Best of the Week - 2/4/12

Quote of the Week: I’ll even watch one of those artsy foreign ones you like where all they do are stare at windows. (Hanna, Pretty Little Liars)

Song of the Week: Rocket Man (I Think It's Going to Be a Long Long Time) – Elton John (The Big Bang Theory)

The Very Last Gratuitous Token Hot Chick Picture of the Week: (at least until she is cast in the next inevitable ill-fated Charlie’s Angels reboot)



Scene of the Week:



Big News of the Week: NBC Goes Pilot Shopping: We still have to wait about four month until we learn what new shows will be hitting the small screen next fall, but a bunch of shows have just gotten the green light to film a pilot. NBC has gotten out of the gate with three new shows including the Munsters reboot from Brian Fuller (who created three of the finest shows ever: Dead Like Me, Wonderfalls Pushing Daisies) and director Brian Singer (X-Men) but now has a new name: Mockingbird Lane. And with a 2 million dollar penalty, it is a good bet that Revolution about a world without energy from J.J. Abrams will be making it to air. Though the last time NBC bid that high from the master of high concept / low rewards, which did not turn out well (see Undercovers, or do not, it sucked massively). In other shows you could not pay me to watch news, NBC also gave a thumbs up to a Ryan Murphy sitcom The New Normal about a gay couple and their surrogate.

Free Download of the Week: These Days (Music Video) - Foo Fighters (iTunes)

Deal of the Week: 100 Albums for $5: Amazon MP3 has released a new batch of $5 album including ones from Blind Melon, Norah Jones, Keith Sweat and Madi Diaz.



New Album Release of the Week: A Different Kind of Truth - Van Halen

New DVD Release of the Week: Throw Momma From the Train [Blu-ray]

Video of the Week: Some football game got the coveted pre-The Voice premiere slot this year and I was not entirely sure I was going to watch this season until I saw Cee Lo Green’s bedazzled leather jacket. Considered me sold. Bonus points for wrangling Lionel Fracking Richie in as a mentor. And to tide you over until tomorrow, here is some white chick singing a smoky rendition of Trey Songz’ Say Aah for her blind audition.



Next Week Pick of the Week: The River: Tuesday at 9:00 on ABC: Considering last weekend I watched Paranormal Activity 3, a television show hyping the writer / director of the original film is not a big plus in my book right now. It became clear to me while watching the third installment that all the films could be fast forwarded during the first hour because nothing interesting happens until the last twenty minutes. In Oren Peli’s defense, the first one was the best and originally done and he did everything in the film, write, direct, cinematography, editing, and only wrote the second and nothing with the third, but has signed on to write the fourth (if we are stuck watching “found” reel to reel movies of grandma, I’m out on the franchise). Hopefully his new television show has a bit more action in the first two acts than his movies did because the ads do have me curious. Plus he has brought along the hot chick from the first movie in a recurring role. She might be able to get me through the boring parts.

Around the Tubes - 2/3/12

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 Michael Feinstein’s American Songbook, Artist Den, 30 Rock, Bring it On, Chronicle, Doomsday Preppers, Showtime and ABC Family pick ups and renewals, Key and Peele, HBO Valentine presents, The Dog Whisperer, and Jefferson’s Secret Bible.

- The second season of Michael Feinstein’s American Songbook premieres tonight (check your local PBS station for times) where Michael will be heading to the Playboy Mansion to check out Hef’s vintage Wurlitzer jukebox in the game house.

- Also premiering tonight on public television is the fourth season of Artist Den starting tonight with the queen of 2011 Adele. Also showing up this season will be Kid Rock, Death Cab for Cutie, Amos Lee, The Fray, as well as Iron and Wine.

- We have been debating Patriots and Giants all week, but there is something all football fans can agree on, Madonna as a halftime show is going to suck massively. Luckily 30 Rock’s Jack Donaghy is trying to piece together a replacement and has recruited Childish Gambino (aka Community’s Troy) to rap over the Knight Rider Theme which is certainly better that watch some fifty year old pretend she is still twenty.



