews Band because there is no deep introspective passages of the band or even any new interviews with band members themselves. So Much to Say is a book written by a fan for fans and about fans. A newbie can read the book and have a deeper appreciation for the band and the fandom while longtime fans will enjoy the trip down memory lane even if they know all of the stories behind the band. Here’s hoping after this summer off we will get another twenty summers worth of shows where we can eat, drink, and be merry.



Full Disclosure Notice: This book was given to me by Simon and Schusters for the purpose of reviewing it.

I Want My Music Television - 6/6/11

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.


Walk – Foo Fighters



Falling Down is one of the great forgotten, only in the nineties, movies and maybe it is the right time for us to revisit it as we inch closer to an American without a WASP majority. But I was a little disappointed that the Foo Fighters did not give a shout out to the also from the nineties highway parking lot, Everybody Hurts - R.E.M. by R.E.M., by adding some subtitles to the other drivers.


Man Down – Rihanna



In other violent video news, Man Down has gotten a lot of flack for her new video. So for those keeping track at home, man on man violence: funny; chick on dude violence: inappropriate. But if Johnny Cash and Jimi Hendrix’s friend Joe can shoot trifling partners down, why not Rihanna. I just do not understand what is with the Drummer Boy chorus.


Back Down South – Kings of Leon



But speaking of nineties influence, I get a strong southern version of Smashing Pumpkin’s 1979 music video from the new Kings of Leon offering.


Home Is a Fire – Death Cab for Cutie



Not to knock Death Cab for Cutie, but didn’t Selena Gomez and the Scene make this exact video not too long ago. (Yes, yes they did.)

57 Channels and Only This Is On - 6/8/11

Quote of the Week: She kinda looked like Alanis Morrissette when she was better looking. That’s why she stood out. (Cabbie, The Killing)

Song of the Week: I'm Not In Love – 10cc (as sung by Zach Morris, Franklin and Bash)

Big News of the Week: Start of the Summer Television: The spring television season just ended but summer is almost already in full swing. Here is the shows that will keep me inside when the sun is shining and when they premiere.

Sundays
9:00 – Leverage (6/26 on TNT)
10:00 – Falling Skies (6/19 on TNT; premieres at 9:00 before moving to 10 the next week)

Tuesdays
8:00 - Pretty Little Liars (6/14 on ABC Family)
9:00 – The Nine Lives of Chloe King (6/14 on ABC Family)
10:00 - Covert Affairs (6/7 on USA)

Wednesdays
10:00 – Rescue Me (10:00 on FX)

Thursdays
10:00 – Wilfred (6/23 on FX)
10:30 – Louis (6/23 on FX)


The Killing: It seemed like the assistant guy had a complete personality adjustment in between episodes. It was as if the writers went up to the actor before the episode and say, “oh yeah, we are going to make you a suspect now so we want you to act emotionally stunted so it fits with the story we now want to tell.” Would it been to hard to tell the actor to act a little creepy from the beginning? You can download The Killing on iTunes.

Friday Night Lights: Holy Matt Saresen sighting! I did not see that coming, at least she did not make a u-turn to Tennessee. But I am beginning to fear for Coach Taylor because he has lost his cool multiple times over the past two episodes. He should not even threaten to bench Vince he should have done it after the stunt he pulled at the end of the game with the Panthers and the Oklahoma Tech visit should have put it over the edge. Hopefully Coach can get QB1 under control and quick. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu.




Free Download of the Week: Tripping Billies (Live At Wrigley Field) - Dave Matthews Band (Amazon MP3)

Deal of the Week: 100 Albums for $5 Each: It is not the 1000 plus albums that Amazon had on sale last month, but during the month of June you can get the new album from Death Cab for Cutie, Kanye West, Alicia Keys and the Shaft Soundtrack, which I hear is a bad mother… maybe I should just shut my mouth and let you listen for yourself.



New Album Release of the Week: The Book of Mormon - The Original Broadway Cast

New DVD Release of the Week: Just Go With It

Video of the Week: I hope you have a half an hour of free time today because there is a new Gathering of The Juggalos infomercial for 2011 has just dropped (of course they waited the week after Saturday Night Live wrapped up their season to release it). This should go without saying, but this video is not safe for work, children, pregnant woman, the elderly, Ass Dan or just about anyone.

