Best of the Week - 11/3/12

Quote of the Week: You’ve dated plenty of men who were better looking and sexier, beefier and brawnier and more cut and darker skinned and longer hair and taller and richer and more successful and funnier and friendlier, who have more summer homes and foreign cars and motorboat and yachts, who are more well-traveled and know more languages than him. (Dalia, Suburgatory)

Song of the Week: Sussudio – Phil Collins (as sung by Tessa, Suburgatory)

Scene of the Week:


Big News of the Week: Hurricane Sandy: If you can donate, head over to redcross.org.

Free Download of the Week: Ain't Messin 'Round - Gary Clarke Jr. (Amazon MP3)

Deal of the Week: 100 Albums for $5: This month’s five dollar albums include The Black Keys, Willie Nelson, Nas, and Oasis.


New Album Release of the Week: Most Of My Heroes Still Don't Appear On No Stamp - Public Enemy

New DVD Release of the Week: The Amazing Spider-Man

Video of the Week: I do not think endorsements move the needle at all and anyone who does so is really annoying (full disclosure, I have endorsed people in the past but have abstained this year mostly because there is no one worth endorsing) so really, if you are going to endorse anyone, you might as well make it entertaining, like when Avengers director and Buffy creator Joss Whedon endorsed Mitt Romney.


Next Week Pick of the Week: Election Coverage, All Day Tuesday on Most Channels: Yes election day is finally here, or as us Ohioans most care about, the day after the election when we do not have to watch any more of starting Wednesday (for those fortunately to be in a solid red or blue state, commercial breaks have been about fifty percent political advertising since the start of the Olympics). As I mentioned above I am not endorsing anyone this time around but I do know who I am voting for though I can be swayed either way. So I wonder just how much do celebrities care about their candidate because I am willing to vote for the candidate of their choosing. Keep in mind as I am in Ohio, this state has a 51.7% chance of deciding the election and my vote has a 12.3% chance of being the deciding vote. So I could be completely swayed by, say, a personal concert from the Dave Matthews Band. Or maybe Clint Eastwood could put me in his next movie. Or maybe Scarlett Johansson is willing to drive me to my polling place in her Black Widow costume. Or maybe one of the Koch brothers could part with a million dollars (which would be a drop in the bucket of the over billion dollars spent in this campaign on both sides). Mmm, I think I am going to go hit up Scarlett Johansson on twitter.

Around the Tubes - 11/2/12

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 Witness, Henry Rollins, Whisker Wars, Pickers-Pawn Crossover Event, Fire with Fire, Rocket City Rednecks, the Soul Train Awards, and NBC's 2013 Mid-Season Schedule.

- Presented in four parts – Juarez, Libya, South Sudan and Rio – Witness focuses on three determined photojournalists: Eros Hoagland, who explores the gang- and drug-related violence in both Juarez, Mexico and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Michael Christopher Brown, who chronicles escalating ethnic tensions in the wake of Muammar Gaddafi’s ouster last year in Libya; and Véronique de Viguerie, who follows the “Arrow Boys” and their struggle against General Kony in South Sudan. Between these three, their photos have appeared in Time, Newsweek, The New York Times, The Atlantic, Paris Match, The Guardian and many other publications. Witness: Juarez debuts this Monday at 9:00 on HBO. Take a look at the trailer below:


- Henry Rollins’ Politically-Charged “Capitalism” Tour Stop in Our Nation’s Capital will Live Stream Exclusively on TakePart TV this Monday at 7:00. TakePart TV in association with Participant Media launched Henry Rollins’ “Capitalism” tour at youtube.com/takepart in October. TakePart TV viewers have had exclusive access to the two-month tour as the punk-rock icon and spoken word artist stopped in each of the 50 state capitals, culminating with this live election-eve performance on November 5 in Washington, D.C.

- It is Movemeber (where you do not shave for a month for prostate cancer awareness) and of course the facial hair series Whisker Wars is coming back later this month. Tune into a new hair rising season starting Friday, November 23 at 10:00 on IFC. Until then, watch a preview below, or get caught up when IFC airs a marathon starting Thursday 11/22 at 7:00 AM:

- This Monday History will be airing a Pawn Stars / American Pickers crossover event, appropriately called Pickers-Pawn Crossover Event starting at 9:00. If you watch both hours, you can enter to win one of four prizes by going to history.com/crossover after the episodes have aired. Check out a preview below: - New to DVD, Blu-Ray, and digital download this week is Fire with Fire, the heart-pounding film follows a fireman’s unexpected course of action when he’s threatened by a white supremacist that he’s testifying against in a murder case staring Josh Duhamel, Bruce Willis, Rosario Dawson, and Vincent D’Onofrio. - The National Geographic Channel has announced that the second season of Rocket City Rednecks will premiere Thursday, November 29 at 9:00 with back to back episodes.

