Neverending Rainbow

American Idol

2011-01-20T10:22:00.000-08:00

The rebooted American Idol is just fine so far, thank you. I had thought that Simon Cowell’s absence would be felt more powerfully but, in fact, the new panel of judges acquitted themselves well on the season premiere of the 10^th round of the Idol merry-go-round and Cowell’s absence barely caused a ripple.

I had wondered how the new judges…Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez…would fare in the Idol fishbowl but they both brought welcome new energy to the proceedings. Tyler was animated, funny, bawdy, tough but compassionate…he seemed to be having fun (as opposed to Cowell who seemed to be bored and going through his “Mr. Nasty” routine by rote over the past couple of seasons.) Lopez seemed to wrestle with dashing the hopes of some the clueless non-talents the producers let get to the panel but she rallied and she turned out to be a charming and encouraging judge…often looking for something positive to send rejected contestants away with.

And, perhaps dazzled by the star power of J-Lo and Aerosmith’s legendary lead singer, the rejected ones (at least the ones they decided to showcase) went away with less tears and fewer profane tirades than in previous seasons.

Randy Jackson was still Randy Jackson but he, to his credit, tamped down some of the played out hipster routine, seeming to embrace the mantle of the veteran judge on the panel. And even Ryan Seacrest was not as intrusive as he might have been previously (the “playful” banter between Cowell and Seacrest, which was increasingly annoying with each passing season, will not be missed at all.)

And, most importantly perhaps, there was a nice rapport between the judges (as opposed to the rapport-free interactions of last year’s panel of Jackson, Cowell, Kara DioGuardi, and Ellen Degeneres) and they managed to display personality while still ceding the spotlight to the people trying out for the show. A delightful and welcome change that.

The success or failure of any given Idol season always comes down to which of the tens of thousands of hopefuls make the cut. After a few seasons of (mostly) low wattage competitors, season 10 needs to rally and recapture the charm of the early seasons. None of the 51 people who picked up golden tickets to Hollywood during the New Jersey auditions seemed penciled in for the finale yet (and, frankly, some of them probably wouldn’t have gotten past Cowell to the next round) but it’s still early, of course.

The addition of legendary producer (and Interscope Records honcho) Jimmy Iovine as the ongoing mentor looks to be a huge plus…as does the apparently scraping of Disco night and other changes the producers have used to tweak the Idol formula…and it could add up to a great Idol season. Maybe...

No Ordinary Family

2010-09-29T16:20:00.000-07:00

There's a gentle charm to ABC's new drama, No Ordinary Family. The show is at heart a family drama despite the fact that the titular quartet all mysteriously gain super-powers during the first episode.

The dad, played with relish and winking fun by Michael Chiklis, a mopey police artist finds new purpose as he experiments with his new powers (he basically has the original powers that Superman had in his debut issue: he is super-strong, partially invulnerable, and he can leap about a quarter of a mile) with the help of his best friend.

(Mom (Julie Benz), a workaholic with not enough hours in the day, gets super-speed. The daughter, a high school student with boy issues, gains the power to read minds. And the son, an underachieving student, becomes able to sort out complex problems.)

There is a conspiracy (of course) and much family angst (of course) and they even playfully name-check one of the X-Men at one point. It's fun and breezy and the connections of family and friendship are kept in the forefront and, given time, it could grow into something really engaging.

But it probably won't get the chance. It will probably be swamped in the ratings by Glee and The Biggest Loser and (if it manages to hang on that long) by American Idol in January but I'm glad that the network took the chance anyway.

Community/30Rock/The Office/Outsourced

2010-09-24T10:48:00.000-07:00

NBC's Thursday night comedies...three veteran shows and one much publicized newcomer...came back with amusing but uneven results.

Community went "meta"...becoming self-reverential almost to the point of distraction...but the able cast was able to keep it on track for the most part. The guest appearance by the ubiquitous Betty White had its chuckles but wasn't really essential to the proceedings.

30 Rock came back with its trademarked blend of absurdity, sharp dialogue, and fast pace. Matt Damon's guest turn as the love interest of Tina Fey's Liz Lemon had its comic charms.

The Office opened its final season with star Steve Carell with a "wacky" musical number featuring the entire cast that may have gone on just a bit too long (my favorite bit was Jim and Pam dancing like characters from the old Charlie Brown cartoons used to dance.) Laughs were fairly consistent throughout the episode. (I enjoy this show but I'm of the mind that if it ended this season with the departure of Carell's indelible Michael Scott that would be fine. Seven years is a good run for a sitcom...but, of course, that's not the way things work on network television where they most prefer to keep going until people are more than ready for you to go already.)

And then there's Outsourced (see cast above). The fish out of water comedy...American guy sent over to manage a ragtag office full of workers in a call center in India...did not really get off to a good start. There seems to be potential...the cast is game and the premise, while creaky and fraught with cultural traps, could be mined for some good comedy...but the first episode was tepid at best (the best bits had already been played...over and over and over...during the summer-long run-up to the premiere.) To the good is the fact that Parks & Recreation, the show displaced from Thursdays by Outsourced, started off slowly as well but found its footing and became a sharp comedy. Hopefully Outsourced will follow a similar trajectory.

Bruce Springsteen - Streets Of Philadelphia

2010-09-23T14:57:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to Academy Award winner Bruce Springsteen. Many happy,rockin' returns of the day!

Detroit 1-8-7/Glee/Raising Hope/Running Wilde

2010-09-22T10:35:00.000-07:00

Detroit 1-8-7 echoes, in a positive way, the grittiness and quirkiness of the seminal 80's cop show Hill Street Blues. The pilot presented a similar cross section of interesting characters in unique partnerships handling murders on the mean streets of the titular city. Michael Imperioli leads a uniformly engaging cast with the first episode sketching out character tics and partnership vibes (some in sync, others definitely not) and, like Hill Street's first episode, the pilot even ends with a poignant and shocking tragedy that will undoubtedly color the proceedings going forward.

If the various threads of the pilot dovetailed together a bit too glibly...and they did...Detroit 1-8-7 is still a drama that bears watching as it unfolds. It has the potential to become a great cop show.

On the other end of the entertainment spectrum, the season premiere of Glee was full of the same soapy, entertaining mix of music, pathos, absurdity, and angst (both teenage and adult) that made the first season such a breakout treat. The formula still works wonderfully (and next week, the much-hyped Britney Spears episode will put that formula to the test) and if the focus remains on the Glee Club (and on the undeniable force of acerbic nature that is Jane Lynch's Sue Sylvester) they seem primed to have a successful sophomore season.

Fox's two new Tuesday night comedies...Raising Hope (which seems to be trying, a bit too self-consciously, to tap into the Malcolm in the Middle vibe) and Running Wilde (feeling like they're going for the audience who adored the critically acclaimed, but ratings challenged, Arrested Development) got off to rocky starts with just enough laughs to (partially) overcome some awkward setups and make them both perhaps worth at least another look (but only just barely to be honest) to see if they can find surer footing moving on down the line. We shall see.

The Event/Hawaii 5-0

2010-09-21T07:28:00.000-07:00

What is The Event? Heck if I know (actually I have some notions but I'm the first to admit that I am probably wrong.) The first episode was full of portent and mysterious asides and a host of characters doing and saying things that don't yet make sense and multiple time periods doubling back on themselves. It's all very disorienting...all very SPOOKY...and, yes, it's all kind of intriguing.

I am reluctant to buy into this series...despite the stellar cast and the potentially engaging premise...because the networks don't have a good track record with actually finishing these kinds of serialized dramas. For every Lost that actually gets to tell its story (whether you liked the story or not...I didn't stay for the whole ride... at least they got to tell it) there are many, many more that start and then just leave us hanging when the network pulls the plug (Heroes, FlashForward, Surface, Threshold , etc., etc.)

That said, I am probably going to stick around for a while...the ending of the first episode was pretty cool...it certainly made me want to see what happens next...and see what happens next.

Also caught the debut of the new Hawaii 5-0. It basically uses the names and locations from its cheesy 70's predecessor and not really much else. That was a good choice (hey, I watched the old show when I was a kid but it...didn't age well...:-) The new show is glib, action-packed, and not really very deep...but there's nothing wrong with any of that. The cast is likable and the scenery is gorgeous and it zips right along. Nothing here is especially new but it will hold one's attention if you happen upon it.

Sons of Anarchy

2010-09-08T09:01:00.000-07:00

Gemma's on the run after being framed for murder at the end of last season...Jax is wallowing in grief and self-pity over the fact that his infant son has been kidnapped (eventually ending up in Ireland) in retaliation for the aforementioned murder...and Clay and the other gentlemen bikers of SAMCRO (Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club, Redwood Original Chapter) are prowling for clues as to the whereabouts of baby Abel. Much mayhem, pathos, tension, and intrigue ensued.

Sons of Anarchy is back...and off to a dramatic, portentous start.

Hal Holbrook joins the cast as Gemma's addled father (he has memory lapses and he doesn't seem to know that his wife...Gemma's mom...is dead) for what could be an interesting look into the psyche of the hard-as-nails Gemma (who manages to stab a guy in the crotch because the guy had the temerity to object to her trying to steal his car)...not that last season, when she got gang-raped by neo-Nazis trying to send a message to the biker club, wasn't an interesting exploration of her hard-bitten view of the world...

With the plot threads being thrown out in the first episode of the third season it looks like Sons will be ranging near (their home base of Charming, California) and far (presumably across the water to the Emerald Isle)...count me in for the ride.

Summertime Jams #11: Country

2010-08-27T10:49:00.000-07:00

As the summer winds down this tune makes for a lovely transition to the cool Autumn days ahead. Keith Jarrett (piano), Jan Garbarek (saxophone), Palle Danielsson (bass), and Jon Christensen (drums) with the remarkably lovely "Country" from their album My Song.

Project Runway

2010-08-20T09:24:00.000-07:00

Leaving Bravo for Lifetime was a mistake for Project Runway. At least that seems to be the case since the show has lost its mojo with its wan Lifetime runs and the current iteration has not changed that fact.

This season the show has been expanded to 90 minutes which would be a good thing except for the fact that this year's cast is a colorless, pompous, utterly humorless lot. An additional half hour would have suited the show well when the designers were witty, talented, confident and occasionally self-effacing but that is most certainly not the case this season (or during the last couple of seasons either.)

It's a sad thing when the "villain" the producers are trying to play up is Gretchen (4th from the left on the top row with her hands on her hips), a legend in her own mind manages to combine rampant self-aggrandizement with unceasing blather, insufferable boorishness, and unearned condescension into one boring, unflaggingly irritating TV persona.

The extra time does give us more face time with the always dapper Tim Gunn but even his sly wit and charm can't rescue this season.

It's probably time to stick a fork in Project Runway 'cause it's done.

Summertime Jams #10: Blame it on the Summer

2010-08-01T11:33:00.000-07:00

Basia swinging it softly for the season. "Blame it on the Summer" (and why not? It's all good :-)

Project Runway

2010-07-30T13:47:00.000-07:00

Project Runway is back (oddly enough, without much fanfare from Lifetime.) The luminous, stern, and impish Heidi Klum is back. The dapper, unflappable Tim Gunn is back. The often delightfully acerbic (and sometimes downright, deliciously catty) Michael Kors and Nina Garcia are back as well (along with a parade of celebrities filling the fourth judges' chair for reasons that continue to elude me.)

And there are another 17 aspiring designers jockeying to win a place showing their collections at New York's fashion week have joined the party.

After a couple of decidedly lackluster seasons, Runway has a ways to go to capture the manic, creatively charged energy of the earlier seasons. None of the designers stood out as particularly interesting at first blush but it takes the producers and editors a few weeks to shape storylines and character arcs so that may change.

The erstwhile companion show, Models of the Runway, has been mercifully put out of its misery (it was a lackluster business that was less than interesting) and Runway runs for 90 minutes now (first run on Thursday nights.)

I still don't care about fashion (I have closet full of jeans, sneakers, and super-hero t-shirts) but I like to see creative people being creative...hopefully that feeling, which the earlier seasons offered up in spades, will come back this season. As Mr. Gunn will say, often, "make it work".

Summertime Jams #9: I Love L.A.

2010-07-23T11:19:00.000-07:00

Randy Newman cruising the highways and bi-ways of the grand sprawl of Los Angeles (I haven't lived there in years but I really loved growing up in the eclectic glory of L.A. :-)

Summertime Jams #8: Our Lips Are Sealed

2010-07-17T12:32:00.000-07:00

The Go-Go's...exuberant, wonderful, rockin', full of pure pop deliciousness with Jane's pixie charm and Belinda chubby-cheeked and cute as a button...bringing the summertime jam love with the ever delightful "Our Lips Are Sealed":

Green Lantern

2010-07-15T11:02:00.001-07:00

Entertainment Weekly, showcasing the Hollywood elements of next week's San Diego Comic-Con (nope, not going...already sold out...too many people (with no parking and overpriced concessions)...too much Hollywood hype and hoopla...many less annoying things to do here in our fair city) with Ryan Reynolds all ringed up and ready to use his might as Green Lantern in the upcoming movie.

First impression is that it's okay (the mask is kinda funky but it's hard to make a mask like that work on real people however cool they might look in the comics)...I'll have to see it more fully...and in action...before I give my full fanboy pontification on it :-)

Summertime Jams #7: Sun Goddess

2010-07-13T23:30:00.000-07:00

Smooth as a sunny summer's day...Ramsey Lewis with Earth, Wind, and Fire...the great groove of "Sun Goddess"

Corn Flakes with John Lennon

2010-07-12T21:46:00.000-07:00

Music is part of me…it breathes through me…it walks with me even when I don’t consciously notice it. I don’t make music (you would not want to hear me sing :-) but it is a part of me just the same. It is, of course, the music itself…Bach or the Beatles, Coltrane or Miles or Emmylou, the Duke, the Queen, the Godfather, the King, Citizen Bob or P.E. or whomever…that informs, delights, and satisfies my soul.

