Al Franken wins Minnesota Senate seat
AP PHOTO
I remember Franken from his run as Stuart Smalley on SNL. I hope his political career fares better than his political ads. Click here for more info.
TRAILER WATCH: “Spread”
Nikki (Ashton Kutcher) plays a Hollywood playboy with a voice that sounds so incredibly stuck up that I needed valet parking to merely watch the trailer below.
MGMT and Karen O join the Flaming Lips
Photo by: Nathan Poppe
“I think you have to be willing just to completely destroy yourself and just see what comes out of the dirt.”
TOP FIVE most interesting ways Billy Mays pitched items
Pitchman Billy Mays died yesterday, but his entertaining commercials will live on in my brain forever. It’s mostly because he yelled at me so loudly, but also because his commercials were always creative. Here are five examples of how Billy Mays made his products more interesting than the stuff in your house.
5. Using an American flag in a wind tunnel (35 seconds into commercial)
4. Using a gardening tool to mix paint (1:12 into commercial)
3. Driving a drill straight into tile (36 seconds into commericial)
2. Embarrassing the same toilet brush twice (beginning and end of commercial)
1. Turning into a human washing machine (46 seconds into commercial)
Michael Jackson, you will be missed
I definitely can say no one expected Michael Jackson would die today. When the news began to flood once doctors announced Jackson died of cardiac arrest, I was surprised to see how many people seemed to be affected by it. He truly was a beloved performer, even though he was slightly off.
He may have been a little eccentric but you can’t deny he was a hit maker. The best music of the 80′s came out of this man, and we all know how I feel about the 80′s. Plus, he was completely adorable when he was in the Jackson 5, as you can see below.
Today was a sad day in Hollywood. RIP Farah Fawcett and Michael Jackson.
Coyote Ugly Opening Night
A girl dances in high heels during the opening of Coyote Ugly in Oklahoma City Wednesday, June 24, 2009. Photo by Ashley McKee, The Oklahoman
Christina Clark, a bartender, smiles at a customer during the opening of Coyote Ugly in Oklahoma City Wednesday, June 24, 2009. Photo by Ashley McKee, The Oklahoman
The Killers and the 80′s
I miss the Killers. No, as far as I know, the Killers have not broken up. No, miss the Hot Fuss Killers. Let me explain.
I absolutely loved the Killers’ Hot Fuss album, I would blast it in my car, scream and dance along. I was stoked whenever I heard about their sophomore album, Sam’s Town, and bought it immediately. Unfortunately, I only liked one track, “When You Were Young.” But I had faith, I did the same for their third album, only to be again disappointed by them.
I went back later to give each another listen, hoping that maybe my tastes would become more susceptible to it like I had with Maroon 5 earlier. That was not the case. Instead I realized why.
I believe the reason I loved their first CD so much was because of its rock-ability with the undertones of 80′s bubbling underneath. Slowly but surely, the 80′s crept up more in the second album until the third album sounded like an album from the 80′s.
Now, grant it, I appreciate the 80′s but I see its music as a transition into music of today. I can safely say it is because of the 80′s that fads like boy bands and teeny pop stars came on the scene in the 90′s. To me, Wham’s “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go,” Dead or Alive’s “You Spin Me Round,” The Police’s “Every Breath You Take” and “Don’t Stand So Close to Me” are all examples of what the 80′s has to offer me: a good laugh.
The examples are below.
The Police videos disabled the embed but here are the links:
Every Breath You Take
Don’t Stand So Close to Me
I know they won’t go back and I don’t expect the Killers to go back to their earlier sound, but I will still say I miss them.
19 days until Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince!
Overrated/Underrated- Bands
This week’s overrated/underrated series is over bands. I am sure there will be plently of people who disaggree but then again…doesn’t that fit into the definition of overrated? So comment back, tell me who you think is most overrated/underrated and what you think of my selections.
OVERRATED- Beastie Boys
Wow I really think I could make millions of dollars in a music career with absolutely no talent. I base this off of the Beastie Boys. There isn’t another band out there that gives me an instant head ache the second they come on the radio. There isn’t real music, there is no singing, the rapping is nothing but yelling into a mic about random things. The lyrics are just awful. I really don’t understand how this band has done so well in the past.
RUNNER UP- TIE- U2 / AC/DC
I just never saw the appeal. They have some talent and they do a little singing. But something just doesn’t click. Both are lacking in areas. First with AC/DC- some bands pull off the “guy sings with screeching high voice” I don’t think it works for AC/DC. U2- The band just doesn’t work and its only because of Bono. Bono is just plain awful. His voice sound horrible, his lyrics are bad, and when you have to sing “Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah” for filler…you’ve just become an overrated band.
UNDERRATED- The Living End
Who?…My point exactly. The Living End is an Australian Rockabily band. They are one of the top 5 rock bands in Australia and some of the most taleneted musicians around. Their lead guitarist produces some of the most talented songs while singing over it all. The bassist plays an upright bass which he uses for more than just playing music. He balances on top of it while playing. The whole band produces good rock music with just a different unique sounds to their own
Flaming lips on Flaming Lips new album cover
"Embryonic" album cover
Take a look at the Lips’ previous album covers.
"At War With the Mystics"
"Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots"
"The Soft Bulletin"
Why the world needs Michael Bay.
AP PHOTO
The world needs Michael Bay.
Anyone with decent taste has all ready stopped reading this, but that sentence is the truest thing I’ve ever typed. He’s a man that doesn’t ask for much from an audience. The first “Transformers” film grossed more than $700 million worldwide.
Bay did all that without pouring an ounce of heart into the film, and if he did then it was probably covered with fire or something else wildly flammable. Nothing can stop people from swarming to a Michael Bay film (excluding “The Island,” which doesn’t count because there were barely any robots).
Here is backbone to my argument.
Imagine if Bay had directed a new 3-D extravaganza titled “A Twine to Kill” where the fate of humanity is challenged by a giant, rolling ball of twine. The back story is simple (surprised?). Scientists have the technology to combine the largest ball of twine in Darwin, Minn. with the second largest ball of twine in Cawker City, Kan., but Dr. Killington (a robot voiced by James Earl Jones) rushes the construction of the twine.
Killington kidnaps the twine and begins to roll around the planet crushing buildings, large and small cars and any scientists that know the twine’s weakness (it’s fire by the way). The film promises to be big, loud and star a beautiful woman and not Ben Affleck. It’s a sure success.
Here is the catch.
When you put the 3-D glasses on your head, the ball of twine actually rolls out of the screen and crushes you. You are most likely not going to survive seeing this film. Several reviewers miraculously survive this disaster and make sure to mention that the latest Michael Bay film was insipid, stupid and killed everyone in the theatre.
People would react in the same way if it had shimmering reviews. They would just see the pretty Hollywood movie.
That’s the power of Michael Bay. He makes well-informed, smart people disregard their own taste and what’s bothering them. Maybe it’s imminent death by a ball of twine. Maybe it’s a terrible day at work. Maybe it’s a divorce. It doesn’t matter because Michael Bay will always blow stuff up in an ungodly manner.
I am almost certain Bay knows that nothing can harm his reputation. He blows things up for a living. Not only can he not hear you if you criticized him (so many explosions have probably rendered him deaf), but he also probably wouldn’t care. Also, it’s time to film a “A Twine to Kill” sequel. Ready the twine.
Before CGI, this is what robots looked like.
