Showing posts with label Longest Post Ever (or is it?). Show all posts
Showing posts with label Longest Post Ever (or is it?). Show all posts
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
"♣ Noise"
With all the "___ Noise"s, I tried to create something completely different, but at the same time I wanted there to be elements that were common to all four--basically a "spirit" that justifies the hyperlinked titles. While each focuses on one element--Hearts on the way the tracks are layered, Spades on how effects change the sound, Diamonds on balancing order and chaos, and this song on playing different textures and styles against each other-- they all have this thing that unites them, which is that they're all almost something, but not quite. They're supposed to be sort of deconstructed, "wrong" versions of what they're sound like they are. Hearts is almost, but not quite, pure noise--everything still fits together in some recognizable way even as it clashes at the same time (compare to "Insanity," which uses noise more as an instrument in itself, rather than a result of the composition and how the instruments are used). Spades is almost a straightforward rock song, but the rhythms and scales are all off and for some reason there's an all-sped-up version. Diamonds could be pop, but the vocals are just an inaudible moan and the horns sound defeated, and some of the other instruments aren't even paying attention to what the others are doing. This song has the synthesized sounds and mash-up aesthetics of modern dance music, but it's near-impossible to actually dance to.
This song has probably the most uniquest (take that, grammar Nazis) structure of any of my song, one which I don't think I've ever heard before. It's a refrain/solos structure similar to jazz, but there's no refrain, just a series of consecutive solos (bass, ukulele, piano, and acoustic guitar) played with barely any breaks between them. The rest takes a sort of A-B-A form, but the second "A" section isn't really all that similar to the first, and adds a new motif (the 10:8 guitar/drum breakbeat) which gradually takes over the whole song.
Other things:
At one point (around the end of July/ start of August), I spent most of a week trying to figure out how to get the guitar sound on this--something that would be simultaneously atmospheric and musically dynamic--but gave up, and the next day ended up writing "Insula" in less than an hour*. The final sound is me playing weird rhythms on an A Minor chord, playing a wah pedal with my left foot and a whammy pedal with my right foot, which is essentially the same as something I made a joke about a long time ago.
It's probably fitting that my attempt to write electronica has the most metal riffs I've ever written.
The screeching noise that ends part one is a triangle scraped with a drum brush. I used the same effect on it here as I used to create "Insanity in 9:8"
Initially I tried to write around the bass and drum parts, and recorded a bunch of additional "solo"parts to use later. Everything but some minor percussion and the two electric guitar parts was thrown out and ended up rerecorded.
As I said above, this song, like "Diamonds" has a 5:4 beat (really more 10:8, which i actually use a lot but not in anything I've recorded yet). I want to use more weird time signatures going forward--so far really all I've done is the 3:4 parts of "Rise"-- but I especially like how it's used here because everything else is still 4:4. Other weird key and tempo stuff-- the song is mostly in A minor but the piano and uke are in C**, the bass in f#, and the guitar breakbeat in G.
The guitar breakbeat uses the A, G, and E power chords, the same chords "Ray of Light" is built on, and has a similar circular pattern to both "Reaction" and "Watchtower."
The endless coda to this song isn't some bold artistic choice, it's a mistake, caused by me setting something wrong and then not bothering to listen to the song before posting it.
Out of all my songs, this is the one I'd most like to see performed live.
*To be fair I also figured out structural elements like the piano solo, and the pattern for the breakbeat, then played on cymbals.
**I later went back and made some minor changes, the biggest of which was writing a different piano solo which is in A Minor
DOWNLOADABLE VERSION:
Rerelease Notes: See ** above. Also I used a hard pan to put the acoustic guitar on the left and the rock guitar/drum breakbeat on the right. Also the ukulele is a little quieter I think.
"Ray of Light"
I wanted to cover Madonna since I saw the episode of that show about her. You know, the show with the singing teens? I think it's called The Sopranos*. Mainly I wanted to do it for the contrast of it, similar to why I did some of my other covers, but I also think Madonna deserve more respect than she actually gets. Even when complimenting her, most people talk about her image or her celebrity status, and ignore the fact that she's actually responsible for some pretty good music. It's especially odd when someone does basically the same thing (hint: rhymes with "maybe lava"), and gets lauded as the Greatest Artist of our Generation TM.
As with Hallelujah, this song was easy to write (it took about an hour to work out the chord placements), but hard to play. Madonna's original "Ray of Light" is already hard to sing; this version is even harder, because of its unusual chord progression (which is either I-V-vii or vii-IV-vi, I couldn't figure out how the key worked) and lots of variations. Most of my early takes came out as vague grunts or psuedo-drunken slurs or Billy Corgan impressions. I actually changed parts of the structure of the song after taping this, but couldn't get a decent recording of the new version, so I had to stick with this earlier take instead.
Random Bull---- (he said, pronouncing the dashes effortlessly):
-At one point I was going to change the lyrics more, but I think what I was trying to say with the song works without all the changes. I sort of saw this version as being about losing someone (where Madonna's is more about going towards something), so lines like "faster than the speeding light she's flying," end up meaning very different things in the two versions.
-Recording this was a lot like recording "Hallelujah," but with a few differences. I spent a lot more time here trying to nail down the singing style, and playing in every conceivable key, in an effort to avoid the headaches the last song gave me. I failed, though this one did take less time, perhaps due to lower standards.
-This song was completely finished (by which I mean written) in May, but was shelved until recently because my attempts at recording it back then were about as successful as my attempts to record it now. Except for I gave up sooner, and I was less desperate.
-I decided not to listen to the original at all until I finished recording, so that the two versions would sound more different.
-Because I'm proud of them (and because they're nothing like the original), here are the chords in standard tuning (I played it three steps down):
Intro:
(D A C G B F Em D)
D A C G
Zephyr in the sky at night I wonder
G Em A C
Do my tears of mourning sink beneath the sun
D A C
She's got herself a universe gone quickly
C Em G A
For the call of thunder threatens everyone
A D A C
And I feel like I just got home
D A C
And I feel like I just got home
Em G A D
And I feel
D A C G Em
Quicker than a ray of light then gone
D A C Em G
Quicker than a ray of light then gone
D A C G
Faster than the speed of light she's flying
G Em F Am C
And I don't remember how it all began
D A C Em G
I had myself a little piece of heaven
F Em Am D A
Waiting for the time when Earth could be as one
(verse)
G A B C D Em F G A
A C A C
And I feel/ And I feel
D A C G Em
Quicker than a ray of light then gone for
Am Em
Someone else should be there
Am Dm Am A
Through the endless years
A D A C
And I feel like I just got home
D A C
And I feel like I just got home
Em G C A
And I feel
A D
She's got herself a universe
A C
She's got herself a universe
A D
She's got herself a universe
A C Em G A
She's got herself a universe
A D A D
And I feel/ And I feel
A C G B G F G Em G A Em
D A C Em G
Quicker than a ray of light she's flying
D A C G Em
Quicker than a ray of light she's flying
D A C Em G
Quicker than a ray of light she's flying
D A C G Em
Quicker than a ray of light she's flying
A D A C G Em
*In all seriousness, I've wanted to write about Glee since it started--it's not always a good show but there's always something to talk about--but I didn't want to start TV blogging again (too much work, plus I wasn't that great at it), and it seemed weird to only write about one show.
Friday, March 26, 2010
How many Times Have I Used "I'm Back, Bitches" as a Post Title?
"22 Minutes Before the Wall Fell":
UPDATED 4/22: Sorry it took so long I always seemed to have something more urgent to do anyway here's post:
I got the idea awhile ago to do a cover by request (bear with me it'll make since in a minute). Since it was my friend's birthday I asked him or a song. His first two suggestions were jokes. His first real suggestion I spent a day and a half on and couldn't get to work, which is a shame because I actually had really good concept. So I asked for a different song, which as it so happens is on my list of "songs that I will never cover because they're about something that really happened."
The fifth song was one I barely knew. I thought this would make it easier, since I wouldn't try as hard to copy the original. I tried a couple different concepts and ultimately decided to do sort of a slowed-down, atmospheric take on it, with lots of echoey vocal effects 'n' shit. But that was never really working, and somewhere in between the first take singing and the first instrumental track it turned into this metal thing, and then I realized I should delete the vocals and write something original on top of it (for about ten seconds I thought maybe it should be an instrumental, but some songs basically have to have words). There's a lesson here, but I'm not sure what it is. Maybe "creativity is weird."
As for the song itself I really like it. I especially like the way it ends, where it threatens to go into this kind of Zeppelin thing for like ten seconds, and then just stops dead. That was basically an accident of the way I write (I improvised all three tracks, drums on top guitar on top of bass). The noise after that, which is me hitting the microphone and knocking it over, required more forethought. The guitar parts were epspecically fun to record because I got to play with my new expensive toy, and just switch it back and forth on the "detune" setting, which is sort of like a chorus pedal on a rocker switch.
The one thing I'm not in love with are the lyrics, despite the fact that I somehow snuck in a reference to John Cheever's "The Swimmer" (required reading ftw). I'm a perfectionist when it comes to lyrics, which is one of the reasons try to avoid them*, and these lyrics are...OK. There's some good lines, some themes I kind of like, they sort of tell a story, but I don't know that they fit together all that well. Improvising usually works well for the instrumental parts of a song (or even the screamy parts that aren't words). I don't know that it works so well with the words.
*The other is I tend to write ten lines and then forget eight of them, so those songs end up perpetually unfinished.
DOWNLOADABLE VERSION:
Rerelease Notes: I made the vocals louder, but decided to keep them low enough to be unintelligible.
I got the idea awhile ago to do a cover by request (bear with me it'll make since in a minute). Since it was my friend's birthday I asked him or a song. His first two suggestions were jokes. His first real suggestion I spent a day and a half on and couldn't get to work, which is a shame because I actually had really good concept. So I asked for a different song, which as it so happens is on my list of "songs that I will never cover because they're about something that really happened."
