The Ten Most Anticipated Albums of Fall 2013

It has been an abysmal year for music. In the first eight months there were only four marquee albums released by Daft Punk, Justin Timberlake, Kanye West, and Jay-Z. Except Yeezus bombed, Magna Carta... Holy Grail and The 20/20 Experience will probably end up being the two best selling albums of the year but were still disappointing, and Random Access Memories has yet to garner a second hit. Just think that the next biggest release this year was the Fall Out Boy comeback. Was anyone even hoping for a Fall Out Boy reunion twelve months ago?

What is worse, the music industry has yet to create a breakout artist this year. Just think back to this time last year when Gotye, Fun., and Carley Rae Jepsen all had massive hits while The Lumineers and Of Monsters and Men were still building steam. The closest thing the music industry has to a breakout star this year is Anna kendrick. No shots at Cups because it is extremely catchy but it is sad that an acapella song by an actress from movie released in December of last year is still hovering around the iTunes top ten in September. With that said, I really hope Anna capitalizes on the success and goes into the studio to create a full version of No Diggity. At any rate, rumors are there is a Pitch Perfect Christmas album coming our way this winter.

Yeah the year in music has been extremely bad this year, but hold off declaring that 2013 has overtaken 1999 as the worst year in music ever. Usually it is hard for me to come up with five albums to make up my Most Anticipated Albums list each quarter, but this Fall I could have easily come up with a top twenty this time around and that is not even using the albums that are just rumored to be coming out sometime in the next four months like U2 and The Black Keys. Although I hope all of those marquee albums named in the TBA category hold off their albums until early next year so 2014 does not start off as abysmal as this year. Here are some albums that are scheduled to come out over the next four months. Click on the album title or art to pre-order on Amazon and the artists name to go to their iTunes page.

1. Magpies and Dandelions – The Avett Brothers (October 15): After putting out steller folk albums on their own, The Avett Brothers hooked up with uber-producer Rick Rubin for their best album to date, I and Love and You four years ago. Just last year, they collaborated again for another good album The Carpenter. So my hopes are high when they hooked up for the third time with a new batch of songs recorded during The Carpenter sessions.

2. Wise Up Ghost – Elvis Costello & The Roots (Tomorrow): When The Roots signed up as The Late Night house band, I thought it was slow down their output, but they have managed to put out as much, if not more music than ever. And it has opened them up to unexpected collaborations, The Dirty Projectors, Jim James, and Joanna Newsome have appeared on their albums and The Roots did a whole album with John Legend. And now maybe their weirdest collaboration yet with Elvis Costello. And like the previously mentioned collaborations, this one weirdly works.

3. Pure Heroine – Pure Heroine - Lorde (September 30): If you had at the start of the year a sixteen year old from New Zealand who spouts anti-materialism anthems as the breakout star of 2013, you would be raking it in right now. And while Miley is off twerking, Lada Gaga is trying to hard to be shocking, Katy is recycling songs, and Britney trying too use profanities again to jump start her career, the pop world really needs Lorde right now. Her five song EP was great and though Royals will pop up on the full length debut everything she has done so far has been great. Seriously, she even made a song off of Yeezus listenable.

4. From Here to Now to You – Jack Johnson (Tomorrow): At this point, Jack is not changing anyone's mind, and the new album will not be changing anyone's mind. But if you are already on the Jack Johnson bandwagon (like me, I own all of his albums), he has put together another set of songs that will help you remember the summer as the days start getting shorter.

5. Days Are Gone – Haim (September 30): This fall is so jammed packed with music, the two highest profiled debuts arrive on the same day (not so coincidentally, I believe this is the last day to be eligible for the 2014 Grammy Award which is why so much music is being released on a Monday instead of the usual Tuesday; and Haim and Lorde are pretty much a lock for Best New Artist along with Kacey Musgraves with the other two slots taken by Capital Cities and... um... could Anna Kendrick really get the last spot? Actually the Grammys will probably not realize 2 Chainz has been around for a decade and give him the final spot). Like Lorde, Haim put out a solid EP which mixed southern California pop with nineties RnB and somehow makes it sound awesome. Listening to Heartache Tonight biting first single, their full length debut will be more of the same (but unlike Lorde, much of their EP shows up on Days Gone By).

6. Lightning Bolt – Pearl Jam (October 14): After some unremarkable albums durning the late ninties to the early 00's, Pearl Jam has had a bit of resurgence with their last two album. They go full agro on first single Mind Your Manners which brings up memories of Spin the Black Circle off their best album. Here is hoping Lightning Blt turns out to be their best album yet, or at the very least the best since Vitology.

7. The Marshall Mathers LP 2 - Eminem (November 5): I cannot say I have ever anticipated an Eninem album, but that all chanced with the release of Berserk and word that the album is being co-produced by Rick Rubin and Dr. Dre. As you can tell by the cameo in the video Rubin was responsible for the beat, the first he has done since 99 Problems a decade ago (both sample a Billy Squire which make me wonder if Rubin will try to resurrect his career Johnny Cash style in the near future). No word of Eminem goes full retro on the whole album, but I certainly hope so.

8. New – Paul McCartney (October 15): Another artist I usually do not get too excited for, because aside from Spies Like Us, is there any other solo songs from Paul McCartney to get excited about? But for his next album, the former Beatles has teamed up with probably the best new producer of the past decade, Mark Ronson whose retro soul style helped launch the careers of Amy Winehouse, Lily Allen, and Adele.

9. Speak a Little Louder - Diane Birch (October 15): As Ronson ushered in a new age of retro female British singers, American Diane Birch was unfortunately ignore with her retro leaning debut Bible Belt which was one of my favorite debuts from last decade. From what I have heard, the follow up is a bit darker with influences from eighties shoe-gazers. Hopefully the whole album is as good as the first one.

10. To All the Girls… - Willie Nelson (October 15): Willie Nelson is jumping on the duets bandwagon, but as the title suggests, he is just singing with his favorite ladies including featuring Dolly Parton, Mavis Staples, Sheryl Crow, Loretta Lynn, Wynonna Judd, Rosanne Cash, Alison Krauss, Miranda Lambert, Tina Rose, Carrie Underwood, Emmylou Harris, Norah Jones, Secret Sisters, Brandi Carlile, Lily Meola, Shelby Lynne, Melonie Cannon, and Paula Nelson.

I put together a Spotify playlist of the first singles off of the albums listed above which you can listen to at right while you peruse seventy other albums coming out this fall that should at the very least be worth a spin on Spotify.

