The Five Most Anticipated Albums of Summer 2014

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Tomorrow

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

June 27
Ultraviolet EP – Owl City

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

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

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

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

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

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

August 19
In Motion: The Remixes – Amy Grant

August 26
Brill Bruisers – The New Pornographers

September 2
V – Maroon 5

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

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

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

September 30
Collide – Boyz II Men

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Best of the Week: 6/21/14

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

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

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

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

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

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

Preview Picture of the Week:

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

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

New Album Release of the Week: x - Ed Sheeran

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

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


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

Around the Tubes: 6/20/14

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 Legends, Wilfred, Cold Justice, Love Thy Neighbor, Sullivan and Son, Mainland, The Bridge, Kidnapped for Christ, Aerial America: Alaska, Quincy Jones, Skin Wars, Idiot Test, Roadies, and Syfy casting.

- TNT’s new series The Last Ship premieres Sunday and I am guessing the show will be inundated with adds for their next show Legends coming in August. The latest trailer just premiered on the internets and it looks like a prequel to Liam Neeson’s Taken where we see just how he got his “skills” and puts them in action for what they were meant for with Ned Stark subbing in for Neeson. I would have no problem if that is what the show turns out to be.



- Wilfred is moving and he’s taking an extra X with him. The boys are back Wed, June 25th on FXX.


- TNT's fascinating real-life crime series Cold Justice is back on the case with brand new episodes beginning tonight, at 9:00. The series follows former prosecutor Kelly Siegler and former crime-scene investigator Yolanda McClary as they travel to small towns around the country in order to help local law enforcement look into murder cases that have lingered for years without answers or closure. TNT's summer run of Cold Justice will include Justice Served, a special episode created in response to fan requests for case updates. Hosted by John Walsh (America's Most Wanted) and set to air Friday, July 18, Justice Served will look back at the remarkable results achieved by investigators on the show.

- OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network’s popular comedy series Love Thy Neighbor from Tyler Perry will return with all-new episodes on Wednesday, June 25 at 9:00. As the new summer premiere episodes unfold, Linda struggles with her feelings for Will and her growing attraction for Phillip. However, when Linda catches Will in a lie she begins to question his true character. Tired of being the good girl who always gets hurt, Linda decides to throw all caution to the wind and follow her heart…with some very unexpected consequences.

- Pittsburgh's favorite family-owned watering hole is open for business, and the bar regulars are back for another round of laughs as TBS's original sitcom Sullivan & Son returns for its third season, beginning with back-to-back episodes on Tuesday, June 24, at 10:00. As season 3 of Sullivan & Son opens, the marriage of Susan and Jason (guest star Ken Jeong) faces a big test when Jason realizes that he’s never fully pleased his wife in bed. Jason then learns that Owen (aka "The Big O") gave Susan the Big O in high school. Meanwhile, Jack and Hank lead separate sides in a Civil War reenactment, and Hank is determined to win and "change history."

- Mainland began with an eclectic record collection, 4 New York City transplants and a cavernous rehearsal studio underneath the Manhattan Bridge, culminating in a spontaneous recording session with Jim Eno of Spoon. Mainland show their raucous merit with their 2nd EP, Shiner, produced by Eno at his Public Hi-Fi studio in Austin, Texas. A gritty and erratic collection of scuzzed out indie-rock, Shiner idles somewhere between the vintage sensibilities of The Pixies, and the carefree aesthetics of The Drums. It's a genre they've affectionately coined as "puke-up punk," and it's a term that couldn't be more perfect. Check out Leave the Lights On below:


- Seeing the unseen. A new threat crosses The Bridge July 9th at 10:00 on FX.


- On Thursday, July 10th at 7:30 Showtime will premiere Kidnapped for Christ, a powerful, award-winning documentary that chronicles the shocking truth behind Escuela Caribe, a controversial Christian behavior modification program in the Dominican Republic for “troubled” U.S. teenagers. Initially hoping to document the positive effects a boarding school like this could have on struggling youth, evangelical filmmaker Kate Logan is granted unprecedented access and allowed to live on campus for the summer. Once there, Logan’s eyes are opened to the truth beneath the sunny façade of this remote reform school—kids being taken by force in the middle of the night, rumors of physical abuse, and staff imposing arbitrary and degrading punishments on the young students—and encounters students who change her life.

- Soar across the dizzying heights of Mount McKinley. Swoop down on the glimmering seas surrounding Kodiak Island. Hover above stunning aqua-blue melt ponds on the world’s largest glacier and crawl across the barren landscape left behind by the biggest volcanic eruption of the 20th century, as the most expansive aerial series in U.S. television history takes flight on a stunning journey across our nation’s largest state: Alaska. In a special extended back-to-back two-hour programming block, Smithsonian Channel celebrates the last great frontier, taking flight in Aerial America: Alaska, premiering Sunday, July 6 at 8:00 and 9:00.

