Around the Tubes: 4/17/15

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 Dark Matter, The Draft, The Wonder Years, BarkFest Weekend, Geeks Who Drink, Megadeath, and Human Voice.

- The official trailer for Syfy's Dark Matter. Premieres June 12 at 10:00.


- The United States military draft has always stirred controversy, exposing fault lines in race, class and culture. PBS’ The Draft explores the turbulent history of the draft, from the Revolutionary War to present, including the debate over its termination. Airing Monday, April 27 at 9:00, The Draft is the first program to air as part of PBS’ special block of programming related to the Vietnam War.

- In The Wonder Years: The Complete Third Season, the newest retail installment of the fan-favorite series, the education of Kevin Arnold continues. He gets his first French kiss during an otherwise forgettable family vacation at the beach, and once back in school, he goes to his first make-out party. The boyfriend-girlfriend thing still puzzles him; his relationship with Winnie (Danica McKellar) and Paul (Josh Saviano) simply adds to the confusion. Cars enter the picture when his knucklehead brother Wayne (Jason Hervey) gets his driver's license. And the young Kevin flirts with potential rock 'n' roll stardom after new kid Larry Beeman (Joshua Miller) gets The Electric Shoes up and running. Street Date: May 26, 2015.

- Nat Geo WILD is gearing up for a weekend of all bark, no bite TV featuring some of the smartest, most unique and cutest canines in the world. There will be surfing dogs, service dogs, games to find out if your dog is a genius, Cesar Millan marathons and much more. Calling all dog lovers! Nat Geo WILD’s inaugural BarkFest weekend features the world premiere of the three-part series Is Your Dog a Genius?, beginning Friday, May 15, at 10:00 and continuing Saturday and Sunday at 10:00. Duke University dog scientist Dr. Brian Hare uses his groundbreaking research to help dog owners better understand their canine companions. He introduces at-home games that reveal your dog’s personality and introduces us to extraordinary dogs with remarkable problem-solving abilities. This interactive series will help dog owners everywhere unlock their canine’s true potential. BarkFest kicks off with World’s Greatest Dogs on Friday, May 15, at 8:00. These are the stories of extraordinary dogs: a surfing therapy dog, a bionic dog, a dog with the world record in scootering and many more. We’ll meet these incredible canines and their dedicated owners.

- Syfy announced today that Zachary Levi, star of NBC’s Chuck and upcoming Heroes Reborn, will executive produce and host the game show Geeks Who Drink through one of his production arms, The Nerd Machine. The weekly series is based on the pub trivia contest of the same name, which has become a nationwide phenomenon with more than 25,000 people participating in over 600 bars across 35 states. Produced by Kinetic Contact (Married at First Sight, Little Women, The Taste) and Condé Nast Entertainment, Geeks Who Drink will premiere on Syfy Thursday, July 16th.

- PledgeMusic is excited to announce their partnership Megadeth. The band has entered the studio to begin recording their 15th album and they want to bring you along for the ride. For the first time, Megadeth is going to bring you into the studio to be a part of the recording process, and give you a window into the world of Dave Mustaine, Kiko Loureiro, David Ellefson and Chris Adler. Some of the exclusive items available when you pledge are a pre-order the album digitally, on CD or vinyl, a signed copy of Dave Mustaine's book, a signed copy of David Ellefson's book, a 2-hour guitar lesson with Dave Mustaine, a day in the studio with Megadeth, signed guitars, Chris Adler's drum kit, a disposable camera with one-of-a-kind photos from the studio, a jam session with the band and much more.

- Turner Classic Movies (TCM) will host the U.S. Television premiere of filmmaker Edoardo Ponti’s short film Human Voice, starring Sophia Loren as part of the networks five-film tribute to the actress on Tuesday, April. 21. The evening is scheduled to kick off at 8 p.m. (ET) with the U.S. television debut of the internationally acclaimed Human Voice (2013), directed by Loren’s son Edoardo Ponti, based on Jean Cocteau's iconic one woman play of the same name. Human Voice, directed by Edoardo Ponti, tells the story of a woman in her twilight years, who rides the emotional roller coaster of her last telephone conversation with the man she loves as he is leaving her for another woman. The film earned Loren the 2014 David Di Donatello award for her performance and was also the Official Selection at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival, the 2014 Tribeca Film Festival and the 2014 HollyShorts Film Festival.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 4/12/15

Shameless: Yeah I was totally wrong about never seeing Sammi again. Why end the episode there, between that and juvi showdown I was the most excited about this season in its final three minutes. The rest was not very shocking with Fiona choosing wrongly once again, Frank's sugar momma dying on him (or so we are lewd to believe), and Ian finding his way home. Really only shocking part of the finale was Debbie announcing she was pregnant... I think. That was kind of unclear. But having a fourteen year old pregnant really is a very Shameless storyline.

Mad Men: I was a little grumpy going into the premiere because of the stupid half season stunt and I could barely remember the first half of the season (I really only remember Bert dying and dancing his way off the show), but whoa, that is how you start off an episode after a long break (fun fact: the girl in the fur coat was Andie McDowell's daughter). Though why was Sterling Cooper still auditioning anyone after that, hire her right then and there. The rest of the episode had its ups and down and should I know what is happening (I was not entirely the chick from season one was the chick in Don's dream until her named popped up in the credits and did not even realize that was a dream until Don brought it up to the waitress). But the clear winner of the episode was Ken Cosgrove who gets one over on Rodger, that should be a fun dynamic for the rest of the season, the only way it could be more entertaining is if Ken hires Paul Kinsey to work with him.
You can download Mad Men on iTunes.

American Odyssey: The has been a glut of Homeland rip-offs networks have tried out over the past three seasons with The Blacklist the only one to get a second season (Crisis being the only other one I personally enjoyed). So I did not have much hope going into this show and it pretty much live up to my low expectations. Add in the extremely cliched rich people are evil and do everything in their power to hide their evilness with the government's help and the show will probably end up being a very tedious watch.
You can download American Odyssey on iTunes.

Bates Motel: The best part of the episode, if not the entire series, was Romero's reaction shots during Norma's blackmail attempt. I am surprised the evil businessman accepted, I am sure he does have other plans than the one Norma demanded.
You can download Bates Motel on iTunes.

Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Oh hey, Deathlok, I completely forgot about that guy. And oh hey, Sky's mom, I thought she was dead. I guess in addition to not aging she apparently cannot die even when disected. So when does she reveal that to Sky? You would think that would be part of the introduction.
You can download Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. on iTunes.