Last Week
The Electric Lady – Janelle Monáe
AM – Arctic Monkeys
Feels Like Home – Sheryl Crow
Kiss Land – The Weeknd
B.O.A.T.S. 2# Metime – 2 Chainz
Dynamics – Holy Ghost!
Now, Then and Forever – Earth, Wind and Fire
Say That to Say This – Trombone Shorty
Sound System - The Clash

Tomorrow
New Constellation – Toad the Wet Sprocket
In Rolling Waves – The Naked and Famous
Spreading Rumours - Grouplove
Battle Maximus - GWAR
Bookmarks – Five for Fighting
MGMT – MGMT
Sun Will Rise – Animal Years

September 24

Mechanical Bull – Kings of Leon
The Diving Board – Elton John
The Last Ship - Sting
Seasons Of Your Day – Mazzy Star
Build Me Up From Bones – Sarah Jarosz
Negativity – Deer Tick
Bones of What You Believe – CHVRCHES
Wishbone – Oh Land
Shout! - Gov't Mule
Sammy Hagar and Friends – Sammy Hagar
My Brothers Keeper – K-Ci and JoJo
Metallica Through The Never (Music From The Motion Picture)
In Utero (3CD+DVD Super Deluxe Edition) – Nirvana

October 1
VII – Blitzen Trapper
Blur the Line – Those Darlins
B-Room – Dr. Dog
I'll Find A Way – The Blind Boys of Alabama
Innocents – Moby
Unvarnished – Joan Jett and The Blackhearts
Lucky Numbers - Dave Stewart

October 8
Back to Forever – Lissie
Mountains of Sorrow, Rivers of Song – Amos Lee
Bitter Rivals – Sleigh Bells
Tin Star – Lindi Ortega
You Can't Make Old Friends - Kenny Rogers
Frame By Frame – Cassadee Pope
High Rise – Stone Temple Pilots with Chester Bennington
Melophobia – Cage the Elephant
My Name Is My – Pusha T

October 15
Let's Be Still – The Head and the Heart
Make A Move - Gavin DeGraw
Static – Cults
No Poison No Paradise – Black Milk
Mary Christmas – Mary J. Blige
Unplugged: Expanded and Remastered (2xCD+DVD) - Eric Clapton

October 22
Smoke and Mirrors – Brett Dennen
Fade Away - Best Coast

October 29
Reflektor – Arcade Fire
Night Time, My Time - Sky Ferreira
Get There – Minor Alps (Juliana Hatfield and Matthew Caws of Nada Surf)
Wrapped in Red – Kelly Clarkson
Recharged - Linkin Park

November 5
Magic Hour - Luscious Jackson
Mantangi – M.I.A.
Avril Lavigne – Avril Lavigne
Loved Me Back To Life - Céline Dion
Miami Pop Festival - The Jimi Hendrix Experience

November 12
Black Panties - R. Kelly
Under the Covers, vol. 3 – Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs
November - Grace and Tony
Inside Llewyn Davis Soundtrack
Let It Snow: A Holiday Collection - Jewel

December 3
Love, Marriage and Divorce – Toni Braxton and Kenny "Babyface" Edmonds

TBD
blackSUMMERSnight – Maxwell
The Art of War: World War III - Bone Thugs-n-Harmony
Fading West - Switchfoot
Beck
Better Than Ezra
Beyoncé
The Black Keys
Common
Danielle Bradbery
Ed Sheeran
Lily Allen
Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers
U2

And of course I have to mention the obligatory this may be the quarter that Dr. Dre finally releases Detox.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 9/15/13

Ray Donovan: Even though the episode started with somebody digging a grave, I knew Micky would not be the one who would end up in it. I actually assumed it would end up being Sully no matter how ludicrous it would have been having Micky overpowering two dues while tied up. Instead it was his hook up (poor Rosanna Arquette, she deserved a better storyline than that). But there have been some eye rolling plot devises in this show but Sully believing Micky when he told him that Ray and Sean Walker set him up for his girlfriend’s murder is the most head shaking. Grantland may have to update their episode of Breaking Brad based on this past episode.


Under the Dome: First off, why was the show delay by a half an hour? I understand the US Open ran late, but could they just cut one of the repeated sitcoms that aired before it so it would air on time? Would that have been too hard? I doubt anyone would have missed the scheduled repeat of Two and a Half Men especially if its was already starting a half and hour late.

So when Barbie decided to get caught by not getting in the ambulance, I assumed he had some grand plan to clear his name. Nope. Apparently his big elaborate plan was to just hope Julia regains consciousness. How about telling the sheriff that he did not try to kill Julia and to ask Joe and the nurse, both who witnessed him saving her life, to attest to the fact. On the bright side they did kill off a useless character this episode. Granted if they killed off every useless character, there would be no show.
You can stream Under The Dome exclusively on Amazon Instant Video, free for Prime members.

Siberia: The show has come up with some silly reason as to why the cameramen continue to shoot, but they did not even bother to try explaining why the Eskimos let the cameraman keep filming. Thankfully that is the case because I laughed though that whole segment.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Siberia on iTunes.

Sons of Anarchy: Before the episode, I had read an article saying that the administrators at Newton sent home letter to the parents that there would be a school shooting in the episode. I really hate spoilers but I think being prepared was better than the alternative. Granted this way, as soon as I realized the young boy from the opening shots was not a young Jax that he would end up being the school shooter. I did originally thought one of Jax’s kids would end up being a victim but the promo monkeys would have us believe that the only tie in to the main characters is that he used a gun brought into this country by the Sons.

I did remember that Tara was in trouble for the nurse’s death, but I completely forgot that Jax set up Clay for Pope’s murder. I also remembered that Pope set Tig’s daughter on fire in front of him and apparently his erratic behavior is the cause of that, but to me he was acting the same as he always was, downing a dude in urine and dump in the bay and then sit down and sing Otis Redding is something I have always assumed he wold do eventually.
You can download Sons of Anarchy on iTunes.

The Bridge: Being that this show, much like The Killing, is based on a Scandinavian show, I cannot help but wonder how long Sonya will be in the sling because I remember back on The Killing when the dude got beat to an inch of his life, spent a day in intensive care, and was up and about the next episode. That was of course right around the time that show went off the rails. The Bridge was been teetering on the rails for a while now, if Sonya is back to 100% by next episode, it may officially be off. But I do find it funny that the dude from Cougar Town is actually much funnier on this show than on his actual sitcom.
You can download The Bridge on iTunes.

The Challenge: Rivals II: After a pretty sedate start to the season, the real Camilla has come out exploding twice in the last three episodes. But I really liked how everyone just stayed out of the kitchen while she and Jemmye ganged up on Diem. It is a shame the last Jungle is not a physical challenge because that would have been much more entertaining than the silly hang upside-down challenge. Speaking of challenges, that last one was a dozy. Having run a mile memorize a long series of colors and run back another mile cannot be as easy as it it sounds and I was shocked that everyone got it in one try. I remember a couple seasons ago on Survivor they did a similar thing and only had to run about a hundred feet and almost everyone got it wrong on the first try.
You can download The Challenge: Rivals II on iTunes.