2011 Gathering of the Juggalos Infomercial


Next Week Pick of the Week: Covert Affairs, Tuesday at 10:00 on USA: The first season was decent summer fluff (or so I think, I do not remember much of what happened during the first season) so hopefully the second season is as enjoyable (and maybe more memorable).

Around the Tubes - 6/3/11

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 Game of Thrones, Rescue Me, The Voice, Ice Road Truckers, HBO Summer Series, Mancations, concert apps, City and Colour, British television DVD's, The Good Wife, and Mitt Romney.

The eight episode of Game of Thrones airs this Sunday and here is a description of The Pointy End: "The Lannisters press their advantage over the Starks; Robb (Richard Madden) rallies his father’s northern allies and heads south to war." If that is not enough for you, here is a clip from the episode:



- Update your calendars, the seventh and final season of Rescue Me will now premiere on Wednesday, July 13 at 10:00 and will run Wednesday nights.

- In other programming news, in addition to the start of the live episodes of The Voice next Tuesday at 9:00, there will be a bonus episode Wednesday June, 22 starting at 8:00. NBC has also scheduled the season finale for Wednesday June 29.

- The new season of Ice Road Truckers returns this Sunday at 9:00 on History and to celebrate the premiere, there will be a special online chat with trucker Alex Debogorski immediately after the episode airs at 11:00. Head over to Facebook to RSVP.

- Ever Monday this summer starting June 6 HBO will be airing a new documentary at 9:00 for an eleven week run ranging from Bobby Fisher (which is the first documentary) to an undercover sex crime unit in Manhattan. Check out a promo below:



- Just a reminder that this Sunday is the premiere of Mancations on the Travel Channel.

- The summer season has just begun so that means it is time to go out to your local concert hall to see a show. And Appitalism.com making it easier including top apps like Concert Finder (free for Android) where you can find specific artists or browse what concerts are going on in a particular city or Concert Rat (free for iPhone) which lets you live blog text and photos from your music event.

- Fans of City and Colour should head over to Grooveshack where they can stream the band’ s new album Little Hell before it is released June 7. Look out for the band this summer at Glastonbury, Lollapalooza, and Austin City Limits.

- Acorn Media has a new batch of British television show set to hit American shelves this month including New Tricks Season 4, Robin of Sherwood, Set 1, Agatha Christie’s Marple: The Pale Horse, Wired, Under the Hammer, Weapons Races, George Gently Series 3, and The Far Pavilions.

- Is The Good Wife’s Alan Cumming the first post-Jewish Jewish politician on television? In Tablet magazine, Rachel Shteir examines the subject.

- In this week’s random political press release of the week, the Tea Party has launched a Stop Romney campaign because, “On issues like gun rights, gay rights, abortion, immigration, and health care, Romney has flipped more than John Kerry flopped.” This message has been brought to you by the good people of WesternPAC.org. But my favorite part of the press release is how they patted themselves on the back for supporting candidates that had “impressive primary victories” all of which lost in the general election. So enjoy another four years of Obama because you would rather nominate nutjobs like Michelle Bachman then someone who could actually beat Obama.

If You Feel Just like a Tourist in the City You Were Born Then it’s Time to Go

When John Mayer released his last album I panned it because nobody wants to hear a concept album about dating Jennifer Aniston. And a first listen to the new Death Cab for Cutie album Codes and Keys, one could make an argument about Zooey Deshanel, the quirky actress that lead singer Benjamin Gibbard married since the release of their last album Narrow Stairs. Gone are the stalkery songs and tales of woe which are replaced by positive songs and grand views of the future.

First single You Are a Tourist could very well be about Gibbard’s feelings about his previous moodier songs and may be the “villain in the story you have written.” And for a guy who made a song about a Twin Size Bed sound so depressing he turned around in short time to make a real peppy song about a different inanimate object on Portable Television. While Stay Young, Go Dancing is their most upbeat and hopeful song to date by far.

Lyrics are not the only drastic change for Codes and Keys as the band when for a decidable less guitar-based sound for the new album(save riff-tastic You Are a Tourist). With more focus on piano, keyboards, and drum beats, this album has a more electronic feel (though not as electronic as Gibbard’s side project The Postal Service) but still manages the warmth that some electronic acts lack. The only song missing the wall of sound of the rest of the album is Stay Young, Go Dancing which ends the album with an acoustic guitar and well placed strings.