- The first round of artists added to the 2012 Soul Train Awards hosted by Cedric the Entertainer and Lifetime Achievement Award winners New Edition include John Legend, Charlie Wilson, and Fantasia. The show is set to air Sunday November 25 at 9:00 on BET.

- NBC must not think much of the Mayan calendar because they went ahead and already announced their 2013 Mid-Season schedule. Here are the highlights:

SERIES PREMIERES:
-- New Drama “Deception” (Formerly “Infamous”) Monday, January 7
-- New Comedy “1600 Penn” Thursday, January 10
-- New Relationship Series "Ready for Love" from Eva Longoria Sunday, March 31
ANTICIPATED RETURNS:
-- “The Voice” Begins Fourth Cycle Monday/Tuesday, March 25/26
-- The Season's Newest Hit “Revolution” Returns Monday, March 25
-- "The Biggest Loser" Weighs in Sunday/Monday, January 6/7 with Return of Jillian Michaels
-- “Smash” Dances Back to the Schedule Tuesday, February 5 with Oscar Winner Jennifer Hudson
-- “Community” Returns Thursday, February 7
--“The Celebrity Apprentice” Debuts Sunday, March 3
-- “Betty White’s Off Their Rockers” Comes Back Tuesday, January 8

If You Want Beef Then Bring the Ruckus

As I pointed out in my review for the Man with the Iron Fists Soundtrack review, if there is one thing I have learned in my life is to never, under any circumstance, trust a big butt and a smile. If there is a second lesson I have learn it is Wu-Tang Clan ain’t nuthin ta (expletive deleted). Just when the Golden Age of Hip-Hop seems likes it was starting to come to the close in the early nineties thanks to gangsta rap and hip-pop, the nine New York collective dropped Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) , this month’s induction into the Scooter Hall of Fame.

The album just sounded like New York City (or at least it sounded like that to this teenaged suburban white kid), it was grimy, dirty, and menacing with plenty of kung-fu sounds (of course the guy went on to write, direct, and star in a kung-fu movie). With beats by RZA, the music somehow managed to sound sparse and big at the same time. And the Clan managed to assemble the greatest crew in the history of rap by a country mile. Ghostface Killah and Raekwon are two of the best lyricist in the game. Method Man brought in a commercial aspect, and Ol' Dirty Bastard was just unhinged bringing in an element of anything can happen.

Oh, and the songs. Three of the songs from the album made my list of the 100 Greatest Songs from the Golden Age of Hip-Hop. As the intro would have you believe, the teenaged version of myself ran around chanting the Wu-Tang Clan ain’t nuthin ta (expletive deleted) wit , even the present day version does the same thing occasionally. My favorite line remains, “I’m causing more family feuds than Richard Dawson.” (R.I.P. Richard). C.R.E.A.M. was a stroke of genius, and another chant worthy chorus. And the song is just pure paranoia, and the second most paranoid songs ever after Mind Playing Tricks On Me (with all due respect to Black Sabbath). Then Method Man why the M.C. ended up being the breakout star of the Clan and featured maybe the most memorable opening of any song ever which was hilariously parodied by Dave Chappelle.

Who knows when we will get the next proper full length We-Tang Clan album, if ever? It is not the easiest thing to get these guys at the same place at the same time (I know from experience from the massive delay of the Wu-Tang Clan / Rage Against the Machine concert I went to because the members were too busy playing basketball and started their set a full hour after the opening act finished). But hopefully it gets done soon.

Previewing Seal Team Six: The Raid on Osama bin Laden

The National Geographic Channel made some noise a couple months ago when they announced they would release a movie based on the killing of Osama bin Laden just days before the election. Naturally this made the conservative talking heads explode saying such a movie was a blatant attempt to help President Obama get reelected (or at least they said that right after telling every voter should see 2016: Obama’s America before they vote) because the movie would highlight arguably his greatest (also arguably his only) achievement as president.

Then I heard nothing about the film until the screener for Seal Team Six: The Raid on Osama bin Laden arrived on my doorstep earlier this week. I was a bit surprised is was an actual motion picture and not a documentary with an actual director (alright, the guy who did Into the Blue) and produced by the same guy who produce Hurt Locker ironically the director of that movie has her own bin Laden movie coming out in theaters sometime after the election). It even has recognizable actors although none that really anyone will get too excited for (The eighth most recognizable person from those horrible vampire movies! The dude from that Brittney Spears movie! The guy from Six Feet Under that isn’t Adam Braverman or Dexter Morgan! The Pimp My Ride guy! T-Bag! That chick from Beverly Hills 90210: The College Years! The dude who had sex with Stiffler’s mom! The creepy dude from Invasion!)

