Last night saw the last pre-strike episode of Friday Night Lights (hopefully not the last one ever, much more on that tomorrow) and thanks to Explosions in the Sky, the show has some of the most distinctive music on television. As for the non-instrumental music, there are some great picks that you may have heard of most notably Devil Town by Tony Lucca featured at the end of the first season finale. There really isn’t a good version of the song on YouTube so I thought; I have this Hulu account that I rarely use so why not just feature that whole episode. And if your iPod or mp3 player, any and all episodes of Friday Night Lights are worthy of some space on it.
Back when Survivor trotted out their first All-Star edition I thought it was a bad idea that would end all bad ideas. And it turned out I wasn’t wrong as it is the worst season to date. All the contestants knew what to expect from the game and their competitors and they even had two people up and leave, more than all the other seasons combined. So I was a little queasy when they announced this Fans vs. Favorites season. Then I became extremely queasy when I learned that enormous douchebag Johnny Fairplay was among the favorites.
And he wasn’t the only questionable Favorite castmate. Lesbian/Barista Ami? Turn coat Jonathan? Speed talking Eliza? It is never a good sign when Jeff Probst said that this experiment will either be extremely great or absolutely horrible. Not very encouraging words considering he already knew how it was going to turn out already. Not that it will keep me from watching as they brought back some decent eye candy in the form of Parvati Shallow, Eliza Orlins and from the picture to the left we can tell what Amanda Kimmel spent her runner up money up on. Seriously, I didn’t even recognize her initially. Although I have to say I am extremely disappointed they didn’t bring back Danielle DiLorenzo from Exile Island.
Then the show focused way too much on the Favorites but I guess that is because they were the tribe going to Tribal Council, but it would be nice to see some of the newbies. Then these veterans ended up being dumb they really were by letting Fairplay be the swing voter. Have none of them ever met the dude before? And where was Cirie in all this? But the bizarre twist was Fairplay actually asked to be voted out in some weird alternative universe type tribal council where I didn’t believe what I was seeing. Not that I have a problem with him not being around anymore. And hopefully the Fans dominate and pick off the so called
Verdict: I am very unpleased with the start of the game, but feel a little better knowing I won’t have to see Fairplay’s mug again until at least until the reunion show. As a prediction, I think one of the Fans will win but since we didn’t get to see much of them, I will have to go out on a limb and say Jason Siska and his seventies David Cassidy haircut will win. Survivor: Fans vs. Favorites airs Thursdays at 8:00 on CBS. You can stream past episodes on Innertube or download them on iTunes or Amazon Unbox.
There have been a couple of videos that have caught my eye lately so I though I’d give them some love since the death of Musical Television left a void for a forum on the art form so here they are courtesy of YouTube. I advise you to watch them before you read my reviews if you don’t want me to spoil things. If you are interested in buying the video through iTunes, click the title link (where available, if not the link goes to YouTube where you can watch the video in full screen). If you are interested in buying the song, look for a link in the analysis.
A very clever video from Mark Ronson (featuring the dude from Phantom Planet) poking fun of the overtly serious Radiohead video for the song they are covering. For those that do not remember the orginal or you young’ins that never saw it in the first place, see below:
Yeah, the video is pretty nondescript but it is another great song from the undervalued Jimmy Eat World.
Believe - The Bravery
Sometimes when a song that rocks like this song from The Bravery, you do not need some high concept video and a performance piece (okay, with a couple bells and whistles here) will do. Some of you may recognize the song from the Friday Night Lights promos at the beginning of the season, if not; well you really need to start watching the show.
…And I would write 1000 more just to be the man who wrote two thousand post to fall down at your door. It was exactly three years and two days ago that I wrote the very first post here at the 9th Green back before it was even called the 9th Green. (Fun Fact: This place was originally called Scooter’s Blog.) And today marks the big 1-0-0-0. Know it was approaching I was thinking of something profound and the best I could come up with was to announce my retirement from the 9th Green. Well that is until I saw this video:
After seeing this, I want to use my one thousandth post to announce that I am now supporting Barak Obama. No, I am not supporting him because of his national heath care plan, not because he was against the war from the beginning, not because he wasn’t a corporate lawyer for WalMart, not even because he would appoint Mitt Romney the Secretary of Lookin’ Good. No, I am now supporting Barak Obama because he is Ashley Banks approved. But I wonder if this is going to put strain on the Banks household because you know Carlton is a Republican. Either way am invigorated to write another 1000 posts.
Jack Johnson may be the most unlikely multiplatinum artist this decade. He hasn’t had a radio hit with only the Curious George assisted Upside Down cracking the Top 40. He rarely cares enough to film videos with only two Ben Stiller assisted ones that were not performance based one. You can tell he would rather be surfing or strumming the guitar than be part of the machine of endless self promotion which leads to many people like my sister to have never heard of his name. What makes things worse is that everyone should know two Jack Johnsons and she knows none.
But despite the low Q-Rating from my sister and others who don’t know artists that do not get played on the radio, each of Jack Johnson’s albums have sold over a million copies. And there is no reason his latest Sleep Through the Static won’t do the same. The album is of note in that it was recorded exclusively on solar power, the first of which Johnson recorded outside of his home state of Hawaii.
