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 (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.

sb