Feed Your iPod LXXVIII: The Chase, Part II

This week twenty years ago saw the release of the debut album from Wu-Tang Clan, Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), R.Kelly’s first solo outing 12 Play, and the best Tribe Called Quest album Midnight Marauders (if you thought that was a great release date, that was not even the most impressive week a Tribe album dropped; The Low End Theory was released on the same day as Nevermind, Blood Sugar Sex Magik, and the first CD I ever bought, Bryan Adam’s Waking Up the Neighbours). Even the casual rap fan knows Award Tour (which was number four on my list of the 100 Greatest Songs from the Golden Age of Hip-Hop) as well as Electric Relaxation, so let me highlight another song from the album, which was actually the bane of my existence shortly after hearing it.

Stuck near the end of the album is The Chase, Part II, another slow head nodder which features Phife Dog rapping, “you’re styles are incomplete same as Vinnie Testeverde.” For the youngsters out there, as the lyric suggest Vinnie was a horrible quarterback who was always near the top of the league in interceptions and holds the record for most loses for a starting quarterback in NFL history. Of course the Cleveland Browns just signed him when the album was released and the team then turned around and traded beloved local hero Bernie Kosar (who would go on to win a Super Bowl ring that season). After the Browns signed Vinnie, they became so bad that the owner was able to move the team and the Browns have made the playoff twice since the song was released and only had three winning seasons. As Bill Simmons would say, “God hates Cleveland.”

The Chase, Part II – A Tribe Called Quest

I Was Wrong When I Decided I Would Never Meet Somebody Like You

With The Civil Wars on what looks to be an indefinite hiatus, there is an opening for the co-ed folk duo with weird sexual tension corner. Enter Grace and Tony, a self described “punkgrass” band with the same esthetic as The Civil Wars. Oh yeah, and Tony in Grace and Toby is Tony White, little brother of John Paul White of The Civil Wars. But where The Civil Wars sound like later day, Rick Rubin produced albums by The Avett Brothers, Grace and Tony sound like the rawer early records of The Avett Brothers.

But where the individual members of The Civil Wars are actually married to other people, Grace and Tony is an actual couple married to each other. Maybe this is why their debut album November is a bit cheery than his older brother band. They introduce themselves on November with Hey Grace, Hey Tony, a bouncing, old timey duet. That is followed up with the most angst riddled song Holy Hand Grenade, but still something that will get your toe tapping.

The most haunting the duo gets on the album is the title track. But there is really nothing on November which suggests they will have much success crossing over like The Civil Wars or even get they song played on crappy television shows when the writers run out of ideas and just throw in a montage to fill the hour. This duo will probably appeal to a very small niche; basically those who hear the term “punkgrass” and think cool. I am sure Grace and Tony will also be big at the next Steam Punk convention, especially the song Electricity Bomb.

Song to Download – Holy Hand Grenade

November gets a on my Terror Alert Scale.

I Want My Music Television: 11/12/13

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.


Bad Things – Meiko


I guess a video for a song called Bad Things should be creepy, but still, I will never eat whipped cream ever again. Or get the image of Meiko with a mustache out of my head.


Lies – Chvrches


I probably should not like Chvrches. Aside from the unnecessary “V” in their name, I really have not been a big fan of synth heavy music since back when New Wave was actually new. But there is just something transfixing about the lead singer’s voice.


Faden Away - 7 Days of Funk with Snoopzilla and Dâm-Funk


Barely a year after rechristening himself Snoop Lion, the artist formally known as Snoop Doggy Dogg has a new name: Snoopzilla. I guess it is for the best because with all the name changes, I can just pretend Snoop Dogg actually stopped releasing music not long after Drop it Like it’s Hot.


Daydreaming – Paramore


I am getting tired of the shoddily shot music videos (and other mediums) where they are meant to look like two friends documenting their travels to a Paramore concert but were obviously professionally done.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 11/10/13

Once Upon a Time: I was not expecting much from CGI Ursula, but that was really cheesy looking. Only worse was the real Ursula all CGI. And if mermaids can easily transport back and forth between worlds, then why not summon Ariel earlier and ride her back, why mess with the magic beans? The better question is why am I still questioning the massive plot holes on this show.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Once Upon a Time on iTunes.

Homeland: So that was Saul’s big master plan: use Carrie to get to the Iranian dude, and then blackmail him into talking to him? Ugg. At least we know why the Iranian dude was creepily watching the kid playing in the yard last episode. Though how easy was it to find his grandson? If the wife was in witness protection, why was the kid not? And what was with the pregnancy tests? I would think that the mental health facility would have run some sort of blood test to see if Carrie was pregnant.

Of course the best part of the episode was a shout out to Scooter McGavin’s 9th Green in the episode. At least I am assuming that Majid Javadi holing up off the 9th Green of a golf course was a reference to this site.

The Walking Dead: During the season premiere Rick mentioned he has three questions newbies have to answer before they are allowed to join the chain gang in the prison. We finally learned one of them, “How zombies have you killed?” I wonder if we will learn the other two by the end of the season. Rick did finally make his first decision of the season my exiling Carol for killing the two sick people. She is not dead so there is a good chance we will see her again eventually (it did take a couple seasons to see the guy from the Pilot again). The Governor is still out there somewhere and I do not remember them running into each other last season. I just hope she does not turn out to be the lead in the proposed Walking Dead spin-off.
You can download The Walking Dead on iTunes.

Revenge: So Emily’s big take down this week was… her own home? Alrighty.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Revenge on iTunes.

The Voice: I am pretty much out on this season after realizing I only watched an hour and a half of the five hours this week and was pretty bored with what I saw. To be honest I was out the moment Holly Henry was inexplicatively booted from the show for dude to butcher Blurred Lines and get booted himself the very next week. The show has a serious problem when Holly’s seven week old version of The Scientist was charting higher on Monday and Tuesday than two songs performed that day by Grey and Amber Nicole. Now with Preston Pohl, who got stuck with the worst song selection this week, also given the boot, the two biggest fan favorites are gone before even the top ten despite being the only two whose audition songs made the top twenty-five this season (or even the top eighty for that matter).

And just when you thought The Voice could not get any worse than letting the two early favorites fall by the waste side, next week they are introducing the Instant Save next week. For those that have not heard yet, starting next week (and will continue through the top 6 week) they will announce a bottom three and then for the next five minutes, Twitter users will be able to vote which singer to save. First off, way to alienate half your audience. Anyone who lives on the west coast will either have sit though spoilers to see if their favorites are in the bottom three just to vote for them, or watch when it is on and not be able to participate.

