57 Channels and Only This Is On: 4/8/2018

Homeland: Finally Carrie’s sister has put her foot down and started to get custody of Franny. Long overdue. I never knew how anyone could think Carrie could care for a child. Hopefully Carrie never gain full custody of her again. But the bigger news of the episode is that Saul and Carrie are back at a black site interrogating a possible terrorist that Carrie was banging. Very similar to Brody in season two. Except they did not almost kill Brody. But if Dante is dead and Simone is in the wind, what is next? A manhunt for Simone? Although that scene with Simone and the Senator was weird. Was he really just testing her or is there more? I think there may be more conspirators out there. Maybe the Senator. Maybe the Vice President. It would be weird to bring in Beau Bridges for just one scene

Billions: Kind of an unfortunate Mark Cuban cameo. He might be as toxic as Bobby at this point. That judge was pretty indignant for someone who asked a prosecutor to look the other way on his son’s indiscretion. Asking him to step aside is a pretty small ask compared to his.

Rise: Of course the best episode so far would be the one with the most football. Granted I do not remember Matt Sarasen having an embarrassing lose like that.
You can download Rise on iTunes.

The Challenge: Vendettas: They pulled that, find out who wins at the reunion crap last season and it is still annoying. If you are going to pull that crap, just do what Survivor does and put the reunion show on right after the finale. Almost as dumb was the Mercenaries brought in to play High / Low the easiest card game to win. And everyone but Cam did. Seriously, at least make it interesting and do Blackjack or something a little more challenging.
You can download The Challenge: Vendettas on iTunes.

Legion: Usually I need a lengthy “Previously On” montage to start every season, but I was not even mad we did not even get one for this show because I do not think anything even happened last season. I remember Aubrey Plaza turning out to be evil and David getting sucked into that orb, but was there anything else last season that was even important? And was David getting sucked into that orb really that important? He started in the company of his friends, albeit in a comatose state. Everyone was so interested what happened in the orb, which, yes was interesting, but what happened in that year outside that orb? Just how did they find David and get him out of the orb? And why do we need a dance sequence in every season premiere?
You can download Legion on iTunes.

The Looming Tower: It is really depressing watching the changeover in government because it looks so very similar to the most recent change. A new president who does the opposite out of spite and a new cabinet who has to treat the president like they are teaching a third grader. But I am surprised out how bad Secretary Rice looks. In eight months she does deliver the memo about Bin Laden wanting to strike America, but here she does not like talk of possibilities.
You can stream The Path Hulu.

Survivor: Ghost Island: One of the worst parts of maybe the last decade of Survivor seasons is everyone now knows you take the annoying people to the finals because they are easy to beat. So all of the likable people get booted early and more and more annoying people who would be out first in early season stay on television to annoy the viewers longer. Then this week it was extremely shocking that that the annoying dude was sent home, even by his own majority original Tribe, instead of the hot chick that everyone knows is a strategic threat. Horrible move but I applaud it because I would much rather have a hot chick than an annoying dude on my television screen.

And looking at the previews, it looks like the original Naviti will vote out another of their own as the Chris vs. Dominick feud will be reunited which will thankfully be another annoying dude gone. But I guess you are expendable if you go into merge eight-five. On the other hand, with three Hidden Immunity Idols, a Legacy Advantage, and Kellyn’s Extra Vote, and who knows what else at Ghost Island next week, you may want to have a vote splitting majority just in case. Speaking of Ghost Island (though neither were found there), why did the show burn two of the five best moments in Survivor history in one episode? But anyway, I cannot get enough of the Ice Cream Scooper and “It’s a forking stick!”
You can download Survivor: Ghost Island on iTunes.

The Blacklist: Yeah, I am kind of with the what the big deal about someone going around killing child rapists crowd. Give that girl a medal.
You can download The Blacklist on iTunes.

The Americans: Does Elizabeth running more jobs than usual this season? She got three this episode, the home nurse, infiltrating the summit, and getting back in touch with the general. I am guessing this is intentional without Philip any more But how does Philip no longer have time for clients now? Shouldn’t he have more time for the travel agency now that he is no longer moonlighting as a spy? And while Elizabeth was doing her nursing, I wonder how much preparation goes into get assignment. Did she go to nursing school? Read a couple books to pass as a nurse? Is she completely winging it?
You can download The Americans on iTunes.

Gotham: I have a sinking suspicion that Jerome’s brother will end up being The Joker. And I know he is not a Batman villain, but how can you have a bad guy brunch without Black Manta.
You can download Gotham on iTunes.

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: I am now convinced that one of the people who think they are invincible are going to die by the end of the season.
You can download Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. on iTunes.

Around the Tubes: 4/6/2018

I have gotten a plethora of cool press releases have been flooding my inbox recently that you may find interesting. This post will include blurbs on Brian Wilson, Yellow Submarine, Erin O’Dowd, Jade Bird, Rosetta Tharpe, The Affair, Ice Bridge: The Impossible Journey, Catch-22, and The Last O.G..

- Harmonies. That’s what Christmas songs are all about for music legend Brian Wilson. From the seminal 1964 classic The Beach Boys’ Christmas Album to his acclaimed 2005 solo effort What I Really Want for Christmas Wilson has been bringing holiday cheer to the world for more than five decades. This holiday season, for the first time Wilson and his crack band of musicians and vocalists along with long time bandmates Al Jardine and Blondie Chaplin will be performing the Christmas Album in its entirety along with cuts from his solo Christmas album and other holiday fan favorites. For ticket info please visit: brianwilson.com.

- Abramorama announced today a deal with Apple Corps Ltd. and Universal Music Group (UMG) to theatrically release The Beatles’ classic 1968 animated feature film, Yellow Submarine, across North America this July in celebration of its 50th anniversary. Abramorama, Apple Corps Ltd. and UMG have teamed to give Beatles fans of all ages the opportunity to come together and share in this visually stunning movie and soundtrack. Abramorama originally partnered with Apple Corps, Imagine Entertainment, White Horse Pictures, StudioCanal and UMG’s Polygram Entertainment on the Ron Howard documentary The Beatles: Eight Days a Week – The Touring Years. Abramorama has a proven track record in the music-driven film space, partnering numerous times with Neil Young, Pearl Jam and Green Day and now once again with Apple Corps Ltd.

- Erin O’Dowd announces her debut album, Old Town, set for release on May 4, 2018 via Horton Records. Produced by Travis Linville, Rolling Stone acclaimed singer-songwriter and longtime guitarist for Hayes Carll, the album is a tribute to O’Dowd’s Oklahoma roots. Noted for her skilled songwriting and often compared to legends like Emmylou Harris and Loretta Lynn, Old Town is a refined introduction to who O’Dowd is as an artist. The album offers a fresh perspective of roots music that weaves introspective lyrics through influences of classic country, psychedelic folk, and soul-driven Americana. In addition to a variety of instrumentation by Linville, Old Town has an all-star instrumental lineup, including Grammy-nominated John Fullbright on keys and legendary Midwest pedal steel player Roger Ray of the Red Dirt Rangers. American Songwriter announced the album and premiered the video for the first single, “Trick Pony” today. Old Town is available for pre-order on April 6 via iTunes, with a free instant download of “Trick Pony”.

- Jade Bird: Lottery: The Tonigh Show:


- As The Godmother of Rock & Roll Sister Rosetta Tharpe’s highly-anticipated induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame’s Early Influences wing approaches, Verve/UMe is bringing the trailblazer’s vaunted catalog into the digital age, making more than 200 songs available for download and streaming, most for the first time ever. The initiative, which includes seven long out-of-print albums and all 130 singles she recorded for Decca between 1938 and 1956, began on March 30 with the release of three albums: 1951’s gospel hymns LP Blessed Assurance, originally on a Decca 10-inch LP and now expanded with three rare bonus tracks; an expanded edition of her acclaimed 1958 Decca collection, Gospel Train, with two rare bonus tracks; and her spirited 1960 self-titled album Sister Rosetta Tharpe,

- Showtime has released a new teaser for season four of the Golden Globe® Award winning drama series The Affair. The series, starring Golden Globe nominee Dominic West, Golden Globe winner Ruth Wilson, Emmy® Award nominee and Golden Globe winner Maura Tierney and Screen Actors Guild Award® nominee Joshua Jackson, will premiere on Sunday, June 17 at 9:00.


