Midnight Madness - Steve Jobs Edition

Steve Jobs passed away this week, as he's been eulogized since then there is no doubt he has done so much to lead Apple through great advancements in technology and marketing. So I'll take up this tiny bit of cyberspace to give my respects to the man.

Love Me Do - Paul McCartney is married again?

Not much of a gift - Is it me or does the premise of A Gifted Man rub the wrong way? A surgeon is haunted by the ghost of his dead ex wife to run her inner city clinic. Sounds more like a breakdown than an uplifting show. Someone needs closure, seriously.

Love To Love You Baby - but Donna Summer is eligible for Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame? Why? Oh yeah, because the selection process for the Hall Of Fame sucks. I think we need to steer into the skid here and vote only for non rock artists, next year I think I'll campaign for Seals & Crofts to be entered. Is there a write in vote? Summer Breeze 2012 people!

Mr Burns lives! - and his name is Rupert Murdoch. At least that's who I'm blaming for putting the squeeze on The Simpsons talent forcing pay cuts to continue the show. I normally don't feel sorry for multi millionaires making less millions, but it's not like The Simpsons isn't a money maker just Fox wants more money for itself. At least that's what my uninformed half assed opinion is.

Manic Nirvana - Nirvana Nevermind's anniversary was celebrated all over the web and I didn't. I'll have to get around to some Nirvana in the near future to fix that. Once I get off my Foo Fighter's binge, a band I actually like more than Nirvana. I know, blasphemy right?

Great Scott - American Idol winner Scotty McCreery's debut is selling well. Could AI have it's first success story in ages? Will this be the ulitmate feather in the cap of the new judging panel? I'm asking a lot of questions today aren't I?

Are you ready for some hatred? - Seeing how the political atmosphere is with the President being compared to Hitler and the GOP feeding on their own over religion, I think this upcoming Presidential race will be the ugliest one in my lifetime. People are gonna hate hate hate.

TV Quick Hits - The new tv season is here and I'll give my snap review of what I've seen so far.

Wolverine anime - Is all kinds of awesome. Finally get to see Wolfie do some real damage to opponents and the storyline reminds me of that first Wolverine comic mini series. Real good stuff.

Iron Man anime - Shell head is pretty good, unlike Wolverine the storytelling is less focused.

2 Broke Girls - Kat Dennings is funny as hell.

Whitney - OK, the show stars Whitney Cummings but she plays straight man to her boyfriend character. Don't get that.

How I Met Your Mother - still love the show, blew me away with the appearance of Victoria. This season is hinting at some serious changes for the McClaren's bunch.

Community - is as off the wall as ever and love it. "You're acting like a spoiled kid and not in a hot way". Classic.

The Big Bang Theory - the characters are great but nothing truly memorable yet this season.

Family Guy - getting some edge back, though Peter telling Cleveland they were never friends was cold.

The Office - I like Andy, still miss Michael Scott. Even as they make Andy more Scott like with the tattoo thing.

And that's where we're at, Chuck hasn't appeared yet so waiting on the final season of that. The last episode with Morgan getting the intersect turned me off but I've been watching past seasons on DVD and getting psyched again.

Midnight Madness - Randy Savage Edition

I didn't get into watching pro wrestling until about eleven years ago. Even as a non fan in the 80s and 90s, I knew who Macho Man Randy Savage was. He was the guy with the "Oooh Yeah" speech pattern who was with the beautiful Miss Elizabeth. The man who insisted I "Snap into a Slim Jim". As I started watching wrestling I went back and rented dvds of past Wrestlemanias I saw the greatness of the Ma-cho-Man Randy Savage. His death a week ago was a huge loss to anyone who enjoyed his performances or donned a pair of shades to say "Oooh Yeahhh Miss E-liz-a-beth!"

Ain't That Tough Enough? - Getting a kick out of the new version of WWE's Tough Enough hosted by Steve Austin. Out of every reality tv show I've ever seen, nobody does a better tribe has spoken contestant elimination than Stone Cold Steve Austin. Some one who convincingly talks trash at the contestant while he gives them the boot? That's tv gold.

Nashville Star - Is what American Idol morphed into in the final round leading up to Scotty McCreery's victory over Lauren Alaina. AI got off to a great start but as the tweens started up their voting blocs and the more interesting performers got winded the cleancut apple pie teenagers won out. Not to take anything away from McCreery's win, he was easily the most consistent singer on the show and I enjoyed his performances (particularly "Gone" and "Always On My Mind"). But after faithfully watching every ep this year I was indifferent to the finale. Except for hearing James Durbin wail with Judas Priest. That was cool!

The X Factor - I'm kinda psyched about X Men: First Class even if it looks like a cheap attempt to continue the series with less expensive actors.

Brand Tyler Kicks Into Gear - Steven Tyler released a so-so solo song which is still significant 'cause if he gets a big hit I think it's bye bye Aerosmith.

A Hickey From Kenickie Is Like A HallMark Card... - Jeff Conaway died which is sad for any fans who remember Grease or Taxi.

You're The Voice - I don't know why I can't get into The Voice, all the magazines are proclaiming it's better than American Idol. Something isn't grabbing me, I watched the debut and that's all I've bothered to see.

Top Jimmy - Jimmy Fallon is on a roll with his guest appearance on Celebrity Apprentice, appearing as a live action hero in the SNL short The Ambiguously Gay Duo and now performing his Neil Young imitation alongside David Crosby and Graham Nash.


Neil Young with Crosby and Nash: Party In The USA - Show Clips - Late Night with Jimmy Fallon

Crystal Vision

Rating:

Pia Toscano's rejection from American Idol this week pretty much sank any hope of a female contestant making it to the finals this year. With that in mind, thought I would take the time to review the album from the last girl to make it to the big show: Crystal Bowersox Farmer's Daughter.

On the show, Bowersox came across as a folky combo of Bonnie Raitt / Melissa Etheridge style classic rock and street corner busker. She seemed a bit ragged, a bit dirty not in a nasty way but in an "I've been places and seen some stuff" way. Not squeeky clean like how many American Idol contestants come across on the show, ready to flash their ultra whites preening through yet another take on "Against All Odds". Maybe it was the dreadlocks?

True to recent American Idol history, a finale came about squaring off the most artistically talented contestant versus a fairly talented but pleasant guy that tweens can latch on to. In this case Bowersox versus the everyman Lee DeWyze. And despite totally mopping up the floor with DeWyze in the finale performance showdown peaking with an emotional read of "Up To The Mountain", Bowersox lost. But as they like to say on the internet, maybe it's for the best so that the 2nd place person doesn't have all those restrictive handlers when making their record-sorry, album...I mean CD...er download.

So how does Crystal Bowersox fare? She fares OK. Bowersox does get to do a fair chunk of her own writing (with the exception of the pandering Nickelback/Kara Dioguardi composition "Hold On") and sings with conviction. Much of the likeable rough edges of her music has been sanded off to a commercial sheen and with it her true grit. A great example is "Holy Toledo" which when excerpted as an acoustic guitar song on American Idol came across as Dylanish hearing it getting transformed into a Myley Cyrus "The Climb" soundalike is a mild disappointment.

The first half of the album sounds like it's more programmed for mass acceptance as "Toledo", "Hold On", the lead single "Farmer's Daughter" and the made for some future chick flick soundtrack theme song"Ridin With The Radio". Plus a pleasant cover of Buffalo Springfield's "For What It's Worth" for those who hadn't heard her do enough cover songs on AI. At least the whistle happy "Lonely Won't Come Around" retains some of her simple direct charm.

The second half shows more of Bowersox's Raitt / Etheridge influence to better effect. She sounds more at home pulling out the blues mama stops backed by an Allman Brothers style groove, blasts of cool organ and piercing guitar breaks. The songs I like the most on the disc, the punchy "Kiss Ya" and the blues rock ballad "Speak Now" show up here.