That said, there are three people whose love of music helped inspire my own love of same. Two I never met, one I love more than anyone else on this planet.

The first was my mother…humming along with Johnny Mathis or the Beach Boys or Motown or whoever caught her ear and her fancy…surrounded herself with music as far back as I can remember…and, in turn, that music surrounded and comforted and thrilled me.

The second was Casey Kasem, whose warmth, sentimental dedications, fascinating trivia, and mellifluous voice kept me fine company on many a weekend hour as he counted down the American Top 40 (and I, dutifully and happily, copied the list down and kept careful track of the movement of the biggest hits of 70’s and 80’s.

And the third was Robert Hilburn, the chief rock critic of the Los Angeles Times. I read his reviews and essays and interviews with rapture and I came to find our tastes to be so similar that I sometimes bought records just because he raved about them…he never let me down. I even sent him a couple of embarrassing (now not then) fanboy letters, all of which he graciously replied to with handwritten postcards that are still among the childhood treasures I have stored in box in my mother’s house.

Hilburn’s engaging memoir, Corn Flakes with John Lennon, is a fascinating...sometimes funny, sometimes tragic, always interesting... journey through his journey through rock and roll and all of the amazing people…Elvis, Bono (who wrote the affectionate introduction), Janis, Stevie, Bruce, Michael, John and Yoko, so many others…he knew, interviewed, admired, and loved.

It’s beautifully written (the man has always had an uncanny way with words, deftly riding the line between hardnosed critic and unabashed fan and drawing us into the experience in a way that made us feel like we were his pals and he was letting us into the worlds of his heroes) and wonderfully charming and thoroughly involving.

It’s a grand ride.

Thanks again, Bob.

Summertime Jams #6: Pull Shapes

2010-07-09T19:19:00.000-07:00

Some summertime jammin' girl group grooviness...The Pipettes with the unstoppably infectious "Pull Shapes" (there's a cool retro video that cannot be embedded from YouTube...see it here)

The Sellout

2010-07-08T18:13:00.000-07:00

Don't call it a comeback (unless you're talking about the lush, soaring, defiant closing track by that name)...the irrepressible Ms. Macy Gray never really went anywhere (even if it has been 3 years since she dropped her last disc)...but this disc feels like a return to form just the same. Gray has never managed to catch the magic of her wonderful break though, On How Life Is, but that doesn't mean she hasn't put out some compelling music in the years since that great debut disc.

The Sellout isn't quite in the same league as Life but, that said, it is fierce, funny, engaging, and rock solid from beginning to end. There is a positive vibe throughout...even when she's decrying wayward lovers or haters who don't understand her...and it definitely keeps your head nodding and your feet tapping.

From the joyful sunshine of "Beauty in the World" (see below) to the sexy, irresistable thump of "Kissed It"...from the clever word play of the infectious title track to the aching blues of the grand "Still Hurts"...from the acoustic mid-tempo lilt of the plaintive "Let You Win"...from the in-the-pocket funk of "Stalker" to Macy's magnificent rasp of a voice is in fine form and the grooves around her are uniformly tight and engaging (the groove...including a great breakdown in the middle...of the sassy girl group romp "That Man" is so cool I just had to smile all the way through.)

Gray and Brown (Macy and Bobby) come together for a downright golden old school R&B duet on "Real Love" (Bobby Brown's voice blends right nicely with Ms. Gray's.)

Bottom line is that The Sellout is a winner that will be spending a lot of time booming out of my stereo this summer (and for a long time after that.)

2010 Emmy Nominations

2010-07-08T10:23:00.000-07:00

Glee is the belle of the 2010 Emmy ball with 19 nominations. Acting nods went to lead actor Matthew Morrison (as the dedicated glee club teacher Will Schuester...see above), lead actress Lea Michele (as the talented but sometimes annoying Rachel Berry), supporting actor Chris Colfer (as the stylish and proud gay character Kurt), and supporting actress the inimitable Jane Lynch (as they relentless force of nature that is Coach Sue Sylvester...see also above.)

They also scored in the guest actor categories with nods to the wondrous Kristin Chenoweth (as the hard-living April Rhodes), Neil Patrick Harris (as Will's disillusioned rival Bryan Ryan), and Mike O'Malley (for his evocative appearances as Kurt's conflicted but unflaggingly supportive blue collar dad.)

The show picked up nominations as Best Comedy series (it's more of a comedy-drama but there's no category for that), writing, directing, yadda, yadda, yadda...

Mad Men scooped up 17 nominations, Conan O'Brien was nominated and Jay Leno was not, and Lost was given some love as it went out the door.

Modern Family and Nurse Jackie picked up nods for Best Comedy Series (though Nurse Jackie isn't really a comedy...but I guess they didn't know what to do with it...and voter inertia led to nominations for The Office and 30 Rock, both of which had uneven seasons, over perhaps more deserving nominees...and fellow NBC Thursday night compatriots... sterling sophomore Parks & Recreation and perky newcomer Community.)

None of it really matters...nobody remembers who wins these things...but it gives the Hollywood folks yet another reason to dress up and pat themselves on the back so it's all good I guess.

Deadliest Catch

2010-07-07T14:34:00.000-07:00

There is, as we all know, precious little that's real in "reality" television. Well unless one thinks that there is something real about the drunken/promiscuous antics on The Real World or Jersey Shore...unless one thinks that the legion of vapid ciphers/fame whores who preen through their staged and yet still remarkably empty-headed lives on "super-new" episodes of the dozens (well it seems that way anyhow) of E! shows really merit attention...or unless one thinks that putting the word "real" in the titles of the apparently endless iterations of the Real Housewives franchise lends any kind of merit to the titular characters (some of whom are not married...and none of whom actually seem to run homes, you know like real "Real housewives" do...)

Obviously there is some voyeuristic charge to watching these shows...they wouldn't be multiplying like rabbits if people weren't watching them...but they seem more sad and desperate than entertaining to me. Still and all, "reality" shoes have become the backbone of the summer TV season during recent years.

Even some of the better ones (I'm excluding competition shows like American Idol or Hell's Kitchen from this discussion...they are more in the talent show/game show genre than in the reality TV world)...the ones which follow people doing real jobs (Ice Road Truckers or Ace of Cakes for example) are often blatantly staged and heavily edited with an eye towards crafting "story lines" and creating "characters". I get that, it's television and even cool jobs are boring for long stretches of time and so wouldn't hold viewers' attention.

But, that said, there has always been an engaging, sometimes harrowing, realness to the exploits of the hardworking, hard-living crab fishermen who risk life and limb in the frigid, roiling Bering Sea to pull in their shares of million dollar hauls of crab. There are characters and storylines and the presence of cameras does, as a matter of course, distort the "reality"...but nevertheless Discovery's Deadliest Catch is often as compelling as TV..."reality" or not...gets.

Especially this season as the tragic story of one of the series' most interesting and likable people, the salty and complex Captain Phil Harris (see above, far left), plays out. Knowing the end of Captain Phil's "storyline" adds to...rather than detracts from...the poignancy of his appearances (and those of his sons...and crewmates...Josh and Jake.) Phil's story is part of a rich mosaic of stories of the Captains and crews of the crab fishing boats as they battle the weather, fatigue, and sometimes frustratingly elusive crab.

Deadliest Catch continues to be one of the most eminently watchable and utterly fascinating shows on the tube...and in this dreary television season when even usually reliable summer fare like Top Chef is laboring through a thus far disappointing run, that's a small wonder to be treasured.

Summertime Jams #5: Tell Me You Love Me

2010-07-03T12:58:00.000-07:00

What would summer be without a silky smooth R&B jam to sway to...while in the arms of somebody you're totally into...on a balmy July night? Not much. Ladies and gentlemen, the fierce and beautiful Ms. Leela James with the undeniably soulful "Tell Me You Love Me" from her new CD My Soul. Yeah, you're welcome :-)

Wonder Woman

2010-07-02T22:56:00.000-07:00

DC Comics' amazing Amazon, Wonder Woman, gets a new modern look...well, if by "modern" you mean the Eighties (tights and a jacket with rolled-up sleeves? Really?) But hey at least Diana isn't fighting monsters and criminals in a bathing suit anymore...

Summertime Jams #4: She's Wearing That Costume

2010-06-28T12:40:00.001-07:00

Take a walk...and a spin on the dance floor...with the propulsive whimsy of "She's Wearing That Costume" by Head Like a Kite. A good time will be had by all (especially the panda :-)

Memphis Beat

2010-06-26T23:13:00.000-07:00

I've never been to Memphis but Memphis Beat pulsates with so much sultry atmosphere, Southern charm, and undeniable music that it makes a visit to the city something I need to put on my bucket list.

The last time I saw Jason Lee he was shambling charmingly as the titular character in My Name is Earl (a show I didn't exactly love but which always provided a welcoming diversion on those NBC Thursday nights that I tuned in) and here he still exudes easy Southern charm as Dwight Hendricks, a police detective who is a true son of the city with a passionate love of both justice and the colorful citizens of the town as well as a passionate love of the blues and rock and roll pulsating at the heart of Memphis.

He is ably backed up by a strong cast including the always amazing Alfre Woodard (see below) as his boss Lt. Rice (Woodard deftly sidesteps the hard-bitten police supervisor cliches with equal measures of steel and silk...as willing to face down an armed suspect as she is to admit when she's wrong), DJ Qualls as an eager beaver uniformed cop, Sam Hennings as Hendricks' salty, sardonic partner, and Celia Weston as Dwight's adorably lively mother (who, much to Dwight's chagrin, is embarking on a new love affair with a smarmy carpetbagger.)

The first two episodes (the second episode..."Baby Let's Play House" with a fine guest turn by Juliette Lewis... airs Tuesday night on TNT) are full of quirky characters, human drama, bursts of action, some very fine music, great locations and backgrounds, and gentle humor...one hopes that they continue to build on that.

Wednesday Comics

2010-06-26T09:55:00.001-07:00

This is one huge honkin’ comic book. And it’s one really beautiful comic book too.

Wednesday Comics was an experiment by DC Comics featuring tabloid sized comic pages featuring some acclaimed writers and artists presenting stories of DC characters…iconic and not-so-iconic…one page at a time published weekly (on newsprint no less.)

It seems unlikely to be repeated…16 tabloid pages for 4 bucks is probably too high a hurdle for a lot of comic fans to get over…but it was a grand little adventure just the same.

This big (17+” x 11+”) hardcover collects all of the stories on better paper and it’s a gorgeous comic book. All of DC’s big guns…Superman (with beautiful art by Lee Bermejo), Batman (a fine noir romance that might have needed a bit more room to breathe) and , Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, The Flash…are represented alongside of lesser-known (to the general public at least) classic characters like Hawkman, Sgt. Rock, the Metal Men, Deadman, Adam Strange, Metamorpho the Element Man, and Kamandi, the Last Boy on Earth.

The art is almost all wonderful and some of the stories are better than other. I was charmed by Jimmy Palmiotti and Amanda Conner’s whimsical Supergirl story featuring Krypto the Super Dog and Streaky the Super Cat (just go with it…:-), intrigued by Paul Pope’s pulp fiction re-imagining of the sci-fi hero Adam Strange, and engaged by the gritty WW2 Sgt. Rock story written by Adam Kubert and drawn by his legendary father Joe Kubert.

The rollicking Metamorpho adventure…by Neil Gaiman and Michael Allred…is also a great deal of fun as is the unlikely team-up of Catwoman and Etrigan the Demon by Walt Simonson and Brian Stelfreeze and Kyle Baker’s action-packed Hawkman story.

This book is pricey…it lists for $49.99…but it delivers in a big way. Wednesday Comics makes me happy and what more could you ask from a comic book than that?

Summertime Jams #3: Days Like These

2010-06-25T19:27:00.001-07:00

There are songs that you just know will sound amazing when you're rollin' on a balmy summer's day with the top down and the stereo turned up to 11. This here is one of those jams :-)

The Cat Empire with the madly engaging "Days Like These" (there's about 30 seconds of silence before the music starts but hang on it's worth the wait.)

Michael Jackson

2010-06-25T13:04:00.000-07:00

It's been one year since the strange, magical, tragic, entertaining, controversial, fascinating, horrifying, and...yes...sometimes thrilling life of Michael Jackson ended. The death of the "king of pop" has been as full of murky intrigue and starry-eyed aggrandizement as his life (especially during the years when he was desperately trying to match the artistic and commercial juggernaut that was Thriller) became.

But, in the end, it probably won't be about any of the molestation charges (though those stand in the forefront of the memories of many) or the cosmetic surgeries or any of the other bizarre human circus trappings he wrapped himself in...it will, instead, be about the music. During the past year Michael Jackson was again what he fervently wanted to be...the biggest selling pop star on the planet.

Not sure it qualifies as a "happy ending"...the man was dead at 50 after all...but I think part of Michael Jackson would be pleased with outpouring of tributes and sales that have flowed so freely since his death.

Summertime Jams #2: Open Your Eyes, You Can Fly

2010-06-24T12:07:00.000-07:00

Soothing as a balmy Summer's day, this song and this video make the season come to vibrant, engaging life. The amazing Lizz Wright with her shimmering version of "Open Your Eyes, You Can Fly":

Pixar's Hit Parade

2010-06-22T13:28:00.000-07:00

Pixar has been on a creative roll since they hit the scene. There has yet to be a bad Pixar movie...some are better than others (I'm not a big fan of Cars, for example, though I still find a lot of it entertaining.)

