Saturday, January 28, 2012

Best of the Week - 1/28/12


Quote of the Week: The weird thing about this is that I am scrapping honey off of no-no special places of my partner that I haven’t spoken to in over a year… and, oh yeah, she hates me. (Dumbar, The Challenge: Battle of the Exes)

Song of the Week: Take On Me - a-ha (as performed by Jeffster backed by an orchestra, Chuck)

Gratuitous Token Hot Chick Picture of the Week:

Yvonne Strahovski getting out of bed


Scene of the Week:



Big News of the Week: Newt Back From the Dead… Again: Going into South Carolina it looked like Mitt Romney was going to win the first three primaries for the first time in modern history for a non incumbent. Then Iowa finally got around to counting their ballots and realize Rick Santorum actually won their state and then the Evangelicals of SC realized they would rather vote for thrice married Catholic than a Mormon. But if there is a silver lining for Romney is Republicans are starting to remember why they hated Newt in the first place so he may just wrap up the nomination by Super Tuesday anyway.

Free Download of the Week: Gimme a Kiss - Madi Diaz (RollingStone.com): If that is not enough free music from Madi Diaz, you can also grab her Let’s Go for the low, low price of free.

New Album Release of the Week: Born to Die - Lana Del Rey

New DVD Release of the Week: Drive

Video of the Week: The premiere of The Voice is just one week away and last year’s breakout singer Dia Frampton recently went out on tour with her coach Blake Shelton and has been doing some side gigs along the road like recently in Nashville where she streamed her entire set on Livestream. Check it out in its entirety below:

Watch live streaming video from exitin at livestream.com


Next Week Pick of the Week: The Challenge: Battle of the Exes, Wednesday at 10:00 on MTV: Where Survivor pulls out tricks no one wants to see like Redemption Island and Immunity Idols, last season The Challenge cam up with its best idea ever: pair up people who hate each other for Rivals. I did not think it could get much better than that until they announced their new season: Battle of The Exes forcing past hook ups to team up with each other. Brilliant. It always seems like I miss the first couple episodes of The Challenge because it is the only thing I still watch on MTV (until the triumphant return of Beavis and Butt-Head), but there was no way I was missing the new season and it totally lived up to expectation. I do not know why Survivor does not throw money at the people who create challenges for The Challenge but they should because the Honey challenge was more creative than any challenge on South Pacific.

Friday, January 27, 2012

Around the Tubes - 1/27/12


I have gotten a plethora of cool press releases have been flooding my inbox recently that you may find interesting. This post will include blurbs on Luck, Thirteen’s Great Performances, Key and Peele, Inside the NSA, Dating Rules From My Future Self, Chuck, The X-Games, Clevver Media, Dance Moms, Rehab with Dr. Drew, Ben Crane, Tanya T6, and World Poker Tour Season X.

- HBO’s much buzzed about new show Luck from Michael Mann and David Milch finally premieres this Sunday at 9:00. The show is a behind the scenes look at the world of horse racing and those that bet on it starring Oscar winners Dustin Hoffman and nominee Nick Nolte. Here is a trailer for what you can expect in the first season.



- Tonight at 9:00 PBS will be airing Thirteen’s Great Performances (check your local listings) featuring a behind the scenes look at the recording of Tony Bennett: Duet II with Lady Gaga, Amy Winehouse and Queen Latifah.

- Comedy Central’s latest sketch comedy show Key and Peele premieres this Tuesday at 10:30 after an all new episode of Tosh 2.0. Here is a sneak peak:



- For the first time since 9/11, the National Security Agency are opening their doors to documentary camera crews on Monday for Inside the NSA premiering at 9:00 on the National Geographic Channel. Aside from the inner working of the secret federal agency, the program will all show how the NSA provided critical information in the takedown of Osama bin Ladin.

- Today the season finale of Dating Rules From My Future Self hits the interwebs and you can watch all episodes over on YouTube.

- An end of an era tonight with the series finale of Chuck. Here is one last interview with the Token Hot Chick.

Yvonne on the Finale


- This year’s X-Games are fast approaching and A Bullseye View has interviews with legends Shaun White and Torin Yater-Wallace as they prepare.

- Clevver Media recently launched its seventh YouTube channel, ClevverNews which looks to attract more talent than ever, offering red carpet events, on-set behind-the-scene footage and in-person interviews. You can already find footage from the Man on the Ledge premiere.