The film actually opens in 2002 during an interrogation (sans waterboarding) at Guantanamo Bay but before you think the film is actually ghoing to give any credit to Bush or his administration, they flash forward to 2010 with a CIA operation that looked and felt much like the first two episode of the new season of Homeland but without the crazy operative. The movie spends too much time creating fake back stories for the Seals and keeps the intelligence focused on the mid level employees of the CIA. We never even get to go inside the War Room (aside from the famous picture) and they do not try to recast Obama (the movie does generously feature his speeches and interviews on the subject) or his inner circle; really the only fictionalized version of any recognized figure is a phone call to CIA Director Leon Panetta.

It is hard to watch Seal Team Six without thinking of Zero Dark Thirty, a movie that will probably be much better. It has the director of The Hurt Locker Kathryn Bigelow, with her first movie since winning an Oscar and stars critical darling Jessica Chastain along with Coach Eric Taylor, Tony Soprano, and Bright Abbott. If you are only going to see one Osama bin Laden movie, you will probably want to wait until the end of the year. But for those that cannot wait, the as slowly paced nd thrown together as Seal Team Six is, the actual raid does get you on the edge of your seat even though you already know how it ends.

And for those conspiracy theorist who think Harvey Weinstein released his film two days before his buddy was up for reelection, when it comes down to it, Seal Team Six will probably have the same amount of impact on the presidential elections as 2016: Obama’s America did: zero. If want to rant on something that will actually change the outcome of the presidential race, just look outside and say hello to Sandy.

Seal Team Six: The Raid on Osama bin Laden premieres Sunday at 8:00 on The National Geographic Channel. Check out the trailer below:

I Want My Music Television - 10/30/12

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.

Begin Again - Taylor Swift


Begin Again may just overtake Mine as the most Taylor Swift-y video Taylor has ever made. And I know women do not like wearin the same clothes more than once, but Taylor, it is perfectly okay if you wear that purple dress again and frequently. Actually come to think aqbout it, she may have already reused it because it kind of looks like the Speak Now cover dress.


Here Comes My Man - The Gaslight Anthem


It is clear that Elisha Cuthbert found the role of her career on Happy Endings where she plays a half wit whose charm is that she cannot take a joke because trying act serious again in the new Gaslight Anthem is not working.


Stubborn Love – The Lumineeers


Ho Hey is a great song, but a bit of a novelty because it cribs its chorus from Naughty by Nature (or so I assume), Stubborn Love shows that The Lumineers can still write a great song without novelty, just awesomeness. Also, “The opposite of love is indifference” may be the best lyric of 2012.


Let’s Go – Matt and Kim


When Matt and Kim released their first music video for Let Go, I was a bit disappointed because they always release creative videos and it only featured a dude dribbling a basketball. The new video is much more entertaining featuring ever cheesy family portrait that may or may not be taken by Ross Geller.

The Voice Season 3 Battle Round Power Rankings

Thankfully The Voice took two suggestions I had and applied them to The Battle Rounds: introduced the Steal and breeze through the lesser Battles via montage like they do during the Blind Audition. Granted it only made the Battle Rounds nominally better this season (it did not help that the coaches wasted six of their eight steals; The next round would have been much better had Lelia Broussard, Brandon Mahone, Nelly's Echo, Benji, Alexis Marceaux, and Emily Earle would have gotten the Steal over anyone aside from Amanda or Caitlin). Before we move to the new and mysterious Knockout Round that starts tonight, here is an updated Power Ranking based on the first two rounds.

1. Trevin Hunte (Team Cee-Lo)

2. Nicholas David (Team Cee-Lo)

3. De'Borah (Team Christina)

4. Cassadee Pope (Team Blake)

5. Caitlin Michele (Team Adam Cee-Lo)

6. Suzanna Choffel (Team Blake)

7. Nicole Nelson (Team Adam)

8. Terry McDermott (Team Blake)

9. Devyn DeLoera (Team Christina)

10. Amanda Brown (Team Cee-Lo Adam)

11. Avery Wilson (Team Cee-Lo)

12. Brian Keith (Team Adam)

13. Diego Val (Team Cee-Lo)

14. Aquile (Team Christina)

15. Melanie Martinez (Team Adam)

16. Adriana Louise (Team Christina)

17. Liz Davis (Team Blake)

18. Cody Belew (Team Cee-Lo)

19. Rudy Parris (Team Blake)

20. Joe Kirkland (Team Adam)

21. Michelle Brooks-Thompson (Team Adam)

22. Gracia Harrison (Team Blake)

23. Mycle Wastman (Team Cee-Lo)

24. Terisa Griffin (Team Blake Cee-Lo)

25. Alessandra Guercio (Team Adam Christina)

26. Celica Westbrook (Team Christina)

27. Joselyn Rivera (Team (Christina Adam)

28. Kayla Nevarez (Team Adam)

29. Sam James (Team Adam)

30. Julio Cesar Castillo (Team Blake)

31. Collin McLoughlin (Team Adam Blake)

32. Michaela Paige (Team Blake)

33. MarissaAnn (Team Christina Blake)

34. Sylvia Yacoub (Team Christina)

35. Chevonne (Team Cee-Lo Christina)

36. Daniel Rosa (Team Cee-Lo)

37. Dez Duron (Team Christina)

38. MacKenzie Bourg (Team Cee-Lo)

39. Loren Allred (Team Adam)

40. Laura Vivas (Team Christina)

Wow, three of the top five contestants are on Team Cee-Lo. Cassadee lost her frontrunner status after being demoted to montage in the Battle rounds (I listen to the studio version of her song and it sounded alright, but when I watched her after-battle interview, it did not sound like the performance was all that good, so it was probably good she was relegated to montage). So clearly Cee-Lo is in the driver’s seat, here is how the other teams stack up if you give one point to the singer in last and so on.