Toy Story 3...which I had sequel-wary concerns about...proved to be another gem...touching, funny, even a bit intense, and utterly charming (though, that said, I hope they don't push their luck by trying to make Toy Story 4...let it go and move on.)

Entertainment Weekly recently ranked Pixar's offerings...my list is different (see below)...yours will most probably be different too. It's all good...like I said there are no bad Pixar movies.

The Neverending Rainbow rankings:

1) Finding Nemo ("...fish are friends not food...")
2) The Incredibles
3) Up
4) Toy Story
5) Monsters, Inc.
6) Toy Story 3
7) Wall-E
8) Ratatouille
9) Toy Story 2
10) A Bug's Life
11) Cars

Next year's movie is scheduled to be Cars 2.

Summertime Jams #1: Life is a Rock (but the Radio Rolled Me)

2010-06-21T10:52:00.000-07:00

The first day of summer and the first in a series.

Summertime radio...AM radio...was a blast in '70's. The sun was bright and the breezes were balmy (I grew up in Los Angeles and spent a lot of time on Venice and Santa Monica beaches listening to "Boss Radio" 93-KHJ) and the airwaves were full of wonderful (sometimes wonderfully silly) perfect pop songs that just made the summer days complete.

So first up is Reunion with the delightfully silly...and simply delightful..."Life is a Rock (but the Radio Rolled Me)".

Happy summer, people :-)

Whiskey or Water

2010-06-11T17:50:00.000-07:00

…are you? baby, are you? whiskey or water?...

Pop quiz, pilgrim: What is the most compelling…the most evocative…the most thrilling and engaging thing in Rock and Roll?

The answer is the authentic voice. (Yeah I also have a fondness for a well-turned phrase but that’s a pontification for another time.)

Music is full of voices…some pristine and meticulous, some hard used and ragged, some polished by technology and trickery to a fare-thee-well…but it’s the authentic voice…the heartfelt, soulful, heartbreaking and soul quickening voice…that sends shivers down my spine and makes my jaded heart soar. Authentic voices are not nearly as prevalent as they should be…not by a long shot.

But V.K. Lynne…V.K. Lynne has an authentic voice. And damn if she doesn’t make my jaded, music loving heart soar into the heavens. She soars…she growls…she purrs…she belts out blues and testifies to the healing power of rock and roll. She is the real deal. She is the authentic voice.

I’ve sung the lady’s praises before (see here and here) and I should have sung the praises of this gritty and tuneful, powerfully rocking and soulful album long before this (the reasons for the absence of new music on this page are too many and too boring to bother you with here.)

Producer James Thomas provides a full-bodied foundation for that voice…that wondrous voice and the clear-eyed, bittersweet poetry of V.K.’s lyrics.

The opening track, the anthem-like “Find Me”, rides soaring guitars until the suspense is almost unbearable and then, just in the nick of time, is the voice…and all is already alright and I’m in love again (my love is chaste and respectful…but no less heartfelt for that…)

And it flows through you…that joy that music brings when it’s real…when it’s thrilling and engaging…for 9 more tracks (from the rueful blues of “Mess Like You” to the title track to the sweet sentiment of “Salvation in the Skies” to “He Rolls”, a simmering then percolating duet with Hogni you will search in vain to find a false note.)

Whiskey or Water isn’t a question, it’s an answer. And what a grand answer it is.

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Bread & Roses (Writing Blog)

Glee

2010-06-08T22:45:00.000-07:00

This TV season hasn’t been much to speak about for me…American Idol was almost unwatchable (thanks to Crystal Bowersox for doing her best to try to save it)…Heroes died…CSI, 30 Rock, Project Runway, and The Office all limped through uneven, too often tepid seasons.

Thankfully there was Breaking Bad…Mad Men…Parks and Recreation...the first half of Community’s season (they kinda limped to the finish on auto pilot…but they got a lot of goodwill for the amazing Halloween episode and the Troy and Abed shorts at the end of each episode)…Justified…and Glee.

Glee made me happy.

It was sometimes soapy and sometimes silly and sometimes sticky and sentimental…but that was all just fine by me…there were amazing musical numbers…and Madonna songs…and Sue Sylvester…and, most importantly, it made me happy.

Glee couldn’t save the whole season for me…but man, I’m glad it was there…and I’m glad it will be back next season.

Grammys 2010

2010-02-01T14:30:00.000-08:00

The awards really don't matter that much (quick...without Googling...what was the Album of the Year at the 2009 show? Yeah, I don't remember either), with the Grammy show, it's the music that matters.

The unavoidable Lady Gaga and the legendary Sir Elton John opened the show in bombastic (but admittedly fun) fashion and Green Day and the cast of the upcoming musical "American Idiot" made a good case for the blending of Punk and Broadway.

Beyonce got a jump on the Michael Jackson tribute with backup dancers dressed like stormtroopers and by grabbing her crotch during a searing medley of "If I Were a Boy" and Alanis Morrissette's "You Ought to Know" and Pink is apparently trying out for Cirque du Soleil (it's a bit odd but kind of cool too.)

The unavoidable Black Eyed Peas cranked up the spectacle to 11 (though after making a big deal about the fan videos of "I Gotta Feeling" they were barely seen in the far background.)

Second hour means the country folk can come out to play. Lady Antebellum leads off with a sweet and smooth performance. Best New Artists, The Zac Brown Band did themselves proud playing a spirited medley with the venerable Leon Russell. And Taylor Swift got to share a stage with one of her heroines, Stevie Nicks.

Jamie Foxx and his Auto-Tune continued the martial costume theme (T-Pain and his white tuxedo must not have gotten the memo and Slash is just too cool for that stuff.)

The Michael Jackson tribute...with Celine Dion, Usher, Carrie Underwood, Jennifer Hudson, and Smokey Robinson singing along with MJ's recording of "Earth Song"...was stirring (and Jackson's children were dignified and gracious afterwards.)

Bon Jovi...with Sugarland's Jennifer Nettles sitting in...was solid in their 3-song mini-set.

Okay, I will admit to misting up during the soaring performance of "Bridge Over Troubled Water" by Andrea Bocelli and Mary J. Blige (and yes I will be ponying up for the Haiti-benefiting download available at itunes.com/target.)

And the jubilant performance by the Dave Matthews Band (and a WHOLE LOT of friends) was a joyous tribute to their fallen brother and bandmate, LeRoi Moore.

Maxwell and Roberta Flack were fine (though Roberta seemed a bit unsteady at times) and Jeff Beck's tribute to Les Paul was very tasty.

The performances were fair to great, the speeches were kept to a minimum, and the show kept moving...all in all the Grammys were fine this year and I was cool with that.

5 "Must See" Christmas Entertainments

2009-11-27T20:24:00.000-08:00

And just like that it’s Christmastime again. Okay it took a year since the last time…but it doesn’t seem that long, does it? The season is a celebration…of the Christ child’s birth…of the wondrous bonds of love and friendship that inform our lives…of gifts given freely and accepted gratefully…of food and drink…of music (the subject of an upcoming entry)…and, in those rare down moments, of enjoying some of the classic entertainment of the season.

Now personally I don’t need to see yet another adaptation of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol (if you’re so inclined pick one of the dozens of movies, plays, or “very special episodes” of TV shows and have at it.) I don’t need to sit through It’s a Wonderful Life again either (it’s a fine movie…probably a wee bit darker than you remember if you haven’t seen it in a while…but I’ve had that particular experience enough for the time being.)

There are Christmas entertainments that I can…and do…watch happily every year.

The five "must see" Xmas entertainments:

1) A Charlie Brown Christmas: still the gold standard of animated Christmas specials even after 40+ years.

2) Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas: not that over-stuffed movie from 2000 but the magical animated special with the voice of Boris Karloff and the unforgettable singing of Thurl Ravencroft (see the classic "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch" below.)

3) A Christmas Story: the endearing and delightful trip down nostalgia lane with Ralphie and his quest for the best Xmas present in the whole wide world (a Red Ryder bb gun, natcherly :-)

4) Miracle on 34^th Street: the 1947 version with Edmund Gwenn and young Natalie Wood (the 1994 version is okay but it’s overlaid with a bit too much seriousness and cynicism when compared to the ’47 winner.) Avoid the colorized version this movie looks grand in black and white.

5) A Wish for Wings That Work: a personal favorite that wasn’t an especially big hit featuring Opus (the penguin from the great Bloom County comic strip) and his quest to be able to fly (with “help” from the ever-addled Bill the Cat.)

Those are 5 great ways to make you smile after a hard day of Christmas shopping (or while sitting around after that last slice of pumpkin pie has made walking not something you have much interest in…)

Thriller

2009-10-31T07:37:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween :-)

Glee

2009-10-25T15:57:00.000-07:00

Nowadays there’s not that much on network TV to really get excited about. Some of it is okay and even better than okay…but most of it is just there (or worse shouldn’t be there at all.) But almost every season I find something that just flat out makes me happy…it usually doesn’t last long (the show gets canned or, worse, it jumps the tracks and crashes and burns) but I enjoy it while it lasts.

The first season of Heroes made me happy (not so much since then…)

And during the last two television seasons the quirky charm of Pushing Daisies made me happy.

This season, Glee makes me happy. Some of the subplots veer towards the soapy (a fake pregnancy…a real pregnancy with the boyfriend’s best friend really being the father…closeted effeminate gay boy…etc.) but the show manages to stay out the weeds with its quirky (there’s that word again), subversive pluck.

And the musical numbers are gloriously compelling and unabashedly over the top (from Journey’s ubiquitous “Don’t Stop Believin’” to Kanye West’s infectious “Gold Digger”…the breadth of tunes that they got cleared is amazing and almost all of them are used to good, sometimes surprising, effect.)

It’s a delightful confection…an enormously entertaining cross between Fame and Freaks & Geeks with a sterling cast (extra credit for the guest shot by the wondrous Kristin Chenoweth, late of the aforementioned Pushing Daisies)…that I just adore.

Glee makes me happy.

How Photographers Created Rock And Roll - The Picture Show Blog : NPR

2009-10-21T12:09:00.000-07:00

How Photographers Created Rock And Roll - The Picture Show Blog : NPR

Her Morning Elegance

2009-10-16T17:43:00.000-07:00

Oren Lavie with a clever and charming stop motion video for his wistfully romantic song "Her Morning Elegance"

Thursday Night TV

2009-09-25T09:39:00.000-07:00

Wonder of wonders, with the help of my handy remote control Thursday night turned out to be a pretty good night of television (a big change from most days since the new season started.)

Started on ABC with the intriguing FlashForward (you can view the episode at the link to the left), a spooky mind-bender keying off the premise that everyone on the planet goes unconscious at the same moment (for just over 2 minutes) and experiences an apparent glimpse of the future (six months hence.) The first episode moved right along despite the need to introduce the sprawling cast of characters. It obviously is going for that Lost vibe (even to the point of having Lost alum Dominic Monaghan join the cast soon...and then there's the enigmatic kangaroo...) and I'm not sure how this plays out in the long run if it becomes a hit (the date everyone sees happens in April of 2010) but I'm interested enough to give it shot (while fully realizing that something like this can easily slide off the rails and become a frustrating mess...yes, Heroes and Lost, I'm looking at both of you.)

At 9 I moved over to CBS for the season premiere of the original (and still the best) CSI which began with a trippy slow motion action scene and then flashed back to show how it got to that point. One old friend came back, another cast member was gone (not really a big loss), and the plot was convoluted, occasionally silly, and helluva lot of fun (in other words, a good way to kick off a new CSI season.)

Capping off the night with Project Runway and Models of the Runway over on Lifetime made for an entertaining evening of TV watching...gotta take those when you can get 'em :-)

Astro Boy

2009-09-24T10:04:00.000-07:00

When I was a youngster, Astro Boy was one of my favorite cartoons...every weekday afternoon I would come home from school (Menlo Avenue Elementary in Los Angeles) and watch it with rapt attention and glee. When I heard they were making a new movie I wasn't that interested (these things go so wrong so often) but after watching this clip I'm totally down with it (yeah, I know it's geeky but "the little child inside the man" (thanks, John) doesn't care about that one little bit...cool is cool :-)

My Love Will Not Let You Down

2009-09-23T10:43:00.000-07:00

Bruce is 60 years old today. Happy Birthday to "The Boss" :-)

The Rising/Eight Years Gone

2009-09-11T00:01:00.000-07:00

Memory dims…time heals…life waxes and wanes…

life moves on like it has to do…

And we are here…eight years gone…

and moving on with life like we have to do…

Yes I remember where I was…

Yes I remember how scared I felt…

Yes I remember how angry I felt…

Yes I remember how helpless I felt…

Yes I remember finding solace in the smile of a baby girl…

Yes I remember.

Eight years gone…so many yesterdays ago…

And we are here…remembering with comforting buffer of time and tide…

Eight years gone…and moving forward and looking back…moving on with life like we have to…

Flags flying…tear stains long dry…I remember…we all remember…

Eight years gone…so many lifetimes gone….so many lifetimes to go.

- MKW/September 2009 -

Worst Song Medley

2009-09-04T08:41:00.000-07:00

Garfunkel and Oates (c'mon, that's a cool band name! :-) with their snarky, but (mostly) good natured, skewering of some familiar tunes from the 80's and 90's. It's funny 'cause it's true (and I kinda like a couple of the songs in the medley...)

American Classic/Lost Highway

2009-08-31T08:07:00.000-07:00

I wonder if Willie Nelson knows how many records he’s had released under his name over the years. Whatever the number it’s been increased by 2 in the past couple of weeks.

