Sunday Morning Tuneage & Weekly TV (2/10/13)

Another February Sunday morning.  Finishing up just a little later this morning.  Late night working yesterday and then a lazy morning not wanting to get started today.  Dee went to her Winter Ball last night and looked so grown up and mature - feeling like the old man today.  Caleb's basketball team lost a tough overtime game yesterday too.  Christian has started his JV baseball season with a couple scrimmages and did well so far.  I have to get in a quick workout soon before I have to go draft Caleb's baseball team.  And carve out a long nap in there somewhere.  Until then I'm looking over the kids I might draft, watching the weather report and listening to some tuneage . . . 

SUNDAY MORNING TUNEAGE

PINK MARTINI - TAYA TAN.  The Portlandia band makes another appearance in the tuneage this week - never a bad thing.  This is off the 2007 "Hey Eugene!" album.  It's a cover of a Japanese song from the 1970s - can't really sing along - do the lyrics even make sense?  But it's always a fun touch to the morning.

LAURYN HILL - MR. INTENTIONAL.  Is this tune from the "Unplugged album  really the last time we've had a Miss Hill release?  That was 2002.  These are the type of lyrics that she writes the best - trapped in a relationship with a man that exploits her and doesn't treat her the way she deserves.  Reminded this morning what a great voice on Miss Hill.  We need more of her out there.

AMERICA - THE BORDER.    It had been a little bit since "You Can Do Magic" when America hit the charts one last time in late 1983.  This single was, trust me, the only good song on the "Your Move" album.  This also fits in between their soundtrack work on THE LAST UNICORN and THE LONELY GUY.  Judging from the cover photo on the album - this was a very confusing time for the members of America.

SOMETHING RANDOM . . . watch BACK TO THE FUTURE in a minute . . . 

DEADLIGHTS OF 2013 . . . Always knew ED KOCH as the crazy mayor of New York City in the 1980s.  He was the mayor that David Letterman needed as a comic foil in his early days. The man always seemed so jolly. . .  Reg Presley was the lead singer of The Troggs - best remembered as the voice on "Wild Thing" . . . Stuart Freeborn was the major makeup artist for Yoda.  He worked on 2001 and DR STRANGELOVE (all the Peter Sellers characters) too.  But I also regret that he was a major player in the Ewok makeup creation. . . Donald Byrd, Detroit native, brought that Midwestern funk sound to his bebop jazz.  The was best with the Blackbyrds and in recent history with Guru on the Jazzmatazz albums. . . 

There was a West Coast request for a special Quick List this week.  I did not get the time to think of my uninformed Top Ten and will address that list next week . . . 

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

BEST FICTIONAL CATS OF ALL-TIME

10.  THE CAT IN THE HAT (THE CAT IN THE HAT)  This trouble maker kitty is the other side of cats - but a valid one - the cat who causes trouble when everyone is gone for the day.

9.  BILL THE CAT (Bloom County / Outland)  Known for weird sounds and seemingly stoned for most of the series - he was always worth a laugh and such a skinny tabby.

8.  BUCKY KATT (Get Fuzzy)  It's Bucky and Satchel Pooch that run this show.  Bucky, like most cats in a cat-dog relationship, runs the show and takes advantage of the more innocent Satchel.

7.  CROOKSHANKS (Harry Potter)  Of course, Hermione had a great cat.   Like all the best cats - he wasn't a wanted one (squashed face) but Hermione bought him anyways and he's one of my favorites.

6.  JONESY (Alien)  Other than Ripley who else is going to survive an Alien attack?  The dogs don't do so well against The Thing but Jonesy makes his way through the series pretty stealthily. 

5.  FELIX (Felix the Cat)  Excessively cute and funny cat that was one of the first cats to star in his own cartoons.  Still clever and funny today.

4.  TOM CAT (Tom and Jerry)  Too many people only know this cat from the past decade of cartoons.  But if you sit down to watch some of the greats from the 1960s, you'll know what a great team Tom and Jerry made.  Not many blue cats around but Tom has a classic look despite his colors.  Pay attention to his expressions - he does with his face what others try to accomplish with their words.  Brilliance.