The fifth song was one I barely knew. I thought this would make it easier, since I wouldn't try as hard to copy the original. I tried a couple different concepts and ultimately decided to do sort of a slowed-down, atmospheric take on it, with lots of echoey vocal effects 'n' shit. But that was never really working, and somewhere in between the first take singing and the first instrumental track it turned into this metal thing, and then I realized I should delete the vocals and write something original on top of it (for about ten seconds I thought maybe it should be an instrumental, but some songs basically have to have words). There's a lesson here, but I'm not sure what it is. Maybe "creativity is weird."
As for the song itself I really like it. I especially like the way it ends, where it threatens to go into this kind of Zeppelin thing for like ten seconds, and then just stops dead. That was basically an accident of the way I write (I improvised all three tracks, drums on top guitar on top of bass). The noise after that, which is me hitting the microphone and knocking it over, required more forethought. The guitar parts were epspecically fun to record because I got to play with my new expensive toy, and just switch it back and forth on the "detune" setting, which is sort of like a chorus pedal on a rocker switch.
The one thing I'm not in love with are the lyrics, despite the fact that I somehow snuck in a reference to John Cheever's "The Swimmer" (required reading ftw). I'm a perfectionist when it comes to lyrics, which is one of the reasons try to avoid them*, and these lyrics are...OK. There's some good lines, some themes I kind of like, they sort of tell a story, but I don't know that they fit together all that well. Improvising usually works well for the instrumental parts of a song (or even the screamy parts that aren't words). I don't know that it works so well with the words.
*The other is I tend to write ten lines and then forget eight of them, so those songs end up perpetually unfinished.
DOWNLOADABLE VERSION:
Rerelease Notes: I made the vocals louder, but decided to keep them low enough to be unintelligible.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Liveblogging The Beatles: Rock Band: Part 2
OK, I'm gonna be singing b/c I's too lazy to put the instruments together. Also my strumming arm hurts and I haven't got the cymbals yet.
Mic stand is pretty nice. probably should have a controller holder on it though. Or, you know, buttons.
And I thought that opening cinema looked good in a tiny window...It's a bit more impressive at 65 inches in HD. Also, I found a ghetto way to hang my controller with the cable clips. I am the genius, goog-goo-g'joob.
First thing after "Press Start" is something about cache and system profiles. I breeze through, but then I'm not one of the old people they want this game to bring in.
Liverpool, 1963
"Twist and Shout", Expert: Takes two tries (probably should stick to "Solo" vox), but it got me TWO achievements. Those ah-ah-ahs are hard, by the way. ***
"Boys", Hard: Couldn't do expert.Hard might be too easy, though. Too bad they don't let you go straight from practice mode back to story-- you'd think someone would have figured that out by now. ****
"Do You Want To Know A Secret", Expert: I think this game is going to make "Fab" cool to say again. Also, this song was a cool choice-- you'd never see it in Guitar Hero: Beatles. ****
"I Saw Her Standing There", Expert: Now we're talking. Also, how does Paul hit that high note? He must have used Auto-Tune. ***
Look, the band is meeting the queen!
The Ed Sullivan Show, 1964
"I Want to Hold Your Hand", Expert: ***, but I think I'm getting better. Also, I forgot how short a lot of these songs are.
"Can't Buy Me Love", Expert: Are you supposed to shout? I shouted the whole thing. On an unrelated note, my throat hurts for some reason. ***
"A Hard Day's Night", Expert: Good thing it's short, too, I'm about to go hoarse. Still got ****, though.
"I Wanna Be Your Man", Hard: All right, I'm starting to notice a pattern where I do better on songs I've heard of. Also, The Beatles moved pretty fast from just wanting to hold your hand to "I wanna be your lover, baby".
OK, I'm gonna take a break.
...And we're back.
Honestly, this game is worth at least a rental just for the between-levels animations.
Shea Stadium, 1965:
"Ticket To Ride", Expert: According to the loading screen, they took out headset functionality. That kind of sucks, but no one used it anyway. ****, but I almost failed at the end there.
"I'm Looking Through You", Hard: I don't even know how I made it through this one. Just lucky I guess.
"Eigh Days A Week", Expert: First song where I had to drop an octave (or two). Voice hurts less now. ****
"If I Needed Someone", Expert: I like the message of this one: "you want me? Get in line, girl." Of course, there probabl really was a line at that point. ***
"I Feel Fine", Expert: Hey, why does this level have five songs? Whatever, it's cool. ****
Budokan, 1966:
"Day Tripper", Hard: Has anyone ever figured out what a day tripper is? Seriously? ****
"And Your Bird Can Sing", Expert: Y'know, if someone released this song today, nobody would realize it's over forty years old. It's somehow...I don't know. Maybe it took a while to be influential. ***
"Drive My Car", Hard: Another song that sounds ahead of its time-- this one would have fit in just as well in the 70s. ****
...And then my parents got home and i had to stop start move relogisticize...hang on.
"Taxman", Expert: Someone should make a show about a superhero called the Taxman, because I just found its theme song. Picture it: by day, Albert Taxmann (Eugene Levy*) is a mild-mannered tax auditor--but by night... ***
"Paperback Writer", Expert: This is one of my most favoritest Beatles songs because I think its a funny song I think this one would also make a good TV theme but maybe the idea is stuck in my head.
*If nothing else, maybe we could stop the endless flood of American Pies.
Abbey Road, 1966-67:
"Yellow Submarine", Expert: Wow, they just dive right in to the wierdness, don't they? Also, what's with Ringo and songs taking place under the ocean? ***** (This one's pretty easy)
"Sgt. Pepper's/With A Little Help From My Friends", Expert: It's kind of ironic to be off-key on this song, innit? Also, when you fail, it'll say "take two" on your second try. Not that I would fail, no sir. ****
"Lucy In The Sky With Drug Reference", Expert: Actually, I expected them to do a lot more with this one. It's relatively sane-looking. Well, "I Am The Walrus" is still to come. ***
"Getting Better", Expert: Like how it has the date they were recorded. "Me used to be angry young man" was totally stolen by you-know-who*. ****
"Within You Without You/ Tomorrow Never Knows", Expert: Huh, I figure this would be like a bonus or something. Still, "Within You Without You" is one of my most favoritestest Beatles songs, and I really like the mash-up, so I can't complain. The only real problem I have here is that it cuts down the length of the real song, but it's cool, yo. ****
"Good Morning Good Morning", Expert: Song so nice they titled it twice. I never realized just how wierd this song is--a guy dies in the first line and the song end with its title line in German. It's almost Bob Dylan-level weird here. ****
*Coulton!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! >=(
Some animator's been watching The Wall on a maddening loop, which is probably the best way to watch The Wall.
Abbey Road, '67-'68
"I Am the Walrus", Texpert: Every bit as advertised. Also, I just realized the talky parts don't seem to affect your score, positive or negative. And they took out the tambourine, but I figured that out like four chapters ago. ****
"Hello Goodbye", Hard: The Beatles covered that Target commercial song? Anyway, this one's kind of long but OK; it's a step down from "Walrus", but what wouldn't be? It was clever how they trick you into thinking the song is over (by they I mean the developers, but it also applies to The Beatles themselves). ****
"Hey Bulldog", Hard: The video for this part is pretty cool, despite never leaving the studio; it's a tribute to the original video or something, I forget the exact story. Note the cigarette smoke in the beginning--is that the "tobacco reference" from the ESRB label? *****
"Back In The USSR", Expert: Back in the what? Anyway, ***, but it would have been four if I'd done star power right. Also, they do weird thing where the vocal line will move before you start singing it--probably something to do with harmonies, but it's friggin confusing ("Hello Goodbye" does it too)
"Dear Prudence", Expert: Wow, I butchered that. Still got ***, though. Also, cool video, takes you in and out of the dreamthing multiple times.
"While My Guitar Gently Weeps", Expert: So no Clapton cameo. He probably doesn't deserve it. Also, surprisingly dark choice to end the chapter on, especially in such an upbeat game.
Abbey Road '68-'69:
"Helter Skelter", Hard: When I checked the leaderboard, only 450 people had played this song. I am not one of them. I'll finish it later, this song is fucking hard.
"Revolution", Expert: After "Helter Skelter", anything looks, easy: *****. It's weird they put these two songn together because I always pair them in my mind--both are attempts at a heavier sound (I think the differences between them say a lot about the differences between John and Paul, too).
"Birthday", Hard: Actually it's John Bonham who has my birthday. Good guess though. *****
-Takes Dinner/ XBox-Is-Making-It-A-Million-Degrees-In-My-Room Break-
OK from here on I'm playing guitar--I want to see if I can finish the game tonight.
"Helter Skelter", Expert: The Höfner bass that comes with the game is pretty awesome-looking, but they made some odd design decisions. The strap is placed so it's always twisted; the strum bar is in a weird position; the start and XBos buttons are hard to trigger (making pausing really hard). Time will tell if I can get used to it. ***
"Octopus's Garden", Expert: Hey, this song is pretty hard. Still not sure if it's me or the guitar. ***
"Something", Expert: Maybe it's me. I was playing Guitar Hero most of the summer. Also, the longer scale of the bass controller actually makes using the higher-up frets worth it, since you're more likely to hit the right note. ***
"Come Together", Expert: I always liked this song-- it feels like it's getting away with something, but you can never be too sure what. Plus it's a great example of what people always say about the Beatles-- it's incredibly easy and simple and yet still really fun. **** (but just barely not five)
"Here Comes the Sun", Expert: ACoustic songs always translate to these games kind of off; chords turn into triplets, it's the right notes but they're not played the right way. Still fun though. ***
Apple Corps Rooftop, 1969:
"Dig A Pony", Expert: Man, we've been at Apple a while now, huh?...And I thought my lyrics were nonsensical. Seriously, why do some of the best songs have some of the worst lyrics (see: U2, One, "we hurt each other than we do it again"). ***
"I've Got A Feeling", Expert: I don't know. It's great. They should make more songs like this, and play this one more on the radio. What do you expect me to say? ***
"Don't Let Me Down", Expert: I've actually seen the real version of this, which is every bit as awesome. Here. ****
"I Me Mine", Expert: Why do I have a feeling this song is about the other Beatles? Also, it's pretty hard too. ***
"I Want You (She's So Heavy)", Expert: We're a long way from just wanting to hold your hand. I had a rant that carried on the theme of "we need more songs like this" but I forot most of it by the 6-minute mark. Maybe it'll come back later. **** (and an achievement for usingStar Power Beatlemania 5 times.)