On American Classic, Willie dips back into the “great American songbook” one more time for a tasteful (sometimes a bit too tasteful and subdued) stroll through a dozen classic tunes. Nelson is a consummate pro and so his readings are in the pocket (his voice is not quite as supple as it used to be…but hell, whose is?...and Willie doesn't always sound fully engaged) but the tracks (produced by another consummate pro, Tommy LiPuma with a crack band of jazz players including the legendary Crusader Joe Sample on piano) don’t soar much (a contrast to the playful, engaging vibe of Two Men with the Blues, Willie’s collaboration with Wynton Marsalis last year.)

All that said, there is some fine stuff here: “The Nearness of You” and “I Miss You So” both have a fetching fragility that is lovely, “On the Street Where You Live” is sprightly, and “Always on my Mind” is revisited to fine effect.

Willie comes to life during the two duets…”If I Had You” with Diana Krall and “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” with Norah Jones…and though it doesn’t have the spark it might have reached for, American Classic is still a good addition to his other collections of classic songs.

Lost Highway is a compilation of 17 tracks (including 3 previously unreleased tracks and 1 song that had only been available on iTunes) recorded for the label of the same name (to keep that theme going, one of the songs, a cool duet with Ray Price, is also called “Lost Highway”.)

There are a lot of collaborations among the songs here, including the rollicking “Beer for my Horses” with Toby Keith, the classic country heartbreak of “I’m Still Not Over You” with Ray Price, and the tender “Overtime” with Lucinda Williams.

Willie goes into his own history with live versions of “Blue Eyes Cryin’ in the Rain” (a duet with Shania Twain) and “Crazy” (with the husband and wife team of Elvis Costello and Diana Krall.)

Two tunes from the underrated The Great Divide…the playful “Maria (Shut Up and Kiss Me)” with Rob Thomas and the Grammy-winning “Mendocino County Line” with Lee Ann Womack…are actually given a better showcase here than on the original album which buried the vocals too far in the mix.

Willie has some good solo showcases too: a fine, fine reading of “You Don’t Know Me”, plaintively heartfelt readings of “Back to Earth” and the previously unreleased “Both Sides of Goodbye’, the cheeky “Superman” (another previously unreleased track), a credible take on Jimmy Cliff’s reggae classic “The Harder They Come”, and the cool western swing of “Bubbles in my Beer”.

The collection concludes with two songs seemingly inspired by the movie Brokeback Mountain: the politically incorrect (and vaguely homophobic) “Cowboys are Frequently Secretly Fond of Each Other” (which had been released only a download before this) and the profane (and decidedly homophobic) “Ain’t Goin’ Down on Brokeback Mountain” (which, even presuming that it was meant to be tongue in cheek, probably should have stayed “unreleased”.)

The last two tracks notwithstanding Lost Highway is a fine enough “best of” collection

The Who - Baba O'Riley

2009-08-23T15:50:00.000-07:00

Today would have been Keith Moon's (1946-1978) 63rd birthday. This is a great live clip from the Who to celebrate the day.

Project Runway

2009-08-21T12:45:00.000-07:00

The Runway is back! And it’s about time.

Following an extended legal wrangle between the show’s former network (Bravo) and its new network (Lifetime), the frothy, fabulous, and strangely compelling fashion catfight…um, I mean, competition…that is Project Runway is back. Accept no lame substitutes (yes, The Fashion Show, we’re looking at your sorry self…)

As I have mentioned before in this space I couldn’t give two flying figs about “high fashion” (my wardrobe consists of several pairs of jeans, a lot of t-shirts, hiking books and sneakers and a tie shoved somewhere in the corner of my closet…well there’s a bit more than that…but not much :-) but I love Project Runway just the same.

I love the egomaniacal designers…vainglorious home economics geeks who’ve decided that they’re too cool and far too talented for any room…and the deliciously supercilious judges (Michael Kors and Nina Garcia I mean...I pay little attention to whatever celebrity hump they stick in the fourth chair.)

And, of course, I love the Teutonic goddess that his host/judge/executive producer Heidi Klum (delivering the “you’re out!” kiss-offs with all of her cool blond, baby-making glory in full effect.)

And most of all, I love the dapper and (mostly) unflappable Tim Gunn, both nurturing and no-nonsense in his role as the mentor and cheerleader to the contestants.

It’s too early to tell who’s going to break out among the designers (at this point everyone comes with their “hey, look at me!” agendas) but it seems this season’s cast has the potential to be interesting both as clothes designers and as reality show characters.

Runway is now paired with a companion show, Models of the Runway, which goes behind the scenes with the models and also features an extended sequence where the designers choose the model they want to work with that week. It has a certain gossipy charm of its own and it adds to the overall Runway experience.

The Runway is back! And ain’t it grand? :-)

Ferris Bueller's Day Off

2009-08-20T16:16:00.000-07:00

The day started off gray…outside (the clouds would not give way to the hazy sunshine until late morning) and in (I was feeling out of sorts for no reason I could put my finger on from the moment I woke up)…and it seemed like that was going to be the way the day would unfold (sunshine or no sunshine.)

I had chores and other work aplenty but I couldn’t shake my ennui. I needed the help of somebody who didn’t know that kind of lethargy…someone so supremely and so delightfully self-confident that it was incredibly improbable that he would ever have a gray day.

And I found him. His name? Bueller. Ferris Bueller.

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is a product of the eighties…just check out the padded shoulders, Ferris’ massive, 5” floppy disc driven computer…but it is, at the same time, wonderfully timeless in its audaciously positive vibe.

And it’s charming and funny as all get out.

Matthew Broderick’s engaging performance as the impish Ferris is still a wonder of delicious comic timing combined with the wit and wisdom of the late John Hughes’ words and direction.

It’s a totally preposterous tale and that’s the unbridled joy of it…as we watch Ferris hoodwink his clueless parents, enrage his jealous sister, give his neurotic best friend the best day of his life, pledge his love for his bemused but patient and adoring girlfriend, and almost effortlessly thwart the hapless Mr. Rooney’s efforts to bust him, we happily go for the ride (nothing Ferris does is out of malice…he’s a free spirit enjoying life on his own terms and he wants his friends…and all of us…to enjoy life with him.)

A lot of movies from the eighties have not and will not stand the test of time (Flashdance looks pretty silly now, for example…though truth to be told I thought it looked pretty silly when it first came out so that might not be a fair example…) but Ferris Bueller’s Day Off continues to delight…and to bring grumpy old bears out of their funks…all these years later. Made me smile anyway :-)

Take a Bow

2009-08-16T16:08:00.000-07:00

It's your 51st birthday, Madonna...hey, take a bow :-)

Woodstock

2009-08-15T11:05:00.001-07:00

40 years ago the fabled Woodstock Music and Art Fair began in Bethel, New York (I wanted to go but being 13...and living on the other coast...at the time I missed it :-)

Here's Joni Mitchell singing "Woodstock", her tribute to the festival.

Joni Mitchell-Woodstock (1969)

Rhythms del Mundo: Classics

2009-08-14T09:30:00.000-07:00

Classics is a benefit collection put together by Artists Project Earth (APE), a group dedicated to furthering awareness about climate change. The album itself features 19 (mostly) classic rock & pop tunes performed by Rhythms del Mundo (a talented assemblage of Cuban musicians…RDM is kind of a continuation of the Buena Vista Social Club) along with an international cast of well-known pop stars (some playing live with RDM others sampled with the original music stripped off and replaced with new backing tracks.)

The vibe is beguiling…tropical Latin rhythms and beats bringing entertaining new feel to the familiar songs…though it sometimes works against the grittiness inherent in some of the tunes.

The lead-off track, for example, is a breezy version of “Hotel California” featuring the Killers that is infectiously danceable (hard to resist those tasty drums and horns) despite the dark cynicism of the Eagles’ lyrics (Lou Reed’s “Walk on the Wild Side” featuring The Editors also works despite its loping, foot tapping groove working almost at cross purposes with Reed’s ironic lyrics.)

On the other hand, Sam Cooke’s more fanciful “Cupid”…with vocals by Amy Winehouse…slips into smooth groove with no such dissonance as does the version of “I Heard it Through the Grapevine” featuring the Kaiser Chiefs and the sunny version of “Under the Boardwalk” featuring the Rolling Stones.

Some tracks really click: Jack Johnson’s mellow (well, duh! :-) take on John Lennon’s “Imagine” is a subdued little gem…the Zutons’ lively recreation of “Runaway” works despite its vocal similarity to Del Shannon’s original…K.T. Tunstall does a nice job with “Because the Night” as does Fall Out Boy taking a confident swing at Michael Jackson’s “Beat It”…Shanade’s version of “Smells Like Teen Spirit” doesn’t have the dark urgency of Nirvana’s original but it succeeds by finding a more plaintive groove to inhabit…and the Kooks take on a relatively obscure Elton John song, “Are You Ready for Love”, and turn into a tropical flavored charmer.

Other tracks try gamely but slide a bit shy of the mark: the version of “Under Pressure”, featuring Keane, is so soothing that it leaches out all of edginess of the original (though, that said, the trumpet solo on the outro is pretty sweet)…Cat Power’s languid vocals on the Rolling Stones’ “Satisfaction” are ill-matched with RDM’s pulsating rhythms…there is a disconnect between RDM’s sunny rhythms and the somber lyrics in One Republic’s version “For What it’s Worth”

The Spanish version of “Bohemian Rhapsody”, featuring Augusto Enriquez, is very cool as is the rocking bilingual take on Joni Mitchell’s “Big Yellow Taxi” featuring Aquila Rose and Dana Valdes. Eros Ramazotti’s version of Stevie Wonder’s “My Cherie Amour” (here called “Mi Cherie Amour”) is smooth and sweet.

RDM’s instrumental version of Jimi Hendrix’s “Purple Haze” with thick guitar lines intertwining playfully with the horns is grand as is the stirring version of Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven”…featuring the wondrous classical guitar playing of Rodrigo y Gabriela…that closes out the disc.

All in all, Rhythms del Mundo’s Classics is a delight full of great playing and beguiling fun.

Les Paul (June 1915-August 2009)

2009-08-13T10:38:00.000-07:00

Les Paul...guitarist extraordinaire, Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, pioneer in the development of the solid body electric guitar and multitrack recording...died today at the age of 94.

Here he plays "Birth of the Blues" with Chet Atkins.

Robert Downey, Jr. - Smile

2009-08-10T21:26:00.000-07:00

Robert Downey, Jr. with an interesting...and cool...take on Charlie Chaplin's classic song "Smile" (from the soundtrack of Chaplin.)

Girls Like Us

2009-08-07T21:26:00.000-07:00

Sheila Weller’s Girls Like Us is a breezy, heartfelt, sprawling (if sometimes disjointed) examination of the times when singer-songwriters held sway over the airwaves. The focus is on three specific enormously talented women: Carole King, Joni Mitchell, and Carly Simon.

The book winds from the fifties to the near past but the focus is on the seventies…a time when sensitive singer-songwriters were in vogue…when sex and drugs mingled effortlessly with rock and roll…when passion was intense and somewhat fleeting…and everybody loved James Taylor (despite the fact…or maybe, the book sometimes implies, because of the fact… that he was a junkie in addition to being an incredibly talented singer-songwriter.)

Weller, clearly an unabashed fan of the three ladies (Mitchell especially), writes this gossipy book with a sometimes breathless style and the narrative occasionally makes such abrupt shifts that you find yourself looking to see if you somehow skipped a page or two (at one point, for example, Mitchell is “in love” with David Crosby and then a page later she is “in love” with Graham Nash.)

She also suffers from a fan’s myopic “her early work was the best” syndrome…as much as she lionizes the nakedly confessional artistry of Joni Mitchell’s earlier albums, for example, she is mostly dismissive of Mitchell’s output after 1975’s Hejira (when Mitchell followed her muse wherever it took her with forays into jazz and other sounds.)

The book explores the musical significance of the women…especially during their commercial and critical heydays during the 70’s (the later days, especially after their commercial peaks, are given short shrift)…but it spends at least as much time exploring the…oh let’s say colorful…love lives of the ladies (Weller gets to name drop like crazy…Kris Kristofferson, David Crosby, Warren Beatty, Jack Nicholson, Graham Nash, Leonard Cohen, Mick Jagger, and, of course, James Taylor being among the notable names who spent intense emotional time with one or more of the featured women…and she does so with gusto.)

Carly Simon is the only one of the three who was interviewed by the author (Mitchell refused not wanting to be lumped in with two other artists and King agreed at first but then thought better of it and asked her friends not to cooperate) so the narrative is informed by interviews with others (ex-husbands, ex-lovers, family members, childhood friends, adulthood friends, fellow musicians, etc.) as well as quotes from previously published articles and books.

For all of its flaws, Girls Like Us (subtitled “Carole King, Joni Mitchell, Carly Simon – and the Journey of a Generation”) is an entertaining page-turner (even at 500+ pages) and it makes for good summer reading.

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MKW Writing Stuff (including three pieces inspired by reading this book):

Bread and Roses

A Thousand Songs

2009-07-30T11:27:00.000-07:00

I should have reviewed this fine, fun CD a long time ago (the reasons I didn’t are many and too self-indulgent to bore you with here) but better late than never (I hope.)

Ric Seaberg is such an affable and talented singer-songwriter that it’s almost impossible to listen to his music and not feel like smiling (and bobbing your head and dancing happily even…and maybe especially… when you’re all alone…try to resist the effortless bounce of the playfully rueful “Why Didn’t I Think of That?”, you’re a stronger person than I if you can :-)

A Thousand Songs is filled with charming love songs (name checking Richard Thompson on the wistful “When I Come Home” made me smile knowingly) and fanciful “real guy” ditties (that word used with unapologetic affection for the tunes…the grand ode “My New Truck” was featured on one of my favorite radio pleasures, NPR’s warm and wacky Car Talk and as football season comes back he makes me realize that I want a “Big TV” too :-) with Ric’s solid, unpretentious vocals ably supported by warm and sometimes muscular (but never overwhelming) musical backing (a special tip of the hat to Tim Ellis who plays some mighty fine guitar on all of the tracks including the jaunty “One More Beatles Song”, a tune that in a better world would be booming from car stereos all over the country on these bright summer’s days) and sweet harmonies.