- Enjoy Dance Moms on Lifetime? Now there is an app for that on their Facebook page.

- Even with the looseness of the term “Celebrity” apparently Dr. Drew cannot round up enough has beens and never weres because now he is recruiting regular folks for Rehab with Dr. Drew. Have an addiction, apply here: rehabcasting.com (please note Scooter McGavin nor anyone at the 9th Green encourages anyone to start taking cocaine or any other narcotics in hopes of being cast).

- PGA Golfer Ben Crane used to be a gymnast and now he is getting back to first love in the video below. As an added bonus, Farmers will donate $1000 for every 100,000 up to $5000 to charity so get to watching because it has not made any money yet.

Ben Crane – The love Lost


- Tanya T6 was so happy that her team the New York Giants made it to the Super Bowl she recorded NY (Hands Up) to celebrate and you can download it for the low, low price of free.

- Fox Sports Net is getting into the poker game with World Poker Tour Season X premiering February 12 at 8:00 and 11:00 and will air every Sunday and Wednesdays.

Thursday, January 26, 2012

I Want My Music Television - 1/26/12


There have been a couple of videos that have caught my eye lately so I thought I’d give them some love since the death of Musical Television left a void for a forum on the art form. If you are interested in buying the video through iTunes, click the title link (where available). If you are interested in buying the song, look for a link in the analysis.


Look Around – Red Hot Chili Peppers



The best music videos are the ones that look simple enough but you watch them again and again because you are not entirely sure how it happened. That is exactly how I felt about the four rooms of the new Red Hot Chili Peppers video. I am also under the assumption that the rooms represent the band mate’s personalities which begs the question why is Chad Smith performing in a bathroom?


Comeback Kid – Sleigh Bells



Not as confusing but just as visually stimulating is the new Sleigh Bells who makes visual explosions for your eyes that rival the musical explosions that give your ears.


Mustache Man (Wasted) - Cake



Then there is Cake who always gives you an entertaining three minutes excursion from your day with every new music video, now with even more facial hair to look at.


Synthesizers – Butch Walker and The Black Widows



Matthew McConaughey may be two decades older, but at least high school girls have stayed the same age. I am not sure the world needed Dazed & Confused sequel (though I can hear movie executives plan a reboot right now) Butch Walker has given us one.

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

When the Weather Breaks We Can Sail the Great Lakes


Voyageur - Kathleen Edwards

Over the past decade, Kathleen Edwards has built herself up as one the best female alt-country artist with breezy driving songs and a quick wit. Her fourth full length album Voyageur is a bit more somber affair as Edwards has described it as her “Divorce Album”. But do not expect any angry Since U Been Gone type break up songs as the tracks that make up the album or more introspective on the end of her marriage.

With the subject matter mixed with the melancholy music that accompanies it, it is unclear if she is her usual sardonic self like when she claims she is moving to America (she’s Canadian, do not hold that against her) on the opening track but even the title of the song lets you know it is an Empty Threat. Same goes for Chameleon/Comedian. But for the most part, with titles like A Soft Place to Land and House Full of Empty Rooms, Edwards sound more remorseful than the person who last album said that asking for flowers was like asking for a fight.

Sonically Voyager is her most adventurous album yet which may have something to do with Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon producing the album. First single Change the Sheet buzzes with an opening spacey guitar riff making it her most anthemic song to date and begs to be heard under the stars this summer. While Going to Hell is a slow burning sonic boom where you can really hear Justin Vernon’s more ethereal production. Hopefully the Edwards and Vernon collaboration can produce music this good for years to come.

Song to Download – Change the Sheets

Voyageur gets a Terror Alert Level: High [ORANGE] on my Terror Alert Scale.



Tuesday, January 24, 2012

2012 Winter Music Preview


Take Adele out of the equation and the year in music for 2011 was pretty dire. But I have some good news and bad news for what very well may be the last year for CDs ever (and I am not just talking about the Mayans being right, it looks like record labels will be phasing out the format except to pricy special editions). The good news is there looks to be a lot of great music from top names being released this year. The bad news is you will probably have to wait until after Easter to hear most of it. Of course keep in mind Adele’s 21 was released one year ago last week (and Barton Hollow by The Civil Wars was released a year ago next week), so maybe there is a hidden gen that will take the world by storm this winter. Click on the album title to preorder on Amazon or the artist name to be taken to iTunes.