"Get Back", Expert: John's made-up lyrics to this are the funniest thing ever, you can hear them before the song starts. Also this song is really hard (***). But who cares because...
Oh Jebus it's all over! Oh well, the ending animation (set, appropriately, to "The End") is even more awesome than the beginning one, albiet short. Watch it on Youtube tomorrow, it'll be up by then.
Interesting choice, setting the credits to studio noise instead of a song, which would have been the more obvious way to go.
I think that's it. I'll have more to say tomorrow (I haven't even tried drumming yet.)
Mic stand is pretty nice. probably should have a controller holder on it though. Or, you know, buttons.
And I thought that opening cinema looked good in a tiny window...It's a bit more impressive at 65 inches in HD. Also, I found a ghetto way to hang my controller with the cable clips. I am the genius, goog-goo-g'joob.
First thing after "Press Start" is something about cache and system profiles. I breeze through, but then I'm not one of the old people they want this game to bring in.
Liverpool, 1963
"Twist and Shout", Expert: Takes two tries (probably should stick to "Solo" vox), but it got me TWO achievements. Those ah-ah-ahs are hard, by the way. ***
"Boys", Hard: Couldn't do expert.Hard might be too easy, though. Too bad they don't let you go straight from practice mode back to story-- you'd think someone would have figured that out by now. ****
"Do You Want To Know A Secret", Expert: I think this game is going to make "Fab" cool to say again. Also, this song was a cool choice-- you'd never see it in Guitar Hero: Beatles. ****
"I Saw Her Standing There", Expert: Now we're talking. Also, how does Paul hit that high note? He must have used Auto-Tune. ***
Look, the band is meeting the queen!
The Ed Sullivan Show, 1964
"I Want to Hold Your Hand", Expert: ***, but I think I'm getting better. Also, I forgot how short a lot of these songs are.
"Can't Buy Me Love", Expert: Are you supposed to shout? I shouted the whole thing. On an unrelated note, my throat hurts for some reason. ***
"A Hard Day's Night", Expert: Good thing it's short, too, I'm about to go hoarse. Still got ****, though.
"I Wanna Be Your Man", Hard: All right, I'm starting to notice a pattern where I do better on songs I've heard of. Also, The Beatles moved pretty fast from just wanting to hold your hand to "I wanna be your lover, baby".
OK, I'm gonna take a break.
...And we're back.
Honestly, this game is worth at least a rental just for the between-levels animations.
Shea Stadium, 1965:
"Ticket To Ride", Expert: According to the loading screen, they took out headset functionality. That kind of sucks, but no one used it anyway. ****, but I almost failed at the end there.
"I'm Looking Through You", Hard: I don't even know how I made it through this one. Just lucky I guess.
"Eigh Days A Week", Expert: First song where I had to drop an octave (or two). Voice hurts less now. ****
"If I Needed Someone", Expert: I like the message of this one: "you want me? Get in line, girl." Of course, there probabl really was a line at that point. ***
"I Feel Fine", Expert: Hey, why does this level have five songs? Whatever, it's cool. ****
Budokan, 1966:
"Day Tripper", Hard: Has anyone ever figured out what a day tripper is? Seriously? ****
"And Your Bird Can Sing", Expert: Y'know, if someone released this song today, nobody would realize it's over forty years old. It's somehow...I don't know. Maybe it took a while to be influential. ***
"Drive My Car", Hard: Another song that sounds ahead of its time-- this one would have fit in just as well in the 70s. ****
...And then my parents got home and i had to stop start move relogisticize...hang on.
"Taxman", Expert: Someone should make a show about a superhero called the Taxman, because I just found its theme song. Picture it: by day, Albert Taxmann (Eugene Levy*) is a mild-mannered tax auditor--but by night... ***
"Paperback Writer", Expert: This is one of my most favoritest Beatles songs because I think its a funny song I think this one would also make a good TV theme but maybe the idea is stuck in my head.
*If nothing else, maybe we could stop the endless flood of American Pies.
Abbey Road, 1966-67:
"Yellow Submarine", Expert: Wow, they just dive right in to the wierdness, don't they? Also, what's with Ringo and songs taking place under the ocean? ***** (This one's pretty easy)
"Sgt. Pepper's/With A Little Help From My Friends", Expert: It's kind of ironic to be off-key on this song, innit? Also, when you fail, it'll say "take two" on your second try. Not that I would fail, no sir. ****
"Lucy In The Sky With Drug Reference", Expert: Actually, I expected them to do a lot more with this one. It's relatively sane-looking. Well, "I Am The Walrus" is still to come. ***
"Getting Better", Expert: Like how it has the date they were recorded. "Me used to be angry young man" was totally stolen by you-know-who*. ****
"Within You Without You/ Tomorrow Never Knows", Expert: Huh, I figure this would be like a bonus or something. Still, "Within You Without You" is one of my most favoritestest Beatles songs, and I really like the mash-up, so I can't complain. The only real problem I have here is that it cuts down the length of the real song, but it's cool, yo. ****
"Good Morning Good Morning", Expert: Song so nice they titled it twice. I never realized just how wierd this song is--a guy dies in the first line and the song end with its title line in German. It's almost Bob Dylan-level weird here. ****
*Coulton!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! >=(
Some animator's been watching The Wall on a maddening loop, which is probably the best way to watch The Wall.
Abbey Road, '67-'68
"I Am the Walrus", Texpert: Every bit as advertised. Also, I just realized the talky parts don't seem to affect your score, positive or negative. And they took out the tambourine, but I figured that out like four chapters ago. ****
"Hello Goodbye", Hard: The Beatles covered that Target commercial song? Anyway, this one's kind of long but OK; it's a step down from "Walrus", but what wouldn't be? It was clever how they trick you into thinking the song is over (by they I mean the developers, but it also applies to The Beatles themselves). ****
"Hey Bulldog", Hard: The video for this part is pretty cool, despite never leaving the studio; it's a tribute to the original video or something, I forget the exact story. Note the cigarette smoke in the beginning--is that the "tobacco reference" from the ESRB label? *****
"Back In The USSR", Expert: Back in the what? Anyway, ***, but it would have been four if I'd done star power right. Also, they do weird thing where the vocal line will move before you start singing it--probably something to do with harmonies, but it's friggin confusing ("Hello Goodbye" does it too)
"Dear Prudence", Expert: Wow, I butchered that. Still got ***, though. Also, cool video, takes you in and out of the dreamthing multiple times.
"While My Guitar Gently Weeps", Expert: So no Clapton cameo. He probably doesn't deserve it. Also, surprisingly dark choice to end the chapter on, especially in such an upbeat game.
Abbey Road '68-'69:
"Helter Skelter", Hard: When I checked the leaderboard, only 450 people had played this song. I am not one of them. I'll finish it later, this song is fucking hard.
"Revolution", Expert: After "Helter Skelter", anything looks, easy: *****. It's weird they put these two songn together because I always pair them in my mind--both are attempts at a heavier sound (I think the differences between them say a lot about the differences between John and Paul, too).
"Birthday", Hard: Actually it's John Bonham who has my birthday. Good guess though. *****
-Takes Dinner/ XBox-Is-Making-It-A-Million-Degrees-In-My-Room Break-
OK from here on I'm playing guitar--I want to see if I can finish the game tonight.
"Helter Skelter", Expert: The Höfner bass that comes with the game is pretty awesome-looking, but they made some odd design decisions. The strap is placed so it's always twisted; the strum bar is in a weird position; the start and XBos buttons are hard to trigger (making pausing really hard). Time will tell if I can get used to it. ***
"Octopus's Garden", Expert: Hey, this song is pretty hard. Still not sure if it's me or the guitar. ***
"Something", Expert: Maybe it's me. I was playing Guitar Hero most of the summer. Also, the longer scale of the bass controller actually makes using the higher-up frets worth it, since you're more likely to hit the right note. ***
"Come Together", Expert: I always liked this song-- it feels like it's getting away with something, but you can never be too sure what. Plus it's a great example of what people always say about the Beatles-- it's incredibly easy and simple and yet still really fun. **** (but just barely not five)
"Here Comes the Sun", Expert: ACoustic songs always translate to these games kind of off; chords turn into triplets, it's the right notes but they're not played the right way. Still fun though. ***
Apple Corps Rooftop, 1969:
"Dig A Pony", Expert: Man, we've been at Apple a while now, huh?...And I thought my lyrics were nonsensical. Seriously, why do some of the best songs have some of the worst lyrics (see: U2, One, "we hurt each other than we do it again"). ***
"I've Got A Feeling", Expert: I don't know. It's great. They should make more songs like this, and play this one more on the radio. What do you expect me to say? ***
"Don't Let Me Down", Expert: I've actually seen the real version of this, which is every bit as awesome. Here. ****
"I Me Mine", Expert: Why do I have a feeling this song is about the other Beatles? Also, it's pretty hard too. ***
"I Want You (She's So Heavy)", Expert: We're a long way from just wanting to hold your hand. I had a rant that carried on the theme of "we need more songs like this" but I forot most of it by the 6-minute mark. Maybe it'll come back later. **** (and an achievement for using
"Get Back", Expert: John's made-up lyrics to this are the funniest thing ever, you can hear them before the song starts. Also this song is really hard (***). But who cares because...
Oh Jebus it's all over! Oh well, the ending animation (set, appropriately, to "The End") is even more awesome than the beginning one, albiet short. Watch it on Youtube tomorrow, it'll be up by then.
Interesting choice, setting the credits to studio noise instead of a song, which would have been the more obvious way to go.
I think that's it. I'll have more to say tomorrow (I haven't even tried drumming yet.)
Friday, April 17, 2009
Double Song this Week...
[Song of the Week is a "weekly" feature which is supposed to update every Thursday Friday, but almost never does. In it, Drew records a song, or attempts to record a song, or gives up and writes another movie review.]
...But don't get your hopes up. No, just kidding, go ahead. Wait, don't. I don't know.