If you are familiar with Johnson, you know what you are getting on the album, mellow, campfire melodies and sing-a-longs with a minimalist approach to most songs. There in lies the disappointment for the album. That was the basic formula for his debut, but he was able to expound on that mellow vibe with weird and odd mini songs sometimes in French. But for the most part the risks are gone on Static unless you listen really carefully. But even his songs from the Curious George Soundtrack took more chances.
That is not to say the album isn’t serviceable in an if it is not broke don’t fix it kind of way. There is a maturity that wasn’t on the first album and has been building ever since. Gone are songs about pancakes and toes. He takes on the current administration and their war plans on the title track.
The most adventurous song on the album, If I Had Eyes, is a playful tune and sounds exactly like what you would expect from someone who has a couple more miles under his feet after writing Bubble Toes. But Johnson excels when ever he slows and strips it down on songs like Enemy, What You Thought You Need, and Go On. Songs where you just want to cuddle up with someone on the beach at night next a bonfire when listening to.
Before I get into the best television had to offer last week, let me remind you that you still have a week to enter to win Dirt Season 1 on DVD starring Courteney Cox. Click the link or the banner to see how to enter.
Quote of the Week: I was thinking, you know, hit the museum, yoga, library for a bit. Then again I might just do the usge. You wanna get a beer? (Tim Riggins, Friday Night Lights)
Song of the Week: Faith - George Michael (Eli Stone, or at least I am assuming that the show featured the song from the ads. I haven’t watched it yet)
Big News of the Week: Worst Super Bowl Loss Ever: I have good news and bad news for Patriot fans. The ’85 team no longer has the worst lost in Super Bowl history. I never thought anything would be worst the huge blow out, The Fridge scoring on them, and even the back up QB calling out the team in the Super Bowl Shuffle. Of course the bad news is the ’07 Patriots replaced them. ’85 was just straight up embarrassed, with this loss the ’07 lost their perfect season in the last game, are no longer in the discussion for the best team ever or the best dynasty ever, Bill Belichicken losses his genius tag and to add insult to injury there is still Arlen Spector snooping around and the former filming technician for the team that says he has even more dirt on them that will taint the Super Bowls they did win pitting them in Big Head Barry territory. And one thing I didn’t learn today that need to be added to my post yesterday (see: Suck It Bill Belichicken) Billy again just showed again how classless he was by walking off the field with one second left. Now wonder he was so eager to trade for Randy “I take off plays when I want to” Moss who pulled the same classless move when he was in Minnesota.
Coalition Links of the Week:
Buzz suggested some books for fans missing their Gossip Girl, Brothers & Sisters, Heroes, and more. (BuzzSugar)
This week, Daemon's TV introduced their new regular feature, DVR (Daemon Video Recap), a fun video recap chipmunk-style of your favorite TV shows. (Daemon's TV)
Liz enjoyed a hefty dose of manufactured drama (with some crazy (expletive deleted), to boot) on the Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency. (Glowy Box)
Be it mere Sports Night nostalgia or something greater, Mikey is digging Thursday's session with In Treatment. (Mikey Likes TV)
Marcia explained why Supernatural is one of the most underrated shows on television. (Pop Vultures)
Feeling nostalgic, Rae recalled favorite childhood TV shows and moments from Buffy and Dawson's Creek among others with a TV meme. (RTVW)
Vance admits to liking guilty pleasures like the movie 27 Dresses, the new single by OneRepublic and the TV show Carpoolers. Yes, Vance is that one person watching that show. (Tapeworthy)
This week, Jace was all about Lost, with exclusive interviews with Matthew Fox, Josh Holloway, Elizabeth Mitchell, Michael Emerson, and Yunjin Kim, advance reviews, and morning-after analysis. (Televisionary)
TiFaux got naughty and kinky this week by offering up the Top Ten TV-Related Safe Words. (TiFaux)
Tube Talk celebrated the new season of Lost with a hilarious parody starring the Lost action figures. (Tube Talk)
Raoul found out the crazy things people say when they file complaints to the FCC about your favorite shows (TV Filter)
Thanks to some shameless in show advertising, the TV Addict deems NBC "Nothing But Commercials" (TheTVaddict.com)
Breaking Bad: I really do not get this show, this episode was even less entertaining than the first. I think one more episode may be my limit. Actually, was there a new episode yesterday that I missed?
American Karaoke: I inadvertently watched my first ever episode of the national karaoke championships ever this week. I was sitting in a room with two televisions Wednesday and I had just turned on the Republican Debates when the cleaning lady came in and turned the other television on American Karaoke and proceeded to turn up the volume up so loud I couldn’t hear the television I was sitting in front up. Yeah they is something ironic of seeing Ron Paul but hearing someone butcher Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting, but actually the show was somehow even worse than I ever thought it would be. Seriously, how can so many people be that obsessed with horrible singers butchering mediocre songs? It is obviously not because of the music because all the former karaoker are getting dropped from their record labels.
