The Five Most Anticipated Albums of Summer 2014

Okay, let’s be honest, there is only one album to get excited about this summer and that is a new “Weird Al” Yankovic. There are a couple others that may be good, but Al’s is the only one that is going to get to check YouTube hoping the first video is released yet. Granted another reason is that most of the non-Al marquee names that will probably have a new album out by the end of the year have not released official dates meaning we will not be getting them until closer to Christmas. Here are the ones that will actually hit shelves (or digital shelves) before the leaves start to change colors. Click the album name or cover to preorder on Amazon (where available) or the artist’s name to be taken to their iTunes page.

1. Mandatory Fun – "Weird Al" Yankovic (July 15): It has been three year since the last Weird Al album which featured him poking fun at Taylor Swift and still the Hanna Montana era Miley Cyrus. There have been plenty of parodyable songs to come out since then. Currently we do not know much about whom he will be targeting this time around except Patton Oswalt said he has heard that album and will be parodying one of his favorite bands of the nineties and a gossip site saying Al ambushed Iggy Azalea for permission to parody one of her songs. Since there is no track listing yet, here is a Power Ranking of songs I hope made the cut:

Call Me Maybe – Carly Rae Jepsen: No song in the past decade screams out for an parody from Weird Al than Call Mew Maybe. I do not want to live in a world where there is not a Weird Al Call Me Maybe parody.

Somebody That I Used to Know – Gotye featuring Kimbra: When Al teased the Russian themed artwork my first thought was “Soviet That I Used to Know must be the first single.” (Call Me Ruskie was my second thought.) On the other hand, half the time the cover art has nothing to do with any of the parodies like last album’s Alpocalypse.

Royals – Lorde: There is an obvious Game of Thrones parody as low hanging fruit in there somewhere for Al.

Roar – Katy Perry: She was the biggest pop star in the nation when the last Weird Al album dropped on her way to tying a Michael Jackson record for most number ones from one album but not one song from Teenage Dream got parodied. None of them even made the polka (I Kissed a Girl did though). Roar is some overtly cheesy it was almost as Katy was begging for a Weird Al parody with it.

Pharrell: Take your pick: Get Lucky, Blurred Lines, Happy. Really Al could just do a medley or give Pharrell his own polka from Rump Shaker (yes a nineteen year old Pharrell wrote the Wreckx-n-Effect classic) to Happy. And if not a Pharrell polka…

Folk Polka: When it came to thinking of songs I would like to hear Weird Al parody, a few folk songs came across my mind like Ho Hey and Little Lion Man, but I actually would rather here those songs as part of a polka instead.

2. Get Hurt – The Gaslight Anthem (August 18): Two years ago the band released their first major label record and I thought they were poised for a Black Keys type breakout. The album was good, it just did not hit with the general public. Granted The Black Keys did not break out until their second major label album, hopefully The Gaslight Anthem follows suit. So far I have only heard about thirty seconds of the album but the band promises something completely different.

3.  x - Ed Sheeran (Tomorrow): It seems like the singer-songwriter era that John Mayer kickstarted at the start of the millennium ended right around the time he spouted off about his racist genitalia, really the only dude with an acoustic guitar with any success since them was Ed Sheeran. So it was jarring when the first single off his sophomore album was a Pharrell produced dance song built around that acoustic guitar (which bears a striking resemblance to The Doobie Brothers). Everything that has been released since (which seems like the whole album by now) does fit more with his earlier motif so it may not be a complete sea change of an album.

4. The Golden Echo – Kimbra (August 18): Most people in America only know Kimbra from the Gotye song but her debut album ended up being much better than the Goyte song was featured on. Her follow hopefully will feature a song that will end up being her first solo hit. But that will probably not be first single 90’s Music which sadly does not sound like alt-rock or something produced by Babyface (the two things I think of when I think 90’s music).

5. Wish I Were Here Soundtrack (July 15): Ten years ago, Natalie Portman promised that The Shins would change my life. It did not. But you know whose lives it changed: The Shins. And really indie pop in general as The Garden State Soundtrack brought the sub-genre to the masses going platinum and winning a Grammy. For his next film Wish I Was Here, of course The Shins are featured on the soundtrack with a brand new song. Also making a retuned appearance is Coldplay, this time as a duet with Cat Power and Paul Simon. The soundtrack also features two songs from Bon Iver.

Here are some more albums that will be at the very least worth a spin on Spotify.