Cee-Lo – 239
Blake – 208
Adam – 202
Christina – 171

It looks like Christina may get her third straight last place finish with her bizarre strategy of going with a predominately bland teenage pop singer team which make me fear for the longevity of De’Borah, her most entertaining singer this year. It did not help that I only agreed with Christina’s decisions half the time, and only agreed with the coaches 58% of the time (Adam 2-3, Blake 4-2, Cee-Lo 5-2). It is weird that only one of Cee-Lo’s battles got relegated to montage while three of Adam’s were not shown.

57 Channels and Only This Is On - 10/28/12

Once Upon a Time: I am beginning to think that the question of why some characters were sent to Storybrooke while others stayed in the Enchanted Forrest is akin to the question on Lost why some people on the airplane were sent back to the seventies and others were not. Of which the answer turned out to be, there is none other than the writers wanted to split them up to amp the tension. Darn you writers of Lost.

With the curse broken, it is weird that some of the Storybrooke inhabitants have gone back to their fairytale names while others have kept their new monikers. Again I have a feeling that it is at the whim of the writers. But the most surprising change with the curse broken is that Little Red Riding Hood is dressing less slutty, and like most females who do so looks much more attractive.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Once Upon a Time on iTunes.

Revenge: This show really likes its “Oh Snap!” moments and a very pregnant Amanda falling over the balcony was certainly one of them. Unfortunately they lessened the impact of it by telling us someone at the very least would lose a lot of blood (or just dropped a punch bowl) making Amanda an obvious suspect. Although I was waiting for mommy to smother her in the hospital after it was revealed she tried to kill a young Amanda. Maybe that is next episode. But what I really want to know is what is going on with Nolan. It was clear last episode that Rebecca Logan was flirting with him, and the last time we saw him getting intimate with any one was when he was making a sex tape with the rent boy, yet here he is initiating a make out session with Rebecca. Was he just emotionally drained from his father’s death that he needed some human intimacy? Is he really into women? Is this part of some nefarious plot we are unaware of yet?
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Revenge on iTunes.

The Walking Dead: An interesting conundrum, what do you do if you find prisoners inside a prison in a zombie apocalypse. Do you kill them because they are in there for a reason or do you give them a clean slate because you need every human that you need? Granted if I am Bernier Madolff type prisoner I would off the bat start screaming I am a white collar criminal. But then again if I am a Jerry Sandusky type I would be saying the same thing. Of course Rick gives you once chance and if you even look like you are crossing him, then it is a machete to the head. Sometimes I wonder if Rick trusts the zombies more than the humans.
You can download The Walking Dead on iTunes.

The Voice: And mercifully the Battle Rounds are over. The Steal started out being a good idea and Amanda Brown and Caitlin Michele both got a reprieve, but I had to scratch my head about every other Steal. And it did not help that there was a Steal at the end of every episode ruining any suspense. The next round would have been much better had Lelia Broussard, Brandon Mahone, Nelly's Echo, Benji, Alexis Marceaux, and Emily Earle would have gotten the Steal over the other people who did. I began to wonder if the coaches liked their teams so much; they did not want to Steal anyone who would take a spot on the Live Shows from an original member of their Team (that seems to be the case as Cee-Lo has his stolen Terisa Griffin going up against frontrunner Trevin Hunte in the Knockout Round). I would be surprised is more than one stolen singer makes the Live Shows.

The biggest surprise of the Battle Rounds is that every girl on Cee-Lo’s team lost their battle. The first two seasons, Cee-Lo’s finalist was a strong rocker chick and was so loyal to the fairer sex that he stupidly picked Erin Martin to go to the Live Shows. Worse of all two of his girls, Alexis and Emily deserved to win their battles. Of course both of Cee-Lo’s steals ended up being female (five of the six steals overall were female). Granted, as stated above, Terisa will not be on the team for very long, unless of course that turns out that it is one of the favorites that are not safe that Carson teased.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download songs from The Voice with the widget at right.

Pretty Little Liars: So Mona was faux Caleb (which I guess Grantland would call Faux Faux Riggins) so who was in the clown costume? Was that Toby or another member of The A Team? If it was Toby that would ruin anyone’s theory that Toby infiltrated The A Team to protect Spencer because why would he kill Aria in the process? At any rate, Hanna’s mom and the ghost storyline was pretty worthless.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Pretty Little Liars on iTunes.

