Saturday, March 29, 2014

Best of the Week: 3/29/14


Quote of the Week: I guess this hotel takes that non-smoking policy pretty seriously Mr. Duffy. (Boyd Crowder, Justified)

Song of the Week: The Gambler – Kenny Rogers (The Americans)

Scene of the Week:


Big News of the Week: People Are Still Talking About the Lost Plane: When the Malaysian plane went missing a couple weeks ago I just assumed it was at the bottom of the ocean somewhere and moved on. Yet here we are and it is still a top of the hour news story with some pretty absurd theories getting floated on these twenty-four hour news channels: suicide pilots, it hid from radar by hiding behind other planes, aliens, and of course this is Lost come to life. But new came out this week that wreckage likely from the plane is floating in the Indian Ocean perpetrating my original thought that it sitting at the bottom of the ocean. But just like the JFK assassination, the moon landing, and 9/11, you still hear people clinging to their absurd theories.

Preview Picture of the Week:

“Tale of Two Confessions” Twisted Season Finale, Tuesday at 9:00 on ABC Family

Free Download of the Week: Lake Street Dive Album Sampler (NoiseTrade)

New Album Release of the Week: A Dotted Line - Nickel Creek

New DVD Release of the Week: Knights of Badassdom

Video of the Week: John Carney wrote and directed Once on a shoestring budget and cast Glen Hansard of the Irish band The Frames who were big in their native country but unknown in most of the rest of the world, and newbie Marketa Irglova. Once would bring in almost $20 million more than it cost and garnered an Oscar. Not surprisingly Carney’s follow up Begin Again is a bigger affair with singers that American would recognize, especially if they turn into The Voice every week with coaches Adam Levine and Cee-Lo Green (Mos Def also makes a cameo with probably the best line of the trailer). But the load of the singing looks to be going to Keira Knightley as Levin’s ex who turns to music herself to cope with the break-up and gets spotted by down on his luck former record executive Mark Ruffalo. Will Begin Again match the charm of the lower key Once? Probably not, but it is always nice to see Knightley wearing modern clothes which is a rare sight.


Next Week Pick of the Week: How I Met Your Mother, Monday at 8:00 on CBS: After nine season, Ted is finally going to tell his kids just how he met their mother. Sure we met her at the end of last season and everyone else in the group met her this season (except maybe Barney; I do not remember that happening yet). We even know when and where it is happening and what happens afterwards. With all the returning guest stars they pulled the last couple episodes, I wonder if they will bring back the kids one last time even though the then teenagers are in the mid-twenties by now (the show has been showing stock footage of the duo since the first season). Even though I could have done without maybe the last five season, for those that cannot get enough of stories of parents meeting, you are in luck because How I Met Your Dad will likely be on the CBS schedule next season. Starring Greta Gerwig of all people.


Friday, March 28, 2014

Around the Tubes: 3/28/14



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 Helix, Rosemary's Baby, National Geographic Channel, Spooksville, Warehouse 13, Seven Deadly Sins, MTV Movie Awards, Music Mavericks, and Rising Star.

- Tonight is the season finale of Helix, take a first look below:


- Get ready for a special delivery this summer… Zoe Saldana stars in the miniseries event Rosemary's Baby – check out this exclusive teaser below.


- Don’t be alarmed when you turn on National Geographic Channel (NGC) on April Fools’ Day and see a mantis shrimp talking about its dinner or bloodthirsty monsters being compared to celebrities. We’ve just decided to have a little fun this year. For the first time, National Geographic Channel has teamed up with RiffTrax, the movie and television commentary group created by the guys responsible for Mystery Science Theater 3000. So what does this mean? Your favorite Nat Geo programming with some unconventional commentary worked in around the narration and dialogue — three hours of it. Total Riff Off premieres Tuesday, April 1, from 8:00 to 11:00 only on NGC.

- The producers of “Spooksville,” Jane Startz Productions and Front Street Pictures, invite parents and kids (ages 13+) across the country to participate in the “Monster Dress-up Photo Giveaway.” Participants will be able to like or follow the show’s social media platforms as well as submit a monster photo using #SpooksvilleMonster. One (1) potential winner will be drawn for a chance to receive a giveaway goodie basket provided by the producers of “Spooksville, ” Jane Startz Productions and Front Street Pictures. No purchase necessary to enter or win. Subject to Official Rules. Sponsor: Jane Startz Productions and Front Street Pictures. This giveaway is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by or associated with Hub Television Networks, LLC., Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or any of their affiliates. How to Enter: Beginning at 9:00AM ET on 3/22/14 until 5:00PM ET on 4/4/14 (the "Submission Period"), participant may enter into the “Monster Dress-up Photo Giveaway.”

