Friday, February 17, 2006

Tomorrow night, Pinky, we will come up with a new plan. One that isn't foiled by the atomic weight of gold.

Holy schnike it’s a double dip of the Mustard!

Yes, folks I decided after not updating at all last week and possibly upsetting you by only posting a music review piece and insulting Madonna, that I’d toss in a few random thoughts your way.

First off if Arrested Development is finally over (it’s gone from Fox and probably 50/50 on whether it goes somewhere else), then by God it went out in such a glorious fashion it puts most other series finales to utter shame (yes, I speak of you Friends! And you Seinfeld!). The finale was just an ode to everything that is genius about the show without having to resort to a dumbass clipshow (I speak of you yet again Seinfeld!). Hell I’d rank it right up there as one of my top series finales, better than both Buffy (cause that series just ended with everything resolving in the last 5 minutes of the episode) and Angel (cause that wasn’t originally written as a finale. Damn you WB!). There are not many shows I’d say this but if it doesn’t come back I will be more than content with having those 3 seasons on DVD.

Scrubs has officially moved up to the top spot of my must watch list. Yeah, I kinda wish they had aired it starting the beginning of the year but hey, I haven’t minded a full hour every week. Any show that can make my wife start crying cause she’s laughing so hard by using Bel Biv Devoe’s Poison by automatically earns favorite show status. Donald Faison has just reached all new heights of comedic brilliance. Also very excellent for Scrubs’ fans is that, since his new show just got axed, Tom Cavanaugh is coming back this season as JD’s brother.

Never has a show disappointed me by blowing an enticing idea like Grey’s Anatomy did with the 2nd part of its Super Bowl episode. I mean what the hell happened? Did the first writer suffer some horrifying injury causing them to be replaced with the writing staff of the O.C.? It was just so gimmicky and clichéd I was just expecting Oliver to walk in, miraculously disarm the bomb and start competing with McDreamy for Meredith’s affections.

Am I the only one who doesn’t like Chloe on 24? The character is supposed to be comic relief (I guess) but I feel like she’s only there to act annoyed in a way eerily reminiscent of Napolean Dynamite. “Just do what I tell you Edgar! Gosh!”

Veronica Mars has actually managed to surpass last year which is no small feat considering they had to slash their budget and cut way back on a lot of their actor’s screentime. But damn if they don’t currently have the best regular guest list on TV right now.

As for the strip, I’m making a bold prediction right now that it will be finished up by the end of next weekend. Now to see if I can follow up on this drunken boast…


Best Picture Nominee Count:

1/5

Rank:

  1. Good night and Good Luck

Yet to see:

  1. Brokeback Mountain
  2. Capote
  3. Crash
  4. Munich

News and Notes:

Is it just me or are the Olympics barely interesting to watch anymore? Yeah, it was funny as hell when the American snowboarder tried to pull a showboating move off while way in the lead of her race and ended up crashing, but seriously who cares all that much about the double luge?

[Insert Dick Cheney Hunting Accident Joke Here]

Will something just friggin’ happen on Lost already?

Awww, Sammy Sosa might retire? I think I’ll cry about the injustice done to him when the best offer he could get was a half a mil offer from the Nats (Thank God he didn’t actually accept. It was bad enough having him 30 miles away in Baltimore).

Until next time:

“Pinky, are you pondering what I’m pondering?”

“I think so Brain, but Zero Mostel time anything will still give you Zero Mostel.”

Monday, February 13, 2006

I think there's a tchotchke in my bum.

Wow! I had mustard?!

Welcome back to that blog that is so near and dear to my heart that I haven’t updated it in 2 weeks. Hey, I haven’t updated the strip in that long either. I’ve discovered that I like to sleep.

So I’ve noticed that 1) the Grammy’s sucked…the 10 minutes I saw of it at least. Will someone please tell Madonna to go away. No, seriously, I want her gone. And this time kissing Britney Spears or doing a James Bond movie isn’t gonna help her back. 2) I haven’t done really any music reviews in a while and considering how much I’ve added to my collection I figured it’s about time so….

MUSIC YOU SHOULD REALLY REALLY BY LISTENING TO (tournament edition):

Electric President – Electric President

I’m kinda hooked on this album lately. It’s the closest thing to a new Postal Service album you’re going to get until the current Death Cab run slows down and Ben Gibbard finds himself with more free time. Expect this to never happen. So until pigs fly and Mr. Burns writes that check to the Springfield Orphanage, check out these guys. Good Morning, Hypocrite is a great way to kick things off building slowly to a smooth string infused finish. Insomnia is right now at the top of my favorite songs list, reminding me slightly of Elliot Smith lyrics set to a Postal Service beat. We Were Never Built to Last has a great frenetic beat while the lyrics and wailing guitar intertwine themselves as the song goes on. Seriously, only one other album is getting more playing time on the ol’ iPod right now and that would be…

The New Pornographers – Twin Cinema

Yeah, if I’m kinda hooked on Electric President, I’m full on, blown away by this album. The opening number Twin Cinema is just full on great rock n’ roll. Sing Me Spanish Techno has a great rocking beat to it throughout the verses before pulling hitting a great falsetto chorus. Streets Of Fire brings things way down for a fantastic acoustic number. But if you want the stand out number check out Bleeding Heart Show and I dare you to not have that ending refrain rolling through your brain for the next few hours. It’s just that gosh darn good.