- An astonishing discovery found jutting from an eroding coastal cliff on an island in the Chesapeake Bay in 2012 is challenging scientists’ long-held theory about the first humans to inhabit North America – where they originated, and how and when they arrived. It points to an explosive theory: Ice Age people made an epic journey across a massive ice bridge spanning a frozen Atlantic about six thousand years before people trekked across what is now the Bering Strait. The extraordinary find could rewrite history and upend our understanding of early human migration. Using archaeology, geology and genetics, a new one-hour documentary follows the expedition and search to uncover new evidence that could unravel the 20,000-year-old mystery. The film uses re-creation and state-of-the-art CGI to bring to life the ancient frozen wilderness and the fearsome Ice Age beasts that once ruled our continent. Ice Bridge: The Impossible Journey premieres Wednesday, April 18 at 8:00 on Smithsonian Channel.

- Hulu announced this week that Golden Globe Award-winning actor Hugh Laurie has joined the cast of Hulu's Original limited series Catch-22 from Paramount Television, Anonymous Content, George Clooney and Grant Heslov.

- He’s back! TBS’ The Last O.G. starring Tracy Morgan, Tiffany Haddish and executive produced by Jordan Peele has claimed cable’s top comedy slot with Tuesday’s premiere generating 1.8M total viewers and 882K 18-49 viewers in Live + Same Day and is expected to hit a Live +7 projection of 1.252M. The series is tracking as #1 among all cable comedies this year, including premium services. This marks the biggest cable comedy premiere since 2016, the largest scripted cable comedy premiere since 2015, and the strongest TBS original debut ever. More than 6.9M total viewers (3.3M 18-49) tuned into the show over a three-night, five-telecast launch on TBS and TNT following the NCAA Final Four tournament.

Previewing The Last O.G.

In a measure of full disclosure, I have never been much of a Tracy Morgan fan. Not when he was on Saturday Night Live and gave up on 30 Rock mostly because of him after one episode. But I have to admit, I laughed quite a lot at the trailer for his new show, The Last O.G. Plus it is on TBS, secretly one of the best networks on television with each of their original live action shows are at the very least watchable. The show was also created by recent Oscar winner Jordan Peele.

The show stars Morgan as a recently released from prison for drug dealing after fifteen years and is ready to reunite with his girl (Tiffany Haddish, The Carmichael Show) only to find out she is married to a boring white dude who is raising fifteen year old twins. Even Tracy Morgan can do the math on that. While trying to reconnect, he has to do it at a halfway house run by Cedric the Entertainer.

Okay, The Last O.G. turned out to be one of those movies where most if not all of funniest bit are in the trailer and the rest of the movie drags while moving slowly onto the next joke. Gentrification is a great joke in the trailer, but is rarely mentioned after that. A person coming back to a place that has moved on without them is a great hook for a story but really Morgan is quick to adapt on the new show.

Instead the show is basically split into two different stories. There is Morgan trying to connect with his children with Haddish unfortunately wasted as the wet blanket who rightfully found a better life for her and her kids. The other is with Cedric with Morgan and the other ex-convicts acting like baboons. Obviously this is the more entertaining part of the show. But even that may not keep me from tuning in, which would be the first TBS show I did not finish the season in years.

The Last O.G. airs Tuesdays at 10:30 on TBS.

The Voice Season Fourteen Battle Round Power Rankings

Well that was an utterly boring Battle Round. Every time there was a Steal, I thought… why? And then realize, oh, they were Stolen because there was not anyone better. At least it was boring until the final episode where the top four singers on my Blind Audition Power Rankings were left to perform. Or so I thought. We finally got someone worthy of a Steal. Except Livia was on Team Alicia and Alicia was the only one who had a Steal left so we knew that was not happening.

This has been my main complaint since they have introduced the Steals is that it screws over anyone who goes late because clearly the coaches use their Steals early. I have long thought the solution is to give the coaches unlimited Steals with the caveat that they can only take two of them into the Knockouts (and from the Knockouts, one Steal to the Playoffs). Then after the round, you set it up like the Twitter Save where all that coach’s Steals in rapid succession perform one last Save Me song then the coach picks two. So win-win, we get the best talent advancing (assuming the coaches pick wisely which is not always the case) and hopefully no one goes home prematurely.

But after Livia was inexplicably was sent home, you would think that was the last bit of fireworks of the season because we knew Alicia was going to Steal whoever last the last Battle, but first we got I thought would be a routine Montage, the first ever transgendered dude on the show got montaged off the show after an awkward three second clip, Blake picked between two novelty acts, then the big shocker was left for the end, Carson announced Hannah Goebel left the show “for personal reason.” Wait, what?

Hannah was number two on my Power Ranking, and when the pairing was announced, I though Hannah vs. Alexa was the biggest mismatch on Team Kelly. The thing is, this has only happened once with someone leaving the show and that turned out someone left to enter rehab and that singer ended up dying not much later. Hannah did mention on social media that night that she is well and still has her voice but it is vague on what exactly made her leave. She did stay around late enough to record her Battle song for iTunes so whatever happened did happened quickly. So hopefully she is truly doing well. And if the personal reason was something out of her control they let her try out again because she was one of the few standouts this season. But here is my rankings of those that will be going to the Knockouts.


1. Terrence Cunningham (Team Alicia) – He topped my list after the Blinds and no reason to have him fall even if this performance was quite subdued. I may have even picked Livia instead.

2. Spensha Baker (Team Blake) – Blake’s black chick who wanted to sing country last season came off as a novelty, but Spensha comes off as much more genuine. She can win.

3. Drew Cole (Team Adam) – I wrote Drew off as a novelty in the Blinds, but that was really good.

4. Wilkes (Team Blake) – A couple seasons ago Lauren Duski sang a cool country version of a nineties song and then Blake had her sing mostly boring country songs. Wilkes auditioned with a nineties rock song but I hope does not make him sing boring country songs every week.

5. Britton Buchanan (Team Alicia) – Had he had been doing Christian death metal, I may have thought it was Landry Clarke up there.

6. Rayshun LaMarr (Team Adam) – That was one of the Battles where it not even worth picking, they were both good, enough to advance, but neither will make much dent in the Live Shows.

7. Tish Haynes Keys (Team Adam Kelly) – Yeah it was even, and neither deserved to go home, but that shows Kelly’s inexperience but it is not like Tish will go far.

8. Jordyn Simone (Team Alicia Adam) – Was I supposed to be able to tell these two apart?

9. Kelsea Johnson (Team Alicia) – Seriously, why did they dress and style them the same? Toss a coin.

10. Johnny Bliss (Team Alicia) – Montage win… yawn, and yet another Asian chick gets montaged off the show.

11. Dallas Caroline (Team Blake Alicia) – Maybe one of the more deserving Steal’s this season, but what really hurt her was going right after Livia who actually deserved a Steam much more than Caroline.

12. Pryor Baird (Team Blake) – Tom Petty is one of the greats and has a large enough catalogue that he should be sung every season, but this song really is not made for competition show. I am still waiting for someone cool enough to sing It’s Good to Be King.

13. Mia Boostrom (Team Adam) – Interesting voice but needs better songs.

14. Reid Umstattd (Team Adam) – Well that was kind of shocking but Reid actually benefited from having to sing out his comfort zone, made it look like a high degree of difficulty.