Best of the Week: 9/14/13

Quote of the Week: Thank you for telling me that deeply depressing story Shawn. You actually make m feel really good about myself, and that is awesome. (Daniel Frye, The Bridge)

Song of the Week: (Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay – Otis Redding (as sung by Tig, Sons of Anarchy)

Big News of the Week: 25 Anniversary of Alternative Charts: The alternative charts hit its silver anniversary this week. Granted I only knew the alternative charts still exists because Billboard ran an article last month saying that Royals was the first solo female artist to top that chart since before she was born (Tracy Bonham was the last to do so five months before Lorde was even born). Before that I just assumed the Alternative charts folded in the nineties.

Like many anniversaries, Billboard included a list of The Top 100 Alternative Song in the chart’s history and like many of Billboard lists, it sucked massively. Going into the list I assumed the obvious number one would be Smells Like Teen Spirit but apparently grunge was not alternative for Billboard because that was the only song on the list and it was only 16, it was the only Nirvana song on the list (though a scan of Wikipeadia showed that Heart Shaped Box, All Apologies, and About a Girl all topped the chart at one point) and no other iconic Seattle band made the list.

Though Billboard releases the worst lists anywhere on the internet, 100-10 was a nice trip down memory lane with great tracks by Primitive Radio Gods, Better Than Ezra, 311 (and a few artists I have never heard of, Julian Cope anyone?). Then I got to the top which was filled with mind numbingly bad selections. Muse was not only number one, but had two of the top three spots (Uprising and Madness) with some band named Rise Against in between with a song that not only never reached number one, it peaked at number three. I think most people would agree that the Golden Age of Alternative Music occurred during the nineties yet seven of the top eight sings were from the twenty-first century. This is just a farce, c’mon, no one is bouncing their grandchildren on their knees telling them about the alternative scene from the late 00’s.

Preview Picture of the Week:

“Take the Ride, Pay the Toll” The Bridge, Wednesday at 10:00 on FX

Free Download of the Week: The Hearse - Wampire (Amazon MP3)

Deal of the Week: 90's Television Shows Sale: Newsradio, Mad About You, Dawson’s Creek

New Album Release of the Week: Wise Up Ghost - Elvis Costello and The Roots

New DVD Release of the Week: Grimm: Season Two

Video of the Week: I was out on The Voice last season when the bored housewives and weirdoes pushed The Swon Brothers and Michelle Chamuel much further than their talent dictated. So I was hesitant going into season five. Then I saw this promo and after thirty seconds I am cautiously back in for two reasons: 1) I am pretty sure Cee-Lo shaved Bam Bam Bigalo’s head tattoo into his scalp, and 2) I am already ready to anoint the chick who sings The Scientist the winner after just five second. And to answer your questions to make cyber stalking easier, yes she has already been identified: Holly Henry (bonus points for the strong name, I am a big fan of name alliterations), and yes, she has a YouTube page (bonus points for The xx cover) so you do not have to put her five seconds from the video on a loop for the next ten days. You are welcome. Here is hoping Holly end up on Blake’s team assuming he does not go all country again this season (since the Blind Audition were taped after last season, I wonder if his country only season will deter non-country artists from picking him this season), and she does not get Caroline Glasered so the bored housewives and weirdoes push mediocrity through the Live Rounds. And if Holly does get Glasered, I probably will stop watching and will skip season six. Unless of course Cee-Lo shows up with a Kid n Play flattop. (Holly does cover Your Song on YouTube so if her and Caroline cannot find success after The Voice, they should think about teaming up and start an Elton John cover band).




Next Week Pick of the Week: Survivor, Wednesday at 8:00 on CBS: For the sixth time in eight seasons, Survivor is bringing back former contestants and like last season’s Fans vs. Favorites, half the cast will be made up of returnees. But unlike last season, they will not be battling fans but as the title suggest blood relatives. Okay, half are married or just dating couples, but let’s not quibble too much because there are bigger things to complain about. First and foremost is the return of Colton Crumbie, the gay racist Republican from Alabama (who will be teamed up with his fiancé Caleb). There are villains on this show that you love to hate, but Colton was not one of those, he is someone you hate so much you want to change the channel and never return.

It may not take an act of God to get rid of Colton this time around because this season will also see the return of Redemption Island (I told you there were plenty other things worth complaining about) and each tribe will be sending member straight to there at the start of the show and Colton seems like the obvious pick for the returnees (it has to be either him or season two winner Tina Wesson) while for the “Blood” Rupert Boneham’s wife Laura will probably get the early boot. And just to make things complicated, if your loved one sent to Redemption Island, you can actually take their place and they will take your place on the tribe so I fully expect Rupert to fall on the sword and take his wife’s spot (and I am guessing will be the only one to do so except maybe the two mothers) only for his wife to be the third person voted into Redemption. While I am in the predicting mood, let me go ahead and predict one of the greatest people to ever have played this game, or even walked this Earth will win this season: Kat Edorsson from One World.

Around the Tubes: 9/13/13

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 Ironside, Welcome to the Family, Robocroc, True Detective, Killing Kennedy, House of Lies, Friars Club Roast, Troubadour, TX, Monogen, and Mob City.

- We are still a week away until the start of the Fall television season but the series premieres of new shows are already popping up onto the internet to test out before their official premiere. NBC has already put out new sitcom Welcome to the Family and Ironside (neither that actually premiere until October, 3 and 2 respectively) which I have embedded below. Personally I can wait to see Casey Cartwright play a New York City cop every week.


- With a name like Robocroc, you know it is a Syfy original movie. It is described as “Top secret nanotechnology transforms a zoo's crocodile into a massive, deadly Robocroc that wreaks bloody havoc on an adjacent water park!” Check out the trailer below and tune in tomorrow at 9:00 to watch.


- HBO just released the first trailer for its next new show True Detective which is written by Nic Pizzolatto and directed by Cary Fukunaga. It centers on two detectives, Rust Cohle (Matthew McConaughey) and Martin Hart (Woody Harrelson), whose lives collide and entwine during a seventeen-year hunt for a serial killer in Louisiana. The investigation of a bizarre murder in 1995 is framed and interlaced with testimony from the detectives in 2012, when the case has been reopened. Check out the trailer below and mark your calendar.


- The much talked about Killing Kennedy finally has a release date: Sunday November 10 on the National Geographic Channel (though no time is given yet).

- House of Lies starts productions later this month and have just signed up two guest stars. Mekhi Phifer will star as Dre, a successful entrepreneur and clothing company founder who hires Marty (Don Cheadle) to help expand his empire, while Eliza Coupe will star as Marissa, a wild-child internet company head and heir to a wealthy media family.

- Former NFL quarterback and NFL MVP Boomer Esiason will take his turn in the hot seat at the next Friars Club Roast on Thursday, January 30, 2014, at a luncheon at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, just in time for NYC to host the Super Bowl. For the first time, a limited number of tickets to the Friars Club Roast will be made available to the public. To purchase these tickets, or for more information on the Friars Club, including the latest news on the Friars Club Roast honoring Boomer Esiason, please visit www.friarsclub.com.