But is hard to wonder if this would have been a better album if Ben never met Zooey. Here is hoping Ryan Adams’s eventual concept album about Mandy Moore bucks this trend.

Song to Download – Stay Young, Go Dancing

Codes and Keys gets a on my Terror Alert Scale. Note the $5.00 price in the Amazon widget below which is what the album will be priced at all this month.

When I Was Young I Didn’t Think About it and Now I Just Can’t Get it off My Mind

The good people over at Simon and Schuster were nice enough to send me over a copy of So Much to Say: Dave Matthews Band 20 Years on the Road (look for my review next week to coincide with the book hitting bookshelves) and in honor of the book’s release, this month’s induction into the Scooter Hall of Fame is the band’s unreleased gem known as The Lillywhite Session.

Naturally So Much to Say dedicated a whole chapter to the time period. As legend has it, the Dave Matthews Band went into the studio with longtime producer Steve Lillywhite and recorded a batch of songs only to ditch them to go back on the road. When the tour was over, instead going back to the Lillywhite songs, Dave hooked up with Alanis Morrisette producer Glen Ballard for an album of much tighter and poppier songs the band had ever done called Everyday. Months after the released, songs from The Lillywhite Session hit file sharing site where anyone could hear the album that might have been.

Mortality has never been a shy subject for the band, but Before these Crowded Streets took a decidedly darker turn from their previous work and The Lillywhitte Session took them deeper into the rabbit hole with songs like Grey Street, Digging a Ditch, Big Eyed Fish and maybe their saddest song to date Grace Is Gone. The latter of which Dave himself references to as the sad bastard song and still is in my repertoire of songs I go to when I am in my drunken sad bastard mood.

The standout track of The Lillywhite Session, and quick live performance staple, was Bartender. If there is one thing the band does best is sweeping epics that they can jam on for over ten minutes such as Warehouse and Two Step, and Bartender is where it all came together in a sweeping ode to a priest stand in that serves beer on the side. By the time the track hits the midway point, Mathews is wailing vocally like a one man choir before giving way to LeRoi Moore, one of his finest moments in the studio, who take the song home before ending it with a sweet pennywhistle.

The songs of The Lillywhite Session would later be revived a year later as the band convened in the studio but without Steve Lillywhite this time around for the proper release the appropriately titled Busted Stuff which despite sharing nine songs sounded lighter and more hopeful in spirit (thanks in part to new songs Where Are You Going and You Never Know). Grace Is Gone got turned into full country bar tune, a couple minutes were shaved from Bartender, Kit Kat Jam was stripped of lyrics, and JTR, Sweet Up and Down, and Monkey Man were cut from the final version. Though Dave Matthews Band songs are never fully realized until they are road tested for an entire summer, the release of Busted Stuff must have been cathartic to the band and fans alike after the tumultuous two years from the start of The Lillywhite Session to the release of Everyday, to the leak of the unfinished tracks.

Previewing Franklin & Bash

One could argue that you can judge a lawyer show by its cases and in the first season of Franklin and Bash the lawyers will take up cases like death by vagina (the defendant in question being Justified’s Natalie Zea which begs the question who would be against that kind of death?), a woman who thinks she was fired from a men’s magazine for being too attractive (despite barely being a five), a Robin Hood in the form of Jason Alexander (Listen Up) who has a change of heart when his terminal diagnosis turns out to be not as terminal as he thought), and Bash’s ex-girlfriend’s current fiancée asking him to get him off on a solicitation charge (yes, woman twenty-five to forty, Zack Morris will go head to head Dawson Leery, start rummaging for your old Tiger Beat issues now).

And what better way to start a series that a scantily clad guest star Mircea Monroe (Nobody’s Watching) trying to sell you mattresses on a video billboard (do not worry ladies, Zack Morris shows much more skin than Mircea later in the episode). Naturally a car accident happens and Franklin and Bash were staking out the intersection for just an occasion. Breckin Meyer (Road Trip) is the quick witted Franklin while Zack (Dead Man on Campus) plays the suave Bash.

Their ability to win unorthodox cases catches the eye of Malcolm McDowell (Easy A), the senior partner at a big law firm that brings the duo in and gives them free reign to continue taking on their typical cases. And since every man child needs a straight laced antagonist, Franklin and Bash has McDowell’s nephew at the firm, Reed Diamond (Journeyman) who just so happened to have dated Garcelle Beauvais (Wild Wild West) who Franklin just so happens to also have eyes for.

