The Pop Eye

American Idol 11: San Diego, Haiku Style

noreply@blogger.com (BeckEye) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 13:00:00 +0000

Well, I said in my previous recap that I wouldn't be able to recap this week's mess for you, but I didn't realize that there was a show airing right after the Giants/49ers game. However, since I am leaving for Savannah today, I don't really have time to do a full-fledged recap. And since I did a haiku-style recap of last year's Los Angeles auditions, I figured that would be a fitting way to quickly blow through another California city. Sadly, I have no time for Photoshoppage, so I'm just recycling the same pic I used last time. Don't worry, there will be some good Photoshop creations this year. Just like these wannabe singers, I must share my talent with the world.

hopefuls auditioned
on the U.S.S. Midway
in San Diego

foghorns and airplanes
ruin several auditions
a blessing for some

dumb slut Jennifer
sings Jessica, Mariah
stick to hooking, dear

then Ashley Robles
tries too hard to be Whitney
gets a yes, of course

wow, Jayrah Gibson
seems a little bit goofy
but sings well, goes through

then it's a montage
bunch of Hollywood-bound kids
we'll not see again

Aubree Dieckmeyer
dolt thinks she's on Top Model
can't wait for her FAIL

Ali Shields is nuts
loves Ellen, raps, sings so-so
crazy makes the cut

Tyler greets Day 2
preps to hear same Adele song
for six effing hours

teenager Kyle Crews
that frat boy who serenades girls
cheeseball, but good voice

Jane Carrey, Jim's kid
two when Jen was a Fly Girl
ha! i like this chick

Jason "Wolf" Hamlin
plays "git-fiddle," Creedence, Cash
makes it to next round

53 people
chosen from San Diego
next stop is Aspen

American Idol 11: It Begins

noreply@blogger.com (BeckEye) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 13:00:00 +0000

Wednesday night marked the beginning of the eleventh (and final, according to Mayan Seacrest, ba-dum-bum) season of American Idol. Further proof that this year truly is our last on earth is the fact that I completely forgot that the show was premiering this week. I got home about a half hour into it and just decided to DVR it. And since I've been crazy busy at work lately, I DVRed last night's show as well so I could take a long-ass nap. I'm finally up to speed, so now it's time to bring you there with me.

Interestingly enough, the first two audition rounds were held in Savannah—where I'll be all next week on business—and Pittsburgh— my home.

Savannah Auditions
As I mentioned, I missed the beginning of Day One, but it probably went a lot like the middle and end of every audition day ever. The first auditioner I saw was Faux Seacrest, Shaun Kraisman. He was much better at impersonating Ryan than singing, so after the judges got a few laughs, he was sent back to the tanning bed from whence he came.

Shannon Magrane, a 15-year-old giant, brought her whole family into the room, including her ex-MLB pitcher father, who looked ready to bean Steven Tyler when he exclaimed that Savannah was "Hot, humid and happening...just like your daughter." Awwwkwaaard...and not really accurate, considering that she sang Queen Etta's "Something's Got a Hold on Me" with all the soul of a...well, of a 15-year-old white girl. But Idol needs plenty of 15-year-olds who the judges can constantly remind that they're only 15, so she got a golden ticket.

Next up was Amy Brumfield, who lives in a tent in the woods, which is one step up from a van down by the river, I guess. She sang Alicia Keys' "Superwoman" well enough. And I kind of liked this girl because, although the producers tried to paint her as a Very Special Constestant (VSC), she described her situation very matter-of-factly with no shame or crocodile tears. But whether she decides to play along with the whole "poor hick living in a tent" angle or not, AI would never pass up on the opportunity to milk it for a bit longer, so she got the nod for Hollywood Week. It will be interesting to see how long she lasts, because according to VFTW, she's had some run-ins with the law for alcohol-related offenses, including pissing herself at a Baskin-Robbins. Hey, some people are content to simply scream for ice cream and some people get a little more excited. Let's not judge.

Joshua Chavis was like, "I'm a dumb hick who loves NASCAR...but oh hey, y'all, surprise, I'M GAY!" Yeah, I did not see that one coming. However, I did predict that he would be terrible and throw a post-audition hissy fit for the camera.

Stephanie Renae, another girl WHO IS ONLY 15, YO—and this one was extra special because she JUST TURNED 15—shriekily reminded everyone that "Inside Your Heaven" was a real song, and the judges somehow enjoyed that. Yes, she made it through to the next round, but don't bother remembering her name.

Remember Colton Dixon from last year? You probably don't, but he showed up in Savannah to support his sister, Schyler. That's all. For realsies. He wasn't auditioning this time around. NO. He was not. What? The judges demanded to see him? Oh my God, how embarrassing. Well, you know, if the judges really wanted to see him, he had to go in. What? They wanted him to sing, too? They refused to accept that he wasn't auditioning because he's just THAT GOOD? Wow. What a shock! Who'da thunk it? And who'da thunk that both Dixons would get through to Hollywood with horribly affected voices and enunciation problems?

After that miraculous display, we were treated to a bunch of crybabies whose backstories simply weren't compelling enough to land any of them much camera time or a golden ticket—unlike last auditoner of the day, Lauren Mink, a sweet girl-next-door type who works with developmentally disabled people. All of that got her 3/4 of the way to the next round, and her country strong voice did the rest.

Day Two of the Savannah auditions began with Mawuena Kodjo, possibly the only West African who's ever aspired to be a country singer. He mangled a Rascal Flatts song, although it really wasn't much worse than listening to the real thing. Instead of just letting him leave, Ryan and the producers jumped on the opportunity to make a fool of the guy by parading him around town and making him sing in front of locals, whom they brought back to the audition room in a futile attempt to convince the judges that Mawuena deserved a shot. Upon meeting Mawuena, one of those local yahoos asked, "Are you a runner?" Just as I was waiting for Al Sharpton to pop up from behind a bush and go apeshit on Pappy Redneck, I realized that it must have been an assumption formed because of the number pinned to Mawuena's chest and not because he was a lithe black man with an African accent. Maybe. Look at me, giving hillbillies the benefit of the doubt.

Ashlee Altise was one of those auditioners who seemed much too wacky and confident to actually be good, but her version of "Come Together" (punctuated by her patented dance move, the joy hop) was pretty entertaining. And even though she didn't shriek a bunch of glory notes or reveal a rare disease or recent death in the family, she got a golden ticket!

W.T. Thompson's wife is pregnant, so he made the responsible choice to quit his government job to try out for Idol. And since he sounds like 5,000 other wannabe country singers, this was obviously a really good idea. After some debate, the judges decided to give him a chance in the next round. Never one to pass up the chance to be an idiot, W.T. opted for the good ol' "I didn't make it" fake-out upon emerging from the audition room. Toying with a pregnant woman's emotions is another great idea.

A montage of weird women hot for Steven Tyler flashed by, before settling on the most psycho fan of all, Erica Nowak. She got to cop a feel (on Steven AND Randy) before yelling a Joss Stone song to no one's delight.

Next up was a blonde NBA dancer. Of course her name was Brittany! This Brittany (Kerr) looked like a cross between Carrie Underwood and any random porn star and did a pretty passable impression of Joss Stone. It was a no from J.Lo, but thanks to the guys, Brittany got her ticket to Hollywood.

Finally, things wrapped up in Savannah with Philip Phillips, who was outrageously pimped for reasons I can't quite understand. He flailed about like Joe Cocker while scatting and grunting his way through "Supersition," much to the panel's approval. Steven called him "Casey (Abrams) with a lightning rod." Then Philip grabbed his guitar for an acoustic version of "Thriller," which was better, but this whole "watch me turn a well-known pop song into a coffeehouse jam" schtick is becoming something of a cliche. But I might as well get used to this kid, because I'm sure he'll be around for a while.

Pittsburgh Auditions
As a Pittsburgher, I was dismayed but not at all shocked that some loud, fat slob was chosen to represent my fair city at the top of the show. *sigh* And then it was right to the Yinzers 'n 'at.

The auditions kicked off with Heejun Han, a Korean-born nerd who seemed exactly like the kind of guy this show loves to make fun of, so imagine my surprise when he actually had a really good voice and was unanimously voted through to the next round.

