There have been a couple of videos that have caught my eye lately so I though I’d give them some love since the death of Musical Television left a void for a forum on the art form so here they are courtesy of YouTube. I advise you to watch them before you read my reviews if you don’t want me to spoil things. If you are interested in buying the video through iTunes, click the title link (where available, if not the link goes to YouTube where you can watch the video in full screen). If you are interested in buying the song, look for a link in the analysis.
Common has always been considered one of the most credible rappers around, well, that was until he started showing up in Gap ads and Joss Stone videos. Nice to see all his cozying up to Madison Avenue and the pop crowd hasn’t corrupted his art as The Game stands up with his best with some help from DJ Premier. And you gotta love the black and white ungrounded performance piece for the video.
You can chart the relevance of Enrique Iglesias by the co-stars in his videos. He went from Shannon Elizabeth to Jennifer Love Hewitt to Anna Kornakova to Micha Barton. And now he is just resigned to groping just random video hofessionals. But I have to admit I like the whole ping pong gimmick, but they should have made that more pronounced throughout the whole song.
During my review of the latest album from Paul McCartney (see: Searching for the Time That Went By so Fast), I mentioned that he hasn’t had a legitimate hit during since leaving Wings. Well Monique apparently took offence to that bringing up the theme to the Dan Aykroyd/Chevy Chase film Spies Like Us. I remember the movie to b a classic, but the song, not so much. So I was off to YouTube to see if there was video to listen to the song to give the song a listen and of course it was there (God bless the internets). And after listening to the song I completely stand by my no legitimate hits statement. After hearing this song, feel free to chime in on this debate and keep in mind, this was McCartney’s second highest charting song since leaving Wings.
Another old school video, this time to remind you the only summer series worth watching, no not the Flavor of Love rip-off Rock of Love staring the dude from Poison, but Rescue Me starts tonight at 10:00 on FX. And for those that are taping, be warned, much like last season, this episode is set to go long, going until 11:08. As for the song, is it wrong I still laugh when Denis Leary sings, “Sometimes I park in handicapped spaces while handicapped people make handicapped faces” almost fifteen years after I first heard the song?
It has been one of those days weeks, and it looks like it may turn into one of those months. On a side note, is there anything more annoying than someone saying, "I don't want to get your hopes up but..." If you don't want to get someone's hopes up, then don't especially when you end up not delevering. But anyways. If I were to have any free times these days, they may be spent playing around with this new website I discovered a couple days ago, UnSpun. Basically you make a list and let people vote on it and create their own version and combine them all. I did make one comprised of my list of the Best Shows of 2006-2007. Below is a widget of that list and feel free to vote up or down on the curent list or use the "Add an item to this list fuction to rank your favorite shows and have it instantly be added to this chart (you must have an Amazon ID to make your list though to deture cheating).
Time has not been kind to Paul McCartney. Once the Beatles, for which Paul was the cute one (or so my mom would have me believe) were referred to as that band McCartney was in before Wings. Not only was he above John Lennon in the pecking order of the band, Lennon was actually third in the post-Beatles work. That was until he was shot to death and all that changed. People began to remember the Beatles again and are to this day widely regarded as the greatest band ever and Lennon is now considered the musical mastermind behind the group. And in the almost thirty since Lennon’s death, McCartney hasn’t had a legitimate hit aside when dueting with other artist such as Stevie Wonder and Michael Jackson. What’s worse is now he is mostly known these days as the future ex-husband to a one-legged reality star.
But the lack of hits weren’t because of a lack of trying as he has released eleven albums since leaving Wings. The twelfth being the newly released Memory Almost Full, the first on the new Starbucks Hear Music label after leaving his longtime label EMI. The album comes two years after the critically acclaimed, and publicly ignored, Chaos and Creation in the Backyard. But the man behind that album, Nigel Godrich, best know for producing Radiohead, didn’t return for this go around.
Memory Almost Full starts off with the very spry ditty Dance Tonight that relies heavy on a mandolin and yet still will give you the urge to follow the song’s direction, even if you are listening to it during the day. The rest of the album, despite being listenable, comes off as derivatives of his former self. It’s hard to listen to the dark and haunting Mr. Bellamy and not think of Eleanor Rigby. McCartney is much better when he tries to create something new much with Dance Tonight. Only Mother Knows is a driving rocker that gets the job done (but doesn’t nearly rock as much as Live and Let Die).