- Also performing television theme songs at Donaghy’s Half time show are Cee-Lo Green (BJ and the Bear), Michael McDonald (Saved by the Bell) and Ryan Adams performing Breathe, the theme to Passions. No, seriously.

- What better way to start off your Super Bowl Sunday that with some cheerleaders? Starting at 9:00 AM ABC Family is airing its Bring it On a Thon airing all five films and for those that need something else to watch once the big game starts, the network will be airing Mama Mia at 7:00 and Dirty Dancing at 9:30.

- Chronicle starring Michael B Jordan (aka Friday Night Light’s Vince Howard) hits theaters tonight and they recently asked the internets what they would do if they had telekinesis and here is what YouTube celebrity DeStorm along with MysteryGuitarMan responded:



- With the world (possibly) ending later this year, what better time than now for a television show about how to survive the apocalypse? Doomsday Preppers premieres with back to back episodes this Tuesday at 9:00 and 10:00 and will go inside America’s prepping subculture, uncovering a wide assortment of prepping styles and approaches, meeting preppers on their own turf, examining their methods and tracking their progress as they think through every logistic and contingency plan.

- A television show called Masters of Sex starring Lizzy Caplin (Party Down)? Yes please. The pilot for the show will begin filming in March for Showtime (double yes) and will also star Martin Sheen (Frost/Nixon) as the duo will star as human sexuality pioneers William Masters and Virginia Johnson set in the 60’s (seriously, skip the pilot and just greenlight it right now).

- In other Showtime news, the network just announced renewals of current chows Shameless, House of Lies and Californication for their third, second, and sixth seasons respectively.

- In other renewal and pick up news, ABC Family is bringing back The Secret Life of the American Teenager for a record fifth season which will put it over the 100 episode mark. It has also greenlighted new comedy series Baby Daddy, its highest ever tested comedy pilot ever and will also dip into the reality world with Beverly Hills Nannies about, well the title says it all. Tori Spelling and Tia Mowry have also been cast in their latest 25 Days of Christmas original movie The Mistle-Tones.

- If you missed the premiere of Key and Peele this week, here is a sketch you missed. And look out for a new episode Wednesday at 10:30 on Comedy Central.



- If your Valentine is a big HBO fan and you still have to figure out a gift with eleven days and counting, head over to HBO Shop for special holiday shirts from your favorite shows including True Blood, Entourage, Curb Your Enthusiam, Eastbound and Down and Sex and the City.

- Also celebrating the holiday is Cesar Milan with his special Valentine’s Day episode of The Dog Whisperer next Saturday (2/11) which is also his 150th episode. And what better way to celebrate the milestone than with a cake. And if you bake Cesar a cake, you can share the photo to Instagram with the tags #natgeowild and #happy100. One lucky baker will actually receive a call from Cesar himself.

- Appropriately premiering on President’s Day is Jefferson’s Secret Bible at 8:00 on Smithsonian Channel. The special looks at the hand created book that the former president edited himself keeping the sections he believed were the true teachings of Jesus cutting out the parts of the four gospels that dealt with angles, miracles and resurrection.

I Heard You Like the Bad Girls, Honey Is That True?

If there are two things the internet do really well is build things up and tear them down; usually in successive order of the same thing. And possibly the thing that got hyped more and destroyed harder on the internet at the fastest rate was Lana Del Rey. Everyone online was quick to jump on the weird retro do it yourself music video for Video Games where Del Rey glamed it up while her husky voice provided the soundtrack. Personally I thought she sounded like a boring version of Amy Winehouse so I did not give her much attention. Then she appeared as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live.