Today
The Stars Are Indifferent to Astronomy – Nada Surf
The Lion's RoarFirst Aid Kit
Soul 2Seal
Clear Heart Full Eyes - Craig Finn
Plastic MoonMadi Diaz

January 31
Born to DieLana Del Rey
Making MirrorsGotye
Tomahawk TechniqueSean Paul
Beyond Magnetic EPMetallica
Human AgainIngrid Michaelson

February 7
Kisses on the Bottom – Paul McCartney
Scars & StoriesThe Fray
Popcycles and Politics – V.V. Brown
A Different Kind of TruthVan Halen
Tramp - Sharon Van Etten
Stories to Tell - Richard Marx
Be The VoidDr. Dog

February 14
As The Crow FliesAmos Lee
Sweet SourBand of Skulls

February 21
Reign of TerrorSleigh Bells
Some NightsFun.

February 28
RosesThe Cranberries
Songs from Nowheresville – The Ting Tings
All of MeEstelle
BreakfastChiddy Bang
WZRD – Kid Cudi and Dot da Genius

March 6
Wrecking Ball – Bruce Springsteen
Break It YourselfAndrew Bird

March 13
Strange Clouds – B.o.B

March 20
Port of Morrow – The Shins
The Hunger Games Soundtrack

March 27
Kids in the Streets – The All-American Rejects
Undisputed – DMX

April 10
Black Panties – R. Kelly
A Wasteland CompanionM. Ward


TBD
Songs of Ascent – U2
Born and Raised – John Mayer
West Coast Time – Michelle Branch
What We Saw from the Cheap Seats – Regina Spektor
Battle Born - The Killers
TuskegeeLionel Richie
Most of Our Heroes Don’t Appear on a Stamp / The Evil Empire of Everything – Public Enemy
Drive By – Train
Master of Make Believe - Santigold
Man on the Moon III – Kid Cudi
Picture Show – Neon Trees
Love Is a Four Letter Word – Jason Mraz
Rise of the Phoenix – Tenacious D
E.L.E. (Extinction Level Event) 2: End of the World - Busta Rhymes
G.O.O.D. Music: The Album
Mumford & Sons
The Avett Brothers
Pearl Jam
Cat Power
Fleetwood Mac
Garbage
Mazzy Star
Janelle MonĂ¡e
Rancid
Soundgarden
Sara Bareilles / Ben Folds
Frank Ocean
Phoenix
The xx
The Offspring
Wu-Tang Clan
Gary Clark Jr.
Christina Aguilera
Matchbox Twenty

And do not forget the obligatory this may be the quarter we actually get to hear Dr. Dre’s Detox. Of course if I missed anything, that is what the comment section is for.

Monday, January 23, 2012

We Use to Drive the Canyons, Get Lost for Fun


Little Spark - Jessie Baylin

When the entertainment business finds a hit, there is nothing they like better than to copy it off like they work at Kinko’s. Seriously, even years later television has been trying to recreate Lost and Friends to little avail. I bring this up because I recently read an article calling Lana Del Rey the first artist of the post-Adele era, someone who tried to gain fame solely by trying to steal Adele’s style. And much like other first retreads like Invasion and Coupling, Del Rey crashed and burned after a disastrous Saturday Night Live performance last weekend.

Of course it is much better when an entire scene is in place before one them break big like the Seattle era when Nirvana bust through the door, bands like Pearl Jam and Soundgarden were ready and waiting for their breaks and it were the post-grunge bands like Bush that came along later and sucked massively. So instead of looking for the next Adele that who tries to squeeze herself into Adele’s persona, it would be better to an artist already out there that already has Adele’s esthetic for The Next Adele.

One candidate could be Jessie Baylin who may not have the same booming voice but travels in the same jazzy-folk music (just forget the cover art which maker Baylin look more like a Joan Jett clone than an Adele sound alike). Both manage to make retro music fresh for the new millennium but where Adele has a voice that goes down with the Aretha (and other one name divas throughout history) Jessie has a softer, smokier voice along the line of Dusty Springfield. With the throwback feel, Jessie Baylin’s third album Little Spark sound like a one woman Brill Building creation with a little Wall of Sound thrown in for good measure.

Little Spark starts off with the lovely Hurry Hurry which swells with the hopeless romantic of new love. While Love Is Wasted on Lovers shows the flip side of the coin with Baylin cooing along with the best track. Then later in the album, Dancer may actual put a little pep in your step. If you are looking for something organic for the Next Adele, Jessie Baylin may be better than anything that is packaged as such.

