Sunday Morning Tuneage & Weekly TV (5/19/13)

You don't get a full dose of tuneage this morning because I'm gonna have to get out of here pretty quickly.  The end of the sports seasons are happening - we had what might be our last baseball game yesterday (finished 5-5, with a slight chance to make the playoffs) and won three soccer games in a tournament - so we're off to a 8am semi-final game this morning across the Metroplex.  Busy job stuff and getting ready to end the school year for the kids will make it a week to never stop.  There won't be a Tuneage next week while I'm on vacation - you get the Memorial Weekend off.  Searching through something to bring to read and then stuff to shop for at the Dallas Comic Con afterwards and listening to some tuneage. . . 

SUNDAY MORNING TUNEAGE

NEIL DIAMOND - SOLITARY MAN.  This 1966 song has to be in my Diamond Top Five.  Only years later did I realize what an awesome song of young, romantic failure that it was.  "Don't know that I will / But until, I can find me. . . "  The man is going to be a Solitary Man.  I think I finally understood the depth of the song after hearing the Johnny Cash version.  But Neil's voice fits the theme perfectly.  Better than I ever remember it.

No time for any other tunes - have to get on the road.

SOMETHING RANDOM . . .  next time . . . 

DEADLIGHTS OF 2013. . . I remember Chuck Muncie as a member of the San Diego Chargers but he also played for the Saints before that and I can prove it with some classic football cards.  A great running back in the late 70s and early 80s. . . I always wondered about Dr. Joyce Brothers.  She was always on talk shows, game shows and then she confusingly played herself on TV shows of fiction too.  My memory is of her being on "The Tonight Show" all the time and her great give and take with Johnny.  And had a bit of a crush on her.  There aren't ones like her anymore . . . Dick Trickle came to my attention as a joke name on Sportscenter.  Sorry to hear about his wimping out with suicide.  And weird that he was in his 70s.

QUICK LIST (a random, uninformed list off the top of Shawn's head)

BEST SYNTHPOP SONGS OF ALL-TIME (but mainly the 80s)

12.  ART OF NOISE - MOMENTS IN LOVE.  Put it on repeat for 8 hours and I'll be good.

11.  SIMPLE MINDS - SOMEONE SOMEWHERE (IN SUMMERTIME).   This predates the best chill tunes by Zero 7, etc.  Great synth line.

10.  A FLOCK OF SEAGULLS - WISHING (I HAD A PHOTOGRAPH OF YOU).   They didn't always put together great albums but the synth work on this song is just tremendous.
9.  HUMAN LEAGUE - LOVE ACTION (I BELIEVE IN LOVE).  They had a great string of Synthpop singles but listen to the first great notes to this one.

8.  YAZ - SITUATION.  Take a synth and put Alison Moyet's voice over top of it - brilliant.
7.  DURAN DURAN - HUNGRY LIKE THE WOLF.  Did anyone better understand how to blend synth lines, pop hooks and brilliant videos to make themselves relevant.
6.  PREFAB SPROUT - WHEN LOVE BREAKS DOWN.  Not every synth pop song is a dance tune.  Sometimes you can slow it down and show off a little synthesizer and good lyrics.

5.  DEPECHE MODE - ENJOY THE SILENCE.  I know that some of you reading this will never forgive me for not putting a D. Mode song any higher than #5.  Had the list gone to #50, they may have had the most on the list but I can't move any of the remaining songs off their places.
4.  PET SHOP BOYS - WEST END GIRLS.  These are by far the worst lyrics of any song on here - just pure give up.  But that beat told me this would be one of my favorite bands for a decade.
3.  TEARS FOR FEARS - MAD WORLD.  Synth pop was great when mixed with sad lyrics.  This sets a mood as well as any song on the list.
2.  KRAFTWERK - TRANS EUROPE EXPRESS.  In 1977, I had no idea what synth pop was and I barely knew how to identify different synth sounds.  But it's amazing how after the movement ended this song still sounds so fresh.
1.  NEW ORDER - BLUE MONDAY.  There are so many of their songs that helped define the genre.  But it was this tune that pushed the genre into college rock, dance floors and into a higher public consciousness.  Today it defines for me the tip top of the synth pop movement.