Super Tuesday Democratic Debate: Wow, was that boring. After the wrestling style smackdown in South Carolina, I expected much more. It was like two librarian debating. With that said, it was a really good week for me, Bill Belichicken lost he genius label, Rudy Giuliani dropped out of the race, and now all I need is for Hilary Clinton to get crushed tomorrow to complete the trifecta. For those that need any more reason not to vote for Clinton: she received an endorsement from biggest right wing nut job, and that says a lot, Ann Coulter (who Keith Olberman affectionately calls Coultergeist). Then on the far left of things, the most recent Rolling Stone (with Tom York on the cover) called Clinton the new Nixon. I wonder if that makes Bubba Spiro Agnew.
Also one thing that seemed to get lost last Wednesday with Giuliani and John Edwards dropping out, Arnold endorsing John McCain, the Republican debate, was that Ralph Nader launched an exploratory committee for a presidential launch.
Lost: Haven’t seen it yet. Maybe tonight unless I decide to watch and rewatch Welcome to the Captain.
Friday Night Lights: It says a lot that when I got home late on Friday and the one show I watched wasn’t the season premiere of Lost but Friday Night Lights. Even though I haven’t seen Lost yet, I bet I made the right decision because this week’s episode of FNL was better than anything Lost put on in its prime. So much to love from the hilarious (Matt trying to turn into Riggins, Landry, Matt, and Smash at lunch, Julie driving, Tyra and the alternative chick fighting over Landry) to heartbreaking (Mrs. Taylor missing her driving test, Smash losing his scholarship, Coach’s tough love with Matt). Check out the latest episodes over at NBC.com.
Super Bowl Commercials: One of the few years where the game was actually better than the commercials to the point I really don’t remember most of them, but here is my top five of those I did remember today:
1. Bill Frist and James Carville bond over Coke 2. Shaq as a jockey 3. Alice Cooper and Richard Simmons caught in the headlights 4. Charles Barkley harassing Dwayne Wayne 5. Lizards dancing to Thriller
Honorable mentions to the Adriana Lima one for obvious reasons and the trailer for Don’t Mess with the Zohan because you know anything written by Adam Sandler, Jude Apatow and Rober Smigle (who you may know better as the dude who’s hand is up Triumph the Insult Comic Dog’s bottom) has to be classic.
Next Week’s Pick: Grammy Awards at 8:00 on CBS: Last week the writers guild gave the Grammy’s an exemption so luckily we will get to hear four month old Amy Winhouse jokes that they have been storing up since the strike began. Yeah. But the Grammy’s were, and will be about the music and this year expect performances by Alicia Keys, Feist, Brad Paisley, Beyoncé, Foo Fighters (with special guest conductor Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones), Carrie Underwood as well as tributes to gospel and The Beatles. Need more reasons to watch? How about a performance by Rihanna. Now you may be thinking to yourself, “but Scooter I have seen her perform on the Movie Awards, VMA’s and countless other awards show last year, what makes this special?” Well how about that she will be backed by a reunited The Mother Frackin’ Time.
Maybe next year if you steal some more signals, have Rodney Harrison do even more HGH, teach your team to be even dirtier have Randy Moss (allegedly) assault more women, have Tom Brady knock up Gisele Bündchen and leave her by the time she makes it to the maternity ward, maybe next season you will not blow a perfect record.
Or maybe this was the classic example of cheaters never winning. Have fun talking to Arlen Specter Bill.
There have been a couple of videos that have caught my eye lately so I though I’d give them some love since the death of Musical Television left a void for a forum on the art form so here they are courtesy of YouTube. I advise you to watch them before you read my reviews if you don’t want me to spoil things. If you are interested in buying the video through iTunes, click the title link (where available, if not the link goes to YouTube where you can watch the video in full screen). If you are interested in buying the song, look for a link in the analysis.
We have our first year contender for video of the year. Although, despite the great concept, it could have been taken a little further as there are many classic albums Erykah Badu didn’t try recreating (someone really needs to do a rock version of this concept). But of the ones she did, Paid in Full has to be my favorite.
As Russ said about this song from Missy Higgins, “Get ready to hear Steer on every TV show in existence.” Well, maybe that would be the case if there were any actually television in the near future, but his sediment is point on with this catchy ditty. And the crash test dummy theme is brilliant.
Kanye West said he had a video coming up for Flashing Lights, I just never expected this was the outcome from some random dude by the name Colin Munroe. But the video is cool in a Bittersweet Symphony kind of way. You can also download this song for free from the dude’s MySpace page.
There is no more annoying holiday than Valentine’s Day. If you are coupled up, you have to fret with what you have to give them and if not you care constantly reminded foe a week how lonely you are. Whenever I fell in the latter category I would have a Valentines routine of playing Love Stinksby the J. Geils Band on a loop capped off with a showing of Swingers. Not so coincidentally Swingers is this month’s induction into the Scooter Hall of Fame.
Swinger completely sums up dudes in their twenties. Where most movies that try this end up being drug and sex romps with wild parties and unrealistic plot lines, Swingers hits every subtle nuance of the time. It is hard for any guy to watch the golf scene and think, “yeah, that’s exactly how I add up my strokes.” And the movie was the first film I remember that show guys sitting around playing video games that end up in blood both on and off the television.
The film is at its best when the guys are sitting around arguing about the most absurd things like how long you should wait to call a girl after getting her number (Industry Standard became an integral part of my vocabulary after the film). And they even nail the heartbreak of the end a long relationship and the buddies helping him get back on the horse again. Even the new dictions and the addiction to swing they invent for the film eventually doesn’t stand out while watching. Speaking of swing, I think this may be the last time a movie effectively shift pop music after its release, albeit for a short time.