- Quincy Jones is coming to Turner Classic Movies (TCM) this month as part of an all-night tribute to the entertainment legend. Jones will join TCM host Robert Osborne on Monday, June 30, for a night of films featuring scores composed by Jones. The evening is scheduled to kick off at 8:00 with Jones' debut film as a composer, The Pawnbroker (1965), starring Rod Steiger. Also included in the lineup are The Slender Thread (1965), starring Sidney Poitier and Anne Bancroft; In the Heat of the Night (1967), the Best Picture Oscar® winner starring Steiger and Poitier; The Italian Job (1969), starring Michael Caine; and $ (Dollars) (1971), starring Warren Beatty and Goldie Hawn.

- GSN, the leader in game shows and competitive entertainment, announced this week the premiere dates for its two new original summer series, Skin Wars, on Wednesday August 6 at 9:00 and Idiot Test, on Tuesday, August 12 at 8:00. Skin Wars, hosted by actress Rebecca Romijn (X-Men) is an eight-episode, hour-long competition show that seeks to find the most talented and versatile body painters in the country. Judges in the series include legendary entertainer RuPaul and body painting icons Craig Tracy and Robin Slonina. Idiot Test, hosted by comedian Ben Gleib and based on the highly popular app games, gives two pairs of contestants the opportunity to face off in several rounds of rapid-fire questions whose answers any "idiot" should know: Every question involves a fun, colorful and often whimsical scene that tests observation and attention to detail as much it tests general knowledge. Contestants play the game on a giant touch screen in the center of the set.

- Showtime has given a pilot production order to Roadies, a comedy that follows the day-to-day life of a successful rock tour as seen through the eyes of music’s unsung background players – the crew members who help get the show on the road. Cameron Crowe, who won an Oscar® for brilliantly chronicling the highs and lows of rock and roll life as witnessed by a Rolling Stone magazine cub reporter in his semi-autobiographical film Almost Famous, wrote and will direct the one-hour pilot (for a potential half-hour series).

- Syfy’s fan-favorite series Haven will get a new resident when Laura Mennell (Alphas, The Watchmen) joins the cast in a recurring role playing Dr. Erin Reid, a brilliant and beautiful epidemiologist from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) who fears the town of Haven is on the verge of a deadly viral outbreak. Filming for the series’ 26-episode fifth season is currently underway on location in Halifax, Nova Scotia. In other Syfy casting news, they also announced the cast of Z Nation, an all-new zombie series set to debut in the fall. From production company The Asylum (Sharknado), the 13-episode action-horror series depicts the epic struggle to save humanity after a zombie apocalypse. Harold Perrineau (Oz, Lost) Tom Everett Scott (Southland, Beauty and the Beast), DJ Qualls (Supernatural), Michael Welch (Twilight trilogy) and Kellita Smith (The Bernie Mac Show) have joined the ensemble drama, currently in production in Spokane, WA.

Previewing The Last Ship

Two falls ago ABC premiered an ambitious new show called Last Resort about a submarine ship that refused its ordered to fire its nuclear warhead which undoubtedly would have started World War III. The Pilot was one of the best ion recent memories with an idea that was a great idea… for a movie. A television show? Not so much. By the second episode they were docked at some island in the Pacific and declared themselves their own nation. That and subsequent episodes never came close to that first episode.

This summer TNT is launching a similar sounding show called The Last Ship. Instead of a submarine this is a war ship and instead of nuclear warheads, they are hosting a possible cure for a virus that has wiped out half the world’s population and another half a million each day. But the biggest difference is that where Last Resort docked at a remote island and rarely went back to sea, it seems, at least for the first couple episodes, the titular vessel will stay on the move, from the arctic to France to Gitmo (where, of course, there are a few Al Qaida rebels still alive) to keep away from the infected on land and away from rouge Russian who want the cure for themselves. Still, The Last Ship sounds like it would have been better suited as a movie instead of a weekly series.

One major downgrade from Last Resort is the cast. Instead of the great Andre Braugher, we get Eric Dane who is hard to take serious after being pegged with a silly nickname on some crappy nighttime soap. I spent most of the first couple episodes wishing he would switch roles with his second in command Adam Baldwin (Chuck) someone actually worthy of going into battle for. And since this is a show about a virus, of course there is an absurdly hot doctor set to save the world, this time it is Rhona Mitra (Hollow Man).

There are others in the cast but there is no reason talking about none of them are flushed out because this is a Michael Bay production, the guy who like to blow up things from Bad Boys to all four of the Transformer movies. So in lieu of any character exposition, there is plenty of kiss, kiss, bang, bang. And more than enough of the latter, there are more explosions in the first three episodes than most action television shows have in their entire run. The Last Ship really is a mini-summer action blockbuster every week. But I do not think anyone want to see a ten hour action movie so at some point hopefully they make the characters engaging otherwise The Last Ship will likely be sunk after one season.

The Last Ship airs Sundays at 9:00 on TNT. You can download The Last Ship on iTunes.