Next up was Wisconsinite Reed Grimm, who had me at hello. Actually, he had me at the video clip of himself as a little kid onstage in a white suit playing air guitar. And he kept me with the messy hair, general air of dorkiness and ridiculous song choice: the theme song from Family Matters. It didn't hurt that the guy could actually sing, too. I'm calling this one as my Season 11 crush. Hopefully, he'll fare better than last season's Caleb Hawley, who also got the nod very early in the game, only to be cut during Hollywood Week.

A bunch of people we'll probably never see again were shown getting golden tickets. Apparently, Pittsburgh is loaded with talent. No matter that most of these people who auditioned weren't from here. CITY OF CHAMPIONS, YINZ GUYS!!!

One girl who is from the 'Burgh is Patty the Pittsburgh Planker, who claimed to be something of a local celebrity. I've never heard of her. Nor did I know that people were still planking. But Patty planked away while her sister, country wannabe Samantha Novacek, auditioned. She was good enough to make it through to the next round, helping her to finally step out of the shadow of her much more famous sibling. It's Sammi the Steel Town Singer's time to shine!!

Creighton Fraker is just another weird New Yorker with a dream. He sang (and scatted) an amusing little tune that he wrote for the judges, in a performance that Jen described as what would happen if "Jamiroquai and Justin Timberlake had a baby." Creighton followed up with The Jackson 5's "Who's Loving You" in a high-pitched, flamboyant style that reminded both J.Lo and I of someone that neither of us could quite put our fingers on. The judges all broke out the mathematically impossible percentages to enthusiastically describe how sure they were that Creighton belongs in Hollywood.

I knew that Justin Bieber wannabe Eben Franckewitz was getting a golden ticket the minute I laid eyes on him. And he had a decent voice, but "Ain't No Sunshine" was a poor choice. When will these soulless white kids ever learn to stay away from songs that require actual emotion?

Day One in Pittsburgh ended with another familiar face from last season, Travis Orlando, who decided to give Idol one more shot. Last time we saw this kid, he and his family were living in a homeless shelter in the Bronx. This time around, his sob story had gotten worse: daddy's sick, mama left and the family got evicted from their home. And much like W.T. Thompson, Travis apparently isn't great at making major life decisions, as he thought he'd improve his situation by dropping out of school to follow his dream. Luckily for him, his voice did get stronger since last year, and he got a golden ticket.

Day Two started off on a high note, with the low, sultry voice of DJ/wedding singer Erika Van Pelt. This girl is one of my favorites so far.

West Virginia coal miner Shane Bruce chose to audition with "Hallelujah." You know, "the song from Shrek." Come on, the song from Shrek? Really? Has this kid been living under a...? Ohhhh, yeah, I guess he has. All right then, I'll give him a pass on that one. Unfortunately for Shane, the judges passed on him, too, after he turned in a sub-par performance. They tried to cheer him up by reminding him that he still has time to chase his dream because he's only 19, but they don't realize that that's like 35 in West Virginia years.

The Pittsburgh auditions closed out with Hallie Day, a VSC for so many reasons: waitress, high school dropout, member of a failed girl group, drug addict. Oh, and she once tried to off herself. I could practically hear the producers salivating over this one. Although happily married now, Hallie isn't above dredging up bad memories and exploiting her suicide attempt to get ahead on Idol. I mean, she auditioned with "I Will Survive." Seriously. Well, at least it wasn't "If You Don't Love Me (I'll Kill Myself)." She did have a good voice, but honestly, without the sob story I doubt the judges would have made such a fuss over her. But they did, especially J.Lo, who compared Hallie to Debbie Harry and suggested that "she could win," which means that she will be endlessly pimped this season, Lauren Alaina-style.

The audition train rolls into San Diego next week, but I won't be around to recap it for you good folks. (But you already know this if you were paying attention earlier, when I said that I'm going to be in Savannah.) But you can probably just re-read this recap. Just plug in new names for the chosen ones, VSCs and train wrecks.

Find more Idol news and recaps at SirLinksaLot.

The Year in Entertainment

noreply@blogger.com (BeckEye) — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 22:20:00 +0000

Now that I've given you a year-end review of what really matters (music—in album and single form—and hot men) and some things that don't (memes), it's time to take a look at what the rest of the entertainment world had to offer.

Live Music
Luckily, I was able to catch more concerts this year than I expected, mostly thanks to some smaller, reasonably-priced venues in the area (namely, the new, fabulous Stage AE) that brings in artists who aren't big enough for stadiums but too big for small clubs, and therefore, wouldn't normally come to Pittsburgh.

The Best: Pearl Jam (PJ20) at Alpine Valley, Elkhorn, WI, September 3. I couldn't make both nights of PJ20, which is unfortunate because apparently the Sunday show was the better of the two. And even though it rained most of Saturday, prompting my group to sit in the parking lot and drink, missing most of the lineup (we only heard the tail end of Queens of the Stone Age, and got to see full sets by The Strokes and PJ), and it wasn't even the best of their shows that I've seen, it was still PEARL JAM. I can't imagine hauling myself to Middle of Nowhere, Wisconsin for many other bands. And it was cool to get some deep cuts and see the guys clearly just having a blast, playing whatever the hell they felt like playing. Also, there was a mini-Temple of the Dog reunion, which was probably the night's highlight. My biggest regret is not getting a chance to walk through the PJ20 museum.

The Rest:
Death Cab for Cutie at Stage AE, Pittsburgh, 8/6
Lindsey Buckingham at Carnegie Library Music Hall, Pittsburgh, 9/20
The Jayhawks at Mr. Small's Funhouse, Pittsburgh, 10/16
Arctic Monkeys at Stage AE, Pittsburgh, 10/18
Chris Cornell at Carnegie Music Hall of Oakland, Pittsburgh, 12/2

Television
I still haven't gotten into watching all the critical darlings, like The Good Wife, Breaking Bad and Modern Family. I did catch a couple of episodes of the latter and thought it was pretty funny, but I always forget when it's on. Even if it's on right after Suburgatory, which I have been trying to watch on a regular basis.

The Best: Community. Same as last year. It's so hard for me to comprehend how this show can be in any danger of being canceled. It featured one of the best episodes of any show this year, "Remedial Chaos Theory," which was at once funny, smart, insightful, weird, sweet and depressing. But my favorite episode that aired this year was Season 2's "Paradigms of Human Memory," which hilariously skewered "clip shows" by taking us all down memory lane to a bunch of stuff that never happened. Just brilliant.

The Rest: Parks and Recreation (although it might be close to a tie with Community), It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, 30 Rock, The Soup, Project Runway, Suburgatory, Up All Night, Once Upon a Time. I've tried following Terra Nova and the aforementioned Modern Family, but I haven't been able to make either one regularly scheduled viewing. I gave up on The Office (since Steve Carell left, it's been nearly unwatchable) and I'm pretty over Glee. I don't think I can continue on with it...especially since Community's Glee spoof episode was 10 times better than anything the real Glee has ever done (not counting Jonathan Groff's dreamy guest spots).

The Best of the Worst: It's a tie! First, there's New Girl. I'm sorry, I know it's just a typical schlocky sitcom, but Zooey Deschanel just looks at me with those big, beautiful eyes and makes silly voices, and I can't help but giggle and sit there in rapt enjoyment. Then we have terrible reality series, Tough Love, which I actually found myself occasionally DVRing. Kill me now.

Just the Worst: American Horror Story. Really? People like this? Those people better not give me shit about liking New Girl. Sheesh.

Movies
As usual, I stayed away from theaters for the most part. Most of the movies I saw this year were thanks to either Netflix or Redbox.

The Best: I honestly can't pick which movie I thought was the best. Most people would look at my list and yell, "Give it to Bridesmaids! That was the funniest movie in the history of the world!!!" Well, I did think it was very funny, but I didn't think it necessarily lived up to all of the hype. So, I don't know. I'll just grade each movie I saw this year. (These are in order of release, if Wikipedia can be trusted.) The ones I actually saw in the theater (or drive-in, in at least one case) are in green.