"One":
"One" gets it's name because it is played entirely with the right hand. This is a revolution. finally are we free from the tyranny of two-handed guitar-playing! Just think of all the things you can do with your left hand now! Now stop thinking such things, pervert. There's still a whole post to read.
Actually, I wrote a whole song this way. Ironically, it was my singing that was was the problem, and the whole thing was scrapped. Probably. Maybe. If that song ever happens, I never said any of this. Also if you want to hear part of it, it's buried far back in the mix here (named as track 6, 7, 8).
Also, the other thing here is, of course, the fuzz. There is no way to avoid the fuzz. I tried recording in a different place, I tried mixing it out, but the problem remains: my guitar isn't loud enough on its own and to record it at all I have to overcrank the mikes. Microphones and I have a long history of animosity.
"Testify (Acoustic)":
As promised. I actually had something much more ambitious planned, but if I had started it this morning, I'd probably still be working on it. Which wouldn't work, since I was asleep this morning. Plus I heard the original on the radio yesterday and it sort of reëntered* my brainstream.
This song is worth hearing for the first thirty seconds alone, but I'm worried maybe it goes on too long. There's a lot of noodling, which I would have cut, but on the other hand, I like to have things kind of loose and extemporized. I'm a big fan & supporter of improvisation, but I don't know, maybe I went too far here.
On to lighter things. I've been thinking about the subtext of this cover and it's twin (linked to above). When I first did "Sleep Now In the Fire", I wrote it off as a joke, a parody of the slow, "serious" acoustic covers we've all heard before. But while I was doing it, and after I finished, I got sort of soured on Rage Against the Machine for a while. It was almost like, without really meaning to**, I had sent out my attacked in both directions. For a while, I couldn't help but think of the whole thing as a bunch of posturing-- a lot of words but no meaning.
Eventually I stopped caring. Bad lyrics never killed any bands before, and "Testify" is a great song even if its actual politics are murky at best. Tom Morello*** is still pretty good at that whole guitar thing, and those guys no one can name in the rhythm section do what they do pretty good. And even if he can't write lyrics (and his side project sucked, you know it and I know it), Zach Hardtospelllastname can shout (it's not really rapping-- you know it and I know it) with the best of them. So no hard feelings.
So with all that on my mind****, I can't decide if this cover is more serious or less serious than that one. I wasn't thinking as hard about that one as this one, but I was trying not to overthink it as I did it, and just concentrate on the music and the emotion and all that other gay shit.
*Alt+137
**Maybe a little, but not all the way.
***And on a completely unrelated note, did anyone else know that Tom Morello is black? I just found that out a couple weeks ago.
****Kids, feel free to use that transition in your little homework papers about George Washington and mathematics and To Kill A Mockingbird.
[Man is this post long.]
DOWNLOADABLE VERSION:
Rerelease Notes: "One" is remixed for hopefully better quality. "Testify" is unchanged.
...But don't get your hopes up. No, just kidding, go ahead. Wait, don't. I don't know.
"One":
"One" gets it's name because it is played entirely with the right hand. This is a revolution. finally are we free from the tyranny of two-handed guitar-playing! Just think of all the things you can do with your left hand now! Now stop thinking such things, pervert. There's still a whole post to read.
Actually, I wrote a whole song this way. Ironically, it was my singing that was was the problem, and the whole thing was scrapped. Probably. Maybe. If that song ever happens, I never said any of this. Also if you want to hear part of it, it's buried far back in the mix here (named as track 6, 7, 8).
Also, the other thing here is, of course, the fuzz. There is no way to avoid the fuzz. I tried recording in a different place, I tried mixing it out, but the problem remains: my guitar isn't loud enough on its own and to record it at all I have to overcrank the mikes. Microphones and I have a long history of animosity.
"Testify (Acoustic)":
As promised. I actually had something much more ambitious planned, but if I had started it this morning, I'd probably still be working on it. Which wouldn't work, since I was asleep this morning. Plus I heard the original on the radio yesterday and it sort of reëntered* my brainstream.
This song is worth hearing for the first thirty seconds alone, but I'm worried maybe it goes on too long. There's a lot of noodling, which I would have cut, but on the other hand, I like to have things kind of loose and extemporized. I'm a big fan & supporter of improvisation, but I don't know, maybe I went too far here.
On to lighter things. I've been thinking about the subtext of this cover and it's twin (linked to above). When I first did "Sleep Now In the Fire", I wrote it off as a joke, a parody of the slow, "serious" acoustic covers we've all heard before. But while I was doing it, and after I finished, I got sort of soured on Rage Against the Machine for a while. It was almost like, without really meaning to**, I had sent out my attacked in both directions. For a while, I couldn't help but think of the whole thing as a bunch of posturing-- a lot of words but no meaning.
Eventually I stopped caring. Bad lyrics never killed any bands before, and "Testify" is a great song even if its actual politics are murky at best. Tom Morello*** is still pretty good at that whole guitar thing, and those guys no one can name in the rhythm section do what they do pretty good. And even if he can't write lyrics (and his side project sucked, you know it and I know it), Zach Hardtospelllastname can shout (it's not really rapping-- you know it and I know it) with the best of them. So no hard feelings.
So with all that on my mind****, I can't decide if this cover is more serious or less serious than that one. I wasn't thinking as hard about that one as this one, but I was trying not to overthink it as I did it, and just concentrate on the music and the emotion and all that other gay shit.
*Alt+137
**Maybe a little, but not all the way.
***And on a completely unrelated note, did anyone else know that Tom Morello is black? I just found that out a couple weeks ago.
****Kids, feel free to use that transition in your little homework papers about George Washington and mathematics and To Kill A Mockingbird.
[Man is this post long.]
DOWNLOADABLE VERSION:
Rerelease Notes: "One" is remixed for hopefully better quality. "Testify" is unchanged.
Monday, December 29, 2008
Is that what you're into?
Hey reader-- you know what I just realized? I've never done any music reviews on this blog (and by extension, ever). Let's fix that.
OK, so you remember when I talked about the first episode of the second season of Flight of the Conchords, featuring the eponymous duo, everyone's favourite 2-man New Zealand acoustic parody/ novelty group? If you did, that means you understood that last sentence, and deserve a prize*! Anyway, it turns out said band produced an record album, and additionally that I got the album for Christmas. So guess what I'm reviewing?
On its own, there's absolutely nothing problem with the disc. It's shiny and has a picture on one side, and if you stick it in a comupter, it plays music. The music is pretty good, 15 hilarious and catchy songs that are good and tasty.
The problem is that most (14) of the (15) snongs (or as they're called in America, "songs") come from the show. And even then, you don't even need HBO or the DVD to see them. Every one of them is available, in multiple forms, on Youtube. To wit:
1. Foux Du Fafa:
Funny, but it loses something without the Super-8 type video.
2. Inner City Pressure:
The album version is about two lines longer, but the two are otherwise identical.
3. Hiphopopotamus vs. Rhymenocerous
4. Think About It
Probably the only song that's better on the album then the show (though it lacks that spoken-word intro...). You can tell this was always supposed to sound like "What's Goin' On", and the album version comes the closest to that.
5. Ladies of the World
6. Mutha'uckas
See, it's musically interesting, but lyrically it's kind of a one-joke song. I'm not sure why they chose to include this one.
7. The Prince of Parties
Another song that doesn't work nearly as well without the video.
8. Leggy Blonde
This was another one where I'm not sure why they included it. For one thing, it's not technically an FotC song, an for andother, the office-supply percussion part only works if you can actually see it.
9. Robots
This is probably my favourite of the songs that made it onto the record, but my least favorite on the record. The version on the record is too overproduced-- part of the fun of "Robots" is that it's an acoustic song about, well, robots**. Also, all three have different lyrics, for whatever reason.
10. Boom
Also kind of one-jokey, but it's a better joke than "Mutha'uckas".
11. A Kiss Is Not A Contract
12. The Most Beautiful Girl (In the Room)
13. Business Time
14. Bowie
I couldn't find video of track 15, "Au Revoir", the only song on the CD to not feature on the show (at least, not yet). There's not much to it, anyway-- it's less than a minute long and song almost entirely in French.
But more depressing than nothing is what was left out (by the way, good job on scrolling this far. I bet your middle finger is tired. Mine is). Some were songs that only work in context, sure. A couple were probably left off because they weren't on the show. The rest are more confusing. I think "Sellotape" is probably their best song, better than "Bowie" or "Boom", definitely. Maybe that one's too long. But some of their funniest, most quotable songs were left off as well. Whatever, man. There's always next year.
*It's already in the mail. Expect a 3 to 5 week wait. Prizes ship to every country but New Zealand.
** For the record, I want to say that my own, as-yet-unreleased, song "Kill all Humans (Hey Sexy Mama)" was conciev independently of this song. I have witnesses that heard it performed before the show even started airing (though probably after the song was originally written).
OK, so you remember when I talked about the first episode of the second season of Flight of the Conchords, featuring the eponymous duo, everyone's favourite 2-man New Zealand acoustic parody/ novelty group? If you did, that means you understood that last sentence, and deserve a prize*! Anyway, it turns out said band produced an record album, and additionally that I got the album for Christmas. So guess what I'm reviewing?
On its own, there's absolutely nothing problem with the disc. It's shiny and has a picture on one side, and if you stick it in a comupter, it plays music. The music is pretty good, 15 hilarious and catchy songs that are good and tasty.
The problem is that most (14) of the (15) snongs (or as they're called in America, "songs") come from the show. And even then, you don't even need HBO or the DVD to see them. Every one of them is available, in multiple forms, on Youtube. To wit:
1. Foux Du Fafa:
Funny, but it loses something without the Super-8 type video.
2. Inner City Pressure:
The album version is about two lines longer, but the two are otherwise identical.
3. Hiphopopotamus vs. Rhymenocerous
4. Think About It
Probably the only song that's better on the album then the show (though it lacks that spoken-word intro...). You can tell this was always supposed to sound like "What's Goin' On", and the album version comes the closest to that.
5. Ladies of the World
6. Mutha'uckas
See, it's musically interesting, but lyrically it's kind of a one-joke song. I'm not sure why they chose to include this one.
7. The Prince of Parties
Another song that doesn't work nearly as well without the video.