A Thousand Songs is a lovely record for a summer’s day…full of unabashed and unapologetic love and passion, fun and wit, lovely melodies and heartfelt vocals…a lovely record anytime for anyone who likes their rockin’ pop music to be real and engaging and smile-inducing.

(Links to Ric's page (you can hear audio of the title track at the second link) and to the page of his music sold by my pals at CD Baby (tell 'em I sent ya...you won't get any discounts or anything but it may make them laugh :-) are included in the body of the piece above.)

* * * * *

MKW's writing stuff: Bread and Roses

Peanuts 1960's Collection

2009-07-25T18:31:00.000-07:00

Looking back in abiding fondness I still smile at the things which delighted and informed and entertained me mightily when I was a child.

I still smile when I remember reading Dr. Seuss and Charlotte’s Web, Animal Farm and Greek mythology, The Mighty Avengers and Adventure Comics starring Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes.

I still smile remembering the joys that television could bring right into my living room: Star Trek and Batman…Lucy and Laugh-In…Mission Impossible and I Spy and Get Smart…Bonanza and Gunsmoke and Twilight Zone …and Charlie Brown.

The Charlie Brown specials were “must see TV” for me each and every year…I knew them by heart but, in the days before VCRs and DVDs, I anxiously awaited there annual returns with sweet anticipation.

The Peanuts 1960’s Collection is a 2-DVD set chockfull of lovely nostalgia, eternal laughs, and pure wonderfulness. Collected here are the 6 Charlie Brown specials from the sixties all gloriously re-mastered (they look and sound just great) featuring the perennial holiday specials A Charlie Brown Christmas (maybe the best animated Christmas show ever) and It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (with the faithful Linus and the love-struck Sally camped out in the “most sincere” pumpkin patch waiting for the Great Pumpkin to come.)

The put upon, but ever resilient, Charlie Brown is, of course, at the heart of these shows (especially in the bittersweet charmer You’re in Love, Charlie Brown which centered on his crush on the unseen “Little Red Haired Girl”) but the ensemble of indelible characters…the wise and optimistic Linus, the bossy Lucy, the brassy Peppermint Patty, the piano virtuoso Schroeder, the assertive little sister Sally, and, of course, the irrepressible Snoopy (whose whimsical adventures and antics weave through all of the shows especially his showcase He’s Your Dog, Charlie Brown.)

The great music by the amazing Vince Guaraldi is also an indelible part of the shows and his life is engagingly explored in the new 35-minute documentary, The Maestro of Menlo Park, that (along with downloads of 2 songs…”Baseball Theme” and “Happiness Is”…from the soundtrack of A Boy Names Charlie Brown) rounds out this charming collection that should bring smiles to the faces of children of all ages (even and especially old duffers like me.)

Let it Roll: Songs by George Harrison

2009-07-17T13:52:00.000-07:00

George Harrison, the so-called "Quiet Beatle", was out shined in that band by his more flamboyant cohorts but he added some great tunes to the Beatles catalog and he burst into solo stardom with the bright burst of pent-up creativity that he called All Things Must Pass.

George never quite hit that height again but he made a lot of fine records before his death. Enough fine records that it would be hard for a single disc compilation to really do it justice...but Let it Roll: Songs of George Harrison does a pretty fair job just the same.

The big hits..."My Sweet Lord", "Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth)", "Got my Mind Set on You", "Isn't it a Pity", "Blow Away"...are all here and they sound great on this collection.

George's tribute to John Lennon..."All Those Years Ago" (see below)...and his look back at Beatlemania..."When We Was Fab"...are also here as are lovely live versions of three of his Beatles tunes ("Something", "While My Guitar Gently Weeps", and "Here Comes the Sun".)

As a brief, but potent, overview of George Harrison's musical legacy, the 19-track Let it Roll: Songs of George Harrison is, well, fab.

Michael Jackson

2009-07-07T08:56:00.000-07:00

The king is dead (in case you somehow hadn’t heard) and I think he would be pleased by the outpouring of coverage and consumption that has followed in the wake of his passing. Michael Jackson, by his own admission, just wanted to be loved…albeit loved on his own sometimes eccentric terms…and the breathless (and all too often lurid) media coverage, the lionization by fans (both those who stuck by the self-anointed “king of pop” through thick and thin and those who fell by the wayside along the way), and the booming sales of his music would have doubtlessly pleased him to no end.

In much of the world…and especially here in America…we regard our celebrities as royalty (something that proves a double edged sword for those put up on the pedestals) and no one reveled…and reviled…that status more than Michael Jackson.

His life was magical, strange, amazing, sad, imaginative, delusional, and, yes, thrilling…his death is something of a circus. But that’s par for the course and, again, I don’t think that he would see this as a bad thing.

The king is dead…and when all is said and done…when the circus has left town and the stranger aspects of his rollercoaster life have receded into the background…we’ll be left with the magic he strove so hard to present…with the astonishing dancing, with the quirky but entertaining videos and little films, with the often wondrous music. And when all is said and done, that’s cool with me.

Hey Ya! Charlie Brown Style

2009-07-06T09:23:00.000-07:00

There are some things from my childhood that continue to reverberate sweetly through my aging soul: Dr. Seuss and Charlotte’s Web, Greek mythology and super-hero comics, Motown and the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, and the Charlie Brown specials (especially A Charlie Brown Christmas and It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.)

Because of that, the mash-up video above…almost seamlessly matching images from the specials (most from Christmas) with OutKast’s insanely infectious “Hey Ya”…tickles the hell out of me (but then I am often easily amused.)

(FYI: This is the 400th Neverending Rainbow post. Yay! :-)

B is for Bob

2009-07-02T22:27:00.001-07:00

Many years after his untimely death, Bob Marley is still putting out “new” records (just like Elvis and Tupac and, in the years to come, Michael Jackson.) B is for Bob takes some of Marley’s tunes and remixes and re-imagines them for a younger audience (Bob’s son Ziggy, the executive producer of this set, stated aim was to “give the youngest their very own Bob Marley record”.)

This sort of remix business can be problematic sometimes but not so in this case, B is for Bob is a charmer for children of all ages (my own maturity level can be brought into question but, that said, I enjoyed it immensely.) Ziggy Marley adds additional production to a lot of the tracks here aided and abetted by Takeshi Akimoto (acoustic and electric guitars) and Daniel K. Mandelman (piano and percussion.)

Some of the songs are stripped down to the put the focus squarely on Marley’s soulful vocals (and the equally effective backing vocals by the I-Threes) such as on the delicate, yes still evocative versions of “Three Little Birds” and “Redemption Song” that open the disc.

The Wailers’ irresistible reggae beat and throbbing horns) are not absent from the disc as evidenced by the churning “Wake Up and Live”, the gentle remix of “Satisfy my Soul”, and the loping “Lively Up Yourself” (featuring some nice guitar work.)

“Jamming” is stripped down to its vocals and then built back up with percussion and acoustic guitar which gives it a more intimate feel than the original.

A children’s chorus is added to a couple of tracks: the sprightly piano-driven “Bend Down Low” and the delightfully infectious “Small Axe”.

“Could You Be Loved” is presented in the original (and incredibly potent, incredibly danceable) mix while “Stir it Up” is given almost lullaby feel (albeit a lullaby with a groovy beat) with new guitar and grand piano parts.

The disc finishes off nicely with the soothing “High Tide or Low Tide”.

Is this an essential Bob Marley record? Nah. But just the same it’s sweet without being saccharine and you don’t have to be kid to appreciate and enjoy it (though hopefully some young folks will be introduced to Bob and the Wailers by the grand music here.)

Man in the Mirror

2009-06-26T07:25:00.000-07:00

Michael Jackson's life was Michael Jackson's life but whatever one thought about as his eccentricities the man could sing and dance his butt off. Rest in peace.

American Idol Finale

2009-05-20T23:15:00.000-07:00

Not for nothing but the American Idol judges spend the season gassing on about how they want things to fresh and CONTEMPORARY and then, inevitably, they turn the season finale into a march of classic rock golden oldies.

Rod Stewart…Carlos Santana…KISS…Lionel Richie…Cyndi Lauper…Queen Latifah…Steve Martin…Queen…seriously? Look I love most of these folks…but then I’m not in the demographic group the American Idol producers are supposedly going for. I just don’t get it (yeah I know Jason Mraz and Fergie and the Black Eyed Peas and Keith Urban were there too but still…)

ANYWAY, the finale was, as usual, entertaining in spots and incredibly cheesy in a lot of others (they really need to dispense with those stupid “awards”…those folks weren’t funny the first time and bringing them back doesn’t make them any more interesting.)

This season was kind of a hot mess…too many judges (thank you, Kara, but you really didn’t bring anything interesting to the table….we’re already full of pointless, misinformed inanity from our Mr. Jackson…so here are some nice parting gifts), too much distracting nonsense from the judges (folks it’s really supposed to be about the contestants), too many ill-conceived attempts to spice up the show (gee I really hope they bring that “exciting” judges’ save thing back next year…), and, again, a truly lame song that the winner is forced to release as his first single (thanks again, Kara…)

But in the end you had a handful of good performers (take a bow, Adam, Allison, Kris…) and two finalists who deserved to make the cut.

And, perhaps best of all, a winner than flew in the face of all of the blatant pimping that the judges…who seemed to have picked an Adam-Danny finale so many weeks ago that the other contestants must have felt like cannon fodder.

I have been enormously impressed with Adam all season…he may be the most daring artist Idol has ever had (well him and Chris Daughtry)…but Kris was, in a less flashy way, just as artistic and he quietly flew under the judges’ myopic radar and his victory wasn’t really the “incredible upset” that some might label it.

I am interested to hear the record Kris will make (the woeful “No Boundaries” excepted) and I’m also very interested to hear what Adam and Allison will do. Everybody will be fine (and Adam may be better off not having to toe the Idol producers' tone-deaf line...ooo, that was an ugly mixed metaphor, wasn't it? Ah well...:-)

Not the best AI season ever but, in the end, it wasn’t particularly egregious either.

Okay that’s done…bring on So You Think You Can Dance!

Community

2009-05-04T11:00:00.000-07:00

Joel McHale is a hoot on The Soup and now he has a sitcom being picked up by NBC for the fall. From the preview below it has potential to be pretty cool.

ABC's Canceled Series Finales

2009-04-08T17:14:00.000-07:00

Ah ABC I guess I should thank you for throwing a poor deprived television viewer a bone. The alphabet network has announced when they're going to burn off the remaining unaired episodes of three interesting shows cut down before they had a chance to really hit their stride.

They're going to use that choice viewing hour...Saturdays at 10 P.M....to present the swan songs during the summer.

The utterly charming Pushing Daisies (see above) is first up airing its final three episodes starting on May 30th.

The quirky Eli Stone, which was shaping up to be something quite engaging after a tentative start, will occupy the hour starting on June 20th.

The soapy fun and intrigue of Dirty Sexy Money will pick up the baton starting on July 18th.

At least they didn't make us wait until the DVD sets came out to see these final episodes...

Monsters Vs. Aliens

2009-03-28T13:59:00.000-07:00

Plot? Well, the title pretty much sums it up (I guess you could read some tolerance stuff in the subtext...but this isn't really a "subtext" kinda movie.) But that doesn't matter...Monsters Vs. Aliens is fast paced and beautifully rendered with enough slapstick and high-jinks to keep the kids happy and just enough jokes that will sail over the heads of the youngsters to keep the adults engaged (and stuff blows up...who doesn't like that? :-)

Keifer Sutherland is a hoot (and all but unrecognizable) voicing the the hard-bitten General W.R. Monger who has been keep the existence of monsters away from the public for 50 years, Stephen Colbert has a daffy turn as the clueless President, and Reese Witherspoon is at turns winsome, befuddled, and determined as Susan who is turned into a 50-foot woman ("Gigantica") after being exposed to a meteorite on her wedding day.

Hugh Laurie is grand as Dr. Cockroach, a mad scientist who turned himself into...well...a giant cockroach, Will Arnett is fine as the stalwart and prideful Missing Link, and Seth Rogen steals the show as the affable but brainless gelantious blob named Bob.

The movie wears its influences on its proverbial sleeve unabashedly...I saw winks to Star Wars, Men in Black, Independence Day, The Day the Earth Stood Still...and, of course, The Fly, Attack of the 50-Foot Woman, The Creature from the Black Lagoon, and The Blob... among others...but it does so with such charm, verve, cheekiness, and good nature that you just go with it.

In the vein of full disclosure I eschewed the 3-D version in favor of a regular 2-D showing...eyes as old as mine weren't meant to try to cope with 3-D for an hour and half...but I could see many of the shots that probably really popped in three dimensions.

Is this a great movie? Nah. But it's a heckuva lot of fun and what more do you want from a cartoon?

Bare Bones

2009-03-25T22:45:00.000-07:00

I had to live with the new Madeleine Peyroux CD for a while…listen it to more than few times…before its charms revealed themselves to me more fully. Bare Bones is not as immediately accessible as her previous two collections (Half the Perfect World and Careless Love) but its highpoints are on par with the best tunes from those two delightful albums.

Unlike her past couple of albums, which featured a mixture of original tunes and cannily chosen cover songs, this one consists completely of original tunes (all of which were written or co-written by Peyroux.)

