Sunday Morning Tuneage & Weekly TV (4/21/13)

With other stressful news happening in the world - it was a typical Spring week for us.  Christian had a couple baseball games (I never seem to get to see him play) - both losses but he is fielding very well.  Caleb had one game rained out and played another baseball game - he started at pitcher, only gave up a couple runs and did a great job at catcher and at bat for another victory - our team is 3-1 on the season now.  Saturday was relatively light with just a soccer game - another victory.  But that just means we got a crazy couple of weeks ahead through the end of May.  Hope I can keep up with everything.  You might see me go a little off the rails keeping up with it.  Today I've got a rare break - time to get a nice lunch, workout here soon and maybe even consider a nap to make it through the day.  Until then, I'm playing some Candy Crush Saga, getting ready to write and listening to some tuneage . . . 

SUNDAY MORNING TUNEAGE

NEIL DIAMOND  - PORCUPINE PIE.  This 1972 album and the "Hot August Nights" album are the first two Neil Diamond albums that made me love his music.  This "Moods" album had the great "Song Sung Blue" song to lead it off.  This song is one that never gets played on the radio but it's a favorite of all Diamond fans that I know.  No real insight as to the name of the song from me . . . "Vanilla soup, a double scoop please."

PLUMP DJ's - CREEPSHOW.  A very catchy dance tune from 2003 by this DJ duo from their "Eargasm" album.  I love this Kool & the Gang interpolation / sample.  I wish I knew more about the group - but this is the only album I appear to have on my iTunes and it looks like I haven't got nearly enough plays out of this song.

ELVIS COSTELLO - EVERYDAY I WRITE THE BOOK.  Too, too often I forget how much I love Elvis Costello.  And this album in particular, from 1983, gives me lots of pleasure.  That "Punch The Clock" album has a number of great songs but this one was the biggest hit.  A song that compares falling in love to writing a book is a great comparison.  "Chapter Two, I think I fell in love with you."   Going to go sing along for another go through . . . 

SOMETHING RANDOM . . .  Reading reviews of Twitter Music makes me anxious for it to come to Android . . . and Cat and Sloth have forbidden love.

DEADLIGHTS OF 2013. . . the same man wrote "Old Time Rock and Roll" that Bob Seger made famous and "One Bad Apple" by the Osmonds.  His name was George Jackson and he passed away this week . . .Frank Bank was "Lumpy" on "Leave It To Beaver" . . . Chi Cheng was bassist for the underrated Deftones . . . John Galaradi founded the original Der Wiernerschnitzel (logo designed by Saul Bass) in California.  I didn't know them until I got to California and there aren't too many left in this area of Texas. . . Michael France was a good screenwriter that isn't really a known name among many film fans - GOLDENEYE, HULK (2003), CLIFFHANGER and FANTASTIC FOUR. . . Storm Thorgerson is best known for his album covers - especially that of Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon".  I'd also nominate his covers of Led Zeppelin's "Houses of the Holy" and Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here". . .Pat Summerall is one of my favorite announcers of all-time.  He was the perfect compliment with John Madden but I also will miss him and his work on tennis and The Masters. . . Richard LeParmentier had a small but memorable role in the STAR WARS: A NEW HOPE as Admiral Motti who was choked to death by Darth Vader.  He was confusingly (to my young brain) also on an episode of "Space 1999".  He was British but died on a trip here to Austin, TX . . .

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

BEST WHISTLING IN SONGS OF ALL-TIME

10. JOHN LENNON - JEALOUS GUY.  He has a line here "I was swallowing my pain" and the whistling here seems to cover that emotion.  Just like he lyrics have eluded him.

9.  BONES MCKINNEY - SWEET GEORGIA BROWN.  The Harlem Globetrotters theme is still really catchy and I can't think of it in any other situation than people passing basketballs around.

8.  SEVEN DWARVES - WHISTLE WHILE YOU WORK.  Seems like a natural - I was just figuring out where to put it on the list.  Best little note on the song is that it's at the end of the Smith's "How Soon Is Now?".