15. Jaclyn Lovey (Team Alicia Blake) – Kind of boring but in a weak season I guess it was worthy of a Steal.

16. Miya Bass (Team Adam Alicia) – I thought she over did it at time, but there were not many people really worthy of Steals this season so I guess it was good enough.

17. D.R. King (Team Kelly) – Nothing more disappointing than hearing someone singing Sign of the Times and turning out not to be the Prince song. Not only that, this was the second straight season for the song, which is not worthy of a crappy song like this. I guess D.R. did as well as he could.

18. Kyla Jade (Team Blake) – Poor Kyla. Usually whenever Blake picks a crappy pop song in the Battles it usually gets montaged especially when it is a mixed matched one Kyla would have been better off having people seen ten seconds or less of this.

19. Brynn Cartelli (Team Kelly) – Well that was kind of creepy giving a song about sex to a twenty something dude and a fourteen year old girl.

20. Dylan Hartigan (Team Kelly Blake) – Not the most head scratching Steal Blake has ever made, probably not even in the top five, but I was still puzzled. Maybe Blake felt sorry for his situation.

21. Gary Edwards (Team Adam) – Montage win… yawn. And probably for the best, the three seconds we saw was extremely awkward.

22. Jackie Verna (Team Adam) – Honestly, I kind of wish both singers in the Battle went home.

23. Jorge Eduardo (Team Kelly) – I think knocked Kelly for being inexpienced by going with her heard over her head, but picking the boring dude with the guitar is the most shroud thing you can do on this show. Meh.

24. Alexa Cappelli (Team Kelly) – Montage win by forfeit… double yawn.

25. Kaleb Lee (Team Blake Kelly) – That was a pretty wasted Steal.

26. Justin Kilgore (Team Kelly) – I am not sure what was more shocking, that Kelly picked him or that Blake did not Steal Molly.

27. Jackie Foster (Team Kelly Adam) – I did not get the fuss.

28. Christiana Danielle (Team Alicia) – It is weird Kings of Leon does not get used very often on the show, Sex on Fire was sung the first season but I cannot remember anyone since. As for the performance, I was kind of meh on both, too sleepy.

29. Sharane Calister (Team Alicia) – I was not familiar with that song and hope never to hear from it again.

30. Austin Giorgio (Team Blake) – Montage win… yawn.

31. Jamilla (Team Kelly) – Double montage win… yawn.

32. Jaron Strom (Team Blake) – Montage win… yawn.

Alright, let’s go ahead and put these ranking into a mathematical equation to see who has the strongest team:

Alicia – 155
Adam – 150
Blake – 131
Kelly – 92

Yeah Kelly’s inexperience is showing with one of the weakest teams in memory. I like Tish, but she is going nowhere. Caleb was the biggest waste of a Steal. Plus there was a couple of questionable Battle Round pairing and picks But Alicia pairing two of her five Blind Auditions do not seem to be hurting yet. But all you need it one person to win, and she has the best of the season right now. But who cares what I think, here is how the Battles ranked on iTunes.

1. D.R. King and Jackie Foster (57)
2. Britton Buchanan and Jaclyn Lovey (59)
3. Livia Faith and Terrence Cunningham (85)
4. Justin Kilgore and Molly Stevens (91)
5. Brynn Cartelli and Dylan Hartigan (95)
6. Davison and Reid Umstattd (108)
7. Christiana Danielle and Shana Halligan (153)
8. Amber Sauer and Jorge Eduardo (181)
9. Drew Cole and Miya Bass (182)
10. Rayshun LaMarr and Tish Haynes Keys (190)
11. Jordyn Simone and Kelsea Johnson (228)
12. Jordan Kirkdorffer and Wilkes (297)
13. Kaleb Lee and Pryor Baird (332)
14. Jamai and Sharane Calister (335)
15. Jackie Verna and Stephanie Skipper (390)
16. Dallas Caroline and Spensha Baker (492)
17. Genesis Diaz and Mia Boostrom (519)
18. JessLee and Kyla Jade (653)
19. Terrence Cunningham (966)
20. Christiana Danielle (1000)
21. Brynn Cartelli (1075)
22. Jaclyn Lovey (1086)
23. Alexa Cappelli and Hannah Goebel (1387)
24. Austin Giorgio and Brett Hunter (1401)
25. Livia Faith (1441)

And if you average the peaks of those who charted on both the Battles and the Blind Auditions, here is how they rank:

1. Terrence Cunningham (67)
2. Britton Buchanan (142.5)
3. Christiana Danielle (151)
4. Brynn Cartelli (153)
5. Jaclyn Lovey (166.5)
6. Justin Kilgore (168.5)
7. Drew Cole (177.5)
8. Jorge Eduardo (203.5)
9. Rayshun LaMarr (327.5)
10. Prior Baird (374.5)
11. Dylan Hartigan (376)
12. Reid Umstattd (414.5)
13. Kelsea Johnson (421.5)
14. Wilkes (428)
15. Sharane Calister (434)
16. Dallas Caroline (526.5)
17. D.R. King (548.5)
18. Spensha Baker (582.5)
19. Jackie Verna (606)
20. Jackie Foster (626)
21. Kaleb Lee (629)

One shocking thing about this list, the two people who sat atop the Battle Round iTunes chart, D.R. and Jackie F. are both in the bottom five of the combined list. Then over ten singers who either did not make the top 1500 for either their Battle of Blind Audition seem pretty high. Here is how the teams rank mathematically:

Alicia – 61
Kelly – 54
Blake - 52
Adam - 43

Alicia is dominating with the top three spots. If those three are her team going into Top 12, she could dominate the Live Shows too. Of course keep in mind last year’s winner Chloe did not make a dent in iTunes until the Knockouts. Speaking of the Knoutout Round, the show did not release the pairings this year (other than the three you can spot in the promos). But we are getting a new twist where Coaches can “Save” an artist they did not pick which sounds like the Coach’s Comeback but it happens in real time and much like the Saves, the people who perform late get screwed.

57 Channels and Only This Is On: 4/1/2018

Homeland: John McCain used to joke when there was speculation that John Kerry wanted him to be his vice president that the only job of the VP was to check on the president’s health daily. But I guess in these days and times the second in line has to check to see if the president will still be the president tomorrow. But anyway, Carrie has had sex with a lot enemy of the state (really, anything over zero should be considered a lot) but to do so while your child, a chick conceived by an enemy of the state was just even too crazy for Carrie. And what was Carrie going to say to Dante when he asked why she went to see his ex-wife? That she thought he was a spy? She had that exact moment with Brody. Well minus the sex but Saul did barge in right afterwards. Speaking of Brody, when Carrie took Frannie to the motel, I actually thought that Frannie might run into her half-sister. That last we saw of her was a maid for a motel.

The Alienist: Poor Lazlo, finally catches his man but dies just before he can learn why the murderer did what he did. But a very interesting scene at the end with Lazlo chatting with father. That should make for an interesting flashback for a second season. I just hope they do not retread a season long murder mystery again.
You can download The Alienist on iTunes.

Good Girls: Um, wouldn’t it just been easier to blackmail the sleeze ball into returning the television that digging through the trash to look for the receipt?
You can download Good Girls on iTunes.

Rise: Some weird happenstances this week. Lou’s wife wants the foster kid gone, he puts up the deck lighting (which looked pretty tacky), now she is fine with him staying indefinitely. Simon’s mom does not want Simon in a heathens musical to the point she is going to pull him from the school, her daughter is sad at him leaving the school, Simon can not only stay at the school but stay in the heathen musical. But hey, there was a well-placed Iron and Wine song. And I did enjoy the coach’s saying he is not going to do some touchy feely speech with the drunk. And just how long does the coach’s daughter hooks up with the drunk?
You can download Rise on iTunes.

