Week in Review

Every day last week I indulged myself in some form of entertainment. Here’s my Monday through Friday analysis of what I experienced: the Good, the Bad, and the Weird.

Monday
I guess last week was premier week on many of the networks. I decided to check out a couple of shows that had appeal to me. The first was ‘Chuck.’ This show is billed as an action/comedy. It’s getting great reviews, but I was kind of left with a ho-hum feeling. That’s not to say it was bad—the action sequences were amazing—it’s just that the comedy fell a little flat to me. I will say that the main character is very likable, and I think the show has a lot of potential.

That same night I watched another sitcom called ‘The Big Bang Theory.’ I wasn’t expecting much since the critics kind of panned it. I was also a little wary since it plays like a traditional sitcom: laugh track, situational humor, set up, joke, set up, joke, etc. But I must say I came away pleasantly surprised. It’s an extremely well-written sitcom and I found myself laughing out-loud many times. Also, Jim Parsons (Sheldon) plays out the nuances of his character with nerdlike perfection and wit. Check it out.

Tuesday
It was “old movie night” at my house…I was the only one invited. (Sidenote: sad). I watched this movie called The Apartment, which happened to be on my very long list of movies I need to watch. The premise of the movie was actually somewhat seedy for a movie that came out in 1960. It’s hailed as a comedy classic, but I would label it under the somewhat new moniker of ‘dramedy.’ It actually deals with some very serious issues that I thought were very ‘hush hush’ during this time period, of course, this was the beginning of the 60s…Anyway, I just wanted to say that the comic genius of Jack Lemmon was evident as he embodied the everyday man caught in extraordinary situations with bumbling ease. (See Some Like it Hot). Also, I kind of fell in love with Shirley MacLaine a little.

Wednesday
My sister and I decided to go to the circus on opening night—neither one of us had ever been and we thought it would be fun. And, well, we actually did have a good time, but I was kind of thrust into sensory overload with all the music, noise, clowns, lights, animals, etc. Have you ever seen the sequence in Dumbo when he (gasp!) gets drunk and starts dreaming of pink elephants on parade? To be honest, I couldn’t get that out of my head the entire night. The highlight, for me, was the Asian performers that would contort their bodies together into extravagant corporal pyramids that any cheerleading squad would drool over.

Thursday
Yes! The return of the ‘The Office’ was a sublime, life-affirming, feast of comedy. Ok, it wasn’t perfect, but it was good to see the characters I love back on the small screen. I’ve been watching this sitcom since it debuted. I remember telling people about it after the first season’s six episodes came out and no one had heard of it. So, I downloaded the episodes onto my laptop and carted them around, showing them to anyone that would watch. (I think I’ve seen the first season’s episode like twenty times or something—they’re still my favorite.)

Michael was, of course, beautifully annoying as usual and the PB & J scenes were played out to perfection; not too much and just enough that everyone I was with ‘aaahhhed’ when the TV crew caught the slight kiss in the car. It was a seamless resolution to last season’s cliffhanger.

P.S. Hayley - thanks for facilitating on ‘Office’ party at your apartment. I was especially fond of the green jell-o garnished with miniature staplers. Christian - again, I still don’t understand why you left with ‘six-pack chick’?

Oh, and btw...Creed's turning into on of my favorite characters:

Creed: I've been involved in a number of cults, both as a leader and a follower. You have more fun as a follower. But you make more money as a leader.

Friday
I went to see David O. McKay presents ‘The Smashing Pumpkins’ at the David O. McKay Events Center at UVSC. I kept my streak alive of seeing concerts without paying. This was probably my fifth or sixth one this year where no dollars were exchanged for musical enchantment. I’m a big fan of this band, but oddly enough I only started listening to them after my mission, which was unfortunate because they had broken up by then. So I didn’t think that I’d ever see them live. However, they got back together earlier this year and started touring again, so I just had to go. Of course, I don’t know if you could consider them really together again, since it’s only Billy Corgan and the drummer that are back from the original line-up. The lead-singer alluded to this when he introduced his drummer, with his tongue planted firmly in his cheek, as his ‘life-partner.’