I love this genre.  It certainly starts in the late 1970s and hits the shores really hard in the first half of the 1980s.  I bet the 33% of the albums I was buying in that period were this genre.  The list could be made of strictly New Order and Depeche Mode if I had to.  It's even still around today - I bet you can find a new Pet Shop Boys album every year.  Songs not on the list to avoid duplication of artists - "Space Age Love Song", "True Faith", and  "Perfect Kiss".  The worst??  I could name some groups from the past decade or some random one hit wonders but I need to take a stand and be real.  I never could get into Erasure.  Tried and tried and tried again.  And nothing.  Sorry, but they do nothing for me in the synth pop genre.  Take that.

NETFLIX PLAY NOW OF THE WEEK . . . The INBETWEENERS MOVIE isn't as good as the TV show, think of it in the AMERICAN PIE and PORKYS family and well worth a visit . . . JOHN DIES AT THE END is a Don Coscarelli directed film that is worth a sit down . . .  THE PAPERBOY proves that Matthew McConaughey is in 50% of the new releases on Netflix.  But you have to sort through some Zac Efron.  The trailer looks decent.  Any other feedback?

Shawn's fave movies according to FLICKCHART

#179 - Star Wars III:  Revenge of the Sith
#426 - Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
#676 - Behind Enemy Lines.   

RANDOM PROJECT UPDATE -  The EC COMICS project.  Seems like a long time ago that I finished "Frontline Combat" and then moved on to "Two Fisted Tales".  These old war comics are really inspiring to read.  The stories aren't always the best written but the art never fails to disappoint.  Issue #27 was a bit of a disappointment story wise because of a terrible Custer's Last Stand story.  But issue #26 was great because it was dedicated to a single battle of the Korean War that I knew very little about.  Perfect reason to read these older books.

SHAWN'S TOP ALBUMS OF ALL-TIME (a tribute to the art of the album)

#35   U2 - The Joshua Tree (1987)

I'm trying to remember an album in that decade or even since that I was anticipating nearly as much and then having that album even beat my expectations.  I had worn out "The Unforgettable Fire" and that album promised even more of an evolution for the band.  Then this album dropped in early 1987 and blew away any thoughts I had that this would be a simple, college rock band.  This album exploded in that college atmosphere in a way that I haven't seen since.  It was literally everywhere in a month.  To me, it's a peak that they won't reach again.  There have been good singles since this album but no album has reached the complete vision of Joshua Tree.  To me, this is just like when The Beatles discovered America.  But U2 discovered a different America - one of Hemingway and O'Connor.  The album is strong from beginning to end.  Eleven solid songs and some of the best work The Edge ever did.  Have you heard "Bullet The Blue Sky" and not been impressed?  Try it today and see.

Bullet The Blue Sky

In God's Country

One Tree Hill

Previous Rankings

#36 - Elton John - Captain Fantastic and Brown Dirt Cowboy (1975)

#37 - Nirvana - Nevermind (1991)

#38 - Marvin Gaye - Let's Get It On (1973)
#39 - Michael Jackson - Thriller (1982)

#40 - Peter Gabriel - So (1986)

THIS WEEK IN TELEVISION

MONDAY
THE GOODWIN GAMES (FOX)  A dead father's will pits siblings against each other in challenges to see who gets the inheritance.  The Summer season is off to a rocky starts.  This sounds like a Spike show at best.

BATES MOTEL (A&E)  The first season comes to an end - I think I messed up not getting this onto the Tivo.  Come through for me Netflix.

TUESDAY
DANCING WITH THE STARS (ABC)  The season finale is tonight.  Why don't I watch?  Because I understand that Andy Dick might win.  Right?

THE GHOST ARMY (PBS)  Cool army stuff from World War II like inflatable tanks, impersonators, and sound effects to scare Hitler.

WEDNESDAY
MASTERCHEF (FOX)  Like singing shows . . . one Gordon Ramsay show ends and another one starts.  This is the one with the amateur chefs, right?