And nearly broke the internet in the process with her drugged out performance, complete with trembling voice and weird ticks. Was it the single worst performance ever in the history of the late night show? Of course not, it is not as if acid reflux made her do a jig while her band played the wrong backing track. But the backlash was on. It did not help she went from the grainy footage of Video Games and followed it up with the very glossy video for Born to Die which saw her shining in some grand cathedral flanked by a pair of tiger. And some of the attacks were just silly like her changing her name from Lizzy Grant at the same time Ziggy Stardust was on the cover of the Rolling Stone thirty years later (and even David Bowie still is not his real name). Or how she went from white trash persona to Hollywood chic or that it turns out she comes from the one percent. (Though I am not entirely convinces that Lizzy Grant is not also a persona and she is really just teen pop star JoJo all grown up because they look strikingly similar).

Personally I could care less about all that stuff as long as the music is listenable. Unfortunately Born to Die is not. It is striking how amateurish Del Rey sounds thought the disk. She wildly goes from note to note, octave to octave without any sense of cohesiveness nor does it sounds like she cares, one of those too cool for school types, and the lyrics seem as carelessly written. It is never a good sign when you are listening to a song and it makes you think of the musical episode of Community where Annie Edison tries to woo Jeff in a pseudo Santa Baby type song. But that is exactly where my mind went when I heard Off to the Races where Del Rey cooed the exact same way as Annie in the chorus expect when Annie sang, it was intentionally over the top sexualize for comedic effect. Del Rey, unless she is trying to pull the biggest prank in musical history, is singing with a straight face. Seriously, “Kiss me on my open mouth” may be the least sexy line ever song that was supposed to be romantic.

The cooing goes way over the top for National Anthem, which I am not entirely sure what is supposed to be a metaphor for, and I am not sure I want to find out. The song is the musical version of the drunken chick at the party who tries to make out with you even though her breathe reeks of a mixture of alcohol, cigarette butts, and puck; it is really the ultimate anti-aphrodisiac. Ladies, if you put on Let's Get It On when you want to, well, get it on, Born to Die is what you should play if you want to make sure your boyfriend gets the hint that tonight is a hair up, sweatpants kind of night. Unless of course you are dating a semi-ironic hipster because I have a feeling those are the only people who would enjoy Born to Die. Of course if that is the case, you have more to worry about than listening to Born to Die in its entirety.

Song to Download – Blue Jeans

Born to Die gets a on my Terror Alert Scale.

Your Purple Prose Just Give You Away

A couple months ago VH1 unveiled their list of the 40 Greatest One Hit Wonders of the 90’s and I kept getting more and more agitated watching it with every passing entry because 90% of the list did not deserve being on the list because they were too obscure, sucked massively, and most egregious were those song that should not even be considered one hit wonders. Seriously, if I were ever to create a list of the 100 Greatest One Hit Wonders of the 90’s (Spoiler Alert: hypothetically if I were to do so, I would post my list next Monday) I would venture to say only 15 of their 40 would make my top 100. 15 would actually be the same about that I would argue are not even legitimate one hit wonders that VH1 had on their list.

One of the additions to VH1’s list that made me the angriest was the inclusion of EMF who released quite possibly the greatest rock dance album ever in the history of recorded time with Schubert Dip, this month’s induction into the Scooter Hall of Fame. It is a shame that VH1 completely forget about Lies which was a legitimate hit or smaller hits like I Believe and Children. Sure, if there was such a thing, EMF could be considered One Album Wonders with Schubert Dip, but One Hit Wonders they are not.

Sure Unbelievable is clearly EMF’s biggest hit and deservedly so as it is one of the best songs from the decade period. It demanded your attention from the first “Oooh” and heavy use of cowbell and managed to either be the first rock song to get massive play in the clubs or the first dance song that truly rocked. The song also famously helped Andrew Dice Clay get back on MTV after getting banned a couple years earlier by sampling the raunchy comedian heavily in the song.