The first few tunes…the wistfully optimistic “Instead”, the quietly lilting title track, and the rueful “Damn the Circumstances”…have the same downcast, plaintive feel and that threatens to weigh down the proceedings with a brooding sameness. But, in all the cases, the strength of the lyrics (musical hooks are hard to come by) makes the songs work. The same is true for “River of Tears”.

The sprightly…and devilishly witty…”You Can’t Do Me” is a welcome change of pace when it turns up.

The second half of the CD glides sweetly between somber numbers…”Love and Treachery” and “Homeless Happiness”…and more upbeat tunes…”To Love You All Over Again”…with Peyroux’s charming and evocative vocals (yes, she has distinct reflections of Billie Holiday in her voice…that’s going to come up every time she puts out a record…but hey in her case it’s definitely a good thing.)

I had to live with it…play it while snuggled next to a friend…dance idly to it…find echoes of my own experience in the world…but Bare Bones proved worth the investment of time and attention. It’s not perfect…several of the songs would have been better served with shorter running times and tighter hooks…but it is, to quote the marvelous closing song, “Somethin’ Grand” just the same.

Heroes

2009-03-24T21:56:00.000-07:00

Just as I found myself about ready to drift away from Heroes they go and start acting like they want to get interesting again. Ain’t that always the way? :-)

This week’s offering was relatively taut…leaving some over-exposed characters on the sidelines (yes I’m looking at you Nathan and Claire…you too Sylar) and seemingly streamlining the cast (life expectancy for super-powered blondes seems very limited on this show…unless you’re a former cheerleader) and even bringing back an old friend (howdy “Rebel”, figured it was you.)

This “Fugitives” arc is indeed getting interesting (the creepy and cranky one-note government guy notwithstanding)…though I am well aware that this show sometimes fails to pay off on its promises so I won’t call it a comeback (sorry, LL, I had to do it) just yet. But they’ve bought at least a few more weeks of my attention.

Lex Luthor Bailout

2009-03-22T06:45:00.000-07:00

Even Super-Villains need bailouts...

"Lex Luthor Bailout" with Jon Hamm from Jon Hamm

Coming Back to You

2009-02-18T14:54:00.000-08:00

American Idol has reached the round of 36…a four-week elimination derby, the contestants separated in groups of 12 for three weeks with the fourth week being a wildcard round, with 3 finalists graduating into the final 12 each week. The first dozen didn’t exactly acquit themselves with honor (the next American Idol might be in that group…but at first blush it doesn’t seem likely) and we’re not going to dwell on it.

Instead we’re going to dwell on one of the better CDs to come from a former AI contestant, the long-awaited (by me anyway) collection by the enormously talented Melinda Doolittle (the third place finisher two editions ago.)

Coming Back to You isn’t perfect…the first few tracks have arrangements that seem to be trying to overwhelm Doolittle’s voice (though ends up she holds her own with aplomb)…but it’s pretty damn fine once it gets going…if for no other reason as to show that the “retro soul” thing isn’t solely the province of young British singers these days :-)

The opening “Fundamental Things” is a bit fussy but things pick up a bit with “It’s Your Love”, a rather generic love song given more life than it probably deserves by Melinda’s impassioned voice (the same is true for “Declaration of Love” and the mid-tempo title track which , again, is too fussy with needless horns…Doolittle is a real singer and the producer should have trusted that more rather than piling on unnecessary embellishment like she was some marginally talented pop tart who needed some cover for her lack of vocal chops.)

But things do get interesting. First on a sublime vocal on “The Best of Everything”, the first of 3 Sammy Kahn songs on the album, where Melinda’s soulful voice dominates the arrangement to grand effect. Another Kahn song, “I’ll Never Stop Loving You” is the albums big ballad swimming in strings and muted horns that ably support…rather than try to overwhelm…Doolittle’s luminous vocals.

“Wonderful” is another relatively generic song but, again, the vocal elevates it to a cool, engaging level as it does on the inspirational “I Will Be” and the soaring gospel of “We Will Find a Way”.

And then the righteous Ms. Doolittle tears into a thick slice of blues with her potent reading of Robert Johnson’s feisty and bawdy “Dust My Broom” and makes she makes you want to testify as does so. And later she lets us know that this wasn’t a fluke by dipping into Johnson’s venerated songbook for a funky take on “Walkin’ Blues”.

There is such passion in “If I’m Not in Love” that it sizzles through the speakers…and Melinda conveys that passion without the need to over-sing…as on the rest of the disc, she gives herself over to the song and lets her amazing voice do its thing with style and with a refreshing lack of melodrama (which makes the big note at the end of this track all the more thrilling.)

And at the end it’s just Melinda (sweet and nuanced) and a keyboard (still a bit too high in the mix but only a bit distracting) on the 3^rd Sammy Kahn tune, the lovely “Wonder Why”…a charming and effective wrap up.

Coming Back to You is one of the better efforts from an American Idol alum…and it’s an engaging collection in its own right…it’s all good :-)

Random Notes: The 2009 Grammy Awards

2009-02-09T11:14:00.000-08:00

Okay, the awards don’t really matter much…who remembers them two days later?...with the Grammys the show’s the thing. I only watch two awards shows a year…the Grammys and the Oscars…and so I’m always hopeful they’ll be worth the 3+ hour investment of time they usually require of me.

Thumbs up: U2 (you usually can’t go wrong with Bono and the boys kicking off your show), Al Green and Justin Timberlake (a last minute sub for Chris Brown who was having legal problems to do with domestic assault) with Boyz 2 Men and Keith Urban, Jennifer Hudson (the performance was stirring), Stevie Wonder and the Jonas Brothers (the kids were a bit hyperactive…but hey they’re kids…and the combination was a bit weird but, strangely enough, it worked), Radiohead and the USC Marching Band (very cool), Robert Plant and Alison Krauss (the big winners in a year when the Grammy show was jam packed with hip hop), Kanye West and Estelle, Sugarland and Adele (the Best New Artist winner), Timberlake and T.I. (my favorite hip hop performance of the night), Paul McCartney with Dave Grohl (a wonderful time was had by all…though of all of the Beatles songs he could have picked, it was a bit strange that Sir Paul decided to use the one that starts with the line “…well she was just 17 if you know what I mean…” :-), Carrie Underwood, Kid Rock, and Kenny Chesney (who knew he was pals with Morgan Freeman?)

The tribute to the Four Tops…with Smokey Robinson, Jamie Foxx, Ne-Yo, and the last surviving Top Duke Fakir…was very sweet (though Foxx seemed to flummox the director by going one way while the other three guys went the other way.)

The tribute to New Orleans was fine but it could have been better if Lil’ Wayne could have shut up (after finishing his part with Robin Thicke) while Allen Toussaint and Terence Blanchard were playing.

The Bo Diddley tribute…with B.B. King, John Mayer, Buddy Guy, and Keith Urban…was also fine (though you might have hoped that a tribute to Bo would have been a bit more animated…)

There was something oddly cool about both Green Day and Blink-182 coming out to present awards.

Special props to M.I.A. for enthusiastically singing the hooks for the “Rap Pack”…Kanye West, Jay-Z, T.I., and Lil’ Wayne…even while it looked like her water could break at any moment. The song itself…”Swagga Like Us”…was lively enough but, as these rap collaborations too often tend to go, it ended up with the four rappers seemingly trying to out-shout each other.

The appeal of Coldplay continues to elude me (please spare me your barbs, Coldplay fans…which are, of course, legion…your mileage may vary…so just let it go), Taylor Swift and Miley Cyrus have had better nights (ibid.), Whitney Houston seemed a bit…spaced out (but hopefully she is still on an upward trajectory), and Neil Diamond was…well…Neil Diamond (and I guess somebody has to be so there’s that…and hey Jay-Z really liked it…)

And I’m completely over “I Kissed a Girl” and Katy Perry should be too if she doesn’t want to end up a one-hit wonder/novelty act.

All in all, not a bad show…too long, of course (they cut off Stevie Wonder’s closing song) but most of the winners kept their acceptance remarks short (well until the end when Robert Plant seemed like he was going to go on for a while) and things kept moving a fairly good clip most of the night. Like I said, it was not a bad show.

Working on a Dream

2009-02-04T16:07:00.000-08:00

As anyone who has read this blog for a length of time knows, I am totally in the bag for Bruce Springsteen. I’ve been down with “the Boss” since ’77 when Darkness on the Edge of Town came out (the “future of rock and roll” hype for Born to Run a couple of years earlier put my iconoclastic hackles up and I resisted its charms at first…ah, the foolishness of youth…)

This is not to say that all Springsteen records are created equally. There are some…Darkness, The River, Nebraska, Tunnel of Love, Live /1975-85, The Rising, We Shall Overcome…that I return to over and over finding enormous satisfaction each time; while there are others…Human Touch, The Ghost of Tom Joad, Devils and Dust…that do not draw me nearly as often (though they have their own rewards just the same.)

At first blush it seems that Working on a Dream will most like fall into the first group.

It starts with the epic tale of “Outlaw Pete” (an 8 minute story song about a cowboy maverick) and ends with the Golden Globe winning theme from “The Wrestler” (a spare, rueful elegy that somehow managed not to get an Oscar nomination) and in-between there’s vibrant, optimistic vibe that was largely missing from the last couple of CDs Springsteen and the E Street Band did together.

Songs of love and passion and redemption are the currency of this engaging record. Some of the songs…the nakedly romantic “What Love Can Do”, the optimistic “This Life”, “Tomorrow Never Knows”, and the infectious title track…have a sprightly bounce that will sound great booming through car stereos on bright blue summer days.

Even the bluesy rock and roll snarl of “Good Eye” hugs you like an old friend and holds on tight.

“Kingdom of Days” is a delightfully soaring number…I watch the sun as it rises and sets/I watch the moon trace its arc with no regrets…that makes as good a theme statement for the CD as any other song on it.

The playing is, of course, tight…even if Clarence Clemons’ iconic saxophone only makes a few fleeting appearances…the songs are charming and heartfelt, and Bruce is in fine voice throughout.

Yeah, I am in the bag for Bruce…and it’s records like Working on a Dream that makes me very happy to be there.

2009 Academy Award Nominations

2009-01-22T12:31:00.000-08:00

The Dark Knight didn’t make the cut in the “big” Academy Award categories…save for the totally expected (and deserved) Best Supporting Actor nod for the late Heath Ledger…and neither did Clint Eastwood (I haven’t seen Gran Torino but a lot of critical buzz seemed to have it anointed to pick up Best Picture, Actor, and Director nominations) but Brad Pitt and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button scored big with 13 nominations.

Joining Benjamin Button in the Best Picture sweepstakes are Frost/Nixon (featuring Best Actor nominee Frank Langella), Milk (with Best Actor nominee Sean Penn), The Reader (starring Best Actress contender Kate Winslett), and the little-engine-that-could Slumdog Millionaire. The directors for these five films…David Fincher, Ron Howard, Gus Van Sant, Stephen Daldry, and Danny Boyle…are vying for Best Director honors.

Star power should be in abundance at the Oscar ceremony as the four acting categories features the likes of Meryl Streep (her 15^th nomination for her role in Doubt), Angelina Jolie (Changeling), Robert Downey, Jr. (Tropic Thunder), Philip Seymour Hoffman (Doubt), Penelope Cruz (Vicky Cristina Barcelona), and this movie season’s comeback kid Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler) and his co-star Oscar winner Marisa Tomei.

Bruce Springsteen won the Best Song category at the Golden Globes with his song from The Wrestler but he failed to pick up an Academy Award nomination in a Best Original Song category that, for some reason, features only three candidates: “Down to Earth” from Wall-E and two songs from Slumdog.

Pixar’s charming Wall-E seems to be the one to beat in the Best Animated Feature category that also features Bolt and Kung Fu Panda.

As none of the Best Picture nominees are real blockbusters I would guess that the ratings for the Academy Awards broadcast (on Sunday February 22^nd) won’t be significantly reversing the downward trend they’ve been on of late…but hey I’ll be watching :-)

American Idol 2009

2009-01-14T12:18:00.000-08:00

(Cue Seacrest) : “This…is American Idol!”

And so it begins again. The first episode of Idol ’09 was a bit less exploitive than the freak show weeks usually are. Yes, there were still a parade of untalented…or, occasionally, marginally talented…folks who seem to only want a few moments on television (no matter how foolish they look.)…but the judges seemed less snarky than they have been in previous seasons.

The new judge…songwriter Kara DioGuardi…seemed to fit right in…especially during the staged dustup with the marginally talented, enormously self-satisfied woman who auditioned in a bikini (is she really what passes for “sexy” these days? Man, I’m way out of touch… :-)

Randy Jackson had less aging hipster banter (though I fully expect that it will return in full force as the season progresses), Simon Cowell only seemed to be dishing out half-hearted jibes (ibid.), and Paula Abdul was, for the most part, lucid and sane (kudos to her…though I’m not expecting that to last either.)

Idol has made some cosmetic changes…the fourth judge, lopping off one of the freak show weeks, expanding the Hollywood portion (which will actually be in Hollywood…rather than Pasadena…this year), bringing back the wild card round (without which Clay Aiken wouldn’t have been a contender back in the second season)…but it promises to still be the Idol that we’ve, for better or for worse, come to know.

Me, I’m probably going to skip most of the rest of the freak show/audition rounds (tonight and for the next two Wednesdays PBS is showing an intriguing 6-hour documentary on comedy...Make 'em Laugh: The Funny Business of America... that sounds MUCH more interesting than watching deluded wannabe stars butchering Stevie Wonder and Mariah Carey songs) and check back in when they get to Hollywood.

10 for '08...