TREK NATION and BROWNCOATS (SCI)  These two have aired previously but here's the chance to catch them again in one night - the extreme fandom of Trek and Firefly is explored in these interesting shows.

THURSDAY
DOES SOMEONE HAVE TO GO?  (FOX)  As someone who manages people and makes hiring decisions - this is either the worst show ever or a really clever show.  Here the employees are given the opportunity to hire or fire a person that might be holding the rest of the team back.  I can't even imagine how this would play out in my office.

SAFETY LAST (TCM)  This 1923 Harold Lloyd piece belongs in the memory banks of any fan of Jackie Chan.

FRIDAY
BRAIN GAMES (FOX)  From the channel that has fought against us using their brains for years.

INSIDE DAISY CLOVER (TCM)  A 1966 film with a hot Natalie Wood and Robert Redford at about his most beautiful.

SATURDAY
ORPHAN BLACK (BBC)  Proving I can't watch everything out there - I knew this was probably pretty good.  And knew I'd have to catch up with it later.  It may have turned out to be even better than I thought.  Season 2 has been announced - time for all of us to catch up before then.

THE NERDIST (BBC)  After not watching "Orphan Black", I might actually tune into this show with Guillermo del Toro tonight.

SUNDAY
BEHIND THE CANDELABRA (HBO)  I'd pay to go see this movie in theaters.  In fact, in Europe, they are doing just that.  Steven Soderbergh directs some extra gay scenes that have unfortunately made companies nervous.  Michael Douglas and Matt Damon look amazing here.

ROCK MY RV w/BRET MICHAELS (TRAVEL)  I"m not sure exactly where this country went wrong.  But years from now - they may hold this show up and say "See!!".  Wait, it isn't that kind of rocking???

ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT (NETFLIX)  Duh.  Why would you even be watching real television stuff.

AND NOW A WORD FROM OUR SPONSOR . . .  you know I love these AT&T ads.  The infinity one surprised me when it showed up last week . . . 

And the puppy brother makes perfect sense . . . 

And the concept of the "slow turtle" is confusing and funny . . . 

"You broke the bonds
And you loosed the chains
Carried the cross
Of my shame"  - U2

I hope you find what you're looking for.  Stay hard.

sb

Sunday Morning Tuneage & Weekly TV (5/12/13)

Happy Mothers  Day to all the mothers who stop down to read this on a weekly basis.  It's going to be a slow, slow day here.  I'm off to a late start because the busy week has caught up to me.  It was a long working week with Thu - Sat being 41 hours alone.  And woke up this morning with a huge headache and feeling terrible.  So we're staying in all day - resting up for the week ahead.  It was a slower week for kids activities with just Caleb having two baseball games - one victory and one loss - and he did hit the first home run of the season for our team.  Sitting here thinking if I can even stomach a little food for lunch - maybe just a sandwich.  And listening to some tuneage . . . 

SUNDAY MORNING TUNEAGE

DEPECHE MODE - ENJOY THE SILENCE.  This 1990 single from "Violator" reminds me of a single they would have released in the early 80s.  Today, I've got the original version playing - it's been a while, since the '04 remix seems to get all the radio airplay if any.  This convinces me even more that I need to find a way to see DM live this Summer.

MANHATTAN TRANSFER - SPICE OF LIFE.  I was generally familiar with Manhattan Transfer before this single came out in 1983.  They had a few hits and existed on the fringe of mainstream and jazz music.  I like "Boy From New York City" and "Twilight Zone".  But this song was totally different.  This song was written by Michael Jackson collaborator, Rod Temperton and has a feeling of a song that was meant for Michael.   It's the type of song that I think could have made them a huge crossover group through the decade.  But they were still going to be true to their R&B and Jazz roots.  Reminds me of days walking the Maple Hill Mall.

LIONEL RICHIE - HAVE YOURSELF A MERRY LITTLE CHRISTMAS.  We're still closer to last Christmas than next Christmas.  And I'm dreading the upcoming Christmas, in general.  But Lionel's version of one of my favorites feels really good this morning.  I'm anxious to get to the Labor Day weekend when the Christmas music will feel more in place.

SOMETHING RANDOM . . . 

