Norwegian Morning Wood

Summer Jam 2010: July 26 Winners

2010-07-26T09:42:00.003-04:00

'Twas a big week for Pop Tracks across this great nation this week. There's some long-forgotten entries making a bit of a comeback, shifts in position around the rest of the board and finally a pretty big shake-up at the number one spot. Let's get into the action: #8: "Lay Me Down" - The Dirty Heads ft. Rome Back again after many many weeks off the list, this song has managed to leak into most

First Impressions: Conception

2010-07-19T23:54:00.000-04:00

I don't think it takes too much shame to admit being a Chris Nolan fan. More and more however, I do believe that his fanboy-appointed "visionary" status is overrated and overapplied. To date his career best film is still Memento (2000) and it's easy to mistake well-made films for great films in this Age. Certainly his oeuvre contains more merit than some other contemporary directors although it's

Summer Jam 2010: July 19 Winners

2010-07-19T03:21:00.002-04:00

Just past the Summer Halfway point now the competition for Jam of Summer is heating up. By now the tracks that are going to last have proven themselves and the reliable ones are sticking around. While the winners may seem set in stone right now it's still pretty easy for a song to upset, especially if Eminem's rapid rise is any indication. Let's get to it: #8: "Your Love is My Drug" - Ke$ha I

Tops: Four Great Songs in Great Trailers for Cruddy Films

2010-07-16T08:31:00.009-04:00

I believe it was all those Terminator Trailers I was watching a while back that got me thinking of this. Sometimes there's a film on the Release Horizon which has some potential to be pretty awesome but there's a lot of doubt until the trailer comes through. These could be a tricky adaptation, an unnecessary sequel or even a wholly new idea that's yet untested. In any event we require some solid

Summer Jam July 12 Winners

2010-07-12T09:17:00.001-04:00

Welcome again to the Summer-Wide Search for the Equivocal Summer Jam 2010! Last week we had some newcomers try to threaten the establishment, indeed this week is a big shakedown. We're finally over a big crest from the last couple months and the losers have dropped out to make room for some great new tracks. Of course, the big guns have hardly changed which makes things interesting. Without

Because I watched it on DVD: The Competing Realities of Anchorman

2010-07-09T00:55:00.000-04:00

Here we are ladies and gentlemen, six years to the day that one of the greatest comedies of the 21st-Century was released upon theaters and audiences, one of my all-time favourite films, the pinnacle of Human Achievement and Evolution, Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004). Like any self-respecting college student when this feat of filmmaking came out, I watched this movie about once a

Summer Jam 2010: July 5 Winners

2010-07-05T07:47:00.000-04:00

Here we go again, the ongoing process to determine who will be the Final Champion, the King of Summer Jam 2010. We had a bit of a shake-up this week with a few new debuts and a few big falls. Let's get the party started: #8: "Impossible" by Shontelle This is a typical meandering Female R&B song but has gotten a good amount of airplay this week. It's kind of catchy and may rise up the next week

The Long Halloween: Independence Day

2010-07-04T05:32:00.000-04:00

Welcome once again to Norwegian Morning Wood's Yearlong look at the Greatest Holiday Television Specials Ever Conceived by Humans. Now that we're well into Summer it was a bit more difficult finding a good episode that really captured the American Independence Day, the Fourth of July. Hot dogs, air explosions, beer and freedom - there's not much more needed for a good Fourth Celebration but due

Profiles: Kristen Stewart, the Anti-Princess

2010-07-02T14:53:00.000-04:00

With the first weekend since the premiere of Twilight: Eclipse (2010) upon us today we're looking at the only interesting part of the production, writing or ensemble, Kristen Stewart. Natural annoyance of the Twilight brand aside, I do respect Kristen Stewart as and actress and what she represents - as this brooding, moody brunette alternative to the typical Hollywood Blonde. Let me explain:

Because it was on TV: The Resurgence of Futurama

2010-07-01T11:12:00.000-04:00

Last Thursday one of the greatest Turn of the Century shows of our time returned to the air with new episodes designed as direct-to-TV episodes for the first time in seven years. I speak of one of our Greatest Animated Sci-Fi Shows, Futurama. Futurama has had a storied run, first on the Fox Network alongside fellow creation of Matt Groening, The Simpsons. While the show at its best easily

Modal Nodes: Gorillaz - the Strength, Limitations and Bending Realities of a Virtual Band

2010-06-29T07:06:00.014-04:00

Despite my obvious proclivities towards Pop Music and obsession with temporal mass consumption of Shit American Culture, I do take a lot of Music pretty seriously. Music is like movies and beer. It all has its place. Undercover Brother (2002) is a horrendous affair, but it'll get me through a Hungover Sunday Afternoon. Pabst isn't an enjoyable beer, but it's got its use and price for a good game

Summer Jam 2010: June 28 Winners

2010-06-28T09:53:00.000-04:00

We had a bit of a weird week for the Summer Jam, and the intricacies of Rochester Radio are becoming more and more apparent to me. In my home town of Rochester, NY I'm finding that our own tastes skew a bit off the national curve. For one, our GaGa intake is huge - she's massively popular. A week where I don't here every single from GaGa's career is pretty rare and "Alejandro" by far has had the

More First Impressions: Toy Story 3, Part II: Toy Society

2010-06-27T21:19:00.000-04:00

Last week I made my first couple ramblings about Toy Story 3 (2010) which will continue more in-depth this week. Considering the film won its Second Weekend by a large margin, I'm sure it's still pretty relevant. There are a quite a few questions I have about this fantastic Summer Flick so let's dive in: To Infinity and Malfunction It's time to talk about Buzz Lightyear. Buzz presents some

Profiles: The Big One - Tommy Cruise

2010-06-23T00:01:00.001-04:00

Thomas Mapother IV is a silly bitch. But he's also an icon for the past three American Generations and as of late, possibly one of the biggest PR blunderers in history. What images does the name Tom Cruise conjure in the past five years? Insane couch jumping? Screaming at Matt Lauer? Trapped in a closet? Similar to fellow 80s/90s heartthrob Mel Gibson, Cruise really fucked up the past decade.