But with Schubert Dip, EMF showed they were no one trick pony. Children rocked with the same intensity as Unbelievable exchanging Andrew Dice Claw with police sirens. In fact other tracks like Long Summer Days, When You’re Mine, and I Believe could still keep house parties moving today and may bery well have paved way for the rock tinged techno music of the late nineties with acts like The Prodigy and The Chemical Brothers. Lies showed the band could switch gears into the more serious but still made the song danceable to that part of the fan base. It would be hard-pressed to find anyone who has listened to Schubert Dip all the way through that would call EMF a one hit wonder. Just do not ask me why a sample of Bert and Ernie opened up Girl of an Age.

I Want My Music Television - 1/31/12

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.

Underneath the Sycamore - Death Cab for Cutie



I was just thinking at the start of the new Underneath the Sycamore video that it looked like the animation from their Grapevine Fires video with a noir feel to it and then the dude goes in and watches that very video. I guess I was right.


When I Was Young – Nada Surf



At the start of the new Nada Surf video, I actually thought it was going to be adults being poytrayed by their kid self, but it just turned out to be two kids in school uniforms. Oh well. Still a good song though.


The Bad in Each Other – Feist



Well that is a depressing way to start a music video. Thanks for ruining my day Feist.


Don't Kiss Me - Carl Thomas



I have long bemoaned what passes as RnB these days but it is nice to see artists like Carl Thomas are still honoring the smooth side of the genre. Sure he blatantly stole Raphael Saadiq’s glasses and do not ask me why he brought Snoop Dogg along.

You're Not the Person You Were, You Are so Much More

Knowing this was their last season, you have to wonder if the writers of Chuck were trying to cram two to three seasons’ worth of storyline into their final season. We started off with the evil CIA dude but he was randomly killed off by the chick from The Matrix. He was replaced by the chick from X-Men, but only one episode who revealed the big conspiracy was to release Superman from prison. Except he only lasted an episode but introduced us to Sarah’s former handler who also only lasted one episode. All this lead up to a final show down with… a Horatio Sanz lookalike? Seriously?



Despite a shaky lead up this season (and lets be honest, they show has been rocky for the last three seasons), it put together a pretty entertaining series finale even if I could care less about Horatio Sanz. The final two hours featured countless throwbacks from Chuck and Sarah’s first date (unfortunately they did not recreate that dance sequence, one of the greatest scenes ever in the history of television), Wienerlicious (why they ever dumped that costume is beyond me, Orange Orange was lame), Fernando getting his first lines as part of the Pervert Squad, Sarah breaking into the Intercect room was almost a shot for shot recreation of Bryce Larson breaking out of the Intercect from the series premiere (yes, I went back and rewatched the Pilot this weekend), Subway, the porn virus (of course Sarah remembered that, that plot devise was beyond obvious I knew it was the solution as soon as they uncovered the bomb), naturally the beach scene, and of course one word: Jeffster. The series finale was so well crafted for fans of the show it’s amazing how so many series screw up their finales. The only way the Chuck series finale could have been any better is if they had one final showdown with a Big Bad anyone actually cared about (it makes you wonder if they were banking on either getting the evil CIA dude or Superman for more episodes but had to scramble when they could not).



At its best Chuck mixed action, comedy and nerd culture better than anyone else. It all culminated with the finale two episodes of season two where the Bartowski clan reunited for Ellie’s wedding complete with an epic showdown with Pierce Hawthorne against Sarah, Chuck, Bryce Larson and a parachuting in Casey. And who would have guessed it would have Sam Kinison and a lesbian Indian that would save the day with a gem from the eighties?



Oh Jeffster, how have you rocked us, and now you are off to rock Germany much like David Hassellhoff before you. Aside from the epic performance of Mr. Roboto, you gave us thrilling renditions of Africa, Blaze of Glory, encouraged Ellie to Push It during her pregnancy, slowed it down for Leaving On a Jet Plane and Is This Love, and ended out the series with one last performance of Take On Me. It is a shame as the series progressed, the less they used the Buymorons especially seeing what could have been happening all along had they let Jeffster in on the spying earlier than the last two weeks because the duo coming to the rescue twice were comic gold with Jeff’s flame throwing and Lester’s high notes.