Most importantly, this will undoubtably backfire. As is, voters have thirteen hours from the end of the show to vote, be it the phone, the internet via nbc.com, or downloading songs on iTunes. Now you are going to give the reigns to a very small minority of Twitter users, mostly on the east coast only five minutes to decide. This is just ripe for manipulation. Even though Vote for the Worst closed up shop earlier this year, some other prankster, or just run of the mill spammers, could easily manipulate things so undeserving people make it further than they should. And how is the show going to know with just a five minute vote window? The person who gets the least amount of votes next week could easily make it to the final four/five by Twitter alone. And let face it, the cutest boy is likely to get the Instant Save every week. Hopefully the show quietly eliminates the Instant Save before it begins because it will ruin the show as much as dumping talent a lot sooner than it should (the Instant Save will probably end up saving people who do not deserve it). If not, I highly recommend instead of saving someone in the bottom three, Tweet the show a contestant that should not have been eliminated in the first place instead (I will be tweeting Holly Henry).

Unfortunately it is too late to make any suggestion for next season because I believe the Blind Auditions (and maybe even the Battle and Knockout Rounds) have already been taped. They even start casting for season seven next month. But most importantly for the upcoming casting, they need to find better singer. Enough with the amateur hour, leave those contestants for the crappy Fox singing show. It is time to start recruiting professionals again. Seriously, have they run out of Warped Tout chicks and Alicia Keys backup singers (this season lacked both for the first time)? This is the second straight season where I did not know any of the singers who audition. They need to go back to casting semi to full professional singers and stop it with all the teenagers who are not ready for primetime. For every Caroline Pennell and Danielle Bradbery, there are about twenty teenagers who do not even get a chair to turn around or make a quick exit during the Battle Round (and are montage most of the time).

I do make these suggestions because it does seem like the show does take my suggestions to heart. The last time I may suggestions on how to make the show better, I suggested that they needed to open their songbook because they had been recycling way too many song from previous season (sometimes even in the same season, last season saw two versions of Teenage Dream and Feelin’ Good) and this week only saw two recycled songs. And when ranting against repeat songs, I mentioned that I was surprised Seven Nation Army was performed on three straight season when I thought The White Stripes song most likely to become a standard would be We’re Going to Be Friends and low and behold Caroline Pennell performed the latter this week. Still even with the new songs, nothing I saw this week was as good as the latest video Holly Henry posted this week of her singing Daughter’s Youth.


The Blacklist: Between the end with Red reminiscing about his daughter and the promo for next week, it is almost guaranteed that Lizzie will turn out to be his daughter. Hopefully they come out and say it next week because everyone guessed it during the first trailer they released for the show. There are already on episode six, it is already been dragged on too long already, hopefully we get a definitive answer next week.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download The Blacklist on iTunes.

Castle: The problems wit procedurals is sometimes it is easy to figure out who the killer is even in the first act. The biggest indicator is whenever a recognizable guest star is in the episode. And then there are cases like this week when the cop being a total jerk early in the episode which led me to think he was the actual killer. Despite a few red herrings, fifty minute later I was right.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Castle on iTunes.

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: When ABC announced Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., I was assuming that the Item 47 which was on The Avengers DVD was essentially the Pilot. Unfortunately Lizzy Caplan got herself cast in Masters of sex making her unavailable for this show (okay, it is not that unfortunately because I would much rather have Caplan on a show called Masters of Sex). Instead they replaced Caplan with a token hot chick with nominal acting skill. (Caplan has said she could still pop up on the show but since Masters of Sex has already been renewed for a second season, it probably will not be for a lengthy amount of episodes.) Titus Welliver, who was also in the Item 47, made his first appearance on the show. I wonder if he will be showing up more in the future with his own team which may or may not include Caplan.

As I mentioned earlier, the people they did cast on the show are not the best actors in the world. But I may have been wrong about Fitz because she did a very good job in this episode (or was it Simmons, I still not sure which one is which). I only liked her up to this point because when I squint, she looks exactly like Keira Knightley. Maybe they should give more for her to do and less to the token hot chick.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. on iTunes.

Sons of Anarchy: I knew Tara’s plan would crumble quickly, but I am surprised that Jax figured it out that quickly. I have no idea how this would turn out. If I were Tara, I would go to the DA and give her the club in exchange for immunity from her current case and witness protection for her and her kids. But then again the DA may even reject that if Jax does in fact deliver the Irish to her. Though my favorite part of the episode was when the lady cop asked where the DA’s wig went, the black cop spouted some urban slang and after he walked away, simply said, “I did not understand a word of that.” It may have been a little sitcom-y, but I enjoyed what essentially a throw away line
You can download Sons of Anarchy on iTunes.

Survivor: Blood vs. Water: Just when you thought that Ciera just making the merge was amazing, the fate of this season rested in her hands; either stick with her stag alliance even though he mother came back in the game or join a couples alliance. Granted it turned out the fate was not entirely in her hands as Tina and Aras stupidly thought Gervise and Monica would be okay being in an alliance with two couples. But the craziness could continue because Ciera has a legitimate shot at actually winning this season as long as her mother does not screw things up.
You can stream recent episodes on cbs.com. You can also download Survivor: Blood vs. Water on iTunes.

Parenthood: It is getting to be distracting just how much Drew’s booty call looks like a smaller version of Alison Brie. I guess that will be the closest to a an Alison Brie fix I can get until next year.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Parenthood on iTunes.

Best of the Week: 11/9/13

Quote of the Week: Saul, you don’t look like a man who landed the biggest asset of his career. (Majid Javadi, Homeland)

Song of the Week: I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) – The Proclaimers (How I Met Your Mother)

Scene of the Week:


Big News of the Week: Bullying in the NFL: Back when I played sports, hazing was an accepted practice, but we now live in a “It gets better world” (even though it does not, but that is a rant for another day) and apparently hazing is not even acceptable in the most “manly” of institutions the NFL. Sure what Richie Incognito said was horrible, but no worse than what is shouted at players every Sunday. That is not to say Incognito should not be cut (considering his rap sheet, no one should have signed him in the first place), but it is weird to continually hear about bullying in the NFL.

Preview Picture of the Week:

“Huang Wu” Sons of Anarchy, Tuesday at 10:00 on FX

Free Download of the Week: The Triple Threat – The Hush Sound (NoiseTrade): I am a bit surprised that The Hush Sound did not hit that wave of indie pop from the middle of last decade, Wine Red was ultra catchy and could have easily been the soundtrack to one of the silhouette iPod commercials. But the group recently got back together and has a sampler of their new work which sound more mature than their earlier songs.

Deal of the Week: Blu-Ray Under $10: Home Alone Collection, Zombieland, Inception, Gremlins 2: The New Batch

New Album Release of the Week: November - Grace and Tony

New DVD Release of the Week: Dexter: The Complete Final Season

Video of the Week: The new TBS comedy Ground Floor premieres Thursday but you can actually watch it now over at tbs.com. If you are not sure if you want to send the next twenty-minutes watching the whole thing, check out this short clip first.