With the lack of summer shows, the 57 Channels will most like be spotty for the next couple months if not none existent. But I would be remised if I didn’t mention something. And most know by now, CBS has ordered up a couple more episodes of Jericho, which had originally been missing from the fall lineup in part because of a fan drive that sent lots of nuts (don’t ask, I don’t know either) to network. This was a surprised to me that people cared so much of the show because it wasn’t very good and was better off being canceled. The show was so slow moving that it made Invasion seem action packed in comparison, with worse acting to boot, and I jumped ship after five or six episodes.
With the surprise renewal of Jericho, it seemed to light a fire under the Save Veronica Mars movement, a show that is more deserving of a renewal, but instead of nuts, fans started sending Mars Bars to the point that fans have bought up all remaining Mars Bars in America and have moved onto Snickers Almonds, which replaced Mars Bars in America, as well as marshmallows, because as Wallace once told Ronnie, she’s a marshmallow. In fact the company that is these foods are being bought from even set up a blog to chart the progress, you can check that out over at The Indian Food Store - Bars for Mars Campaign. All order should be made Monday June 11th at 3:00 CST to make the shipping deadline. Other good sources of the drive are at Ain’t it Cool: Mission To MARS!! CW To Be Buried UnderPallets of Diabetes-Inducing Foodstuffs?? as well as Save Veronica Mars.
Now sending food is a nice symbolic gesture, but it is possibly the only thing that will accomplish is to give The CW executives cavities. Really the best way to help save Veronica Mars is to buy its products. In conjunction with the food drive, Save Veronica Mars is also having a Veronica Mars iTunes-athon where supporters should buy, appropriately enough; The Bitch Is Back on iTunes this Tuesday, June 12th for the low, low price of $1.99. If you have a lot of disposable income, you can always buy the season pass and/or gift the episode to friends and family. Of course you can also buy the first two seasons on DVD, which would make a great present for dads and grad and of course yourself. There is no better time than now to buy it because it is currently discounted on Amazon, both under $30. The people at Save Veronica Mars even bought an ad in The Hollywood Repoter (click to enlarge):
Okay, now onto some non Veronica Mars news, there is still some time left to enter my Win a Kyle XY Prize Package, also:
Flavor of Love Girls: Charm School: There is nothing more disturbing than New York being called a “celebrity interviewer.” Well actually the 24 hour coverage on “news” station even though there was a very important immigration bill in Congress. Who is actually interested in seeing Paris being driven OJ style to court? Okay to be honest, I have enjoyed this a little thanks to Al Sharpton’s outrage and the person who, after Paris was ordered back to jail, called it the OJ decision for white people. You can download the whole season on iTunes.
Pirate Master: I have had a lot to cover lately on the 9th Green so I didn’t have time to give a proper First Impressions for this show but it is pretty much in line with the few people that have also watched it: it sucks. The show is a complete rip off of Survivor, but it is almost like the producers knew this and decided to purposely change thing to make it less like Survivor, but changed the best parts like switching teams ever week and not reading the votes off, instead the host just looking at them and telling the person who is gone. The worst though is they don’t utilize the best part of the pirate life, walking the plant. Instead the person is “cut adrift”. Lame. With that said, I’ll most likely still turn in next week.
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip: Since coming back, the show has gotten progressively worse. It is almost like Sorkin stopped trying after he realized the show wouldn’t be coming back next year. But they did end the episode with one of my favorite songs of all-time Have a Little Faith in Me by John Hiatt. It also made a great backdrop to Matt and Harriet’s ongoing fight over religion. Check out the latest episode over at NBC.com.
Next Week’s Pick: Rescue Me, Wednesday at 10:00 on FX: The only summer show worth watching is back this week on a new day I believe (wasn’t the first three seasons on Tuesday). When we left, Tommy was drugged and in the middle of a fire. I think it is safe to assume he will make it out. Elsewhere, Shawn got married at his new dead brother in law, Franco failed his chief’s exam, Probie is no longer a probie but may or may not still be a gay homosexual, and the chief was tending bar in Neptune.
Going all the way back to the Bosom Buddies days, I have been a big Tom Hanks guy (no pun intended, okay, maybe a little). Many kids today probably never heard of that show or even now that Hanks was arguably one of the funniest men of the eighties. This may be thanks to his back to back academy awards for Philadelphia and Forrest Gump along with the one that got away, Apollo 13. With that trio of films, Hank pretty much had carte blanche to do as he pleased in Hollywood and after a few serious films, Hands decided for a lighter fair that he decided to write and direct himself.