8. Leggy Blonde
This was another one where I'm not sure why they included it. For one thing, it's not technically an FotC song, an for andother, the office-supply percussion part only works if you can actually see it.
9. Robots
This is probably my favourite of the songs that made it onto the record, but my least favorite on the record. The version on the record is too overproduced-- part of the fun of "Robots" is that it's an acoustic song about, well, robots**. Also, all three have different lyrics, for whatever reason.
10. Boom
Also kind of one-jokey, but it's a better joke than "Mutha'uckas".
11. A Kiss Is Not A Contract
12. The Most Beautiful Girl (In the Room)
13. Business Time
14. Bowie
I couldn't find video of track 15, "Au Revoir", the only song on the CD to not feature on the show (at least, not yet). There's not much to it, anyway-- it's less than a minute long and song almost entirely in French.
But more depressing than nothing is what was left out (by the way, good job on scrolling this far. I bet your middle finger is tired. Mine is). Some were songs that only work in context, sure. A couple were probably left off because they weren't on the show. The rest are more confusing. I think "Sellotape" is probably their best song, better than "Bowie" or "Boom", definitely. Maybe that one's too long. But some of their funniest, most quotable songs were left off as well. Whatever, man. There's always next year.
*It's already in the mail. Expect a 3 to 5 week wait. Prizes ship to every country but New Zealand.
** For the record, I want to say that my own, as-yet-unreleased, song "Kill all Humans (Hey Sexy Mama)" was conciev independently of this song. I have witnesses that heard it performed before the show even started airing (though probably after the song was originally written).
Sunday, November 9, 2008
"I'm Kookoo for Killing stuff!": Almost-Liveblogging Fox Sunday Night
I realized I was forgetting a lot of what happened in the shows I watched, and I didn't like that they were taking a week to get up, so I'm just typing whatever comes into my head. Every before the ellipsis (...) is during-the-show analysis, everything post-ellipsis written after everything aired.
The Simpsons, "Dangerous Curves":
"You're just as bad as me! And you used to be better, which makes you worse!"-Homer
Fourth of July?
I'm glad they remember Ned is like twenty years older than Homer and Marge. Reminds me of "Out of Gas", my second-favorite Firefly episode, with the three different timelines (or last season's weakest Lost, "Ji Yeon", which tried something similar). And then they paralleled it with Bart and Lisa at the end, which worked better than it had any right to. Also liked that it had no Homer getting a gratuitous new job and that cool ending shot (was that a reference to something?) Overall, one of the shows' better recent efforts.
...
It seems The Simpsons is really only trying to do one of these "outside the box" episodes a year, which is a shame, as they're usually among the show's best. Previous years have given us "The Seemingly Never-Ending Story", "22 Short Films About Springfield", "Behind the Laughter" (which I just rewatched before this one), the original "Treehouse of Horror" and last year's Emmy-Winning "Eternal Moonshine of the Simpson Mind", and if you haven't seen any of those, illegally download it immediately (well, maybe not the first one). It's the most successful Simpsons formula, way more than, say, bringing back Sideshow Bob or doing those three-part anthologies, both of which went past the point of diminishing returns long ago. Obviously, every episode can't break the mold (for one thing, there probably aren't 425 molds to break), but they can and should definitely up the ante.
King of the Hill, "No Bobby Left Behind":
"Why can't we just go back to the gold-star/smiley-face system?" -Bobby
Have we ever seen Carl before? I want to say yes, but I can't remember when. It seem like every cartoon show has done some version of this plot already, at least the setup. It recovers in its second act a little, when it just lets everything play out, like Bobby's tinkle song or Khan vs. the Honors Program, or the special needs class actually doing something stupid. Missed the beginning of the third act (was it one of Hank's big speeches?), came back again when they started the "Kids in America" montage. Not super thrilled about the ending--J-Bone was funny, but it seemed kind of mean-spirited to have the guy actually fired, or suspended or whatever.
...
Rock Band 2 Update: "Kids in America" is hard to sing, harder than most of the songs that come after it, except "Spoonman," which I failed after the last phrase (in other words, I failed with 100% complete), and stupid "Living on A Prayer", which wasn't worth the effort. My theory that the game is too easy still stands, as I've been able to beat everything on either the first or second try (whereas I've still never beat some RB1 songs). "Aqualung" has the creepiest lyrics I've ever read. And I just found out today that Flea and Dave Navarro played on "You Oughtta Know", and that Alanis Morriseete started off as Robin Sparkles-type (thanks, Wikipedia!)
P.S. The version of "Kids in America" in this episode is yet another cover.
Also, when is King of the Hill ever going to quit with these straw-man villains? It's supposed to be "realistic", unlike, say South Park, so it can't get away with having outlandish enemies for Hank.
UPDATE: I forgot to mention earlier: for my huge school-age fanbase, it should be noted that you get fail as many standardized tests as you want and it has no effect on your grade. Also, shouldn't you be in class right now?
Family Guy, "The Man with Two Brians":
"My special power is being somehow memorable after a very short run on TV"-Peter
Jackass? What year is it? Is this a new episode or not?
I thought Brian was 7, not 8. Whatever.
Who voiced New Brian? Seemed strangely familiar.
Carol who? (Best cutaway in a while, by the way).
Puppy Brian: not nearly as cute as Baby Bart and Lisa were an hour ago.
"Long and Hard."
I just today heard someone say "whip" like Stewie does. I always assumed they made it up.
Did you catch Stewie reading this during the karaoke scene?
"What a croc!"
...
Overall, the plot of this one ripped off not one, but two Simpsons episodes (actually, there were elements of this one, too). One problem I have with Family guy is that it doesn't really care about plot or character, and instead cares about about trying to fit as many jokes as possible (notice how the entire liveblog section is just disassociated observations). This episode wasn't so bad about it, but it would have been nice to have seen something more original. I liked that Stewie's mainn problem was that New Brian was that he was boring, and they probably should have stuck with that.
American Dad, "Escape from Pearl Bailey":
"When will this city have a decent Edo period fair?"-Toshi
"This can't possibly go badly! You're my first girlfriend!"-Steve
Sorry, election over. Of course, that was just act one, which felt almost like a whole episode-in-miniature, complete with running joke about suspiciously-familiar animal groomer.
Then act two gives us surprisingly-effective Kill Bill parody and the family's only appearance. And it ended on a cliffhanger.
Then we got to the titular "Escape" section, complete with awesome voiceover. Steve and his ex-friends have to escape the various subcultures in a pretty good setpiece, and the goths dance (though not as good as on South Park), and everyone learns a lesson about caring for others, and the whole thing ends on a freeze frame.
...
One of the things I like about American Dad is that, when it wants to, it can have the fastest-moving plots an any comedy since Arrested Development. This was one of those episodes. I just happened upon my rather insightful criticism as I went along, and I liked the fact that this one had a lot going on without ever getting lost. When Family Guy or some of the weaker Simpsons episodes does it, it comes off as meandering, shallow shaggy-dog story, bereft of any real narrative intention (me like big words). This one just. Kept. Moving, and didn't waste any time, on, say, callbacks (notice the rest of the family really doesn't show up again, nor does animal stylist) or any unnecessary setup or Family Guy style how long-can-we-draw-this-joke-out.
Plus, I left out like ten other quotes I could have used at the beginning.
The Simpsons, "Dangerous Curves":
"You're just as bad as me! And you used to be better, which makes you worse!"-Homer
Fourth of July?
I'm glad they remember Ned is like twenty years older than Homer and Marge. Reminds me of "Out of Gas", my second-favorite Firefly episode, with the three different timelines (or last season's weakest Lost, "Ji Yeon", which tried something similar). And then they paralleled it with Bart and Lisa at the end, which worked better than it had any right to. Also liked that it had no Homer getting a gratuitous new job and that cool ending shot (was that a reference to something?) Overall, one of the shows' better recent efforts.
...
It seems The Simpsons is really only trying to do one of these "outside the box" episodes a year, which is a shame, as they're usually among the show's best. Previous years have given us "The Seemingly Never-Ending Story", "22 Short Films About Springfield", "Behind the Laughter" (which I just rewatched before this one), the original "Treehouse of Horror" and last year's Emmy-Winning "Eternal Moonshine of the Simpson Mind", and if you haven't seen any of those, illegally download it immediately (well, maybe not the first one). It's the most successful Simpsons formula, way more than, say, bringing back Sideshow Bob or doing those three-part anthologies, both of which went past the point of diminishing returns long ago. Obviously, every episode can't break the mold (for one thing, there probably aren't 425 molds to break), but they can and should definitely up the ante.
King of the Hill, "No Bobby Left Behind":
"Why can't we just go back to the gold-star/smiley-face system?" -Bobby
Have we ever seen Carl before? I want to say yes, but I can't remember when. It seem like every cartoon show has done some version of this plot already, at least the setup. It recovers in its second act a little, when it just lets everything play out, like Bobby's tinkle song or Khan vs. the Honors Program, or the special needs class actually doing something stupid. Missed the beginning of the third act (was it one of Hank's big speeches?), came back again when they started the "Kids in America" montage. Not super thrilled about the ending--J-Bone was funny, but it seemed kind of mean-spirited to have the guy actually fired, or suspended or whatever.
...
Rock Band 2 Update: "Kids in America" is hard to sing, harder than most of the songs that come after it, except "Spoonman," which I failed after the last phrase (in other words, I failed with 100% complete), and stupid "Living on A Prayer", which wasn't worth the effort. My theory that the game is too easy still stands, as I've been able to beat everything on either the first or second try (whereas I've still never beat some RB1 songs). "Aqualung" has the creepiest lyrics I've ever read. And I just found out today that Flea and Dave Navarro played on "You Oughtta Know", and that Alanis Morriseete started off as Robin Sparkles-type (thanks, Wikipedia!)
P.S. The version of "Kids in America" in this episode is yet another cover.
Also, when is King of the Hill ever going to quit with these straw-man villains? It's supposed to be "realistic", unlike, say South Park, so it can't get away with having outlandish enemies for Hank.
UPDATE: I forgot to mention earlier: for my huge school-age fanbase, it should be noted that you get fail as many standardized tests as you want and it has no effect on your grade. Also, shouldn't you be in class right now?