Next Week Pick of the Week: Killing Kennedy, Sunday at 8:00 on National Geographic Channel: After the success of Killing Lincoln, it was only a matter of time before Bill-O’Reilly’s other books get their own movie. And just in time for the fifth anniversary of his assassination is Killing Lincoln with Rob Lowe in the titular role and Ginnifer Goodwin and Jackie O.

Around the Tubes: 11/8/13

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 PBS JFK specials, Helix, Burning Love, The Sound of Music Live!, The Battle of Amfar, 12 Monkeys, TLC Kitchen: 150 Timeless Recipes From Our Family To Yours, APB with Troy Dunn, FX renewal and premiere dates.

- We are nearing the fiftieth anniversary of the Kennedy assassination and PBS is commemorating the occasion with a week a specials starting Monday.

AMERICAN EXPERIENCE “JFK” – This new four-hour portrait offers a fresh assessment of the enigmatic man, his accomplishments and his unfulfilled promise, featuring interviews with Kennedy family members and historians Robert Dallek, Robert Caro and Evan Thomas. Monday, November 11 and Tuesday, November 12, 9:00-11:00 p.m. ET.

NOVA “Cold Case JFK” – For decades, the assassination of John F. Kennedy has fueled dark rumors of conspiracies and mishandled evidence. Now, 50 years later, NOVA asks: Could modern investigators do better? Wednesday, November 13, 9:00-10:00 p.m. ET.

“JFK: One PM Central Standard Time” – Narrated by George Clooney, who appears on camera, this Secrets of the Dead special presentation, recounts the riveting story of the reporting from Dallas, Texas, and the CBS newsroom in New York from the moment President Kennedy was shot until Walter Cronkite’s emotional pronouncement of his death at 1 p.m. CST. The program features interviews with President Bill Clinton and Brian Williams, anchor & managing editor, NBC Nightly News and Rock Center with Brian Williams, rarely seen archival footage of Kennedy, Cronkite and moving memories from the producers, writers and reporters who were there on the day. Wednesday, November 13, 10:00-11:00 p.m. ET.

FRONTLINE “Who Was Lee Harvey Oswald?” – At the heart of the Kennedy assassination lies the puzzle of Lee Harvey Oswald: Was he the emotionally disturbed lone gunman of the 1964 Warren Commission report? Was he, as the House Select Committee on Assassinations concluded, probably part of a conspiracy on that day in Dallas? Or was he an unwitting fall guy, the patsy, as Oswald himself claimed when he was arrested on November 22, 1963? FRONTLINE marks the fiftieth anniversary of the Kennedy assassination with a two-hour reprise of its investigative biography of the man at the center of the political crime of the 20th century." Tuesday, November 19, 2013, 10:00 p.m.-12:00 a.m. ET.

- The first Helix trailer hit the internets this week, you can check it out below and mark your calendars for January 10 when the show premieres on Syfy.


- E! continues to give viewers the clever comedy they crave with weekly half-hour episodes of seasons two and three of the critically acclaimed, Emmy nominated web phenomenon Burning Love. In season two, psychologically damaged yet destined for the kind of love that is only found on reality TV, Julie Gristlewhite (June Diane Raphael) has her choice of hunky bachelors, including studs played by Michael Cera, Jerry O’Connell and Ryan Hansen. Following the conclusion of season two, season three kicks off with a group of the best loved “Burning Love” participants competing for the ultimate cash prize -- $900. Season two of “Burning Love” premieres Wednesday, November 13 at 10:30, following “The Soup,” and the network will air season three in the same weekly timeslot immediately following season two starting Wednesday, January 1 at 10:30.

- In honor of the upcoming production of The Sound of Music Live!, coming to NBC on December 5, the network offering you the chance to star in a music video singing Do-Re-Mi with Carrie Underwood! Head over to soundofmusicmashup.com for more details and instructions on how to post a video submission.

- The Battle of AmfAR (premiering on HBO December 2nd at 9:00 with a sneak preview on HBO 2 on December 1st - World AIDS Day) tells the true story of when AIDS struck and two very different and extraordinary women – Hollywood icon Elizabeth Taylor and research scientist Dr. Mathilde Krim – joined forces to take a stand and create America’s first AIDS research foundation, AmfAR. Their goal: to unveil the truth of the disease as a worldwide pandemic in desperate need of funding for scientific research to find a cure. Directed by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman and executive produced by fashion mogul Kenneth Cole, THE BATTLE OF AMFAR chronicles the organization’s history and continuing importance in the fight against HIV/AIDS. Check out the trailer below:


- Syfy’s pilot 12 Monkeys has cast Aaron Stanford and Amanda Schull in the project’s two lead roles. Also joining in key positions behind the camera are Natalie Chaidez (In Plain Sight, V, Heroes) as Executive Producer/Showrunner and Jeffrey Reiner (Helix, Friday Night Lights, Caprica) who will direct the pilot and also serve as Executive Producer. The 60-minute pilot is being produced by Universal Cable Productions and Atlas Entertainment, producer of the original Bruce Willis-Brad Pitt theatrical directed by Terry Gilliam and released by Universal Pictures. Production is slated to begin in December in Detroit.

- Discovery Communications, the world’s number-one nonfiction media company, and Parragon, Inc., a leading publisher with over 100 million cookbooks sold globally over the last four years, today announced the publication of TLC Kitchen: 150 Timeless Recipes From Our Family To Yours. The cookbook serves up delicious, easy-to-make recipes from a variety of chefs, featuring contributions from stars of TLC’s most popular series. The 256-page hardcover book (SRP $19.99) is available at a variety of retailers including Barnes & Noble, Amazon.com and TLCStore.com. Featured TLC personalities include Buddy Valastro (Cake Boss), June “Mama June” Shannon (Here Comes Honey Boo Boo), Jen Arnoldand Bill Klein (The Little Couple), Randy Fenoli (Say Yes to the Dress), Katherine Kallinis Berman and Sophie Kallinis LaMontagne (DC Cupcakes), and Marisa Lopez (Next Great Baker).

- TNT has greenlit APB with Troy Dunn (working title), a new investigation series featuring Troy Dunn (The Locator), the nation’s foremost expert in locating and reuniting long-lost persons. TNT has ordered six episodes of the unscripted program, which will incorporate a newsocial media app designed to help bring loved ones back together. APB with Troy Dunn comes to TNT from Shed Media US (Who Do You Think You Are?, The Real Housewives of New York City), with Troy Dunn, Pamela Healey, Dan Peirson and Ted Haimes (The Locator, Aftermath with William Shatner) serving as executive producers. The show is slated to premiere Friday, Jan. 17, at 10 p.m. (ET/PT), following the season-two premiere of TNT's real-life investigation series Cold Justice.