Song to Download – Love Is Wasted On Lovers

Little Spark gets a Terror Alert Level: High [ORANGE] on my Terror Alert Scale.



Sunday, January 22, 2012

57 Channels and Only This Is On - 1/22/12


Once Upon a Time: One thin g this show has going for it that Lost did not is that it can bring in interesting characters for flash back episodes so we will not be stuck with a an episode dedicated to Jack’s tattoos or Locke at a commune that no one was looking forward to.
You can stream current episodes on Hulu. You can also download Once Upon a Time.

Leverage: It is off that everyone made a huge deal out of Nate not actually killing anyone but did not seem to mind that he put two guys in a position where they were guaranteed to kill each other. But it is always entertaining when they bring in Chaos to jaw with Hardison and I loved how they did the cartoon skeleton when Parker’s dad shocked him.
You can stream recent episodes on TNT.tv. You can also download Leverage on iTunes.

Shameless: It is weird how seamless the new Mandy is. I guess after half a season of Suburgatory I cannot even picture Tessa as anything else but an Emma Stone clone, let alone a goth chick that she was on Shameless last season. And I knew I should have taken the under on how many episode it would take Karen to have sex despite being in sex anonymous.

House of Lies: Slightly more entertaining than the previous episode thanks to the one dude trying to pick up the chick at the airport, but a lot of the flaws from the pilot remained. And are we really going to see Don Cheadle have angry sex with his ex-wife at the start of every episode?

Pretty Little Liars: So Lucas was not at the greenhouse, he was really shifty last episode because he gambled away Caleb’s money. What? Is this was the next couple episodes are going to be: the Liars think someone is an A helper only for it to be a red herring? Ugg, this may be a long season.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Pretty Little Liars on iTunes.

The Lying Game: I was shocked when Sutton showed up last episode (I would have guessed by the end of the season) and even more surprised when she took over her life. So if I am playing this right, Sutton now has to play Emma playing Sutton for the person who is blackmailing her / them. But the big question for the episode is where does Emma go from here?
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download The Lying Game on iTunes.

Castle: A mayor is connected to a death of a young woman in his campaign car… where have I heard this one before? At least we found out who killed her. Oh, wait, never mind.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Castle on iTunes.

Switched at Birth: If you are going to have a show with subtitles, how about not put up banners that covers the subtitles? Should that not be a no brainer?
You can stream the show on Hulu. You can also download Switched At Birth on iTunes.

Justified: With Raylan battling hillbilly families, the Bennetts and Crowders, the first two seasons, it is going to be weird seeing him go up against a big city slicker as a main antagonist. It may be more interesting watching Boyd this season. I did not realize why he would attack a federal marshal in his office space (best line: You wouldn’t like Mexico… it’s full of Mexicans) until that last scene with Dickie and Dewey. I would not mind a season of the three blind mice in prison.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Justified on iTunes.

Parenthood: It is about time something went Haddie’s way, she always seems to get the short end of the stick in the family. She even had a great line, something to the effect that she understands but she does not have to be happy about it. But she should not have been too upset, seriously, if you are from Southern California and smart enough to get into an Ivy League school, just go to Stanford instead, because school in the Northeast sucks massively. And I bet she will end up at Berkley by the end of next season anyway.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Parenthood on iTunes.

Suburgatory: Just when you think Dalia could not get any scarier, she actually makes dancing look scary.
You can stream recent episodes on Hulu. You can also download Suburgatory on iTunes.

Revenge: So Emily had the lawyer in her back pocket the whole time, did not really see that coming. I am just wondering how she can keep up appearances sleeping a with a guy who is convinced that her father raped his mother? Seriously, when did this show stop becoming a guilty pleasure and become just pleasurable?
You can stream current episodes on Hulu. You can also download Revenge on iTunes.

The Big Bang Theory: What the frack just happened? Did the editor seriously screw things up or was this a dream sequence? I was just lost with the flashback to earlier in the episode.
You can stream recent episodes over at cbs.com. You can also download The Big Bang Theory on iTunes.

Chuck: One of the big drags on the show in recent seasons was they just did not seem to know what to do at the Buy More and its storylines kept shrinking and shrinking. At least they closed out the series with one last great Buy More plot with Jeffster saving the day with Casey’s massive stockpile of weapons of mass destruction.
You can stream current episodes on Hulu. You can also download Chuck on iTunes.