First Impressions: Toy Story 3, Part I: Characters and Themes

2010-06-22T17:15:00.001-04:00

Inarguably the best film of Summer so far, if not the entire year, Toy Story 3 (2010) seemingly does the impossible - surpass its predecessors. It's one of those films that simply cannot be hyped enough - I know there's a lot of positive talk around the Intranets about it, and it's all legitimate. Every moment of this movie is fantastic, let's dig in: Monuments in CGI: The first Toy Story (1995

Summer Jam 2010: June 21 Winners

2010-06-21T04:00:00.000-04:00

Welcome once again to the ongoing search for the King of Summer Jam 2010! It seems as though the contenders for the moment have largely stabilized although it's still anybody's game. Finally, this was GaGa's week, contrary to what Billboard thinks, this chick was everywhere. Summer's getting in full swing now and with a great weekend passed now we're in the thick of it. Let's get it started: #8:

One-Year Anniversary Post!

2010-06-17T14:13:00.007-04:00

Hey Oh! It's been a whole year already somehow, and let me tell ya, what a nonstop thrill ride it's really been. What started as a wannabe film nerd's ramblings about pop culture has...not evolved beyond that point at all. I hope the site is pretty enjoyable for all of you out there in the Informosphere, for the One-Year Anniversary this current minute I thought I'd take a well-deserved

Summer Movies 2010: Cause for Concern?

2010-06-16T06:53:00.000-04:00

Many websites and blogs all over the planet have widely agreed on one unifying theme describing this Summer's Film Slate: Sucky. It's among one of the suckiest suck sucks that ever sucked. There are plenty of sequels, and really, any summer for the past five years, even the past fifteen years had their share of sequels, with only a spike in budget and prestige a recent development. So I'm not

Summer Jam 2010: June 14 Winners

2010-06-14T12:06:00.000-04:00

Deep into the heart of June we travel on Norwegian Morning Wood's ongoing quest to seek the Throne of Summer Jam 2010. We have a new Queen this week and with any luck she should be primed to stay there for the foreseeable future. Usher's reign might be over and GaGa's play for the top was subverted. Not too many new faces here, but check it out: #8: "Bulletproof" - La Roux Proving to have a bit

The Long Halloween: Flag Day

2010-06-14T05:12:00.000-04:00

Here again is our year-long look at the greatest Television Holiday Specials. Rules are, one holiday a month, one show a year. Today is Flag Day, one of the most Holy of all the High Holidays in this nation. Nothing says "I Love You," "You're Beautiful," or "Let's Get Drunk!" like a good Flag Day Celebration. As for Television Specials, I couldn't really find anything, but here's the next best

First Impressions: The A-Team

2010-06-13T00:24:00.000-04:00

I'm calling it - The A-Team (2010) is this Summer's first really fun movie. Enough with the maudlin, brooding neurotic heroes, failed comedies and gritty grim action. This is just a fun flick through and through. The cast is light, no one worries about plot problems or gun and SUV acquisition, and you get this impression that it was pretty fun to make. This is everything a Summer Movie is

Because it was on TV: The Success and Failure of the Terminator Franchise and the Future of Blockbusters, Part II

2010-06-12T02:14:00.000-04:00

Welcome to Part II of Norwegian Morning Wood's longest ever titled post, examining the modern blockbuster with a special focus on the Terminator franchise. Bounce over to Part I for some initial ramblings on some of the genuine merits of one of the greatest action movie of all time, Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991). After watching this on TNT last week, I started thinking about its role against

Because it was on TV: The Success and Failure of the Terminator Franchise and the Future of Blockbusters, Part I

2010-06-09T06:49:00.001-04:00

Congratulations on the longest blog title ever. This is something I've needed to address for a while. In the past couple months I've had the opportunity to watch every Terminator film over again (except T4, but the taste of shit is still pretty fresh in my mouth from last year) and during last week's spectacular line-up on TNT, which included both T2: Judgment Day (1991) and I Am Legend (2007),

First Impressions: Get Him to the Greek

2010-06-08T09:53:00.001-04:00

This weekend was pretty interesting in that four films premiered in theaters, all of pretty distinct genres and demographics. You had the inane Killers (2010) for romantic action-comedy lovers, Splice (2010) for horror fans and Marmaduke (2010) for children who wear special helmets. I didn't see any of these. I went and saw Get Him to the Greek (2010), the raucous drug-fueled rockstar comedy.

Summer Jam 2010: June 7 Winners

2010-06-07T03:11:00.003-04:00

Oh boy oh how. Whereas last week we saw our early leaders, "Nothing on You" and "Rude Boy" tumble hard, this week they're completely out. There's a lot of new songs that emerged with a vengeance here and it's exciting to get into them. Some we could see from far off, others were surprising. Let's get started: #8: "Break Your Heart" - Taio Cruz ft. Ludacris Yes! This song fell tremendously but