- FX has ordered a fourth installment of American Horror Story for 13 episodes.

- FX and FXX has announced their winter 2014 including:

Justified, Tuesday January 7 at 10:00 on FX
Archer, Monday January 13 at 10:00 on FXX
Chozen, Monday January 13 at 10:30 on FXX
No specific dates yet but The Americans, on FX, and Legit and the debut of Ali G: Rezurection, both on FXX are all slated to premiere in February.

Previewing Guinness World Records Unleashed

For anyone’s whose formative years fell in the early nineties, they have a soft spot for Dan Cortese. As the host of MTV Sports (and participant of many Rock and Jock games), no one straddled the line in between cool and annoying more Dan. Twenty years later, Cortese still pops up occasional and is now the host of Guinness World Records Unleashed returning tonight at 8:00 on truTV.

The show does come off as an hour of Stupid Human Tricks, so if you are a fan of the David Letterman segment, this is the show for you because most of the records are not something you would ever think to break, or even do. During the first season, the show has seen twenty records fall (as well as one tie). Dan is joined by two commentators, the attractive Brit Liz Smith and comedian Zach Selwyn, as well as adjudicator for Guinness Stuart Claxton who brings some brevity to the occasion.

Tonight sees every day men and women try to break the records for fastest talker, most consecutive jumps on a trampoline, most spaghetti pieces eaten through the nose, most jumps through a jump rope with one leg behind your head, most kicks to one’s own head (I wonder if there is a category to another person’s head) and one more that involves a doughnut, a coffee cup and a crane. Hit, it has nothing to do with eating. I will also say that a few records do go down tonight including one record which gets shattered. Other records attempted include fastest time running through ten locked and burning doors, longest moving quad bike jump, most backflips on a water flyboard, and the greatest height achieved after being launched from a cannon.

Guinness World Records Unleashed premieres tonight at 8:00 on truTV

Lets Take it Back to Straight Hip-Hop and Start it from Scratch

Without a doubt, Eminem is the artist of the 00’s; the guy sold about forty million albums sold worldwide and even his weakest album that he even described as, “Eh” still went double platinum and featured two top ten singles. But Eminem was definitely getting stale circa Relapse, each album’s first single got cheesier and cheesier and We Made You while the rest of the albums got darker and darker to the point where Relapse was essentially horrorcore. A year later, Eminem got clean, released recovery and his biggest hit of his career with Love the Way You Lie. Still I met that album with a resounding “eh” too. But at least there was not a cheesy lead single which was instead replaced with Not Afraid, an apologies for the uninspiring Relapse album.

Fast forward three years and during the middle of an otherwise unwatchable MTV Video Music Awards, there were two promos for the upcoming new Eminem album featuring a Rick Rubin produced, Billy Squier sampling, Beastie Boys referencing song Berzerk. When it hit the internets the next day in its entirety, I was ready to call it the best Eminem song since Lose Yourself. Then he released the stadium anthem Survival (seriously, all high school and college bands better be learning this song as you read this) which is the second best song he has done since Lose Yourself.

So for the first time ever, I was excited for an Eminem album with his seventh release The Marshall Mathers LP 2. Why a sequel to his thirteen year old album? Who knows, probably marketing (segments of Stan and The Real Slim Shady do get resurrected). The album does have an old school feel to including Berzerk and Eminem name drops plenty old school rappers and jams on Love Game, yet another track produced by Rick Rubin which samples the sixties teen pop song Game of Love by Wayne Fontana & The Mindbenders.

All four Rick Rubin produced songs are built around well known rock songs. Obvious first single Berzerk is by far the best but by the fourth Love Game, you start to wonder why they would sample this. The Zombies sampling Rhyme or Reason has Eminem answering the questions Time of the Season ("What's your name?" "Who's your daddy?") and is reminiscent of the last time he sampled classic rock on Sing for the Moment and takes aim at his absentee father who gets referenced occasionally but rarely gets his own song (especially compared to his mother). So Far… flips Joe Walsh’s Life Is Good which does not work as well as it should have. Maybe Rick should have saved that beat for Kid Rock who would have known to do with the southern rock jam.

The new album does not stay completely in the past. Rap God features a futuristic beat that Jay-Z would have loved to come across his desk during his Blueprint days (but could not handle it these days) and Em just slays it as one as his best flows to date. Even more impressive is the song goes six minutes and he never slows down and actually builds with every second. The album does slow down on back end. The Monster featuring Rihanna just falls flat compared to Love the Way You Lie. Headlights is another ode to his mother, but this one is a sincere apology made worse by the inclusion of the dude from Fun.. And for those wondering where the song that takes down pop tarts, on the album closer he admits he is bored with that, “So who’s left? Lady Gaga? Bieber? Nah.” But overall, this is the rare sequil that lives up to the original.

Song to Download – Berzerk

The Marshall Mathers LP 2 gets a on my Terror Alert Scale.

Previewing Jobs that Bite

Most people think their jobs bite, but outdoor enthusiast Jeremy Brandt is looking for jobs that bite back on the Nat Geo Wild show Jobs that Bite. Jeremy is crisscrossing the country to take on a wide array of animal themed job. The first may very well be the most dangerous as he is tasked to being a lion dentist. Sure there are tranquilizers to put the oversized cats under, but first you have to make sure they are completely under and you have to have a quick exit strategy just in case they wake up sooner they expected.

Also tonight, a camera has a close encounter with a chimpanzee and Jeremy performs a neonatal exam on a baby giraffe that is already almost six feet tall (not so fun fact: baby giraffe drop five feet to the ground upon arriving into this world). Things get almost as scary next week when Jeremy has lass to worry about getting bit than getting stung as he helps move a hive of 60,000 bees. Also in the episode Jeremy heads to a pet day spa and milks a camel. Yes you read that right.

Later this season on Jobs that Bite, Jeremy will learn just exactly what horse logging is, spends a day with a team from the Marine Mammal Standing Network to investigate a dead seal mystery, some baby pig castration, visits a worm pasture, and gives a cow a pedicure wrangle a herd of ostriches.

Jobs that Bite airs Saturdays at 9:00 on Nat Geo Wild.

The Voice Season 5 Knockout Round Power Rankings

I will not go into the stupid decision Blake made this week dumping Holly Henry for one of the worst singers to ever make the Live Shows because I ranted about that at length yesterday, so let’s just go straight into the Power Rankings before I rant some more (okay, I do bring it up multiple times in the rankings because it was the worst decision ever in the history of the show).

1. Cole Vosbury (Team Cee-Lo Blake): Cole got really lucky this season, most obvious he signed up for the season the added a Steal to the Knockout Rounds so the person who actually should have won that round (Cole was significantly better than Jonny) got to advance. And even though Let Her Go was still obscure back in August when this round was filmed, it has been sitting in the iTunes top 25 for the past and a few stints in the top 10 which probably helped his version into the top 20.