DEADLIGHTS OF 2013. . . forgot to include the great Jeff Hanneman - guitarist for Slayer - who passed away last week.  The man had some real talent on the guitar - some serious riffs that stick with me more than the actual song and lyrics of many Slayer tunes. .  . Jeanne Cooper was Katherine on my Summertime story, "Young & the Restless" but she's also the mother of Corbin Bernsen . . .  Bryan Forbes was the director of THE STEPFORD WIVES and a forgotten documentary on Elton John and Bernie Taupin . . . one of my huge, huge influences was Ray Harryhausen.  But even more than loving his work on THE 7TH VOYAGE OF SINBAD, MIGHTY JOE YOUNG and JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS - he was a great storyteller.  One of the best hours I've ever spent at Comic Con was with Ray Harryhausen, Ray Bradbury and Forrest J Ackerman.  The friends had the best stories and Harryhausen felt like the connection to a time that we'll never have back again . . . 

QUICK LIST (a random, uninformed list off the top of Shawn's head)

BEST FAMILY GUY EPISODES OF ALL-TIME

10.  SPIES REMINISCENT OF US (2009)  Instead of just a brief mention of a random film, this episode went all the way with a 30 minute spoof of SPIES LIKE US with Chevy Chase and Dan Aykroyd doing voices.  Just after Cleveland's departure and it's a decent change of pace.

9. PATRIOT GAMES (2006)  Tom Brady makes an appearance and there's a fun musical dance to "Shipoopi".

8.  I TAKE THEE, QUAGMIRE (2006)  We need some more Quagmire-centric episodes.  This is a hilarious one where he falls for Peter's maid, Joan.  And then eventually tries to fake his own death to get out of the marriage.  Best part - Peter on "Wheel of Fortune" guessing the letters - Z, 4, Q, Q, Q and the Batman symbol.

7.  FAMILY GUY VIEWER MAIL  (2002)  One of the early episodes with quite a few "Simpsons" influences.  But the three stories are such a departure from the norm it sticks out as one of their most creative.

6.  BACK TO THE PILOT (2011)  Is there a show that has acknowledge it's past better than this episode where they go back in time to view their Pilot episode from a current point of view?  Brilliant commentary on the show and how shows change.

5.  SOMETHING, SOMETHING, SOMETHING DARK SIDE (2010)  Direct to DVD before it hit the air and it lost a little something when it did.  The EMPIRE take off is played a little closer to the vest but still hilarious - and who came up with Giant Chicken as Boba Fett??  Nice.

4.  NORTH BY NORTH QUAHOG (2002)  After the canceled hiatus, they returned with this hilarious episode.  It's a wall to wall, don't feel sorry for us, plot of Hitchcock references and making fun of Mel Gibson.

3.  PETERGEIST (2006)  Overall not a superb episode but the movie parodies are about the best they've done - including POLTERGEIST and LORD OF THE RINGS.

2.  I DREAM OF JESUS (2008)  This is my favorite for a couple reasons - mainly the "Bird Is The Word" song but then for Jesus getting mad at everyone and vowing not to come back for 1000 years.

1.  BLUE HARVEST PART 1 and 2 (2007)  The parody of STAR WARS: A NEW HOPE is still the high water mark for the series.  The character choices are brilliant and there's a freedom to just be funny that isn't there in the future parodies.  Still the most watchable of the trilogy if you've got the time.

At its best moments, this show was never as good as "The Simpsons".  And maybe I'd put it on par with "South Park".  But it's been a solid entry in my Sunday night viewings for a decade.  I've recently gone back to start watching the early episodes again and I see where they've improved their formula greatly.  I don't get too excited for current episodes but as you can see from this list, there is a sweet spot of 3-5 years that the show was as clever as any animated show out there.  The worst episodes?  I don't know about whole episodes but the problem with the series is that the parts have become boring.  Recent episodes including "Bigfat", "The Giggity Wife", and "Friends Without Benefits" all from this season are among my least favorites.