Justified: They really should have included the hill people in the "Previously On" package because took me until he started talking about putting Raylan and Boyd in a box to remember who he was. And poor Constable Bob, about to get his biggest criminal of his life only to get shot two times. Only one episode left but it feels like they may need another two or three episodes to wrap everything up at this point. Like just how is Raylan going to get away from the state troopers. His, "Don't suppose you'd believe me if I said no" still is one of his best one liners. But the biggest question is who, if anyone, will defy the song and get out of Harlen alive?
You can download Justified on iTunes.


Survivor: Blue Collar vs. White Collar. vs. No Collar: It is time again to bid fond farewell to the Token Hot Chick this season. Well at least we will get to see Hali on the jury. As the votes came in and I wondered why the White Collar did not flip like they pondered I realized the major flaw in Survivor, annoying people always go further than they deserve because smart players know they will be easy to beat in the Final Tribal. Sure it would have been much better television had the two White Collar players joined No Collar and voted off the annoying Blue Collar tribe. But it would be harder to beat them in a final tribal and if you believe the Masshole that they are a final four with Will, those are two very beatable players. This happens every season, I sit and wonder why they do not get rid of the annoying person or people, but that is the smartest strategy.
You can download Survivor: White Collar vs. Blue Collar vs. No Collar on iTunes.

The Voice: Much like the previous seasons, I have lost interest somewhere between the Blind Auditions and Live Playoffs and I have definitely reached that point this season which I am done with. Of course number one on my Power Ranking after the Knockout Round got the Preston Pohl Memorial for Worst Song Selection for the Live Playoffs. It seems like most people believe the coaches or producers do this to make sure their favorite advance (it does not help that Adam has openly admitted to sabotaging his team during the first season so Javier would have an easier path to the finale). I am not much of a conspiracy theorist (except when something questionable happens on Team Adam) but I do find it befuddling that they would give Love Me Like You Do to Brooke Adee. First off, the song just sucks. Second it is a little creepy having a teenager sing a song from a movie about a sex slave. And third, the song was already used earlier this season and apparently bombed so bad it was montaged. So are the coaches (or the producers) just really bad at figuring out songs for certain artists, especially more alternative singers (again, see Preston Pohl) or do they actually try to railroad certain artists. And if it is the latter, why sabotage Brooke if that means the boring and bland Corey advances? I could say I will never watch the show again, and I should not, but I am sure the turning chairs will draw me in again in the fall only to complain about the lack of talent by Thanksgiving.

Around the Tubes: 4/10/15

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 Resident Advisors, Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll, Chewie, MTV Movie Awards, Kids Behind Bars: A Soledad O’Brien Special Report, Welcome to Sweden, The Ride, Filter, Soul Asylum, If I Were You, and Broadchurch.

- Paramount Digital Entertainment’s Resident Advisors, the raunchy comedy executive-produced by Elizabeth Banks starring Jamie Chung and Ryan Hansen is exclusively on Hulu now. Check out the trailer below:


- FX just posted a new trailer for Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll. The series premieres Thursday, July 16 at 10:00 only on FX.


- In the comedy series Chewie, the galaxy-weary Chewbacca offers us a look inside the Louis C.K-esque day-to-day ordeals of his quest to find love, someone who will let him win at dejarik and perform his hilarious brand of guttural stand-up. Produced by Nerdist Industries and shot on location in New York City, this Louie parody brings a slice of the galaxy far, far away to the City That Never Sleeps. Just don't interrupt one of his sets at the Comedy Cellar, because this Wookiee will tear you limb from limb -- like so many Trandoshan slavers.


- MTV this week announced that past “Movie Awards” host Rebel Wilson, Brittany Snow, Anna Camp and Hailee Steinfeld will thrill Pitch Perfect fans at the “2015 MTV Movie Awards” with the worldwide premiere of an exclusive sneak peek from the highly-anticipated sequel, Pitch Perfect 2. The night will also reach a fever pitch when headlining rockers, Fall Out Boy, bring the house down with a live performance from the band’s recently launched sixth studio album, American Beauty/American Psycho, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard charts and peaked at No. 1 in 22 countries.

- On Sunday, April 12th at 10:00, Al Jazeera America gives voice to the voiceless and shines a light on an under-reported story by going inside an institution for teenage thieves, arsonists, gang bangers…and even kids who kill. In the hour-long special, Kids Behind Bars: A Soledad O’Brien Special Report, Al Jazeera America was given extensive access inside a once-notorious juvenile lock-up, the J. Paul Taylor Center in Las Cruces, New Mexico, where the state is now trying something new: offering education, counseling, and maybe even a second chance for juvenile offenders.

- Americans best know Sweden for exports such as meatballs, Ikea furniture and Volvo. But on May 19, Entertainment One (eOne) adds "sitcoms" to the list with its co-produced series Welcome to Sweden: The Complete First Season, a 2-disc DVD set. The acclaimed NBC sitcom, an offbeat single-camera comedy from executive producers and siblings Greg & Amy Poehler ("Parks and Recreation") and created by and starring Greg, became one of the highest-rated summer broadcast comedies of the past five years when it debuted last July. And before its second season debuts, experience a strange land and its stranger customs, in this fish-out-of-water sitcom called "the best new NBC comedy in a long time".

- Every kid has a dream but a dream alone doesn’t provide a future. The Ride consists of 8 hour-long episodes featuring Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Linkin Park, T.I and various other trendsetting artists, which will go into the truth of how these artists got to where they are today. Filled with raw unfiltered interviews, the road to success is paved as artists recount the events that transformed their lives. THE RIDE premieres, Saturday April 18th, 2015 9:00.

- PledgeMusic is excited to announce its partnership with Filter for the recording of their 7th studio record, on Wind-up Records. Fans will be given the opportunity to purchase exclusive items such as autographed CDs and signed vinyl, your name in a special "thank you" section of the liner notes, a Skype session with Richard Patrick, a mixing mastering session and lots of other great items. They will also get exclusive access to campaign updates and videos from Patrick and the band. Go to pledgemusic.com/projects/filter to sign up and pledge your support.

- PledgeMusic is excited to announce their joining with Soul Asylum for an upcoming album of all new material, to be released later this year. Pledging will also give you access to a Pledger-only section of the site, like private backstage access into the creative process where the band will be posting video updates, audio clips, pictures, blogs and more. To be part of the process and see what other unique and one of a kind pledge prizes the band has to offer, please visit: pledgemusic.com/projects/soulasylum.