Tomorrow

One More Around the Sun – Mastodon
Bridges – Joe
Fuego – Phish

June 27
Ultraviolet EP – Owl City

July 1
Legend - 30th Anniversary Edition (CD + Blu-Ray Audio Disc) – Bob Marley
We Are Only What We Feel – NONONO
Paula – Robin Thicke
Remedy – Old Crow Medicine Show

July 8
Beautiful Goodbye – Richard Marx
1000 Forms of Fear – Sia
"Now (Chicago XXXVI) - Chicago
Redeemer of Souls – Judas Priest
Shutup&Jam! – Ted Nugent

July 15
No Fools, No Fun - Puss N Boots (Sasha Dobson, Norah Jones, Catherine Popper)
Strange Desire - Bleachers
Yes! – Jason Mraz

July 21
Nobody Smiling - Common
Trouble in Paradise – La Roux

July 29
Hypnotic Eye – Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers
The Voyager - Jenny Lewis
The Breeze (An Appreciation of JJ Cale) – Eric Clapton and Friends
A Life Worth Living – Marc Broussard

August 5
They Want My Soul – Spoon
Tough Love – Jessie Ware

August 19
In Motion: The Remixes – Amy Grant

August 26
Brill Bruisers – The New Pornographers

September 2
V – Maroon 5

September 9
All Together Now – Better Than Ezra
Goddess – Banks
El Pintor – Interpol

September 16
Bulletproof Picasso - Train
Sukierae – Jeff Tweedy
World on Fire - Slash

September 22
Strut – Lenny Kravitz
This Is All Yours – alt-J

September 30
Collide – Boyz II Men

October 28
With a Little Help From My Fwends – The Flaming Lips

TBD
Everything Will Be Alright in the End - Weezer
Dear You - Meiko
Plain Spoken – John Mellencamp
24 Karat Gold: Songs From the Vault – Stevie Nicks
Somewhere Under Wonderland – Counting Crows
Deeply Rooted – Scarface
Mr. Wonderful – Action Bronson
Now We Even – Mase
Big Boi
Billy Idol
Bob Dylan
Christina Aguilera
D'Angelo
Foo Fighters
Fun.
Guns N' Roses
Guster
Kanye West
Metallica
Nas
New Order
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Red Wanting Blue
Robert Plant
Ryan Adams
The Lone Bellow
The Ting Tings
The Veronicas

And of course here is the obligatory maybe this is the quarter we get to hear Detox from Dr. Dre.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 6/22/14

Orphan Black: My favorite part of last week’s episode was when Donnie surprised Vic and Angie in the van and told them to smile as he took a picture and for no apparent reason Vic through up the peace sign. Awesome. I have long hoped for a Donnie and Alison spin-off and even though she is at the bottom of the Clone Power Rankings I would also watch a Helana / Gracie road trip spin-off.
You can download Orphan Black on iTunes.

Penny Dreadful: R.I.P. Van Helsing. I am not sure if it was intended, but I laughed.

Crisis: So everyone already knows Gibson is behind the whole kidnapping scheme and yet he still concocted a plausible way of explaining that he is actually not the man behind the curtain. But with the secret service guy dead, who are they going to make the fall guy? Well since the final two episodes got burned off last night, you may already know by the time you read this (for the few of us that kept with it).
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Crisis on iTunes.

Switched at Birth: My favorite part of the episode was that John just happened to type in just the right phrase (weather?) as to be suggested that Bay was searching for the morning after pill. That is going to be an awkward conversation next episode.
You can download Switched At Birth on iTunes.

Murder in the First: I am not legal expert, really all I know about the law is from I learn from procedurals like these, but to does seem like the way the people obtain DNA on this show are blatant violations of the fourth amendment.
You can download Murder in the First on iTunes.

Pretty Little Liars: So the person that saw who “killed” Allison and buried her to keep that secret is now dead. Ugg. I guess the two leading subjects are whoever did try to kill Allison and maybe even Allison herself.
You can download Pretty Little Liars on iTunes.

Defiance: So what happened to the madam? She was only mentioned once and we did not even get to see her in the lengthy “previously on” segment. I vaguely remember her being brought into the woods to be shot but would not put any money on it. And she was my favorite character and I am not just saying that because she ran a brothel. Okay, I am mostly saying that because she ran a brothel.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also donload Defiance on iTunes

Dominion: I am not sure what was more disappointing, that they killed off Tyra Collette off screen or that Rupert Giles has an American accent. I guess I probably should not have expected more for a Syfy original show. Their best ones are the shows they import. I am pretty sure there was a wire in one of Michael’s flying scenes. Interesting to see ads for Spartacus premiering next week considering I remember ninety percent of the show was gratuitous nudity and violence so there is going to have to be copious editing even for basic cable. They may actually be able to air the entire season in one hour after cutting out the scenes unsuitable for cable.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Dominion on iTunes.