Family Guy, "The Man with Two Brians":
"My special power is being somehow memorable after a very short run on TV"-Peter
Jackass? What year is it? Is this a new episode or not?
I thought Brian was 7, not 8. Whatever.
Who voiced New Brian? Seemed strangely familiar.
Carol who? (Best cutaway in a while, by the way).
Puppy Brian: not nearly as cute as Baby Bart and Lisa were an hour ago.
"Long and Hard."
I just today heard someone say "whip" like Stewie does. I always assumed they made it up.
Did you catch Stewie reading this during the karaoke scene?
"What a croc!"
...
Overall, the plot of this one ripped off not one, but two Simpsons episodes (actually, there were elements of this one, too). One problem I have with Family guy is that it doesn't really care about plot or character, and instead cares about about trying to fit as many jokes as possible (notice how the entire liveblog section is just disassociated observations). This episode wasn't so bad about it, but it would have been nice to have seen something more original. I liked that Stewie's mainn problem was that New Brian was that he was boring, and they probably should have stuck with that.
American Dad, "Escape from Pearl Bailey":
"When will this city have a decent Edo period fair?"-Toshi
"This can't possibly go badly! You're my first girlfriend!"-Steve
Sorry, election over. Of course, that was just act one, which felt almost like a whole episode-in-miniature, complete with running joke about suspiciously-familiar animal groomer.
Then act two gives us surprisingly-effective Kill Bill parody and the family's only appearance. And it ended on a cliffhanger.
Then we got to the titular "Escape" section, complete with awesome voiceover. Steve and his ex-friends have to escape the various subcultures in a pretty good setpiece, and the goths dance (though not as good as on South Park), and everyone learns a lesson about caring for others, and the whole thing ends on a freeze frame.
...
One of the things I like about American Dad is that, when it wants to, it can have the fastest-moving plots an any comedy since Arrested Development. This was one of those episodes. I just happened upon my rather insightful criticism as I went along, and I liked the fact that this one had a lot going on without ever getting lost. When Family Guy or some of the weaker Simpsons episodes does it, it comes off as meandering, shallow shaggy-dog story, bereft of any real narrative intention (me like big words). This one just. Kept. Moving, and didn't waste any time, on, say, callbacks (notice the rest of the family really doesn't show up again, nor does animal stylist) or any unnecessary setup or Family Guy style how long-can-we-draw-this-joke-out.
Plus, I left out like ten other quotes I could have used at the beginning.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
"So It's Come to this-- A Dungeon and Dragons": Futurama: Bender's Game Review
I don't have anything to say about the election. To me yesterday was the day the new Futurama movie came out. Speaking of which...
Bender's Big Score, the first part of the the Futurama fifth season quadrilogy, premièred to mixed reviews. Well, not mixed, but not universally positive. It got a "lot" of flack for featuring too many characters and being too in-jokey.
Six months later, we got The Beast with a Billion Backs. It was criticized for not being as heartfelt as BBS, and for being too-- what's the word?-- gross.
And now, we've got Bender's Game. First of all, it is funny and it is worth watching, especially if you like the first two. But it's not great, and it leaves me a little worried for the next one.
Like the first two, the movie comes in an "eco-friendly" (that's a thing, right?) carboard box. Where BBS had a fancy hologram on its cover and BBB had a cool parody of B-Movie art, Game's box art rips on Sleeping Beauty, right down to the psuedo-metallic lettering and the color scheme of the villains. Right away, we know we're getting some kind of epic fantasy.
Thing is, that fantasy only takes up the film's second half. The first, better, half takes place in the present day (meaning the future). Like a lot of Futurama, that half has some great sci-fi concepts, like (spoilers) killbots that accidentally shoot each other, poop-harvesting farms, and an energy source rooted in actual particle physics. Like the others, there were some great action scenes in this one, though Leela's demolition derby felt like a less funny version of BBB's deathball. It set up a lot of great running gags (the shock collar, prune juice) and had great momentum. But halfway through, right when the story seems about to end, it takes a hard right into fantasyworld.
From there, it loses all of its momentum and has to start over. I think a big problem here is that they have to split up these movies to show them on TV. Bender's Big Score had a strong enough central plot that you didn't notice the chunking: on the second go-round you might notice where the breaks would be, but the story keeps moving forward, in a strange, flashbacky, way, and the ending is both exciting (big space battle!) and smart (clever plot twist that changes your opinion of a whole character!). Beast had its own pacing problems, namely that the titular character doesn't show up till the halfway point, and the ending just sort of fizzles out, but all the plot elements felt essential. This story feels like it's traveling in two different directions.
Let's tlk about that fantasyland. I jut saw it compared to Simpsons episodes like this one, and I think the comparison fits. But those segments each clock in under 1o minutes, not almost an hour. If they had found a better way to play the fantasy and sci-fi worlds off each other, it might have worked, and might have even been one of the better episodes the show had done. There are some hints of this, but it doesn't work nearly as well as the past-future interplay of Score, nor does it have as good a payoff (it has a payoff--Spoiler Alert--with Igner being the Professor's son, but it's too easy to see coming, and not worth all the effort). As it is, the fantasyland (the explanation for why it exists is one of the better parts of the movie) is just a hodgepodge of Lord of the Rings and Dungeons and Dragons, and occasionally goes too far into the reference-for-reference's sake type of joke we all get mad at Family Guy for. It doesn't have enough weight to sustain the whole movie, and the movie is almost complete without it anyway. That's a big problem.
This one has one of the same problems I had with Beast: the joke are good, but the big, heavy, emotional moments aren't well-thought out. BBB cleverly tied in some good character arcs, like Fry's need for validation, even after saving the world multiple times, and Bender's bizarre obsession with history and authority. At the same time, the ongoing Fry-Leela love story was completely ignored in a movie about love, the A- and B- plots had almost nothing to do with each other, and the central theme (love and jealosy) wasn't very well-developed, and was tossed out in a lame, ironic speech at the end. Similarly here, there are major emotional doodads like Leela's anger problem, Mom and the Professor, Nibbler's origin story and Bender trying to aquire an imagination, or that should have been good, but they either had no conclusion, or didn't get enough breathing room or weren't fully fleshed out, or resolved too early (respectively). If your characters are out of character for half an episode (most weren't, but some, most notably Fry, were), it's hard to do character development.
Plus, for an "epic," we didn't have that many characters beyond the main cast (especially compared to the last two movies). Doubleplus, this set doesn't have a bonus episode. It's not a deal-breaker, but it would have been nice.
I don't want to make it sound alll bad, though. Bender's Game is still one of the smartest comedy films around. The first half especially is incredibly funny. This movie continues Futurama's reputation as the best-looking animated show ever (a reputation I just made up, but try and think of a better-looking one-- only American shows count) , seamlessly blending CGI with 2D, incorporating great action scenes, and creating not one, but two distinct and visually stunning worlds (not to mention an opening that puts "Yellow Submarine" to shame). Thing is, I finished watching the last episode of Futurama, still my favorite of the whole series, knowing the movies were coming, and couldn't wait. I finished watching the first movie excited for what would come next. I finished watching the second thinking, "that wasn't great, but if the next is just as good, we'll be fine." I finished watching this one thinking, "don't let them mess the next one up, because that might be the last one we get".
Man, real criticism is hard.
Bender's Big Score, the first part of the the Futurama fifth season quadrilogy, premièred to mixed reviews. Well, not mixed, but not universally positive. It got a "lot" of flack for featuring too many characters and being too in-jokey.
Six months later, we got The Beast with a Billion Backs. It was criticized for not being as heartfelt as BBS, and for being too-- what's the word?-- gross.
And now, we've got Bender's Game. First of all, it is funny and it is worth watching, especially if you like the first two. But it's not great, and it leaves me a little worried for the next one.
Like the first two, the movie comes in an "eco-friendly" (that's a thing, right?) carboard box. Where BBS had a fancy hologram on its cover and BBB had a cool parody of B-Movie art, Game's box art rips on Sleeping Beauty, right down to the psuedo-metallic lettering and the color scheme of the villains. Right away, we know we're getting some kind of epic fantasy.
Thing is, that fantasy only takes up the film's second half. The first, better, half takes place in the present day (meaning the future). Like a lot of Futurama, that half has some great sci-fi concepts, like (spoilers) killbots that accidentally shoot each other, poop-harvesting farms, and an energy source rooted in actual particle physics. Like the others, there were some great action scenes in this one, though Leela's demolition derby felt like a less funny version of BBB's deathball. It set up a lot of great running gags (the shock collar, prune juice) and had great momentum. But halfway through, right when the story seems about to end, it takes a hard right into fantasyworld.
From there, it loses all of its momentum and has to start over. I think a big problem here is that they have to split up these movies to show them on TV. Bender's Big Score had a strong enough central plot that you didn't notice the chunking: on the second go-round you might notice where the breaks would be, but the story keeps moving forward, in a strange, flashbacky, way, and the ending is both exciting (big space battle!) and smart (clever plot twist that changes your opinion of a whole character!). Beast had its own pacing problems, namely that the titular character doesn't show up till the halfway point, and the ending just sort of fizzles out, but all the plot elements felt essential. This story feels like it's traveling in two different directions.
Let's tlk about that fantasyland. I jut saw it compared to Simpsons episodes like this one, and I think the comparison fits. But those segments each clock in under 1o minutes, not almost an hour. If they had found a better way to play the fantasy and sci-fi worlds off each other, it might have worked, and might have even been one of the better episodes the show had done. There are some hints of this, but it doesn't work nearly as well as the past-future interplay of Score, nor does it have as good a payoff (it has a payoff--Spoiler Alert--with Igner being the Professor's son, but it's too easy to see coming, and not worth all the effort). As it is, the fantasyland (the explanation for why it exists is one of the better parts of the movie) is just a hodgepodge of Lord of the Rings and Dungeons and Dragons, and occasionally goes too far into the reference-for-reference's sake type of joke we all get mad at Family Guy for. It doesn't have enough weight to sustain the whole movie, and the movie is almost complete without it anyway. That's a big problem.