The Challenge: Vendettas: So at the beginning of the season they announced there would only be one winner, no gender specific winners like in many recent seasons. Yet they still do gender specific eliminations every week and here in the last challenge they did not eliminate any women because there were two more guys and had to go into the finale even. Lame. And why are there eight finalist this season? Hopefully the finale is only one episode because I am ready for this to end.
You can download The Challenge: Vendettas on iTunes.

The Path: I thought that if Vera’s mom believed the end and rebirth was triggered by Eddie’s death that she may try to hasten it, I just never thought Vera would be caught in the middle. Once I saw the hole in her chest, it did cross my mind that there would be a Resurrection. The episode did air the week of Easter. But I have to wonder if that was really Steve Myer visiting the mom or just a delusion? And was that his corpse that they were digging at the end? As for next season, I have a feeling it may be Pete Campbell with Mary by his side vs. the Myerists.
You can stream The Path Hulu.

The Looming Tower: So not only was the FBI feuding with the CIA back in the nineties, they did not have a particular good relations with the State Department as that trip to Africa got pretty prickly with the Ambassador.
You can stream The Path Hulu.

Survivor: Ghost Island: Um, so no one went to Ghost Island on this episode of Ghost Island? Just when I thought not having any advantage there three of four weeks was lame.
You can download Survivor: Ghost Island on iTunes.

The Americans: So the Soviets are just fine with Philip retiring, Elizabeth is just not allowed to talk to him. But I guess it eases things that there are still two Jennings spies in America. At least for now, Paige already apparently failed an easy assignment of staking out a building because Elizabeth had to kill a dude. But seriously dude, stealing someone’s ID and blackmailing them for a date was a horrible way to pick up a chick.
You can download The Americans on iTunes.

Gotham: It seemed like since season two the show was making Barbara Harley Quinn, but no, she is now apparently the new Demon’s Head, lead of the League of Assassins. Wait, what?
You can download Gotham on iTunes.

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Who knew we really need a General Hale flashback episode? It did not dawn on me until this episode when they flashed back to the early nineties that Hale could have possibly ran into Carol Danvers (aka Captain Marvel aka Brie Larson in the March 2019 movie). I stupidly thought for a second we would get a cameo. But hey, we did get cameos by young Sitwell and Von Strucker as well as the German from Agent Carter. I was a little surprised that Ruby turned out to be Hale’s real daughter though she turns out to be not a normal daughter but one engineered by Hydra to be the Destroyer of Worlds, of course the name Deke calls Daisy in the future as she is the one accused of cracking the Earth in two.

We did get a small but interesting segment without Hale. I am a bit surprised that Simmons’s big take away from seeing herself in the future is that she is invincible. My big take away is that she lost her arms. Yeah, Fitz-Simmons may make it to the Lighthouse, but that does not mean they will get there is one piece. And Fitz does not even need to make it, just his DNA. But saying you are invincible seems like famous last words to me.
You can download Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. on iTunes.

Around the Tubes: 3/31/2018

I have gotten a plethora of cool press releases have been flooding my inbox recently that you may find interesting. This post will include blurbs on The Handmaid’s Tale, The Challenge, Patrick Melrose, Conan, I’m Dying up Here, Animal Kingdom, Garbage, Ian Erix, Marian Hill, Shaggy, Sawyer Fredericks, and Showtime.

- Hulu released the full length trailer for the second season of The Handmaid’s Tale. The first two episodes of the 13-episode season launch on Wednesday, April 25th.


- MTV’s legendary competition show The Challenge returns with the premiere of an epic ten-week special event The Challenge: Champs vs. Stars. Hosted by WWE Superstar and former challenge competitor, Mike “The Miz” Mizanin, “Champs vs. Stars” will feature ten celebrities and all-star athletes along with ten highly skilled, fan-favorite champions from past “Challenge” seasons. For the first time ever, teams will be mixed with both celebrities and “Champs” where they will face off in weekly eliminations, until one team will prove they are the ultimate “Challenge MVP.” Winners will compete for a chance to take a share of the $150,000 cash prize to donate to their beloved charities. “The Challenge: Champs vs. Stars” premieres April 17, 2018 at 10:00.

- Showtime has announced that its new, five-part limited series Patrick Melrose starring Oscar® nominee and Emmy® winner Benedict Cumberbatch will premiere on Saturday, May 12 at 9 p.m. ET/PT. Based on the acclaimed Patrick Melrose series of semi-autobiographical novels written by Edward St. Aubyn, Patrick Melrose is an acerbic and fearless look at the protagonist’s harrowing odyssey from a deeply traumatic childhood to his remarkable survival as an adult. In scheduling Patrick Melrose for five consecutive Saturdays, Showtime is laying the groundwork to expand to a new night of original programming, joining the network’s existing sports and movie offerings on Saturday nights.

- TBS’ Conan will take the show internationally for the ninth time in three years as the popular host travels to Italy. Conan Without Borders: Italy will be a primetime special premiering Wednesday, April 11 at 10:00 For his latest adventure, O’Brien put a different spin on his usual travel shows bringing along fan favorite show staffer Jordan Schlansky.

- Showtime has released the trailer for the second season of I’m Dying up Here. Created and executive produced by Dave Flebotte and executive produced by Golden Globe® winner Jim Carrey and Michael Aguilar, the fictional I’m Dying up Here explores L.A.’s famed ’70s stand-up comedy scene, with an ensemble cast led by Academy Award® winner Melissa Leo (The Fighter) and Ari Graynor. The 10-episode season of I’m Dying up Here will premiere on Sunday, May 6 at 10:00.

- his summer, the infamous Cody family is back as TNT's hit drama Animal Kingdom returns for its third season. In last season’s shocking cliffhanger, Baz (Scott Speedman) was shot while on his way to Mexico after framing Smurf (Ellen Barkin) for murder. Season three opens with Smurf in jail and her grandson J (Finn Cole) in charge of the family business. The Cody men find themselves increasingly divided as they fight for both control and their independence, but have to come together when outside threats emerge. Deran’s (Jake Weary) drifter dad Billy (Denis Leary) comes back to make amends, but may have other motives.


- Garbage announced the release of the 20th anniversary edition of their legendary second album Version 2.0. Due for release on Stunvolume/PIAS on June 22, the package will feature the whole original album, as well as 10 B-sides from the era. Pre-order the digital album HERE and visit Garbage.com for updates on standard and deluxe Vinyl formats. The typically visceral "Lick The Pavement" is the first offering from the reissue and is out today. Listen to the song HERE.

- Misfit Mindz Entertainment, an imprint of Nordican Music Group/The Orchard/Sony Music Entertainment is set to release a benefit record from Ian Erix -- featuring survivors of the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting -- with 100% of all profits going to victim's families and survivors of gun violence in addition to non-profits that support social justice movements, such as the student formed March For Our Lives and #NeverAgainMSD organizations. The recording, "Raise Some Hell", pays homage to the recent lives lost, but is not a sad or sappy song. It is, instead, an up-tempo and empowering battle anthem calling the youth to hold truth to power and rise up against injustice anywhere they see it.

- On April 20, Island Def Jam/UMe is set to properly fete Donna Summer, the undisputed Queen of Disco and The First Lady of Love, with Summer: The Original Hits. This catchy collection of Summer’s greatest hits is a companion to Summer: The Donna Summer Musical, an exciting new Broadway musical based on her rich and storied life. Previews for Summer: The Donna Summer Musical commenced on March 28, 2018, at the legendary Lunt-Fontanne Theatre in New York City with the official opening on April 23, 2018.

- Platinum-certified Philadelphia duo Marian Hill’s highly anticipated sophomore album, Unusual, is set for release on May 11th. The album features ten tracks written and produced by Jeremy Lloyd (production/songwriting) and Samantha Gongol (vocals/songwriting) of Marian Hill. See the full Unusual tracklist below. Pre-order Unusual now here.