Farmer's Daughter is, hopefully, as commercial as Bowersox gets. And as it is it ain't bad. But I get the feeling there's more talent there waiting to be exposed. She has shown a willingness to explore personal issues (like parental abandonment in the title song) and political as well (albeit VERY mildly in the form of the Buffalo Springfield cover). With a little less calculation and a little more of the heart-on-her-sleeve straight shooting she did on the show, her music could get interesting.

American Idol 2.0

Is it time for another Fantastic Four movie? Nope, but it is time for another round of American Idol where love don't cost a thing except for in an elevator.

Simon Cowell and his V neck framed scowl had been the trademark of American Idol, the focal point of America's attention even more than the contestants. Cowell's biting sarcasm, high standards and opinionated pontifications took America's PC glad handling "You can do anything if you dare to dream" coddling and flushed it down a toilet of off key warblers and flamboyant hot messes. He was someone who could get up in public and speak his truth with total disregard for others feelings, including teenagers. And we were Ok with it because, well, he's not American, he's British. Not from here, didn't know you can't say negative things about people even when they're making a fool of themselves. This led to a lot of work for British judges on other talent shows flooding American tv but that's another topic.

So when Cowell packed up his bags and left for the X Factor following last year's AI many predicted that was it for the ratings megagiant. American Idol would suck. And why wouldn't it, the last 3 rounds or so hadn't created as many stars as years past and the recent winners have had middling careers at best. The Ellen Degeneres experiment had failed as she seemed lost doling out empty compliments to anyone within earshot. American Idol has been on like 10 years or something, they seemed to have strip mined all the talent the U.S. had to offer.
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This year when I tuned in to American Idol it was initially out of curiosity. I love music, liked the show generally and can often find at least one contestant to enjoy (last year was runner up Crystal Bowersox). Plus everyone knows the early auditions are where you find the trainwrecks! And there were crash and burn performances, but also there was a re-emphasis on people with actual singing ability and their human interest sob stories. Then the new judging panel caused a commotion by giving a Hollywood plane ticket to anyone half decent, creating a talent pool large enough to run a small city. Speaking of judges, Randy Jackson woke up from a decade long slumber to say something other than "Dawg", "It was OK for me" or "Pitchy". He still says these things, but now he says other words to which is great. Being the only original judge, Jackson actually serves a purpose now as elder statesmen guiding the new crew through the steps of the AI process.

Tonight's Motown episode was the best American Idol full ep in a really long stretch. Strong performances by more than half the contestants made for a great show. It seems the new approach is paying off. The singers are responding to the new judges kid gloves approach, even if Steven Tyler's rambling wackiness is slowly devolving to "That was beautiful and you're beautiful" comments after every performance. J.Lo is either really emotionally invested or a better actress than I thought she was and comes across well - fighting back tears as she delicately eliminates contestants while alternately doing the Paula Abdul cheerleading thing sans nuttiness. And in a crucial move they're using big name producers to help mold the singers resulting in more consistent song quality. Jimmy Iovine? Rodney Jerkins? Don Was? Damn!

Even though I'm not seeing a break out star yet that can sell millions of Cds-er, downloads, this is shaping up to be the best group since season 5. The wide ranging casting call has resulted in early favorites like the funky Casey Abrams, gospelish Jacob Lusk and the diva balladeer Pia Toscano. American Idol has temporarily succeeded in reinventing itself into a more genial yet still engaging talent show. It'll never be as great as it once was, but like a classic New York Yankees team they've bought and drafted enough people to make it to the playoffs. Congrats American Idol, you don't suck...yet.

Since U Been Gone...

Do right woman - Melinda Doolittle was money in the bank every time she walked on the Idol stage.

This season of American Idol marked the end of an era as Simon Cowell left the show. Cowell is the heart of American Idol, his mocking criticism of other's (often questionable) talents made the program a real trial-by-fire game show. Sing your song well or get hung out to dry in public, that's potent tv. Maybe it was fitting that season 9 of American Idol was the dullest piece of crap foisted on us, it was as if the show knew it was dying too. Ryan Seacrest's mental behavior, Ellen's repetitive "I liked it" and Randy Jackson's "Dawgs" could not make up the difference. Even a resurgent Kara who stumbled through her first season only to come back with strong constructive criticisms for contestants couldn't escape the looming doom.

Though it appears the show will continue, it will never be the same. So it is time to take stock and remember my Top 10 favorite contestants on the program (and a few that sucked). Given I fall outside of Idol's usual demographic of being a middle aged man with a love for Rock music watching this stuff, my opinions might vary from the established list of past Idol greats. But in this list my votes are the only ones that count. Because this...is...wait for it...American Idol! (Duh na na na na)

10. Latoya London (season 3)

As good as she is, I almost didn't include her in the Top 10 because I didn't remember her until I was nearly done with this post (she replaced fellow season 3'er George Huff). And maybe that's why she didn't win. London was a remarkable performer on the program though, her vocals were always what Jackson would call "on point" and she was very attractive. Watching her was like viewing a champion figure skater hit all the triple axles with perfect precision. Her performance of Chaka Khan's "Ain't Nobody" is one of my fondest memories of the program.

9. Carrie Underwood (season 4)

Not quite the glammed up wholesome sex bomb she is today, contestant Carrie Underwood was a slightly pudgy Southern gal who sang with a deer-in-the-headlights expression on her face. Nonetheless, she was incredibly consistent reeling off strong performances like "Independence Day" while staying true to her Country roots. Underwood's voice was emotive and tasteful, leading Cowell to rightly predict she would have mega success after Idol. Interestingly her high water mark on the show was not a Country song, blasting through Heart's power ballad "Alone" with dramatic fervor.

8. Crystal Bowersox (season 9)

Bowersox's run was the show's shot at artsy legitimacy. Here was someone who harkened back to the folk/roots rock ideals of writing songs and playing them with authenticity. At turns Joplineque blues mama or Dylanish busker, Bowersox was nigh uncompromising in Idol terms. Whether she peaked early, was a victim of incongruous theme weeks or ran out of steam in the middle will be a source of debate for the next week or so. For me, her run of "Long As I Can See The Light" / "Give Me One Good Reason" / "You Can't Always Get What You Want" / "Me And Bobby McGee" was one of the best in the show's history. I even enjoyed her light take on Shania Twain's "No One Needs To Know" which got dissed by judges. Enjoyed what I caught of her original song "Holy Toledo" too.

7. David Cook (season 7)

The mighty rearranger, Cook is the guy who changed the game from best karaoke to artistic reinterpretation even as he borrowed from other artists. Cook's retelling of Chris Cornell's haunted take of Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean" was one of those Oh Wow! moments. His take on Lionel Richie's "Hello" was an eye opener too. And in a real shocker, Cook took the crown from anticipated teen friendly front runner David Archuleta.

6. Sanjaya Malakar (season 6)

Yup, this guy. He sucked in a big way, couldn't sing worth crap. What he did though, was stay on the show and outlast much more talented singers by building hype. Vote For The Worst, crying girl, fauxhawk...it all made for a lot of fun even if it was short lived. Malakar completely upended the point of the program in a way that was subversive but innocuous. It was no accident that once he ran out of items in his bag of tricks, Sanjaya was voted off. At least his appeal was based on some modicum of charisma, unlike dull crooner John Stevens or I-got-a-whole-state-voting-for-me Jasmine Trias.

5. Kelly Clarkson (season 1)

The original Idol, the fresh faced youngster with golden pipes and "cool beans". My wife couldn't stand when Clarkson dug in to the "soul growl" mode (something Clarkson seems to have dropped post Idol). She was the perfect American Idol, a wholesome looking girl with a positive attitude and big voice. Her tearful delivery of the victory song "A Moment Like This" sealed the deal in making both Clarkson and the show America's sweethearts.