3.  GARFIELD (Garfield)  I've always had a spot in my heart for the fuzzy tabby kitty.  Why else would I put up with Desmond?  Garfield was one of my favorite comic strips growing up and he's still the cat that most current cats are measured against.

2.  SYLVESTER THE CAT (LOONEY TUNES)  Much better when chasing Tweety than the later days of chasing Speedy Gonzales.  What a classic kitty look with the black and white fur.  And I often imagine my cats talking with a lisp.  Some of the best moments were with his doubting son, Sylvester Jr.

1.  CHESHIRE CAT (Alice's Adventures In Wonderland)  A big fat cat who raises philosophical questions and can disappear and appear as just a head.  There is a fundamental understanding of what makes a cat a cat here and has always been my favorite cat.

What cats don't make the cut?  There are only a few that I really don't like and that's mainly because they are too annoying - and not in the adorable way that cats can be annoying.  The worst?  Heathcliff is one of the worst - not in comic form but his cartoons are almost unwatchable.  Salem from "Sabrina the Teenage Witch" was too smart for his own good - dumb black cats.  Had they been in more cartoons - I would love to have included Babbit and Catstello from the Looney Tunes appearance.  Just off the list - Stimpy, Top Cat, Puss N Boots, and Mr Jinks.

NETFLIX PLAY NOW OF THE WEEK . . . Some great additions in the past week or two including the once very popular but now forgotten film from 1980 - ORDINARY PEOPLE is a powerful film about the loss of a son and the sadness of those who remain . . . TRADING PLACES is one of my favorite Eddie Murphy films and there's a very special Jamie Lee Curtis scene in the film (if you know, then you know) . . .  SHAOLIN SOCCER is one of the better Stephen Chow films but I fear this might be dubbed . . .  GENTLEMEN'S AGREEMENT is a film for anyone who appreciates a good Gregory Peck film.  He's very much in his MOCKINGBIRD mode again here.

Shawn's fave movies according to FLICKCHART

#179 - The Silence of the Lambs
#434 - Fight Club
#453 - Lucky Number Slevin

RANDOM PROJECT UPDATE -  The MARK TWAIN project.  I had finished "The Innocents Abroad" a year ago and I've been reading chapters of "Roughing It" ever so often since then.  I"m a little over 2/3rds through this one and I've enjoyed the storytelling even more.  His humor from future novels is present in this 1872 book.  I've recently enjoyed his writings on San Francisco and especially regarding the big earthquake.  I am considering some fiction next - "The Gilded Age" anyone?

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

#49 -  Beastie Boys - Licensed To Ill (1986)

In 1986, my view of the Hip Hop world was completely changed by one album with 44 minutes of the most unique sounds I'd heard to that point.  The "Raising Hell" album by Run DMC would show me that rock sounds good coexist with rap.  Rick Rubin created a sound that would be copied for over 20 years.  This was an album that if you were my age in 1986, you had to memorize the lyrics to every song.  And today I can still do them all for you in a pinch.  I'm not going to try to put over on you that this is their best album.  You know it isn't.  But there's part of this list of mine that includes an album for what it meant to me when it was released.  And this was the definition of a game changer.  Still fun?  For sure.  Put on some of these tunes at a bar and prepare to identify everyone over the age of 40.  Still love these songs - "The New Style", "No Sleep Till Brooklyn" and "She's Crafty" can still get me up and on my feet.  The sampling world and the potential audience for hip hop more than doubled the day these New York boys dropped this wax.

Slow and low that is the tempo . . . 