2008-12-31T12:10:00.000-08:00

…being a semi-random (well it is in alphabetical order…more or less… so it’s not as random as it might otherwise be) list of 10 pop culture people and things that warmed the cockles of Neverending Rainbow’s jaded heart in 2008.

CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION

The original…and still the best…CSI was firing on all cylinders from the tragic death of Warrick that opened the season to the inexorable feeling of loss as Gil Grissom prepared to take his leave.

GEOFF JOHNS

This super-hero comic book fan’s hero was a writer…a writer who brought amazing, utterly engaging life to some of my favorite four-color adolescent power fantasies :-)

JON STEWART & STEPHEN COLBERT

The Daily Show and The Colbert Report were consistently entertaining and insightful companions throughout the seemingly endless political campaigns that informed life here in the States

NEW MUSIC FROM SOME OF MY FAVORITE FOLKS

Any year that features great new music from music making folks I unabashedly adore…Cassandra Wilson (the sublime Loverly), Emmylou Harris (the beautifully-realized All I Intended to Be), Tracy Chapman (the charming Our Bright Future...see below), and Willie Nelson & Wynton Marsalis (the accomplished and delightful Two Men with the Blues)…is more than all right in my book.

PUSHING DAISIES

I’m not really surprised that this quirky and whimsical show didn’t find a large enough audience to survive…it was, probably, one of those shows that either you liked or you didn’t with very few people in-between…but I am happy that it got a chance to exist at all.

SUPER-HERO MOVIES

A good year for the fanboys with the grim but amazing Dark Knight and the slam-bam wizardry of Iron Man heating up the box office in such a big way. Kudos as well to flawed by still sometimes very interesting offerings such as Hancock, Wanted, and Incredible Hulk (and we shall let things like Punisher War Journal and The Spirit slip into obscurity without comment.)

THE SOUP

The Soup is perhaps the one good reason for the E Network to exist. Joel McHale and his merry pranksters take a biting and often hilarious blowtorch to all of the silliness of pop culture in a fast-paced weekly half-hour.

THE WIRE

Yeah, I’m late to the party but thanks to the good folks at Netflix I’ve gotten completely caught up in the gritty streets of Baltimore as explored on this amazing show (a crime drama worthy of being brought into the conversation alongside classics like Homicide, Hill Street Blues, and The Sopranos.) Santa didn’t hook me up with the complete series box set (admittedly I was THAT good this year :-) but I’ll keep pestering him.

TINA FEY

Tina Fey’s dead-on impersonation of Vice-Presidential candidate Sarah Palin was a godsend to Saturday Night Live…and to all of the rest of us as well. Combine that with the fact that her sitcom 30 Rock has become a consistently funny shows on network TV and we just have to take off our hats to the remarkable Ms. Fey.

YOUNG SOUL SINGERS FROM THE UK

Amy Winehouse spent most of the year in tabloid hell but the baton of great soul music…retro but not in a navel-gazing, nostalgia-worshipping way…from enormously talented young women from the United Kingdom was ably picked up by Duffy (with the stunning Rockferry) and Adele (the powerful and passionate 19) and it was a good thing indeed.

* * * * *

Here's hoping your 2009 is filled with an abundance of love, light, and laughter.

This is Tracy Chapman's simply charming "Sing for You":

Sixpence None The Richer - Silent Night

2008-12-18T09:21:00.001-08:00

A lovely version of "Silent Night" by Sixpence None the Richer.

A New Thought for Christmas

2008-12-10T13:41:00.000-08:00

Melissa Etheridge’s “new thought” for Christmas isn’t really new…giving peace a chance and celebrating the soul of the season and the power of love are a classic ideals we should all adhere to all year long…but when it’s presented in such a potent, heartfelt, soulful collection of songs that doesn’t matter one little bit.

A New Thought for Christmas is a consistently engaging collection of holiday songs new and old. There’s no Santa Claus here but there is an abundance of hope and joy and pleas for peace.

It kicks off with a grand, bluesy version of “Blue Christmas” and that inviting vibe inhabits rocking takes on “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” and the sly and sassy reading of the immortal “Merry Christmas, Baby” as well. Etheridge is in fine fettle throughout these rockers as well as on the propulsive “Christmas in America”, an Etheridge-penned plea for a lost lover to come home for the holidays, and during the boogie-woogie strut of “It’s Christmas Time”.

She is also in fine, fine vocal form during the mellower tracks such as the original “Glorious” (a sweet paean to love and family during the holidays that incorporates some of the traditional “Angels We Have Heard on High”) and the hopeful “Light a Light”

There’s a sweet jazzy vibe (including a very tasty guitar solo by Philip Sayce) to her sedate take on “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” that vaults into the upper echelons of the many versions of that charming chestnut.

The peace anthem “Ring the Bells” (see below)…co-written by Salman Ahmad, who also contributes vocals and guitars…has a Middle Eastern vibe that invests it with additional power as it soars up towards the heavens.

By the time the disc ends with the inspirational “O Night Divine” (with incorporates aspects of the traditional “O Holy Night”) you feel immersed in the Christmas spirit without the need of nary a jingle bell nor a flying reindeer…and it’s a lovely thing indeed.

Come Darkness, Come Light: 12 Songs of Christmas

2008-12-04T11:57:00.000-08:00

‘Tis the season for many things…including and especially new holiday music…and that can be a lovely thing indeed. Mary Chapin Carpenter’s new Christmas album is a soothing, stripped down, reflective affair featuring three musicians Carpenter herself (with acoustic guitar and her luminous and honeyed vocals), Jon Carroll (on piano), and co-producer John Jennings (on everything else…including bass, acoustic and electric guitars, drums, percussion, accordion, piano, and harmony vocals.)

The 12 songs on the disc…a mixture of original songs, found songs, and traditional songs…are soothing, reverent, and moving. From the opening “Once in Royal David’s City” to the love song “Hot Buttered Rum”…from Carpenter’s lilting title song to the bittersweet “Bells are Ringing” (co-written with Jennings…see below) to the closing with the traditional “Children, Go Where I Send Thee”…there is not a misstep on this fine collection.

Come Darkness, Come Light would be a lovely soundtrack for a cool winter’s evening…perhaps snuggled by a fire while sipping hot cider…it’s a sweetly mellow Christmas collection and a most welcome addition to my ever-burgeoning collection of holiday CDs.

Charlie Brown Christmas - Performed by the Cast of Scrubs

2008-12-03T10:25:00.001-08:00

This is a clever mashup.

The 100 Greatest Singers of All Time

2008-11-19T13:04:00.000-08:00

Our pals at Rolling Stone are at it again with a list that is sure to provoke much discussion among music fans. This time they've polled a bunch of artists, producers, critics, and other music industry insiders and come up with their list of "The 100 Greatest Singers of All Time".

This list is, of course, skewed towards singers who came to prominence during the rock and roll era (which I guess qualifies as "all-time" now) and it leaves off a lot of really GREAT singers (at first blush I can think of Billie Holiday, Emmylou Harris, Frank Sinatra, Nat "King" Cole, k.d. lang, Ella Fitzgerald, Tony Bennett, Cassandra Wilson, Chrissie Hynde, Seal, and Margo Timmins.)

The Top 10 Singers of All-Time (according to Rolling Stone) are:

1) Aretha Franklin
2) Ray Charles
3) Elvis Presley
4) Sam Cooke
5) John Lennon
6) Marvin Gaye
7) Bob Dylan
8) Otis Redding
9) Stevie Wonder
10) James Brown

Apparently all of the 10 greatest singers of "all time" got their start in the late fifties or the early sixties and only 1 of the 10 best is a woman...imagine that :-)

The rest of the list is here.

Discuss.

Below is the classic "A Change is Gonna Come" written by the wondrous Sam Cooke (#4) and sung by the incomparable Aretha Franklin (#1)

Disney's Monster Mash

2008-10-30T08:48:00.001-07:00

A version of "Monster Mash" set to clips of classic Disney monsters and villains. Very cute.

A Change is Gonna Come

2008-10-21T09:42:00.000-07:00

Seal (above with his wife Project Runway's Heidi Klum) with his fine version of Sam Cooke's classic "A Change is Gonna Come", a track from his CD Soul, a collection of covers of great R&B tunes.

My Own Worst Enemy

2008-10-14T10:24:00.000-07:00

After months of seemingly incessant hype My Own Worst Enemy finally made its debut on NBC Monday night. And all things considered it wasn’t bad at all.

The central conceit…that the super-efficient, cold-blooded spy Edward has as his cover the identity of the mild-mannered family man Henry…works as long as you can suspend disbelief to an extent. (Henry is, we are told, a construct…a second personality deliberately created by a shadowy government agency run by the formidable Alfre Woodard.)

Henry and Edward (a nod to the classic literary split personality Dr. Henry Jekyll and Mr. Edward Hyde) live very different lives, of course…a situation that works well enough until the barriers between the two personalities start to break down (Henry comes out in the middle of a tense assassin gig and, quite predictably, he freaks out and almost gets killed.)

Christian Slate r is the glue that holds this show together working his butt off to make both Henry and Edward come to life…his Edward is cool and ruthless while his Henry is caring and befuddled by the very strange situation that he finds himself in.

Enemy is an interesting, fast-paced, fairly unique blend of espionage, action/adventure, psychological drama, and even some comedy that has gotten off to a very entertaining start. And in this rather anemic new TV season that’s a good thing.

Heroes

2008-09-23T18:49:00.000-07:00

After the many missteps in the truncated second season the creators of Heroes seemed bound and determined to come out of the gate swinging in their third season. Did they succeed? Sorta.

They certainly threw a lot of balls up in the air…diving right into new subplots while putting off or casting aside some older, seemingly dead end plots (see ya, Molly, we hardly knew ye…and it seems that we’re probably pretty much done with Micah’s extended family as well.)

In these first two hours they gave us (among other things) heroes and new villains, resurrections and returns and seeming reincarnations, religious and scientific epiphanies, deaths, hauntings, portentous glimpses into the future, betrayals, mistrust among once stalwart allies, damsels in distress, sexual shenanigans, ruminations on the meaning of life and being human, a secret formula that could change the world, a hero trapped among the villains, Sylar being Sylar, and the revelation of Mama Petrelli’s power.

They hit the ground running with the promise that they’ve learned from past mistakes. I certainly hope so because I want to really like Heroes again…the way I really liked it during its first season. So far it’s mostly setting the stage (it’s pretty bleak so far…but, of course, it’s always darkest before…well, you know)…time will tell if they can pay it off in a satisfying way.

Billboard's Top 10 All-Time Songs

2008-09-11T12:25:00.000-07:00

To celebrate the 50^th anniversary of their “Hot 100” chart our good friends at Billboard Magazine have put together their list of their “100 All-Time Songs” (“all time” in this case meaning the first 50 years of the Hot 100…August 1958-July 2008.) The list ranks the songs by sales and radio airplay (and not, as should be readily apparent by some of the tunes that made the top 10, by any subjective artistic merits.)

The top 10 All-Time Songs are:

1) “The Twist” Chubby Checker

2) “Smooth” Santana featuring Rob Thomas (see above)

3) “Mack the Knife” Bobby Darin

4) “How Do I Live” LeAnn Rimes

5) “Macarena (Bayside Boys Mix)” Los Del Rio

6) “Physical” Olivia Newton-John

7) “You Light Up my Life” Debby Boone

8) “Hey Jude” The Beatles

9) “We Belong Together” Mariah Carey

10) “Un-Break My Heart” Toni Braxton

Every decade in the period covered is represented…though apparently there were a lot of monster singles in the nineties. The Beatles made the top 10 only once and Elvis not at all (nor did Motown have a hit big enough to make the cut. ) I guess I’m surprised that Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You” didn’t get into the top 10 either.

The rest of the top 100 can be found here.

And now, come on baby, let’s do the Twist! :-)

Fringe

2008-09-10T11:41:00.000-07:00

After our summer hiatus (hey if Best Week Ever can take August off then so can we :-) the Rainbow is back and we start with the first new show of the fall season that I’ve caught.

The pilot of Fringe, the new Fox show co-created by J.J. Abrams, made me think of the opening lines of the old Buffalo Springfield hit “For What it’s Worth”…there’s something happening here, what is ain’t exactly clear.

But then it is the pilot, the time to set up the status quo for the series, so I guess I can cut them some slack on that (I don’t need or want all of the answers in the first episode, I just want enough to make me want to stick around as the answers unfold.) That said, the show seemed to plod along after a startling and grisly opening scene and it never seemed to find its footing…perhaps that will come as the series unfolds.

At first blush, Fringe is deep into X-Files/Lost territory touching tried and true plot points such as the supernatural, seemingly sinister conspiracies, government intrigue, unspoken attraction between the leads, etc., etc. It’s all very portentous (as these shows intend to be) but so far underwhelming.

As FBI Special Agent Olivia Dunham, Anna Torv is pretty enough (she first appears lying naked in bed with her lover and later they manage to contrive a reason for her to strip down to her underwear) but her acting is tentative and bland (unless they were going for that Dana Scully cool reserve thing, then she nailed it.) So far she doesn’t seem to have the presence to be the center of a sprawling show like this one appears to be.

Joshua Jackson is game as the smart but cynical ne’er do well Peter Bishop, who is blackmailed into helping Dunham, but, again, I didn’t quite believe him as the character.

One hopes and expects that they will grow into their parts as the show moves on.

John Noble has some interesting moments as Peter’s estranged father Dr. Walter Bishop (who has been isolated in an institution for 20 years…for reasons we are not yet privy to…but who is apparently not so dangerous that he can’t be signed out with just his son’s signature.)

Lance Riddick is on aboard as a hard-bitten FBI agent who has both a mad on for Dunham (for something she did to one of his friends years ago) and the knowledge that there’s something strange going on in the world.