4. Adam Lambert (season 8)

Glambert! No one had ever done what Lambert did on this show, and that was plain take it over. With a powerful rangy voice, theatrical stage presence and a techno rock vibe Lambert owned the program. I liked that he brought an 80s hair band rock sensibility to his screaming renditions of "Whole Lotta Love" while displaying sensitivity on "The Tracks Of My Tears". And naturally "Mad World" was the height of Glambert, mystery and laser beams. Had social politics not been involved, I believe he would have won the title.

3. Allison Iraheta (season 8)

The class of season 8 was one of the best in the programs history which is why season 9's fall off was so shocking. When it comes to AI I like my rocker girls, 'cause outside of Glambert the guys aren't really allowed to rock on the show. But the girls are. And how could I not like someone with such strong power ballad sensibilities, running through Heart's "Alone" and Aerosmith's "I Don't Wanna Miss A Thing" with raspy delight. Iraheta's take on Bonnie Raitt's "I Can't Make You Love Me" was a high point for me, though her duet with Glambert on Foghat's "Slow Ride" was phenomenal.

2. Bo Bice (season 4)

The original rocker of the American Idol bunch, Bice had a Southern rock edge that influenced everything he touched. From his emotional fury of The Allman Brother's"Whipping Post" to his likable run on BS&T's "Spinning Wheel", Bice exuded front man confidence. Even the Lynyrd Skynyrd connection seemed fresh which is saying a lot considering how much "Sweet Home Alabama" was used with Ruben Studdard. And choosing to do Badland's "In A Dream" a capella towards the end of the season? Priceless.

1. Melinda Doolittle (season 6)

Well, I ranked her numero uno so I guess it goes without saying that I consider Doolittle to be the best pure singer of any American Idol season. Her control, range, emotional connection as Kara likes to put it, power and story telling ability is unparalleled in this context. Doolittle more than lived up to her Gladys Knight comparisons. Her only failing was that she was too good a singer. People just got used to how good she was and without a tv story to tell the public like "I'm growing as an artist every week" or "I've got to do this for my kid" viewers lose interest. Probably the only contestant to make the Top 3 without a bad performance, I considered it a crime that she wasn't even in the finale. A crime I tell you!

So many great memories of American Idol, with the departure of Simon Cowell it seems time to close the book on this one. Even the misfires like Camille Velasco butchering "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road", Haley Scarnato and her short shorts, Chris Sligh turning some random song into Coldplay for no reason, or that one girl who was more famous for provocative photos than singing gave plenty of entertainment. AI will probably limp through one more season and maybe I'll watch, maybe not. But to quote Chris Jericho it will never...eeevveerr...be the same...again.

Catching Up With...Throwin' Under The Bus

There's a catchphrase out there, it's been lurking around for some time now. It's mysterious...ambiguous...it's natural...it's chemical...mediate, levitate, love your mate like pretty kate, hallucinate, regenerate....I'm callin' you out it's "Throwin' Under The Bus!" Look, I just threw "Throwin' under the bus" under the bus.

My wife likes this phrase so now we repeat it whenever we hear it, which was often while we were watching Celebrity Apprentice. Cyndi Lauper always sounds the best when saying it. Too bad the show didn't go on longer, we could have made a drinking game out of the ubiquitous phrase. Now on to throwing more people under the bus.

Crazy Kelly from Real Housewives Of New York

Kelly Bensimon or simeon or I don't know her last name, the middle aged ex-model who recently posed for Playboy. Anyway, on that tv show Real Housewives Of New York Kelly and her richie rich pals took an exotic fancy trip. Kelly wasn't on the best terms with her costars to start with but she went on the trip because everyone on the program knows, you don't show up for the group shots you get no screen time. This girl went on the attack against her nemesis Bethanny and kept losing to the point she had a paranoid nervous breakdown over dinner. Her face melted into a lumpy mess as she incessantly popped candy in her mouth while spewing nonsense about her costars being like vampires and murderers. People do seem to be taking a shine to Bethanny Frankel's reaction "Go To Sleep!" which is kinda funny. Compelling pathetic with cameras there to catch it all, reality tv at either it's finest or most invasive.

Crystal Bowersox wuz robbed!

For the second straight year, American Idol voters brought a distinct artistic presence to the final and then voted for the blander opponent. In this case the winner was amiable growling guy Lee De Whys? I don't hate DeWyse, he's a modestly talented guy that seems likeable. Bowersox was just more of the real deal, someone with an artistic vision and the ability to make it come to life. Nowhere was that more apparent that finale night, where Bowersox gave strong performances while DeWhyse seemed to shrink from the spotlight. That "Up The Mountain" song Bowersox did? Nice.

Farewell Gary Coleman...

I liked Diff'rent Strokes as much as anyone else did, though in reality he was more my brother's idol than mine. Which is interesting in itself since Coleman was actually more my age than my bros. Remember that tv movie where Coleman was some cub scout or something? My brother loved that one. Anyway, back in an age when cute kids ruled the airwaves Coleman was king. It's sad that his adult life became a never ending plight of misery, at least now he can rest.

Foreigner "in Pieces"

Been hearing this song at work every day which is kind of nice, it stood out on the recent Can't Slow Down album. I like it every time I hear it. Fits in nicely since I saw Foreigner live a few weeks ago.

Heaven And Hell - The Devil You Know (2009)

In the wake of Dio's death I bought his last album, Heaven & Hell aka Black Sabbath. I haven't played it all yet, what I've heard is very good though. While searching online for stuff on the man, I came across some interesting covers of what will be his signature song "Holy Diver". You can hear it from my favorite You Tube cover singer Trookieness, hear it from a drunk dude in a bar, get it well done from a karaoke master , rock it to a sock puppet or jam to the ukelale. You can hear Holy Diver! Sole Survivor!

The Big Comeback: Bret Michaels

He's cheated death more times than James Bond now, Poison's Bret Michaels perseverance has paid off both in the hospital and the board room. Michaels has survived...I can't remember all the things that have happened to him the last few weeks but a lot...and he won Celebrity Apprentice out of drive and creativity. Then he got an appearance on the last American Idol show. Amazing! I may not be a huge fan of his music, but I have more respect for him now. Dude is a survivor determined to stay here and rock our worlds.

Sudden Update - Dennis Hopper

...and now Dennis Hopper has passed away. Very sad news, I've often enjoyed Hopper's crazy man routine in movies like Speed. Easy Rider is of course the iconic film he'll be famous for. With Hopper another part of the 60s has passed on, his presence was the definition of wild eyed radicalism which he carried into many a role.

Catching Up With...Bitch Stewie!

Bitch Stewie rules! (pictured on the right)

Now for the latest round of catch up -

Bitch Stewie - A week ago I saw a Family Guy repeat that I missed on its original airing, an episode where Stewie made a clone of himself with fewer brain cells to perform menial tasks. The resulting clone, named "Bitch Stewie", saw everything through rose colored glasses speaking in an awestruck tone constantly. Easily the funniest thing I've seen in a long time. Though the recent Family Guy episode with Stewie in drag saying to a mailman "Oh, you're emptying your sack on me!" while the mailman tosses fan mail on him from a bag is almost as good.

Death Of The 80s - So many entertainers from my formative years are dying off that I have to lump them in one place. On top of Boner and T Bone Wolk, in the past week football star / Little House On The Prairie guy Merlin Olsen, child star Corey Haim and Mission: Impossible leader/ Airplane! pilot Peter Graves have all died. Graves was the saddest loss of all to me, I liked Mission: Impossible and loved Airplane. Joey, have you ever seen a grown man naked?

Idolatry - As the ninth season of American Idol falls into an inexplicable limbo of mixed message judging and mind boggling vote results, Entertainment Weekly is there to mock it all with a weekly online critique called Idolatry. Watching Michael Slezak (who seems to be a walking encyclopedia of AI info) and crew ridicule AI has become more fun than watching the show itself. To check out some first class snark, just click on the link.