Previous Rankings

#50 - Funkadelic - One Nation Under A Groove (1978)#51 - Steely Dan - Aja (1977)

#52 - Prince - Dirty Mind (1980)
#53 - The Stooges - The Stooges (1969)
#54 - Steely Dan - Can't Buy A Thrill (1972)
#55 - The Doors - The Doors (1967)

#56 - Simon & Garfunkel - Bookends (1968)

THIS WEEK IN TELEVISION

MONDAY

CASTLE (ABC)  This show seems to be stuck in a single mode this season.  It's all formula.  Tonight seems like the same episode that has aired 6 times since the first of the year.  It's a murder on the set of "The Wives Of Wall Street".

THE BIGGEST LOSER (NBC)  We're halfway - good episodes so far.  But now the teams are dissolved and I have to learn to appreciate more of the individuals.  Can Jillian go back to being mean now?

TUESDAY

WILD THNGS w/DOMINIC MONAGHAN (BBC)  In Venezuela to find the world's largest centipede.  So creepy - I might not be able to even record this and know the big centipede is on my Tivo.

CITIZEN KANE (TCM)  Your choice - watch the "State Of The Union" address or one of the greatest films ever made.  Hahaha.  I wrote that like it's really a choice.

WEDNESDAY

SURVIVOR (CBS)  More fans vs favorites, this time in Caramoan.  I enjoyed the casts with three returning cast members - ten might be just a bit too many for me.  But after the last few great seasons - I'm onboard.

ARROW (CW)  Ollie is injured and Felicity has to help.  I'm still getting my head around kinda liking this show.  A bit.  Enough to only ever fall an episode behind or less.

THURSDAY

COMMUNITY (NBC)  Maybe the only show I want to watch on stupid Valentine's Day - because this week is the Halloween episode.  A much better holiday.

THE OFFICE (NBC)  Glad that the Sound Guy Brian thing isn't going to ruin the end of the show.  Pam is off to Philly for an interview - you can kinda see where the end of this show is heading.

FRIDAY

THE JOB (CBS)  Cosmo editor in chief is looking for a new editorial assistant.  What better way to find a high quality employee than with reality candidates on a Friday night TV show?

GRAND HOTEL (TCM)  This Greta Garbo pic is studded with lots of other stars and a much better way to spend your Friday night.

SATURDAY

PLANET OF THE APES / BENEATH THE PLANET OF THE APES (AMC)  The originals and still the best - start your evening relaxing with a double feature.

RIPPER STREET (BBC)  I've got the whole season lining up on Tivo ready to watch.  It's similar to the way I watched "Copper" and that was a good experience.

SUNDAY

KILLING LINCOLN (NAT GEO)  Not exactly the Oscar nominated film - this attacks it from a much different angle.  I hate to mention that it's based on the Bill O'Reilly novel because there just went 80% of the audience that read this.  I'm still interested because it concentrates on one of the most interesting moments of American History.  So full of meaning.

ONCE UPON A TIME (ABC)  I wasn't going to watch it.  Then I started and wanted to catch up.  But then I lost all my mojo for it around the beginning of the year.  In a quandary now - worth getting through the 1st season?   This whole stuff with Rumpelstiltskin seems ridiculous.

AMAZING RACE (CBS) and WALKING DEAD (AMC)  are returning favorites that once again make Sunday nights the busiest Tivo night of the week and a logistical nightmare to make sure everything records correctly.

AND NOW A WORD FROM OUR SPONSOR . . . Generally not a great year for Super Bowl ads.  The creativity is happening elsewhere but these ads were pretty safe.  These weren't all the most popular but they are generally the most discussed ads of the past week from the Super Bowl.  Start with the tear jerker from Budweiser . . . .

And there's the touching Paul Harvey ad.  I love Paul and I'm the grandson and nephew of farmers so this was extra special to me . . . 

I love libraries and librarians and library humor with this whisper fight over Oreos.

And lastly.  I love everything about this Dorito's Goat For Sale commercial . . .

"Because Mutiny on the Bounty's what we're all about
I'm gonna board your ship and turn it on out
No soft sucker with a parrot on his shoulder
'Cause I'm bad getting bolder, cold cold gettin' colder."  - Beastie Boys


Drinkin' not thinkin'.  Rhyme and steal.  Stay hard.

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