But Chuck would be nothing without his two handlers. Adam Baldwin can do more acting with grunts than most actors have in their entire repertoire. Then there was Sarah, the single hottest token hot chick ever in the history of television (with apologies to Daisy Dukes who held the title for two decades). Sarah even took the Token Hot Chick to a whole new level and would ruthlessly kick your behind if you looked at hers the wrong way. Oh, and that Weinerlicious uniform and the editors insistence of gratuitous use of slow motion. And for a guy who was a nerd that dropped out of college, living with his sister, working a dead end job, Chuck amassed the single greatest list of girlfriends ever in the history recorded film. Seriously, name a character that had a greater foursome than Rachel Bilson, Jordana Brewster, Kristin Kreuk, and Yvonne Strahovski.

Even at its worse (where it was the last couple season or whenever Morgan was on screen) Chuck still remained at the very least entertaining and always knew the right pop culture reference to put into the dialogue. And if all else failed, they could still be able to get the Token Hot Chick into the most tasteful small clothing they could find. You will be missed. Except for Morgan, they should had left him in Hawaii after the first season.

Chuck 5.x gets a on my Terror Alert Scale.

Chuck: The Complete Series gets a on my Terror Alert Scale.

57 Channels and Only This Is On - 1/29/12

Once Upon a Time: Seriously, Stealthy? I guess it should not have been a surprised that he did not make it to the end of the episode. But that was not even the most absurd plot point of the episode as the super secret item the motorcycle dude was carrying around: a typewriter. At least they did not drag that out for a couple seasons for an anticlimactic reveal like Lost would have done. I wonder if Vegas will let me put money on mysterious dude being the guy who wrote Henry’s fairytale book?
You can stream current episodes on Hulu. You can also download Once Upon a Time.

Shameless: I expect Frank to do some pretty despicable things, but I never thought he would turn down the heart transplant. And we all wish of going out while having sex, but I never thought of it though the eyes of whoever is on the other end of things, so to speak.

House of Lies: The problem with this show is right there in the opening sequence every week, right where Don Cheadle tells the camera, “You still don’t know what I do?” Um no, and that is not a good thing for the audience even if it is good for business, three episodes in and I still am not sure what it is all about. All I now with every passing episode, the less and less I want to vote for Mitt Romney.

Pan Am: When Pan Am started I was hoping the Token Hot Chick from the show would fill the hole that was about to be left by the Token Hot Chick from Chuck (both from Australia, note to self: talk to a travel agent) in its last but alas, she did not even last longer. Le sigh.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Pan Am on iTunes.

Pretty Little Liars:I cannot believe they did yet another epic scene of Aria and Ezra reunited, it is definitely not only natural. I was hopping her mom would catch them so she finally would realize it is time to turn the guy over to the police.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Pretty Little Liars on iTunes.

The Lying Game: What? So let me get this straight: Cordelia Chase shows up as Annie, the twins’ mother, except Char’s aunt and their mother is no longer the same person. But now other Annie is no longer the twins’ mother and Cordelia is? This helps my theory that Ted is the twins’ father and it was a result of a one night stand with. Though if Annie Rebecca is the mom, how did Ted and Alex convince her to give up her kids and not tell anyone?
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download The Lying Game on iTunes.

Castle: I cannot believe it took so long to realize the boyfriend / freeloader was the murderer, I figured that out because the title screen.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Castle on iTunes.

Justified: I assume legally they are not allowed to use the name Karen Sisco (Elmore Leonard’s other famous federal marshal) but I like how they not so subtly got around it by having her married and divorced within a month. But who knew Art was so ruthless (great scene even if there were no phonebooks around). And note to self: do not get on Bubba Blue’s bad side. But it should be interesting when all the pieces they put on the board these past two weeks start to come together.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Justified on iTunes.