That Thing You Do! followed the rise of a sixties band, the One-ders, from talent shows in Erie, Pennsylvania to the Billboard charts thanks their the uber-catchy song that shares the name of the movie. Even though stars in the movie, he doesn’t show up until the middle of the movie as the bands’ big time manager who wisely changes the band’s name to the Wonders to avoid confusion and mispronunciation. Instead Hanks leaves the movie in the hands of a cast who were relative unknowns back in 1996.
Leading the way was the Tom Hanks look-alike Tom Everett Scott (Dead Man on Campus) as the last minute replacement for a talent show as the band’s original drummer, played by Earl Hickey’s old pal Ralph, broke his hand right before the show. Not that he endeared himself to his new band mates, primarily principle writer Johnathon Schaech (The Sweetest Thing), who song Scott speeds up as Schaech wrote That Thing You Do as a balled. But the rest of the band, Steve Zahn (Saving Silverman) the rambunctious guitarist, and Ethan Embry (Can’t Hardly Wait) filling out the quiet one quota in the band.
And Hanks isn’t the only one in the cast with a little golden man as the film was one of the first times anyone saw Charlize Theron (Sweet November) as she shows up as Scott’s disinterested girlfriend. Then there was Liv Tyler (Jersey Girl), who may be a little more well versed in seventies rock than sixties pop, as the unofficial fifth member of the band and Schaech’s main squeeze. Hanks wasn’t shy about also giving some work to his friends and family as both his wife and kid, Colin in his first on screen roll, make cameos as well as his former Bosom BuddyPeter Scolari who hosts the Ed Sullivan like show the Wonders performs on.
Just as important as the casting was the role of writing a song that actually could have been a hit back in the sixties. And they definitely were successful with that with That Thing You Do, a catchy ditty written by Adam Schlesinger, who later got a hit singing about Stacy’s Mom with his band Fountains of Wayne years later. The song was so good that not only did the song fictitiously land in the top ten on the Billboard charts in the sixties, it peaked at forty-one back in 1996 for real.
Over ten years after its initial release, the movie gets a special edition treatment with the Tom Hanks’ Extended Cut with over thirty minutes of footage of scenes that originally saw the cutting room floor for the original theater version. This does make the the Extended Cut a little long in the tooth in parts of the film (but you can always check out the Original Theatrical Release if the extended version is too long for you). There is also a second disk chalk full of extras that includes three featurettes, a reunion of the cast, HBO First Look, your garden variety of TV spots and trailers, and more.
That Thing You Do! Tom Hanks’ Extended Cut gets a on my Terror Alert Scale.
There have been a couple of videos that have caught my eye lately so I though I’d give them some love since the death of Musical Television left a void for a forum on the art form so here they are courtesy of YouTube. I advise you to watch them before you read my reviews if you don’t want me to spoil things. If you are interested in buying the video through iTunes, click the title link (where available, if not the link goes to YouTube where you can watch the video in full screen). If you are interested in buying the song, look for a link in the analysis.
Take out the obvious Karma Police rip off of an ending, and the latest from the Arctic Monkeys could be the most entertaining video of the year. C’mon, old dudes and clowns beating the crap out of each other, how has someone not thought of this already?
I never thought it would happen, but someone when and made Hilary Duff remotely attractive, specifically the Indian set up and the purple dress look. Granted even though she looks almost good, it is still hard not to laugh during her dance sequence. As for the plot of the video, your guess is as good as mine.
I’m not sure what we need less in the world, another silly little pop song that shamelessly exploits the war, this time from a Canadian no less, are a love song written about the dude from Sum41. Okay, but at least the whole walls falling down near the end were pretty cool so I will give Avril Lavigne some points there.
I own every Beastie Boys album, but I’m not sure I can get behind an album of all instrumentals. They are cool when they slip one or two on a usual album and The Rat Cage is really funky, but I’m sure I would want to hear their trademark quirky lyrics eventually. Hopefully one of those isn’t too far behind. As for the video, it is still classic Beasties.
With her previous two albums released over the previous two years, Rihanna was always good for at least one great summer jam that most people have forgotten by the time the leaves began to fall. For the third straight summer, the Barbados native attempts the three-peat of summer anthems but unfortunately Umbrella falls way short of Pon de Replay and SOS. Not surprisingly, the song was rumored to be passed on by artists such as Hilary Duff among others, but the song actually could have been as catchy as her previous hits if it wasn’t for that annoying chorus (“Umbrella-ella-ella-ella-eh-eh-eh-eh-eh-eh”). Seriously, how could no one, from the writer, producer, anyone at the label or Rihanna herself not hear that chorus and think, “yeah, that doesn’t work.”