- With the warehouse about to close its doors, you won't want to miss this season’s earth-shattering revelations! Save the date because Warehouse 13 returns Monday, April 14 at 9/8c, only on Syfy. Check out the season five trailer below:


- Showtime will take an in-depth look at the weird and darkly comic world of sin in the documentary series Seven Deadly Sins, from Oscar®-nominated executive producer Morgan Spurlock (Super Size Me), under his Warrior Poets production banner (Inside Man, One Direction: This is Us), along with his producing partner Jeremy Chilnick. Hosted by Spurlock, this stylized documentary series will explore each of the seven deadly sins -- one per episode -- and will be told through Spurlock’s unique and extreme lens. Seven Deadly Sins will debut on Thursday, June 19 at 11:00 on Showtime.

- The 2014 MTV Movie Awards will be hosted by comedian and late night host Conan O’Brien and will air across MTV's global network of more than 60 channels reaching more than half a billion households around the world on Sunday, April 13, 2014, with the pre-show at 8:30 and main telecast airing LIVE at 9:00. Voting for the “2014 MTV Movie Awards” is open at MovieAwards.MTV.com through Saturday, April 12. Voting for Movie of the Year will continue throughout the live broadcast of the show.

- Ovation is proud to present the latest episode of Music Mavericks, featuring Pearl Jam. Often credited with founding the “grunge rock” sound, Pearl Jam formed in Seattle in 1990. The band broke into the mainstream in 1991 with their album Ten, but became equally famous for their refusal to adhere to traditional music business practices. This profile looks at how, despite their resistance to fame, they went on to sell 60 million records worldwide and is considered one of the most influential bands of the decade. Music Mavericks airs weekly Sunday nights at 7:00.

- ABC’s innovative new series Rising Star, which opens the gate to a new era in reality competition, kicks off its nationwide search for talent on Saturday, March 29th. The U.S. series is helmed by executive producers Ken Warwick (American Idol) and Nicolle Yaron (The Voice). Aspiring singers are encouraged to visit abc.com/risingstar for more information on the audition process. Solo vocalists, duos and vocal groups (up to five members) can register to audition in person, online or nominate a friend/family member.

Thursday, March 27, 2014

I go Back Again, Fall off the Train, Land in His Bed, Repeat Yesterday's Mistakes




Poor Shakira, during her first season on The Voice no one wanted to join her team and ended up with arguably the worst team in the history of the show (though Christina Aguilera’s first and third season teams were just as bad). Though better this season, she is still looking at a last place finish. More importantly, the first single off her new album did not really set radio on fire despite having the biggest radio star of the last five years Rihanna on the track. But other than Maroon 5, none of the coaches on The Voice have gotten much of a bump from the show (at least in terms of pop radio, Blake Shelton is still ruling country radio but still lacks a crossover hit). Christina’s album bombed, Cee-Lo’s Goodie Mob comeback was met with a resounding yawn. Ironically many of the guest performers get a good boost after appearing on the show; Robin Thicke shot to number, and Christina, despite not being able to kick start her own career on the show, managed another hit via guest spot on the show with A Great Big World. Granted it is possible Shakira will get the big break when she performs the song on the show (but will Rihanna show up for anything short of the finale which is still two months away).

Granted the reason why Can’t Remember to Forget You is not a hit is most likely has less to do with some sort of The Voice coach curse and more with pop radio itself. If you listen to a top radio station you will hear mostly watered down EDM or folk rock songs (or in the case of Wake Me Up, both). Soul is making some inroads thanks to Aloe Blacc (getting some Wake Me Up rub) and Pharrell Williams (who has been placed in multiple advertisements in the last couple month). But it is very hard for different sounds making it on to pop radio. Case in point Lorde released Royal in March of last year but it did not become a hit until the fall. So it is not very surprising, even with Rihanna’s name attached, that the ska-rock from the nineties vibe of Can’t Remember to Forget You is having a hard time breaking through even with a music video that could have passed for softcore porn when ska last had a moment.

But at least you can easily classify Can’t Remember to Forget You, second single Empire is much harder to pin down. It definitely has an epic, rock tinged power ballad feel to it, but more Céline Dion nineties type power ballad than eighties Bon Jovi type with weird auto-tune in the chorus. And there may be the problem with Shakira. (yes, the album title has a period in it) it tries to be everything at once. She tries to cram Latin, pop, rock and many other sub genres into the same song. Instead of the songs sounding eclectic, they just come out sounding jumbled. The worst case is the duet with Black Shelton which adds country to her musical jumbo which finds Shelton singing lines like “p-p-p-p-popping the pills.” Blake duet with Christina Aguilera was significantly better.