- Spreaker, the leading podcast platform, announced today the addition of “If I Were You,” the hit show from the Los Angeles-based comedy duo, Amir Blumenfeld and Jake Hurwitz. Starring in one of CollegeHumor’s most popular and longest-running shows, the pair now will bring not only their podcast series, but also their hundreds of thousands of followers to Spreaker beginning this week. In every podcast episode, Blumenfeld and Hurwitz (and sometimes a guest) offer their guidance on a wide variety of topics from relationships, to work, to school, and everything in between. They also perform and record their show live on stage around the world in front of their fans.

- Earlier I mentioned the street date for the Broadchurch: The Complete Second Season DVD, please note that the date has been changed to May 12.

I Want My Music Television: 4/9/15

King Kunta - Kendrick Lamar


For Kendrick Lamar's first album I have it a one word review: meh. I do like his follow up a little more by the deep jazz drive runs a little long but I did do not get all the love as if he is raps Beatles (who themselves are the most overrated band ever. King Kunta was one of my more favorite songs off the new album though I do not sure if the video meant to be a throw back or if it was just filmed on an iPhone.

The Night We Called it a Day - Bob Dylan


God bless Bob Dylan, the guy clearly does not care, widely regarded as one of the greatest songwriter of all time, releases a Sinatra cover album (with a second one that may come out soon). Then you have the first music video, a noir silent movie type short film with Bob in it barely acting. God bless you Bob, may you stay forever young.

I'll Be There - Chic


Riding high off his participation on Get Lucky, Nile Rodgers has reunited with Chic and released a song with a bassline reminiscent of the biggest hit Good Time and even references another of their songs Everybody Dance. For googling purposes, that is model and Taylor Swift buddy Karlie Kloss who provides the dancing in the video.


Sorry


It seems like no one is allowed to be as raw has Meg Myers these days for better or worse. If there were a music video station around to put it in heavy rotation, Desire could have been a new millennium Criminal. Her new music video also give off the same vibe as it is from a time when music videos seemed to actually matter.

The Voice Season Eight Knockout Round Power Rankings

Stop it The Voice, just stop it with the hyperbole. During the final episode of the Knockout Round Carson hyped a socking end to the round. Everyone know that is a lie. Everyone know that who is not picked was going to be Stolen. You pulled that "shocking" crap at the end of the Battle Round. If you want to shock us, actually end an episode without a Steal for the first time ever, now that would shock me. Having Christina, who had a Steal left, Steal the person Adam did not pick in the final Knockout is the antithesis of shocking. It would have only been shocking had Christina said pass to Lexi and demanded to just reinstate Ashley in lieu of Stealing someone who will just be gone when the public starts voting. But no, you just continue to insult my intelligence. Overselling everything just hurts the product in the long run.

The big new during the Knockout Round was not any of the performances but who did not perform, Anthony Riley who was explained away for having personal reasons for leaving the show. Those reasons can be easily found on the internet (just avoid the baseless rumors that also popped up). This led to the first ever three person Knockout. Of course the contestants were hyperbolic about how being up against two people is harder. Um, no, you went from a fifty-eight percent of advancing to seventy-six percent (assuming I correctly calculated the right percentage of advancing via a Steal).


1. Brooke Adee (Team Blake) : Sure she may not have the best voice this season, but she is easily the most entertaining and though she probably will not win, Brooke has the best chance of being the most successful from this season. By choosing songs by Bon Iver (by way of Birdy) and MGMT it will be interesting if the show lets her stay "indie" and sing songs you may not expect from this show like say I Will Follow You Into the Dark, Portions for Foxes or something by Banks or will continue to have to sing the few indie songs that have already been cleared. I hope she gets to start to blaze her own trail but I fear Blake, who likes to recycle songs that have already done on the show for his non-country singers, will maker her sing The Scientist, or worse, Pumped Up Kicks.

2. Deanna Johnson (Team Adam): The two songs Deanna picked for herself were some of the best this season. The one Adam picked for her went so bad that it was montaged and even the studio version was really bad. Now with Adam picking songs, I fear for her longevity. It will be a crime against humanity if she does not get to sing My Immortal at some point.

3. Joshua Davis (Team Blake Adam): I am down with anyone who will break out an Amos Lee song on the show, suprsisingly the second in as many seasons. Hopefully he gets to continue to sing underdepreciated singer-songwriters on the show but I have a feeling Adam will make him do U2 or The Killers or some crappy pop-rock song.

4. India Carney (Team Christina): She was number one on my previous two Power Rankings, but her Knockout performance was her weakest of the three. It just felt like she was on one hundred the whole time.

5. Hannah Kirby (Team Blake Pharrell Blake): See below:

6. Kimberly Nichole (Team Pharrell Christina): see below:

7. Mia Z (Team Pharrell): Early in the show every season was peppered with weird singers who did bizarrely entertaining performances (mostly on Team Cee-Lo). Unfortunately the show has gotten away from those types of singers. But now with Pharrell's mantra of Other, it looks like those types of singers are getting more of a chance this season with Hannah, Kimberly, and Mia all making the Live Shows after offbeat Knockout Round performances. Of course with all of Pharrell's talk of Other, he let two of these girls go, thankfully Blake and Christina saved two of them and hopefully the new coaches let them to stay weird.

8. Meghan Linsey (Team Pharrell Blake): Meghan goes on The Voice to try to relaunch herself as a soul singer after a career in country and still ended up on Blake's team. Voters tend to take country and soul singers further than their talents deserve, and with the smartest coach who has won with both types, I guess we can go ahead and pencil her into the finale. Actually you can pen her into the finals, the pencil may just be used for her winning the whole show.

9. Rob Taylor (Team Christina): I really liked Rob's first two performances but as he opened up his Knockout performance with more falsetto I have come to the realization that that is really becoming a gimmick and his regular singing voice is really kind of mediocre and I actually preferred Treeva in their Knockout. Of course if he breaks out some Jodeci in the Live Shows I could easily be persuaded to jump back on his bandwagon. It is weird how nineties RnB gets ignored on this show.

10. Nathan Hermida (Team Adam): see below

11. Brian Johnson (Team Blake Adam): I am grouping Nathan and Brian together because both or good enough not to hate but neither are good enough to actually care enough. Luckily both are on Adam's extremely weak team so one of, or both, may actually advance. After that, I do not see them making it very much further.

12. Sarah Potenza (Team Blake): The biggest question is Sarah like Blake's last rock singer Terry who rode a bunch of classic rock songs to the finals, or more like the last rocker on the show Kat who needed Cee-Lo and Twitter to advance. Unfortunately for Sarah, Blake's team has the stiffest competition, all five of who I think have a chance to advance.