Throw in Blair Brown as the creepy and, yes, seemingly sinister executive of the mega-corporation created by Dr. Bishop’s former partner (himself unseen as yet) and you’ve got yourself a party.

The sum of Fringe’s parts don’t add up as yet but I’ll probably give it a few more episodes to try to win me over.

* * * * *

On an unrelated note, Fox followed up the premiere of the Fringe pilot (which will air again on Sunday before the show returns to its regular Tuesday time slot) with an airing of their new game show Hole in the Wall (which is about people trying to jump through holes in a moving wall before they get dumped into a pool of water.) This show may not be the dumbest thing ever shown on network television but it’s definitely in the running for that dubious title.

The Dark Knight

2008-07-20T14:16:00.000-07:00

(Fanboy mode on) WOW! (Fanboy mode off :-)

Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight is amazing. It balances the requisite action-adventure set pieces with a script that delves into the thin lines between heroism and villainy, between chaos and order, between the evil that men do because they can and the evil that men might do in the name of justice or for the sake of survival.

It’s atmospheric (it’s Gotham City after all), explosive and kinetic, fast-paced (despite its 2+ hour running time), brooding, brutal, and, yes, unabashedly over-the-top (we’ve had the discussion about the inherent preposterous in super-hero movies in this space before so I won’t bore you with it again.)

Christian Bale’s Batman is much more seasoned than he was in Batman Begins…he’s also more conflicted as his caped alter ego threatens to subsume his life; he’s also afraid that Batman may be the catalyst for as much madness as he is for goodness. Bale is great (especially when he puts on the Batman “growl” when he’s in the cape and cowl.)

The late Heath Ledger gives a bravura performance as the Joker. Where Jack Nicholson’s Joker did crazy with an impish wink, Ledger’s Joker is a full-on nihilist, a rampaging id bent on nothing less than creating as much chaos as possible. Ledger’s Joker is frightening, unpredictable, wily, disturbing, and mysterious (he gives a couple of different explanations of his origin along the way.)

Gary Oldman has some really nice moments as the conflicted Police Lt. Gordon and the other returning old pros…Michael Caine as the acerbic Alfred and Morgan Freeman as the wise Lucius Fox…also shine in their moments. Aaron Eckhart gets to display a wide range of emotions in his role of crusading District Attorney Harvey Dent (comic book fans will probably know where he’s headed and the movie goes there full on) and Maggie Gyllenhaal steps ably into the role of assistant DA Rachel Dawes (taking over the role from Katie Holmes who played the character in Begins.)

The Dark Knight tickled this fanboy’s jaded heart with an ending that, almost as a matter of course, leaves the door wide open for yet another sequel. Bring it on.

Two Men with the Blues

2008-07-15T16:12:00.000-07:00

Two musical titans…the amazing Wynton Marsalis and Willie Nelson, one of the coolest guys on the planet…came together last year with a crack band (including Nelson’s ace harmonica player Mickey Raphael, drummer Ali Jackson, bassist Carlos Henriquez, pianist Dan Nimmer, and saxophonist Walter Blanding), a handful of standards, and a playful, laidback vibe to produce the delightful music that fills this fine, fine CD.

Recorded live at the home of Jazz at the Lincoln Center in New York over two nights the principals are all relaxed but totally in the groove…Marsalis swings with such casual authority that it is almost breathtaking and Nelson’s mellow vocal phrasing and his fluid guitar lines fit the jazzy/bluesy music to a tee.

Kicking off with a sprightly take on Jimmy Reed’s “Bright Light, Big City”, the 10 tracks include songs written by Nelson…a very fine “Night Life” and a tasty romp through “Rainy Day Blues”…along with standards Willie is well acquainted with…delicate readings of “Georgia on my Mind” and “Stardust”…along with other classic tunes…including rousing versions of “Basin Street Blues” and “Caldonia”.

Wynton even takes vocal turns on infectious “My Bucket’s Got a Hole in It” and a stately stroll through the Fats Waller chestnut “Ain’t Nobody’s Business” (featuring fine solos by Nelson, Marsalis, and Blanding.)

The disc ends with a sly, gospel tinged version of Merle Travis’ “That’s All” (which features an enthusiastic drum solo by Jackson.)

Two Men with the Blues is easy as Sunday morning and as cool as the other side of the pillow (thanks, Mr. Scott :-)…and I hope Wynton and Willie get together to do it again sometime.

Hancock

2008-07-04T13:38:00.000-07:00

Hancock requires a lot of leaps of faith…it is a super-hero movie after all. I’ve read comic books most of my life so I didn’t have a problem suspending disbelief where and when necessary while enjoying the movie. And enjoy it I did…Hancock is a kinetic, funny, violent, occasionally quite touching action-adventure thrill ride of a movie.

Hancock, as played by Will Smith (in fine form), is a hard-drinking, disagreeable, amnesiac superman who causes millions of dollars of damage as he fights crime and saves lives in Los Angeles. The people of Los Angeles revile the unkempt, foul-tempered super-hero until he’s taken under the wing of Ray, an idealistic PR man (Jason Bateman, whose solid performance gives us the emotional anchor of the film.) Ray’s wife (Charlize Theron, both radiant and mysterious) is wary of her husband’s involvement with Hancock for reasons that become clear as the movie unfolds.

The early lighter hearted scenes are starkly contrasted with the darker tone the movie shifts into during the second half. There is, speaking of suspending disbelief, a plot twist about two-thirds of the way through that will test the patience of some (I’ve read some reviews griping about it) but I didn’t have a problem with it at all (there’s that super-hero comic book experience coming into play again :-)

Hancock (see trailer below) is a briskly paced (it runs a pretty taut hour and a half or so), exciting, emotionally-engaging and occasionally preposterous (what super-hero movie isn’t?) entertainment that holds your attention (most thanks to the performances of the three leads) from its jokey beginning to its brutal (but still hopeful) climax. Simply said, it’s fun.

Wall-E

2008-06-29T15:11:00.000-07:00

All Pixar movies are not created equal…some are better than others…but they all have been engaging, wonderfully crafted entertainments. Everyone who is a fan of their remarkable output will have their own personal favorites (I’m especially fond of Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, and Monsters Inc., for example.)

Wall-E, the newest Pixar gem, doesn’t rank up with the best of their movies but it is a charmer nevertheless. In the future Earth is such a garbage dump that the people have long since abandoned it for generations of pampered life about gigantic space luxury liners leaving robots to clean up the mess. 700 years later only one intrepid little robot, Wall-E (“Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-Class”), is dutifully working on the daunting task with a seeming indestructible cockroach as his only companion and a treasured videotape of the musical Hello Dolly as his favorite entertainment.

Wall-E’s routine…collecting and compacting garbage into cubes and collecting bits of stuff he finds interesting…is turned upside down by the arrival of Eve (“Extraterrestrial Vegetation Evaluator”), a sleek robot from the Axiom, one of the aforementioned luxury liners, tasked with looking for signs of life on Earth. Wall-E has indeed found such a sign and the action shifts to outer space as he tags along with the ship taking Eve back to the Axiom (which is run by robots and computers leaving the humans as pudgy, pampered people who don’t think, walk, or do much of anything for themselves.)

The visuals are, as is par for the course with Pixar offerings, dazzling and the story…romance and action with a dose of fairly heavy-handed social commentary (the mega-corporation which left trash all over the Earth and which runs the luxury liners is a not so subtle allusion to Wal-Mart)…zips along nicely.

Wall-E and Eve have limited vocabularies and there is almost no dialogue in the first half-hour or so but it is still very easy to follow the story; in the Sunday morning showing I went to there were a lot of small children and none of them got bored or restless watching the movie.

Wall-E is a grand little entertainment as is Presto, the hilarious short (a Bugs Bunny-esque battle of wills between a magician and his rabbit) that precedes the main feature…all in all, yet another winner for Pixar.

George Carlin

2008-06-22T23:52:00.001-07:00

George Carlin died tonight (June 22) of heart failure. He was 71.

Duffy's Rockferry / Adele's 19

2008-06-19T16:03:00.000-07:00

Retro soul seems to be in good hands thanks to the young women of the United Kingdom. Like the great Dusty Springfield back in the day and the troubled but undeniably talented Amy Winehouse in more recent times, soulful divas are carrying the torch with a reverence for what has come before combined with a solid grounding in current times.

(Aimee Anne) Duffy’s Rockferry is a heartfelt and enormously engaging soul record, the young Welsh singer has a strong voice and she indulges in no unnecessary grandstanding, she just sings with passion and conviction (and how utterly refreshing is that?) She not only invokes the spirit of honored predecessors like Springfield and Petula Clark but she also brings the classic Motown sound to the 21^st century (one can easily hear a young Gladys Knight or Martha Reeves slipping easily into the sweet mid-tempo grooves of tunes like “Warwick Avenue” (make with the clickety-click for the video) or “Serious”, with its great Supremes-like backing vocals, or the infectiously propulsive groove of a stomper “Mercy”.)

Duffy also has a smoldering, bluesy side that comes to the party on tracks like the spare (just her voice and a guitar to very fine effect) “Syrup and Honey” or the majestic “Hanging on Too Long”.

There’s not a false note to be found on Rockferry, which ends with the stirring, affirming “Distant Dreamer” with its rock-steady beat cushioned by a mighty wall of Spectoresque sound.

Adele (Laurie Blue Adkins)’s 19 starts with a dreaming song of its own, the lilting “Daydreamer”. Adele’s rich, supple voice is colored to lovely effect with her British accent. She is a soul singer but her influences seem to go beyond that to incorporate Nina Simone, Bjork (the staccato rhythms and vocals of “My Same” brings her to mind), and even the Beatles (there’s a trippy interlude on “Cold Shoulder” that could have fit nicely on “The White Album”...see video below.)

From the sassy, acerbic “Best for Last” and “Right as Rain” to the soaring “Chasing Pavements” (click the link for the video)…from the stripped down bluesy “Crazy for You” and “Melt My Heart to Stone” (both of which I can easily imagine Etta James singing…though she would be hard pressed to do them better than they are done here) to the lovely cover of Bob Dylan’s “Make You Feel My Love” to the subdued glory of the self-affirming closer “Hometown Glory”…Adele proves herself to be a musical force to be reckoned with.

Both Duffy and Adele are soulful breaths of fresh air and their music is much appreciated from this corner.

My Boys

2008-06-10T08:35:00.000-07:00

P.J. Franklin (Jordana Spiro) is a sportswriter in Chicago. She’s also a beautiful tomboy whose best buds are a group of like-minded guys including her married brother Andy (Jim Gaffigan) and her other “boys” Brendan (Reid Scott), Mike (Jamie Kaler), Kenny (Michael Bunin), and Bobby (Kyle Howard). Being one of the guys (talking sports, playing poker, drinking beer, etc.) suits PJ well but it sometimes plays havoc with her love life (suitors having to deal with the 5 often present, very protective, very important men in PJ’s life.) PJ gets a feminine perspective from her best friend Stephanie (Kellee Stewart).

This then is the premise of My Boys, a charming TBS sitcom which kicks off its second season on Thursday June 12^th. My Boys is a breezy situation comedy that is very often warm, amusing, and very entertaining. The writing is crisp and the acting is uniformly excellent (the actors all have an appealing chemistry with each other and nobody goes over the top which would upset the balance.) My Boys doesn’t reinvent the sitcom but it does acquit itself nicely in briskly paced, engaging episodes.

At the end of the first season, PJ and Stephanie were about to take off on a romantic vacation in Italy with the cliffhanger question being who PJ had invited to share the experience with her. Was it one of her former suitors? Was it one of the “boys”? Was it someone new? The answer comes in the first episode of the new season where the action is split between Italy and some misadventures in the gang’s favorite bar in Chicago. This episode and another one dealing with Andy’s super-hot new nanny are both, again, very charming and amusing…what more could you ask from a sitcom?

@#%&*! Smilers

2008-06-05T13:55:00.000-07:00

Aimee Mann’s new CD gets off to a sprightly start with the up-tempo “Freeway” (see video below), an engaging pop tune with a wry point of view. It’s grand start to a grand collection.

Mann’s writing is as arch (meant as a compliment not a dig) and as incisive as ever but the overall feel is a frisky, engaging one. The music is buoyed by shimmering pianos, swirling synthesizers, and deftly-strummed acoustic guitars…all in the very capable service of Mann’s rich, expressive voice (which sounds similar to Chrissie Hynde’s often…again, not a dig, I think they’re both amazing singers.) The wonderful vocal on the rueful “Thirty-One Today” and the ruminative “Little Tornado” (highlighted with a cool whistling solo) are almost worth the price of admission by themselves.

From ballads like the spare “Stranger to Starman”, floating on a lush cushion of strings, to the jauntier numbers like “Looking for Nothing”, Mann is (as always) in extremely fine voice with her words evoking interesting images and familiar feelings and reactions.

Strings inform the lovely, bittersweet “Phoenix” and the soaring, compelling “It’s Over” while a great synthesizer figure, a rock solid backbeat, and a clarion horn section bring sweet life to the wistfully hopeful “Borrowing Time”.

The CD is warmly accessible and yet still challenging at the same time; Mann and her musical cohorts draw the listener in and make them want to pay attention, make them want to linger and luxuriate in the clever wordplay, the beautiful playing, and her wondrously expressive voice. By the time you’ve reached the jaunty “Ballantines”, a duet with Sean Hayes, you’ll just need to go back the beginning and experience this great CD all over again. It’s a cool experience indeed.

Bo Diddley : 1928-2008

2008-06-02T14:06:00.001-07:00

The amazing Bo Diddley, one of the seminal figures in the history of rock and roll, died today. He was 79.