Hall Pass: C
The Adjustment Bureau: B
Insidious: D
Scream 4: B-
Bridesmaids: A-
Super 8: B
Bad Teacher: C+
Horrible Bosses: B-
Our Idiot Brother: C+
Paranormal Activity 3: B
The Muppets: B+

Well, hey, look at that. I guess Bridesmaids was the best, after all!

Books
Duhhhhhh. This is, um, like my leastest literate year ever in forever and stuff. Even leaster than last year when I said the same thing. I seriously haven't read shit. Perhaps my New Year's resolution will be to play less Words with Friends and read more words on paper.

Other Good Stuff

Jimmy Fallon as Jim Morrison singing the Reading Rainbow theme. Amazing. Why has Hulu shut off access to this video already? WHY??

WEll, at least THIS is still available.

Happy New Year, everyone!

The Top 20 Singles of 2011

noreply@blogger.com (BeckEye) — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 04:57:00 +0000

It's that time of year again when we music-loving bloggers offer up our favorites of the year and open ourselves up to praise, ridicule and/or the obligatory "I can't believe x ranked higher than y" or "How could you forget [horrible noises] by [over-glorified über-indie hipster band of the moment]" comments. Have at it, monkeys.

Earlier this week, I posted my Top 20 Albums list, so now it's time to take a look at my favorite singles of the year.

Rules are there ain't no rules. OK, there actually are a few:
1) All singles must have been released in 2011. (This may get bent.)
2) No artist can be represented more than once.
3) No Bon Iver! Because really, come on. UGH.

And away we go...

20. Rope
Foo Fighters (from Wasting Light)
I've never really been a giant Foo fan, despite being a pretty big fan of Dave Grohl's. He just seems like an awesome dude. He also has an endless supply of melodic rock songs (like this one), even if I don't always pay attention to them. It's kind of weird that they're such a huge band that's always cranking out hits and filling stadiums, yet their post-'90s catalog is a total blur to me. The last single of theirs prior to "Rope" that I can actually remember is "Best of You," which is like six years old already. I guess I'll be saying, "Hey, I really liked that song 'Rope'" four albums from now.

19. Palomino
Mates of State (from Mountaintops)
I think my old roommate kept telling me to check this group out and I never got around to it until this year. I didn't really see the big deal. I mean, they make some enjoyable, sing-a-long tunes, but it's nothing earth-shattering. Maybe my expectations were too high after all that hounding? Who knows. I do dig this song a lot, though. It reminds me of a lost New Pornographers track.

18. Call Your Girlfriend
Robyn (from Body Talk)
It's gotta be tricky business to write a song about a guy leaving his girlfriend for another woman from that other woman's perspective without making her come off as the villain. But Robyn manages to do just that in this song about a boyfriend thief who's nice enough to give her man some tips on breaking up gracefully. And hey, you can dance to it! Right out the door.

17. Cruel
St. Vincent (from Strange Mercy)
All the super cool kids were buzzing about St. Vincent's new album this year, while I didn't even know what a St. Vincent was or that it even had albums before. I soon found out that St. Vincent was actually Annie Clark—yet another solo artist performing under a band-like moniker (this is the hip thing now, I guess)—formerly of The Polyphonic Spree, a band I do know. (Five indie points for me!) I gave Annie's album a whirl but gave up due to weirdness. However, I did come out of it with this little gem of a single, which is also featured in one of the best/weirdest/coolest/creepiest videos of the year.

16. Still Life
The Horrors (from Skying)
I mentioned in my Best Albums post that once The Horrors dropped the whole "we're a roving gang of big-haired morticians" act, they started to make really good music. Actually, they still kind of look like big-haired morticians, but at least they've dropped the lame Treehouse of Horror credits-style pseudonyms.

15. Mine Smell Like Honey
R.E.M. (from Collapse Into Now)
I have to admit that I stopped caring about R.E.M. right after they released Monster, which I thought was terrible and viewed as the beginning of the end of their reign as the college rock gods. And I was kind of right, because the band's popularity began to wane here in the U.S. (for everyone except Beth Coffey) around that time. Aside from a couple of really good songs here and there ("Imitation of Life," "Leaving New York"), most of their output was forgettable until 2008's Accelerate. And just when R.E.M. became a band I could fully get behind again with this year's Collapse Into Now, they broke up. Pffft.

14. Helplessness Blues
Fleet Foxes (from Helplessness Blues)
OK, so I used to dislike Fleet Foxes. I thought they were boring. Their latest album, and especially this beautiful song, helped me change my mind. Don't go getting any ideas that a similar breakthrough will occur with Bon Iver.

13. No One Listens to the Band Anymore
The Damnwells (from No One Listens to the Band Anymore)
Er, I think this was a single. It's kind of hard to determine since this album was self-released and funded through fan pledges. I hope it is, because the song is super-catchy and deserves to be listed here. Google has led me to believe that it is a single, and Google has rarely steered me wrong in the past. The Googles know all!!

12. Longing to Belong
Eddie Vedder (from Ukulele Songs)
It's Eddie Vedder. Strumming a ukulele. Longing to belong to ME. Why wouldn't it be on my list??

11. Techno Fan
The Wombats (from This Modern Glitch)
I've pledged my adoration for this band many times on my blog. Their music is just so much fun and they're so delightfully British. I always learn new slang terms from their songs. Like in this one, "I didn't spend 20 sheets to not cut a shape." That sounds so much better than, "I didn't pay a $20 cover to not dance."

10. Lucky Now
Ryan Adams (from Ashes & Fire)
Ahhhh, Ryan Adams. He sure does have some purty songs in his purty mouth. The day I'm not a sucker for them is a day I don't want to see.

9. Shook Down
Yuck (from Yuck)
It's like Teenage Fanclub and The Lemonheads had a shiny little baby. More importantly, it's like I'm in my early 20s again, back in college and blissfully unaware that my degree is worth shit. Oh, '90s. How I miss you.

8. Rolling in the Deep
Adele (from 21)
Technically, this song was released as a single in November 2010. But who cares about two little months? It didn't really become a monster hit until this year. And despite being everywhere at once, I've amazingly never gotten sick of it.

7. Under Cover of Darkness
The Strokes (from Angles)
Confession: I was something of a Strokes-hater for a while. I think it had something to do with all of those "The" bands hitting at once and being praised for bringing back garage rock, which I don't think ever really went away. Anyway, I started to soften toward The Strokes around the time that Julian Casablancas did his brilliant cover of the SNL holiday classic, "I Wish It Was Christmas Today" and then showed up in the hilarious digital short, "Boombox." I managed to catch the band at PJ20, and to my surprise, I really liked them. Since then, I've been enjoying their old stuff with fresh ears and playing the hell out of this song, which is actually a ray of light shining out of a somewhat mediocre album.

6. Better Off Without You
Summer Camp (from Welcome to Condale)
Summer Camp is to the '80s what Yuck is to the '90s: an amazing amalgamation of everything musically awesome about the decade. The whole album is great fun, but this single is a stroke of genius. It's as if Debbie Harry joined the Go-Go's and this new band (The Go-Blondies?) recorded the theme song for Footloose 2: Boogaloo in Paradise.

5. Lonely Boy
The Black Keys (from El Camino)
I think I originally had this song at #4 but then I played it too much and docked it a point due to overexposure. It's not the song's fault; it's mine. Although, it is kind of The Black Keys' fault for making its video impossible to stop watching.

4. Blue Eyes
Middle Brother (from Middle Brother)
This was another song that I wasn't sure had actually been released as a single, but Rolling Stone claimed it had. Now, I don't trust RS as much as I trust The Googles, but I'm just gonna take their word for it because this happens to be my favorite track from the Middle Brother album. And it might have one of my favorite lines ever: "I've been looking for some time/In a world full of numbers for my prime." Hey, what's more romantic than math references? (Speaking of, I'd let Matt Vasquez plug his solution into my equation, if you know what I mean.)

3. Suck It and See
Arctic Monkeys (from Suck It and See)
Who would have ever thought that a song with such a dirty-sounding title would be one of the best sad-but-sweet love songs of the year? Well, it is, thanks to Alex Turner, who continues to prove himself as one of his generation's most talented songwriters. "Your kiss, it could put creases in the rain?" What does that even mean? Who knows? Who cares? It's gorgeous!