Swinger also launched the careers of Jon Favreau, who also wrote the film, and Ron Livingston (Office Space). But the film really belonged to Vince Vaughn who, after trying to transition into a serious actor with range (seriously, the Psycho remake?) has finally embraced Trent and now only plays slight variations of him. C’mon, like you weren’t watching Wedding Crashers and thinking that was Trent a decade later. But the most astounding break out star of the film was Heather Graham who actual landed quality roles for a year after Swingers before people realized she couldn’t act.
I doubt anyone was actually reading back then(if you were you rule), but on my list of the Best Albums of 2005, topping that list was Wreck of the Day by Anna Nalick. My review for that album was so long ago, it was the fourth ever on the 9th Green, it even predated the Song to Download at the end of the review. It I had it back then, Catalyst would have been it. Many of you may have figured out that I love the uber depressing sad songs and there are not many sadder than this song. The crescendo at the end is just heartbreaking as her voice starts breaking as she goes into falsetto. No proper video for this song so I hope you like the Spike from Buffy The Vampire Slayer/Angel theme that I found on YouTube.
The reason I bring this song up now is because a new song from Anna hit the internet this week and Shine definitely stands up with anything on Wreck of the Day and is definitely more powerful than anything on that album. Someone has already made a really cool video for the song as seen below:
The line “There are times when the poets and porn stars align and you won’t know who to believe in, well that’s a good time to be leaving” is in early contention as the best lyric of 2008.
Just in case it is gone by the time the next 57 Channels comes around, recently Jo pointed out that Season 3 of Veronica Mars recently dropped below $20 recently. In fact all seasons are on the cheap. Sometimes these sales last a month, sometimes a week or less so check the ads below to see if they are still at bargain bin prices.
If you rock out in your minivan to Daughtry or whatever your local Clearchannel adult contemporary station makes you believe constitutes as rock these days, you probably have never heard of Vampire Weekend. The band is the latest internet buzz band that is declared by the holier than you music blogs as the next big thing. Of course, keep in mind none of the previous next big things actually became big.
Of course, much like Daughtry, it is hard pressed to call Vampire Weekend a rock band in the sense of U2 or The Clash, but are better classified under nerd rock after all the band met each other when they were attending Columbia (yeah they are smarter than you and don’t seem to mind letting you think that). They would have been a perfect fit for 120 Minutes or college radio in the late eighties put in-between They Might Be Giants and Violent Femmes.
Vampire Weekend’s self titled debut album sound as if They Might Be Giants tried to be a little more serious by listening to Paul Simon’s Graceland and early The Police on repeat for a whole year. Sure there is some quirkiness still in tack thanks to name dropping Lil’ Jon and Peter Gabriel while rhyming together Louis Vuitton, Reggaeton, Bennetton and really all you need to know about One is the subtitle is Black’s Got a New Face which you will be singing along with eventually if you listen to it enough.
But there is a musicianship on the album that was lacking in many college rock acts which is mostly what kept them on college radio and off the mainstream stations. The problem though is the album starts dragging near the end which isn’t good for an album just over a half an hour long. But, hey, it is much longer before Daughtry starts to get grating (which is only about five seconds).
Sorry, this contest has ended and the winner has been contacted. If you are still interested winning the DVD, you can check out the Dirt contest Tube Talk Girl is running that does not end until Friday.
In just over a month (Sunday, March 2 at 10:00 on FX to be exact) Dirt returns for its second season and for those who would like to relive the first season or would like to check it out for the first time with the lack of scripted shows dwindling I am giving away the Complete First Season of Dirt on DVD. There are three ways to enter:
1. The show is about a tabloid, which real life tabloid king or queen would you like to make a cameo on the show?
2. Or which tabloid king or queen would you like to see stricken from all the magazines in the supermarket checkout aisles?
3. Mention and link this contest on a blog or message board. (Any link must be posted at least 48 hours before the conclusion of the contest and only one link per message board or blog; feel free to use the badge to the right).
You can e-mail your entries to ScooterKSU(at)aol(dot)com (subject: Dirt). If you link the contest, make sure you let me know you did in your e-mail where so you get credited with an entry. You may enter the contest up to three times (once each way). The contest ends Monday, February 11 at 11:59 PM EST. The winner will be picked at random from all eligible entries and will be contacted shortly after. Also this contest is only open to people with shipping addresses in the Untied States. And if you win you will have two to three weeks to review or catch up on the show before the premiere in March. Here is what you can expect on the DVD in terms of features:
- Available Subtitles: English - Available Audio Tracks: English (Dolby Digital 5.1) - All 13 episodes from the 2007 season on four discs - Celebrity Couple Gets Dirty - Through a Lens, Darkly - Tabloid Wars: Totally true stories from the celebrity trenches - Deleted scenes
You can also double your chances of winning, you can check out Tube Talk Girl who is running the same contest. If you do not win and still want to catch up, you can download the first season of Dirt on iTunes or Amazon Unbox or buy the DVD below. Be sure to look out here for more on Dirt as the season premiere approaches.