2. Caroline Pennell (Team Cee-Lo): After turning As Long as You Love Me into a hauntingly beautiful song, choosing The Way I Am was too safe and obvious. Still a very good performance. But hopefully her and Cee-Lo are more creative I the Live Show.

3. Matthew Schuler (Team Christina): Young the Giant, Fall Out Boy, Florence + the Machine, can’t wait to see what he has in store for the Live Shows.

4. Austin Jenckes (Team Blake): After the disastrous Knockout Rounds last season where the majority of the people who went home based on bad song choices alone, it is not surprising many singers played it safe this season (oh, if only Holly played it safe), but I’ll Be was Austin’s most boring performance of his three. Yeah he deserved to win this round, but I thought Brandon’s pick of Even if it Breaks Your Heart much more interesting.

5. Jacquie Lee (Team Christina): Well that was fun. Still I think I am watching a high school talent show whenever she performs. She needs a breakout moment soon because the second spot on Christina’s team is wide open because everyone else on her team has not been inspiring as of late except for Matthew. (Hopefully the bored housewives do not ruin things by flooding the telephone line for Josh or country fans for Olivia because Jacquie and Stephanie are much better.)

6. Ray Boudreaux (Team Blake): Not much to say, just another solid performance. I am still waiting for a great one, solid performances will get him a few rounds, but still needs a great one to be a contender.

7. Jonny Gray (Team Cee-Lo): Jonny really needs to let Cee-Lo pick his songs because the ones he picks for himself just do not fit him very well. Refugee, Cee-Lo’s pick, remains his best performance this season.

8. Preston Pohl (Team Adam): Oh goodness no; bad song choice. Compare that to Lina, who I did not care for through the first two rounds, picked a much more inspiring song and did a better job. In the past, Adam usually goes with who was best in the moment, but with all his picks this season, he has gone with potential over best in the moment (compared with Blake who always went with potential but screwed things up big time this season going with Nic over Holly).

9. Grey (Team Adam): Last Power Rankings I hoped Grey would start doing more interesting songs. Instead she picked the most boring song in the Kelly Clarkson catalogue. Should I assume My Life Would Suck without You is next?

10. Amber Nicole (Team Christina Cee-Lo) : Amber definitely should have won her round, but I am not sure if the performance was worth a Steal considering there were much better people who lost that came after her that did not get stolen (Holly, Juhi, I may have even taken James Irwin or Destinee Quinn just because they would have better chances of advancing than Amber).

11. Shelbie Z. (Team Blake): Another decent performance but it is hard to image Shelbie even making it to the Knockout Rounds let alone the Live Shows had she been on Blake’s country only team last season. She is much more Liz Davis, who was eliminated as soon as America got to vote, than any of his country acts last season.

12. Stephanie Anne Johnson (Team Christina Cee-Lo Christina): She did way too much to this song. Again, Christina would have been much better suited saving Holly or Juhi.

13. Will Champlin (Team Adam Christina Adam): I thought Will should have won his Battle and Christina stealing him was much deserved. This performance was boring and a bit off and not really Save worthy. Adam should have passed him, went to the end of the round with his Save intact and went back and retroactively saved Holly instead.

14. Tamara Chauniece (Team Cee-Lo): Didn’t Whitney Myers do a reggae infused version on No One on the show already? And did it much better. Yet Whitney did not make the Live Show and Tamara did. Go figure.

15. Tessanne Chin (Team Adam): Another boring performance of a boring pop song. I hate when this show rewards the lack of creativity. I was not a fan of Ashley’s Blind Audition, but I would have definitely taken her here, at least she was trying.

16. Olivia Henken (Team Christina): I suggested last week Olivia should stick with up-tempo songs as Done. was significantly better than Two Black Cadillacs and after this performance, I stick by this assessment. Olivia only won because Destinee was just worse. Maybe since Done was each of their best performances of the season, Christina should turn Olivia and Stephanie into a duo and fill her open spot with Holly.

17. Josh Logan (Team Christina): Another boring karaoke version of a song where he tried to sound too much like the original artist.

18. James Wolpert (Team Adam): When Amanda Brown sang Dream On on season three, I was thinking this is good, but if she does not hit that high note at the end it would be a failure. I thought the same thing when James said he was singing More than a Feeling, a song where you have to hit those notes a couple times. James did not hit those notes, not once. Not even close. James over Juhi was the second worse decision this season. And Juhi was just great, thoroughly engaging, picking a great song that took a pot shot at her former coach (Cee-Lo actually seemed to enjoy it). The Live Show will be a lot less interesting with James instead of Juhi. Making things worse, Adam said he did not steal Holly because she did not live up to the potential of her Blind Audition, then the next day picks James who been on a bigger slide than Holly, I did not think James even deserved to win his Battle Round.

19. Kat Robichaud (Team Cee-Lo): Oh please make it stop, one of the worst performances of the week. I do not know why Cee-Lo, and the show’s producers who stick her in every promo, keep pushing her. It seems pretty clear to me Caroline and Jonny have the fan votes sewn up. Why is it every season Cee-Lo always has two really good contestants and the rest who have no right being part of the Live Shows?

20. Nic Hawk (Team Adam Blake): I will say this about Nic; he made history twice this season. First he was the worst Steal ever in the history of the show and then he was on the winning end of the worst decision ever in the history of the show when Blake inexplicably picked him over Holly. He is also the least talented singer to make the Live Shows that is not named Erin Martin. Thankfully the Vote for the Worst people closed up shop earlier this year so Nic has no chance of advances. Unless Blake bizarrely saves him for a third time.

Only nine Holly references in the Power Rankings, not bad, that is less than half. For the last time I will do this season, let’s see who has the strongest team (it is silly to argue strongest team once America starts voting). I assigned 20 points to number one on the power rankings and one to last and here is what comes out:

Blake – 36
Adam - 42
Christina – 52
Cee-Lo – 53

Despite dumping his best talent, Blake managed to make it to number one will all his singers in the top 11 (they all would have been in the top 12 had he taken Holly). It also helped he had the best Steal of the round. But who cares what I think, let’s look who the music buying public likes, here is how all the songs from the show peaked this past week (Audition and Battle rounds are italicized).