2. Vomit
Girls (from Father, Son, Holy Ghost)
Certain songs you just need to listen to in a darkened room. Or at the very least with your eyes closed. This is one of those songs. It may be THE song. (Hence, it's not really the best song to put on, say, a driving-to-Florida mix.) This indie epic begins with somber guitar strumming, ends in a full-on gospel explosion and rocks the fuzz out in between. The whole song is fantastic, but the closing two minute or so segment—when the organ comes in and the backup singer really starts wailing—is an experience.

1. The Edge of Glory
Lady Gaga (from Born This Way)
Laugh if you want, but after I heard this song for the first time, I played it like 10 more times. It felt like Gaga had just thrown me in her DeLorean and gunned it to 88. (Of course, I was sitting on Clarence Clemons' lap the whole time, but I didn't mind.) And hate on Gaga all you want but not only does she write some of the catchiest pop songs you'll ever hear, but she also introduced a whole new generation to the Big Man before he left us. If she prompted even one clueless kid to discover the beauty of "Jungleland," she deserves some kind of award.

Honorable mentions: "Midnight City," M83; "If You Wanna," The Vaccines; "I Don't Want Love," The Antlers; "You're Too Weird," Fruit Bats; "Helena Beat," Foster the People

The Top 20 Albums of 2011

noreply@blogger.com (BeckEye) — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 21:00:00 +0000

No, hipsters, your oversized, ironic eyeglasses do not deceive you: you've found the one "best of" album list that doesn't include that maddeningly terribly Bon Iver record or Destroyer's pleasant but snore-inducing Kaputt. Hurry up and click somewhere else! Save yourself!!

To you non-hipsters who have stayed, allow me to present my favorite albums of 2011. I already covered several records in July's "Best Of...So Far" post, so you can find more info on some of the selections there.

20. Kiss Each Other Clean, Iron & Wine

19. Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds
This year saw yet another battle between the Gallagher brothers, when both released their new bands' albums. Although I liked Liam's first single with Beady Eye ("The Roller"), it was just another reminder that Liam really, really, REALLY wants to be John Lennon instead of the whiny Neanderthal that he is. And while little brother's claim that Noel's new record has "no attitude" may be true, Noel's still a better songwriter, and that's what counts. And I may be in the minority, but I like his voice better, too.

Listen to: "If I Had A Gun"

Other choice cuts: "AKA...What A Life!," "AKA...Broken Arrow," "Dream On"

18. Early In The Morning, James Vincent McMorrow

17. Ukulele Songs, Eddie Vedder

16. The Old Magic, Nick Lowe
Possibly Lowe's best album since 1985's The Rose of England, this one is a toe-tapping mix of Rat Pack-style smoothness, old school country and Sun Records-era pop rock. It may not be as exciting as punk or New Wave, but who wants to hear a 62-year-old guy still claiming to be half a boy and half a man?

Listen to: "Checkout Time"

Other choice cuts: "Stoplight Roses," "Somebody Cares For Me," "I Read A Lot"

15. Hurry Up, We're Dreaming, M83
This is just the first of many records on my list that is keeping the '80s alive and well. Everyone has praised the hell out of this record (especially the hit single, "Midnight City"), and while it is good (otherwise it wouldn't be here), it probably could have benefited from some editing. This really didn't need to be a double album. At some point, all the dramatic synths and ethereal, unintelligible vocals get to be a bit much, and it would be nice if that point didn't occur before "Steve McQueen," one of the best tracks, buried all the way down at #19.

Listen to: "Reunion"

Other choice cuts: "Midnight City," "Steve McQueen," "OK Pal"

14. Torches, Foster the People

So, this album may not be the most brilliant or most original (it's essentially The Bee Gees-meets-MGMT), but it beats Hurry Up, We're Dreaming because it's short, sweet and enjoyable from beginning to end. And if you think their breakout hit is the best Foster the People has to offer, you obviously haven't heard either "Helena Beat" or "I Would Do Anything For You," both of which kick "Pumped Up Kicks" in the ass.

Listen to: "I Would Do Anything For You"

Other choice cuts: "Helena Beat," "Call It What You Want," "Waste"

13. 21, Adele

12. What Did You Expect From The Vaccines?, The Vaccines
Occasionally, I get emails from music publicists who think I'm a lot more important than I really am. And occasionally, I actually end up liking the artists they are pimping out. Unfortunately, this only happens, like, 30% of the time. So when Press Here sent me the demo of The Vaccines' "If You Wanna," I didn't expect much, but was pleasantly surprised to find the kind of bouncy guitar rock that I can never resist. The rest of the new UK darlings' debut album offers much of the same—an album that's prompted plenty of apt comparisons to The Ramones, The Strokes and The Jesus and Mary Chain. If there's a misstep on the record, it's "Blow It Up," which shamelessly nicks the melody of The Beatles' "I Should Have Known Better."

Listen to: "If You Wanna"

Other choice cuts: "Wetsuit," "Post Break-Up Sex," "Wolf Pack"

11. Skying, The Horrors

Aside from a couple of songs here and there, I never really got The Horrors. They always seemed to me a bit like a goth parody band. But they've finally gotten rid of the Addams Family vibe (and their ridiculous pseudonyms, like Faris Rotter and Coffin Joe) and grabbed my attention with their best and most consistent album. What's great about this record is that while the band's influences are obvious—everything has a hint of The Jesus and Mary Chain, Echo and the Bunnymen and Simple Minds—there are no straight-up rip-offs here. Just a lot of great melodies. (Pointless trivia: Bassist Tom Cowan's brother Freddie is The Vaccines' guitarist, which could explain both bands' Jesus and Mary Chain fixation. Or maybe it's just because they're British and pretty much every modern British band is influenced by JMC.)

Listen to: "Dive In"

Other choice cuts: "Still Life," "Endless Blue," "You Said"

10. No One Listens to the Band Anymore, The Damnwells
Truly an album "for fans," The Damnwells' latest was made possible by donations through the fundraising website PledgeMusic. The band (or I should say singer/songwriter Alex Dezen and whoever he has playing his music these days) isn't exactly breaking new ground, but this record is one of the most instantly catchy collection of songs I've heard in a while. Luckily, The Damnwells have some of the street cred and under-the-radar presence that comes from being a long-struggling indie outfit, otherwise, this album would have been raked over the coals on Pitchfork and other snob sites as the WORST THING IN THE WORLD: pleasant pop.

Listen to: "Feast of Hearts"

Other choice cuts: "No One Listens to the Band Anymore," "Werewolves," "She Goes Around"

9. Ashes & Fire, Ryan Adams
I've always kind of thought that sobriety was responsible for Aerosmith's suckage in the late '90s and beyond. And I believe that Fleetwood Mac never made an album better than Rumours, when they were at their self-destructive best. So, I was all prepared for Ryan Adams—now off the sauce and married to a former pop princess—to start his backslide into shitty territory. Happily, that's not the case, and this is another strong record from Adams, whom I still love even though he apparently dissed Neil Finn...a big no-no in my book.

Listen to: "Invisible Riverside"

Other choice cuts: "Lucky Now," "Kindness," "Rocks"

8. Welcome to Condale, Summer Camp
While this may not have been my favorite album of the year, it was my favorite discovery. When I heard it, I started to wonder if there was an '80s spring break movie/soundtrack I had actually never seen/heard. Of course, having watched a ridiculous amount of USA Up All Night, I knew that could never be the case. But the UK duo of Elizabeth Sankey and Jeremy Warmsley do such a totally rad job of bringing my beloved decade to life that it would be easy to trick, say, a Gen Y-er into believing that their 2011 debut really is an obscure album from 1982. (Added bonus for me: the snippet of dialogue from The Boy in the Plastic Bubble that opens "I Want You.")