But these genre mash-ups are not all jumbled messes, when she infuses some reggae into Cut Me Deep which features some Canadian reggae band named MAGIC! (yes their band has an exclamation point and all caps and no I will not be making a Snow joke), it turns into one of the better tracks on the album. Another standout is the new wave meets rock sounding Spotlight (which was actually written with the same Nashville based team that also co-wrote the Shelton assisted song but not nearly as embarrassing). And showing that less is sometimes more, the acoustic 22 is better than most of the overproduced songs on the album.

Song to Download – Cut Me Deep

Shakira. gets a Terror Alert Level: Elevated [YELLOW] on my Terror Alert Scale.


Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Previewing Brothers in War



“Having spent the last two decades researching and writing about the Vietnam War, I must say ‘Brothers in War’ is one of the finest documentaries about that conflict ever produced, featuring razor-sharp editing, masterfully restored archival footage, and a powerful yet understated musical score. The narration by Charlie Sheen is first-rate, as are the interviews conducted with members of Charlie Company, 4th Battalion, 47th Infantry, who offer compelling testimony about the harsh realities of combat and the bonds of brotherhood forged in war. A must-see.” -Dr. Erik B. Villard, Military Historian

There have been countless movies made about the Vietnam War covering probably every angle in the nearly forty years since the last Americans left the country. Of course the best stories are the ones told by those actually there and Brothers in War features one of the last combat infantry companies to be drafted, trained, and sent to fight together in Vietnam. The movie features interviews with those that put boots on the ground and featuring their own home movies and personal audio tapes from the era.

Narrated by Charlie Sheen, who long before infusing himself with tiger blood, rose to fame starring the Vietnam era Platoon, the movie follows a yearlong combat tour that took 26 of their own and wounded another 105 soldier in the Charlie Company. The fist hand account of their time in the foreign country are gut wrench as they mourned their own while trying to kill the guys on the opposite of the battlefield who were not above setting traps at night. We may not need another movie based on Vietnam, but hearing stories firsthand makes Brothers in War one of the few exceptions.


Brothers in War premieres tonight at 8:00 on the National Geographic Channel.

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

I Want My Music Television: 3/25/14



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.


She Used to Love Me A Lot – Johnny Cash


It is weird that after two decades of Rick Rubin produced albums, that a long lost song from Johnny Cash that he recorded in the early eighties sounds as if it could have easily has been an outtake from one of the American albums series. The dark music definitely fits in with some of his later music videos.


Bridges - Broods


Tt is easy to compare Broods to their fellow Kiwi Lorde (teenage singer, same producer) and their first official music video also take look at suburban youth, but Broods take a more romantic look with what seems to be the New Zealand equivalent of McLovin and Hit Girl.


Girl You Look Amazing - Nicole Atkins


Sure dating an invisible man is simple and silly, but I laughed through the new Nicole Atkins music video.


Stay – tyDi featuring Dia Frampton


After Avicii had a smash hit with the folk infused EDM track it was only a matter of time before another producer would do the same thing. Australian DJ tyDi (yes, that is how he stylizes his name) is the first to try and not surprisingly it sounds very derivative. The post-chorus bites the cords from Philip Philips’ Home (which itself was a complete rip-off of Mumford & Sons). And just like Wake Me Up, I hope that Dia Frampton eventually releases an acoustic version of the song.

Monday, March 24, 2014

Previewing None of the Above and The Numbers Game



What will happen if you drop seven Mentos into a two liter bottle of your favorite carbonated soda? A) Nothing, just fizzle out; B. Soda erupts into the air; C) The soda will anticlimactically spill over; or D) None of the Above. Science fans and fans of arguing in general will want to check out None of the Above where host Tim Shaw takes to the streets to test the knowledge of normal people to see if they can guess the outcome of simple, and sometimes not so simple (some are only tested with a fire truck standing by) experiments such as the one posed above.

In the first couple episodes you can lean what happens when you mix melted ice cream with flour, how many balloons can hold yup his car, try to deep-fry a frozen turkey in seconds using one barrel of oil heated above 400 degrees (hence the fire truck since explode is one of the choices). Tim even tries the age old magician trick of pulling a tablecloth out from under a fully set table foot twenty-four… with a stock car travelling 115 miles per hour and a quarter mile-cord. None of the Above is good family fun that is only enhance if you watch with friends or family and try to see who get the most right every episode.