This one has one of the same problems I had with Beast: the joke are good, but the big, heavy, emotional moments aren't well-thought out. BBB cleverly tied in some good character arcs, like Fry's need for validation, even after saving the world multiple times, and Bender's bizarre obsession with history and authority. At the same time, the ongoing Fry-Leela love story was completely ignored in a movie about love, the A- and B- plots had almost nothing to do with each other, and the central theme (love and jealosy) wasn't very well-developed, and was tossed out in a lame, ironic speech at the end. Similarly here, there are major emotional doodads like Leela's anger problem, Mom and the Professor, Nibbler's origin story and Bender trying to aquire an imagination, or that should have been good, but they either had no conclusion, or didn't get enough breathing room or weren't fully fleshed out, or resolved too early (respectively). If your characters are out of character for half an episode (most weren't, but some, most notably Fry, were), it's hard to do character development.
Plus, for an "epic," we didn't have that many characters beyond the main cast (especially compared to the last two movies). Doubleplus, this set doesn't have a bonus episode. It's not a deal-breaker, but it would have been nice.
I don't want to make it sound alll bad, though. Bender's Game is still one of the smartest comedy films around. The first half especially is incredibly funny. This movie continues Futurama's reputation as the best-looking animated show ever (a reputation I just made up, but try and think of a better-looking one-- only American shows count) , seamlessly blending CGI with 2D, incorporating great action scenes, and creating not one, but two distinct and visually stunning worlds (not to mention an opening that puts "Yellow Submarine" to shame). Thing is, I finished watching the last episode of Futurama, still my favorite of the whole series, knowing the movies were coming, and couldn't wait. I finished watching the first movie excited for what would come next. I finished watching the second thinking, "that wasn't great, but if the next is just as good, we'll be fine." I finished watching this one thinking, "don't let them mess the next one up, because that might be the last one we get".
Man, real criticism is hard.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
"Damn your necromancy, woman!"
House, "Joy":
I used to tune out or skip the cold opens on House, but they've really improved this season. Last week's was probably my favorite (for sentimental reasons), but this and the one where all the organ recipients died in sequence were both great. I forgot to talk about Cuddy last week (which, for our purposes, includes earlier this week [edit: I wrote that the day after the episode aired. I' m just posting late]), and now I wish I had. Too bad.
Maybe it's because I spend most of my waking hours asleep, but I liked the idea of the PoWs sleepwalking through life. And I liked how it related to the characters without hitting you over the head with it (well, not too much).
South Park, "Pandemic Part 2: The Startling":
First Wendy, now Craig. South Park is really going into its bench this year, huh (that's a thing, right? Like in baseball, with the bench...You get what I'm saying?) As I said so, so long ago, I was reviewing this whole adventure as a whole, and so didn't review part one. Over a week later, here we are. Here's what I have to say: South Park Guys: stop doing multi-parters. This episode and the one before it, while not awful, were pretty flat, and dragged around the middle. The decision to drop Craig into an otherwise standard adventure story really redeemed the episode. His flat, affectless voice made his deconstruction of the regular gang all the better. Too bad the episode around him was so lame.
The Office, "Employee Transfer":
I was in denial. I thought, at the very least, Holly would stay till the end of the season. Nope. This wasn't as good as they've been, and as a "heavy" episode it doesn't succeed as well as last season's "Money," but it's got some good elements, like Michael singing the blues and most of the Dwight vs. Andy subplot.
The Sarah Silverman Program, "Pee":
OK, I think I've got it figured out, after two weeks (not counting all the other episodes I watched before I started reviewing them, or even the ones I reviewed before trying to explain why). SSP is the only show out theremaking pee jokes. Other, weaker, shows like Two and A Half Men Who Need to Spend A Few Seasons Roasting in Hell's Eternal Flames (most people don't know the full title) make fart jokes, but don't have the courage to make pee jokes. Cowards. And even if they did, none of them would turn a joke about pee into a story about an evil talking turtle who wants to run off with Sarah Silverman* ("We’ll have children together, Sarah. The boy will be named Seth, and the girl Mandy Moore"). Most of us are incapable of that degree of crazy, and this show should be commended for at least attempting it.
*Admittedly, it'd be kind of hard, since she isn't on those shows.
Morel Orel, "Dumb" and "Help":
I think I've talked a bit too much about this show being "depressing". These two episodes featured plenty of tragedy, but there was way more going on then that (world's worst introduction award goes to...) To wit: the Lost-like plot reversal of "Help"-- we see that Orel's mother, not his father, is the source of the family's problems. See also: Playing the world's two stupidest human beings (Tarzan would be appaled by their grammar) off each other for ten minutes in "Dumb" and moving the plot forward at the same time. And at ten: colons: is it possible to use too many? The answers might surprise you.
Young Person's Guide to History, Part 2:
There weren't not laughs in this show, but it seems something like an attempt at the same level of bizarre that I mentioned in my "Pee" review, but to much weaker results, probably because no one stopped to ask, "does what we're doing even make sense? Is there even a storyline to this crap?" Or someone did, and everyone stopped talking to him for the rest of the afternoon (my theory rests on the assumption that this was filmed in one afternoon).
Pushing Daisies: "Dim Sum, Lose Sum":
As a great philosopher once said, "Meh". This episode was still good, but it didn't blow me out of the water like I would have liked. Are my standards too high? Is the President still retarded (that'd be yes, until January-- yeah, I said it)? This episode also made me hungry.
My Name is Earl, "Little Bad Voodoo Brother":
Non-mainstream-religion fight! Karma vs. Voodoo! I liked that the show never took a side on this debate, and suggested that both sides could be bullhockey. Because they are-- in reality there is one God, the Father, the almighty, maker of...
Saturday Night Live, "Ben Affleck/ David Cook":
I watched David Cook because I try to keep an open mind (quit laughing!). I was not impressed, though watching made me want one of these.
Affleck's good on the show, but could they at least think of one non-election-related sketch? Also, did McCain really get bood? Harsh.
King of the Hill, "Lost in Myspace":
Hey, did you know Hank doesn't trust computers, and furthemore, feels threatened when a new idea infringing upon the sale of propane and propane accessories? This episode would have been better if they had taken a more middle ground, showing that both Hank and Character-We've-Never-Seen-Before-and-Probably-Will-Never-See-Again were a little right and a little wrong. It seemed like they were going fol that a little, but weren't sure what direction to take. And a better Dale B-plot. Also, was that Chris Rock as Random Strickland Employee?
Family Guy, "Baby Not on Board":
Even by Family Guy standards, this was pretty lame. I have absolutely nothing to say about it.
American Dad, "Choosy Wives Choose Smith":
The show I called "TV's most underrated show" a couple weeks ago lets me down this week. A lot of the "Stan fights with Francine" stuff has been done to death in earlier seasons, and it feels like this show (unlike the one airing before it) actually moves forward, and doesn't need to rely on wheel-spinning and retreads so much. I loved the joke about Claus and Haley leaving ten seconds into the episode, and the Steve story was pretty good, but nothing we haven't seen before.
The Simpsons, Treehouse of Horror XIX:
I just finished watching The Simpson's 11th season, and so I know both the highs and lows the show can have (by the way, I'm going to do a review after I finish watching ten thousand hours of bonus features). This was pretty Middle-of-the-Road, with the best joke being the takeoff of Mad Men's credits.
Friday Night Lights, "Every Rose Has Its Thorn":
This is slowly, sneakily, becoming my favorite show on right now (helps that Lost isn't on right now). If you didn't watch it, I won't spoil anything, other than it was good.
How I Met Your Mother, "Happily Ever After":
Hmm. There were parts of this I really liked, like the flashbacks (who bets we see Robin's father in a later episode?) and Ted's fakeout big speech. There are things I'm not so sure about--hiding under a table felt like a ripoff of every sitcom ever, and the overall message about letting go of anger was a little Afterschool Special (though worth repeating).
Indecision 2008: America's Choice:
I'm breaking my "no news" rule for a very specific reason here. It seemed this was a big enough departure from the day-to-day, lameold Stewart Repart and Late Nitely Show with Stephen Colbert (as I believe they are called). Stewart and Colbert didn't quite adapt to live TV, the tag-team interviews were a little shaggy, and I missed the end. The whole thing had the air of a telethon, ill-paced and not as funny as either show usually is. That said, most of the prewritten bits, like the title-off, or Larry Wilmore and Wyatt Cenac taking the shows over (though they should have paid it off on Wednesday night), worked pretty well.
South Park, "About Last Night":
Wow. Let's take a moment and think about how fast they had to make parts of this. OK, we've taken a moment. Anyway, this one had some lame jokes-- suprising for a Randy-centric episode; but the Ocean's Eleven parody was pitch-perfect, from the music to John McCain wearing a football player's outfit for no reason. And though the message-- that people take these things too seriously, that the world isn't going to end or suddenly turn into paradise, that these guys are, at the end of the day, politicians-- isn't that different from "Douche vs. Turd," four years ago, minus all the funny PETA jokes or Stan's surprisingly emotional journey (surprising for an episode of TV called "Douche vs. Turd"), it feels especially relevant, and I really like the idea that the people least concerned with the election were the candidate themselves.
Life, "Jackpot":
Should have known. Everybody knows bodyguards look like this. That guy's hair was way to short to be the real deal. Also, I liked using Rachel and Nerdy Murder Suspect as audience surrogates (especially important because of the show's timeslot change). Not much else to say here, though between this and Hurley I'm never, ever buying a lottery ticket.
Friday Night Lights: "It Ain't Easy Being J.D. McCoy":
J.D. has had, like one line before this episode? And yet somehow it seems like he's been the central character this season, with all the talk about him. We finally get our J.D. spotlight here, and...we don't really learn anything new about him. Changing the subject completely, didn't we just have a "dream girl for Landry" not that long ago? And why does Riggins seem to be involved in every major plotline? Does he ever sleep?
I kid because I love. A+.
My Name is Earl, "Sold a Guy a Lemon Car":
Meh. This show is funny, but unfortunately, it's rarely memorable. Somebody work on that.
The Office, "Customer Survey":
Kelly juked the stats, yo. This story had a lot of things going for it, twists and turns and whatnot, but what I'll remember the most is Pam's triple "That's what she said!" after Kelly's "Get out of my nook, Dwight".