Listen to: "Brian Krakow"

Other choice cuts: "Better Off Without You," "Down," "Done Forever"

7. This Modern Glitch, The Wombats

6. Born This Way, Lady Gaga

5. Father, Son, Holy Ghost, Girls
Thank God for my discovery this year of Rdio.com, which has introduced me to a ton of new and previously unheard music. Girls is one of those bands I'd never checked out before, despite the praise that had been heaped on them upon the release of 2009's Album. I decided to give their latest a spin one day while I was at work and, as tends to happen, I was busy and only half-listening to it until around track 5, when I just stopped what I was doing and was like, "Whoa...I need to start this over...and turn it up." Luckily, it was a day when my boss wasn't in the office, so I got away with cranking the volume up a bit. On this record, Girls takes a variety of different influences (from the Beach Boys to Pink Floyd) and a variety of styles (from power pop to gospel) and expertly blends them all into one unique and delicious musical cocktail.

Listen to: "Magic"

Other choice cuts: "Vomit," "My Ma," "Just a Song"

4. Yuck, Yuck

3. Middle Brother, Middle Brother

2. El Camino, The Black Keys
Re-activating my weird crush on Dan Auerbach is The Black Keys' latest—a sexy, bouncy, fun as hell album that I can't stop listening to. Pitchfork's Rob Harvilla described El Camino as, "[The Black Keys'] best and (not coincidentally) goofiest album, a veritable frat-worthy "Pimp 'n' Ho" party in which T. Rex has somehow been tricked into serving as house band." Now, I would normally NEVER quote Pitchfork. But, holy shit, that description is so dead-on and better than anything I could come up with that I must.

Listen to: "Sister"

Other choice cuts: "Lonely Boy," "Gold on the Ceiling," "Stop Stop"

1. Suck It and See, Arctic Monkeys

Honorable mentions: Helplessness Blues, Fleet Foxes; The Whole Love, Wilco; Mission Bell, Amos Lee; Codes and Keys, Death Cab for Cutie; House of Balloons, The Weeknd

Best album cover: Zonoscope, Cut Copy

Biggest disappointments: Circuital, My Morning Jacket; All You Need Is Now, Duran Duran

Merry Veddermas!

noreply@blogger.com (BeckEye) — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 16:40:00 +0000

'Twas 47 years ago on this day that a musical saviour was born in the magical city of Evanston, Illinois. As always at this time of year, I'll ask you to open your hymnals to page 122308 and read the passage wherein the comparison between Eddie Vedder and Jesus is made (and my seat in purgatory is secured).

Pass the wine and rejoice, all ye lovers of music and hot men!

The Hotties of 2011

noreply@blogger.com (BeckEye) — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 15:00:00 +0000

Welcome, one and all, to my first year-end list, which honors this year's outstanding achievements in hotness. Just as they did last year, my unchanging Top 4, aka the Patron Saints of Hotness—St. John, St. Eddie, St. Ewan and St. Damon—will watch over my newly anointed (or, in many cases, re-anointed) ones, helping them pray to the Gods of Good Looks for continued blessings.

And now...my Top 10 Hotties of 2011!

1. Matthew Vasquez
I'm really not sure how Matt got left off last year's list, considering that's when my obsession with Delta Spirit took hold. I guess I was just too busy paying attention to their music to notice how gorgeous the frontman was. Take that, anyone who's ever accused me of liking bands based on the attractiveness of their members! I could never do that. I mean, I've finally stopped denying that Adam Levine is good looking, but I'd still rather be waterboarded than be forced to listen to Maroon 5. The music comes first. Hotness is just a bonus.

2. Jeremy Sisto
It wasn't long ago that Jeremy had been my steady #3 Man, but in the last few years, he'd kind of fallen off my radar. Now he's back on my TV as a total DILF in Suburgatory (a show I actually watch, as opposed to his last couple series, Kidnapped and Law & Order: The Death Throes), looking fitter than I've seen him in a while, thereby putting him back on my "must have" list. And while it is refreshing to see him play a nice, normal, non-brooding guy for a change, I certainly wouldn't complain if he grew out his hair again and brought back a little of that crazy Billy Chenowith vibe.

3. Charlie Day
The Dayman Returneth! Somehow, Charlie only made it to the honorable mentions last year, which makes me wonder if I was sniffing a lot of glue around the time I made my list. But luckily, he was everywhere this year and his hair never ceased to amaze, reminding me of how much I adore him and making it impossible for me to not include him high up in the ranking.

4. Joel McHale
As you may have figured out by now, there's nothing I find hotter than a funny man. (OK, well maybe except for a really hot guy with a guitar. Sorry I'm such a terrible, typical woman.) Joel is my first repeat from last year's list because of his continued awesomeness, which I'm constantly being reminded of, whether it be via E!'s 54 airings per week of The Soup or via Community, aka THE BEST SHOW ON TV DESPITE WHAT THE NBC KNOW-NOTHINGS SAY.

5. Dierks Bentley
I like a lot of Dierks' songs, but I wasn't really feeling the album he released this year. But just because I'm not listening doesn't mean that I can't keep looking at the guy and maybe flipping back and forth to whatever country music award show happens to be on at the moment in the hopes of seeing him and his lovely curly locks.

6. Hugh Jackman
The hottest Aussie in the land (chew on that, Michael Johns!) was absent from the 2010 list only because he was kind of M.I.A. last year. And even though I didn't see any of the movies he was in this year, I did see his cute little cameo on SNL and some nice photos of his summer beach escapades. Also, it was recently announced that he'll be playing Jean Valjean in the big screen adaptation of the musical version of Les Misérables. One of my favorite hunks starring in a film based on my favorite musical, which was based on my favorite book?? Grease better watch out...this may just end up being my favorite movie. (Well, probably not. But it could be close.)

7. Jon Hamm
And here is the second repeat from last year's list, Jon Hamm. What I love most about this guy is that I don't feel extremely shallow for drooling over him because I can always make myself sound less superficial by saying, "Well, sure he's incredibly handsome, but he's REALLY funny, too." And he is. But let's face it: it wouldn't matter if he wasn't.

8. Will Arnett
Speaking of really funny...I've always loved Will's brand of humor. And I've always found him attractive. However, much like when I first developed a crush on Jason Segel, I kind of fought this attraction because he just seemed so creepy, which, in turn made me feel creepy for liking him. But playing a romantic (but still goofy and awkward) lead in Up All Night has helped to lower his creepy factor and allow the world to see that he is one good-looking dude. Although, if I'm being completely honest, I might actually have a bigger crush on his wife, Amy Poehler. If she can do his voice, she wins.

9. Jason Sudeikis
Jason is the third holdover from last year's list, although he did fall 3 notches in the ranking (as did Hamm). Not sure why this is. Maybe it was the whole dating January Jones thing? She might be pretty, but that chick is the worst. Seriously, the only time you'll ever hear a casting director say, "January Jones would be perfect for this role!" is if they ever make Mannequin 3: This Time the Mannequin Doesn't Actually Come to Life. Oh, I'm sorry...this space isn't supposed to be about ripping on women I don't like, it's supposed to be about objectifying men I do like. So, here's a little something for Jason Sudeikis: *ahem* A-WOOOO-gaaa! Mama like!!

10. Ryan Gosling
I'd like to take this opportunity to pat myself on the back for branching out a bit, as Ryan counts as the SECOND blonde on my list! I loves me some brunettes. Anyway...I don't know what it is about Baby Goose. He's kind of weird looking, right? The way his features are put together seems all wrong, but somehow he's incredibly sexy. You know what's even weirder? He's been in, like, 300 movies this year and I haven't seen any of them.

Honorable mentions: Jonathan Groff (hard to believe he went from #1 to somewhere around #11), Ian Somerhalder, Mark Foster, Paul Rudd, Jason Segel

2011: The Year in Memes

noreply@blogger.com (BeckEye) — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 00:56:00 +0000

Ta-daa! As promised, I've returned. Yeah, I got a little burned out there for a while, but I'm just a moth and year-end best-of bullshit posts are my flame, baby. So, I'll be delving into all the important best-ofs — like music and hot dudes —pretty soon. But let's ease back into this with a little graphic representation of 2011's most memorable memes. (Last year's memes were better. Just sayin'. Get with it, Internet.)

(Click to enlarge.)