But even though the highs are not as high as previous outings, Rihanna’s latest album, Good Girl Gone Bad is the most solid as a whole that her previous. This is thanks to a diverse range of songs that range smooth R&B (Hate That I Love You with Ne-Yo which is a much better anti-love song than Unfaithful) disco (Don’t Stop the Music), rock (Shut Up and Drive), Caribbean (Lemme Get That), and old school R&B with a modern twist (Say It). And with the success of the Tainted Love sampling SOS, Rihanna has dug into the eighties hit to be the basis of a couple songs on this album including Running with the Night on Push Up on Me, Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’, and Blue Monday on Shut Up and Drive.
That’s not to say there aren’t some clunkers, Breakin’ Dishes is a Ring the Alarm wannabe but without the siren in the background or even the sound of breaking dishes. Plus you could tell Beyoncé was legitimately pissed, Rihanna sounds like she is singing just another song. Then the three Timbaland tracks, Sell Me Candy, Lemme Get That and Rehab just song like cookie cutter filler. And sadly Rehab isn’t even an Amy Winehouse cover instead the rehab in the song is just a cheesy metaphor because “you’re my disease.” Yawn. But what can you really expect from a song written by Justin Timberlake? If you are asking me if you should download that song then I say, “No, no, no.”
After years of just having random hot chicks host, we finally have an actual comedian host the MTV Movie Awards. But as soon as the get something right, they do something as equally wrong to cancel out the goodness, namely replacing professionally done movie spoofs with amateur ones which after seeing the final three, was a huge mistake. You know the spoofs were really bad when the best actually spoofed United 93. You know, the movie that documented the flight that went down in Pennsylvania on September 11th. But the show wasn’t all bad; here are some more thoughts on the festivities:
- We get are very first commercial free pre show and it is pretty clear the Transformers was the one that picked up the tab. I would say a good twenty minutes of the half hour was devoted to the movie. And even though I was a huge Transformers in my youth, there is no way you can get me to see a live action movie version. I have leaned my lesson from the live action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movies.
- One of the few non Transformers interviews was with Mandy Moore and the dude from The Office (I choose not to type his name not because I can’t spell it but because, well actually, that pretty much sums it up) who hilariously pull out the sarcasm when it is mentioned that Paris Hilton arrive.
- That may have been the worst opening in the awards history. Obviously someone was smoking something when they wrote that.
- At least that was saved but the monologue when Sarah Silverman has even more fun at Paris Hilton’s expense. Is it wrong that my biggest laughs of the night were when people started cheering when Silverman mentioned Hilton’s impending jail team and the subsequence look on her face when Hilton realize everyone hates her.
- We are live for the first time tonight and it seemed there were a lot more cursing then usually even if you take away Silverman’s closing song.
- The cast of Fantastic Four is out first to present. Pretty much every presenting team was a cast of a movie (I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, Live Free or Die Trying, License to Wed, Transformers, Hairspray). It’s like MTV doesn’t even try not to hind they are a complete industry shill. I guess they don’t have to when people like me come back every year. Not surprisingly they handed out the award for best villain to Jack Nicholson because he was prominently shown during the monologue and Jack isn’t showing up if he didn’t win. And since there were no gratuitous shots of him after the award, I bet he walked right out of the auditorium after picking up his award.
- Seriously, the Mac guy is going to be in the next Die Hard movie? Did Bruce Willis just okay this to get iPods for his family? And did he get the Windows guy a cameo?
- They really needed to black out more than they did in the Borat fight scene.
- Apropos that Dane Cook introduced all of the laughless amateur spoof. Almost as unfunny as the spoofs and Cook were those Human Giant spots. Now I know to never watch that show.
- In the rare non-cast presenting team, they took the time machine back to 1997 to team up Posh Spice and Chris Tucker.
- Is Umbrella really the number one song in the country? The live rock version is was a little better than the album version. Although Rihanna must really be talented if she can sing if we can hear her without her lips movie like at the ends of the performance.
- At least we got one good spoof with Silverman trying to find a presenter. Unfortunately it ended with another poor idea, having a random webcam user present an award.