13. Sawyer Fredericks (Team Pharrell): The clear front runner if you are going by iTunes, but I do not get it. Collide showed a lot of flaws, but still outsold everyone this round. In face his three songs were of the five highest charting songs of the pat two weeks. People say that the string of boring WGWG destroyed an d if Sawyer wins, it could be the first death nail for The Voice.

14. Corey Kent White (Team Blake): I am a little shocked that Cody was not Blake's token country singer in the Live Shows this season.

15. Tonya Boyd-Cannon (Team Adam): see below:

16. Koryn Hawthorne (Team Christina Pharrell): see below:

17. Caitlin Caporale (Team Pharrell): see below:

18. Lexi Dávila (Team Adam Christina): see below:

19. Sonic (Team Christina): Let me (almost) close out my Power Rankings with the boring balladeers mini-Christina's of the season. I do not see any of these ladies getting America's vote thought one or two may advance via a Coach Save (because three people have to advance on Team Christina and Adam) which will only extend them one week before being cut.

20. Lowell Oakley (Team Pharrell): His Knockout was kind of embarrassingly bad.

Looking over the teams, giving each an numerical value, here is how the teams stack up based on my list after the Battle Round:

Blake: 65
Adam: 64
Christina: 49
Pharrell: 32

At the end of the Battle Round, Christina had a commanding lead, but her dumb decisions finally caught up with her. Adam, who was at the bottom last round actually jumped up to almost compete with Blake. Of couse, who cares what I think, here is how the singers ranked via iTunes over the past two weeks.


1. Sawyer Fredricks (47)
2. Noelle Bybee and Sawyer Fredericks (91)
3. Joshua Davis (96)
4. Sarah Potenza (103)
5. Sawyer Fredricks - I'm the Man of Constant Sorrow (144)
6. Megan Linsey (177)
7. Cory Kent White (189)
8. Clinton Washington and India Carney (212)
9. Brooke Adee (242)
10. Deanna Johnson (245)
11. Nathan Hermida (253)
12. Mia Z (262)
13. Lexi Dávila (363)
14. Caitlin Caporale (418)
15. Koryn Hawthorne (456)
16. India Carney (549)
17. Hanna Kirby (761)
18. Sonic (847)
19. Deanna Johnson - All I Want (835)
20. Cody Wickline - He Stopped Loving Her Today (869)
21. Brian Johnson (952)
22. Lowell Oakley (974)
23. Brooke Adee - Skinny Love (1222)
24. Brian Johnson and Joshua Davis (1468)

Like I said before, Sawyer is the clear favorite going live. One thing that really struck me looking at this list is he is the only one this season with any staying power on the charts. Usually this late the iTunes is peppered with former rounds. Yet besides Sawyer, only two other Battles reappeared and three other Blind Auditions, one by someone who was eliminated. Then you had three singers who could not even crack the top 1500 with their Knockout performance. To see really how each singer stacks up, I took the average peak of each three rounds and where is how the singers rank that way (I put an asterisk next to anyone who missed the top 1500 and used 1500 as the missing performance in the average).

1. Sawyer Fredricks (28.6)
2. Joshua Davis (104.6)
3. Meghan Linsey (252)
4. Sarah Potenza (255)
5. Mia Z (276.6)
6. Cody Kent White (311.3)
7. India Carney (324.3)
8. Brian Johnson (536.6)
9. Caitlin Caporale (604.6)
10. Deanna Johnson (614.6)*
11. Brooke Adee (633)*
12. Nathan Hermida (662.6)*
13. Lowell Oakley (652)
14. Hannah Kirby (826.3)
15. Rob Taylor (1017)*
16. Sonic (1062.6)*
17. Tonya Boyd-Cannon (1076)*
18. Kimberley Nichole (1116)**
19. Lexi Dávila (1121)**
20. Koryn Hawthorne (1152)**

Ouch, Christina has four of the bottom six while four of the top six were on Blake's team at sometime this season. If you rank them like I do my Power Rankings here is how the teams compared:

Blake: 67
Pharrell: 57
Adam: 56
Christina: 30

One Thing I notice with the list above was that a lot of singers got hurt with being montaged during the Battle Rounds. Weirdly everyone who got montaged during the Blind Audition lost their Battle, but all but one of the Battle Round montage winners went on to win their Knockout too. Because of this and it is hard to tell why someone bought a Battle with two people on it I though I would also rank the top twenty by just their Blind Audition and Knockout performance.

1. Sawyer Fredricks (36.5)
2. Joshua Davis (104)
3. Deanna Johnson (172)
4. Brooke Adee (199)
5. Sarah Potenza (259.5)
6. Mia Z (260.5)
7. Meghan Linsey (279.5)
8. Cody Kent White (306.5)
9. Nathan Hermida (328)
10. India Carney (456.5)
11. Brian Johnson (752)
12. Caitlin Caporale (759.5)
13. Lowell Oakley (817)
14. Lexi Dávila (931.5)*
15. Koryn Hawthorne (978)*
16. Hannah Kirby (1116.5)
17. Rob Taylor (1140)*
18. Tonya Boyd-Cannon (1165)*
19. Sonic (1173.5)*
20. Kimberley Nichole (1500)**

With this calculations, Deanna and Brooke were the big winners, each jumping seven spots while Christina manages a worse team with India dropping a couple barely hanging on to the top ten. Here are how the teams stack up just with the solo performance rankings:

Blake: 35
Adam: 62
Pharrell: 58
Christina: 25

So Sawyer is the front runner individually, Team Blake as a whole looks to be the strongest, it could very well be Sawyer in the finals with two or three Blake team members joining him, though I would not count out Joshua as a spoiler.

Every season it is easy to guess who advances to the Top 12 before anyone sings a note for the Live Playoffs, sometimes it is easy to guess coming out of the Blind Auditions. This is not one of those seasons where many plausible scenarios can play out on all the teams; each member on Team Blake could go far in this competition, they just need to make the Top 12 first because two will be going home this week no matter what. The other three teams do have clear locks for the next round (India, Sawyer, Joshua) but who gets the second Public Save is a bit murkier leaving the Coach's Saves even more of a coin flip. But here is how I see this season playing out:

Team Adam
Joshua Davis: Lock to get the Public Vote; probably makes the final, could win if Sawyer falters
Deanna Johnson: seem to be the safest bet as long as she does not her nerves get the best of her, out in the middle rounds
Tonya: Adam's saves can be bizarre so I am going to predict Tonya as his Save; probably out first or second week after that
Nathan: Could sneak in the Public Save if Deanna falters live; could survive a Twitter save or two
Brian: Outside chance of getting saved by Adam but would probably get a Twitter Save and out