Sons of Anarchy: When Gemma was talking about loving Jax too much to make up for losing her other son, I thought, oh goodness, they are not actually going to kill off one of Jax’s kids are they (as the last shot of the season finale suggests, Jax is becoming his father and Tara is becoming Gemma)? And it certainly does not look good for Able after the accident. Rally you know bad things are going to happen when the final segment is nothing but a montage. Although I had to laugh when they guys with uzzies could not even wing anyone while Jax was able to hit the guy square with two shots from his handgun.
You can download Sons of Anarchy on iTunes.

Survivor: Philippines: A note to the Survivor: either stop casting beauty queens or figure out a way to make sure they last to the merge because they rarely onto the jury. And how exactly have a mud wrestling type challenge that ends before any of the hot participate? That is an epic fail on Jeff Probst. You know TJ Lavin would not have let two whole teams quit like that.
You can stream recent episodes over at CBS.com. You can also download Survivor: Philippines on iTunes.

Subugatory: As much as I enjoyed Tessa’s Daphne costume, I am severely disappointed that we did not get to see Kimantha’s slutty skunk costume in action.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Suburgatory on iTunes.

Nashville: What made the first couple episode good is they played to Hayden Painteierre’s strengths: a bratty no talent who sleeps her way to the top. Having her try to emote this week was a bad decision.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Nashville on iTunes.

The Challenge: Battle of the Seasons: Much like TJ Lavin, trivia week is my favorite episode of the show, but I really hope the Insane Games becomes a Challenge staple from here on out. It was if they ran out of idea for challenges so TJ and the producers decided to drop acid and just pick the five most insane ideas, and decided to call it the Insane Games. Brilliant. I really hope fish slapping becomes a thing.
You can download The Challenge: Battle of the Seasons on iTunes.

Mockingbird Lane: It is weird watching a show you know will probably not air anymore episodes. Even though it was Bryan Fuller’s fourth best Pilot, it still managed to be the second best of this season (after Last Resort). It was a lot darker than I expected, I was surprised it started with a “baby bear” destroying an entire Boy Scout troop (okay, as it turned out, no one ended up being hurt). But I did like Grandpa starting up a blood army, and also really enjoyed the Marilyn character. If NBC bothered to put some promotion into it, a Mockingbird Land / Grimm pairing could do really well on a Friday night, but it does not sound like they care. Oh well.
You can stream the episode on Hulu.

Best of the Week - 10/27/12

Quote of the Week: I’ll tell you what doesn’t count: the Miami Heat’s most recent NBA championship. It was an injury-plagued, strike-shortened season. Therefore LeBron still needs six rings to even get into a conversation with Jordan. Also Chris Bosh looks like one of Omar’s boyfriends from The Wire. (Jane, Happy Endings)

Song of the Week: Dust In the Wind – Kansas (as sung by Ryan and Steven, Go On)

Scene of the Week:


Big News of the Week: Fish Slapped!: Forget bayonets, God sanctioned rapes or how John Sununu is racist simple and plain (mutherfrack him and John Wayne), the most important thing that happened this week were all the people that got slapped by a fish. On Tuesday The Black Keys and RZA released a music video to see who is The Baddest Man Alive, the Keys may have some mad lettuce tossing skills, but RZA clearly was after slapping Dan Auerbach in the head with a fish. And just when you thought you had your quota of fish slapping this week, the very next day it showed up on The Challenge where, after a couple rounds of truly bizarre events, TJ Lavin saved the best event for last when two people had to joust each other, but instead a padded lance, they had to knock each other using nothing but a fish. Awesome. Let’s face it, the last presidential debate would have been much more interesting is instead of fighting over bayonets, the two candidates fought with fish.


Preview Picture of the Week:


Free Download of the Week: Fall Sampler – Dr. Dog (Noise Trade)

Deal of the Week: Every Norah Jones Album for $5.00

New Album Release of the Week: Cee Lo's Magic Moment - Cee-Lo Green

New DVD Release of the Week: Chuck: The Complete Series - Collector Set

Video of the Week: I loved Army of Darkness and quickly also picked up the first two Evil Dead movies (sure it is a bit weird to watch the third movie first), but like every reboot, I really had no desire for a reimagining of the film. On the bright side, both Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell are signed on for the reboot. On the other side, Sam is not directing and Bruce is not acting in it (unless when he said he was going to show up as the milkman was not a joke). Now we have the first look at the movie and holy crap it is scary. It even gives plenty of throwbacks to the original: point of view evil running through the wood, the Necronomicon, self arm amputation, a chainsaw, tree rape. They even throw in a new tongue cutting scene for fun. I am still on the fence for an Evil Dead reboot, but I am kind of excited for the thought that this could lead to a potential Tessa Altman vs. the Army of Darkness movie.