NETFLIX PLAY NOW OF THE WEEK . . .  worthy of more than one watch is a great reason to have Netflix Instant Watch at hand.  The example of the moment is CABIN IN THE WOODS . . . the first season of COPPER is available now, I've been talking about this series since last year and I'm ready for next season coming up . . .  both seasons of Gordon Ramsay's KITCHEN NIGHTMARES is available - both fun and disturbing for those of us who like to eat out a couple times a week. . . 

Shawn's fave movies according to FLICKCHART

#71  -  Die Hard
#673 - Karate Kid, Part III
#810 - The Fast and the Furious

RANDOM PROJECT UPDATE -  The MARK TWAIN project.  My multi-year slow paced trip through the works of Mark Twain has been stuck a year on "Roughing It" - I'm really enjoying it but I don't seem to pick it up again until, like last week,  I'm stuck waiting in a doctor's office or waiting for an oil change.  It's the perfect book for reading a chapter at a time - especially since most of it was written as newspaper features.  There are so many crazy episodes along the way, I'm already casting an HBO mini-series for it in my head.

SHAWN'S TOP ALBUMS OF ALL-TIME (a tribute to the art of the album)

#36  Elton John - Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy (1975)

These are Elton's golden years - really, towards the end of the run of albums where he could do no wrong.  It's a great double album, and on top of that, it's a concept album about the early years of working together for Bernie Taupin and Elton.  Usually these long concept albums would run out of steam but the songs work well alone and as part of the greater whole.  There are some of his best songs - "Someone Saved My Life Tonight" and "Better Off Dead".  But it's the rare album that will be on the rest of this list in that most people will only know one song.  It doesn't have to be a popular selling album or have tons of singles to be one of the top albums of all-time.  It just has to have a collection of great songs.  

Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy

Better Off Dead

Tower of Babel

Previous Rankings

#37 - Nirvana - Nevermind (1991)

#38 - Marvin Gaye - Let's Get It On (1973)#39 - Michael Jackson - Thriller (1982)

#40 - Peter Gabriel - So (1986)
#41 - Beatles - Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)

THIS WEEK IN TELEVISION

MONDAY

90210 (CW)  The show ends after five seasons.  But that's four more seasons than I thought the reboot would get.  And the Goo Goo Dolls are there to send them off.

FELT (LOGO)  Couples have their therapy sessions taped to air on TV.  Except they are reenacted by puppets.  Hence the title, I guess.

TUESDAY
THE MINDY PROJECT (FOX)  Some good moves towards the end of the season have pointed to this finale.  Mindy chooses the Pastor Casey and I love the addition of Chole Sevigny as Danny's ex-wife.

SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE (FOX)  The 10th season of one of our favorite shows starts up tonight.  Last season was slightly a step back for me but I think I have faith in the producers to figure it out.  Dee and I will spend the rest of the Summer with this show - and no break for the Olympics!!

WEDNESDAY
FORBIDDEN PLANET (TCM)  Is the secret out yet that this is a version of Shakespeare's "The Tempest"?  In space.  A really cool film with a beautiful Anne Francis.

SPELLBOUND (TCM)  Classic Hitchcock that more people should know about.  Did an amnesiac commit murder?

THURSDAY
AMERICAN IDOL (FOX)  And after a season of dropping ratings and controversy and interesting twists.  But ultimately it was the season I tuned out for most of the season and I'll come back to see who wins and to sit through some outrageous group vocals.

THE OFFICE (NBC)  And while AI is ending a season tonight - the real attention needs to be on the end of this show after nine seasons.  For a 3-5 year span - this show was the "Cosby Show" and "Cheers" and "Seinfeld" of the network.  It was the show I had to talk about the next day with the folks at work.  I had so much doubt about the remake to start.  But was won over by Season Two.  It's definitely been downhill this season but I don't deny the greatness overall.  It'll be weird next season on Thursday for the show not to be there.

FRIDAY
SHARK TANK (ABC)  I thought I knew how this show worked but then I see that Dr. Doofenshmirtz from "Phineas and Ferb" is on tonight.  He's proposing a product.  But is this show now strictly a joke?

ACE IN THE HOLD (TCM)  One of the few Billy Wilder films that I don't know if I've seen more than once.  Kirk Douglas stars as a reporter covering a mine cave-in.