Maybe We Should Take a Break

noreply@blogger.com (BeckEye) — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 00:22:00 +0000

As I'm sure many of you have noticed, I haven't been very good at updating ye olde blog lately. So, just to keep the Pop Eye faithful from sobbing into their Twinkies and beer while repeatedly refreshing only to find the same stale post (just let me have this dream, OK?), I thought I would make an official announcement that I'm taking a little break. This is not a euphemism for "giving up blogging for good." I mean, I have to return near the end of the year to inflict my "best of" lists upon the world. And of course I need to be here at the beginning of next year, when American Idol inflicts itself upon the world. I just need a break. Yes, that means you can see other blogs. No, this doesn't mean you can bang that slut from the copy store.

I also need to think some more about the future of this blog. I mentioned before that I had been thinking about getting a real dot com site and just making The Pop Eye one part of it. I'm still thinking about it. I guess I could post or link to other stuff that I've written/am writing there. And maybe I could stop being lazy and find more writing opportunities, which I could then in turn post on my site. And maybe I could actually find time to fit more writing in while still keeping my full time job, occasionally sleeping and managing to have some sort of life. I don't know. But in two months, I can guarantee that I...yeah, I probably still won't know what I'm doing.

In the meantime, if you're a fan of the idiot box, I hope you will continue to read and comment on my Starpulse recaps. (I'm not doing the Celeb Love thing anymore because I got burned out on gossip. Imagine!) Or you can stave off BeckEye withdrawal by being my Facebook friend, if you're not already.

So, if I don't see you on the Zuckerboards, I'll see you in December, my dears. Have a great Halloween and a delicious Thanksgiving. And make sure you rock the eff out of Square Dance Day.

PS - Crowded House totally beat Robyn in the last iPod War. Yay! Neil Finn 4-eva!

Lazy Thursday

noreply@blogger.com (BeckEye) — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 23:31:00 +0000

Not too many votes in last week's iPod War (Robyn vs. Crowded House) so I'm gonna give it another week. Isn't that nice of me? Or is it just lazy? Whatever it is, you have more time to cast a vote.

But if you only do one thing for me today, howzabout going over to Starpulse and leaving me some comment love on my Up All Night recap? I'm sure I've mentioned one or two hundred times that Starpulse is rocking Disqus now, so it's about 500% easier to comment. Of course, if you're not watching Up All Night (which makes no sense because Will Arnett is in it, people...and last night, he took his pants off), you could save your finger strength for tomorrow when I'll have recaps posted for both Project Runway and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

*kisses*

Weekly iPod Wars: Battle #9

noreply@blogger.com (BeckEye) — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 03:55:00 +0000

Heyyy, so this Weekly iPod Wars thing is already not living up to its name. I totally spaced on naming a winner last week, which I figured would have given more people time to vote, but we all know that the shelf life of a blog post is about a 24 hours and three minutes. So, no one really cared.

In case you've already forgotten who the battlers were, it was Pete Yorn's "Life on a Chain" versus Robyn, who proved herself to be "Indestructible," indeed, taking the vote 6-4.

Now the Swedish dance queen goes up against Kiwi popsters, Crowded House, one of my FAVORITE BANDS EVER. This particular song is also a favorite of mine, and the album it's from (Together Alone) is my favorite of theirs. I won't say too much more because I don't want to be accused of trying to sway the vote. But I will say that if the opposing song was "Distant Sun" (aka one of the best songs in the history of ever), I would have dismantled this democracy, named Crowded House the winner and killed anyone who dared question my ruling. But it's not, so I won't, so hey, rock the vote!

Song #1: "Indestructible," Robyn

VS.

Song #2: "In My Command," Crowded House

Support Me. Love Me.

noreply@blogger.com (BeckEye) — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 23:25:00 +0000

Hi, gang! Give me all your money!

Hold on, I think I can rephrase that. Dear friends, I (along with my adorable dog, Finn) am once again participating in the Paws for the Cure dog walk, taking place this year on Sunday, October 2. This event not only increases awareness of breast cancer, but also raises funds for Pittsburgh Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure, which supports breast cancer prevention, education and treatment programs.

In the past, I've participated in several charity events and managed to raise an incredible amount of funds from my friends in the blogging community. You guys blow me away every year with your generosity! I'd be extremely grateful if you could dig into your pocket once more to support this worthy cause. For details on how to donate, please visit Team Finn's page via this link or the picture in the near sidebar!

And now for something a little less altruistic...

I believe I mentioned this in my last post, but I just wanted to remind everyone that I'll be spending quite a bit of time over on Starpulse recapping Project Runway, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia and the new NBC series, Up All Night. I know in the past a lot of you have balked at leaving comments over there, but Starpulse is now using Disqus. So, if you still don't leave comments I'll know it's just because you don't love me, and then you will not get the delicious cookies that I plan on baking for all of my readers this Christmas.

By the way, not watching TV isn't an excuse for not commenting either, because I'm tired of you anti-TV snobs. If God didn't want us to watch TV, he never would have invented electromagnetic waves and recliners. Think about that.

You can find all of my recaps (as well as other articles I've written) by following this link, or by clicking the nifty Starpulse logo in my far right sidebar. Hope to see you over there!

More Ramblings of a TV Addict

noreply@blogger.com (BeckEye) — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 03:47:00 +0000

Ta-daaa! It's a post!

So, here's something kind of funny. I've been toying off and on with the idea of getting a proper website, on which I could post a variety of stuff...random observations (did you ever notice that white people can't dance as well as black people?) the minutiae of my life (time to go through iTunes song-by-song and re-check them for missing album art again!), as well as the pop culture gunk you've come to know me for. I'm not sure if this will happen, seeing as how I've clearly been having trouble lately keeping this blog going, but I think having a straight-up dot-com site with different sections would be a good thing.

I started thinking about this again tonight because I thought it would be cool to have a separate section dedicated to just TV, probably called "TV Eye," not only because it's an obvious fit with The Pop Eye but also because it's the title of an Iggy Pop song that is very special to me, because it always makes me think of Ewan McGregor in Velvet Goldmine flashing his peen. Hmm...maybe I could even make a section on this mythical site called Ewan McGregEye, featuring nothing but naughty nonsense about everyone's favorite Scot. That would probably get me a LOT of hits.

Anyway...I think I considered trying to watch less TV at some point over the summer, but then I hurt my foot (trying to get back in shape, natch) so I couldn't really do much but sit around like a slug and plug into the idiot box. Oh, I suppose I could've read books, but why?? With TV, I get to feel the shame of a broken promise to myself by suddenly deciding to start watching Hell's Kitchen. I get to say I was there for the 95th anniversary of the Real World/Road Rules Challenge! And I get to join the rest of the television-viewing public in swearing at Piers Morgan's two-dimensional image.

Speaking of that rat bastard, this was the first season I ever watched America's Got Talent all the way through, and I found it enjoyable enough. It's nearly as predictable as American Idol with even more annoying judges, but Nick Cannon is a charming host and a lot of the acts are quite entertaining. The musical acts tend to be the worst, while the more "Vegas-y" ones (fitting, considering the prize) are much more fun to watch. I was a little sad to see my beautiful boy pole dancer not make it to tonight's Finale, but three of the four who did make it definitely deserve to be there. There's Landau Eugene Murphy, Jr., the dreadlocked, car-washing crooner, along with the two dance acts: the techno-savvy Team iLuminate and the artistic Silhouettes, the latter of which has been my favorite act since the auditions. The only act that doesn't belong is the teen band POPLYFE. Sweet holy Lord, they are terrible. Well, OK, the lead vocalist has a pretty good voice and all the musicians certainly know how to play. The problem is that they turn their shit up to 11 and play every song at that level the whole way through. But if you like to hear decent vocals muffled by constant cymbal crashing, guitar screeching and just...NOISE...then they might be the band for you.

Of course, the end of AGT (and many other filler reality shows) means that fall TV season is upon us! Now that my foot is healed, I could probably spend less time on the couch, but with the return of quality programming like Community and Parks and Recreation, it's not gonna happen. And who knows, I may even hurt my foot again when I put it through my TV screen upon my next Whitney promo sighting. God, I can't remember the last time I wished so badly for a show to crash and burn. Oh wait, yes I can: Heather Graham's 2006 series, Emily's Reasons Why Not. And that was yanked after one episode! I'm like the Wishmaster and shit! Hopefully my powers have only gotten stronger with time, and Whitney gets axed during the first commercial break.

