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