- Why have an Orbitz Dirty Mouth if they don’t even show the winner let along the nominees. Oh yeah, it was just for a blatant cooperate sponsorship.
- They are resurrecting the Unplugged series for Bon Jovi? Or are they reshowing one from twenty years ago?
- It was nice that MTV made fun of all the annoying people who quote Borat ad nausea with the Boratititus segment. Yes random frat boy, I’m talking to you, stop it, it is not funny when you do it.
- When I heard Mike Myers was going to win the Generations Awards I was excited thinking they were going back to their roots like the great Lifetime Achievement Awards. That was until I realized they were awarding it to Austin Powers not the unkillable homicidal maniac. What was really sad was Myers pulled out an old Wayne’s World joke with the whole sell out part of his acceptance speech.
- As much as I like Amy Winehouse, her performance was a little disappointing as it was the same as her Letterman performance and every other show of the like. They could at least show pictures of Lindsay Lohan, Britney Spears, et al, behind her. In fact, they just released a remix of the show with Jay-Z, he was already there, he could have jumped on stage.
- I would personally like to thank whoever decided to turn Amanda Bynes into a stripper. She didn’t quite pull it off entirely, but it still worked for me.
- It was nice to see a movie that was universally panned by critics and viewers alike, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest actually took home the Best Movie award. And it is not a good sign when your live awards show actually ends two minutes early. No wonder we rarely saw the morbidly obese dude with the freakish bellybutton.
Much like the STA’s, to be eligible, the show must have had the bulk of the season’s episode between June 2006 and May 2007. So without further ado, here are the top ten best shows of the past year:
The breakdown of the networks is below as NBC dominated quality television last year, yet sadly they have been near the bottom of the ratings for most of the year. Also I added up all the Quote of the Week and Song of the Week winners from my 57 Channels and Only This Is On posts that I started back in January of this year just for the fun of it:
NBC (4) ABC (2) CW (1) FX (1) VH1 (1) CBS (1)
Quote of the Week My Name Is Earl (5) Veronica Mars (5) Friday Night Lights (3) Knights of Prosperity (1) Supernatural (1) Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (1) South Park (1) Late Night with Conan O’Brien (1) Everybody Hates Chris (1) Lost (1) How I Met Your Mother (1)
Song of the Week Knights of Prosperity (5) Veronica Mars (4) My Name Is Earl (2) Friday Night Lights (2) Everybody Hates Chris (2) How I Met Your Mother (1) Smallville (1) Late Show with David Letterman (1) Jimmy Kimmel Live (1)
Welcome to the 3nd Annual Scooter Television Awards honoring show that aired new episodes between June 2006 and May 2007. I will save the explanation of certain winner's when I do a comprehensive review of that season in the near future (for the reviews I done already check out my Terror Alert Scale archives). Before we get to handing out the awards, let me take time out for the obligatory memoriam section, so cue up It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday and pour some chocolate milk out Randy style out for the homies that are no longer with us:
Big Chubby Charlie Pace Dean O’Dell Don Lamb Future Paining guy and his girlfriend Knights of Prosperity Linderman Mindy O’Dell Random Castaways Shaft Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip Veronica Mars Zeke
Now without further ado, here are the winners of the 2007 STA's:
For the astute readers who read the Cleaning Out My Inbox post might have seen the line “For those who missed the season, I may or may not be able to help you out with that in the near future” and realized I was hinting at a contest and after ironing out the rules and the like I am happy to announce my latest contest where you can win a Kyle XY prize package. Here is what is up for grab:
- Kyle XY Season 1 on DVD
- Kyle XY Soundtrack
- Kyle XY postcards/tattoos
- 3 different teaser posters (as seen below, click to enlarge)
So know you know what you will be getting, here is how you can enter the contest to win yourself. There are three different ways you can enter to win:
1. In the series, Kyle is taken in by the Trager’s. Name your favorite TV foster family of all time.
2. As I mentioned before, the whole no belly button creeps me out, name something that creeps you out but you know shouldn’t.
3. Link this contest on your blog or link it on a message board (only one entry allowed per message board and link must be posted at least 24 hours before the conclusion of the contest).
You can e-mail your entries to ScooterKSU(at)aol(dot)com (subject: Kyle XY) or leave them here in the comment section (but if you leave a comment make sure there is an easy way for me to find how to contact you). If you link the contest, make sure you let me know you did so you get credited with an entry. You may enter multiple times (up to three times), but can only win once. The contest ends Sunday, June 10 at 11:59 PM EST. The winners will be picked at random from all eligible entries and will be contacted shortly after. Also this contest is only open to people with shipping addresses in the continental Untied States or Canada.