None of the Above airs Mondays at 9:00 on National Geographic Channel.

If None of the Above is for the science geek in your family, The Numbers Game is not surprisingly for the stats nerd. The show with host Jake Porway, a data scientist and National Geographic Emerging Explorer, takes a numerical look at aspects of life you would not think would have numerical value and breaks them down by the numbers. Case in point tonight’s episode take a look at how many of are heroes (one in five will be a hero during their lifetime) and how you can increase your odd of being a hero. Next week Jake takes on the old adage that there is a sucker born every minute and sees if maybe being a sucker could be a good thing. Future episodes will ask are you desirable? Are you a jerk? And are you a big liar.

The Numbers Game airs Mondays at 9:30 on National Geographic Channel.

Sunday, March 23, 2014

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 3/2314



Once Upon a Time: So if Regina and the witch are sisters, does that make her the Wicked Witch of the East? She surely is not Glinda.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Once Upon a Time on iTunes.

Shameless: Oh no, there is a female Carl. This probably will not end well. And by not end well, I mean it will end awesomely. But is a shame that Fiona finally realized she should have given up the drug addict brother to get herself off. I have a sinking suspicion he is going to help get her job back at Cups Inc. despite how irate his sister is. It is the least he could do.

The Walking Dead: What the Frack just happened? We all knew that Lizzie was going to go off the deep end eventually but killing her sister so everyone can see that dead can come back and not be evil? Not cool. And the episode just ended up being one big homage to Of Mice and Men, heavy on the mice and low on men. She even murdered rabbits a couple of episodes ago. That was when Darryl and Beth walked by the carnage and it seem safe to assume that the billow of smoke they saw was from their moonshine cabin. When Tyrese came upon the Grove, I actually initially thought maybe it was going to be the same funeral parlor.
You can download The Walking Dead on iTunes.

Crisis: I was not expecting much from a show that prominently features Rachael Taylor as a law enforcement agent (and an American one at that since she still has yet to master the accent yet). But it was surprisingly entertaining in a best case scenario for a network ripping off Homeland kind of way. You had two pretty good major plot twists (there would have been a third had the promos not already told us that one of the Secret Service guys was bad). Surprisingly the relationship with Taylor and Sully is compelling along with the father / daughter which got even more interesting especially with the plot twist. Though we probably will not see them paired off again, the Secret Service newbie and the fat kid’s time together was probably the best part of the premiere. The show could go off the rails like Homeland, and even quicker, but I was at least intrigued by the start.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Crisis on iTunes.

Revenge: So to cure her loss of time, all Emily had to do is be near drowned to remember some horrible memory. Ugg.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Revenge on iTunes.

The Voice: The first week of the Battle Round reminded me of the Blind Audition, there was a lot of cool song selection (the underappreciated Melanie Fiona song, the okay to appreciate now Steve Winwood song, the rare actual duet sung during the duet stage of the show) but the performances were just lackluster. There were three Battles (Jake vs. Lexi, Stevie Jo vs. Jake, Delvin vs. Caleb) where I would have been content if both singers when home. It just makes me wonder just how bad the montaged battles were that they were not shown over the clunkers that were.

The most notable event did not happen on stage but via press release when the show announced another change to the show because no two seasons can be the same. The Knockout Rounds are gone and are replaced by The Battles: Round Two which, as the name suggests is just like The Battles: Round One but instead of the coach picking the song, the duet partner performance will perform an agreed upon song. And instead of individual coaches for each or none at all, Coldplay’s Chris Martin will serve as the Key Adviser for all teams. And yes, The Steal will be returning, one for each coach.

Unfortunately it was also announced that the Instant Save will be also returning. But this time the bottom three will get a Last Chance Performance (which I assume will be like season two) before a small portion of the internet decides on which one advances. One more small change, the Playoffs will not be live this season, which means the coaches will trim their teams from five to three and American will not be voting until the top twelve this season.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download songs performed this week with the widget at right.

How I Met Your Mother: Wow, they sure were able to get a bunch of guest stars to comeback for that parking lot montage, who even knew Sally Draper’s teacher was Blah Blah?
You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com. You can also download How I Met Your Mother on iTunes.

The Blacklist: It has become more clear that they should not do a Ressler-centric episode. That was just bad. At least we got a bit more about Tom’s secret life. Note to everyone out there, when someone tells you not to make a call because they will kill you both after you hang up, do not make the call, or at the very least do not turn your back on the guy.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download The Blacklist on iTunes.