Anyway, they really rocked the casbah with their 90s-defining alt-progressive rock. My favorite part, however, was when Billy did a couple of acoustic takes of some of his biggest hits. It was especially touching to hear him talk about a mother backstage telling him, before the beginning of the concert, about her daughter who recently passed away—she was a huge fan of their music. He dedicated the acoustic version of ‘1979’ to her. It’s my favorite Pumpkins song; in fact, it’s now my video wallpaper on my phone.

WeekEnd
-Radiohead’s giving away their newest album….should we still buy CDs Aaron?

-New Dashboard Confessional is streaming on MySpace and it’s all acousticked up.

Calexico and YouTube

I saw Calexico last week for free and it was stupendous. allmusic.com described Calexico: Southwestern style with an afro-peruvian, 50s and 60 jazz, country, and surf influence. (A little something for everyone then.) They have this amazing CD they made with Iron & Wine a few years back (click on 'History of Lovers'). The two bands then toured together and I caught one of their shows. The concert was awesome, but I was dating this girl at the time that decided to bring her "best friend" of the male persuasion to the concert, which made things awkward; needless to say they're now married. True story, but the concert still rocked.


Do you ever wish you had the One Ring of Power so that you could slip it on and be invisible? Think about that while you watch Elijah Wood here.

The SAT scores were just released by state, (South Carolina came in third from the bottom) watch this clip to see if you can figure out why.

Oh, and then watch this to view the explanation.

311 Mixes it Up

I have a few guilty pleasure bands and 311 happen to be one of them. My bro-in-law got me into them right before I left on my mission, so it was fitting that he was there, along with his wife, to bask in the reggae-inspired rock/rap. He actually got us free VIP suites along with dinner (thanks Steve). Since I've been a long-time fan of 311 I'm pretty familiar with their catalogue, which why I was so pleased that 311 chose to play a lot of their hidden gems instead of just the hits.

I was talking to Steve and we were trying to figure out how 311 has remained relatively popular, since so many of their counterparts have fallen by the wayside in obscurity. But the more interesting question was whether or not 311 would remain a band that could continue to tour and fill arenas. Steve said that 311 lacked that 'classic' sound that makes bands like U2 and the Stones popular way into their 40s or 60s even! I said that the Red Hot Chili Peppers really don't have that classic sound he was talking about and that 311 has followed a similar pattern of rap/rock that RHCP had taken before they evolved into a more commercial mainstream rock band.

It's an interesting question because rock was founded on youthful arrogance that didn't trust anyone over 40. However, as rock bands begin to age they take their fans with them all the way to becoming senior citizens. What was once new becomes extremely old, but fans still pay enormous amounts of money to see these bands and maybe rekindle those nostalgic memories of 'sticking it to the man.' Thus, it sounds plausible that 311 could be touring well into their 60s collecting ticket revenues and social security checks along the way.

Unraveling the Hip

Did you see the new J.J. Abrams’ movie preview yet? It’s super secret and veiled in mystery. Hmm…sounds perfect for the creator of Lost.

About the only thing worth watching on VH1 is The World Series of Pop Culture. Yesterday, while enjoying the talents of The Fiery Furnaces and Yo La Tengo, I discovered that my friend, Christian, had tried out for it unsuccessfully. He was actually happy that he didn’t know the name of Magnum P.I.’s dog, which would have solidified his eternal geekiness.

What are the most unforgettable movie songs? Celine Dion’s ‘My Heart Will Go On’ from Titanic or ‘Eye of the Tiger’ from Rocky III? Go here for the answers.

Check out this preview for this Sundance movie just once.

Did you serve a mission in Latin America? If not, then you might not know who Che Guevara is, but his life story is being made into a movie by a guy that looks like his spitting image: Benicio del Toro.

Speaking of mustaches…

The critics are loving Hairspray.

Congratulations to Patrick and Patricia for the new baby!! Love you guys!