A new season of Kyle XY starts up Monday June 11 at 8:00 on ABCFamily. Reader Allison also commented that ABC Family is running a marathon of season 1 of the series the day before, June 10, so check your local listings for the exact start time if you want to check out the show to see what you will be winning or get a refresher if you have already seen the show. If you are not the lucky winner, you can download season 1 on iTunes or buy the DVD on Amazon (see below).
(Scooter's Note: to get this contest posted as soon as possible, I have postponed the latest induction into the Scooter Hall of Fame until later next week)
There is good news and bad news when it comes to the latest album from R. Kelly, Double Up. The bad news first: no new chapters in the greatness that is the Trapped in the Closet saga. But the good news is, well there actually isn’t any good news regarding this album, but luckily we won’t have to wait too long (July 24) until we get updates on Rufus et al.
Unfortunately his latest disk plays out much like his last, TP3: Reloaded (see: I Hope You'll Got Your Playa Cards), same tired over exaggerated sexcapades over the same R&B/Hip Hop beats with uninspired guest spots, but without Trapped in the Closet to save it. Oddly the new album is bookend by the two of the rare songs that don’t have to do with how Mr. Kelly performs in the bed starting with The Champ where Robert compares his career to a boxing match and ends with Rise Up, a I Believe I Can Fly style anthem that disturbingly is dedicated to Virginia Tech. Really after listening to songs that can’t but help conjure up visions of his alleged video that won’t get any play on MTV anytime soon.
For those like me waiting for another installment of Trapped in the Closet, the closest song here is Real Talk that concludes with a very entertaining, profanity laden ending. Mildly entertaining, but don’t hold up on repeat listens, are the songs where R likens sex to different things like The Zoo (animal lovin’), Sweet Tooth (candy), and Sex Planet (seriously, if you want a good laugh at your next party, do a serious reading of the lyrics to this song because with lines “Can I taste your Milky Way?” and “We’ll take a trip to Uranus” you will bring down any house).
Now the uninspired guest spots, most of which actually bring down the songs they are on, the worst being Nelly who just brings his tired themes to the worst track on the album, Tryin’ to Get a Number. Speaking of tired themes, how sad is it that self promotion in rap has gotten so oversaturated that artist are now promoting their own music on guest spots like T-Pain who shamelessly brings up he was in love with a stripper on the I’m a Flirt (Remix). And should I know who Huey is? Is he in a group with rappers named Dewey and Louie? The only people that actually bring something to the song they are on are Snoop Dogg on the title track and Ludacris on Rock Star. But R. Kelly really shouldn’t do anymore collaboration unless it is with Sylvester, Gwendolyn, Rufus, Twan, the fat white chick, and the midget who did his midget business in his pants.
(Scooter’s Note: I tend to not believe anything I read on the internets especially anything without notation on Wikipedia, but if it is true that R. Kelly is actually negotiating a Trapped in the Closet series with Fox Television, I may lift my ban on the network, if only for that show)
Song to Download - Sex Planet (just because it is frakking hilarious)
For the extended weekend I spent the whole time waterproofing my deck. Well actually I spent the whole weekend powerwashing the deck to get it in condition to waterproof it which I finally got it clean enough to do today. On a side note, I’m not entirely sure what I hate more in this world powerwashing wood or stripping wallpaper. But anyways. Since I just got done minutes ago and don’t have the time or really the will power to write anything new, I thought I’d clean out my inbox of a few press releases that have piled up but never really had a time to post. Hopefully some you find them useful:
I missed Kyle XY last year when it first aired mostly because one look at the dude with no belly button totally freaked me out. For those that didn’t find that creepy and enjoyed the first season I’m happy to tell you that the new season starts June 11th on ABCFamily. For those who missed the season, I may or may not be able to help you out with that in the near future. And if you are thinking about jumping in for the second season, here is a synopsis:
More questions arise and the risk of danger escalates in the second season of the hit ABC Family original series Kyle XY. Kyle begins to learn the truth about his past, but under the strict training of Tom Foss, he must also learn the full scope of his abilities. And all of this must be kept secret -- even from the Tragers, who just want to help him return to the life of a normal teenager. Kyle must learn to live with his double life and the unknown dangers that lurk outside the family’s walls. The peril only increases when the girl in the pod is set free and is on the hunt for Kyle. But can Kyle keep the threats away or will they come straight through the Trager’s front door? Kyle XY stars Matt Dallas, Marguerite MacIntyre, Bruce Thomas, April Matson, Jean-Luc Bilodeau, Chris Olivero, Kirsten Prout and Jaimie Alexander.