Quote of the Week: I’m afraid that I may have to send my 95 year old mother over and wash Chuck’s mouth out with soap. (John McCain, responding to Norris’ comment that he is too old to be president)
Big News of the Week: It Is Bitterly Cold: No seriously, when is this global warming stuff supposed to kick in?
Gratuitous Token Hot Chick Picture of the Week:
Bonus Gratuitous Token Hot Chick Picture of the Week:
Coalition Links of the Week:
Buzz shared tons of stories from the Freaks and Geeks reunion in San Francisco. (BuzzSugar)
Sandie interviewed Sophia Myles who plays Beth Turner on Moonlight (Daemon's TV)
Liz watched writers from The Daily Show and The Colbert Report stage a hilarious mock debate on the strike. (Glowy Box)
Fergus looked at five shows that never made it to the airwaves, much to our disappointment. (Pop Vultures)
To kick off the Adopt A Writer project Kelley interviewed Jasmine Love, a writer with credits from Moesha, The Division, and The District. (RTVW)
Vance is going to miss Betty and Chuck during the strike hiatus. (Tapeworthy)
Jace was all about British TV this week, from an advance look at Torchwood's second season opener to the awe-inspiring finale of Life on Mars. (Televisionary)
Dan had some misgivings about Carson Kressley's tepid new show How to Look Good Naked. (TiFaux)
Raoul interviewed Rachel and TK from The Amazing Race. (TV Filter)
South Carolina Debates: Who better to host in a debate sponsored by the Black Caucus on Martin Luther King Day than Wolf Blitzer. And did they seriously ask Barack Obama on MLK if Bill Clinton was the first black president. Were in the middle of two wars, at the start of a recession, heating bills are through the roof, and these are the types of questions they are wasting? I would have said John Edwards won the debate for pointing out the real issues after Obama and Hilary Clinton sparred for ten minutes on the stupid Ronald Regan question, but he started going negative later too. There was so much mudslinging I had to take a shower after it was over. And did I hear correctly that Hilary was on the board at Wal-Mart. After some research it looks like Clinton sat on the board of Wal-Mart from 1986-1992, so if you vote for Hilary you are un-American because Wal-Mart is the evil empire. Oh and guess who had their picture taken with the slum lord, that they attacked Obama for working with. Yep, both the Clintons have.
And looks like Hilary’s opponents are finally talking what will help them the most, The Big “E” electability. Obama said that in a general election, all of her supporters would support him, but not all of his supports would not necessarily vote for her in a national election. Which gets at a bigger notion that after all the race baiting the Clintons have done lately, if she is the nominee could the blacks stay home or even consider voting for a Republican? This could be possible if Mike Huckabee, who openly courted the group as governor and who social programs help and the lone Republican who participated in the Martin Luther King day festivities, is on the ticket (albeit it would most likely be on the bottom of the ticket).
John Edwards also pointed out this week that he would beat John McCain in a national election where Hilary would get trounced by McCain head to head. Okay this is a silly assertion considering such a vote is still ten months away and polls are generally stupid. Although after the New Hampshire polls debacle, the media unveiled a new polling devise this week, the Keith Number which is the margin of error plus the percentage of undecided. For instance, the Keith Number in yesterday’s South Carolina primary was 16, which is pretty worthless.
Chuck: Much like My Name Is Earl a couple weeks ago it was hard to get into the show knowing it was the first and last episodes that we will see for a couple months. Not to mention the hour gap in-between and it has been over a month since the last episode. Speaking of that last episode, wasn’t the lasting image was Casey being told that they will soon dispose of Chuck with the new intersect getting close to being replace? That wasn’t addressed at all this week. As for stuff that actually happened, the first was definitely better with the Casey-centric theme with his ex resurfacing. Although did I miss when she explained how she survived the blast? Seems like a gaping hole to the plot.
Oh, and one more thing, Morgan still needs to die a horrible death sooner than later. Check out the latest episodes over at NBC.com. You can also download Chuck on iTunes.
Florida Republican Debate: Maybe the most boring yet. I never thought I would say it but I miss Fred Thompson. You know he would hade gone after somebody during the ask another candidate portion where everyone else went softball. Although a thought of a Chuck Norris vs. Sylvester Stallone debate would be great. If only Saturday Night Live was still on. That sketch writes itself.
Friday Night Lights: Now that the rape/murder plotline has been cleared up, it looks like the Riggins/meth dealer plotline has replaced it as the please end as soon as possible plotline. What is worse is that every time I think it is over, the creepy dude just shows up out of nowhere. At least the volleyball stuff was thoroughly enjoyable. Check out the latest episodes over at NBC.com.
Promo of the Week:
Next Week’s Pick: Lost at 9:00 on ABC: The highs and lows of this show are well telegraphed with an amazing first season the sputtered to a boring finale and the show really hasn’t gotten back on track for a long period of time since. The third season ender looked like it was going down with the same tedium as the first until the jaw dropping twist of the flash-forward. Granted, despite the faithful that try to tell you otherwise, a hundred and ten minutes of dullness, plus a mind blowing ending still doesn’t make for a great episode. Not that I will stop watching. Yet. Get caught up with the show by downloading the free videos from iTunes with the banner below or just tune in an hour before the premiere with a recap show.