7.  PETER GABRIEL - GAMES WITHOUT FRONTIERS.  A song based on a Hunger Games-ish TV show in Europe.  Kate Bush on backing vocals and some catchy whistling that makes me feel like we're about to go on a march.

6.  OTIS REDDING - DOCK OF THE BAY.  Not enough Soul songs with whistling.  And the whistling here is at the end as if he couldn't remember the last verse and was whistling to waste the time until the song was over.

5.  SUPERTRAMP - GOODBYE STRANGER.  Awesome piano through the song and then throw in some subtle but cool whistling that doesn't seem forced or out of place.

4.  BLACK KEYS - TIGHTEN UP.  There seems to be something about love songs and pain that make whistling work well in the song.  This whistling under the music is perfectly catchy.  Hard not to whistle the whole song once you get started.

3.  GUNS N ROSES - PATIENCE.  "Shed a tear cause I'm missing you."  Axl's little dance and whistle are infectious.  Still one of my favorite slow rock jams of all-time.  And unlike many of the songs here - the whistling makes important solo appearances throughout the song.  It takes "patience" sometimes to get through them but this is one of the band's high points - heartbreak be damned.

2.  MONTY PYTHON - ALWAYS LOOK ON THE BRIGHT SIDE OF LIFE.  Eric Idle's song from LIFE OF BRIAN is one of my favorite Python songs.  Really clever lyrics and whistling that fits perfectly as a happy refrain against the bad of the world.  "Some things in life are bad / They can really make you mad."  This is a great singalong for almost any occasion.  

1.  ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW - THE FISHING HOLE.  Not sure that more songs make me feel happier than this song.  A great show but the full song is just happy.  They should have included the song with lyrics on the show.  Can't stop moving when it plays.

The whistle can be very annoying in songs.  And yet when done correctly - it's irresistible and you just have to whistle along.  I was surprised that it was actually very easy to come up with ten great whistle songs.  But the list of annoying ones seems just as easy.  The most annoying?  Start with Bobby McFerrin's "Don't Worry, Be Happy" and that new Flo Rida song.  But the worst ear worm of the bunch has to be the Colonel Bogey March from THE BRIDGE OVER The RivER KWAI.  That one sits in my brain for days at a time after hearing it.

NETFLIX PLAY NOW OF THE WEEK . . .  there's something enjoying about seeing the early work of two actors that ended up on NBC Thursday night sitcoms - BAD INFLUENCE (1980) stars Rob Lowe and James Spader in one of the better thrillers of the decade that few people seem to remember . . . I said I'd watch HATFIELDS & MCCOYS when it came to Netflix - here it is and I've kinda lost momentum on this show - might add it to the queue anyways . . . BULLY seems like a documentary that they would show my kids at school but it also seems like something big folk should watch too . . . 

Shawn's fave movies according to FLICKCHART

#46  -  Mary Poppins

#325 - Frankenstein (1931)

#557 - 300

RANDOM PROJECT UPDATE -  The BREAKING BAD project.  I'm getting along a little further on this project.  I'm not sure I'll be caught up by the time the new season starts.  I just never seem to be able to knock out a substantial number of episodes of a show.  The exception being my lunchtime "Castle" run last Summer.  I'm making a good run into Season Two - just finished with "Down" means that I'm a third of the way into the 2nd season and enjoying the way the Jesse and Walt relationship is developing.  The Tucco story was creepy and made a good connection with the viewer.  I"m as impressed as I thought I would be - I'll try to keep it going.

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

#39  Michael Jackson - Thriller (1982)

This isn't a list based on sales or this would certainly be #1.  This is a list based on what these albums as a whole meant to me.  When this hit in 1982 - it would be with me all through 1983 (one of the most important years of my life).  It was the soundtrack to that year for everyone that lived through it.  The whole album is widely known - it's not like there's a track on here that you haven't heard on the radio.  There's not a clunker on this album.  I can't complain about even one song.  It was a perfect soundtrack for the days but having an album of all good songs isn't like having an album with two to three really great songs and a few mediocre ones.  The legacy of this album is deserved and while I don't listen to it as much - it has won over my kids and they love it like I did 30 years ago.