Pretty Little Liars: I was excited for the “Ali Tells All” episode thinking we would finally get song ago asked questions answered. I quickly realize there was plenty that even Alison does not know like she does not know who tried to kill her. But considering that her mother tried to cover it up, that pretty much has to mean that her brother is A, right? Who else would she lie to the police for? Erza knows who A is except he was shot before he could tell anyone. I would rather he die than learn who A is at this point. But knowing this show, Ezra will probably pull through but have selective amnesia after surgery.

It also seemed like the writers forgot their own mythology. I could have sworn that Ali and Melissa’s husband taped their rendezvous in the woods with it ending with Alison saying, “I know you want to kiss me” before the camera hit the ground and she was dragged away. And how did Jenna and Garrett figure into that whole night? I thought they did something with a shovel but it has been left vague. Did they have something to do with Spencer’s shovel? Oh well, maybe we will get an “A Tells All” episode in a season or four.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Pretty Little Liars on iTunes.

Justified: When the promos hyped that Danny would attempt the 21-Foot Rule on Raylan it was pretty obvious it would not end well for Danny. But I could have never guessed that it would end up that way. Even though it exceeded my already high expectations for the scene, I am still slightly disappointed that after three teases we never got to see Danny attempt the 21-Foot Rule. But on the bright side: holy Dickie Bennett sighting! It has been way too long. The show figured out a way to get Dewey out of prison, it is a shame they could not do the same of Dickie. But it was nice to see Dickie completely selling out Dewey in hopes in getting sent to Club Fed. I am still hoping we will finally get a Dewey / Dickie in jail spin-off. You can now add the Harris brothers to that cast. It will probably be much better than Ava’s Caged Heat storyline.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Justified on iTunes.

Survivor: Cagayan: Right before this episode it seemed that some of my early favorites were on the chopping block so I hoped the merge would put them in a better position (and hopefully in the same tribe and in an alliance). But unfortunately Morgan looks to be back on the bottom and even worse Cliff Robinson got booted ruining the Clif Robinson and Wooooooooooo buddy comedy. It is amazing after how poorly they performed, The Brain tribe is sitting the prettiest as the other faction implode on each other on the two tribes. One of the Brains could actually win this season, possibly even be the final three, if they finally live up to their names.
You can stream recent episodes on cbs.com. You can also download Survivor: Cagayan on iTunes.

Community: Just like the second Paintball episode, the second Dungeons and Dragons was not as great but still pretty entertaining, especially with the triumphant return of Hector the Well endowed.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Community on iTunes.

Hannibal: Oh Abigail Hobbs, at least you still survive in Will’s fever dreams. I wonder if anyone else will show up in those eventually. It seems like Beverly will be available. Though it is very well possible that Hannibal keep her alive down in his dungeon and that is what Jack was doing there at the beginning of the season.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Hannibal on iTunes.

Saturday, March 22, 2014

Best of the Week: 3/22/14




Quote of the Week: I don’t care if the Lollipop Guild are guarding her, I can lower that shield on my own. (Regina "The Evil Queen" Mills, Once Upon a Time)

Song of the Week: Nothing Else Matters – Vienna Boys Choir (Crisis)

Scene of the Week:


Big News of the Week: Brackets Busted Already: This year, Warren Buffett was going to give away $1 Billion to anyone who had a perfect bracket for this year’s NCAA Tournament. But probably about 99% of brackets filled out were already out of the running after day one when two twelve seeds, ND State and Harvard, upset their fifth seed counterpoints. There was also a sixth seed that went down to an eleven. And those brackets that were not busted on Thursday burst on Friday when Duke (3) went down to Mercer (14) and FS Austin (12) took down fifth seed VCU. So now there are no perfect brackets left in the Warren Buffett challenge after just the first round.

Preview Picture of the Week:

"On The Carpet" Archer Vice featuring the voice of Christian Slater, Monday at 10:00 on FX

Free Download of the Week: Woo Hah!!! Got You All in Check – Busta Rhymes (Google Play)

New Album Release of the Week: Out Among The Stars - Johnny Cash

New DVD Release of the Week: The Wolf of Wall Street

Video GIF of the Week: This is now my everything:


Next Week Pick of the Week: Switched at Birth, Monday at 8:00 on ABC Family: At the end of last season, Daphne got caught blackmailing a state congressman which sent her to do community service at a health center. It may have been worth it for her because it landed her smack dab in the middle of a love triangle. And where Daphne spent most of her time sending her time thinking about two boys, it looks like Bay may be juggling more boys in the season finale. There is current boyfriend, the frat boy with the heart of gold. But her old boyfriend is still in the picture and may need some comforting conserving it looks like he may have gotten Catfished. And she just found out that the other boyfriend that cheated on her was actually faithful and lied about the affair so she would forget about him. But those are just silly school kid crushes compared to Toby whose marriage may already be over after about a month.