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I have long since left the target MTV demografic, though I still catch the latest Real World/Road Rules Challenge, so I doubt that Vmtv is something I use. But if you still catch all there shows, this may be for you:
Vmtv is a virtual MTV world where users can create an avatar, meet new people, shop and try on new clothes, chill at the beach, club hop and hit the dance floor. Buy a virtual car and pimp it out, hit the road or the track to show off their racing skills. Become a fashion designer, make and sell their own clothing and enter the fashion challenges!
Hang out with celebrities such as the cast of Pimp My Ride, The Hills, Laguna Beach, and musical guest like Korn, Linkin Park, MIMS, Mario and more to be announced! Fans can experience Spankin New Music Week with new music, special guests and smokin' hot events all in Virtual MTV!
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One thing I have been meaning to check out for a while but it was sent to me right around the time I had finals and I may check it out later now that I ran across the e-mail again is MixSherpa.com. According to the e-mail it is a Sprint sponsored website where you can create personalized music playlists and receive commentary on your lists from the voices of MixSherpa.com, Ian Westbury and DJSupahboy5. Once you create your playlist, Ian and DJ will recommend a song to compliment your playlist choice. I should really check this one out because they offered me free stuff (although I’m not entirely sure if it for me or to give away).
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Speaking of free stuff, I was going to wait to talk about it until I actually got it, but I should be receiving a copy of That Thing You Do! Director’s Cut soon to review and here is a lengthy press release:
FOX HOME ENTERTAINMENT CELEBRATES THE WORK OF ONE OF HOLLYWOOD’S “BIG”GEST STARS
Two All New Two-Disc Editions Of Big and That Thing You Do Available May 8, 2007 Nearly Twenty Five Minutes Longer, Big Extended Edition Features A Huge Selection Of Bonus Materials Including Eight Deleted Scenes
That Thing You Do: Tom Hanks’ Extended Cut Includes An Additional Thirty Nine Minutes Of Footage With A Myriad Of Bonus Features
CENTURY CITY, Calif. – You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll sing! Fox Home Entertainment presents a collection showcasing the work of one of the silver screen’s most accomplished actors. With his outstanding performances and ability to charm audiences by playing the lovable everyman, two-time Academy Award winner Tom Hanks (Philadelphia, 1993; Forrest Gump, 1994) has become one of cinema’s most recognizable and critically acclaimed actors. Now, Fox Home Entertainment brings all-new, two-disc editions of two of his brilliant accomplishments to DVD on May 8, 2007 – Big Extended Edition and That Thing You Do: Tom Hanks’ Extended Cut. Each film is available individually for the suggested retail price of $19.98 U.S. / $25.98 Canada.
One of the most beloved comedy gems of the past 20 years, Big garnered Hanks his first Academy Award nomination and was ranked number 15 on Premiere magazine’s list of “100 Greatest Performances of All Time” for his portrayal of Josh Baskin, a boy who wishes to be “big” and virtually transforms into a childish middle-aged adult overnight. The Big Extended Edition is 25 minutes longer than the original film, includes never-before-seen deleted scenes with optional introductions from director Penny Marshall, two behind-the-scenes featurettes and much more.
Hanks steps behind the camera for That Thing You Do, his feature film directorial debut about the brief success of a fictional rock band in the 1960s. Also written by Hanks, the That Thing You Do: Tom Hanks’ Extended Cut is thirty nine minutes longer and comes loaded with special features including commentary by cast members, several all new featurettes, an HBO “Making Of” documentary and the music video for Josh Clayton’s “Feel Alright.”
DVD Features: Each title in The Tom Hanks Promotion is available in Widescreen and is presented in English Dolby Digital 5.1 sound.