Ray Lamontagne "Trouble" - One positive thing of American Idol this season is the repeated usage of this song. In fact, it just got a contestant booted from the show this week after singing it. "Trouble" is a song I've heard here and there without knowing who made it, after hearing it twice on AI this year (first from some guy who actually knows trouble via jail time and then this week Alex Lambert) I decided to check out the original. Good tune! Thanks American Idol!!

Techno Sequels - Both Iron Man and Tron have sequels in the pipeline and trailers to entice with. The Iron Man 2 trailer reeks of sequelitis with its overkill (More digital special effects! Mickey Rourke and Scarlett Johanssen!! An army of Iron Men!!!) but I know I'm gonna wanna see this puppy anyway. As for Tron: Legacy I'll have to wait and see, it's going to take a lot of inspired storytelling to revive this hard drive once you get past the flashy fx.

W.E.T. "One Love" - While researching long forgotten AOR bands I stumbled across this track from last year. It is high quality AOR in the Journey/Foreigner vein. I've bought the whole album to review, but for now this is the song that's stuck in me head. Dorky homemade video and all.

And that's this round of catch up. Seacrest...out!

Catching Up With...

To switch things up and hopefully post more often, I'm gonna go on about the six things I'm interested in at the time. And the top six right now is...

American Idol - Well, after early hype this looks like the least talented bunch of kids of any season for AI. After my fave Crystal Bowersox it gets to slim pickins in searching for decent talent. At least Simon Cowell in his final season has decided to be meaner (and more entertaining) than ever. And surprise surprise, Kara Dioguardi has actually offered some relevant criticism in her judging on occassion. After a shaky first week of live tv, Ellen is settling down to deliver some much needed humor to the precedings. It's still early, there's a chance some of the remaining contestants can catch fire and get interesting. But time is slipping away and with it, possibly the last time people will pay attention to American Idol.

Avatar - Watching the Oscars right now to see if James Cameron will be crowned King Of The World again. I saw Avatar in mini IMAX 3D (the first time I saw it in 2D) and got more of the "Pandora exerience". Which is a lot of falling ash and flying bugs in the background giving a fuller feeling of depth to the picture. The 3D made the technical achievements of Avatar all the greater, one of the first truly immersive experiences shown in a movie theater.

Classic MLB Baseball 1979 - 1983 - One of the ESPN channels has been showing classic baseball from the era I used to follow it. Seeing great players like Craig Nettles, George Brett, Dave Kingman and Frank White play brought back fond memories of watching these games in my youth. It also reminds me of the nicknames we used to make up for baseball players, like "King Kong" Kingman, Gil "Blazing Speed" Flores (because that's what it said on his baseball card, "Has blazing speed") or Tommy "The Bionic Man" Johns. Good times.

David Pack "I Just Can't Let Go" - This was a lost mid 80s Adult Contemporary song that should have been a hit and wasn't. Ambrosia lead singer David Pack went solo and released this song (which I had on 45 back in the day) roping in Michael McDonald and James Ingram to sing the chorus with him. The result was a deep, resonant chorus harmony that was pure awesomeness.

Tosh.0 - This half hour show on Comedy Central digs up the most brutal clips on the web plus riffs on anything that goes viral. Sure there's other shows that do the same, Tosh.0 has a real good eye for finding clips that generate a stronger reaction than the competition. And though the host's frat boy sense of humor is hit or miss with me (the guy spares no sacred cows, it's ruthless down and dirty harsh jokes) the matchup of edgy vid clips and edgier humor has proven irresistible to me.

Wilco Sky Blue Sky - I've been going through the back catalog of Wilco a bit and snapped up this disc from a few years back. It's like a 70s soft rock album for the indie age, soft acoustic arrangements and pillowy vocals abound. The lyrics aren't the usual boy meets girl stuff (Wilco usually isn't like that) and though I haven't heard the disc enough to know what its about, I enjoy chilling to the relaxed soft rock groove.

And that's it, the top six. Will have to see if I can keep going with this new thing. Until next time!

Midnight Madness - Little Rascals Edition

While listening to REO Speedwagon I was reminded of the He Man Woman Haters Club and the Little Rascals (thanks to the song "Tough Guys" from Hi Infidelity, also the first song I owned that had a swear word. The danger!). I grew up watching Little Rascals reruns which I don't see on tv anymore as I guess because its old as hell. Even though I was insultingly nicknamed "Alfalfa" in grade school because my hair was uncontrollable, he was my favorite character. I even imitated his "Oh my darling Clementine" song. In life, I guess Alfalfa had a reputation for not being the nicest person sorta like the Dustin Diamond of his day. But whatchagonnado? On with the madness!

Wind Of Change - long time German metalheads The Scorpions are calling it quits after a farewell album and tour. Gotta give it up to the Scorps, they were old even before hitting it big in the 80s. It's a well deserved retirement for Klaus Meine and gang. My favorite Scorpions memory? I had a friend in college who would replace the word "City" with "Titty" when singing "Big City Nights". Ah the memories...

Conan The Destroyer - So Conan O'Brien got booted off the Tonight Show to the tune of a $44 million severance package. The real prize in entertainment terms was with nothing to lose, Conan was sharper and funnier. That bit with Steve Carell and the exit interview was classic. Watching Conan thumb his nose at NBC was great fun.

Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere - The Who are prepping a greatest hits set for their Super Bowl performance. To make up some drama, will Daltry nail the screaming in "Won't Get Fooled Again"? Big game pressure on that one.

Helping Haiti - A telethon, Radiohead concert and a charity CD have been put together to help the extremely poor country with their recent disaster. Very sad to see the large scale tragedy in Haiti.

I Know What I Like - And it's not a Genesis reunion. Peter Gabriel nixed that despite their induction in the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame. With Phil Collins on the disabled list, Genesis may need to have their music performed by someone else come ceremony. Mike and the Mechanics?

Clap For The Wolfman - The overexposed movie commercial this week is The Wolfman. I can't bring myself to totally trash this since they got Benicio Del Toro and Anthony Hopkins slumming at the same time. Looks like Twilight is going to spark a reboot of all the classic monsters. However, I can rip on From Paris With Love for running a close second. First, stealing a James Bond title is not cool (I know Bond is From Russia With Love, but same diff). And while I sympathize with John Travolta's personal misfortune, didn't he already make this movie? Wasn't it called Swordfish? Oh well, up your nose with a rubber hose.

Last Off The Ponderosa - Pernell Roberts of Bonanza and Trapper John MD fame passed away from cancer. Roberts was the last of the Cartwright clan and beloved for his performance as brainy Adam. I knew him more from Trapper John M.D., a show I watched because I thought it was cool to live in a trailer just outside of your work and the blonde beauty with a boys name (Christopher Norris).

It Takes Diff'rent Strokes - Gary Coleman in trouble again.

Avatar! - Avatar, Avatar, Avatar, Avatar, Avatar. Avatar.

Extreme Measures - Whenever the advertisement for this movie comes on and Brendan Fraser asks if Harrison Ford can save his children, I shout "Of course he can! He's Harrison Fucking Ford!!".

Straight Up- A series of female guest judges have been brought in to fill the spot Paula Abdul had on the American Idol audition trail. Of them, the one I like the most so far is Katy Perry for her willingness to stick it to everyone, particularly fellow judge Kara Dioguardi. Their bickering was almost as entertaining as the bad singing. When Kara mocked Perry's hit by singing "I Kissed A Dolphin And I Liked It..." Perry's reaction was priceless.

Mini DVD Reviews:

• Man On Wire (2008) - Fascinating documentary of a French wire walker who with a team of people infiltrated the Twin Towers to wire walk between them in 1974. An interesting tale of obsession and innocence not just for the wire walker, but for recalling a time when the Twin Towers stood and building security didn't have to be invasive.