The Challenge: Free Agents: What a crappy way to go out for CT and the chick’s who name I cannot even remember even though she somehow made it through an entire season. They could have come up with a better way to determine the finals than everyone participating in the draw. At least have everyone vote for one person to go into the draw for one ofr the competitors and if there is a tie, everyone does it.
You can download The Challenge: Free Agents on iTunes.

Best of the Week: 6/21/14

Quote of the Week: Have you seen Dexter? Random scuba divers are finding everything Donnie. (Alison Hendrix, Orphan Black)

Song of the Week: Silver Springs – Fleetwood Mac (Californication)

Big News of the Week: I Hate the 00’s: When I heard VH1 was dusting off their I Love the… series for last decade, I said to my, Um, did they not already do that with I Love the New Millennium?” Apparently they would like us to forget they tried to do that before the decade even ended because we got a name change to I Love the 00’s pronounced the two thousands not like the oo’s as in Cheerios which was its first mistake. Actually the first mistake was the “Love” part because there were few things in pop culture to love about that decade.

So the mini-series was not appointment for me like prerious installments. But I did check in during commercial breaks during other shows I was watching this week. One thing catch the opening to the 2004. The opening of each episode pretty much teases everything that they are going to talk about that episode and 2004 was just laughably bad: White Chicks, Pimp My Ride, Fat Joe, The Swan, Napoleon Dynamite, Howard Dean, George Bush getting reelected. What the frack? Bret Michaels (?) has a segment each year counting down the guiltiest pleasures of the year (oh yeah, Rock of Love); what could have possibly be the guilty pleasures of 2004 if those crap were in the In Love part of the show?

The only things that did not suck about the 2004 episode was a double bill of Rachel McAdams (isn’t time for a Rachel McAdams comeback?) So I had to look at my Greatest of the 00’s list to see what they missed or if 2004 was truly the worst year ever. It turns out 2004 was a really good year boasting the album that topped the Greatest Albums of the 00’s The College Dropout (other music they missed in included Hey Ya!, The Grey Album, American Idiot) and the Greatest Television Show of the 00’s Veronica Mars (also premiering that year were Deadwood, Rescue Me, Lost). Some movies worth mentioning include Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, Shaun of the Dead, and the two biggest documentaries up until that point Fahrenheit 9/11 and Super Size Me. In video games two of the most successful games had sequels: Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and Halo 2. The Olympics happened that year, the first time since the first modern games it was held in Greece. Other firsts at those games included the first loss ever for NBA players at the Olympics, and Michael Phelps winning his first gold medal. He would go on to win the most medals at one Olympics in a non boycotted Game.

But still, I wish instead of the first I Love the 00’s VH1 would have just done a third I Love the 90’s (the 80’s have three installment). Since that looks like it will not be happening anytime soon, there is National Geographic’s The 90’s: The Last Great Decade? premiering in two weeks. It will certainly be better than I Love the 00’s as it will be a Fat Joe free mini-series.

Preview Picture of the Week:

“Pilot” Young and Hungry, Wednesday at 8:00 on ABC Family

Free Download of the Week: Stolen Dance – Milky Chance (iTunes)

New Album Release of the Week: x - Ed Sheeran

New DVD Release of the Week: Masters of Sex: Season One

Video of the Week: I had my issues with the first season Ray Donovan but the trailer for the second season has gotten me excited for it again. Sure whoever makes trailers these days have perfected the art and can make anything seem much better than it actually is. We do get a look at some new blood with Hank Azeria as the new FBI agent on the case, Wendell Peirce (who is one of those actors who is great in everything they are in even if what they are in are not great; see The Michael J. Fox Show as the most recent example) as a new parole officer, and Vinnessa Shaw who never quite lived up to the Next Big Thing label from the late nineties (40 Days and 40 Nights ruined a lot of up and coming stars just like her new channel mate Josh Hartnett). Ray Donovan returns Sunday, July 13 at 9:00 on Showtime.


Next Week Pick of the Week: Tyrant, Tuesday at 10:00 on FX: Last year FX essentially declared they were getting into the prestige business targeting the most talented creative minds even if just for a miniseries event. Those first announcements are starting to debut: The Coen Brothers Fargo small screen reboot just ended this week, The Strain, written directed, and produced by Guillermo Del Toro (Hellboy) premieres next month. The other big name announced at this time was Ang Lee, coming off his Academy Award for Best Director, who was set to direct the Pilot for Tyrant from the producers of Homeland. Tyrant debuts this week but without Lee’s name on it. Instead he was eventually replayed by David Yates, best known for the last couple Harry Potter movies. And that was just the start of some behind the scenes turmoil surrounding its production (which was detailed at length in the Hollywood Reporter). So I am a bit weary of Tyrant (especially when you also consider Homeland’s last season and a half). But given FX’s track record, I will at least give it a try.