Along for the ride are Franklin and Bash’s associates from their pre-big time days are Dana Davis (Prom Night) as the duo’s paralegal slash private investigator and Kumail Najiani (Michael and Michael Have Issues), their researcher and writer who has come down with a case of agoraphobia and never leaves Franklin and Bash’s apartment which used to serve as their law office until their upward mobility.

Neither of the two characters really add much to the story while Diamond and Beauvais seemed as if they were written straight from the stereotype character handbook and McDowell is not always convincing as the aloof boss while Meyer and Morris do not have the strongest comic rapport, and some the writing is not that clever (the resolve of the Natalie Zea case is practically slap your head stupid) yet there is plenty to laugh at, as this was originally developed for TNT’s less serious sister station TBS. Maybe because it is summer and bar is considerably lower in terms of quality, Franklin and Bas is a good summer escape.

Aside from the previous mentioned, there is a slew of notable guest stars stopping by the law offices the first season and TNT’s press releases hypes the appearances of Fred Ward, L.A. Law’s Harry Hamlin, Tom Arnold, Beau Bridges, Tommy Chong, Kathy Najimy, and Trisha Helfer. What the press release does not tell you is the show will also be graced by Tomas F. Wilson. Yes, Biff Fracking Tannen. And since he is playing McDowell’s spiritual adviser, here’s hoping he will be making more stops by the show.

Franklin and Bash airs Wednesdays at 9:00 on TNT. You can stream episodes after they air on TNT.tv. You can also download Franklin and Bash on iTunes. Fallowing the show will be the remaining episodes of season two of Men of a Certain Age (see my preview here).

57 Channels and Only This Is On - 5/28/11

Quote of the Week: Real men don't lift weights. Real men fender bench. (Billy Riggins, Friday Night Lights)

Song of the Week: Sort of Revolution – Fink (Friday Night Lights)

Big News of the Week: A Melancholy Happy Trails to Jeff Conaway: It is a shame that the lasting image we will ever have of Jeff Conaway is him in the wheelchair stammering around Celebrity Rehab and not as the immortal Kenickie. As the late great Rick James would say, “Cocaine is a hell of a drug” and Conaway joins James on the list of why you should not abuse it.


The Killing: Early in the season I assumed we were going to get a new suspect a week and move on to a new one. But focusing on the teacher as the prime suspect for five straight episodes only to clear him as a do-gooder really hurt the show creatively. If the killer ends up not connected to the Muslim church it will diminish the season on a whole. That is almost half the season on a false lead. You can download The Killing on iTunes.

Modern Family: Though not as good as the Community clip show, Modern Family came up with a clever way to look back at the season. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu.



Friday Night Lights: Holy Jason Street sighting! But where was the JD McCoy sighting? Did he and papa (and the coach) hightail it out of town after the loss last year? But this episode was restraint of lack thereof. I am surpised that Tami did not just start whaling on the TA when she realized who it was. And I do not remember a time in the series when we have seen Coach Taylor as mad as he was when yelling at Vince after the game. I will be shocked if Vince does not get benched for at least a quarter in the next game for the stunt he pulled. And the Luke / Billy sitcom continues to bring the balance to the show with a bunch of laugh out loud moments. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu.



Free Download of the Week: Sad Song – The Cars (iTunes)

Deal of the Week: Blu-Rays under $10 (Office Space, Major League, Blazing Saddles)

New Album Release of the Week: Codes And Keys - Death Cab for Cutie

New DVD Release of the Week: Drive Angry

Video of the Week: Despite the holiday weekend, there will still be a new Game of Thrones Sunday at its usual time at 10:00 on HBO. Here is a preview of You Win or You Die.



Next Week Pick of the Week: Franklin and Bash. Wednesday at 9:00 on TNT: The unofficial start of summer is Monday and that means the summer television schedule starts up this week. Network is shoveling its usual unwatchable reality shows (seriously, Love in the Wild?!?) and scripted leftovers. Cable is also getting things started soon with returning favorites and a few newbies including the quirky lawyer show which TNT fleeced from its sister comedy station TBS. Look for my full review of the show next week.