Sufjan Stevens – Illinois

So full on rock isn’t on your plate today and you feel like something a little more mellow, possibily with without a doubt the most original track names of all time? Try out this one. The opening number, Concerning the UFO sighting Near Highland, Illinois is a gorgeous simple piano piece leading directly into the chorus infused, overture of The Black Hawk War… (seriously the title is just too long to write) which flows into what I have to label the opening number of Come On! Feel the Illinoise! as you can almost see the chorus being performed on stage or in a musical to set the scene of the rest of the album. John Wayne Gacy, Jr.‘s simple, single guitar acoustic sound is just beautiful, so much so that it took me almost two listens before I realized this song was actually about the serial killer. But the award for greatest song title ever has to go to They Are Night Zombies!! They Are Neighbors!! They Have Come Back From the Dead!! Ahhhh! which has a great marching beat with some wicked violins and chanting chorus invoking an old horror movie score.

Spoon Gimme Fiction

While being a complete alt-rock album, you sure can see a lot of throw backs in this album to classic rock pioneers. The Beast and Dragon Adored (number 3 on my top singles list after Insomnia and Bleeding Hearts Show above) is a brooding, slow burn number but tell me you can’t hear a little John Lennon in the chorus or maybe a little Bob Dylan influence in the chorus of another great number, The Two Sides of Monsieur Valentine. And there’s definitely a Beatles twinge in the lighter rock number of Sister Jack.

Flaming LipsEgo Tripping at the Gate of Hell [EP]

Ok, so this isn’t new and Yoshimi Battle the Pink Robots came out a while back but in anticipation of their new album coming out in April try out this EP. Rather than just giving you tracks from the larger album, this EP gives you 4 non-album tracks and 3 remixes. Seeing as how we’ve been referencing them so much today let’s start off with the Postal Service remix of Do You Realize??. The remix brings down the music to it’s basic elements, cutting back at just the right time to emphasize the strength of the lyrics. Assasination of the Sun and Sunship Balloons continue the trippy, light theme of the main album. My only real complaint with the album is the back to back remixes of Ego Tripping. It’s a great song and both mixes are excellent but being consecutive makes it too repetitive and I often find myself skipping the 2nd just cause I’ve already heard the song. But I do recommend coming back and listening to both as they’re worth it.

Alright, so that’s a helluva lot of music thrown at you. All of which should be in your collection. So go try it out. There’s a lot of great stuff out there which you’re not gonna hear on the radio nor see on VH1’s top 20. And since MTV doesn’t do the music thing anymore, you’re better off just not going there. And there’s a lot of new stuff coming out. Josh Radin just put out a new album and Cary Brothers has a new EP. Rhett Miller has a new album out in a few weeks. And by the end of the year we should have some new stuff from Bloc Party, Guster, the Killers, Outkast, Travis, Rooney, hopefully a new Thrills and finally the new Shins album.

Until next time:

“Don't worry about it, baby. We'll just keep trying. Remember that magazine I read about how important it is for the man to have a high-protein diet?”

“Turk, for the last time, you are not eating ribs while we do it.”

“You don't let me have no fun.”

Friday, February 03, 2006

He's hurting! Hug him.. hug him now!

Mustard: for some reason I don’t mind it on McDonald’s burgers. What’s up with that?

Welcome back one and all for another edition of the Mustard. Hope you all had a lovely week as we lead up to:

SUPERBOWL SUNDAY!!!!

C’mon who’s not excited about Seattle vs. Pittsburgh? Ok, so a lot of people aren’t. But if America’s got one thing going for it, it’s that it can turn one little football game into a entertainment and marketing sports extravaganza the likes of which will only be surpassed by next year’s game.

Go Steelers!

Oh and the Rolling Stones? Honestly, you’re in freakin’ Motown and you go with the Rolling Stones. Have the Rolling Stones honestly been relevant to music in the past 20 years? I mean I’m not suggesting they should go with some pop teeny-bopper crapfest but at least get someone who’s only 10 years out of date. What’s REM doing?

Oscar noms are out and all I can say is: Zzzzzzzzzzzzz. Seriously, I can not imagine a more predictable and less exciting field. I’m not saying their necessary bad picks. But let’s face it, it’s been a crappy year for movies in general. There hasn’t been one single movie this year that I’ve thought was truly “great”. Last year I had both Garden State and Eternal Sunshine. Yeah, Batman Begins was excellent and Serenity was terrific but I didn’t walk out of them thinking wow, in 20 years that still might be one of my all-time favorite movies.

But a few opinions on the noms:

Congrats for George Clooney with 3 nominations. Is there honestly anymore just more likeable in all of Hollywood right now? He’s Cary Grant take II.

Fantastic picks in the animated feature category. Not one CGI film and TWO stop-motion. Guess the academy does still pay some attention to quality.

No special effects nom for Star Wars? The hell?

How did Sin City not get either special effects or cinematography or especially makeup (TOTAL BS that Cinderella Man got one over it)? Oh right, the Academy’s pissed at Robert Rodriguez for quitting so that he could give Frank Miller a co-director credit.

Kind of surprised Capote beat out Walk the Line for a best picture nod.

Hey Russell Crowe, next time don’t throw the cell phone. Then you won’t get snubbed.

Graphic Novels are starting to become a more respectable source of material between this year’s History of Violence and Sin City, such past ones as Road to Perdition and the upcoming V for Vendetta. Now if Watchmen could just get off the ground.

News and Notes:

The OC has been marginally better (haha, they killed off Johnny. Thought watch, he’ll just end up in a coma or something) but it’s still not a must see.

Veronica Mars is definitely a must see. Holy crap this show is good. Watch it people!

Rather slow week for notes.

STRIP

Until next time:

“Hey, Dr. Cox. You wanna put in for some lottery tickets?”
“Oh gosh, Carla! I would, I really would! But you see, I already set fire to a big pile of money just this morning!”