- This fall, Troubadour, TX will present the one-hour television special An Evening with Kris Kristofferson, that will air on networks carrying the syndicated series. The special features a rare one-on-one conversation and musical performances by the American musical poet, Kris Kristofferson.

- Synth-pop enthusiasts will want to check out new artist Monogen. Take a listen to The Glow below:



- TNT has released new key art for the upcoming Mob City, take a gander below:

I am Sharper than a Razor, Eyes Made of Lasers

Yes the second album from Janelle Monáe, The Electric Lady is a concept album. And not only is a concept, it is actually a sequel to her debut album and an EP before that which are about time-traveling messianic cyborg named Cindi Mayweather, played by Monáe, who’s been tasked with delivering an oppressed people from the clutches of The Great Divide, a dastardly corps of other time traveling robots. But do not let the concept album label or the sci-fi plot scare you off, if you went into the album without that knowledge, you would not even notice it at all except for three interludes presented as a radio talk show host DJ. And those tracks can be easily deleted if you download the album.

On her debut, Monáe set herself up as the new millennium, slightly more feminism version of Prince with a live show reminiscent of James Brown. So it is apropos that the purple one himself shows up on the first full song on The Electric Lady pulling out his killer falsetto and a guitar solo, but the real star of Givin Em what They Love is one of the funkiest bass lines you will hear all year. This starts an onslaught of collaborations with Erykah Badu (Q.U.E.E.N.) and Solange (Electric Lady) showing the ladies can be funky on their own.

Naturally things slow down when Miguel shows up for Primetime, a song the just oozes pure sex. Ladies, you may just get impregnated by it just from listening highlighted by another great groove (seriously, Janelle’s bassist needs to show up on ever RnB record for the next decade) and is an instant add to any baby-making playlist.

After the guests have left the building (the bane of Justin Beiber fans existence Esperanza Spalding does show up on the penultimate track) and two more dance songs, it sounds like Monáe is trying to audition to sing the next James Bond theme starting with Look into My Eyes. And not one of those crappy modern day Bond Themes, but one from a cool sixties Bond movie. And though the album slows down for a bit in the second half, it does finish strong What an Experience, a syth driven song that would not have sounded out of place on the radio back when Price was ruling it back in the eighties. The Electric Lady is an upgrade over The Archandroid and here is hoping that the final saga of Cindi Mayweather is even better still.

Song to Download – PrimeTime

The Electric Lady gets a on my Terror Alert Scale.

I Want My Music Television: 9/11/13

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.


Berzerk – Eninem


I have never been excited for an Eminem album but it is hard not to get excited when this is the first single and the knowledge that the album is being co-produced by Rick Rubin (who did this song and pops up in the video to grow his beard out and just weird out) and Dr. Dre. And then he release this video with other cameos by Kendrick Lamar and Kid Rock as well as references to the two artists he samples, Billy Squier and Beastie Boys (for you youngin’ go check out the video for So What'cha Want for that reference).


Roar – Katy Perry


I have to admit that I do not completely hate this song which is saying a lot because that is basically the second nicest thing I have ever said about a song by Katy Perry (I file Teenage Dream under "begrudgingly enjoy"). Sure, as everyone has pointed out it completely rips off Brave from Sara Bareilles (I am surprised no one points that extending the title in the chorus blatently rips off Umbrella, and does it poorly at that), but it is so stupid, it is hard to hate. And the musc video is enjoyable… for obvious reasons.


Kangaroo Court - Capital Cities


I was a bit surprised Safe and Sound by Capital Cities ended up being the break out indie hit of the summer, it was all right, but not as good as many of its peers that toiled in obscurity. Now the duo is back hoping to avoid being one hit wonders (this song will probably will not be it) and the whole animal heads on human bodies is totally freaking me the frack out.


The Devil Put the Dinosaurs Here – Alice I Chains


Alice in Chains put out two music videos last week and though Voices is probably a better song and is only notable for Jerry Cantrell’s accountant haircut (apparently friends do let friends get friends haircuts), while the video for The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here is much freakier. Not animal heads on human bodies freaky, but freaky nonetheless.

Previewing Snake Salvation

Really my only complaint about this past season of Justified was they killed off the serpent preacher way too early in the season. For those that do not watch that show, fire off, um, spoiler alert on the preacher dying, second, start watching, it is constantly the best show on television. Spoiling the fourth season a little more, the reason he died was that his sister, unbeknownst to him, drained his serpents of their venom, and when someone brought a non-drained snake to church, the preacher handled it, was bit, and died.

His death was disappointing because I thought the snake preacher would make a good foil for Boyd Crowder. If you also wanted to see more serpent preachers, you are in luck because there is now an entire show dedicated to the profession: Snake Salvation, premiering tonight on the National Geographic Channel. It should be noted these people are morons. Really anyone who takes the Bible as a literal guidebook is a moron. The Bible is just one long parable on how to live your life, which boils down to be good to others. But these morons actually say that because Jesus said “Thou shall take up serpents,” handling snakes is just as important as the Ten Commandments. Seriously people, “Thou shall take up serpents” did not make the stone tablets for a reason, it is not important. Here is the exact quote:

“And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.” (Mark 16:17–18)

What is worse, not only do these people handle venomous snakes; they also refuse to seek medical attention if bitten claiming if they die, it is God’s will. And it is clear that they do not have a sister draining the snakes of their venom because one of the pastors lost a finger, quite gruesomely, as it literally fell off (and be warned there are graphic pictures). The pastors even take about one of their brethren who died from a bite. And then years later, his son succumbed to the fate. Hopefully the grandson, if there is one, learned from his kin’s mistake and become a school teacher, or anything that does not involve snakes.

Forget Hannibal or The Walking Dead, Snake Salvation is the scariest show on television because these people are the real deal. Thankfully we are only down to about a hundred snake handling churches in the country, and such practices, as well as snake hunting, are outlawed in Tennessee where these preachers live (hopefully the authorities pay them a visit after the show airs). But as crazy as these people are, it is hard to turn your eyes away.

Snake Salvation airs Tuesdays at 9:00 on the National Geographic Channel.

The Five Most (and Least) Anticipated Questions of Fall 2013 Television

Tomorrow sees the unofficial start of the fall television season with the return of Sons of Anarchy (Survivor and The Neighbors start next week and then almost everything else debuts the following week). So once again this year I am poising the five biggest (and five least interesting) questions going into the new season.

1. How Will Dan Harmon Address His One Year Sabbatical on Community? In a bizarre twist, Community creator and showrunner Dan Harmon was fired and then brought back a year later. Harmon has been vocal in his displeasure of the fourth season that went on without him so one would easily assume that the hugely pop-culture referencing show will take a page out of the Dallas playbook and make the entire last season a dream. I really do not see Harmon at all picking up where his predecessors left off. Another thing Harmon has to explain is the absence of Pierce and considering his hatred of Chevy Chase, it may be dealt a kin to when Isaac Hayes unceremoniously left South Park.