• Sunshine Cleaning (2009) - It's indie film paint by numbers with a story about a dysfunctional family which includes a downtroden lead, a burn out, a flim flam daddy and an eccentric precocious little kid. Despite these faults, the actors kick ass (Amy Adams and Emily Blunt are believeable in their characters and draw you into their pathos) and the modest production quality work in their favor. A cut above Lifetime movie of the week thanks to these traits.

I Have Dreams - Brandi Carlisle's single "Dreams" has been popping up in tv commercials and shopping intercoms lately and has become a flavor of the month for me. So here's Carlisle with "Dreams"!

Midnight Madness - Chuck Edition

Chuck has made his return to NBC with new episodes, three eps in two days, and brought the magic back. Go Chuck!

And Away We Go - art house director Sam Mendes (American Beauty, Road To Perdition) is in talks to direct the next 007 outing. This sounds really promising, Road To Perdition had a great mix of interesting characters, dark drama and shoot out action. I hope he gets the job and sounds like a great pick.

American Oh No - More British news, Simon Cowell has made this upcoming season the last he will be on American Idol. Enjoy the scathing sarcasm directed towards young adults while it lasts folks. Who else has a knack for crushing young people's hopes as good as Cowell? My wife and I discussed it, our best bets are David Lee Roth or Howard Stern. I think Stern would be awesome, he'd bring a rude crassness that could up the ante from Cowell's harshness. Though Roth would definitely be flashy and fun.

What's The Key? - No one will mistake me for a hip hop kinda guy, but I do like the R&B ways of Alicia Keys. The first two singles from her recent album have come and gone with little notice, though her album is selling well. But why the lack of hit songs (not including her #1 hit team up with Jay Z)? Particularly since the recent "Try Sleeping With A Broken Heart" was good? At least she can always fall back on her booty call.

Boulevard Of Broken Dreams - Green Day's stage adaptation of American Idiot is going to Broadway. If it becomes the new Mamma Mia, that will be scary. Grandfolks all over New York singing Green Day...or should it be Greed Day.

I'm Gonna Break My Rusty Cage And Run - Chris Cornell announced the long awaited reunion of grunge masters Soundgarden. Sludgy guitar riffs and soul shredding screaming will rule again!

Overexposed Movie Advertisement Of The Week - I think they'll finally stop now that the movie has opened, but I say enough of the adverts for Daybreakers. Vampires that rule the world and are running out of humans to suck on. A "where are they now" cast of Ethan Hawke and Sam Neill. Can you say overblown high concept hooey filmed through an annoying green tint? Can you say bad cash in on left over ideas from this Vampire thing that has been beaten to death? I predict the next Vampire movie will have something to do with space, it makes no sense, but I just think it will. And monkeys. Blood sucking space monkeys from outer space starring Mark Wahlberg. You heard it here first!

Nothin' Matters And What If It Did - No reason to type this other than I always wanted to lead off a post with this John Cougar album title.

What's a Nine? - Seriously, I haven't bothered to look this up but see this CD everywhere I go. What is it?

Big Poppa Pump - Psyche! Thought I was going to say something about Scott Steiner (and all the non wrestling fans say "Who's that?")? Mark McGwire finally finally finally admits to using steroids in his baseball career. In the early 90s when I worked in a theme park, McGwire once walked past me. The man's bicep was literally as big as my head. His admission explains a lot.

Mini DVD Reviews:

• Slumdog Millionaire (2008) - The Academy Award winning movie for Best Picture actually lived up to it's hype. The gimmick of revealing a character's life through flashbacks of a game show is ingenious. Director Danny Boyle gets the right balance of humanizing characters and telling a moving story of an earnest underdog. Good flick.


• The Hangover (2009) - I got this movie as a Christmas gift and had read a lot about how this was supposed to be funny. Good comedy is one of the toughest types of movies to make, surprisingly The Hangover actually is funny. Breakout comedy performances, mainly by Zach Galifianakis as the slightly off odd ball, power a strong ensemble of no name actors. Todd Phillips gives fine direction capturing the boys club atmosphere ably as he has in the past (Old School). Funny and well executed


• Race To Witch Mountain (2009) - The Rock says this: I want you to take that space ship, shine it up real nice, and shove it straight up your candy ass!!! A remake of a beloved 70's Disney favorite (well, beloved by me I worshiped Escape To Witch Mountain as a kid) is simplistic to a fault but I was real tired and wanted a no brainer movie to watch. This fit the bill nicely. It's disposable film making on a big budget (the special effects were decent).

Mad World

The Mighty ReArranger

The other night I wrote most of a post about American Idol that had analysis and what not, but I wasn't happy with that so I scrapped it. In modern history, whenever we as a Country vote on anything the results become divisive and hotly contested. So with that being said, my wife showed me a series of You Tube clips about people's shocked reaction to Kris Allen being announced the American Idol which were funny and/or disturbing. On the clip below, this lady is so stunned when the winner is announced that she looks like she just saw the video from those The Ring movies. You know the one where you see the confusing video tape and a few days later you die. She looks like that.

On a final note, I think those guys in Queen should totally offer Adam Lambert a job. Now that they've split with Paul Rodgers the position is open and any guy who can nearly upstage KISS on their own pyrotechnic stage is definitely up to the task.

Boob Tube In Review

A Flash of laughter strikes The Big Bang Theory

Now that we're at the point that many TV series are having their finales to prepare for the big Summer rerun frenzy, it seemed right to look back at the season that was 2008-2009. After blogging about what I was looking forward to at the start of the season, I wanted to take a long hard look at how the shows I thought I would like panned out plus other shows I caught along the way. I just need closure, you see.

Chuck (NBC)

My favorite TV show on the air today got off to a so-so start before picking up steam. No show is funnier to me with Chuck's effervescent mix of pop culture humor, likeable characters and spy fantasy action. And what's wrong with having a government intelligence computer for a brain? The second half of the season started a new direction for the show by pushing Chuck to learn that his father and chief Intersect programmer Orion is one and the same. The season ending episode was all things great about Chuck as he got an upgraded Intersect locked in his head that allows him to do Matrix type stuff. "Guys, I know Kung Fu."

Flight Of The Conchords (HBO)

Like Chuck, Conchords got off to an OK start before finding that sweet spot of absurd naivetee' and kitchy musical numbers. Their Bonnie Tyler style power ballad escapade was a real winner. While it wasn't as good as the first season, Conchords sense of humor remained intact and brought some chuckles to me. The charity concert for epileptic dogs was classic. Who knew New Zealand and Australia were such enemies?

The Big Bang Theory (CBS)

One of the reasons Chuck does poorly in the ratings is this show, a brainiac mecca sitcom loaded with sincere geekatude. The presence of hyper intelllectual anal retentive Sheldon upped the yuk factor and the series seemed to delve headlong into the real lives of young nerds. Whether it was Sheldon practicing his Admiral Ackbar imitation ("It's A Trap!"), forming a Wii Bowling league or ecstatic trips to the comic book store, Big Bang had its subjects down cold. And in one of the best guest appearances I've seen this year, geek nation pinup girl Summer Glau's showing spurred the awesomely cheesy pickup line "Is it hot in here, or is it just Summer?" When a show has you freeze framing the end title card of each episode, you know it's on to something.

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (Fox)

Speaking of Summer Glau, her show Terminator had a rough second season. Terminator's attempts at X File style mystery and conspiracy fell flat and over arty episodes detracted from the power of the original story. It just seemed to drag forever until the season ender, where the show decided to start kicking ass and taking names. If the rumors are true, it was too little too late as the show is said to be headed for the chopping block. I guess Terminators aren't indestructable after all. You just have to stop looking at them to make them go away.

WWE Raw (USA)

The grapplers got a little more attention this season by pumping up the storyline of Randy Orton and his big boot. Stories and match quality remained rock steady though not much in the way of mind blowing events took place.