Friday, March 21, 2014

Around the Tubes: 3/21/14



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 The Safecrackers, Pioneers of Television, Ray Donovan, Master of Sex, Lindsey Stirling, The Bright Smoke, Lorde, and Conan.

- When truTV debuts its brand new series The Safecrackers, the fascinating pair of Alabama locksmiths at the center of the show won't be the only ones on the hunt for hidden treasures. truTV is inviting viewers to put their own safe-opening skills to the test for the chance to win cash and prizes through the The Safecrackers Sweepstakes. During each of the first three episodes of The Safecrackers, which premieres on truTV Monday, March 24, at 10:00, truTV will reveal a four-digit combination. Viewers will then have until 4:59 a.m. (ET) the following morning to tweet that week's combination with the hashtag #ImASafecracker in order to be entered for the chance to win one of 30 weekly prize packs (10 each week) filled with cool truTV swag. Viewers who enter the correct codes for all three episodes will be entered for the chance to win the Grand Prize of $5,000. Complete rules and promo for The Safecrackers Sweepstakes are available here.

- Explore trailblazing moments of television history when Pioneers of Television returns to PBS, Tuesday, April 15, 2014, featuring standup comedians who landed sitcoms, TV doctors and nurses, standout comedic actors and those who broke the color barrier on television. Offering inside stories from some of America’s most beloved television stars, the fourth season of the Emmy-nominated series reveals intriguing behind-the-scenes stories and fascinating facts about television’s best-known and influential celebrities. The fourth season combines new interviews with legendary stars, such as Ray Romano, Bob Newhart, Robin Williams, Jimmie Walker, Leslie Uggams, Roseanne Barr and Dick Van Dyke, with never-before-seen images and timeless footage that continues to entertain TV viewers’ decades later.PIONEERS OF TELEVISION’s first-hand look at the medium is guided by the stories of television icons and their reminiscences about the iconic genres they helped popularize.

- Mark your calendars, Showtime announced its premiere date of its two sophomore programs. Ray Donovan will premiere Sunday July 13 at 9:00 followed by Masters of Sex at 10:00.

- For her upcoming album, Lindsey Stirling, a classically trained violinist who blends electronic beats, dance, animation, theatrics and visuals, chose PledgeMusic's direct-to-fan platform to take her fans on an incredible journey as she completes her highly anticipated collection of songs. Fans can pledge support to receive exclusive items such as signed posters and t-shirts and unique experiences such as a Google hangout on the set of her new music video, a personalized video and a Skype chat with Lindsey.

- Hailing from NYC, Mia Wilson and Quincy Ledbetter of The Bright Smoke create unique noir-blues inspired tunes, that combine influences ranging from Patti Smith, to Leonard Cohen, to Cat Power. God Willin’ is a powerful and emotional track, complete with a heart-pounding beat and an escalating intensity, is the first track off of the band's recently released EP, Virginia Et Al., the follow up release to their first full-length album Late For War. Take a listen below:



- The innovated hybrid publisher Riverdale Avenue Books is proud to publish the first book on Grammy winning artist Lorde. Lorde: Your Heroine: How This Young Feminist Broke All the Rules and Succeeded by New York Times bestselling author, Marc Shapiro examines the career of this 17 year-old New Zealand musician who just won her first two Grammys for her hit song Royals.

- Conan has announces Guest Line-up for Week of Shows from Dallas March 31-April 3. Check them our below:

Monday, March 31 – Adam Sandler and comedian Tig Notaro
Tuesday, April 1 - Seth Rogen and musical guest Phillip Phillips
Wednesday, April 2 - Simon Helberg and musical guest Eli Young Band
Thursday April 3 – Charles Barkley

Thursday, March 20, 2014

Previewing Wild Hawaii



Ever since Planet Earth, there has been a steady stream of beautifully shot nature mini-series. Until most of these have transverse the globe highlighting little scene wildlife. Wild Hawaii is the first of these nature shows to take the micro approach to the nature show focusing on one very small part of the globe: only 1,500 miles in length featuring eight major islands as well as one hundred and twenty-four smaller ones (which begs the question, why hasn’t Survivor taken up shop on one of the smaller islands yet).