1. Cole Vosbury (18)
2. Caroline Pennell (27)
3. Matthew Schuler (50)
4. Will Champlin (85)
5. Caroline Pennell – As Long as You Love Me (97)
6. Preston Pohl (167)
7. Jacquie Lee (204)
8. Preston Pohl – Electric Feel (214)
9. Preston Pohl – I Wish it Would Rain (255)
10. Tessanne Chin (284)
11. Austin Jenckes (295)
12. Caroline Pennell – Anything Can Happen (298)
13. Grey (304)
14. Nic Hawk (306)
15. Jonny Grey (349)
16. Ray Boudreaux (330)
17. Stephanie Anne Johnson (388)
18. Holly Henry – The Scientist (399)
19. Jacquie Lee - House of the Rising Son (472)
20. Josh Logan (492)
21. James Wolpert (545)
22. Kat Robichaud (549)
23. James Wolpert – Love Interrupted (589)
24. Matthew Schuler – Cough Syrup (654)
25. Jonny Grey – Refugee (738)
26. Shelbie Z. (776)
27. Juhi – Best I Ever Had (786)
28. Torn – Holly Henry (1072)
29. Matthew Schuler – My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (1019)
30. Tessanne Chin – Try (1157)
31. Jonny Grey – All These Things I’ve Done (1197)
32. James Wolpert – Radioactive (1224)
33. Tamara Chauniece (1272)
34. Josh Logan – Harder to Breathe (1292)
35. Will Champlin – Radioactive (1324)
36. James Irwin – Counting Stars (1342)
37. Austin Jenckes – To Love Somebody (1357)
38. Olivia Henkin (1356)
39. Cole Vosbury – Africa (1460)
40. Tessanne Chin – Next to Me (1375)

Please note Amber Nicole was the only Knockout performance to not make the top 1500 yet four songs by eliminated contestants, half by Holly Henry herself, did; again Cee-Lo, not the wisest steal ever. Actually this week, Holly's six week old The Scientist charted higher than the Knockout Round songs by seven people moving on to the Live Shows, the montaged Torn and Juhi's Best I Ever Had also bested three who are advancing. No wonder ratings tanked on Tuesday after Holly was eliminated. You probably should not dump a fan favorite just before fans start voting.  But anyway. If you use the same methodology as I did to see who had the best team based on my Power Rankings, here is how the teams rank based iTunes this week.

Adam – 65
Blake – 57
Christina – 50
Cee-Lo - 38

Oh Cee-Lo, not only did you Steal the only singer in the top twenty, you let some steal the person with the highest charting song this week. Even with the second highest charting singer, he is still last by a long mile. Now if you take the average how high each of the final twenty charted during the three rounds, which probably gives you the best idea of who are the favorites, this is how they rank:

1. Caroline Pennell (84)
2. Preston Pohl (88.3)
3. Matthew Schuler (153)
4. Jacquie Lee (266)
5. Will Champlin (267)
6. Tessanne Chin (275.6)
7. Austin Jenckes (292)
8. Jonny Grey (301.3)
9. James Wolpert (357.6)
10. Ray Boudreaux (436)
11. Josh Logan (455)
12. Grey (462.6)
13. Shelbie Z. (702)
14. Nic Hawk (785)
15. Cole Vosbury (800)
16. Kat Robichaud (1046.3)*
17. Stephanie Anne Johnson (1084.3)*
18. Amber Nicole (1120)**
19. Olivia Henken (1124)
20. Tamara Chauniece (1333.6)*

* These singers missed the top 1500 once so for the times they missed, I gave those 1500 for the missing song so I could add them to this list so there is a very good chance their numbers are inflated. Amber Nicole actually missed the top 1500 twice including her Knockout Round performance. Let m,e say it one more time, Cee-Lo would have been served saving Holly or Juhi who were much more deserving (same goes to Christina). Even James Irwin and Destinee Quinn would have a better shot at advancing than Amber or Stephanie. I almost feel bad for Grey, she is fifth on her team on this list but would be third on Team Blake or Cee-Lo and close to third on Christina's team.

Prediction time: assuming that the first round of Live Shows are the same as the last two where America saves two singers from each team and each coach saves one more for a final 12, here are my predictions on how it shapes out.

America saves Preston and Tessanne, Adam saves James
America saves Austin and Cole, Blake saves Ray
America saves Matthew and Jacquie, Christina saves Josh
America saves Caroline and Jonny, Cee-Lo saves Kat

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 11/3/13

Homeland: Did the writers not think we would initially think the dude crossing the border at the start of the episode was the Iranian dude come to meet Carrie? It seems like they did not even try to make us think otherwise aside from the creepy scene where he watched some chick while indulging in this nation’s finest fast food meal. But the question is if the Iranians made Carrie during her yoga class or not? Saul did not seem very worried. I do hope that now that she is hope, that is the end of Dana’s crazy love affair, but I fear it is not the last we see of the boyfriend. He will probably end up stalking her.

The Walking Dead: So Carol killed and burned the two sick people. I kind of got a feeling it may be her when Tyrone snuck up on her by the water. I figured it would be her or the other black dude. And now she is all alone in a prison full of sick people and Rick. Though still no indication on who was feeding walkers. The rest of the episode felt like too much of a set up. It took them way too long to talk about the veterinary hospital and actually leave for it.
You can download The Walking Dead on iTunes.

Revenge: In maybe the least surprising twist ever, Victoria’s other son tried to kill Conrad. What was surprising is she got Charlotte to confess. Alrighty. Not sure why she would fall on that sword.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Revenge on iTunes.

Masters of Sex: Oh devote Christians. How do you think just lying together would get your pregnant? The sad thing is, I actually believe that were people who did not were unaware of how sex worked. There may even be some still around today.

The Voice: What the frack just happen? I cannot see how even Holly Henry at her worst could be beaten by Nic Hawk at his best. That was the worst decision ever in the history of The Voice, overtaking the time when Cee-Lo inexplicitly picked Erin Martin over The Shields Brothers. Holly had a legitimate chance to win while Nic will be off the show by this time next week. That decision was just befuddling. What made things worse is Adam said he did not Steal Holly because she had not lived up to her Blind Audition, and the very next day picked James who downward trajectory has been much steeper than Holly’s. I am really ready for a reboot of the coaching panel. Then maybe they can bring back some of the singers that got royally screwed over by some bad coaching decisions. I am thinking of doing a list of the 25 Singers that Deserve a Second Chance on The Voice in lieu of a Power Rankings tomorrow. I cannot believe I am unable to buy Holly's version of Creep on iTunes.

To show you just how bad a decision picking Nic was, Genie in a Bottle was his highest charting song so far this season, but it still did chart as high as Holly's Torn which got five seconds of air time. As I write this Sunday morning, Genie in a Bottle is completely off the top 1500 while the seven week old The Scientist is still on the chart. And though we will never know just how well Holly's version of Creep would have done on the iTunes charts, it does say a lot that after her performance, the twenty year old original made it into the iTunes top 200 overall chart, something none of the originals did (aside from Let Her Go which despite the coaches calling obscure, was already in the top 10 prior to the show). Dumping someone who has a legitimate chance to win for someone who will be voted out the first chance America has a stay just was the dumbest idea ever in the history of bad ideas. Maybe it was not a coincidence that ratings tanked Tuesday, a day after Holly was eliminated dropping 0.7 ratings points from Monday and down 0.6 from the week before (what is even worse is this week was two hours compared to one last week and two hours shows do much better in a vacuum because they continue to grow as the night goes on). And despite premiering to its best numbers ever (that were not aided by the Super Bowl), Tuesday's episode was just 0.3 ratings higher than the series low ratings and the lowest rated Knockout Round episode in the three seasons of the Knockout Rounds. Seriously The Voice, how about not knocking out one of the fan favorites otherwise you are going to quckly turn into American Idol. Or worse, The X-Factor.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download songs performed this week with the widget at right.