- Legendary reggae musician, Shaggy teamed up with Canadian crooner, Massari to release their new record, Why via 300 Entertainment and Brooklyn Knights Entertainment. With an accompanying lyric video, "Why" is an uptempo club jam with a smooth chorus.

- Sawyer Fredericks is thriving on independence and artistic freedom. As a follow-up to his acclaimed debut album, 2016's A Good Storm, the highly-anticipated Hide Your Ghost sheds the high gloss major label treatment, and stays true to Frederick's honest and elegantly stripped down style, a self-described "free range folk", incorporating elements of blues, roots rock, and jazz with live instrumental arrangements throughout. The album is available today, March 30, on iTunes, Spotify, FYE.com, and all FYE locations.

- Showtime Networks Inc. has announced the launch of its stand-alone streaming service SHOWTIME and its authentication service SHOWTIME ANYTIME on LG Smart TVs. SHOWTIME is the first cable network to launch on LG webOS Smart TV platforms including on the recently debuted 2018 LG OLED TVs with AI ThinQ® and LG SUPER UHD TVs with AI ThinQ.

Previewing New Wave: Dare to Be Different

When I was in high school, getting out of bed was hard. I would have my alarm clock set to the local top forty station and would routinely hit snooze three to five times before finally falling out of bed. I distinctly remember one morning when the alarm went off and as I reach for the snooze button I paused because they were playing It’s the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine). Since it was rare to play an “oldie” but goodie, I thought I would wait until the end of the song to hit the snooze but. Except when the song ended, they started playing It’s the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine) and I sat up, fully awake wondering if I was actually hear the same song twice. Now fully awake and lo and behold the song started for the third straight time.

Off to the bathroom, It’s the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine) was playing when I went into the shower and was still playing when I came out. It played throughout breakfast. It played throughout the commute. Sometimes in between the song, a mysterious voice would come on and say, “The end is coming.” Then back to It’s the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine). Naturally this was a big discussion at school that day. Keep in mind this was before someone could pull out their phones to answer any question. Was it the end of the world? Was this a warning?

It turned out that the radio station was changing format and their name (naturally to The End) and started playing alternative music. And it became my new favorite radio station until it turned into a hip-hop station maybe five years later. Which is also around the time I stopped listening to radio as the format slowly was being bought up by the same two companies and turning stations across the nation into basically McDonalds for the airwave with the exact same playlists.

But for people of my age and older, radio stations meant something important. You do not have to have lived in New York City in the eighties to appreciate New Wave: Dare to Be Different because this is a universal love letter to the local independent radio station. Grant it will probably help if you enjoy New Wave music.

WLIR 92.7 started as a radio station in 1959 and switched over to a progressive rock station in the early seventies. But it was the format switch in 1982 to New Wave and other underground sounds of the era that put the station on the map. U2, Talking Heads, Depeche Mode, Blondie, Duran Duran, Tears for Fears, The Clash, and The Cure were all credited to getting their first American airplay on the small Long Island station. They also claim to be the first to play Madonna and Prince. The documentary culls interviews from musicians who got their start on the station as well as DJ’s, fans and an intern named Gary Dell'Abate.

I am not sure if kids today even listen to the radio (I am not entirely sure why anyone these days would listen) but I am sure they would be befuddled by some of the segments in the documentary. Early on, there is a lengthy segment about people fine tuning their radios to find the station. Does anyone even turn a radio anymore? I do have two myself. Later they talk about import and try telling a kid who streams everything that there was a time when people would spend ten to twenty dollars just get an import single with just one or two songs on it.

Much like my local radio station that launched with twenty-four straight hours of It’s the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine) which did not last long, WLIR and its new format did not last a decade. Except its demise had to do with their FCC license. I will not go into detail, not to spoil the documentary because they make it hilariously confusing ending to the film.

New Wave: Dare to Be Different airs tonight at 8:00 on Showtime.

I Want My Music Television: 3/26/2018

Delicate - Taylor Swift


Now Taylor Swift is making videos complaining about fame and singing songs with a vo-corder. I still miss the oldTaylor.


Make Me Feel - Janelle Monáe



Django Jane - Janelle Monáe


My first impression of Make Me Feel was that it sounded like something Prince would have written for Sheena Easton in the eighties. I am not sure I could come up with a higher compliment. And Janelle Monáe is certainly giving off an eighties feel in the video. I think Prince even wore that see threw mask at some point in his career. I like that song much better than the other song he released at the same time, Django Jane.


Over My Head - Echosmith


Echosmith’s debut album was cheesy fun but since then they seem to be chaseing a new mortre “serious” sound, but someone should really tell them there is nothing wrong with a little cheese. This video is fun; it is time to go back to making fun music too.

57 Channels and Only This is On: 3/25/2018

Homeland: For a second there I actually thought Carrie was going to have sex with another enemy of the state. But I should have known that Carrie investigating the death of the general and Saul Russian troll investigations were connected. But I was right that the Wellington was not the one conspiring with his lady friend. And I was also right that the lady friend getting a parking ticket while conspiring to assassinate a general was a little too convenient. But who side was Saul’s Russian buddy on? He told the Russians Saul was on to him but was that just to get to the troll who filmed the video and that is what he was going to tell Saul at the meeting he did make to because the video taker took him before Saul showed up.

The Walking Dead: So Rick has been obsessed with killing Negan since Glen got his skull bashed in, goes full kamikaze into a convoy of Saviors just to get Negan… and then walks away before Negan actually dies like some Bond villain. I forking hate this show. And where did the Trash Lady come from? Was she following the convoy too? And just why the fork did she not let Negan die? For all she knows, he was a part o all her trash people dying.
You can download The Walking Dead on iTunes.

The Chi: We finally learned what happened to the basketball player with the twist that the crooked cop had something to do with it. I wonder if Detective Cruz will continue to investigate that murder in season two. Poor Brandon, it looks like in a potential season two that he will be forced to launder drugs. But overall a satisfying first season.

The Alienist: That eyeball soup was really disgusting and the worst game of how many jelly beans are in a jar. But the serial killer does not always targets dudes in dresses? Did he just did that for a couple murders because of some connection with the Man with the Silver Smile? And pretty disappointing that Cyrus did not execute any revenge for the death of Mary. But I guess there is still one episode left. Hopefully they catch the killer and not string that out multiple seasons.
You can download The Alienist on iTunes.

Good Girls: Um, yeah, so I was wondering about Anna’s daughter too. You know, if you are a girl who is worried about people wondering what is going on, maybe not go with the early Beiber haircut. But anyway. The fake cancer to move back in after cheating with your secretary is really low. So low, I a shocked it was not a Shameless plot yet.
You can download Good Girls on iTunes.

Rise: Why are they whining so much about money? Why do they not do the thing that every school club has done: a fundraiser? Are there no theater boosters? During my time in school we raised enough to put in a major renovation of the local theater. And poor background chick, there cannot be anything worse than being someone’s beard.
You can download Rise on iTunes.

The Challenge: Vendettas: Can none of the girls who won count? They all could not be safe from Elimination if there are only three on the other team with one already marked for Elimination. You have to fight with everything to get in that Troika. I do wonder what would have happened if all the women were in the Troika, were there only been two in the Inquisition?
You can download The Challenge: Vendettas on iTunes.

The Path: I have long considered Myerism as a cult but the way Hawk broke it down got me wondering. But then again, the greatest trick the devil ever pulled off was to make the world think he doesn’t exist. Also score one for Cal for humiliating the professor by calling out his affair with Sarah. But poor Eddie have to hear that broadcast on national television. But I do wonder if Eddie’s plan to tell the world about Steve is what leads to the death Mira’s mother has predicted. The fact that Cal just got a gun from a pawn shop does not bode well for Eddir’s longevity.
You can stream The Path Hulu.