Now, before someone accuses me of being a "jellus h8r," I don't dislike Heather and Whitney because they're attractive or successful. I dislike Heather because she is quite simply a terrible actress who would have gotten nowhere without the often-exercised option to take off her top, while I dislike Whitney because her "women and men are soooo different!" schtick is as used-up as her equally unfunny friend, Chelsea Handler. You want an example of an attractive, successful woman I could never h8 jellusly on? Alison Brie. (Duh. Look at the photo that accompanies the previous paragraph. Oh, you haven't stopped looking at it? Understandable.) Also, ZOOEY. EFFING. DESCHANEL. I am looking forward to her new show, New Girl. Yes, Zooey is once again playing the "quirky girl," but so what?? She's so good at it. And I really can't wait to see if the writers manage to ever convince anyone that Zooey's roommates truly don't want to bang her and aren't consumed with thoughts of her every minute of the day. Hell, even I'm consumed with thoughts of her most days.

This season, not only will I be watching lots of TV simply because I'm a lazybones, but I will also be obligated to do so, as I've taken on more recapping responsibilities for Starpulse. (So you all better get over there and leave comments. They're using Disqus now, so you people have no excuses!!) I'm already recapping Project Runway, and this week, I'll be resuming my always brilliant It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia write-ups. And new for this year, I'll be taking on Up All Night, which I really hope is as cute as it looks. Sure, I don't want to get stuck recapping a show I hate but mainly I'm concerned about Will Arnett. He really deserves to be on a show that's worthy of him. And yeah, Arrested Development is a hard act to follow, but after Running Wilde, he can only go up.

What shows are you fine folks looking forward to this fall? (If you're one of them there book-readers, don't go being all high and mighty in my comment box. Go show off somewheres else, Joe College!)

Weekly iPod Wars: Battle #8

noreply@blogger.com (BeckEye) — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 03:19:00 +0000

In last week's David vs. Goliath battle, Pete Yorn's pleasant little rock managed to bring down giant Gods of Thunder, Led Zeppelin. Well, stranger things have happened, I guess. Like getting a write-in vote for Paula Abdul's "Cold Hearted," courtesy of Brahm.

This week's match-up may be a little more up Brahm's alley, as new champ Yorn goes up against Swedish dance pop maven, Robyn. If the title of her song is any indication, ol' Pete is fighting a losing battle.

Song #1: "Life on a Chain," Pete Yorn

VS.

Song #2: "Indestructible," Robyn

Weekly iPod Wars: Battle #7

noreply@blogger.com (BeckEye) — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 03:50:00 +0000

Soooo...last week's battle between Billy Idol and Led Zeppelin ended in a tie. Therefore, yours truly gets the deciding vote. And being of sound mind and body, I pick Zeppelin OF COURSE. Seriously, people, I like Billy Idol as much as the next guy (well, unless the next guy would consider ranking him above Plant & Co., and then obviously I don't), but come on! And those of you who suggested that this particular Zep song is a weak spot in their catalog not only made me break out in hives but have also been put on my watch list. There's something very off about you people.

Anyway, it's on to this week's battle, in which Led Zeppelin squares off against Pete Yorn. This could be a tough one. The Zep song is pretty intense but that Yorn fella sure can write a jingly, jangly, catchy tune.

Vote for your favorite track in the comments section!

Song #1: "Ten Years Gone," Led Zeppelin

VS.

Song #2: "Life on a Chain," Pete Yorn

Weekly iPod Wars: Battle #6

noreply@blogger.com (BeckEye) — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 22:25:00 +0000

So, what did we learn from Battle #5? Just that Billy Idol still has it. (And to be honest, even though he's looking a little worse for wear these days, he could still have me.)

Although Billy's ballsy rock handily beat the softer sounds of City and Colour last week, he's up against a real monster this time around. His opponent? Oh, just a little band called Led Zeppelin.

Now, turn up your speakers, rock out and then vote for your favorite song in the comments section.

On a side note: I'm sorry that I haven't had much time to blog lately, but I just got a new job so I'm getting acclimated to having a much earlier start time and actual responsibilities that don't leave room for me to blog during work hours. Hopefully, I will be back in the swing before, uh, ten years have gone by.

Song #1: "To Be A Lover," Billy Idol

VS.

Song #2: "Ten Years Gone," Led Zeppelin

Weekly iPod Wars: Battle #5

noreply@blogger.com (BeckEye) — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 01:35:00 +0000

Well, kids, Battle #4 was a close one. It may have ended in a tie if not for a last minute vote from Dr. Ken, who helped Billy Idol beat two-time champ Squeeze by a ~~nose~~ lip.

Billy's opponent this week is a much more current artist and, surprisingly, not British! It's City and Colour, aka Canadian singer-songwriter Dallas Green. (My iPod is at least getting closer to my homeland.)

This City and Colour song is a track from the new album, Little Hell, which got an honorable mention on my Best Albums of the Year (So Far) post. It might actually end up on my year-end list because it's grown on me a lot more over the past month or so.

So what will it be, folks? A nice, new acoustic number or William Broad's raunchy reworking of William Bell's soulful "I Forgot to Be Your Lover?" Vote for your fave in the comments section!

Song #1: "To Be A Lover," Billy Idol

VS.

Song #2: "We Found Each Other in the Dark," City and Colour

An Open Letter to Everyone Who Makes That Hand-Heart Symbol on a Regular Basis

noreply@blogger.com (BeckEye) — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 03:53:00 +0000

To Whom It May Concern:

I am requesting that you cease and desist this smarmy form of communication.

Failure to immediately discontinue this cloying behavior will result in me quitting my job and uprooting my life so that I may wander the Earth, breaking the fingers of all who refuse to comply with this request.

Sincerely,
I'm Not Kidding

Weekly iPod Wars: Battle #4

noreply@blogger.com (BeckEye) — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 03:36:00 +0000

Although last week's battle drew kind of a lame voter turnout (but I can't really bitch too much because I've been a lame blogger of late), Squeeze became the first two-time winner with their easy triumph over the much lesser-known Flesh For Lulu.

Can Glenn, Chris and the boys make it three weeks in a row? It's possible, but the lads-next-door are up against a snarling tough guy this go-round: Billy Idol! Hey, another British artist! Imagine that! My iPod's anti-American leanings surely have placed me on a watch list of some kind.

Vote for your favorite in the comments section.(Yes, I'm still promising to get you people a fancy poll in the near future.)

Song #1: "I Can't Hold On," Squeeze

VS.

Song #2: "To Be A Lover," Billy Idol

Stream of Consciousness Friday

noreply@blogger.com (BeckEye) — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 15:04:00 +0000

So, can we still sing "It's Friii-eeee-day, Friiii-eeee-day," every Friday, or is that officially over? Should we all be out planking instead?

Have you ever seen a dress made out of wee-wee pads? If you answered "yes," you either know some very interesting people or you watched last night's Project Runway. If you answered "no," perhaps you should check out my Project Runway recap over on Starpulse.

And while you're clicking bright, shiny links, don't forget to vote in this week's iPod war.

Why do we say that someone was ON a television show but IN a movie?

The Change Up looks so bad. So so bad. Isn't the body-switching plot well dry yet?

I signed up to be an extra in a certain comic book-based movie currently being filmed in Pittsburgh, but I haven't received a call back yet. I'm guessing I'll never be getting that call. Dreams of meeting/marrying Gary Oldman? Dashed, yet again.

Speaking of things shot in Pittsburgh, I can't believe this horrible new show, Dance Moms, is taking place right in my backyard. It's on right after Project Runway, but as soon as I see the opening seconds—which usually consist of heavily made-up little girls crying and some evil blob of a woman braying at them like a donkey—I have to angrily turn it off. And don't even get me started on Toddlers & Tiaras and this French Vogue 10-year-old sexpot scandal. Does a society that keeps allowing this kind of "entertainment" even have the right to be shocked when teen girls develop eating disorders and/or end up pregnant?