The Big Bang Theory: So apparently last week was not some elebroate dream sequence and Leonard and Penny are back together, but it may be even shorter this time around. But how disappointing was it yesterday when I searched for “Sheldon Cooper Fun with Flags” and there were not any videos of it on the internet. Massive fail on the CBS and / or Warner Brothers marketing department for not uploading any. (Note to self: next time you try searching for the video, make sure you do not forget the “L” again.)
You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com. You can also download The Big Bang Theory on iTunes.

Chuck: Check back Monday for my thoughts on the series finale.
You can stream current episodes on Hulu. You can also download Chuck on iTunes.

Best of the Week - 1/28/12

Quote of the Week: The weird thing about this is that I am scrapping honey off of no-no special places of my partner that I haven’t spoken to in over a year… and, oh yeah, she hates me. (Dumbar, The Challenge: Battle of the Exes)

Song of the Week: Take On Me - a-ha (as performed by Jeffster backed by an orchestra, Chuck)

Gratuitous Token Hot Chick Picture of the Week:



Scene of the Week:



Big News of the Week: Newt Back From the Dead… Again: Going into South Carolina it looked like Mitt Romney was going to win the first three primaries for the first time in modern history for a non incumbent. Then Iowa finally got around to counting their ballots and realize Rick Santorum actually won their state and then the Evangelicals of SC realized they would rather vote for thrice married Catholic than a Mormon. But if there is a silver lining for Romney is Republicans are starting to remember why they hated Newt in the first place so he may just wrap up the nomination by Super Tuesday anyway.

Free Download of the Week: Gimme a Kiss - Madi Diaz (RollingStone.com): If that is not enough free music from Madi Diaz, you can also grab her Let’s Go for the low, low price of free.

New Album Release of the Week: Born to Die - Lana Del Rey

New DVD Release of the Week: Drive

Video of the Week: The premiere of The Voice is just one week away and last year’s breakout singer Dia Frampton recently went out on tour with her coach Blake Shelton and has been doing some side gigs along the road like recently in Nashville where she streamed her entire set on Livestream. Check it out in its entirety below:

Watch live streaming video from exitin at livestream.com

Next Week Pick of the Week: The Challenge: Battle of the Exes, Wednesday at 10:00 on MTV: Where Survivor pulls out tricks no one wants to see like Redemption Island and Immunity Idols, last season The Challenge cam up with its best idea ever: pair up people who hate each other for Rivals. I did not think it could get much better than that until they announced their new season: Battle of The Exes forcing past hook ups to team up with each other. Brilliant. It always seems like I miss the first couple episodes of The Challenge because it is the only thing I still watch on MTV (until the triumphant return of Beavis and Butt-Head), but there was no way I was missing the new season and it totally lived up to expectation. I do not know why Survivor does not throw money at the people who create challenges for The Challenge but they should because the Honey challenge was more creative than any challenge on South Pacific.

Around the Tubes - 1/27/12

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 Luck, Thirteen’s Great Performances, Key and Peele, Inside the NSA, Dating Rules From My Future Self, Chuck, The X-Games, Clevver Media, Dance Moms, Rehab with Dr. Drew, Ben Crane, Tanya T6, and World Poker Tour Season X.

- HBO’s much buzzed about new show Luck from Michael Mann and David Milch finally premieres this Sunday at 9:00. The show is a behind the scenes look at the world of horse racing and those that bet on it starring Oscar winners Dustin Hoffman and nominee Nick Nolte. Here is a trailer for what you can expect in the first season.



- Tonight at 9:00 PBS will be airing Thirteen’s Great Performances (check your local listings) featuring a behind the scenes look at the recording of Tony Bennett: Duet II with Lady Gaga, Amy Winehouse and Queen Latifah.