Next Week Pick of the Week: The Voice, Monday and Tuesday at 8:00 on NBC: Big changes on The Voice this season as they expanded the teams from twelve to sixteen (twice as many as the first season) which meant adding another obstacle to the Lice Shows: The Knockout Round. Like moths rules on The Voice little was about the Knockout Rounds but from the look at the promo it looks eerily similar to the Battle Rounds except instead of the coach picking a song the two sing together, two contestants will sing songs of their own choosing (that can be cleared) with one being declared the winner with five from each moving on to the Live Shows. The Knockout Rounds will all air over two nights (Tuesday is being expanded to two hours), and with forty performances scheduled, I am expecting a lot of montage advances considering they only crammed three battles or five auditions per hour previously. I doubt they will cram in ten full performances per hour in the knockouts because they will still have to set aside some time to remind us that MacKenzie almost died and Adriana was part of a home invasion. If I were a betting man these are the people I would put money on advancing to the Live Shows (please note these are not the people I think should advance; you can wait until Monday’s Power Ranking to see who I think should):

Team Adam: Bryan Keith, Melanie Martinez, Nicole Nelson, Joselyn Rivera, Kayla Nevarez
Team Blake: Cassadee Pope, Terry McDermott, Suzanna Choffel, Gracia Harrison, and Liz Davis
Team Cee-Lo: Trevin Hunte, Avery Wilson, MacKenzie Bourge, Nicholas David, Caitlin Michelle
Team Chritina: Adriana Louis, Devyn Deloera, De’Borah, Aquile, Dez Duron

Around the Tube - 10/26/12

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 Mockingbird Lane, Total Blackout, Dead Prez, Homeland, 60 Minutes Sports, Mannheim Streamroller, Outlaw Brothers, Randy Rhoads, Eric Burdon, Annoying Orange, House Hunters, and Supernatural.

- The Mockingbird Lane special airs tonight on NBC at 8:00 and you can take a sneak peak below:


- Total Blackout returns Tuesday at 10:00 on Syfy and here is a sneak peak of the season premiere:


- You may remember Dead Prez from their seminal rap song Hip-Hop (if you do not, look it up), and the duo is back with Information Age which they just released digitally. For those who still buy CD’s, it will be released in physical form January 23, 2013

- Fresh off its highest rated episode ever, Showtime has ordered up a third season of Homeland. In other Showtime news, Armen Keteyian has been named full-time correspondent for 60 Minutes Sports, the new shorts show which is coming sometime in 2013.

- The holidays are right around the corner so it is time for Mannheim Steamroller to awake from its yearly slumber (just what exactly do they do between January and November?). This year they will have some help spreading holiday cheer when Smash star Megan Hilty will join the band for NBC’s special Pandora Unforgettable Holiday Moments on Ice which will air Thanksgiving weekend on November 25 starting at 4:00.

- Out on DVD this week, Outlaw Brothers directed by Frankie Chan and featuring action direction from martial arts legend Jackie Chan this action-packed film follows the exploits of two car thieves, and the butt-kicking female police officer who is on their trail.


- For those wondering what to get the metal head on your Christmas list, the 400 page Randy Rhoads coffee table book is out now.

- Record Store Day is going to coincide with Black Friday this year and Eric Burdon will be contributing a four song EP on 180 gram vinyl. The album will be released digitally November 27 and you can stream it already on soundcloud.

- The Annoying Orange is getting into politics with Broccoli Obama and Pit Romney. No, seriously. Take a look below:


- House Hunting can be hard, but when you can get a vacation for doing it makes it easier. HGTV’s House Hunters just launched a Facebook page where fans can download the experience by “liking” HGTVHouseHunters Facebook page to earn coveted passport stamps and win great prizes, including the chance for one lucky viewer to win a global adventure – a 12-Day Mediterranean cruise from Barcelona to Venice with stops in some of the world’s greatest cities: Provence, France; Italy’s Rome, Florence and Pisa; Istanbul, Turkey; Athens and Mykonos, Greece.

- Just in time for Halloween, TNT will be airing 24 hours of Supernatural starting tomorrow at noon.

I Could Take the Pitchfork from the Devil

If there has been one word of wisdom I have given in my life is that you never, under any circumstance, trust a big butt and a smile. If there was a second piece of advice that I take to heart it would be that The Wu-Tang Clan ain’t nunthin’ to (expletive deleted) with. It has been five years since we last got a Wu-Tang album and it does not look like we will get another one for a while so The Man With the Iron Fists may be the closest thing we get anytime soon. The soundtrack to the RZA written, directed, and starring film features nine tracks with a Wu member on it but only two credited to the Wu-Tang Clan as a whole.