Hells Kitchen (Fox)

Gordon Ramsey's latest victims were the usual run of the mill slobs masquerading as "chefs" with the exception of the two finalists. Loudmouths and lazy quitters filled 9/10ths of the show until it came down to the final two, the quiet methodical Paula vs the young hot shot Danny. In last night's finale, Danny took the prize. It's rare to see people who could actually cook on this show so it was great to see two chefs go head to head that could actually make food.

Celebrity Apprentice (NBC)

I haven't watched this show in the past and caught the last half of the season along with my wife. The business world is a brutal place even when playing for charity, these celebs back stabbed and cut each other off at the knees all in the name of donations. It was fun to watch these former famous people struggle to nail assigned projects and snipe each other in and out of the boardroom. Trump knows how to play people, letting them stew as much as possible to goose ratings. Case in point: Senior citizen commedianne Joan Rivers upset win over poker player Annie Duke. Duke played the game better but Rivers was the one people liked. This program delivered one of those stuck-in-my-head moments as River's disgust for Duke led to her withering spite when saying "You're a Poker player...a POKER player!"

American Idol (Fox)

The season isn't over yet, though this round of Idols have been the most entertaining bunch in years. Adam Lambert aka Glambert has drawn a ton of attention for his artful hair metal wailing and ambiguous sexuality. Lambert is unlike any prior Idol contestant, he runs the show; the show doesn't run him. Bands like U2 and Led Zep clear music for his explicit usage. If he doesn't win next week it will be the upset of the Century. And of course my favorite of this season, Allison Iraheta, delivered a blues rock edge to the masses with her raspy voice. And Glambert's duet with Iraheta on Foghat's "Slow Ride" was one of the greatest moments of this TV season. Too bad new judge Kara DioGuardi became more tiresome as the season wore on, I liked her at the outset until they got to the live shows where she just repeated whatever Randy said minus the "Dawg".

Star Wars: The Clone Wars (Cartoon Network)

The animated adventures of Anakin and Obi Wan turned out pretty good. Some episodes were better than others. On the good ones, the animated show would pick up the zip and zeal of the original Star Wars movies. In brief flashes, I could go home again.

Moral Orel (Cartoon Network)

A series of short episodes that I think lasted for one season because the creator of the program passed away, Moral Orel places a pious kid in a world of selfishness and hidden lies. This show is not afraid to rub the viewer's face in what conservative religion would consider depravity yet is careful to protect Orel's sheltered soul.

Family Guy (Fox)

Like usual, Family Guy new episodes were harder to come by than a winning lottery ticket. When new eps were on, it was pretty good though there was a noticeable attempt to raise the squirm factor this season. There was one episode where the story revolved around OJ Simpson that was particularly uncomfortable to watch. Though seeing Stewie go on steroids or kidnap the Star Trek: The Next Generation cast for his personal pleasure was awesome.

The Simpsons (Fox)

As consistent as a Swiss watch (I think I got that metaphor right), The Simpsons continued to both poke fun and lionize the American way of life.

Burn Notice (USA)

I checked out USA's original series about a spy who has had his spyness stripped from him by the agency he works for. So he hangs around Florida working odd jobs for his selective skills. The key to this show is the knowing voice over from the series stars as he assesses and rhapsodizes about his misfortune and strategies for winning spy games. A decent show.

Best Week Ever (VH1)

Now hosted by that gap toothed comedian that's not David Letterman, what was one of my favorite shows has become achingly unfunny. Focusing on a select staff of comics, the show still has a good eye for memorable video footage from other programs yet the commentary and yuks are really lacking.

Robot Chicken (Cartoon Network)

It's always reruns that are on which sucks and is too bad, this homage to playing dollies in stop motion photography is a blast when they find a joke that sticks.

When I look at a list of programs I meant to watch (The Office, 30 Rock, The Mentalist, etc) I don't understand why I didn't check them out more thoroughly. Oh well, there's always next Fall.

I Guess It Was Inevitable...

Allison Iraheta goes home sweet home.

Tonight my favorite of the American Idol season, Allison Iraheta, was sent home following the episode I liked the most (naturally), Rock night. I knew she had no shot at winning, but she hung around longer than I thought she would given her Classic Rock leanings. Hung around so long in fact, I thought she would have a chance at the finale. At least she made it to Rock night, while Adam Lambert reigned supreme with a blasting "Whole Lotta Love" Iraheta delivered a strong version of Janis Joplin's "Crybaby" that in terms of quality was way above her other competitors.

Yet Iraheta was never able to fully capture the audience's attention for whatever reason (her off stage persona of acting like a normal 17 year old I guess wasn't interesting enough) . When she cuts an album hopefully it will be in that blues rock style she specializes in and she doesn't get Bo Bice'd into doing generic modern rock for her debut. Anyway, I'll miss her weekly performances, particularly after last night's blazin' Lambert / Iraheta duet on Foghat's "Slow Ride". I don't think I've heard "Slow Ride" done with that much fire since the 70's. So I'll leave off with an audio recording of that version posted on You Tube. Slow Ride! Take It Easy!

It's Not Too Late To Phone In Your Support...

A few years after her third place showing on American Idol, former background singer Melinda Doolittle finally finally finally releases her debut album Coming Back To You. Anyone who watched in pain as Doolittle lost out to beatboxing Blake Lewis and teen spirit Jordan Sparks knows what to expect: Soulful vocals with power and feeling, "in the pocket" as Paula Abdul used to say and a whole lotta Gladys Knight. Despite these qualities, Doolittle lacked the youthful appeal that her competitors had which led to her dismissal in spite of her never giving a bad performance. If I remember right, Cowell often derided her for seeming "old" and "too nice".

Doolittle's other strike against her was her taste for old school R&B. The 60's and 70's rhythm and blues scene is her zone as Randy "Dawg" Jackson would put it. Coming Back to You plays straight to her strength - the arrangements and songs would have easily fit on any mid 70's soul disc. Hardly any electronic effects, the instrumentation is basic drums /bass/guitar/piano set up accented by pumping horns, ringing bells and swirling strings. Even with the wave of retro soul out there, no one's gonna confuse Doolittle with Amy Winehouse.

Being caught in a time warp can be a bad thing, yet if you accept that's what you're going to get it's not too bad. The songs are solid though unspectacular. Doolittle has snazzy bits of sleek soul (the title track), nice ballads ("The Best of Everything"), upbeat pre disco dance jams ("Declaration of Love") and orchestral prettiness ("I'll Never Stop Loving You"). Through it all, Doolittle does exactly what she did on the show - hit her marks with unerring accuracy. She can still tell a story with masterful pacing and range.

Simon Cowell is probably happy Doolittle didn't win the show, she lacks the charismatic Wow factor he's looking for. The benefit a win would have given her would probably be a more sizeable budget for production and marketing. The album feels slightly constricted and thin in terms of sound quality. But given a choice between a cheap disc and no disc, the former is preferable. So she won't sell as many CDs or downloads as Jordan Sparks, so what? Melinda Doolittle remains a consistent and talented performer that knows what works for her and works it well.

Midnight Madness - Record Store Day

This week is support your local record store week so today I will be doing my duty by going to the only store in town. While I don't purchase vinyl anymore and don't plan to today, Rasputin's is the local record store in my town (though I guess Best Buy counts too now that they've been pushing some vinyl for collectors). After starting to listen to a lot of music in my early teens, I have a lot of memories of going to record stores. I've been to Tower Records (now defunct) all over California and in Seattle, perusing through 45's of the Top 100 singles and latest releases of the day. The overpriced music chains Wherehouse, Musicland and Sam Goody, now all but extinct, also have a lot of hours of my time logged.

As much as I like digital music's convenience (I like it a lot), I also like the shopping and evaluating of the physical artifact. That's why one of my favorite things to do is to go to Rasputin's and shop through their $3.00 bin of used CDs. It's a thrill to sort through a pile of crap like Britney Spears or N'Sync Cds to find Bob Dylan's Blood on the Tracks or Steve Vai's Passion and Warfare hidden in the crowd. So support your local music store, because someday soon they will probably be gone.