30 Rock, "Believe In the Stars":
Oprah! Or not! Anyhoo (that's British for "anyhow"), lots of things happened, and then lots of other things happened. Also, I'm pretty sure they never had swimming in the olympics before.
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, "The Gang Cracks the Liberty Bell":
I used this one for the title quote, because it was awesome. My favorite part had to be past-Charlie speaking ye olde English and everyone else making fun of him for. It's just so... Charlie. Everything else was pretty good, too, except maybe the abrupt ending.
The Sarah Silverman Program: "There's No Place Like Homeless":
Could have had more singing, or more Satan. Or both. Still pretty good, though.
Morel Orel, "Passing" and "Closeface":
Well, that was pretty good. More Mountain Goats, more tragedy, and a surprising note of hope at the end. Plus "I was so worried I forgot to smoke," possibly the darkest joke ever (only works in context).
I used to tune out or skip the cold opens on House, but they've really improved this season. Last week's was probably my favorite (for sentimental reasons), but this and the one where all the organ recipients died in sequence were both great. I forgot to talk about Cuddy last week (which, for our purposes, includes earlier this week [edit: I wrote that the day after the episode aired. I' m just posting late]), and now I wish I had. Too bad.
Maybe it's because I spend most of my waking hours asleep, but I liked the idea of the PoWs sleepwalking through life. And I liked how it related to the characters without hitting you over the head with it (well, not too much).
South Park, "Pandemic Part 2: The Startling":
First Wendy, now Craig. South Park is really going into its bench this year, huh (that's a thing, right? Like in baseball, with the bench...You get what I'm saying?) As I said so, so long ago, I was reviewing this whole adventure as a whole, and so didn't review part one. Over a week later, here we are. Here's what I have to say: South Park Guys: stop doing multi-parters. This episode and the one before it, while not awful, were pretty flat, and dragged around the middle. The decision to drop Craig into an otherwise standard adventure story really redeemed the episode. His flat, affectless voice made his deconstruction of the regular gang all the better. Too bad the episode around him was so lame.
The Office, "Employee Transfer":
I was in denial. I thought, at the very least, Holly would stay till the end of the season. Nope. This wasn't as good as they've been, and as a "heavy" episode it doesn't succeed as well as last season's "Money," but it's got some good elements, like Michael singing the blues and most of the Dwight vs. Andy subplot.
The Sarah Silverman Program, "Pee":
OK, I think I've got it figured out, after two weeks (not counting all the other episodes I watched before I started reviewing them, or even the ones I reviewed before trying to explain why). SSP is the only show out theremaking pee jokes. Other, weaker, shows like Two and A Half Men Who Need to Spend A Few Seasons Roasting in Hell's Eternal Flames (most people don't know the full title) make fart jokes, but don't have the courage to make pee jokes. Cowards. And even if they did, none of them would turn a joke about pee into a story about an evil talking turtle who wants to run off with Sarah Silverman* ("We’ll have children together, Sarah. The boy will be named Seth, and the girl Mandy Moore"). Most of us are incapable of that degree of crazy, and this show should be commended for at least attempting it.
*Admittedly, it'd be kind of hard, since she isn't on those shows.
Morel Orel, "Dumb" and "Help":
I think I've talked a bit too much about this show being "depressing". These two episodes featured plenty of tragedy, but there was way more going on then that (world's worst introduction award goes to...) To wit: the Lost-like plot reversal of "Help"-- we see that Orel's mother, not his father, is the source of the family's problems. See also: Playing the world's two stupidest human beings (Tarzan would be appaled by their grammar) off each other for ten minutes in "Dumb" and moving the plot forward at the same time. And at ten: colons: is it possible to use too many? The answers might surprise you.
Young Person's Guide to History, Part 2:
There weren't not laughs in this show, but it seems something like an attempt at the same level of bizarre that I mentioned in my "Pee" review, but to much weaker results, probably because no one stopped to ask, "does what we're doing even make sense? Is there even a storyline to this crap?" Or someone did, and everyone stopped talking to him for the rest of the afternoon (my theory rests on the assumption that this was filmed in one afternoon).
Pushing Daisies: "Dim Sum, Lose Sum":
As a great philosopher once said, "Meh". This episode was still good, but it didn't blow me out of the water like I would have liked. Are my standards too high? Is the President still retarded (that'd be yes, until January-- yeah, I said it)? This episode also made me hungry.
My Name is Earl, "Little Bad Voodoo Brother":
Non-mainstream-religion fight! Karma vs. Voodoo! I liked that the show never took a side on this debate, and suggested that both sides could be bullhockey. Because they are-- in reality there is one God, the Father, the almighty, maker of...
Saturday Night Live, "Ben Affleck/ David Cook":
I watched David Cook because I try to keep an open mind (quit laughing!). I was not impressed, though watching made me want one of these.
Affleck's good on the show, but could they at least think of one non-election-related sketch? Also, did McCain really get bood? Harsh.
King of the Hill, "Lost in Myspace":
Hey, did you know Hank doesn't trust computers, and furthemore, feels threatened when a new idea infringing upon the sale of propane and propane accessories? This episode would have been better if they had taken a more middle ground, showing that both Hank and Character-We've-Never-Seen-Before-and-Probably-Will-Never-See-Again were a little right and a little wrong. It seemed like they were going fol that a little, but weren't sure what direction to take. And a better Dale B-plot. Also, was that Chris Rock as Random Strickland Employee?
Family Guy, "Baby Not on Board":
Even by Family Guy standards, this was pretty lame. I have absolutely nothing to say about it.
American Dad, "Choosy Wives Choose Smith":
The show I called "TV's most underrated show" a couple weeks ago lets me down this week. A lot of the "Stan fights with Francine" stuff has been done to death in earlier seasons, and it feels like this show (unlike the one airing before it) actually moves forward, and doesn't need to rely on wheel-spinning and retreads so much. I loved the joke about Claus and Haley leaving ten seconds into the episode, and the Steve story was pretty good, but nothing we haven't seen before.
The Simpsons, Treehouse of Horror XIX:
I just finished watching The Simpson's 11th season, and so I know both the highs and lows the show can have (by the way, I'm going to do a review after I finish watching ten thousand hours of bonus features). This was pretty Middle-of-the-Road, with the best joke being the takeoff of Mad Men's credits.
Friday Night Lights, "Every Rose Has Its Thorn":
This is slowly, sneakily, becoming my favorite show on right now (helps that Lost isn't on right now). If you didn't watch it, I won't spoil anything, other than it was good.
How I Met Your Mother, "Happily Ever After":
Hmm. There were parts of this I really liked, like the flashbacks (who bets we see Robin's father in a later episode?) and Ted's fakeout big speech. There are things I'm not so sure about--hiding under a table felt like a ripoff of every sitcom ever, and the overall message about letting go of anger was a little Afterschool Special (though worth repeating).
Indecision 2008: America's Choice:
I'm breaking my "no news" rule for a very specific reason here. It seemed this was a big enough departure from the day-to-day, lameold Stewart Repart and Late Nitely Show with Stephen Colbert (as I believe they are called). Stewart and Colbert didn't quite adapt to live TV, the tag-team interviews were a little shaggy, and I missed the end. The whole thing had the air of a telethon, ill-paced and not as funny as either show usually is. That said, most of the prewritten bits, like the title-off, or Larry Wilmore and Wyatt Cenac taking the shows over (though they should have paid it off on Wednesday night), worked pretty well.
South Park, "About Last Night":
Wow. Let's take a moment and think about how fast they had to make parts of this. OK, we've taken a moment. Anyway, this one had some lame jokes-- suprising for a Randy-centric episode; but the Ocean's Eleven parody was pitch-perfect, from the music to John McCain wearing a football player's outfit for no reason. And though the message-- that people take these things too seriously, that the world isn't going to end or suddenly turn into paradise, that these guys are, at the end of the day, politicians-- isn't that different from "Douche vs. Turd," four years ago, minus all the funny PETA jokes or Stan's surprisingly emotional journey (surprising for an episode of TV called "Douche vs. Turd"), it feels especially relevant, and I really like the idea that the people least concerned with the election were the candidate themselves.
Life, "Jackpot":
Should have known. Everybody knows bodyguards look like this. That guy's hair was way to short to be the real deal. Also, I liked using Rachel and Nerdy Murder Suspect as audience surrogates (especially important because of the show's timeslot change). Not much else to say here, though between this and Hurley I'm never, ever buying a lottery ticket.
Friday Night Lights: "It Ain't Easy Being J.D. McCoy":
J.D. has had, like one line before this episode? And yet somehow it seems like he's been the central character this season, with all the talk about him. We finally get our J.D. spotlight here, and...we don't really learn anything new about him. Changing the subject completely, didn't we just have a "dream girl for Landry" not that long ago? And why does Riggins seem to be involved in every major plotline? Does he ever sleep?
I kid because I love. A+.
My Name is Earl, "Sold a Guy a Lemon Car":
Meh. This show is funny, but unfortunately, it's rarely memorable. Somebody work on that.
The Office, "Customer Survey":
Kelly juked the stats, yo. This story had a lot of things going for it, twists and turns and whatnot, but what I'll remember the most is Pam's triple "That's what she said!" after Kelly's "Get out of my nook, Dwight".
30 Rock, "Believe In the Stars":
Oprah! Or not! Anyhoo (that's British for "anyhow"), lots of things happened, and then lots of other things happened. Also, I'm pretty sure they never had swimming in the olympics before.
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, "The Gang Cracks the Liberty Bell":
I used this one for the title quote, because it was awesome. My favorite part had to be past-Charlie speaking ye olde English and everyone else making fun of him for. It's just so... Charlie. Everything else was pretty good, too, except maybe the abrupt ending.
The Sarah Silverman Program: "There's No Place Like Homeless":
Could have had more singing, or more Satan. Or both. Still pretty good, though.
Morel Orel, "Passing" and "Closeface":
Well, that was pretty good. More Mountain Goats, more tragedy, and a surprising note of hope at the end. Plus "I was so worried I forgot to smoke," possibly the darkest joke ever (only works in context).
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