2. Will Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Live Up to the Hype? There is no more anticipated new show this fall than S.H.E.I.L.D. and it has to do mostly because of the Marvel association. Sure it will be helmed by Joss Whedon who gave us Buffy the Vampire Slayer but he may be more focused on The Avengers 2 then the television show. Then there is the cast of unknowns, both actors and characters, none of which I am told are a part of the comic books aside from Agent Coulson who was last seen bleeding out. Colbie Smulders may make an appearance or two this season but How I Met Your Mother will stop any major arc. Sure that show is ending this season making Maria Hill available full time next season, but if the show does not come out of the gates like gangbusters there may not be a second season. S.H.I.E.L.D. does go against last season most watched scripted show N.C.I.S. and is launching ABC completely new Tuesday line up (it did luck out that NBC pushed The Voice to 9:00 and only has to go against the aging Biggest Loser and what looks to be a very vulnerable FOX comedy hour that also features two new shows including the much maligned Dads). If the show does not get a second season, it may go down as the biggest flop on television ever.

3. Will Once Upon a Time or Revenge Break Out of Their Sophomore Slumps? These two were the best two new network shows of 2011. Revenge dropped off the bigger cliff with The Initiative storyline which managed to be complicated and boring at the same time. I do not recall Emily crossing one person off her list. Apparently someone at the network thought the same thing, gone for season three is the showrunner and Ashley will soon fallow. While on Once Upon a Time, it became clear that the introduction of magic into Storybrooke just did not work. But unlike Revenge, the network is doubling down on the fairytale and launching Once Upon a Time: Wonderland in its Thursday 8:00 deathslot in hopes for its first hit there since Ugly Betty way back in 2006. (Since then there have been one and done seasons of FlashForward, The Deep End, My Generation, Take the Money and Run, Charlie’s Angels, Missing, Duets, Last Resort, and Zero Hour).

4. Will Miniseries Make a Comeback? NBC sure hopes for. They have been going with the spaghetti philosophy for a while throwing everything against the wall, putting Jay Leno on five nights a week, a three hour comedy block, not filming pilots, comedy four nights a week, launching shows off the Olympics, they even tried ripping off Mad Men (R.I.P. The Playboy Club). Yet The Voice may be their only big success story since the start of the disastrous Ben Silverman era back in 2007. Now they are getting back into the mini-series business, a staple of the network television last century. This may be wise because many of their full “series” do not air more than four hours as it is or just get burned off on Saturdays. NBC made their first slash by acquiring the rights to the sequel to History’s blockbuster mini-series The Bible (who knew there was a Bible sequel?). They made an even bigger splash by announcing a Hilary Clinton mini-series starring Diane Lane (who is way too attractive to play Hilary; she better get Charlize Theron’s make-up artist from Monster) who naturally made FOX News talking head’s explode claiming it would be unfair advertising for her inevitable White House run two years later, and even angered MSNBC anchors who do not want to be inadvertently linked to a political movie. Of course NBC is probably courting the controversy because it will only drive up its ratings because liberals will watch hoping for a fluff piece while conservative will watch because they like complaining about stuff. NBC also announced they will be jumping on the Stephan King bandwagon (whose Under the Dome adaptation is the most watched new summer series in decade) by airing a new The Tommyknockers miniseries (which already happened in 1993) as well as a reboot of the move Rosemary’s Baby and Plymouth about the Pilgrim’s journey across the Atlantic and the difficulties of settling in a new country. No other network is currently getting into the mini-series game, but on cable FX has already announced a couple limited series including a new Fargo show from the Coen Brothers starring Billy Bob Thornton.

5. Will Masters of Sex Live up to My Expectations? It stars Lizzy Caplan, in a show called Masters of Sex, all signs point towards yes.


As the great philosopher Butt-Head once pondered, “If it weren’t for things that sucked, how would we know if something was awesome,” so here are the five least anticipated questions of the new television season.

1. When Will Ted Meet the Mother? I stopped caring who the mother was back in season two and even though we finally met the mother, I still do not care how Ted meets her. Making things worse, rumor has it that the whole season will take place over the course of Barney and Robin’s wedding day which means the meeting will not come until the end of the season. Ugg. At least this is the final season.

2. Can Mixology Really Cram an Entire Season into One Night? The only thing worse that a full season taking place over one day is a full season taking place over one night. That is the hook for new show Mixology which follows ten single twenty-something’s, most that do not know each other at the beginning of the night, as they try hooking up before last call. And you though Work It would be ABC’s worst decision this decade. And yes I will be hate-watching all five episodes that air before it is mercifully canceled.

3. Who Needed to See Colton on Survivor Ever Again? I rolled my eyes when he showed up on the spoiler list and now that it is official I have to wonder who needs more racist gay Republicans from Alabama on their television screens. Now there are players you love to hate, most notably the first season winner Richard Hatch, but Colton was a contestant you just hate and I cannot image anyone wanting to see them on their televisions again. But I have to give Colton some credit, to this day, whenever I am accused of being racist (or even anti-gay), my stock response is that I cannot be racist (or anti-gay) because I would push through a crowd of women to make out with Shamar Moore. That never gets old.

4. Will The Voice Continue to Be the Blake Shelton Show? It has been reported that returning coach Christina Aguilera joke during the filming of the season five Blind Auditions that she heard The Voice turned into The Blake Shelton Show in her absence. Honey, I hate to break it to you, it always was The Blake Shelton Show and you were the least interesting and least competent judge on the show the first three seasons. I was fine with The Blake Shelton Show the first seasons when he cultivated diverse teams and pushed them to be better artists. But last season Blake went country or bust (which was a shame because Caroline Glaser could have been his Dia Frampton or Cassadee Pope this past season), turning The Voice into a Nashville Star, and if the show goes hard on the single genre again (or any single genre), it will start getting Nashville Star type ratings, which only lasted one season on NBC before getting canceled.

5. Seriously, the CW still exists? Who knew? Wake me up when they turn the Veronica Mars Movie into a weekly television series.