Go Bunny! - My wife made her weight loss goal this week (as posted on her blog here). Great job Bunny! She is also doing really well on Wii Sports Tennis. Her score is now over 2000.

Close to the Edge - A Prog Rock fan's dream tour is coming up with Yes and Asia hitting the road together. It will be the original Asia lineup along with the Jon Anderson-less Yes. I should be more excited about this tour but having seen outstanding performances from both bands in the past coupled with my expectation that they couldn't top what I've already seen, I feel indifferent. That is, until the actual tour date in my area arrives at which time I'll regret not going but probably forget about it the next day.

American Idol Update - The judges finally exercised their "get out of jail free" card by sparing Matt Girard from elimination this week. My question is, why? Girard is likeable and has talent but I don't think he stands a chance of winning. They're going to feel real stupid if a front runner gets voted off next week. Performance wise for movie week Quintan Tarantino directed the singers and did a good job of it. Particularly with Anoop Desai, Tarantino gave direction to sound more like Bryan Adams on "(Everything I Do) I Do It For You" which I thought was a huge mistake until I actually heard it sung. It was one of Desai's best performances. Underdog Kris Allen gave a committed, emotional performance of "Falling Slowly", my favorite performance of the night. The judges, or at least Simon, have their sights set on 'Lil Rounds after she gospelized "The Rose" and was accused of copying the original. I think it was a bad move to use the save this week because next week is Disco week. On that week anybody can burn baby burn their way out of the show.

Hogan Knows Best? - Hulk Hogan was recently quoted as saying he "understands O.J." after being asked about his ex-wife. Fortunately, I don't think Hogan would really do anything to his ex, it's just not a good thing to say though. But if Linda Hogan suffers an injury by a leg drop, we'll know who to point the finger at.

Live To Tell - Madonna was injured after falling from her horse when it was startled by photographers. I didn't know she rode horses, I thought horses...never mind.

The Spector of Guilt - Famous record producer Phil Spector was found guilty of murder after what seemed like a long trial. He can now add iron bars to his wall of sound.

Drunken Master - Jackie Chan offended a huge chunk of his own Country by saying that Chinese people "need to be controlled." If that were true, shouldn't China outsource it's government to another race of people then? Because the government there I assume is made up of Chinese people. Just doing the math here.

No Home On The Horizon - Malibu residents object to plans for a new home planned by U2's guitarist The Edge. The makers of MTV's Cribs begin crying in their sleep.

Passings - Bad week for superstars from the '70's. Mark "The Bird" Fidrych, a Detroit Tigers pitcher who had a big start to his career before it tailed off, passed away this week. Also one of the first porn stars, Marilyn Chambers, met an untimely end.

Rule Brittania - Britain's Got Talent contestant Susan Boyle pulled off two amazing feats: Delivering a tremendous performance of a Les Miserable song and making a magic moment in reality tv.

Not Obsessed - The latest movie to saturate the television is Obsessed, the Beyonce' hatin' on cheaters film coming up. It's commercial is on like every ten minutes. What troubles me is apparently all movies must be one word titles now. Like we don't have the attention span left for a two or more word title.

Speaking of hatin' on cheaters...-Mel Gibson is in for an expensive divorce from his wife of 28 years and is rumored to have been a little on the unfaithful side. You know that point where a celebrity has had so many public embarrassments where they stop being funny and are just sad. I'm sorry to say Mad Mel has hit that point. Still like most of his movies though.

The Best of What's Around - I don't know if it's still going, the Dave Matthews Band is giving away their first single from the new album as a free download on their website. "Funny The Way It Is" is a pretty good tune.

Passion and Warfare - Since buying it from the $3.00 bin, I've been playing Steve Vai's CD a lot because it's really really good. Great pick Bunny! So to wrap things up, here's a video for the best known song from the album, "For The Love Of God".

Steve Vai "For The Love Of God"

Midnight Madness - Easter Bunny Edition

Today is Easter, so Happy Easter everyone! While this day has religious meaning for many, for me it is the day of the Easter Bunny. As I like to call my wife Bunny, this is her day! Love you Bunny!!

Don't Mess With The Lohan - A rough week for Lindsey Lohan, Stevie Nicks publicly denounced Lohan's repeated attempts to get the rights to Nicks' life story. Presumably to portray the famed singer on film. Because if it's one thing Nicks can't relate to, it's a young person indulging in sex and drugs to the point of self destruction.

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Worst. Movie Title. Ever. - There's a movie being heavily advertised right now called Fighting. Wow, how many months did they agonize over that movie title? One thing if for sure, you can't say the advertising is misleading for this film.

We Pay - It had to happen sooner or later, ITunes went to a tiered pricing system with some songs now costing $1.29 per track. Will ITunes jump the shark boosting prices in the middle of a recession?

American Idol update - Adam Lambert kicked out the jams again with a stunning rendition of Tears For Fears "Mad World" while my fave Alison Iraheta gave a strong version of Bonnie Raitt's "I Can't Make You Love Me". While Scott MacIntyre may have had the burning heart, his sloppy take on Survivor's "The Search Is Over" left him down for the count.

Zombies! - Actor Woody Harrelson's recent attack on a member of the paprazzi he explained was due to his mistaking the photographer for a zombie after recently wrapping a film where he fought the undead. I'll have to remember that excuse if I ever attack someone. "I'm sorry officer, I hit that man because I thought the dead had come back to life and wanted to eat my brains. It won't happen again."

The Big Muddy? - Bruce Springsteen is accused of cheating again, this time by an ex-husband in a divorce case. Both Springsteen and the ex-wife deny the accusation.

Real, Real, Real - Of the multitude of Real Housewives of... Tv series it looks like New York is the one that is catching on the most. We've watched the show and enjoy the fun of seeing rich people whose egos are bigger than their substantial bank accounts. And now with a Countess losing her Count and rumors of A Rod dating a cast member there could be even more drama coming up.

Terminated? - The Sarah Connor Chronicles saw its rating dwindle this season and had to switch from Monday to Friday nights, partially because of a boring second season. Then, in the final two episodes they upped their game by killing off people and finally, finally bringing in some excitement. But is it too little too late? With a cliffhanger season ender, if the show gets cancelled we'll never know what happens...other than what comes up in Terminator: Salvation of course.

Wanted Dead or Alive - The band Bon Jovi is suing an all girl tribute band for naming themselves Blonde Jovi over the name. Really? Good thing I didn't title this blog "Blog Jovi".

Double Trouble - The Arc Angels have returned, Charlie Sexton, Doyle Bramhall II and Chris Layton have come back. Cool! To wrap things up, here's some Arc Angels for ya.

Arc Angels

Midnight Madness - Alison Iraheta Edition

Rock rock til you drop: 16 year old Alison Iraheta has shown potential on American Idol but will probably get kicked off the show soon.

It's been a few weeks since I've felt like a Midnight Madness, tonight I think I have enough to post about. This week's post goes to Alison Iraheta, American Idol is continuing it's tradition of raspy voiced rocker girls who have no shot of winning but are fun to watch. She's sort of like a coherent version of Amanda Overmeyer from last year. Iraheta's been in the bottom three twice already, so enjoy watching her while it lasts. On with the Madness!

American Idol Update - Country and Motown weeks went over well, the singers picked up their game and delivered solid to outstanding performances. Then this week the whole group suddenly sucked big time when they got the chance to select whatever song they wanted. Really not sure what happened, but here's what we've got so far: Adam Lambert is schooling the other contestants, particularly with his soft take on "Tracks Of My Tears". Meanwhile, my favorite Alison Iraheta has been underperforming except for a strong rendition of "Papa Was A Rolling Stone". Pixie soul belter Alexis Grace was surprisingly booted a few weeks back followed by roughneck Michael Sarver and bird cawing Megan Joy. Can the singer's rebound this week?