RZA, who is never confused as the best lyricist in the group does show up on the best track on the soundtrack when he teams up with The Black Keys (this may be the closest thing we will get to Blakroc 2 any time soon too) where he tryes to out boast Dan Aurbach throughout the song. Dan may grab a crocodile by the tail, but RZA will take a gasoline bath then walk through fire. And just image how much better Once Upon a Time, Season 2 - Once Upon a Time would be if it featured RZA date-rape Beauty right in front of the Beast. (I should note that I in no way condone any form of date rape and any rapist should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, but if there were an exception, it would involve a member of the Wu-Tang Clan and a fictional character).

On the flipside, Ghostface Killah does show why he is one of the Clan’s best rappers when he teams up with M.O.P. and Pharoahe Monch on Black Out, a song so old school great, it will make you accost a teenager with a Meek Mills shirt about tales of real hip-hop back in the day. Of the two tracks here credited to the whole Clan, Rivers of Blood with Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, and U-God with an appearance by Kool G Rap is the better one with its great horn and kung-fu samples (which of course fits in well with the movie). And Built for This with Method Man, Freddie Biggs, and Streetlife is pure menacing.

Where most of the Clan member bring their A-games to their respective tracks (or as close to an A game as U-God can get), the Kanye West track White Dress sounds like a My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy leftover that was not even good enough to put out during G.O.O.D. Fridays. It does not help that the song could be about a Kardasian. Kanye’s buddy Pusha T has a much better show micing it up with Raekwon, Joell Ortiz, and the always weird Danny Brown on Tick Tock which thankfully does not mention Ke$ha at all. If the trailer for The Man with the Iron Fists did not get you pumped enough for the movie, the soundtrack certainly will.

Song to Download – The Baddest Man Alive

The Man with the Iron Fists gets a on my Terror Alert Scale.

I Want My Music Television - 10/24/12

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.

The Baddest Man Alive – The Black Keys and RZA


The Black Keys! RZA!! The Baddest Man Alive!!! Dan gets fish slapped!!!!


Girl on Fire – Alicia Keys


Alicia Keys is back and thankfully without Nicki Minaj who ruined the song at the Video Music Awards. Although I was hoping for a video for the Bluelight Version of the song which was my favorite of the three versions that Alicia released for the song.


I’m Shakin’ – Jack White


For the unaware, Jack Black recorded his first solo album with two bands, an all guy one and an all girl one and here they are going head to head. I have to say I prefer the blue Jack White.


Hurts Like Heaven - Coldplay


It is weird that Cpldplay are launching a comic book based on their album over a year after it was released. But then again, maybe it will ended up being optioned as a big budget motion picture. It is no less plausible than a talking alien raccoon. Plus I have to admit, Major Minus is an awesome name for a arch-nemesis and the bad guys are usually more interesting than the comic book heroes anyway.

I Hope Whoever Broke Your Heart Actually Got to Hear That

The last season of Switched at Birth ended with everybody learn that Emmitt and Simone had some extracurricular activities after a basketball game. It was made more awkward that each of them were dating a brother and sister combo. Naturally that blew up the current season, Toby moved on while Simone turned to alcohol. While Emmitt tried to get Bay back even though she did everything to reject him short of blaring Taylor Swift songs at him.

Granted there may still be hope for Emmitt because Bay did not run into the arms of another guy (aside from a brief tryst on a vacation), instead she ran into the arms of Ben Linus’s daughter of all people. It was the latest in a string of Bay acting act by joining a street art collective, which, like every of Bay’s adventures, ended badly. But at least it ended badly in a hilarious way especially dudes in Michael Myers masks. Although when the saga was all over, it looked like Bay mat not be playing We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together much longer.

At one point Daphne was ready to fight Bay for Emmitt but ended up with Wilke, but with him off in military school (how dare you Corbin Bernsen) she moved on to her douchebag of her boss. And just when you think it could not get any creepier, it turns out he previously dated Emmitt’s mother. Ewww. And then the season finale started out with Daphne getting birth control. Double ewww. It did lead to an Oh snap moment where mother and daughter went after each other in the bathroom where Daphne did the old tried and true I “leaned it from watching from you” defense, but instead of drugs, it was dating inappropriate men. Awesome. But not as awesome as Angelo punching Chef Jeff which may have been the weakest fake punch in the history of television.

Then the big shocker came at then end, both parents won their court case, but the Kennishs only got a dollar while Angelo got five million dollar. Wow, someone please switch my kid. Which made me wonder of Regina and Angelo would be staying at the Kennishs next season. If so, the rent will be going way up. Oh wait there was one more twist; a very pregnant woman gave looking for Angelo right after the verdict. Now I am not saying this woman is a golddigger, but…

Switched at Birth vol. 3 gets a on my Terror Alert Scale. You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Switched At Birth on iTunes..