Team Blake
Meghan: Public Save, second place
Corey: Probably the Public Save, last one booted before the finals; if Public saves Brooke instead, doubtful Blake saves him
Brooke: Coach's Save if not by public, hard to predict if she does advance, could ride a indie contingent to the finals or she could have an uninspiring Live Show run like Reagan last season
Sarah: Probably out unless Brooke gets the Public Vote instead of Corey, if advances could be top 6
Hanna: Probably out unless Corey does not get the Public Vote and outsells Sarah on iTunes prompting Blake to Save her, if so, could make thew top 8

Team Christina
India: is a lock for the public vote; just misses out on the finals
Rob: because the other four people besides India on this team all have missed the iTunes Top 1500 at least once this season I am going to predict the RnB fans that advance India will also float Rob's boat for the second save; he survives a Twitter save for top 10
Sonic: Then Christina takes her orginal singer over two her two saves; out the first week
Kimberley: Probably need a Christina Save unless she have a Amanda Brown / Dream On type performance in her
Lexi: Closest thing to a lock not to advance this round, though Christina has made dumber decisions that if she saved her

Team Pharrell
Sawyer: is a lock for the Public Vote, unless Pharrell feeds him songs as bad as Christina did for Matthew in season five, is also a lock for the finals and probable winner
Mia Z: Maybe gets the other Public Save, if not Pharrell Saves her; out during the top 8
Koryn and Caitlin: I was thinking Lowell was going to get his Save until his weird Knockout performance so the Pharrell Save with probably come down to Caitlin and Koryn, and I am leaning to him leaning toward Koryn since he likes going with who he thinks he can help the most the teenageer the most; either would be out next week anyway
Lowell: Pharrell has made dumber decisions than to save him; worst case scenario though, he is this season's Ryan Sill, inexplicably saved by his coach and rides a Twitter Save until the top 8

If my predictions are right, here is how I see the top 12 going down (which I will undoubtedly be wrong because the Twitter Save will screw the results up unless they thankfully did away with that)

Top 12: Sonic, Koryn
Top 10: Tonya, Rob
Top 8: Mia, Deanna, India
Top 5: Corey

Finalist:
4th: Brooke
3rd: Joshua
2nd: Meghan
1st: Sawyer

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 4/4/15

Once Upon a Time: I remember back when we saw Emma's back story saying that it was surprising that her friend did not turn out to be a fairy tale character. Well, it turned out she was in fact from the fairy tale world and apparently Malificant's daughter. Except wasn't Lily Hispanic? Or was I thinking of someone else?
You can Download Once Upon a Time on iTunes.

Shameless: Even though I thought it was the case, I still laughed at the end when Sammi started banging on the storage bin revealing she was not so dead. I do wonder if that is the last we see of her, it does seem like that character has run her course and this show has no problem getting rid of characters they do not know what to do with anymore.

The Walking Dead: During the final commercial break I was thinking, are they really not going to kill anybody off in the season finale. Sure Glenn somehow made it out of the zombie dog pile, Daryl somehow was saved by one dude as about a hundred zombies surrounded his car (no one thought of at least trying to hot wire it). Things got even more surprising when Glenn and his nemesis and Sasha and the Reverend were all seen in some weird friendship montage. Of course that was all red herrings for the finale when the evil doctor stabbed the politician's husband who gave Rick the okay to kill him right in front of his old friend Morgan who just got done telling Daryl "Every life is precious." There has been a lot of discussion this season about how Rick has morphed into Shane. Does that make Morgan the season one version of Rick to Rick's Shane? We will have to wait until fall to find out but first up we get to see how the outbreak broke out with Fear the Walking Dead this summer! Starring Matt Saresen's mom!! Hopefully that show does not take four to five seasons to get good.
You can download The Walking Dead on iTunes.

Revenge: So Courtney Love pops up in one scene as a hit man who services will not be needed? Alrighty, I have a feeling this will not be her only appearance. Does she still go after Emily Amanda or go after Margot for knowing her identity? This is just getting too silly, hopefully this is the end of the show, just let Courtney Love and Louise kill them all.
You can download Revenge on iTunes.

Marvel's Agent's of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Finally a showdown between Bobbie and May, and it certainly lived up to expectations. But the feuding SHIELDs is a little silly, you are both on the same side, there is no need to act so covertly against each other.
You can download Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. on iTunes.

Justified: Rarely is there is a scene that is extremely shocking but Mikey Michael strangling Katherine to death while she keeps shooting him had my jaw dropped for a couple minutes.
You can download Justified on iTunes.

Survivor: Wow, an Immunity Idol actually worked I cannot remember the last time that happened. Not that it matters much if it stays six versus four. I am surprised the White Collar went with the Blue Collar who is full five, why not go with the easier No Collar tribe?
You can download Survivor: White Collar vs. Blue Collar vs. No Collar on iTunes.

The Americans: Finally Paige learned who her parents were after teasing that she was on to them way back in the first season finale. Of course right went something interesting was about to happen when CIA Agent Stan showed up to diner, the episode ended. Meanwhile Henry got more lines this week than in his entire run of the series to date.
You can download The Americans on iTunes.

Around the Tubes: 4/3/15

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 American Odyssey, EPIX, Hubble's Cosmic Journey, Callaghan, Skee TV, and House of Lies.

- NBC and Google have teamed up to create an extended world for the show with an online companion site Explore American Odyssey, powered by Google Maps, that will focus on key cities and destinations from the show and allows fans to uncover hidden secrets, make new connections and view exclusive content. Fans can check back after new episodes have aired on NBC to view new content and discover the latest leaks and interceptions.

- EPIX brings you action, drama and inappropriate comedian Jim Norton this upcoming April! Watch SNL favorites Bill Hadar and Kristin Wiig in indie drama The Skeleton Twins next Friday, April 3rd at 8:00. Continue the weekend fun with Sylvester Stone in thrilling action film The Expendables 3 on Saturday, April 4th at 8:00. Jim Norton returns to EPIX for his third comedy special Jim Norton: Contextually Inadequate on April 24th at 10:00 and to end the month, Hercules with Dwayne Johnson is on April 25th, 8:00.

- Since its launch in 1990, the Hubble Space Telescope has captured thousands of stunning images of space, revolutionized our understanding of the universe and become a global icon. To mark its 25th anniversary (#Hubble25), National Geographic Channel tells the definitive story of NASA’s most successful science project ever, in Hubble’s Cosmic Journey, premiering Monday, April 20, at 10:00.

- Nashville based singer/songwriter Callaghan has just released the video for “Crazy Beautiful Life, the first single from her second album, A History of Now. The video can be viewed here: Crazy Beautiful Life. Crazy Beautiful Life goes for adds at Triple A radio in the U.S. on April 6th. Her first U.K. single from the album, “Best Year 2015,” is currently in rotation on BBC Radio 2 there.

