Sunday Morning Tuneage & Weekly TV (8/4/13)

We're into August.  So, it's at least six day weeks for another month and a half.  Maybe seven days a week for a few.  Last year I worked every day from August 1st to the middle of September.  That won't happen this year because I'm off today.  But we'll see the rest of the month.  Kids getting ready to get back into school related activities within days now.  Last free day might include a trip out for THE CONJURING.  Before then it's a workout and maybe some lunch.  Until I leave, just loading some Batman onto the iPad and listening to some tuneage . . .

SUNDAY MORNING TUNEAGE

AIR - PHOTOGRAPH.  I love the "Pocket Symphonies"  album and this is one of the better songs on the album.  Air have a knack for the song that sounds like it's from a movie you really wish you had watched.  I've always thought this would make a great tune over a dramatic scene.  This can't be 7 years old already, can it?  Listen and thank me later.

LIONEL RICHIE -  THE CHRISTMAS SONG.  It's been 105 all week and it will be hotter next week.  So, how does iTunes know that it's time to start slowly working in the Christmas tunes now that we're into August?  Here we go - I don't mind - hoping that it's a good Christmas about to happen.

SOMETHING RANDOM . . . looked this up after is upset Gordon so.  It's actually pretty cool.  Catchy. . . 

and then this week the whole - 40 days of dating thing got big. I'm interested but smell a fake.

DEADLIGHTS OF 2013. . . Eileen Brennan passed away and most people brought up PRIVATE BENJAMIN but they missed mentioning her role in LAST PICTURE SHOW . . . George Scott was the 1st baseman for the Red Sox and Brewers in my childhood and I remember him most for wearing a batting helmet in the field . . . the loss of Kidd Kraddick was a shock and although I didn't listen to him much, I did respect what he did for radio . . . JJ Cale wrote some Clapton classics - "After Midnight" and "Cocaine" and a Skynyrd classic "Call Me The Breeze" . . . Dennis Farina was best when cast as a mobster - my favorite roles of his "Get Shorty" and "Midnight Run" . . . Faye Hunter was one of the members of the underrated group Let's Active - very much in the REM vein of the 1980s . . . Wilford "Whizzer" White is a football player I've heard of but can't tell you much other than he's got a great nickname . . . Michael Ansara was Commander Kang in multiple Star Trek series and the voice of Mr. Freeze in "Batman: The Animated Series" and other spinoffs . . . 

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

BEST BILLY WILDER FILMS OF ALL-TIME

10.  THE SEVEN YEAR ITCH (1955)  Not the most important movie in this list - it's quite light in fact.  But I have a crush on Marilyn here and it plays out like a play you go see on a hot Summer night.

9.  SABRINA (1954)  Audrey Hepburn hardly has looked better.  As she falls in love with the much older Linus (Humphrey Bogart) - I fall a little more in love with her.

8.  LOVE IN THE AFTERNOON (1957)  It's got Gary Cooper and Audrey Hepburn and in classic Billy Wilder style - it has an interesting message about Capitalism.

7.  THE LOST WEEKEND (1945)  Ray Milland is the lead in one of the best films about alcoholism.  This shows that Wilder has mastered the medium - there are techniques here that new directors still can't figure out.

6.  ACE IN THE HOLE (1951)  The message is much like that of other films as Wilder makes a point against the Hollywood machine and how it exploits and eats up artists.

5.  THE APARTMENT (1960)  Watched this again a few years ago and it's one of my favorite films of the 1960s.  It's cute and funny and seems years ahead of its time.  I'm sure that you don't make "Mad Men" without knowing this movie in and out.

4.  STALAG 17 (1953)  Maybe one of the most cynical films of the 1950s.  Wilder directs Holden again and doesn't spare making either side in this Concentration Camp "comedy" look ridiculous.  It's almost beyond funny to uncomfortable - I compare it to some of the scathing Robert Altman films of the 1970s.

3.  SUNSET BOULEVARD (1950)  A defining Hollywood film.  And an important "classic" in my early movie watching.  Gloria Swanson steals the show but don't discount William Holden who's our lead through the film.  It holds up as much as any classic film - kind of a trend among Wilder films.

2.  DOUBLE INDEMNITY (1944)  I think it was just last Summer that I watched this Film Noir classic and it holds up as much or more than any other Wilder film.  Barbara Stanwyck is the perfect femme fatale.

1.  SOME LIKE IT HOT (1959)  Marilyn Monroe is a star but Lemmon and Curtis steal the show.  It might have defined the "screwball comedy" the way that we think of it today.  I watch this almost yearly.

Easily one of my Top Ten directors of All-Time.  Billy Wilder made films that all seem timeless - they have a great combination of humor and pathos that I only find in small Indy films today.  Is there a worst?  Not really that I've seen.  I'd say my "least favorites" that didn't make the list are THE FRONT PAGE (to be fair I haven't seen it since I was about 19) and KISS ME, STUPID that I should love - Kim Novak and Dean Martin.  Just off the list - good but not Top Ten are IRMA LA DOUCE and ONE, TWO, THREE and LOVE IN THE AFTERNOON (with my Audrey!!!).

NETFLIX PLAY NOW OF THE WEEK . . . INTOLERABLE CRUELTY is a Coen Bros film that escaped me somehow and now it's available instantly . . . RIPPER STREET isn't as good as COPPER but it's definitely a stylish-worth the watch show . . .  I feel like I need to watch THE JEFFREY DAHMER FILES after reading the book about him this Summer . . .