Will Obama's America Offer Real Solutions or More Slogans

In a measure of full disclosure I should first say I am a registered Republican. I did not vote for Barack Obama four years ago and do not plan to vote for him in two weeks. Although I really do not go around announcing my conservatism much lately because my party has become a party of nutjobs who spout the most unbelievable things like our president was not born in this country and is a Muslim (even though four years ago he was anti-American because his Christian minister once said negative things about this country). 2016: Obama's America is supposed to be the thinking man’s attack on the president. There are no accusations of being a Muslim or even being born in Kenya or even hints at them (it even points out two separate newspapers in Hawaii that announced Obama’s birth).

The movie is based on the book by Dinesh D’Souza, The Roots of Obama's Rage which he wrote in 2010. The tagline claims, “Love him, hate him… you don’t know him”. Except after watching the movie, there really was not much of the movie that I found new. There was one guy that Dinesh called one of Obama’s “founding fathers” (along with people like the 2008 buzz person Bill Ayers) who was a registered communist. Except like all the other “founding fathers” (aside from Reverend Wright) there are no pictures of Barry with any of these people (even the liberal communist were able to find one picture of George Bush with Jack Abramoff). If he was so close to these people to the point they shape his policy, why is he never pictured with them. And Dinesh sure likes his pictures because the one of Barry smoking (something) is shown multiple times.

Even in the film, D’Souza features a cable show where he tells some talking head that accusing Obama as a Muslim and a socialist have not worked, so he has moved to attack number three: Barack Obama is anti-imperialist. Who knew there were imperialists left to be anti to? (Ironically the day after I watch this movie, I read an article by conservative commentator Niall Ferguson reporting a story where Chinese nationalist surrounded the US ambassador to the nation chanting “Down with US imperialism!).

Why is Barack Obama an anti-imperialist? Because his father was Kenyan and Barack wants to continue the Mau Mau uprising that kicked out imperialist British Army. To all of the even keel thinkers out there that are wondering, “You mean that Barry, who was raised by two Kansas women, was influenced by a man that abandoned him and only met once in his life?” And before you suggest that abandoned sons usually distance themselves from their absentee father, Dinesh finds a psychologist who specializes abandonment where the two men, who never met Barack Obama theorize that he is the an exception to the rule. Keep in mind earlier in the film Dinesh theorizes what would have happened had he stayed in his native India where he thinks he would have had been in an arrange marriage and the like, yet Barack, growing up in America, still ended up like his Kenyan father that he barely knew.

The first anti-imperialist argument that D’Souza is that the first thing Obama did after being inaugurated was to return a bust of Winston Churchill that the White House had since the 60’s to England. Except the reality is that the bust from the 60’s is still there, and the bust that was returned was loaned (note loaned, not permanently given to) to George W. Bush after 9/11 and was cleared out of the Oval Office with all of the other art and furniture that Bush put in there during his two terms. Obama’s supposed anti- British streak continued when D’Souza says that Obama supports Argentina gaining control of the Falkland Island but when I did a simple Google search most articles I read said that Obama is neutral on the issue.

After an hour of Obama history, D’Souza finally gets to theorizing what 2016 will look like if we reelect the anti-imperialist Obama which includes a world where Obama gets rid of all of our nuclear weapons because he is on the record of wishing we could live in a world without nuclear weapons (confessed Reaganite Dinesh conveniently omits that Ronald Reagan said the exact same thing). He also theorizes that because of Obama’s foreign policy that in four years we may see “The United States of Islam” that would stretch from Morocco to Pakistan (surprisingly his map leaves out Obama’s ancestral home of Kenya) even though many of the countries in Islam Fantasyland hate each other as much as they hate us.

The only potential doomsday scenario that Dinesh exposes that I agree with is that our debt will bring down the country, though I disagree that Obama wants it to happen because of his anti-imperialism. But this is not a Barack Obama problem; both Democrats and Republican have a spending problem that they need to reign in. One of the commentators that D’Souza speaks to even dings George W. Bush for his overspending. Granted Dinesh does conveniently omit in his stat that Americans have lost a large percentage of their wealth since 2006 that two of those years were under Bush.

Politics aside, 2016: Obama’s America just looks just a step above student film with hilariously staged dramatization and bizarre sound choices. While talking about a debate he had with Jesse Jackson, the dramatization actually depicts a black dude walking into what looks like a biker bar where the white patrons give the black dude a birthday cake. But still is not as funny as Dinesh doing the hula while researching Obama’s past. And it was were in a taped phone conversation, which looked more staged than one on The Hills, the sound would inexplicably change depending if the camera was on Dinesh or the person he was talking to.

When it comes down to it, 2016: Obama’s America will only make the people who already have an irrational hated of Barack Obama crazier and will make Obama supporters laugh more than they did for this week’s episode Modern Family. While people in the middle will not bother to watch it unless their crazy uncle forces them to. Just take the movie as it is, just something Dinesh D’Souza put out to make money. Actually, Dinesh may have changed my vote, I had no intentions of voting for Obama, but now I kind of want to see how wrong his movie is. And since I live in Ohio, my vote may very well decide the election.


Full Discourse Notice: This DVD was given to me by Lionsgate for review.