Special features include: Big Extended Edition: • Extended cut of Big feature film with an additional twenty five minutes of footage • Big Brainstorming – Audio documentary by Gary Ross and Anne Spielberg using archival audio material of the original creation of the script • Eight deleted and extended scenes with optional introductions by director Penny Marshall • “Backstory: Big” featurette • “Carnival Party Newswrap” vignette • “Big Beginnings” featurette • “Chemistry of a Classic” documentary • “The Work of Play” featurete • TV spots and theatrical trailers That Thing You Do: Tom Hanks’ Extended Cut: • Extended cut of That Thing You Do feature film with thirty nine minutes of additional footage • “Making That Thing You Do” featurette • The Story Of The Wonders” featurette • That Thing You Do Reunion • “The Wonders – Big in Japan” featurette • “The Making of That Thing You Do” – HBO first look • “That Thing You Do Title Song Submissions” • TV spots and theatrical trailers Synopses: Big Extended Edition: The classic story about a boy who grew up overnight is back in an all-new, all-grown up Director’s Cut DVD! Featuring a wish-list of never-before-seen special features including a audio commentary by director Penny Marshall, deleted scenes, five featurettes and more, this “hilarious” (Newsweek), “nimble comedy” (The Hollywood Reporter) has never been bigger! All twelve-year-old Josh Baskin wants is to be big. But when his wish is granted beyond his wildest dreams, Josh finds a new face in the mirror… his own, at age 30. Now, aided only by his boisterous best friend, he’ll have to keep the secret of his true age as he tries to fill his own oversized shoes. But as his innocent charms help him rise to the top of the adult world, Josh will face the biggest decision of his life – return to his own age, or remain big forever!
That Thing You Do: Tom Hanks’ Extended Cut: Tom Hanks writes, directs and co-stars in this refreshing, big-hearted comedy that captures the overnight triumph of an American rock band during the glory days of rock and roll. When a young appliance salesman agrees to fill-in for an injured drummer in a local talent show, four shooting stars Page 3 of 3 are born. Faster than you can say "That Thing You Do," a Play-Tone Records executive (Hanks) signs the group and catapults them to fame as their signature tune skyrockets to the top of the charts!
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Lastly, for those who won my Win a Copy of Neptune Noir Contest, I sent along your e-mails to the people who will handle the shipping this past weekend so you should be expecting that soon. If you didn’t win be sure to head over to the BenBella website to order a copy.
There have been a couple of videos that have caught my eye lately so I though I’d give them some love since the death of Musical Television left a void for a forum on the art form so here they are courtesy of YouTube. I advise you to watch them before you read my reviews if you don’t want me to spoil things. If you are interested in buying the video through iTunes, click the title link (where available, if not the link goes to YouTube where you can watch the video in full screen). If you are interested in buying the song, look for a link in the analysis.
As you would expect from a Hype Williams directed video, the visuals are striking. I not sold on the song yet. Not only has Kanye West released two of the best rap albums this decade, you can make an argument he has made two albums that stand up with the best over any genre this decade. But of his new songs he has released this song, also including Classic, are just good, not great. Well the Throw Some D’s Remix was great but in a “Weird Al” kind of way. But we will have to wait until November until we can hear Graduation in full. If you really like the video click the link above the video where you can download Can’t Tell Me Nothing on iTunes for the low, low price of Free.
Speaking of directors who always have striking visuals, Michel Gondry, best known for his Lego’s inspired clip for The White Stripes, has another great video, this time for Paul McCartney. And maybe taking a cue from Bob Dyan, who put Scarlett Johansson in his latest video, Sir Paul has countered with Natalie Portman. Unfortunately she plays a ghost. Oh well.
Speaking of The White Stripes, Jack is back with his, umm, wherever he’s calling Meg these days. And the time apart seemed to do some good because after relying on a full time bass guitar, Jack seems rejuvenated for his main band. Though I’m not sure I really want a thinly veiled political statement from the duo.
Speaking of, okay, I really can’t tie in Timbaland here (though he does name from Kanye’s Golddigger). But really you can’t go wrong when combining The Hives (remember them, they had the uber-catchy Hate to Say I Told You So a couple years back), comic book cells, and hot WWF chick. But I guess it has been a while since I have watch wresting because I don’t recognized many of these girl, nor did I know it is no longer the WWF. But what is with the “To be continued…” Are we actually going to see more of this? I’m a little skeptical because I am still waiting for the conclusion of that .38 Special video, which sadly has yet to show up on YouTube yet.
. I remember the movie to b a classic, but the song, not so much. So I was off to YouTube to see if there was video to listen to the song to give the song a listen and of course it was there (God bless the internets). And after listening to the song I completely stand by my no legitimate hits statement. After hearing this song, feel free to chime in on this debate and keep in mind, this was McCartney’s second highest charting song since leaving Wings.
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on my 
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