This Is Not A Test - A few weeks ago former WWE wrestler Test died. Pretty shocking because he was a young guy. Test was a featured player and occasionally got big pushes, having on screen relationships with the McMahons as well as the tag team T&A. Sad to see another grappler go.

...And Justice For All - Metallica officially was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Cool! Run D.M.C. was inducted too. Why? For one half of a rock song?

Gone Gone Gone - Bad Company is reuniting for a few shows on the Eastern side of the U.S. so they can keep their band name. C'mon, no love for the West Coast? What's up with that?

You Are Gold - Spandau Ballet is reuniting for a tour. Their four remaining American fans get excited, busting out the hair gel and trenchcoats for all to see. You know this much is true.

Pumpkin Patch - Drummer Jimmy Chamberlain has quit the Smashing Pumpkins leaving Billy Corgan the sole Pumpkin left in the group. Now we'll have to see if Corgan's antics causes enough pressure to make himself quit. Then he'll probably bad mouth himself in the press and file lawsuits against himself too.

It's not Cameltoe, it's...- Chickenfoot, the supergroup featuring Sammy Hagar, Joe Satriani, Michael Anthony and Chad Smith are getting a lot of attention for their upcoming CD. Can it live up to the hype? Sounds promising so far.

Rorschach Test - Jackie Earle Haley will star as Freddy Kruger in a Nightmare On Elm Street reboot. You know, they really should try to get enough money together for a Johnny Depp cameo if they're gonna do this thing right. Or put him up against Jodie Foster for a Bad News Bears On Elm Street combo reboot.

Chicago's Last Hope - The long running TV series ER wrapped things up this week, I've recorded the finale so I'll get to see all those old faces return. For many years a quality program worth watching in reruns (that's how I saw the show anyway), we can finally declare ER the winner of the hospital show wars once and for all (when ER debuted it was up against Chicago Hope, another hospital show drama set in Chicago. Many wondered who would win out of two similar programs. That's how old this show is, I have to explain my bad jokes with trivia).

The Fast and the Superfluous - Does anyone care about the latest reunion movie sequel in the Fast & the Furious franchise? It's the #1 movie this weekend, so I guess the answer is yes. He's the beast from the east he's the best from the west he's the Vin man. Bonus points if anyone can name the 80's movie that's from.

Web Slinging Insanity - When reading a recent issue of Rolling Stone, I read that Bono and Edge of U2 have written music for a stage musical about Spider Man. Now I've read online that they're starting to have casting calls for this thing so I guess it's not a joke. I shouldn't judge it without hearing anything first, but it's so hard when you read about something this bad.

Natasha Richardson - I realize it happened a few weeks ago, still it was sad to see talented actress Natasha Richarson pass away. I remembered her best from the film The Handmaid's Tale way back when.

Mini Movie Reviews:

• The Visitor - A slow moving film about a closed off College prof who encounters and befriends illegal immigrants living in his New York Apartment. Well acted and relatively realistic. It tries to show the human side of the immigration experience post 9/11 but is only modestly affecting to me. It's not bad but skippable.


• Forgetting Sarah Marshall - Decent comedy about a TV music writer who gets dumped by his TV star girlfriend and ends up in Hawaii at the same time as her. Jason Segel (How I Met Your Mother) wrote and stars as the dorky guy crushed by the rejection and is ably assisted by Mila Kunis (That 70's Show) and Kristen Bell (Veronica Mars) as the women in his life. It's not non stop fun but it does create likeable characters and has a good sense of humor. I guess this is the film that made British comedian Russell Brand a name here, he's amusing but overrated in my opinion.


• Kung Fu Panda - Jack Black's animated animal martial arts comedy is zippy fun from start to finish. Panda pulls every cliched martial arts movie storytelling device in the book which should make it dull. Instead the Panda team use hyperkinetic direction, celebrity voices and Jack Black's ritalin resistant jokes to keep things moving. A great ride for all ages.

I couldn't embed the video so I got an audio version of the song that my wife and I have been stuck on since seeing it on VH1's One Hit Wonders of the 80's. Oran Juice Jones. The Rain!

Oran "Juice" Jones - The Rain

Midnight Madness - Tatiana Del Toro Edition

She likes herself, she really really likes herself: Tatiana Del Toro in full drama action.

The ultimate drama queen, Tatiana Del Toro, lost for a second time on American Idol and ended her run on her knees crying in front of the judges. While she's annoying as all get out, I've gotta say her self absorbed dramatics have provided many of the entertaining moments from this season so far. In her brief episode this week, Tatiana defended her tired old song choice (Whitney Houston's "Saving All My Love For You") and tried to ride the good will fellow contestant Jorge generated by invoking a Latin accent. It was so blatant that Paula Abdul called her on it. So goodbye Tatiana Del Toro, the show is technically better without you but will be a little duller too.

American Idol update - The show is going for a Top 13 this year to give a little room for the Anoop Dogg. Of the people to not make it, the only one I really wanted to see more of was Jesse Lerseth who turned out a pretty decent version of Chaka Khan's "Tell Me Something Good."

Everybody Wants Some!! - There may be a Guitar Hero: Van Halen in the works on top of the existing GH: Metallica and the forthcoming GH: Beatles. With all these boutique Guitar Hero games, will we eventually get down to a Guitar Hero: White Lion game?

Target Team Members Gett Off - Prince has signed a deal with the chain store to sell his upcoming 3 CD set. It will include two new Prince albums plus a third disc by someone who I assume is a protege' of his. Maybe Target will create a Prince section like Wal Mart did for AC/DC? You can pick up his CD, get some diamonds and pearls plus purple glitter coat in one spot!

Bonorific - U2 has a street named after them in New York now called U2 Way. With their return to the limelight, all of the good U2 puns are taken. So all I got is Bonorific. They've also announced they'll release a second album this year called Songs of Ascent and that it will feature a song called "Every Breaking Wave".

Mis Fortune - INXS says they didn't release singer JD Fortune and the supposed firing at the airport never happened. Sometimes you kick, sometimes you get kicked.

Crue it - Motley Crue will be hitting the road again soon and may even play the Dr. Feelgood album in its entirety to celebrate its 20th anniversary. If you're a fan that's been waiting to hear "Slice of your Pie" live, this is your year.

Teen group failure, now in 3D! - The media is widely reporting that the new Jonas Brothers movie has stiffed at the box office. I'm not a fan of these kids music, yet it seems to me the media is having too much fun reporting on this. Though on the up side, at least film will be one part of electronic media that I won't have to see endlessly advertised for them in the future.

Stay With Me - The Faces reunion rumors just won't die, it's pretty much been said it's all up to Rod Stewart to make it happen.

Let's Tap into America - The Spinal Tap tour is going unplugged meaning we'll be hearing acoustic versions of classics like "Hell Hole" and "Big Bottom". I'm sure it will be funny, just as a concept it doesn't cut it for me.

Get Your Groove On Grunge God - Chris Cornell has a new track produced by Timbaland called Scream. Interesting. Very interesting.

Cherry Bomb - Looks like the Runaways movie is picking up steam, former child star Dakota Fanning has been cast in the film.

Meeting People is Easy - It seems both Myley Cyrus and Kanye West received the cold shoulder from Radiohead. Guess all those songs about alienation aren't fake.

Robin Williams will be undergoing heart surgery - The comic actor has given several memorable performances and great moments during his long career, so I won't poke fun at him at all. I'll just say I wish him well.

We All Watch the Watchmen - The delayed comic book adaptation finally hit the big screen and raked in the big bucks over the weekend. Yes!

Reality TV Douchebags - Two guys have caused a stir with their recent reality TV appearances. The Bachelor dude apparently picked a winner to marry and then turned around and dumped her for a runner up contestant. He'd be the most hated man in reality TV if it wasn't for the guy from last month's episode of Wife Swap. This guy takes stuck up to a new level and I'm sad to say is from the Bay Area, if you want some proof just check out what's below.

Wife Swap dude