The Blacklist: It says something about the writing that it seemed like every other scene I was flipping back and forth between thinking Tom was a traitor and he was being set up by Red. Sure his name was cleared, but those dudes watching still think there is something else going on with him, and I am inclined to believe him.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download The Blacklist on iTunes.

Sons of Anarchy: Not surprisingly Tara’s plan is starting to unravel. Maybe you should not have included a drug addict and a former cop to help you out on your plan. Now the question is just when will Jax catch on to Tara’s plan?
You can download Sons of Anarchy on iTunes.

Survivor: Blood vs. Water: Oh Hayden, that was a douchebag move, when you say your relationship is bigger than the game, then she asks you to switch with her, you have to. You cannot Jedi mind trick her into not thinking she should switch. This season will be a lot less entertaining without Kat. Then you had the chick alliance get rid of their second straight female in a row. How do you start out with a five to one female to male ratio and then go into the merge three chicks one dude? Kat and Laura B. would have been much more loyal than Vytas who will either go back to his dude alliance or possibly team up with Aras, neither are good scenarios for the female’s game. Then if either Laura’s make it back in the game, they certainly will not want to get back together with you. They may not even get Ciera to flip to their side. These last two votes are probably the dumbest move by any alliance that did not involve throwing a challenge.
You can stream recent episodes on cbs.com. You can also download Survivor: Blood vs. Water on iTunes.

Nashville: How everyone just happened to show up at the polo match was a bit comical (what, Avery was hired as a waiter?). But even more entertaining is whenever Juliet is annoyed. It is really amazing just how good Hayden Paintiere is on this show.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Nashville on iTunes.

Parenthood: If I were Kristina, I would have went hard negative on Bob Little and create an attack ad of him getting out of his van blaring Blurred Line and say he promotes date rape followed by the scary voice-over dude saying, “You know you don’t want Bob Little.” And c’mon Crosby, it is one thing to be forced into buying a minivan, but you at the very least have to put your foot down and make your wife trade in her car, not yours.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Parenthood on iTunes.

Best of the Week: 11/2/13

Quote of the Week: I would switch because I’m afraid I won’t do well in this duel because it’s a puzzle and I can’t even spell. But I would switch. (Kat Edorsson, Survivor: Blood vs. Water)

Song of the Week: Ghostbusters – Ray Parker Jr. (The Goldbergs)

Scene of the Week:


Big News of the Week: The Red Sox Win Another World Series: For the third time in a decade the Boston Red Sox with the face of the steroids scandal from their city winning the MVP. Wake me up when the asterisk era is finally over in Major League Baseball.

Preview Picture of the Week:

“John 8:32” Sons of Anarchy, Tuesday at 10:00 on FX

Free Download of the Week: 24 Hours – Sky Ferrera (iTunes)

Deal of the Week: 100 Albums for $5 Each: This month’s discounted albums include Johnny Cash, A Tribe Called Quest, Mazzy Star, and Passenger.


New Album Release of the Week: The Marshall Mathers LP2 - Eminem

New DVD Release of the Week: Mad Men: Season Six

Video of the Week: Sad day Wednesday when Kat was booted from Survivor. Sure I was prepared for it all week considering most of the Redemption challenges have been puzzles, and Kat cannot even spell let alone do a puzzle. It is a shame she did not make the merge to at the very least be part of the Jury because when she was voted out of One World was the single greatest Ponderosa episode ever in the history of the show. We did get Kat on the After Show and since it was Halloween, both Kat and host Parvoti Shallow dressed up like kats. Can they just make Kat the permanent co-host?


Next Week Pick of the Week: Once Upon a Time, Sunday at 8:00 on ABC: Considering mermaids showed up in the season premiere, it was only a matter of time before The Little Mermaid showed up (apparently I was wrong thinking that the mermaid they captured in the premiere was Ariel). But goodness the preview for next week looks bad, especially the poor Ursula CGI. At least it cannot be as boring as this week’s Captain Hook centric episode.

We Named the Dog Indiana

Last month apparently was Indiana Jones Month on CBS as episodes of The Big Bang Theory and How I Met Your Mother centered on exploits of the greatest fake archaeologist ever. (Thankfully no one was forced to make homage to Kingdom of the Crystal Skull… yet.) That continues here as I inducted the original trilogy into the Scooter Hall of Fame. For men of a certain age, Harrison Ford is a god among men; the guy went from Han Solo to Indiana Jones. No one comes close to that two headed monster. The only person who comes close is Samuel L. Jackson but he was still a bit player in Star Wars and The Avengers.

Screw Amy Farrah Fowler and her silly logical takedown of Raiders of the Lost Ark. Who cares if the Nazi faces would have melted off even if Indiana Jones was not even in the film, it is the journey that matters. And what a journey it was. Indiana Jones was the first action movie I saw that was legitimately funny. There was not a one-liner Harrison Ford did not like to crew on and it was only equaled with his comical hatred of snakes (full disclosure notice: I have the same totally rational hatred of the creature). Armed with only a bull whip, Indiana Jones trotted across the globe on a race to find the rarest of artifacts before they fall into the wrong hands.

The second installment, The Temple of Doom got dark, like rip your beating heart out of your chest and you do not even die dark. The temple in question involved child slavery, black magic and ritual human sacrifice. That was even out by giving Indy a side kick Short Round (who had a nice one-two punch himself as his second movie he played Data in The Goonies but was rarely seen after that). The film also featured a very memorable mine cart chase that should have been made into a rollercoaster ride (at least one in America, there is one in Disneyland Paris).

As dark as the Temple of Doom was, they went the complete opposite route with the follow up The Last Crusade, no beating hearts being ripped, not even any melting Nazi faces. They even went so far away from the previous movie that they replaced the teenaged Short Round as the side kick with Indy’s elderly father (a very game Sean Connery). Though not as entertaining as the first two, it was entertaining to watch the two leads try to out grouch each other.

The less said about Kingdom of the Crystal Skull the better.

Around the Tubes: 10/31/13

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 True Detective, Time of Death, Ground Floor, HBO Boxing After Dark, Queen Gorya, American Masters, Against the Tide, Rickie Lee Jones, Marco Argiro, and Conan.