FX quickly became the home for quality television and arguably is overshadowing its big brother Fox racking up more critical praise and awards than the parent brand. Now the network is branding itself with a There Is No Box campaign. You may have seen commercials for it already but it starting a big push next week including a spot on the Super Bowl. I assume they are getting a discount as Fox is airing the game this year. Now I only watch one of their shows, Rescue Me, but I may have a contest to win a DVD season set of one of their shows in the near future (in fact click here to win a copy of Dirt Season 1 starring Courteney Cox). Below is a promo for the campaign, official pictures for the shows (click to enlarge), and a press release about the whole thing:
THERE IS NO BOX
FX UNVEILS ITS FIRST BRANDING CAMPAIGN
Multi-Million Dollar Campaign Features 60-Second Spot in Super Bowl XLII
FX, which airs more scripted original series than any other advertiser-supported cable network, will unveil a new multi-million dollar branding campaign, which includes the purchase of a 60-second spot in the “post-gun” position of FOX’s telecast of Super Bowl XLII on Sunday, February 3, 2008. The new campaign, entitled THERE IS NO BOX, reflects FX's reputation as a groundbreaking and critically-acclaimed programmer. The FX branding campaign officially begins on Tuesday, December 18 at 10 PM (ET/PT) in a first-run telecast of the original series Nip/Tuck.
The campaign marks the first time in the network's 13-year history that it has put forth a true brand proposition geared to market the network as a whole. The initial phase of the campaign begins across the Fox Networks Group, including all of its cable networks and Fox Broadcasting Company, as well as online through Fox Interactive Media, and print through the many News Corp. owned publications. The branding campaign will be a long-term effort, which includes off-network television, online and print media buys.
"In the past, we've chosen to let our original programming successes do the talking. In essence, our aggressive branding campaign began five years ago with the launch of the original series The Shield. Now, with the introduction of THERE IS NO BOX, we begin to market FX as a network. Highlighting the commonalities of FX’s diverse series, such as stirring performances and TV cliché-obliterating originality, allows the network’s overall excellence to shine through," said John Landgraf, President and General Manager of FX Network.
The new branding campaign was created in-house by the FX Marketing department's On-Air Promotion, Print Design and Advertising teams.
"FX has led the vanguard of a revolution in ad-supported TV programming,” said Stephanie Gibbons, Executive Vice President of Marketing and On-Air Promotion, FX Networks. “THERE IS NO BOX speaks not only to the network’s commitment to defying traditional formulas, but also claims FX’s position in a future that will see a dynamic expansion of the boundaries of content distribution that have defined television to date.”
THERE IS NO BOX The spots for THERE IS NO BOX will feature the song by James Morrison, "You Give Me Something," from his recently-released album Undiscovered. There are three main network 60-second spots and individual 30-second spots for each of FX’s eight original series. The individual show spots contain phrases preceded by the words “There Is No.” The phrases used in the spots are commonly associated with clichés of traditional genres of television. When coupled with the words “There Is No,” these spots define the way in which each of those respective FX series depart from traditional form. As each spot ends, the FX logo and its traditional klieg-light box fades off screen, followed by the words “There Is No Box.” The klieg light box in the network logo will be phased out over a period of time – with the network logo simply upper case “FX”, in bold.
The genesis for the THERE IS NO BOX campaign began with research showing a consistent perception among FX viewers – backed by critics – that, no matter what the genre, an FX original series will deliver a viewing experience in a distinctive way that has become an identifiable signature of the channel.
Landgraf added, “We’ve talked about doing a branding campaign from the time I joined the network, when our only original series were The Shield and Nip/Tuck. Ultimately, we decided to wait until our brand had achieved a kind of maturity and fullness across multiple successful series, not just two or three. Another primary reason for this timing was the desire to wait until we could position the brand for all viewers within our target adult 18-49 demographic, including male and female, 18-34 and 35-49. We needed, and now have, a wider array of shows that appeal to each of those groups.”
Through its original content, the network has cultivated a consistent outsider point of view and identity. The experience offered to the FX viewer is presented through the eyes of anti-heroes – characters who do not conform to expectation, yet ultimately remain sympathetic. At times they make bad choices in their lives and can face dire consequences as a result, but they are emotionally complex and authentically human.
FX has set the standard for excellence in ad-supported cable television, receiving more Emmy® and Golden Globe® award recognition for its series than any other basic cable network. Of its eight original series, six are dramas - the most dramas ever to run concurrently a cable network, including HBO and Showtime. Since The Shield premiered in March of 2002, FX's average primetime audience has increased +93% among its target audience of Adults 18-49 and has jumped +87% in total viewers.
While FX used two previous taglines, those taglines were never marketed as a true brand position of the network. When the network first launched in June of 1994, the network’s logo was a lower case ‘f’ paired with and upper case ‘x’ in a cube with tagline “TV Made Fresh Daily,” which was a reflection of the network’s live original programming produced from its New York studio, The Apartment. In August of 1997, the network changed its logo to upper case “FX” attached to a box containing klieg lights with the tagline “Fox Gone Cable” to reflect a lineup that was more Fox-centric with off-network runs of The X-Files and NYPD Blue, as well as weekly Major League Baseball telecasts.