Are there people who actually like Blake Lively? How is this broad famous? How is she dating Leonardo DiCaprio? He's one of our generation's finest actors and she has maybe one or two more facial expressions than Kristen Stewart. Seriously, did anyone see The Town? Thank God she was only in it briefly. I was waiting for her to just look straight into the camera and say, "I'm a BAD girl! I do drugs! I'm slutty! I have a baby! Can't you see how wicked bad I am??" I don't know about everyone else, Blake, but I can see how bad you are.

On Wednesday, some idiot sent out a phony press release stating that Etta James had died. Said idiot posted the news on an impostor TMZ site, which has since been taken down. Harvey Levin will no doubt bleed the impostors dry, and I have no sympathy for them because Etta's my girl!! While Etta is still alive, she's unfortunately in very poor health, suffering from leukemia and dementia.

Sadly, Annette Charles, who played Grease's Cha Cha DiGregorio, did pass away on Wednesday. Kenickie went earlier this year, and now Cha Cha's gone?? Can someone please keep an extra close watch over John Travolta?

Weekly iPod Wars: Battle #3

noreply@blogger.com (BeckEye) — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 02:46:00 +0000

Well, despite Glenn Tilbrook's insistence (well, Chris Difford's insistence, technically) that he can't hold on, he can and he did. Hence, Squeeze is the new iPod Wars champion (take that, Macy!), and as such, they must now go up against...yeah, another British band. OK, so my iPod's proving me a traitor to my own country's music. What are you gonna do about it??

Before deciding how to handle my musical treason, take a minute to vote in this week's battle. I realize that Flesh For Lulu is a bit obscure (although this certainly isn't the first time I've mentioned them) but I hope you'll give them a chance before just voting for Squeeze again. Because, while I love Squeeze, this FFL song is one of my favorites ever. Don't let that sway your opinion, though, because I say that a lot. Too much, actually.

Song #1: "I Can't Hold On," Squeeze

VS.

Song #2: "Sleeping Dogs," Flesh For Lulu

NOW It's Summer

noreply@blogger.com (BeckEye) — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 21:24:00 +0000

Jeez, Hugh, way to make us wait until the season's almost over.

Weekly iPod Wars: Battle #2

noreply@blogger.com (BeckEye) — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 23:50:00 +0000

In a somewhat surprising turn of events, The Duke Spirit triumphed over Paul Weller in last week's battle. But can they win battle #2? Sure, Leila Moss may bring in extra votes because of her blonde prettiness, but her band is up against Squeeze this time around. And who was blonder and prettier than early 80s Glenn Tilbrook??

Song #1: "So Good To Hear," The Duke Spirit

VS.

Song #2: "I Can't Hold On," Squeeze

I know it may not seem like it right now, but I really do listen to non-British music. One of these weeks, my iPod will prove it.

I still haven't had a chance to play with fancy voting buttons, so for now please continue to cast your votes in the comments section!

Sonic Sunday: The Soundtrack of My Life (1976)

noreply@blogger.com (BeckEye) — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 03:51:00 +0000

Continuing along on this Quantum Leap-esque stroll through my own musical lifetime, here are some of my faves from 1976.

1. "Don't Go Breaking My Heart," Elton John & Kiki Dee
Don't go breaking my heart/I couldn't if I tried/Oh honey if I get restless/Baby you're not that kind/So don't go breaking my heart/You take the weight off of me/Oh honey when you knock on my door/Ooh, I gave you my key

I'll always have a special place in my heart for this song, as it was my favorite from childhood. (EDIT: This mp3 is not my favorite. For some reason, it's being a little bitch and won't load. Until I get it figured out, here is a surprisingly high-quality clip of Elton and Kiki performing the song at Live Aid.)

2. "Somebody to Love," Queen
Each morning I get up I die a little/Can barely stand on my feet/Take a look in the mirror and cry/Lord, what you doing to me?/I've spent all my years believing in you/But I just can't get no relief, Lord!/Somebody, somebody/Can anybody find me somebody to love?

Not only my favorite Queen song, but one of my favorite songs, period.

3. "Last Child," Aerosmith
Take me back to a south Tallahassee/Down cross the bridge to my sweet sassafrassy/Can't stand up on my feet in the city/Got to get back to the real nitty gritty

Annnnd here's my favorite Aerosmith song! Remember when those guys rocked? They really all need to start taking drugs again.

4. "Crazy on You," Heart
My love is the evening breeze touching your skin/The gentle sweet singing of leaves in the wind/The whisper that calls after you in the night/And kisses your ear in the early light

Although I wanted to be Olivia Newton-John as a kid, part of me thought it would be fun to be one of the Wilson sisters. I didn't really care which one because they were both kick-ass.

5. "Hot Line," The Sylvers
Operator, excuse me please/But this is more than an emergency/Take those phones off of your ears/'Cause this is only for my baby to hear/Stop all the calls in the world 'til I catch you, girl/Catch you at home/I asked the CIA/They said it was ok, to use their private phone

Yet another favorite from my childhood. I remember dancing my butt off to this one on a regular basis. It may also be the song that started my love of hand claps.

6. "Sir Duke," Stevie Wonder
Music is a world within itself/With a language we all understand/With an equal opportunity/For all to sing, dance and clap their hands/But just because a record has a groove/Don't make it in the groove/But you can tell right away at letter A/When the people start to move

A great tribute to jazz legends by an R&B legend.

7. "New Kid in Town," Eagles
There's talk on the street, it's there to remind you/That it doesn't really matter which side you're on/You're walking away and they're talking behind you/They will never forget you 'til somebody new comes along/Where you been lately?/There's a new kid in town/Everybody loves him, don't they?/Now he's holding her, and you're still around

This has always been my favorite Eagles song. I always thought it was like a movie set to music.

8. "Something About You," Boston
When I get angry I say things I don't wanna say/I really mean it, I don't want to leave you this way/I couldn't help my reaction/I want you to know/I lose control over you/I just wantcha to know/Got this feeling inside/Gotta have ya, have ya /Ain't no good to hide

I guess it's cool these days to make fun of Boston, but I'm not sure why. That first album was pretty perfect. Yeah, all the songs sound pretty much the same, but they're all good!

9. "American Girl," Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
Well, she was an American girl/Raised on promises/She couldn't help thinkin' that there was a little more to life/Somewhere else/After all, it was a great big world/With lots of places to run to/And if she had to die tryin'/She had one little promise she was gonna keep

As an American girl, I'm required to like this song. But anytime it comes on while I'm by myself in the car, I always get a little afraid that someone's gonna kidnap me and force me to put the lotion in the basket.

10. "Serenade," The Steve Miller Band
Did you see the lights as they fell all around you?/Did you hear the music?/A serenade from the stars/Wake up, wake up/Wake up and look around you/We're lost in space and the time is our own

My favorite Steve Miller song, and one that he didn't play the first three times I saw him. (I've seen him, like, seven or eight times because tickets were always cheap and it was just like going to a fun, outdoor party.) He finally played it (and kept it in the setlist) around show #4, much to my drunken twirling delight.

Past installments:
1975
1974
1973

Weekly iPod Wars: Battle #1

noreply@blogger.com (BeckEye) — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 03:17:00 +0000

So, I know I haven't written anything in a while. But look, it's summer. My blog inspiration receptors are fried. And it's hard to muster up the energy to mock Rebecca Black's latest embarrassing musical failure or care about Jennifer Lopez's latest embarrassing marital failure when 85% of what's running through my veins is straight mosquito poison. Also, I think Rupert Murdoch put a chip in my brain and is erasing all of my ideas.

Anyway, since I figured I should probably put something in this space (content over quality—just like AOL), I've created a new feature that will entertain you with the minimum amount of effort on my part! It's called Weekly iPod Wars. Each week, I'll activate my iPod's fancy randomizing application (which some of you crudely refer to as "shuffle play"). The first two songs played will then have to fight it out here on my blog for YOUR affection. You know the drill: two songs enter, one song leaves.

Since I'm still forming how exactly this feature will work, I'm looking for your feedback. Should a winning song get to battle new songs until it's defeated, or should each week feature two new songs? While you think about that, let Battle #1 begin!

Song #1: "So Good To Hear," The Duke Spirit

VS.

Song #2: "Savages," Paul Weller

Now, rock the vote. You don't even have to be 18!