- Comedy Central’s latest sketch comedy show Key and Peele premieres this Tuesday at 10:30 after an all new episode of Tosh 2.0. Here is a sneak peak:



- For the first time since 9/11, the National Security Agency are opening their doors to documentary camera crews on Monday for Inside the NSA premiering at 9:00 on the National Geographic Channel. Aside from the inner working of the secret federal agency, the program will all show how the NSA provided critical information in the takedown of Osama bin Ladin.

- Today the season finale of Dating Rules From My Future Self hits the interwebs and you can watch all episodes over on YouTube.

- An end of an era tonight with the series finale of Chuck. Here is one last interview with the Token Hot Chick.

Yvonne on the Finale


- This year’s X-Games are fast approaching and A Bullseye View has interviews with legends Shaun White and Torin Yater-Wallace as they prepare.

- Clevver Media recently launched its seventh YouTube channel, ClevverNews which looks to attract more talent than ever, offering red carpet events, on-set behind-the-scene footage and in-person interviews. You can already find footage from the Man on the Ledge premiere.

- Enjoy Dance Moms on Lifetime? Now there is an app for that on their Facebook page.

- Even with the looseness of the term “Celebrity” apparently Dr. Drew cannot round up enough has beens and never weres because now he is recruiting regular folks for Rehab with Dr. Drew. Have an addiction, apply here: rehabcasting.com (please note Scooter McGavin nor anyone at the 9th Green encourages anyone to start taking cocaine or any other narcotics in hopes of being cast).

- PGA Golfer Ben Crane used to be a gymnast and now he is getting back to first love in the video below. As an added bonus, Farmers will donate $1000 for every 100,000 up to $5000 to charity so get to watching because it has not made any money yet.

Ben Crane – The love Lost


- Tanya T6 was so happy that her team the New York Giants made it to the Super Bowl she recorded NY (Hands Up) to celebrate and you can download it for the low, low price of free.

- Fox Sports Net is getting into the poker game with World Poker Tour Season X premiering February 12 at 8:00 and 11:00 and will air every Sunday and Wednesdays.

I Want My Music Television - 1/26/12

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.


Look Around – Red Hot Chili Peppers



The best music videos are the ones that look simple enough but you watch them again and again because you are not entirely sure how it happened. That is exactly how I felt about the four rooms of the new Red Hot Chili Peppers video. I am also under the assumption that the rooms represent the band mate’s personalities which begs the question why is Chad Smith performing in a bathroom?


Comeback Kid – Sleigh Bells



Not as confusing but just as visually stimulating is the new Sleigh Bells who makes visual explosions for your eyes that rival the musical explosions that give your ears.


Mustache Man (Wasted) - Cake



Then there is Cake who always gives you an entertaining three minutes excursion from your day with every new music video, now with even more facial hair to look at.


Synthesizers – Butch Walker and The Black Widows



Matthew McConaughey may be two decades older, but at least high school girls have stayed the same age. I am not sure the world needed Dazed & Confused sequel (though I can hear movie executives plan a reboot right now) Butch Walker has given us one.

When the Weather Breaks We Can Sail the Great Lakes

Over the past decade, Kathleen Edwards has built herself up as one the best female alt-country artist with breezy driving songs and a quick wit. Her fourth full length album Voyageur is a bit more somber affair as Edwards has described it as her “Divorce Album”. But do not expect any angry Since U Been Gone type break up songs as the tracks that make up the album or more introspective on the end of her marriage.

With the subject matter mixed with the melancholy music that accompanies it, it is unclear if she is her usual sardonic self like when she claims she is moving to America (she’s Canadian, do not hold that against her) on the opening track but even the title of the song lets you know it is an Empty Threat. Same goes for Chameleon/Comedian. But for the most part, with titles like A Soft Place to Land and House Full of Empty Rooms, Edwards sound more remorseful than the person who last album said that asking for flowers was like asking for a fight.