- HBO has released a new trailer for its highly anticipated upcoming series True Detective as well as a companion website: darknessbecomesyou.com. Check out the trailer below:


- The groundbreaking six-episode Showtime documentary series Time of Death will premiere tomorrow. It intimately follows the final days of a truly remarkable group of terminally ill people and how their imminent mortality affects their family and friends, sometimes in surprising ways, and the support their caregivers/healthcare workers provide while guiding them through the final stages of life. It’s an unforgettable, unflinchingly candid series and each unique, emotionally resonant story serves as a tangible, hopeful reminder of the finite nature of time and mortality. Check out a clip below:


- TBS is giving comedy fans the chance to preview the network's brand new original sitcom Ground Floor one week before the show's "Super-Sized" premiere on television. Starting Thursday, Nov. 7, viewers can watch the entire first episode of Ground Floor via the TBS website (tbs.com) or the Watch TBS apps for iOS and Android devices, as well as through participating TV providers' websites and apps. The episode will be available for viewing through Thursday, Nov. 14, when TBS will launch Ground Floor with two back-to-back episodes, starting at 10 p.m. (ET/PT). To view the sneak preview episode of TBS's Ground Floor, users must log in with their TV provider username and password.

- HBO’s hit late-night boxing franchise presents a twin bill of hard-hitting action highlighted by a red-hot middleweight title showdown when HBO Boxing After Dark: Gennady Golovkin vs. Curtis Stevens and Mike Perez vs. Magome Abdusalamov returns to The Theater at Madison Square Garden for an epic showdown airing Saturday, November 2 at 10:00 p.m. (live ET/tape-delayed PT) exclusively on HBO.

- Actress Haley Hudson, ("Weeds" "Ghost Whisperer") is launching a campaign to fund a pilot for a proposed TV series called Queen Gorya. Haley, who is best known for the hit films "Freaky Friday" and "Marley & Me," has joined with Canadian/Finnish actress Satu Runa to fund a horror-themed comedy series that recalls some of the characters of classic horror films. Graphic novel writer Andrew Harrison is executive producing the proposed pilot which would star Haley and Satu. Head over to Kickstarter to learn more and contribute.

- PBS and Thirteen's American Masters series present a special in memoriam broadcast of the 1998 documentary Lou Reed: Rock and Roll Heart beginning tomorrow at 10pm nationwide on PBS (check local listings).

- Did University of Alabama coach Paul “Bear” Bryant and University of Southern California coach John McKay purposefully schedule the first game of the 1970 season – the first time a fully integrated team had played in Alabama – as a statement against segregation? Or was it simply another game between two college football powerhouses whose coaches were close personal friends? What were Bryant’s and McKay’s motives for the last-minute addition of USC, a fully integrated team ranked by some as the No. 1 team in the country, to the 1970 Alabama schedule? SHOWTIME Sports® examines these questions in the film Against the Tide, a feature-length documentary from EMMY Award winning producer Ross Greenburg; premiering Friday, Nov. 15 at 10:00 on Showtime.

- Grammy-award winning Ricky Lee Jones will release a new record consisting of original material for the first time in 10 years. For the album, due next year, the legendary artist has chosen PledgeMusic's direct-to-fan platform rather than a traditional label release.

- Following a successful stint fronting Marky Ramone’s Blitzkrieg, The Killing Floor’s Marco Argiro stepped out solo with his September 2013 release Love. The title track's video takes a stand for the message, “All you need is love,” reinventing it for a new generation. Watch Love below:


- For the first time since his surprise appearance in March 2012 to announce the greenlighting of Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues, Ron Burgundy (Will Ferrell) will once again appear on Conan. Burgundy, who surprised CONAN's audience with a skillfull jazz flute during that 2012 appearance, will sit down with Conan O'Brien for a much longer conversation on Thursday, Nov. 21.

I Want My Music Television: 10/30/13

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.


Reflektor - Arcade Fire


I have never been the biggest Arcade Fire fan (I do have a few songs on my library like Wake Up) because I find Win Butler’s voice a bit annoying and their new disco turn is probably not going to convert me. But those creepy masks would make for a good Halloween costume for those that need a last minute idea. Granted If I saw someone wearing one these tomorrow, I am running the other way.


All Of Me - John Legend


For his last music video, John Legend recruited a bunch of models to lay around naked. He probably saved a little more money this time around getting his Sports Illustrated bikini model wife to strip down for him.


All The Love You Got - Diane Birch


I am sure there is some deep symbolism in this Diane Birch video, white chick wearing black; black chick wearing white, but the meaning is really lost on me.


Back From The Dead - Skylar Grey featuring Big Sean & Travis Barker



Another symbolism heavy video, this time from Skylar grey, which is again lost on me. And I really wished people would stop trying to make Big Sean a thing.

Previewing Doomsday Preppers and Life Below Zero

This past weekend National Geographic Channel aired American Blackout, a fictional account of what may happen if terrorists attack out electrical grid. Of course the film featured a prepper and now their series Doomsday Preppers is returning for a new season. Unfortunately, neither preppers featured tonight, or even next week, features someone prepping for an inevitable attack on our electrical grid which seems more plausible than what a few of these people are prepping for.

First up tonight is Rodney who is actually prepping for something reasonable, a tsunami that could hit the Alaskan shoreline pretty hard. But of course the way he goes about it is off the deep end like buying an actual armored tank and sinking prepping supplies to the bottom where no one would think to look for them (unless of course they watched this episode). But the most entertaining part if his daughter who clearly has no desired to be filmed as not to be associated with these extreme views. We also get a bit of irony tonight visiting Curt who is prepping for an economic collapse, and despite the government’s best effort earlier this month, it is something that is still highly unlikely. Instead Curt, who lives in a densely wooded area of Oregon, should instead have spent his time and money prepping for a wildfire, which actually threatened his house while filming the episode.

But the real extremists show up next week. Fearing the atomic bomb dropped by our own government Chad has built an escape route via a fourteen-inch tube and the length of a football field to a bug-out vehicle. I am pretty sure one of his daughters blinked “Help me” in Morris Code. Also this season, you will meet people prepping for a domestic terrorist attack, someone who flees to Costa Rica to become more self reliant, a super tornado, a mega lightning storm, another one prepping for a financial catastrophe, and someone building booby-traps to protect his family in a Doomsday scenario.

After Doomsday Preppers, there is a new season of Life Below Zero. The show features six families in Alaska ranging from 122 south of the arctic circle all the way to 197 north of the circle; from the coastline to all the way inland near the Canadian border. This is the time of place where the inhabitants consider 40 degrees as crazy hot and the closest grocery store may be 500 miles away.

Doomsday Preppers airs Tuesdays at 9:00 on the National Geographic Channel followed by Life Below Zero. You can download Doomsday Preppers on iTunes.