- Award-winning DJ, producer, digital media pioneer and entrepreneur Scott Keeney aka “DJ SKEE” will launch his new, hour-long television series, SKEE TV, on Fuse beginning Thursday, April 9th at 10:30. The premiere episode of SKEE TV will feature a live performance from rapper Machine Gun Kelly and an interview in the hot seat with DJ SKEE as well as original segments featuring indie artist Marina and The Diamonds, rapper Fashawn and DJ Alesso. All new line-ups will be featured each week. Hip hop artist Common, electronic music group Phantogram, rapper Action Bronson and R&B/country artist Sam Hunt have also been confirmed to appear on the first season of SKEE TV.

- Showtime has renewed House of Lies for a fifth season to air in 2016 with 10 episodes.

Previewing Olypmus

Syfy is a weird channel that I sometimes am not sure what it is trying to be. One thing that ties all of its programs together is they all look fairly low budget, just a step up from Ed Wood type movies. But sometime they try to make legitimate television show that just fail (like last year's Ascension), sometimes they make movies that are meant to be bad (they are on their third Sharknado) sometimes they just buy Canadian show to fill up airtime. Speaking of trying to make legitimate television shows, I do not think they have produced a new one that had any sort of acclaim since Battlestar Gallactica and that ended six years ago.

Their latest attempt at scripted programming is Olympus and to be honest I am not entirely sure if Syfy produced it as a legitimate program or if they are in on the joke like a serialized version of Sharknado. If you do turn in I highly recommend you go into it with a Sharknado state of mind because watching ironically may be the only way anyone can find any enjoyment of it.

The story follows... some dude. No I did not forget the name between watching the first episode and by the time I wrote this. The main protagonist's name is never spoke because, as he explains, anyone who speaks it turns to stone and he does not want to test if that he would also turn to stone if spoken. Was he cursed by Medusa? Are they withholding the name so they can shock you that he will turn out to be Hercules or some other famous name in Greek Mythology? You will have to let me know if they ever bother to reveal the name?

So random dude has been tasked to rescue an Oracle from Cyclops (Syfy is finally putting the Face Off contestants to use because Cyclops is kind of creepy especially where they put his one eye) to take her back to the Temple of Gaia. There is also a secondary political plot that seems like it is trying way too hard to be like better shows in the genre like Game of Thrones, but Olympus is not even Spartacus. Maybe it should be as it is a bit distracting as it go from fantasy type CGI background with piratical background. But again, if this is meant to be a Sharknado type farce that is so bad it starts to almost be good, they are doing a pretty good job at it.

Olympus airs Thursdays at 10:00 on Syfy.

I Want My Music Television: 4/1/15

Can't Deny My Love - Brandon Flowers



Brandon Flowers first solo album was met with a resounding yawn. After an album back with The Killers, he is giving going alone another try and the first single may actually be worse than the songs from the first. And no unnecessary dialogue with Rachel Evan Wood is going to save the music video either.

St. Jude - Florence + the Machine


Florence + the Machine have already released three music videos for thier upcoming album and this song may be my favorite of the best because it is the rare song where Florence does not seem to be singing at 10 the entire song. And just like the other videos they have released, this one is kind of weird, not dancing with your doppelganger weird, but weird nonetheless in a why is the Smoke Monster in the video kind of way.

Peaches N Cream - Snoop Dogg featuring Charlie Wilson


Well it looks like the Snoop Lion era is thankfully over. But then again, Snoop Dogg really has not had many great songs since Drop it Like it's Hot. But like that song, this song was produced by Pharrell. But now I have to wonder, what was the last great song Pharrell was a part of? It certainly not this song. Didn't some crappy third tier RnB group from the nineties already have a crappy song called Peaches and Cream?

Work Song - Hozier


It looks like Hozier is going with the spaghetti approach (throw a bunch at the wall hoping one sticks) in hoping to land a second hit releasing his third music video in as many months this year. Doubtful this will be the one that lifts him out of one hit wonderdom especially since this one does not feature any hot chicks from Game of Thrones, just a bunch of weird people dancing.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 3/29/15

Once Upon a Time: So if the good guys are going to pick off Mr. Gold's cabal one by one with kindness, does this mean they are going to give Cruella Dr. Hopper's Dalmatian as an appeasement to her at some point?
You can Download Once Upon a Time on iTunes.

Shameless: Oh no, Sammy called the Army to report Ian. Which begs the question how did it take a tip from someone to catch him, Ian was hiding in his own home? I wonder if he will get a bunk with his brother.

The Walking Dead: Oh snap, I just figured that the old group would just blindly follow Rick with his overthrow of Alexandria but it did not cross my mind that any of them would actually want to assimilate which apparently Michone does. If Rick is exiled like I assume I wonder who goes with him. Of course they will be back just as Rick warned Deanna that anyone exile will be back. Sure the middle episodes were a bit of a drag but no one does season premieres / finales like this show and next week should be explosive. Plus we still have the person that is marking walker foreheads with a Scarlet A.
You can download The Walking Dead on iTunes.

Revenge: So a taxi to happened to plow Margot over in the fire lane? Seems fishing, nothing is that coincidental on this show. I wonder if her henchman had anything to do with it, with or without Margo's knowledge, because he seemed a little to overeager not to give up the fight.
You can download Revenge on iTunes.

Bates Motel: So Norman did not kill the token hot chick like I feared, but she still ended up dead. Meh.
You can download Bates Motel on iTunes.

Pretty Little Liars: I have long predicted a not so dead Mona would turn out to Be A, well at least I was half right. When her name flashed up under the guest star list I then assumed a not so dead Alison's mother was going to be A after realizing it was not Mona. Completely wrong at that. We learned that Charles is actually A and by the home movie that do make it seem like Charles is Jason's twin brother that apparently no one knew existed. If so, where has he been all this time? Did the Dilarentas family have him hidden in that bunker this whole time?
You can download Pretty Little Liars on iTunes.

Marvel's Agent of SHIELD: So the "Real SHIELD" does not trust Coulson and his alien DNA, that actually seems reasonable. They could have spent the whole episode in that conference room explaining stuff I would not have minded because I could not care less about Ward and Agent 33 (but it did give us some decent comedy with Talbott ruining his marriage and basically sexually harassing his female underlings).
You can download Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. on iTunes.