PYT - 

Wanna Be Startin' Something - 

Human Nature  - 

Previous Rankings

#40 - Peter Gabriel - So (1986)
#41 - Beatles - Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)
#42 - Prince - 1999 (1982)
#43 - James Brown - The Payback (1973)

#44 - Black Sabbath - Paranoid (1970)

THIS WEEK IN TELEVISION

MONDAY

RECTIFY (SUNDANCE)  Man wrongly convicted of rape and murder at age 18 and finally having his sentence overturned at age 37, returns home in this drama.  It looks like a nice slow burn drama.  It's just a few hours - a mini-series in effect.  Been getting really good reviews, perfect to add to the Tivo queue until after Sweeps.

CASTLE (ABC)  I have almost caught back up.  And I'll be fair and say that the past few episodes are almost redeeming the whole season .  The REAR WINDOW episode was derivative but cool, as was the Irish Mafia episode.  

TUESDAY
AWKWARD (MTV)  My daughter caught up on "Pretty Little Liars" and has started this show now.  As a truly irresponsible father, I haven't checked out either series.  I should probably be more wary of this one, right?    Although it does have a woman from "iCarly" . . . 

TEEN TITANS GO! (TOON)  I've been waiting for a new Teen Titans for years.  This is the fun side of Young Justice and I gotta believe it's going to be my favorite new show of the Spring.

WEDNESDAY
DUCK DYNASTY (A&E)  Is the show over the shark?  They go to Hawaii this week.  You tell me.

ARROW (CW)  Dang.  I keep thinking I don't like this show.  Don't want to like it.  But when it's not on, I miss it.  And when an episode airs, I don't go a day without watching it.  More Deadshot, more murder investigations and even more of the boring flashbacks.

THURSDAY
COMMUNITY, THE OFFICE, PARKS & REC (NBC)  Three of four shows filling the two hours are new.  But not for long.  I'm not sure what Thursday nights will look like in the Fall but I have a feeling that this will be the last gasp of the comedy run of the past 25 years.  Enjoy.  There are still laughs to be had.

THOSE MAGNIFICENT MEN IN THEIR FLYING MACHINES (TCM)  This 1965 film is one that I recommend to many.  It can be a bit slow, I know.  But the story of the 1910 air race is quaint and makes me long for better days.

FRIDAY
HAPPY ENDINGS (ABC)  I don't watch this show - Season Finale tonight - but it did catch my eye to see Megan Mullally and Michael McKean as guest stars.  Yes.  Any good?

THE EXORCIST (BBC)  It's a slow night across the dial.  If you don't want NBA Playoffs, the NFL Draft or a musical chairs show - this is by far the best thing waiting for you.

SATURDAY
DOCTOR WHO (BBC)  The strongest group of shows since Matt Smith came on board?  I'll say it.

GIANT (TCM)  Before I head out to Marfa, need to watch this excellent Texas film - Rock Hudson, James Dean, Dennis Hopper and Elizabeth Taylor at her most gorgeous.

SUNDAY
GAME OF THRONES (HBO)  This season has lived up to all my expectations.  Very impressed with Diana Rigg as Queen of Thorns.  I've been down on the Lannisters going into this season but Jaime is becoming much more interesting and I can see that you never should doubt a Lannister.

VEEP (HBO)  Haven't watched an episode this season yet - anyone have a review?

AND NOW A WORD FROM OUR SPONSOR . . .  This ad has been dominating my week.  I shipped my drawers . . . 

And that reminds me of this "cut the cheese" ad . . . 

And that reminds me too of "where do you take a sheet?"

"I don't need no dreams when I'm by your side
Every moment takes me to paradise
Darlin' let me hold you
Warm you in my arms and melt your fears away."  - Michael Jackson


 Be mine.  Stay hard.

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