Enough with the questions, here are the shows I will be watching this fall and their premiere dates (new shows I will be giving a trial run in italics):

Mondays
8:00 – How I Met Your Mother (September 23)
8:00 – The Voice (September 23)
9:00 – 2 Broke Girls (September 23)
10:00 - The Blacklist (September 23)
10:00 – Castle (September 23)

Tuesdays
8:00 – Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (September 24)
8:00 – The Voice (September 24)
10:00 – Sons of Anarchy (September 10)

Wednesdays
8:00 – Survivor: Blood vs. Water (September 18)
8:00 – The Middle (September 25)
8:30 – Back in the Game (September 25)
9:00 – Modern Family (September 25)
9:30 – Super Fun Night (October 2)
10:00 – Nashville (September 25)

Thursdays
8:00 – The Big Bang Theory (September 26)
8:00 – Once Upon a Time in Wonderland (October 10)
8:30 – The Millers (September 26)
9:30 – The Michael J. Fox Show (one hour premiere starting at 9:00 on September 26)
10:00 – Parenthood (September 26)

Fridays
8:00 – Last Man Standing (September 20)
8:30 – The Neighbors (September 20)
9:00 – Grimm (October 25)

Sundays
8:00 – Once Upon a Time (September 29)
9:00 - Homeland (September 29)
9:00 – Revenge (September 29)
10:00 – Masters of Sex (September 29)
10:00 – Betrayal (September 29)

Feed Your iPod LXXVI: Breathless

Last week I went down the rabbit hole that is Spotify’s 90’s radio station which was quite addicting as it kept playing great songs from my formative years. Sure I wish it played more rap than it did (it probably did not help that I kept down-voting the “amended” versions; of course they probably played the amended versions instead of the explicit versions already on my computer so Spotify could play more ads because they are shady like that). One song that really stood out from the rest during this time was Desperately Wanting by Better Than Ezra. They were one of my favorite groups from that era and I own all of their albums except the most recent (it was kind of eh) but have not dusted them off in a couple year and had to take the weekend revisiting them. Sadly the group has not had a hit since the nineties; they did have a couple pop culture moments over the past decade. Juicy, which never was one of my favorites, was used in ads for the second season of Desperate Housewives.

Then in 2010, in lieu of playing one of her own songs, Taylor Swift chose to perform an obscure track by the band Breathless for the Hope for Haiti telethon, a song that closed out their Before the Robots album. I remember prior to the telethon wonder what she would would perform before none of her songs have the emotional weight that songs on these specials tend to have. I did not recognize it at first, thinking it may have been one of hers I had not heard before, but it started to spark a memory by the time she hit the chorus that it was the Better Than Erza song that probably no one knew of unless they owned their album. It was a perfect choice by Taylor, it is a simple song in her wheelhouse with an uplifting message that fit the occasion very well. Unfortunately the song is no longer available on iTunes so you are stuck with a crappy YouTube version if you did not buy it earlier, but you should definitely pick up the original. As for Better than Erza, my sources tell me the group is working on their seventh album would could see the light by the end of this year. Now if you excuse me, I need to dust off my Blues Traveler CD’s.

Breathless – Better Than Erza



Breathless Taylor Swift

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 9/7/13

Quote of the Week: I think about her in a special way. (Steven Linder, The Bridge)

Song of the Week: James Franco – Hoodie Allen (Comedy Central Roast of James Franco)

Big News of the Week: James Franco gets Roasted: It became pretty clear that the reason why James Franco and his buddies agreed to this is because they thought with a name like “Roast” they thought there would be plenty of weed readily available. And clearly there was because half the dais seemed very high. Or maybe Jonah Hill really is a great actor because there is no way he actually thought all those jokes were that funny. There were a lot of high concept sets at this roast, of course Bill Hader did a character because I do not think he has ever delivered a joke as himself ever, Hill did a whole set of backhanded compliments, and Andy Sandberg was unfunny as usual but this time around it seemed to be intentional (but not nearly as entertaining as when Norm McDonald did it at the Bob Saget roast). Aziz Ansari probably had the bet set because he came late on the bill and seemed legitimately offended at all the jokes lobbed his way and hit back hard. But since the roasters were actual friends of the mark, this was much more enjoyable than the last couple Roasts. Hopefully Comedy Central continues this trend and does not go back to

Preview Picture of the Week:

"Straw" Sons of Anarchy

Under the Dome: As soon as Barbie said he was going to get the car, I thought to myself, “You moron, Big Jim is just going to kill the two.” And of course he did. Even worse, instead of shooting Barbie in the back when he had the chance, Big Jim waits until he is in arm length to tell him he is going to kill him, giving Barbie the chance to disarm Big Jim before pulling the trigger. I do not know if the writers are idiots for this or if they just think the people watching are morons. I guess that says something about me that I continue to watch.
You can stream Under The Dome exclusively on Amazon Instant Video, free for Prime members.

Siberia: Like every bad horror movie, they just had to go into the locked room where the weird sounds were coming from. It turns out there they are in some The Island of Doctor Moreau type place. While back at the original camp, the natives (I assume) are giving off a very The Others from Lost vibe. Of course that turned out to be completely anticlimactic. I take it whatever took down the beacon tower is their version of the Smoke Monster. Ug. This season has to be ending soon, The Blackllist starts up in two weeks. So I guess only two more episodes. Hopefully there is not a multi-hour finale because I am ready for this show to end.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Siberia on iTunes.

The Bridge: After the first scene, I was hoping for a full David Tate flashback episode to show us how he went from an FBI agent who just lost his wife and kid to this criminal mastermind. Unfortunately instead we got a couple more creepy scenes with Linder. For a second there, I though Marco’s wife was going to be killed with grenade in her hand, instead Marco was smart enough to take it from her and throw it away. And I wonder if Charlotte really thinks her tunnel ordeal is over. Clearly either that lady was not the top boss or there will be someone else who will quickly replace her, probably the dude with the crazy eyes.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download The Bridge on iTunes.


Free Download of the Week: Frog Trouble Fun Pack (Noise Trade): Cartoonist Sandra Boynton and songwriter Michael Ford have written and produced five book and CD sets and their latest is country themed Frog Trouble twelve songs from well know artists. You can grab this three song sampler from Kacey Musgraves, Ryan Adams, and Ben Folds. If you are feeling generous for the free, 80% of tips will go to St. Jude Hospital. This is a must download if you have young kids so you can indoctrinate them with some good music otherwise they may grow up and in around twenty-years may be seen grinding on Alan Thicke’s grandson and / or a foam finger on national television.

Deal of the Week: 100 Albums for $5: Amazon has another set of $5 albums this month including greatest hits albums from Stevie Wonder, N.W.A., Van Morrison and Jay-Z.


New Album Release of the Week: The Electric Lady - Janelle Monae

New DVD Release of the Week: Homeland: The Complete Second Season

Video of the Week: In most frat movies, the dean ends up being the antagonist, but it looks like in Neighbors, the frat will be the bad guys with Seth Rogan and Rose Byrne as the protagonists. As with most comedy trailers, this could be another case where all the funny jokes are in the trailer, but I did laugh pretty hard at the airbag gag.



Next Week Pick of the Week: Sons of Anarchy, Tuesday at 10:00 on FX: It is finally here, the return of fall television. Okay, it returns more like a drip for another two weeks until the bulk of new seasons starts on the 23rd. As for the penultimate season of Sons of Anarchy, I am hoping for a lengthy “Previously On” package because I am having a little trouble remembering what happening. I vaguely remember Tata getting arrested for helping Otto kill Donal Logue’s sister. Or maybe it was just heading that way. I am pretty sure Clay is still alive even though he should have died two to three seasons ago. Other that that it is a little fuzzy. Oh and as pictured above, Matt Sarasen's mom will be making an appearance this season.

Around the Tubes: 9/6/13

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 Sons of Anarchy, The Voice, Austin City Limits, Grace and Tony, Boardwalk Empire, Guinness World Records 2014, America ReFramed, and Enough Said.