Justified: One of the main problems with this season was that you knew that Raylan was not going to catch Boyd until the series finale but much like season four where they actually caught Drew Thompson a couple episodes prior to the finale and then ending up have its best episodes of the season after that, Raylan actually caught Boyd redhanded with a couple episodes left. It looks like we may get the trial Tim was hoping for. Though since the CI shot him, I wonder if a RICO case will stick.
You can download Justified on iTunes.

The Challenge: Battle of the Exes II: Congratulations to Sarah and Jordan. And since you won, you can both retire because I really have no desire to see either back on the show. And take Jay and Jenna with you because they do not deserve another invite after quitting (though it is odd the other challenges had a thirty minute time limit but the drinking one). Pure rookie moves, first they do not look at LeRoy's answer and then they actually tried drinking the fish oil while Sarah and Teresa clearly poured half of it down their faces and then spit out the rest while pretending to puke.
You can download The Challenge: Battle of the Exes II on iTunes.

Survivor: Blue Collar vs. White Collar vs. No Collar: Morons, Survivor 101 states you never, under any circumstance: throw a challenge. The only time anyone threw a challenge and actually ended up winning was when in Fans vs. Favorites they did not even bother to compete just to get rid of Brandon Hantz. Every other time a team that has thrown a challenge, no one involved ever won that season. It is weird to think after how bad their tribe was, No Collar may actually be in the drivers seat. Blue Collar is in disarray, White Collar lost two members after the tribe swap, if smart the No Collar could easily decimate everyone, but are they smart enough to do that now that the merge is immanent?
You can download Survivor: White Collar vs. Blue Collar vs. No Collar on iTunes.

The Americans: Could Stan actually take the fall for the bug in the pen? If someone catches him working with Oleg he would have to move to the top of the suspect list for the FBI. But I have a feeling the black dude will end up being that fall guy.
You can download The Americans on iTunes.

The Blacklist: Wait, did they just out Lizzie as being pregnant? Tom having an ultrasound in his pocket pretty much confirms it. Red is going to be very disappointed.
You can download The Blacklist on iTunes.

Previewing Killing Jesus

After the success of Killing Lincoln it was only a matter of time National Geographic Channel would commission Killing Kennedy and Killing Jesus, the next two books in Bill O'Reilly's assassination anthology, would follow. But not only have they have been done in successive year, they have also gotten bigger in scope. The first one was mostly focused on narrator Tom Hanks with Dateline type quality recreations in the background. For Killing Kennedy, they actually were able to recruit a name actor, Rob Lowe (okay, not the biggest get considering this is the same guy who said yes to a Lifetime movie about Scott Peterson) while the movie looked like a legitimate made for television movie.

National Geographic Channel raised the bar again for Killing Jesus. Sure it is no Ben Hur, but you can definitely check out the production value. Though they went unknown for the titular character (some dude named Haaz Sleiman... looking at IMDB, oh hey, he was in an episode of Veronica Mars), that are a few recognizable faces. Kelsey Grammer shows up as King Herod, the first person who tries to kill Jesus. Do not worry, this is not a full bio-flick on the life of Jesus (NBC's A.D.: The Bible Continues will probably go more in depth on that) as the film quickly fast forwards thirty years to Jesus first meeting Simon.

Getting the top line in the movie is Stephen Moyer (who really need to redeem himself in his first role since somehow being more stiff than Carrie Underwood in The Sound of Music Live) as the man who sentences Jesus to death (um, spoiler alert?) Pontius Pilate. Rufus Sewell (Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter) and Emmanuelle Chriqui (You Don't Mess With the Zohan) play characters in the shadows who put Jesus's Crucifixion into motion. And for anyone who wanted to know what Irisa from Syfy's Defiance looked like sans her alien makeup, she also makes an appearance in the film (weirdly as Chriqui's daughter despite their six year age difference).

The previous Killing movies focuses as much on the eventual assassins as it did the titular characters, but focus of Killing Jesus remains mostly on the Son of God despite the three hour run time. We have all heard the story of Jesus before and I assume it will be getting a large chuck of screen time during A.D. I was hoping we would be getting more information on the conspiracy happening behind the scenes that led to his death than the story of his life that everyone who had been to Sunday School already know. Still Killing Jesus will be a huge success, probably beating the previous two movies in viewers. Though he is the least know of the series, I am actually looking forward to the inevitable Killing Patton, because that is a story I really do not know much about and will probably learn a lot of new information, unlike the fairly predictable and already well known story of Killing Jesus.

Killing Jesus airs Sunday at 8:00 on the National Geographic Channel.

Around the Tubes: 3/27/15

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 Billions, Jim Norton: Contextually Inadequate, Rouge, Lincoln's Last Day, Shannon and Sophie, MTV Movie Awards, and Radio Disney Music Awards.

- Showtime has picked up the drama Billions to series for 12 one-hour episodes, it was announced today by David Nevins, President of Showtime Networks Inc. Starring Oscar nominee and Emmy and Golden Globe® winner Paul Giamatti and Emmy and Golden Globe winner Damian Lewis, the series is a complex and contemporary drama about power politics in the New York world of high finance. Billions is written and executive produced by Brian Koppelman and David Levien (Ocean's Thirteen, Rounders), and Andrew Ross Sorkin (Too Big To Fail). Beginning production later this year, the series will shoot in New York and is slated for a 2016 premiere.

Jim Norton: Contextually Inadequate is returning to the Somerville Theatre in Boston, MA, for his third consecutive EPIX special, Norton takes on the twisted state of the 21st century. With his customarily caustic point-of-view, Norton tackles everything from Bill Cosby to nude photos to the firing of his radio co-host Anthony Cumia. It premieres Friday April 24 10:00, check out a clip below:


- Undercover detective Grace Travis (Thandie Newton) crossed the line between right and wrong and her involvement with the city's most powerful and dangerous crime family caused her to pay the ultimate price - the loss of her son. This season, she's left undercover life behind to be a better mother to her daughter. She also has a new job as a handler for an FBI task force investigating corporate espionage in San Francisco. Recently separated, with the arrival of her estranged mother, she has plenty of drama on the job - and at home. But when her undercover operative goes missing, Grace is forced back into a world of lies and deceit, following a trail of dirty money and investigating four soldiers at the center of the drama. Rogue: The Complete Second Season; Street Date: May 19, 2015.

- Showtime has set the summer premieres for two of its critically-acclaimed and award-winning dramas – Ray Donovan and Masters of Sex. Both series will premiere on Sunday, July 12th at 9:00 and 10:00, respectively, and each will have 12 one-hour episode seasons.

- April 14th, 2015 will mark the 150th anniversary of the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. This critical moment in American history will be examined in Lincoln's Last Day, an original one-hour Smithsonian Channel documentary that retraces the events leading up to the fatal shot, premiering on April 13th at 8:00.