Despite taking up a small part of the globe’s surface, Hawaii is a great place to film because of its isolation 2,400 miles from the nearest continent. And where else on the globe can you go snowboarding, travel a couple miles and go surfing minutes later? And that isolation has created a diverse array of species that would likely not see anywhere else on the planet, at least not evolved in the same way.

Wild Hawaii takes you from the top of the still active volcano all the way under the ocean just of the shore (you even get to view the ocean via seal cam). The special is made up of two episodes: Land of Fire will explore the fiery heart of Hawaii, explain how the lava shaped the islands and how the animals have adapted around the lava. That will be followed by Secrets of the Deep which will go to undersea rivers to see the fish that thrive in the rare waters just off the shore. The scenes are as beautiful as you would come to expect from these types of show and should be check out by any nature lover.

Wild Hawaii premieres Sundays at 8:00 on Nat Geo Wild. Check out the trailer below:

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Previewing The Safecrackers



It seems like once a month a get a new screen for a job related reality show that makes me think they have finally run out of professions to follow around for television. Then a couple months later a new one comes that makes me say the same thing. The latest is premiering next week entitled The Safecrackers which follows around two locksmiths. After the show arrived I came to the realization I should stop saying television executives have finally run out of professions to exploit until one finally greenlights a reality show on waste management. That would quite literally and figuratively be scraping the bottom of the barrel.

The Safecrackers follows Phil Crawford, who has “888” tattooed on the knuckles of one hand, and “RIP” on the other, and his buddy Blaze as they travel the south (the map covers basically every Confederate and Border state) to unlock some of the hardest long lost safes. In the first episode they are tasked with opening up three different locks, well the first one leads to the second one when keys are found in the first safe.

To give you a sense of how one makes it as a locksmith, the first safe, which is an very small floor safe set back the owner $250. A larger job could put you back four digits. And in a rare (and more interesting) instance, they will open a safe for a percentage of the value inside. This is much more interesting because you can find very rare valuables inside or it could be a Capone’s vault situation which only ended up to housing dirt and empty bottles.

Phil and Blaze are your typical reality television southern goofballs you see on these types of show (there is a humorous scene where Blaze goes through Phil’s CD collection in the car), and the moments leading up to the unveiling of what is inside are gripping. Anyone who likes these kinds of profession based reality shows like Pawn Stars and Storage Wars will certainly enjoy The Safecrackers.

The Safecrackers airs Mondays at 10:00 on TruTV.

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

The 5 Most Anticipated Albums of Spring 2014



Beyoncé changed the game late last year dropping a visual album out of nowhere on a Thursday night about a week before Christmas. But that change looks to be slow because most of the albums released early this year were announced at least a month in advance aside the new Kid Cudi album (which went as quickly as it came) and Skrillex whose new album drops today after just announcing it last week. Granted there are still plenty of names that are supposedly at work at a new album that could break the internet much like Mrs. Carter (considering they just teamed back up at SXSW, could a second Watch the Throne album be far behind) like Adele and Taylor Swift. Here are some albums that will not be air dropping out of nowhere over the next couple months since they already have hard release dates. Click in the artists name to be taken to their iTunes page and the album tile or cover art to pre-order on Amazon.


1. Sheezus – Lily Allen (May 5): Forget Yeezus, 2014 will be the year of Sheezus. After teasing new songs for the past four months, Lily Allen finally announced her comeback album which will feature the previously released Hard Out Here, Air Balloon, L8 CMMR, Out Time (as well as the Somewhere Only We Know cover on the Bonus Track Version). I am most interested in the title track, if it is half as good as her takedown of Window Shopper’s Window Shopper off her debut, it will be a great start for the new album.

2. Ghost Stories – Coldplay (May 19): The band has always been considered the poppier version of Radiohead, but it still came as a shock when their first new music was the non-pop song Midnight which sounded like Radiohead by way of Bon Iver. A week later the released a more conventional Magic but with its throbbing bass and drum machine mixed with Chris Martin not in falsetto, it still was one of the least Coldplay songs the band has ever recorded it. It should be interesting to hear what the rest of the album sound like, will they be pushing their limits even further or is the rest what we have come to expect from the band?

3. A Dotted Line – Nickel Creek (April 1): 2013 was the year of the reunion and that has seeped into 2014 with the first new album from the Afghan Whigs in sixteen years and Outkast headlining basically every festival this summer. I am more interested in the reunited Nickel Creek who will be putting out the first album in almost ten years. Where most reunion albums are just an excuse to go on a more profitable reunion tour, the album's first single Destination is as good as anything in the band’s library.