- Sons of Anarchy returns next week and SAMCRO wants to hang with you. Join Theo Rossi and Kim Coates in the live SOA Google+ Hangout today at 11:30am PT/2:30pm ET. Submit your questions with #SOAFX for a chance to join them live, and hear what they have to say about the all new season premiering Tuesday, September 10 at 10p on FX.


- For those that that using Total Eclipse Of The Heart when The Voice introduced its new coaches last season was cheesy, well they went even cheesier when the four original coaches reunited. Yes, they used the Peaches and Herb song.


- Austin City Limits (ACL), the groundbreaking television music series, returns for its 39th Season this fall with a must-see line-up featuring indie stars, legendary artists and talented newcomers. The season premiere debuts Saturday, October 5th and features Latin icon Juanes in an electrifying return to ACL and introduces Latin music's rising stars Jesse & Joy. The complete line-up for the full 13-week season, including six new episodes to air beginning January 2014, will be announced at a later date. Check the news section of acltv.com for additional episode updates.

- She played bluegrass. He played punk. When Grace Shultz and Tony White met, they fell in love and the music just followed after. Experimenting with an unlikely blend of genres (punk, folk, bluegrass and Texas swing) resulted in something new: “Punkgrass” was born. Grab Grace and Tony's Noisetrade Sampler for free before their November release of their debut album November.

- Season 4 of the highly-acclaimed HBO Original Series Boardwalk Empire is kicking off soon, and music streaming service Rdio has the second volume of music from the celebrated show for free streaming today! Check out the link and track listing below to listen to the Boardwalk Empire, Vol. 2 soundtrack to get excited for the premiere on Sunday, September 8.


- What do Hollywood icon Betty White and ‘drug lord Walter White’ have in common? They’re both in the new Guinness World Records 2014 edition! Arriving in stores on September 12th, the book features both legendary actors and young upstarts at the top of their game as they achieve unparalleled success in the film, television, and music industries. The inimitable Betty White has proved that ‘age is nothing but a number’ by earning the record for “Longest TV Career for an Entertainer (Female)” spanning 74 years of work in the industry. Making her debut in 1939, the queen of the small screen has appeared in some of television’s most popular shows, including The Golden Girls, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, and The Carol Burnett Show. Currently starring in Hot in Cleveland, the legendary 91-year-old entertainer shows no signs of stopping!


- WORLD Channel's exclusive, independent film showcase America ReFramed kicks off its second season with a special presentation of Building Babel on Tuesday, September 10, 2013 (check local listings). Building Babel follows a year in the life of Sharif El-Gamal, developer of the so-called "Ground Zero Mosque," a Muslim-led community center two blocks from the World Trade Center. With unlimited access to his home and office, the film paints a portrait of a Muslim-American businessman up against impossible odds.

- I have mentioned Enough Said before, the Julia Louis-Dreyfus, James Gandolfini movie, and please not that the date of its release has been moved to September 18.

I Want My Music Television: 9/5/13

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.


Holy Grail – Jay-Z featuring Justin Timberlake


Holy Grail was a perfect opening track for Magna Carter because it set you up for what was about to come: utter disappointment (see my review: Got Me Feeling Like Brody in Homeland). Not surprisingly Jay-Z tinkered with the song for the video, but was it wise to take the Kurt Cobain verse and move it up to the very beginning? Probably not.


Give It 2 U [Remix] - Robin Thicke featuring Kendrick Lamar and 2 Chainz


I did not have much of a problem when Robin Thicke blatently ripped off Got to Give It Up, Pt. 1, but how dare he co-opt Sir Mix-a-Lot’s giant posterior from his Baby Got Back video? That is unforgivable.


Bitter Rivals – Sleigh Bells


That opening had me worried that the Sleigh Bells were going full blown pop (complete with multi-colored wigs) on their upcoming album but quickly went back to their fuzzed out indie pop. Although the chorus ended up being the cleanest thing the duo has ever done. This is an interesting teaser to the album.


Garden’s Heart – Natasha Khan and Jon Hopkins


Natasha Khan is essentially Bat for Lashes and I am not sure why she is using her name here or who Jon Hopkins is but apparently this song is for the upcoming movie How I Live Now. I do not know anything about the movie aside that it apparently stars the girl from Atonement, but if these are actual scenes from the movie, that bathroom scene is freaking and may be worth the rental.

The Peter Bjorn and John Award for Catchiest Indie-Pop Song of the Summer of 2013

Two years ago on a whim I declared that Young Blood by The Naked and Famous would have won the Peter Bjorn and John Award for the Catchiest Indie Pop Song of the Summer had it not been for Pumped Up Kicks. I actually liked that fake award idea so much last year, I actually made it a real thing (and awarded it to The Lumineers). Now it is time to hand out the second official award. But before that, let take a look at some of the other contenders from this year.

Legacy Artist: Diane Young – Vampire Weekend: With a lackluster first couple months of the year music wise, Vampire Weekend was poised to finally break into the mainstream with their most accessible song yet, a cross between Buddy Holly and their usual Ivy League humor. Alas that sadly did not happen but those of us in the now had a great summer song to add to the playlist.

Honorable Mention: Get Lucky – Daughter: Daughter has made some great indie music but really is too depressing to be considered “catchy” but of the millions of Get Lucky covers that blanketed the internets this summer, their version is far and away the best, most interesting, and proved there are many different ways to get lucky.


5. The Wire – Haim: A late addition which came in at, dare I say, the wire (very bad pun intended). A great teaser for the group’s full length debut album coming out this fall.

4. Change – Churchill: Well, this is weird. The group was on the precipice of stardom with an absurdly catchy first single that could have made the band this years The Lunineers or at the very least Of Monsters of Men. Then out of nowhere the group dropped out of their tours opening up for Sara Bareilles this summer and the upcoming Pink tour this fall and broke up. I do not think this is going to be a The Civil Wars situation where they still end up recording an album full of awesome tension.

3. Torpedo – Jillette Johnson: This song is pretty awesome as it is, but it also gets bonus points for the Etch-a-Sketch themed lyrics video. Even more bonus points for putting DVD’s of Freaks and Geeks and The Virgin Diaries in the background.


2. Pompeii – Batille: Quite simply the best use chanting in a song since Hooked On a Feeling. (Sorry Enigma.)

1. Royals – Lorde: I may be the worst prognosticator of music on the internet so I rarely tag anyone with the “Next Big Thing” tag because it seems to be the kiss of death for an artist (see Churchill who literally died before they could break big). But let me hop into Scooter Time Machine back to June when I kind of hyperbolically called this song, “not only is it the best song of the year so far, but it is the best anti-materialistic song since Ante Up, the best song by a teenager since Genie In a Bottle, and the greatest song ever to come out of New Zealand.” Fast forward three months and the song is even out performing the new Lady Gaga song. It has become so popular; it is a stretch to even to still be calling it indie-pop at this point. But since I jumped on the bandwagon back in March when it was a weird pop song from New Zealand, I will give it the title.