The Looming Tower: Our first Mohammed Atta sighting. And with whom I assume was Osama bin Laden. We have spent so much time with the pissing contest between the CIA and FBI, they really should spend a little more time showing up just how Al-Qaida was able to pull off what they did. But with everything going wrong at the time, it is even more disturbing that a high ranking FBI agent does not have a lock on a briefcase carrying classified documents.
You can stream The Path Hulu.

Survivor: Ghost Island: Good riddance Stephanie. I have no idea why you picked those leggings to wear on the show but they almost inspired me to break out my standard definition television because they hurt my eyes in HD. But here we have yet another week where they inexplicably draw rocks for Ghost Island where there was nothing there for I believe the third of fourth week, and the one time there was in that span, the person did not take it.
You can download Survivor: Ghost Island on iTunes.

The X-Files: Holy fork, William can just explode people? And survive a bullet to the brain? How is that guy worried about anyone catching him especially if you tack on the skill of getting people to see him as other people or monsters? But poor replacement Scully, gets killed in the finally. And what of Skinner? Oh well, time to put this show to rest again.
You can download The X-Files on iTunes.

Kypton: Wait, Superman’s grandfather is banging Zod’s grandmother and Zod’s grandmother is black? But seriously, Syfy needs to fire their casting directors because all their shows are filled with utterly boring people.
You can download Krypton on iTunes.

Gotham: Melancholy happy trails to Sophia Falcone. Not that a bullet to the head stopped anyone in this town. And is Barbara turning into Ras Al Ghul But at least there was no old Ivy this week.
You can download Gotham on iTunes.

Blindspot: I cannot confirm nor deny I Googled “Betsy Ross’s Revenge.”
You can download Blindspot on iTunes.

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Every once in a while I wonder, wait, wasn’t Fitz almost braindead a couple seasons ago but never mentioned again after the season finale when it happened? They finally brought it up again completely out of nowhere.
You can download Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. on iTunes.

Previewing Billions: Season Three

I was utterly disappointed with how the first season of Billions ended. For me the season needed to end with Bobby Axelrod in handcuffs otherwise the show might go down like Damien Lewis’s last show Homeland which kept him around much too long. I realized in the second season that this was not your typical season long cops and robbers storyline stretched too long, this was a story of Spy vs. Spy with both spies bent on assured mutual destruction. And then the second season ended with Axe in handcuffs.

Of course Axe does not stay in jail long and posted bail in between seasons. That is not to say the perp walk is not having a lasting effect on Bobby, Lara has given him the boot and his assets have been frozen. So Axe and everyone at the company that bares his name are unable to trade and basically go in to work now and sit on their collective thumbs. And as you can guess it, people like Dollar Bill are not very good at sitting on their thumbs.

Even though he finally got his white whale things are not completely peachy for Chuck Rhoades either. He has a new hands on Attorney General from the heart of Texas who does not like the types of cases the New York office is picking. Oh yeah, and he still needs to make sure his involvement in the Bobby Axelrod case which included screwing over his father and best friend and draining his trust. All the while making sure Axe does not wiggle out of the charges.

I originally thought I knew how the first season ended. Of course I was wrong. But after watching two plus season, I am even more certain that there is only way the series can end: Bobby enters a new prison cell to find his new cellmate: Chuck Rhodes. As much as they hate each other, they both deserve each other more than anyone else on the planet.

Billions airs Sundays at 10:00 on Showtime.

Around the Tubes: 3/23/2018

I have gotten a plethora of cool press releases have been flooding my inbox recently that you may find interesting. This post will include blurbs on The Last O.G., National Treasure: Kira, Shaquille O'Neal Presents: All Star Comedy Jam: I'm Still Laughing, Poetry in America, Idols, Icons + Influencers, Waco: The Longest Siege, and John Prine,

- Tracy Morgan and Tiffany Haddish star in TBS’ The Last O.G., a new comedy series that Morgan executive produces alongside creator and executive producer Jordan Peele. Beginning April 3, episodes will air Tuesdays at 10:30.


- National Treasure: Kira featurette featuring interviews with writer Jack Thorne, executive producer George Ormond, director Euros Lyn, and cast members Sarah Lancashire, Lucian Msamati, and Paapa Essiedu. National Treasure: Kiri will premiere Wednesday, April 4 only on Hulu.


- Comedian and actor Bill Bellamy (Any Given Sunday, How to Be A Player) takes center stage to host the eighth and final installment of Shaquille O'Neal's comedy franchise, Shaquille O'Neal Presents: All Star Comedy Jam: I'm Still Laughing, premiering on SHOWTIME on Friday, March 23 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on-air, on demand and over the internet. Filmed at The Rio Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, the new special features comedy veteran and fan-favorite Bruce Bruce (Think Like A Man, The Wash, Idlewild) teaming up with Huggy Lowdown (Tom Joyner Morning Show), Aida Rodriguez (Last Comic Standing, The Comedian) and Brian "Da Wildcat" Smith (2015 Winner of The Nationwide Shaq All Star Comedy Competition) for a hilarious line-up in a high-energy night of comedy.


- New episodes of Poetry in America will be on public television stations nationwide starting Wednesday, March 28 through Wednesday, May 2. (Check local listings as some stations will debut the series at other times during the spring.) Poetry in America features Shaquille O’Neal, Cynthia Nixon, Frank Gehry, Bono, Herbie Hancock, Yo-Yo Ma, and more exploring poems on subjects close to their heart in twelve visually stunning episodes. The new series aims to inspire Americans of all ages and bring communities together through poetry.

- Aspire (@tvASPiRE), the network that reflects, shares and celebrates the experiences of black culture and urban lifestyle, announced today that its second episode of Idols, Icons + Influencers will premiere Sunday, March 25 at 8:00. Done in partnership with ABFF Studios, the television and production arm of the American Black Film Festival (ABFF), this dynamic new interview series brings viewers inside the lives of leading Black figures in film, television, sports, arts, music and social action, through one-on-one intimate and candid conversations. In this episode, host Chris Spencer (executive producer of Grown-ish, Real Husbands of Hollywood) sits down with actress Regina Hall (Girls Trip, Think Like a Man, The Best Man) in front of a live audience for an honest, and often hilarious conversation, filled with personal stories about the successes and setbacks in her life and career and some surprising lessons she’s learned along the way. Each taping is followed by a meet and greet hospitality event where the audience can engage with the featured guest. The first interview in the series was with acclaimed director, writer and producer Malcolm D. Lee (Girls Trip, Best Man Holiday, and Barbershop: The Next Cut). The third installment will premiere this August.

- Twenty-five years after federal agents raided an armed religious compound outside of Waco, Texas that was led by self-proclaimed messiah David Koresh, a new documentary tells the inside story of the sect and the bloody battle that resulted in one of the longest standoffs in American history. Featuring previously unseen archival footage and using only firsthand accounts by survivors and those directly involved in the tragedy, Waco: The Longest Siege looks at unexplored facets of the Waco story, the Branch Davidians and their charismatic leader, and the uneasy relationship between the media and national law enforcement agencies, which further complicated the deadly series of events that claimed 75 lives, including 25 children. Waco: The Longest Siege premieres Monday, April 9 at 8:00 on Smithsonian Channel.

- Legendary singer-songwriter John Prine has joined forces with PledgeMusic in support of his forthcoming album, The Tree Of Forgiveness, his first record of original material in 13 years. With all funds raised benefiting the Stoneman Douglas High School Victims' Fund, Prine will offer signed material exclusively through his PledgeMusic campaign. The album is set for release on April 13, 2018.

Previewing March of the Penguins 2: The Next Step

Penguin mania swept the world a decade ago with the documentary March of the Penguins. Director Luc Jacquet took home Best Documentary that year for following a group of Emperor Penguins as they left their land locked home to head to the sea to get food for themselves and their family. It was funny and heartbreaking and sure to touch the heart of every child and those young at heart.