SATURDAY
DOCTOR WHO (BBC)  River Song is back to help the Doctor fight Whisperman and already the half season is over and we now wait until Christmas.  I know many of you haven't been giving this half season good reviews but I've found it very accessible for the average viewer and that's part of the evolution of the show over the years.

BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN (TCM)  Best way to spend a Saturday night.  With your friends, Colin Clive and Boris Karloff.

SUNDAY
NORTH AMERICA (DISC)  A seven part documentary focusing on North American animals and plants.  With all the docs that have focused on areas of the world that I'll never go - I like to see it come back home.

SIMPSONS (FOX)  Home, Lenny, Carl and Moe win the Springfield Lotery and Season 24 ends.  Bring on an amazing Season 25.  Yes, it isn't even what it was a few years ago.  But it's my Sunday staple for a quarter of a century.  Happy just to be able to say I've seen them all.

AND NOW A WORD FROM OUR SPONSOR . . .  I like these Mayhem commercials from Allstate although they may have run their course.  This one with the Cleaning Lady is hilarious for the vacuuming of the curtains and then the fish bowl.

And this Mayhem video with the woman in labor is awesome and doesn't air on TV - did it ever?

This Google Chrome ad is the best use of "Family Guy" in a ad campaign . . . 

"And it's one more beer,
And I don't hear you anymore
We've all gone crazy lately
My friend's out there
Rolling 'round the basement floor."  - Elton John


Someone save your life.  Stay hard.

sb

Sunday Morning Tuneage & Weekly TV (5/5/13)

The week ahead is long at best - a full week of buyback, working late, three baseball games and two Graduations.  By the time we get back here next week I'll have a good 50-60 hours of work and very little sleep.  Today is the last day to "relax" .  By that I mean, time to workout, go see IRON MAN 3, eat some lunch and celebrate some Cinco De Mayo!!!  The week past was decent - Caleb lost a soccer game, won his baseball game yesterday with some good pitching and Christian is excited about the start of Spring Football Practice.  And the great thing about May is that I got to see Dee dance twice - at her school and for her dance studio.  As I get ready for the upcoming week, I'm sitting here trying to figure out the lunch options and listening to some tuneage . . .

SUNDAY MORNING TUNEAGE

VAN MORRISON - WILD CHILDREN.  This is from the wildly underrated "Hard Nose The Highway" album from 1973.  And it's an awesome song on an album full of them - "Warm Love" and "Bein' Green" among them.  It's a simple song about children going up in Post WWII in other countries and there's a list of American icons they would get their identity from.  But like most Van songs - it's the melody and his voice that make the song.  I have been too removed from Van this year - might be time for this album again.

BRYAN ADAMS - THIS TIME.  This was a pretty decent hit in the Fall of 1983.  I had just developed my Bryan Adams awareness with the arrival of MTV in my home in early 1983.  I knew the other songs on this album like "Cuts Like a Knife" and "Straight From The Heart" but this song was one of my favorites at the time.  I knew from these three songs that he would have a decent career.  Always wanted to see him opening for either Supertramp or The Police (both of which he did in 1983 and 1984).

SPLIT ENZ - TAKE A WALK.  This is a Split Enz song that shows up on my copy of their "Spellbound" greatest hits album.  I don't know too much of the song and it certainly isn't one of their hits.  Neil Finn lyrics are usually interesting but as far as I can tell this feels like a song about taking a walk in New Zealand and not much else.

SOMETHING RANDOM . . . 7th Graders have Anne Frank removed from reading list in Northville, Michigan . . .  the headline tells it all - Twerking Youtube video leads to SD students' suspensions

DEADLIGHTS OF 2013. . . I left off George Jones last week because I was just getting my thoughts together when the week ended.  He's one of the major Country players - and another member of Country Music's Mt Rushmore is gone.  Stay hard, Willie.  I discovered George way late in life but then went on a binge of his music from the 60s and 70s.  Brilliant man that stuck to singing about what he knew - hard drinking and hard loving. . . Rick Camp was a pitcher for the Braves that I remember from my Summer days watching TBS all day and night . . . Mike Gray wrote some classic screen plays including THE CHINA SYNDROME and the TV show "Starman" . . . Chris "Mac Daddy" Kelly, a part of the Kris Kross duo, passed away from a drug overdose last week . . . I was amazed that Deanna Durbin had been alive when I heard she passed away last week.  This beauty starred in two great films - CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY and the excellent murder mystery, LADY ON A TRAIN . . . 