Previewing Cold Justice

Currently there are 200,000 murder cold cases that date back to 1980. Some of these will go unsolved, but in some cases, all that is needed is a new set of eye. The thing is, as smart as the detectives are on television, the real life cops run into budgets and other obstacles that keep them from tying everything up in a nice bow like their fictional counterpoints. That is where Cold Justice comes in where to pick cases they think they can solve, reopen the case, and see if they can get a resolution.

Cold Justice comes from a guy who knows a little about fictional Law and Order, Dick Wolf who created the long running drama and all of its spin offs. While one of the on air talents, Yolanda McClary, was the basis of Marg Helenberger’s character on CSI (ironically she chastises the show and its ilk at least once per episode). Her on screen partner is attorney and former Texas prosecutor Kelly Siegler. Although the true star of the show is their buddy Johnny Bonds (awesome name) who helps the duo out on their cases. Unfortunately Johnny Bonds is resigned to secondary status and it is unclear how often he will pop up.

Tonight’s case revolves around a twelve year old suicide that just does not quite end up as there are multiple statements floating around, some from the same person. When DNA comes back inclusive on the gun, McClary is quick to point out that DNA never solves a cold case. For next week’s episode, it is a bit surprising it is still a cold case because we learn early on that one of the main suspects left a paystub at the victim’s house and was caught a day after the murder power washing the inside of his car. His excuses were that someone planted the paystub there to set him up (which is plausible because how could be someone be so stupid to leave something that randomly incriminating at a crime scene) and that his boss told him his car smelled (as it turns out no one originally asked the boss if he had ever been in the suspect’s car and made such a claim).

The big problem with Cold Justice is there really is not a resolution. By the end of the episode all we know is if the two were album to cobble enough new information to arrest the main suspect. In one case we do not even learn if the grand jury ruled in favor of a trail. So each episode does feel incomplete without ever seeing any part of the trial (especially considering the ad campaign centered on Siegler bragging she has gone 68 of 68 on murder trials and we never get to see her in a courtroom). What the show does have going for it is that it is surprisingly compelling contrasted with the fictional versions where you know everything will get wrapped up by the end of sixty minutes (except one case that will haunt the team for a season or five), at the end of the episode, the case may very well go cold again.

Cold Justice airs Tuesdays at 10:00 on TNT.

To Succeed in Life You Must Eliminate Everything in Your Path in a Blind Rage

I have never really been into violent video games (unless you count the old school hockey games where you could break open a dude’s skull and watch them bleed on the ice) and spent most of my time playing games like Mario Kart, Final Fantasy, and sports games. So I did not think much of the first two Grand Theft Auto games and even ignored the huge buzz around the third game which essentially invented the sandbox game (ironically instead I bought The Simpsons rip off game which thankfully was a lot more entertaining than their Double Dragon rip-off Nintendo game). But the ad campaigned for Grand Theft Auto: Vice City drew me in with its Miami Vice vibe and A Flock of Seagulls soundtrack which it is why the franchise is this month's induction into the Scooter Hall of Fame.

Forget the video game violence; Vice City was worth it just for the soundtrack along, I would have just been content with just driving around the sprawling faux Miami just listening to the awesomely eighties radio stations (Lionel Richie! Hall and Oates!! Squeeze!!!) and to those that always rag on the violent storyline, there is nothing making you going around shooting people and picking up hookers, you could steal a taxi and play Crazy Taxi style or earn a living hunting down criminals for the police or hijacking an ambulance to help people to the hospital on time.

Okay, I am not that altruistic, I also partook in the more violent storylines too. But the Grand Theft Auto games are just like playing a movie. III was basically The Godfather, Vice City is a retelling of Scarface, and San Andreas is like playing Boys in the Hood. Of course to the parents out there, if you do not let your kids watch those types of movies, you definitely should not let your kids play these types of games. And if you do let your kids watch those types of movies and play these types of games, you really need a visit from child services.

Even if you do choose the dark side (that is where the main storylines are anyway) there are consequences. If you kill someone, the police will come after you. And if you continue to kill people, the more the pursue you until the call in S.W.A.T., helicopters, and if you stay on the lamb long enough while you continue your killing spree they will even bring in an armored tank. And once you are caught, you have to pay your way out of prison or pay a hospital bill defending on how they get you.

As great as Vice City was, San Andreas was even better in almost every since way except maybe the soundtrack (it is hard to choose between cheesy eighties music and the mix of early nineties gangsta rap and alternative rock. The opening local, which was a fictional version of Compton was probably even bigger than Vice City then throughout the game you could travel to San Francisco and Las Vegas (where you can even gamble) surrogates. There was even the countryside, a mountain, a couple of small suburbs, and a desert with its own Area 51 type secret government facility where you could steal a jet pack. Seriously, how cool is a jet pack? Sure not all the additions were inspired, requiring players to eat was annoying, and then when you ate too much, you were unable to run and the weight training was just as silly.

Expectations were high when Grand Theft Auto leaped onto the next generation council and GTA IV more than lived up to the hype. Where the previous installments were clearly inspired by iconic movies, the new version followed an eastern European immigrant trying to find his way in the new world by any means necessary. And since this was he first in seven years to be set in current times and this time around you had access to a cell phone (complete with a camera) and if you stole a car that a soccer mom would drive it probably would be equipped with a GPS devise. And there were so many ways to get around Liberty City (basically NYC) with five distinctive boroughs, aside from the obvious car, there is the subway, boats, and you could even commandeer a helicopter, just remember to bring your parachute just in case you have to bail.

When you were done with the game, there were two downloads featuring new storylines for Liberty city. The Lost and the Damned has you as the leader of a biker gang who needs to keep its turf while The Ballad of Gay Tony saw you employed as a body guard for the titular nightclub owner who was just as ruthless as his female loving counterparts. Each game was almost as expansive as the original and actually managed to intertwine with each other. Then there was even more fun when you fired up the modem and go online for deathmatches, street races, and other fun game. You could still occasionally find me in a Turf War waiting room.

Much like many of Rockstar Games, little is known about Grand Theft Auto V out later this month (look for a list of The 100 Greatest Song from Grand Theft Auto coming from me around the release date, unfortunately that list will be instantly outdated the moment it is published as there is said to be 240 licensed songs for the new game). The game does return to San Andreas but consider how much Liberty City changed from GTA III to GTA IV, the fake west coast will probably look radically different than the PS2 game, it is said to be bigger and the original San Andreas and GTA IV combined, and even more ways to get around (ATV’s! jet skies!!). There will also be three lead characters you can toggle between, a first for the series. One apparently will even own a dog which, depending on your actions, can get lost or even die. While the online mode looks to be even more expansive. Grand Theft Auto V (as well as my list of The 100 Greatest Songs from Grand Theft Auto) comes out on the 17th.