Not much has changed in the past decade, the penguins still have their regular march to the sea, sure climate change starting to have some effect but that is barely mentioned in the sequel March of the Penguin 2: The Next Step. Though warming, it still gets to -50 degrees below. What has changed is technology. High definition televisions were still new in 2006 when the original came out, I did not get one until 2010 so I probably saw the first film in standard definition on a DVD player.

The Next Step utilizes new technologies and techniques to give a fresh new look at these majestic creature. Jacquet spent two months shooting in the Antarctic winter using the new technology of 4K cameras, airborne drones, and under-ice diving cameras. And though some things change, Morgan Freeman is back to narrate the new documentary just like the first.

Where the first film spend most of the time following the marchers, the sequel tells the story of two penguins, a father and son, out of 60,000 in Antarctica as they face and overcome the almost unimaginable challenges of life in this hostile land. We follow the son from the time as an egg up until the point he is ready to head to the sea himself. Keep in mind only one in ten penguins make it to adulthood.

Still the film hits many of the same beats as the original, it is tense when there are lives at stake, heartbreaking at time, but a lot more slipping than I remember. Still, March of the Penguin 2: The Next Step is worth checking out just to see the breathtaking advances in picture quality. Although I guess it may be time for me to upgrade to a 4K TV.

March of the Penguins 2: The Next Step premieres Friday, on Hulu. The original March of the Penguins is on Hulu now.

The Five Most Anticipated Albums of Spring 2018

Someone pointed out to me that my list of the 100 Best Songs of 2017 was very chick heavy. Looking back at previous year end lists, it looked like a bit of an anomaly with the fairer sex lucky to make up a quter of previous list. But looking at my most anticipated music of this spring, maybe it was not an anomaly but a trend because most albums I am looking forward to are by female singer. Here are five albums I am really looking forward to over the next couple months

1. Love Is Dead - Chvrches (May 25) - There used to be a sophomore slump, but I wonder if maybe the third album is the hardest. If you have a great sound, you can just duplicate that on your second album and still have it sound good. But it is hard to stretch it into three albums without sounding tired. Chvrches released two very good album based around melodic electronic sounds. From the first single they did not sound like they were switching things up but things got a little more interesting with the second single where they brought into the singer from The National whos voice is a start difference to that of the Chvrches singer. Hopefully the album takes more chances.

2. No Shame - Lily Allen (June 8) - Speaking of third albums, Sheesuz was a turning point for Lily Allen. It seemed like half of the songs were he same snotty songs that she sculpted to perfection of her first two albums, but the other showed huge growth with a more mature Lily. I am actually hoping for more maturity from her fourth outing.

3. Dirty Computer - Janelle Monáe (April 28) - Janelle Monoe started out as this weird alt-RnB songstress but her latest Prince inspired song, Make Me Feel, may be the catchiest pop song you hear this year but still does not lose that coolness from her early work.

4. Golden Hour - Kacey Musgraves (March 30) - Musgraves is also on that tricky third album. Except her second album was a bit rougher. But both singles released from the new album definitely do not sound anything like the down home songs from the first two albums.

5. When My Heart Felt Volcanic - The Aces (April 6) - Rock's demised has been discussed for a while now, but one causality that does not really get talked about is that pop rock or power pop is pretty dead. Whether you consider it pop with a little edge or rock with a heavy dose of sugar, you just do not hear that anymore. Here are four friends from Utah, just a guitar, bass, and drums, and no weird computer sounds to be heard. Very familiar but very refreshing since no one does it anymore.

Here are a bunch of album that will at the very least be worth a spin on Spotify including the first album from a nineties one hit wonder, their first since that decades, and a bizarre collaboration from an eighties New Wave singer and nineties reggae artist.


March 23
Boarding House Reach - Jack White
Staying at Tamara's - George Ezra
The Two of Us - Chloe x Halle
Paradox (Original Music from the Film) - Neil Young & Promise of the Real
Castles - Lissie
Sex and Cigarettes - Toni Braxton

March 30
Yesterday Was Forever - Kate Nash
Liberty - Lindi Ortega
Electric Café - En Vogue
No Mercy in This Land - Ben Harper & Charlie Musselwhite

April 6
The Louder I Call, The Faster It Runs - Wye Oak
Revamp: The Songs of Elton John and Bernie Taupin

April 20
44/876 - Sting & Shaggy
Vide Noir - Lord Huron
Primal Heart - Kimbra
Sparrow - Ashley Monroe
Volunteer - Old Crow Medicine Show

April 27
Last Man Standing - Willie Nelson

May 4
Good Thing - Leon Bridges
Free Yourself Up - Lake Street Dive
Lost Friends - Middle Kids
Dove - Belly

May 18
Electric Light - James Bay
Wide Awake! - Parquet Courts
Tell Me How You Really Feel - Courtney Barnett

May 25
Wildness - Snow Patrol

June 1
The Future And The Past - Natalie Prass
Hell-On - Neko Case

TBA
Ariana Grande
Black Star
Busta Rhymes
Chic
Christina Aguilera
Grimes
Herbie Hancock
Kanye West
Robyn
Smashing Pumpkins

And of course this could be the quarter that Dr. Dre releases Detox.

The Voice Season Fourteen Blind Audition Power Rankings

As an avid watcher of Survivor, Mark Burnett’s other competition show juggernaut which seems to have one new stupid twist per year; I am a bit surprised that The Voice has pretty much been the same since season three. Sure the Knockout Steal was later introduced that was just copycatting the Battle Round Steal. The other changes since were pretty innocuous, they tried two Battle Round once which was stupid, same with twice not allowing voting during the Playoffs. The biggest twist was the Comeback Artist but really that is just the Knockout Steal for your own team. The Twitter Save was just a shameless brand integration.

We finally got our first real big twist in a while this season with the Block. Much like every Survivor twist, the Block was mostly lame and poorly executed. And really kind of cruel because if a singer really wants to be mentored by a coach that turned around, forcing them to pick a coach which may not a good fit kind of hampering their chance of making a run (unless they just happen to get Stolen later). I also find it conspicuous that each coach just happened to be Blocked once. Why wouldn’t everyone Block Blake from getting a country artist? Seriously, Adam always complains about everyone with twang going with Blake yet he ends up Blocking some Spanish singer from picking Kelly?

But I guess they really did need something to spice things up (though half the Blocks were burned in the first episode) because this may have been one of the bottom five talent pools in the show’s history. Maybe The Voice should copy another Survivor tradition and bring back former contestants. Until then, here is how I rank those who made this season:


1. Terrence Cunningham (Team Alicia) – I cannot confirm nor deny he is number one on my list solely because of his hair.

2. Hannah Goebel (Team Kelly) – What a smooth performance. Complete and utter shame she could not pick Alicia.

3. Spensha Baker (Team Blake) – People like to go gaga of belters, but this was just simple and beautiful.

4. Dallas Caroline (Team Blake) – Is this the first time someone has done Willie Nelson on this show? I believe Amber Carrington did Crazy which he wrote but mostly is considered a Patsy Cline song. Such a sweet song you would think someone would have done it before.

5. Wilkes (Team Blake) – Finally someone cool enough to sing The Wallflowers. But it is weird that this is the second country singer recently Lauren Duski being the other) who auditioned with a nineties pop-rock song.

6. Amber Sauer (Team Kelly) – A piano version of Shape of You was really interesting.

7. Kyla Jade (Team Blake) – I was surprised it took so long for anyone to turn. After three underwhelming performances to start the season, I thought the first compitant singer of the season was not going to turn any chairs.

8. Davison (Team Adam) – Decent voice but I was still kind of bored.

9. Johnny Bliss (Team Alicia) – There was a stretch of three seasons coinciding with Shakira being a coach where they had a bunch of Latin artists (this was in the early days when they had a bunch of shocking auditions instead of today’s where everyone fits into four different categories). So it was nice to get some diversity, even if was just shamelessly because there was a huge Latin hit last year.