Shawn's fave movies according to FLICKCHART

#214 - The Hangover
#467 - Crimson Tide
#1172 - West Side Story 

RANDOM PROJECT UPDATE -   The CURB project.  I'm finally getting to the point of seeing the end - I've got two seasons left to catch up with this Larry David brilliance.  I finished Season Six with Larry and Cheryl breaking up.  Some of the best episodes at the end of that season with the therapist getting sent to jail and the clever N-word twists.  I'll miss the Black family.  Looks like I'm due for the Seinfeld reunion in Season Seven.

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

#29  Public Enemy - It Takes a Nation of Millions To Hold Us Back (1988)  

Their 2nd album was more than I ever could have hoped for a hip hop album in 1988.  I owned it within days of release because of the previous release.  But this took my concept of hip hop to a whole other level.  I wish I could go back and listen to it again for the first time.  Just too many good things going on here.  Strong beats, more important social commentary and just plain all out hip hop fun.  Who else could balance these things and have them all work together like this?  Chuck D became an all-timer here.  What a greatest hits of all-time type of lineup of songs - "Bring The Noise", "Rebel Without a Pause" and "Don't Believe The Hype" are amongst the strongest rap tunes ever put on vinyl.  Hank Shocklee at his producing best - if you don't think the man is a producing genius - listen to "She Watch Channel Zero" and "Show 'Em What You Got".  Amazing album.  Shake your butt for 57 minutes tonight . . . 

"Rebel Without A Pause"

'Bring The Noise"

"Don't Believe The Hype"

Previous Rankings

#30 - New Order - Power, Corruption, Lies (1983)

#31 - Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin IV (1971)

#32 - Elton John - Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (1973)

#33 - Parliament - Mothership Connection (1975)

#34 - Beastie Boys - Paul's Boutique (1989)

THIS WEEK IN TELEVISION

MONDAY

CASTING BY (HBO)  Another awesome Monday night Summer doc on HBO- this one is on the very underrated job of the casting director.  After movies come out - how often do we hear about the bad choices that almost happened?  Very curious about this movie.

THE WRITER'S ROOM (SUNDANCE)  The other more important role in a TV show is the writer - this show brings in some great TV writers of current shows like "Breaking Bad" to talk about the creation of the stories we love.

TUESDAY

HARD KNOCKS (HBO)  Usually one of the better football shows on during the season - a real good look behind the scenes at what goes on in a football training camp.  But the Bengals???  Really???

SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE (FOX)  Really great season so far, I wish that the ratings were reflecting the quality of the dancing that's happening.  We're down to the Top Ten tonight and I've yet to even figure out who the favorite should be - I really like them all.

WEDNESDAY

BROADCHURCH (BBC)  I've been more excited for this show than any other new show this year.  Murder mystery with Olivia Colman ("Peep Show") and David Tennant ("Doctor Who") star.

BEST DAYM TAKEOUT (TRAVEL)  I hope everyone here has seen Daymon Patterson's burger reviews on YouTube already.  If not, stop and go watch that first to see why I"m talking about this show.  Travel Channel has given him his own show (hope for all of us that like food) and he gets to sample the best of Atlanta tonight.

THURSDAY

CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL (TOON)  I never would have thought when I watched the original shorts on the web that this show would be starting a 5th season and be one of the funniest shows on TV.

WILFRED (FX)  I don't watch this show but it's a new episode and it a holiday themed one.  Is this show out of sync for a reason?  James Remar guests.

FRIDAY

THE CINCINNATI KID (TCM)  Norman Jewison directs Steve McQueen, Karl Malden, Tuesday Weld and the great Edward G. Robinson in this poker themed film set in 1930s New Orleans.

COMEDY BANG! BANG! (IFC)  One of the funnier shows I've caught recently and there's about 2.5 hours of it on a marathon tonight - ending with a new episode.  Guests on previous episodes include Andy Samberg, David Cross and Aziz Ansari.

SATURDAY

THE WHITE QUEEN (STARZ)  Looks like every Starz show ever and probably will generally entertain but fizzle like every Starz show ever.  If you're looking for your erotic shows to be set in the Tudor times - this looks to be right up your alley.

THE VIRGIN SUICIDES / REQUIEM FOR A DREAM (SUNDANCE)  An uplifting double feature for those of us that often stay home on Saturday nights.

SUNDAY

DEXTER (SHO)  So far behind on this show - it'll be far over by the time I catch up.  But I look at the pictures and this Hannah McKay (Yvonne Strahovski)???  Wow.  Makes one want to catch up quickly.

THE GRAPES OF WRATH (TCM)  After seeing Henry Fonda on Carson on TCM last week - I want to revisit this awesome flick.

TRUE BLOD / NEWSROOM (HBO)  Been putting them on the DVR but haven't watched a minute of either yet this season.  I hear both are alright but nothing special anymore.  Awaiting return of "Boardwalk Empire" in the Fall.

AND NOW A WORD FROM OUR SPONSOR . . .  did you know Old MacDonald was a bad speller???

And did you know that all owls aren't wise????

And a blast from the past - Dikembe blocking that paper back into the guy's butt . . . 

"The leader of the new school, uncool
Never played the fool, just made the rules
Remember there's a need to get alarmed
Again I said I was a time bomb."  - Public Enemy

 Don't believe that hype.  Stay hard.

sb