Sonically Voyager is her most adventurous album yet which may have something to do with Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon producing the album. First single Change the Sheet buzzes with an opening spacey guitar riff making it her most anthemic song to date and begs to be heard under the stars this summer. While Going to Hell is a slow burning sonic boom where you can really hear Justin Vernon’s more ethereal production. Hopefully the Edwards and Vernon collaboration can produce music this good for years to come.

Song to Download – Change the Sheets

Voyageur gets a on my Terror Alert Scale.

2012 Winter Music Preview

Take Adele out of the equation and the year in music for 2011 was pretty dire. But I have some good news and bad news for what very well may be the last year for CDs ever (and I am not just talking about the Mayans being right, it looks like record labels will be phasing out the format except to pricy special editions). The good news is there looks to be a lot of great music from top names being released this year. The bad news is you will probably have to wait until after Easter to hear most of it. Of course keep in mind Adele’s 21 was released one year ago last week (and Barton Hollow by The Civil Wars was released a year ago next week), so maybe there is a hidden gen that will take the world by storm this winter. Click on the album title to preorder on Amazon or the artist name to be taken to iTunes.


Today
The Stars Are Indifferent to Astronomy – Nada Surf
The Lion's Roar – First Aid Kit
Soul 2 – Seal
Clear Heart Full Eyes - Craig Finn
Plastic Moon – Madi Diaz

January 31
Born to Die – Lana Del Rey
Making Mirrors – Gotye
Tomahawk Technique – Sean Paul
Beyond Magnetic EP – Metallica
Human Again – Ingrid Michaelson

February 7
Kisses on the Bottom – Paul McCartney
Scars & Stories – The Fray
Popcycles and Politics – V.V. Brown
A Different Kind of Truth – Van Halen
Tramp - Sharon Van Etten
Stories to Tell - Richard Marx
Be The Void – Dr. Dog

February 14
As The Crow Flies – Amos Lee
Sweet Sour – Band of Skulls

February 21
Reign of Terror – Sleigh Bells
Some Nights – Fun.

February 28
Roses – The Cranberries
Songs from Nowheresville – The Ting Tings
All of Me – Estelle
Breakfast – Chiddy Bang
WZRD – Kid Cudi and Dot da Genius

March 6
Wrecking Ball – Bruce Springsteen
Break It Yourself – Andrew Bird

March 13
Strange Clouds – B.o.B

March 20
Port of Morrow – The Shins
The Hunger Games Soundtrack

March 27
Kids in the Streets – The All-American Rejects
Undisputed – DMX

April 10
Black Panties – R. Kelly
A Wasteland Companion – M. Ward


TBD
Songs of Ascent – U2
Born and Raised – John Mayer
West Coast Time – Michelle Branch
What We Saw from the Cheap Seats – Regina Spektor
Battle Born - The Killers
Tuskegee – Lionel Richie
Most of Our Heroes Don’t Appear on a Stamp / The Evil Empire of Everything – Public Enemy
Drive By – Train
Master of Make Believe - Santigold
Man on the Moon III – Kid Cudi
Picture Show – Neon Trees
Love Is a Four Letter Word – Jason Mraz
Rise of the Phoenix – Tenacious D
E.L.E. (Extinction Level Event) 2: End of the World - Busta Rhymes
G.O.O.D. Music: The Album
Mumford & Sons
The Avett Brothers
Pearl Jam
Cat Power
Fleetwood Mac
Garbage
Mazzy Star
Janelle Monáe
Rancid
Soundgarden
Sara Bareilles / Ben Folds
Frank Ocean
Phoenix
The xx
The Offspring
Wu-Tang Clan
Gary Clark Jr.
Christina Aguilera
Matchbox Twenty

And do not forget the obligatory this may be the quarter we actually get to hear Dr. Dre’s Detox. Of course if I missed anything, that is what the comment section is for.