- The new UP Original Series Shannon & Sophie (#ShannonandSophie, #smotherhood) explores and celebrates the close, funny mother-daughter relationship of Shannon Tweed-Simmons, actress, model and wife of KISS legendary bassist/co-lead vocalist Gene Simmons, and their daughter Sophie Tweed-Simmons, an actress, singer and fashion designer. Gene Simmons and son Nick Simmons also appear in the show. Produced by Force Four Entertainment, Shannon & Sophie premieres with back-to-back episodes on Thursday, April 16 at 9:00.

- MTV this week announced that award-winning actress and young Hollywood sensation Shailene Woodley will receive the fourth annual “MTV Trailblazer Award” during the LIVE telecast of the 2015 MTV Movie Awards on Sunday, April 12 at 8:00 from the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles, CA. The coveted award will be presented to Woodley by her Insurgent co-star and fan favorite, Miles Teller.

Multi-talented actress and recording artist Zendaya will serve as host of the 2015 Radio Disney Music Awards (RDMA), music's biggest event for families, taking place SATURDAY, APRIL 25 at Nokia Theatre L.A. LIVE in Los Angeles, it was announced yesterday by Phil Guerini, Vice President, Programming and General Manager, Radio Disney. Guerini said, "On stage and off, Zendaya brings intelligence, thoughtfulness and honesty -- and an effortless cool factor -- to everything she does, all qualities that are appreciated by generations of kids and tweens, and especially their parents. We join her legion of fans in welcoming her back to the RDMA stage."

I Want My Music Television: 3/26/15

Famous - Charli XCX


Last year YouYube created their own award show which was widely panned as being unnecessary. Of course that did not stop them from doing another one. But they did change things up this time around. Instead of creating live music videos at the last awards and handing out fan voted awards, the winners got their own music videos as an honor, or at least I think, it is kind of hard figuring out what is actually going on with the YTMA's. All I know is because of it we get a new Charli XCX music video, a creepy-fun ode to our devotion to our mobile devises. I do wonder if having to watch an ad to get into a room is a not so subtle dig at the ads in front of YouTube videos.

Bloodstream - Ed Sheeran featuring Rudimental


Ed Sheeran also got the YouTube Music Award music video treatment but where Charli got a bunch of mobile zombies, Ed get Ray Liotta. So maybe not all YouTube Awards are treated equal. Is Ray playing old Ed? Am I supposed to think of Taylor Swift's Blank Space while watching (it takes place in a mansion, there is a random horse for no apparent reason, destruction of property). Whatever the case, the YTMA's are still pretty unnecessary.

Nobody Love - Tori Kelly


As a pretentious music blogger I have an image to uphold only only like the greatest most snobby music being made, but even us pretentious music bloggers have our guilty pleasures (Ariana Grande) and songs we like semi-ironically (Teenage Dream). Now I know this Tori Kelly song is not good, the singing like a baby girl in the pre-chorus is kind of embarrassing, there is an unnecessary Mariah Carey type vocal gymnastic as if she were trying out for some crappy karaoke show. But I have to admit it does not suck massively either. The verses give off a cool eighties RnB vibe to it like it could have been a hit for The Jets (which begs the question, whatever happened to The Jets?) three decades ago and following the unnecessary vocal gymnastic is a pretty awesome horn breakdown. Now I need to decide on whether this song deserves to be filed away in my guilty pleasure folder or like ironically.

Lampshade om Fire - Modest Mouse


Pretentious blogger confession number two: I have never been much of a fan of Modest Mouse. With that said, I do kind of like their new song (I really like the line, "this is what I really call a party now" line, but a party never really starts until someone starts fire to a lampshade and wild, ADD inducing new music video.

2015 Spring Music Preview

The big news for albums this spring that it was recently decided that their will be a world album release date on Fridays. No word on when this switch is official but it looks like iTunes has some albums released on Friday and others on Tuesday while Amazon is stick with Tuesday for now. I was excited for the new Mumford and Sons album until I heard the first single and now I am kind of dreading it. Actually this list is littered with underwhelming first singles (Death Cab for Cutie, Alabama Shakes, Snoop Dogg, and Of Monsters of Men among them). But as D'Angelo and Kendrick Lamar have shown, album release dates are no longer fluid so maybe their will be more surpised album that will be coming in the next couple months that will be more enticing to earlobees than those listed below which may only be worth a spin on Spotify or two. If you are interested in preordering the album on Amazon, click on its title. Click on the artist's name to be taken to their iTunes.

March 23
Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit - Courtney Barnett
To Pimp A Butterfly - Kendrick Lamar
Short Movie - Laura Marling
Mr. Wonderful - Action Bronson
Toto XIV - Toto
Nothing But The Silence - Striking Matches

March 31
Kintsugi - Death Cab for Cutie
The Past, The Present, The Future - Jodeci
Southern Style - Darius Rucker
Carrie & Lowell - Sufjan Stevens
The Day Is My Enemy - The Prodigy
The Album About Nothing - Wale
Tokyo Dome In Concert - Van Halen
Ludaversal - Ludacris
Postcards From Paradise - Ringo Starr

April 7
No Pier Pressure - Brian Wilson
After It All - After It All - Delta Rae
Blow Up The Moon - Blues Traveler
Small Town Dreams - Will Hoge
New Glow - Matt and Kim
Clueless Soundtrack (20th Anniversary Vinyl Release)

April 21
Sound & Color - Alabama Shakes
Kindred - Passion Pit
Ten Songs from Live at Carnegie Hall - Ryan Adams

April 28
Jekyll + Hyde - Zac Brown Band
Sirens - The Weepies
The Magic Whip - Blur
Fly International Luxurious Art - Raekwon

May 5
Wilder Mind [Deluxe Edition] - Mumford & Sons
The Waterfall - My Morning Jacket
I Can't Imagine - Shelby Lynne
California Nights - Best Coast

May 12
Trust Fall EP- Incubus
Bush - Snoop Dogg

May 19
The Desired Effect - Brandon Flowers
Sol Invictus - Faith No More

June 2
How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful - Florence + The Machine

June 9
Beneath The Skin - Of Monsters and Men

TBD
So Help Me God - Kanye West
Through the Eyes of Wonder - Stevie Wonder
This Is Acting - Sia
Clefication - Wyclef Jean
Adele
Ashley Monroe
Dawes
David Gilmore
Deftones
Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros
Filter
Heart
Jill Scott
Kacey Musgraves
Metallica
Nate Ruess
Red Hot Chili Peppers
The Band Perry