FX is the flagship general entertainment basic cable network from Fox. Launched in June of 1994, FX is carried in more than 94 million homes. The diverse schedule includes a growing roster of distinctive original series, an established film library with box-office hits from 20th Century Fox and other studios, and an impressive roster of acquired hit series. For more information about FX, visit our web site at www.FXnetworks.com.
There have been a couple of videos that have caught my eye lately so I though I’d give them some love since the death of Musical Television left a void for a forum on the art form so here they are courtesy of YouTube. I advise you to watch them before you read my reviews if you don’t want me to spoil things. If you are interested in buying the video through iTunes, click the title link (where available, if not the link goes to YouTube where you can watch the video in full screen). If you are interested in buying the song, look for a link in the analysis.
Don’t ask me why Bruce Springsteen would release a song about summer in the dead of winter, but it is a great song. I think this version of the song is technically called the Winter Mix, but don’t ask me the difference between it and the original. But the video is beautifully shot and if MTV bothered to nominate actual best videos instead of the best from artists who appeal to fourteen year old girls like they have in recent years, this would be a lock for a moonman.
Speaking of girls in their summer clothes, Carrie Underwood wears plenty in her new video and I am definitely happier for it. Yeah the song is lame in a cheesy country music kind of way but I’m not sure which Carrie I like the most, the cheerleader, the doctor, the cop, the teacher, or the chemist. Although I wonder if she is subliminally endorsing a candidate in the video. On one hand there is the female president, which could be she is backing Hilary. But the dude grooms and the bride may be a subtle hint she is pro-Mitt Romney.
Another person whom I really do not want a political statement from, but it is still hard to not agree with many of points Kid Rock makes in the song, well not that I have ever felt guilty for being white. The song is easily the best of his career.
1, 2, 3, 4 was such an infectiously silly video you can’t hate on Apple for co-opting it for there iPod campaign. Even though the latest from Feist isn’t as colorful, it is still odd and hard to take your eyes off of.
Breaking Bad, the second original program from AMC after the critically acclaimed Mad Men, is labeled a dark comedy and definitely delivers on the dark part. The lead Walt is a science teacher who moonlights at car wash; he has a severely disabled kid with another on the way. Oh and he has just been diagnosed with a terminal case of cancer. The problem though is the comedy portion of the show, or more importantly the lack there of.
Not only is the show not that funny, you know it never a good sign whenever an episode, let a lone a pilot of a new show, starts off with a flash back. Whenever a show starts off with a “Three Days Earlier” basically what the writers are telling you is “listen, the actual beginning is pretty boring, so we are going to start in the exciting third act to draw you in before we get to the boring part. As an added bonus, we get to write less because we can just reshow a few scenes.”
What’s worse is there were a couple of characters you know have the potential of being funny but they just weren’t. First is the drug dealer/former student Walt hooks up with when he decides to start making meth to make sure his family is more financially secure when he is gone, but the drug dealer isn’t as snarky as he could be to amp up the humor. Then there is Walt’s brother-in-law/DEA agent who is your typical meathead authority figure but really didn’t have many lines for you to laugh at.
Verdict: Despite the disappointing start, it does have potential if the writers work out the kinks early on especially in raising the laughs quota. I am still going to give it another try or two. Because really, what else am I going to watch, dudes singing karaoke? Breaking Bad airs Sundays at 10:00 on AMC. You can also download Breaking Bad on iTunes. You can also download the show for free on Amazon Unbox for a limited time (see ad below, if it says $0.00 it is still free). Both have a making of the show video free for download.
So far this decade no one has given more profound advice than Natasha Bedingfield when she told me to feel the rain on my skin, no one else can feel it for me, that only I could let it in. No one else and I mean no one else can speak the words on my lip. Then I should just drench myself in words unspoken; live my life with arms wide open. The rest, of course, has remained unwritten. Despite the life changing advice she gave me, it was safe to assume that she didn’t have much left in her well after that.
The follow up single, titled, um, Single was not as well received then there was the laughable first single from her next album I Want to Have Your Babies. The album ended up getting released in April in England but postponed after Babies failed to make a dent stateside. Eight months later, a version of the album is finally dropping here with a major overhaul, only half the songs appear on the two albums, a name change to Pocketful of Sunshine, and a new lead single, Love Like This featuring the ubiquitous Sean Kingston. Yes the Beautiful Girls dude that ruined many summer house parties last year.
The result of all that reconfiguring leaves not that much change as the album ends up sounding much like the last but without the two huge hits. There are a few listenable songs, Soulmate can be touching if you are search for one yourself, if not, you will just sound like a Christina Aguilera castoff but sung by someone without a vocal range. Happy is the closest to a sing a long on the album but still not even as good as These Words.
Bedingfield’s time as Justin Timberlake’s opening act seems to have rubbed off because many of the songs like the title track and Angel have the futuristic beats from his last album, but her they are so muddled they just don’t work most of the time. Adam Levin of Maroon 5 fame is relegated to background duties but the back and forth between the two would have been much more if Levine would have been featured than the Kingston duet.
For the past couple years, the first quarter of the year has been a vast wasteland where record companies drop albums by artist they hope to break in the new year (see last year with Amy Winehouse) or albums that were supposed to release before Christmas but held them because they sucked (see the chick from The Pussycat Dolls this year). Yet scrolling over this years’ Winter Music Preview, even though there really is not a blockbuster among them aside maybe Jack Johnson, there is a decent amount of good (and more than enough crappy) music being released the first four months of 2008.