QUICK LIST (a random, uninformed list off the top of Shawn's head)

BEST POP TARTS EVER

10.  FROSTED BROWN SUGAR CINNAMON.  Decent.  But some people think it's the best.

9.  BLUEBERRY UNFROSTED.  Reminds me of my Nana Bourdo's house - always a pack in the cupboard.

8.  FROSTED VANILLA.  Around for a short period of time - I really miss them and should have stocked up.

7.  FROSTED RASPBERRY.  Always love a good raspberry flavor.

6.  FROSTED APPLE CINNAMON.  They have an Apple Strudel now.  But this one was even better.  And it one ups the Brown Sugar as a tasty dessert style pastry.

5.  FROSTED STRAWBERRY.  A classic flavor.  One of the originals.

4.  FROSTED CHERRY.  I remember when this one came along -  a welcome addition and i

3.  COOKIES N CREME.  I think it's just the chocolate pop tart with vanilla icing.  But it looks great and tastes awesome.

2.  FROSTED CHOCOLATE FUDGE.  What better than chocolate frosting on chocolate pastry for breakfast?  This is like a dessert.  But good anytime of day.

1.  FROSTED BLUEBERRY.  Good cold but they move to #1 when toasted properly.  There's something about that blueberry filling that stays molten hot for an hour after heating.  It's the one that's been in my pantries since the 1970s and still rules.

This request came down from West Coast Strikeforce this week.  I'm pretty okay with coming up with the best tasting toaster pastries.  They've been a staple of my diet since my early years and quite the actual diet for me in college and now something I've passed down to my own children.  Remember as you read the list - I'm an Old School Tart fan.  Just off the list - S'Mores, Unfrosted Strawberry and Frosted Chocolate Chip.  The worst flavors?  Most of the recent additions are the worst - many I haven't even tried like . . . Hello Kitty Meow Berry and Songe Bob Wild Bubble Berry (what is that even?) . . . 

NETFLIX PLAY NOW OF THE WEEK . . .  with all the talk of movies that have left Netflix Streaming  - there are some great ones that have been added including PULP FICTION (the favorite film of some people I know) . . . HOOSIERS is one of the best sports films of all-time, no lie . . .  and if you're looking for the best of the Disaster Film genre - look no further than AIRPORT and AIRPORT '75 . . . 

Shawn's fave movies according to FLICKCHART

#376  - Evil Dead II
#1402 - Rise Of The Planet of the Apes
#1609 - Stop Making Sense

RANDOM PROJECT UPDATE -  The HUNGER GAMES project.  Watched the first movie again recently (thank you Netflix, even though I have the Blu-ray), listened to the audio version of "Catching Fire" and I'm back again reading a few more chapters of "Mockingjay".  I'm still widely enthusiastic about the series - anxious for the 2nd film.  And like all my other series, I have an issue as I get towards the end of a trilogy of wanting to extend the end.  What does that say about me?  I'm afraid to even ask.  Until then, I'm not ready to find out how this ends for Katniss just yet.

SHAWN'S TOP ALBUMS OF ALL-TIME (a tribute to the art of the album)

#37  Nirvana - Nevermind (1991)


There are very few times in my lifetime when an album has marked such a sea change in my musical landscape.  Late in 1991, was one of those times.  I had spent the better part of the previous 4 years fully involved in the Hip Hop movement, discovering Jazz and old Funk, and even revisiting some classic rock bands of the 1970s.  But then I heard "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and it made me love rock all over again.  It may have been called Grunge but it was more than a movement it was a throwback to music that had been ignored except in smaller city bars for years.  I think I would rank this higher if I felt that the quality of all the songs lived up to the best songs - "Come As You Are". "In Bloom" and "Lithium".  After "Polly" I can take a break for a few songs until I get to "On A Plain".  I think if I had been a teenager at the time this came out, it would be in my Top Ten.  Still I recognize how awesome this is as far as a game changer.  A great album that everyone should know from top to bottom.