4. Supernova – Ray LaMontagne (May 6): Ray started out as the folk guy but on his last album he recruited a full band for a fuller sound and produced the album himself. The Pariah Dogs are sitting the new album out and benched himself when it came to production. Instead The Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach is doing the producing the album and if first single, and title track, are indication, Ray is going for a seventies pop-rock vibe.

5. TBA – U2: This album should be higher on the list but it is becoming more and more unclear just when we are going to hear the first U2 album since 2009. When they dropped Invisible during the Super Bowl, a spring or summer released seemed inevitable, but after the song was met with a resounding, “eh” it was reported by Billboard that the album and tour would be pushed back to 2015 and they would go back into the studio with Ryan Tedder (ugg) and Paul Epworth (Adele). But that story was refuted by a spokesman for the band who said, “U2’s album is planned for this year, is still on track and touring plans haven’t been confirmed yet.” Though still no date, or even timeframe was given. So maybe there will be a U2 album this year, but maybe not until the holiday season. Maybe after all this gossip, maybe they will just end up Beyoncing the album just before Christmas.


Here is a list of more albums coming out this spring that will at the very least worth a spin on Spotify.

Today
Symphonica – George Michael
SupermodelFoster the People
Good Road to FollowJohn Oates
Sex and Love (Deluxe)Enrique Iglesias
The Muppets Most Wanted

March 25
Out Among The StarsJohnny Cash (Lost 80’s Album)
Shakira. - Shakira
Teeth DreamsThe Hold Steady
About Last NightSleeper Agent
This Is What I DoBoy George
ColouristThe Colourist
Night SongsBarry Manilow
Rio 2: Music From the Motion Picture
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (40th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition)Elton John
Thirteen Tales From Urban Bohemia: Live at The WonderThe Dandy Warhols (first live album)

April 1
Himalayan – Band of Skulls
Life JourneyLeon Russell
CopeManchester Orchestra
The Infamous Mobb Deep – Mobb Deep
Education, Education, Education & WarKaiser Chiefs

April 8
DuetsLinda Ronstadt
Pure FictionEric Hutchinson

April 15
Rivers in the Wasteland - Needtobreathe
Do to the BeastThe Afghan Whigs
Make My Head Sing - Jessica Lea Mayfield
Lights OutIngrid Michaelson
Fools Gold – Duck Sauce
Boys Night OutThe Oak Ridge Boys (first live album in 37 years)
Illmatic XXIllmatic XX - Nas (twentieth anniversary rerelease)

April 22
Pop PsychologyNeon Trees
Food - Kelis
Cautionary Tales of Mark Oliver EverettEels
SugarG. Love & Special Sauce
Shine On – Dwight & Nicole

April 29
Most Messed Up – Old 97's
Everyday RobotsDamon Albarn
Phosphorescent Harvest – Chris Robinson Brotherhood
ShriekWye Oak
Song in My HeadThe String Cheese Incident

May 6
Shine OnSarah McLachlan
Natalie MerchantNatalie Merchant
I Never LearnLykke Li
Nikki NackTune-Yards

May 13
Blue SmokeDolly Parton
Everything’s Corrupt – Ice Cube

May 20
Upside Down Mountain – Conor Oberst
California BreedCalifornia Breed
A Matter Of Trust The Bridge To Russia: The Deluxe Edition (2CD/Blu-ray)Billy Joel

May 27
Are We There - Sharon Van Etten

June 3
Platinum – Miranda Lambert
Road BetweenLucy Hale
Superunknown (20th Anniversary - Remastered CD) - Soundgarden

June 10
Manslaughter – Body Count

TBD
Plectrumelectrum – Prince & 3RDEYEGIRL
A Letter Home – Neil Young
You’re Welcome – De La Soul
4:13 Dream – The Cure
B.O.A.T.S. III – 2 Chainz
World Peace Is None of Your Business - Morrissey
AC/DC
Adele
Better Than Ezra
Bleachers
Charlie Wilson
D12
Deftones
Ed Sheeran
Florence + The Machine
The Gaslight Anthem
Grimes
The Jacksons
Jay-Z
Jenny Lewis
Jewel
Kendrick Lamar
Linkin Park
Miguel
Phoenix
Raphael Saadiq
Rihanna
Spoon
Taylor Swift

Let me end with the obligatory this may be the quarter when Dr. Dre finally releases Detox.