If you are interrested in preordering the albums from Amazon, the link on the album name will take you their, the links on artists names will take you to their iTunes page. If I left one of your favorite artists off the list with an upcoming album feel free to drop me a comment or feel free to wax poetic in the comment section on which albums you are looking forward to. (Note: release dates subject to change):
January 22
Jukebox - Cat Power: Chan Marshall is back to get her indie queen back from Feist with a album full of cover songs with songs made famous by Frank Sinatra, Hank Williams and James Brown. The album is available for pre-order on iTunes.
Pocketful of Sunshine - Natasha Bedingfield: Of the new songs I have heard, it sounds like Natasha will go down as a two hit wonder. The album is available for pre-order on iTunes.
January 29
Tim's House - Kate Walsh: No not that Kate Walsh, this is a British singer that is more Norah Jones than Lily Allen. The album is already available on iTunes.
Just A Little Lovin' - Shelby Lynne: She won the Grammy for Best New Artist in 2001 (almost a decade after releasing her first album) and has been (unfairly) ignored pretty much ever since by the general public.
Moment Of Forever - Willie Nelson: With Kenny Chesney producing, Willie takes on songs by Dave Matthews, Bob Dylan and a few songs he wrote himself.
Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend: This year’s buzz band which means the album will most likely fall under the weight of all the hype.
Her Name Is Nicole - Nicole Scherzinger: As I mentioned in the intro, it is never a good sign when you get moved from the fourth quarter to the first.
February 5
Sleep Through the Static - Jack Johnson: My most anticipated album of the winter, nothing like a surfer to warm things up with snow on the ground. The album is available for pre-order on iTunes.
Detours - Sheryl Crow: Maybe it is a coincidence that Crow hasn’t had a hit since duetting with Kid Rock, but Tuesday Night Music Club producer is back for this album which was recorded in Nashville which could hint at a more folksy sound.
Lucky - Nada Surf: Who had the group the recorded Popular in the late 90’s sustain a career a over decade later in their office pool?
February 12
25th Anniversary of Thriller - Michael Jackson: Yeah, seeing that this album hit its half a century mark doesn’t make me old at all. But anyways. If I am not mistaken, this will feature remixes by Kanye West and will.i.am.
Shine - Estelle: Speaking of Kanye and will, they will both be appearing on this album British singer/rapper Estelle, the first released on John Legend's label.
February 19
Mockingbird - Allison Moorer: Younger of Shelby Lynn, Moorer releases an album of cover songs with her take on songs by Nina Simone, Joni Mitchell and Johnny Cash.
February 26
On a Clear Night - Missy Higgins: Huge in her native Australia, where this album already hit number one last May, now she tries to conquer the States. Again (her debut, The Sound of White was essentially overlooked here). This album is already available on iTunes.
Warpaint - The Black Crowes: The first album from the band since Kate Hudson tried to pull a Yoko Ono.
Asking for Flowers - Kathleen Edwards: Made some of the best alt-country music this decade that is not credited to Ryan Adams, expect more on this album.
March 11
Hello - Tristan Prettyman: I think I may be the only one who check out her first album that was very Jack Johnson with a female twist, hopefully more people check out the follow up.
Ego Trippin' - Snoop Dogg: Snoop has set the bar high after the Sexual Seduction video. Snoop says there will not be any guests on this album but expect prodution from the Neptunes.
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promos at the beginning of the season, if not; well you really need to start watching the show.
![Terror Alert Level: High [ORANGE]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhebDZ0qqwOVKMZj7oFSUe8Hm3ax54U9Hp1fThJPgiddTyzcdwx_5SV6E3b7hkKyxbaDiym4COmUXT2YJnsKCUjBHI_a2xZtNoY7qFQRslP5AGO5gLkJwn2ZbO0wIF80ycbKrgPPA/s400/small_high.png)
on my 
). But the film really belonged to Vince Vaughn who, after trying to transition into a serious actor with range (seriously, the 
and thinking that was Trent a decade later. But the most astounding break out star of the film was Heather Graham who actual landed quality roles for a year after Swingers before people realized she couldn’t act.
/
theme that I found on YouTube.
![Terror Alert Level: Elevated [YELLOW]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6-iVFV0hXCTSYP16K_V0Rrxp3GqFrtBIJKeTUyQ2LpxZQ9XKHFj6QGtqqa7oxhLadLV8vUj8R84AftD8IKUSfN0u_u0CYDtJwhrpCPN2DBWquAIDv0jbVlhZL0mDFKlPKluGyxw/s400/small_elevated.png)
on my 
or buy the DVD below. Be sure to look out here for more on Dirt as the season premiere approaches.
![Terror Alert Level: Guarded [BLUE]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzCbHfExiuXqojow1zxkBUX6j-9BHg9IyrfzqR77jnja2Xq6dbv-7iiqMFzp_UKXGcUF9FyAHqCkNxa5uitXa5Xu2Q1OboN9-TLjsaeI1a2eoGLORU4vkTQ54l1C-_cZyn81QHyQ/s400/small_guarded.png)
on my Terror Alert Scale.
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