Breed

In Bloom

Something In The Way

Previous Rankings

#38 - Marvin Gaye - Let's Get It On (1973)#39 - Michael Jackson - Thriller (1982)

#40 - Peter Gabriel - So (1986)
#41 - Beatles - Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)
#42 - Prince - 1999 (1982)

THIS WEEK IN TELEVISION

MONDAY

CASTLE (ABC)  What a roller coaster ride.  There were actually two good episodes (the Rear Window one and the jealous Castle one) and then the "clips" episode that was the worst they've ever thrown out there.  Only two left - which way are we going to finish?  Military drones are the subject of this one.

HAWAII FIVE-O (CBS)  Never watched, sure I won't watch but I'm curious when I read that the guest star this week is Henry Rollins.  Do they usually have guests like that?

TUESDAY

NEW GIRL (FOX)  I'm bordering on dropping this show for next season.  But then I see that Rob Reiner is back again this episode as Jess's dad.  We need much more Meathead.

CONSTITUTION USA (PBS)  Leave it up to PBS to break down the Constitution.  I'm pretty sure that it isn't really like either party portrays it.  Curious if there is any political leanings to be seen.

WEDNESDAY

ARROW (CW)  Only two episodes left in this one too.  I've mentioned in the past few weeks that I've grown to like this show after wanting to hate it so much.  But now I can see that there is at least one more good season in this show.  More John Barrowman please.  They just have to be careful not to break the rule of too many superhero shows - that too many people know his identity.

DON'T SAY NO UNTIL I'M FINISHED TALKING (TCM)  So many of the movies I loved in my youth had this one thing in common - produced by Richard D. Zanuck.  This doc is about the man who produced JAWS, DRIVING MISS DAISY and THE SOUND OF MUSIC just for starters.

THURSDAY

HANNIBAL (NBC)  Jeremy loves this show.  I have such suspicion of any NBC show that I never started.  But my crush, Gillian Anderson debuts tonight as Hannibal's therapist.  Rethinking my doubts.

AMERICAN IDOL (FOX)  I've cruised through most of the episodes just out of curiosity.  But there's no one this season that I find amazing.  The final few ladies are all good but unremarkable.  Tonight we figure out who's going to be in our Final Two.

FRIDAY
GOOD EATS (COOKING)  Until the new episodes come along - this marathon is a good way to spend a Friday night!

THE HORN BLOWS AT MIDNIGHT (TCM) Jack Benny isn't an actor - he's a musician - so he stars as himself.  Well, he plays himself as an angel sent to mess up the Earth.

SATURDAY
AUSTIN CITY LIMITS (PBS)  I've always enjoyed The Shins - they perform songs from their "Port of Morrow" album tonight.

HOW GREEN WAS MY VALLEY (TCM)  A film I came into when in college - I didn't appreciate it then but it's grown on me as I age.  Mostly the beauty of the Welsh countryside and the acting of Walter Pidgeon, Roddy McDowall and Maureen O'Hara.

SUNDAY
THE CLEVELAND SHOW (FOX)  I meant to stop watching this show a few months ago.  But as it looks, this will be the final episode of the series tonight, so I've kept up with it - only missing an episode or two maybe over the course of its run.  Not a terrible show, I've actually had more laughs from it recently than "Family Guy".  Sad to see it go because of the enjoyment I've had from its panels at Comic Con.

SURVIVOR (CBS)  Another season comes to an end.  This one certainly featured some of the craziest Tribal Councils I've ever seen.  This is easily still one of the best three reality shows on TV and it's amazing that no one (except you Millers and Geises) talks about it anymore.  

AND NOW A WORD FROM OUR SPONSOR . . .  a classic Skittles ad that I love . . . 

This Skittles ad with the walrus is disturbing on so many levels . . .

And more Trale please . . . 

"Take you time, hurry up
The choice is yours, don't be late
Take a rest, as a friend, as an old memory."  - Nirvana


Come as you are.  Stay hard.

sb