10. Jackie Verna (Team Adam) – Overdid it in a few places but I mostly enjoyed the performance.

11. Molly Stevens (Team Kelly) – Another decent but utterly boring performance.

12. Jackie Foster (Team Kelly) – Another alright but kind of boring performance.

13. D.R. King (Team Kelly) – Going outside your genre is usually interesting, but RnB doing alt rock rarely works (except Maxwell doing Nine Inch Nails, look it up kids) he was fine, but never really came completely together.

14. Dylan Hartigan (Team Kelly) – Again, mostly boring but I guess that was slightly better than bad.

15. Livia Faith (Team Alicia) – One of my biggest pet peeves of this show is when singers try to do a song that someone already did a definitive version of. Amy Vachal’s version was one of the five best Blind Auditions of all time and Livia is no Amy Vachal.

16. Mia Boostrom (Team Adam) – has an interesting voice, but that was not a very inspiring song selection. I would be interested in hearing her try a better song.

17. Jaclyn Lovey (Team Alicia) – If she is going to be this season’s token indie young girl, I hope she has something a lot more interesting than what she did in the Blinds.

18. Genesis Diaz (Team Adam) – She needs better taste in music.

19. Sharane Calister (Team Alicia) – I was kind bored for this.

20. Pryor Baird (Team Blake) - There has been a rash of guitar playing blues men who are probably better guitarist then singers, and he may be the weakest singer of them.

21. Shana Halligan (Team Alicia) – I usually like singers like this on the show but but she was a little too weird for me. Maybe it was the weird song.

22. Alexa Cappelli (Team Kelly) – Well that was mostly boring.

23. Rayshun LaMarr (Team Adam) – A little too over the top for me. And by a little I mean way too much. Very show choir.

24. Jamai (Team Alicia) – He seems much more interesting than his song selection.

25. Kaleb Lee (Team Blake) – Interesting gravelly voice, boring song seletion. Unfortualy since I is Team Blake, he will probably do more boring country songs all the way to the final.

26. Brynn Cartelli (Team Kelly) – She was fine, probably mostly because the song selection, but fourteen is way too young. I would say fodder, hopefully Kelly does not have the creepy obsession with teenagers that Gwen Stefani does.

27. Brett Hunter (Team Blake) – Novelty acts have a very short shelf life on this show(I bealieve Cole Vosbury is the only one who did a novelty song and made it out of the Battle Round) so this was fun, but dude is clearly fodder.

28. Tish Haynes Keys (Team Adam) – So many good RnB singers, Tish performind so late n the Blinds was just too hard for her to stand out. Doing an overused Areatha Franklin song did not help

29. Reid Umstattd (Team Adam) – I have spent a lot of time this season blasting song selection by people with interesting voices. This was the exception where an mostly annoying voice sang an inspiring song.

30. Christiana Danielle (Team Alicia) - Meh, she is no Amy Vachal. I am actually a little offended Adam turned around.

31. Gary Edwards (Team Adam) – I really did not like what he did with that song.

32. Megan Lee (Team Alicia) – The Voice has a weird bad track record with Asians in that they get montaged at a very high percentage. I also find it weird that they finally put no chair turns on YouTube but not the montage singers.

33. Bransen Ireland (Team Blake) – Tulsa Time was a song on an Eric Clapton so I got excited when I saw that was the song he was singing. Unfortunately I did realize it was also a country song. Yawn. Seriously people, more Clapton on this show.

34. Teana Boston (Team Kelly) – Her voice just sounded off, like too nasally.

35. Drew Cole (Team Adam) – Though the bluesy twist was somewhat interesting, Sex and Candy is maybe the second worst one hit wonder of the nineties after What’s Up.

36. Jorge Eduardo (Team Kelly) – Obvious fodder.

37. Kelsea Johnson (Team Alicia) – Horrible song selection, and she was oversinging too.

38. Stephanie Skipper (Team Adam) – I have to wonder if anyone would have turned around had she not been singing a Kelly Clarkson song.

39. Austin Giorgio (Team Blake): It has been a while since we had a crooner on the showprobably because they rarely made the Live Shows. A good reason for that.

40. Justin Kilgore (Team Kelly) -Boring country dude alert!

41. Britton Buchanan (Team Alicia) – Tony Lucca was one of the best Blind Audition ever and this performance was not even half that. But it was wise for Blake to Block because sadly this is the same type of boring white dude that goes far.

42. Jordan Kirkdorffer (Team Blake) – Ugg, this seems to happen once a season, Adam turns for a horrible country singer that did not deserve a chair turn, then Blake turns just out of spite upping the number of crappy country singers.

43. Miya Bass (Team Adam) – It is hard to find a song we need less than a shouty version of that horrible song. I guess Adam needs fodder.

44. Jamilla (Team Kelly) – Montage, yawn.

45. Jordyn Simone (Team Alicia) – Montage, Yawn.

46. JessLee (Team Blake) – Montage, yawn.

47. Angel Bonilla (Team Adam) – Just how bad do you have to be to be the first every transgender dude on the show and get montaged? Listening to the studio version, it apparently is really bad.

48. Jaron Strom (Tea Blake) – Seriously Blake, what the fork?

Alright, time to see how each team stacks up in my patent pending ranking formula:

Kelly: 328
Alicia: 297
Blake: 289
Adam: 262

So much like Miley last season, the newer token pop coach seems to have the same taste in music with me. It does seem Blake and Adam pander to the bored housewife voting block and stocks their teams with boring white dudes. But who cares what I think, here is how the iTunes buyers rank the singers at the highest peak on iTunes.

1. Terrence Cunningham (49)
2. Christiana Danielle (149)
3. Molly Stevens (156)
4. Livia Faith (168)
5. Drew Cole (173)
6. Brynn Cartelli (211)
7. Jorge Eduardo (226)
8. Johnny Bliss (239)
9. Justin Kilgore (246)
10. Britton Buchanan (266)
11. Jaclyn Lovey (274)
12. Davison (347)
13. Pryor Baird (417)
14. Rayshun LaMarr (465)
15. Jordan Kirkdorffer (474)
16. Shana Halligan (508)
17. Brett Hunter (513)
18. Stephanie Skipper (530)
19. Sharane Calister (533)
20. Hannah Goebel (538)
21. Wilkes (559)
22. Dallas Caroline (561)
23. Kelsea Johnson (615)
24. Dylan Hartigan (657)
25. JessLee (671)
26. Spensha Baker (673)
27. Reid Umstattd (721)
28. Gary Edwards (739)
29. Jackie Verna (823)
30. Kaleb Lee (926)
31. Genesis Diaz (989)
32. D.R. King (1040)
33. Amber Sauer (1046)
34. Jackie Foster (1195)
35. Bransen Ireland (1245)

Now time to see who has the strongest team according to my formula:

Alicia: 230
Kelly: 140
Blake: 136
Adam: 124

Oh, wow, Alicia is dominating. The only problem is, as you will see from the Battle pairing, four of Alicia’s top five ranking singers on iTunes are in the same Battle pairing. I wonder if we will have another situation like last where three of the four finalists start out on Team Miley but Blake gets the win and Adam comes in second. Speaking of those pairing, The Voice YouTube page already announced all the pairings and also “leaked” a pretty uninspiring Battle of a lackluster Reputation track. I guess the loser will end up being Stolen and the promo for next week so allude to a Kelly Battle being the recipient of a three coach Steal. Ugg, these coaches are stupid. So here are the pairing with the singer who I think will win being listed first and ranked by how confident I am that I am right (which is not very confident because how overwhelming mediocre this year is).


Team Adam

Gary Edwards vs. Angel Bonilla
Mia Boostrom vs Genesis Diaz
Drew Cole vs Miya Bass
Reid Umstattd vs. Davison (Steal)
Jackie Verna vs. Stephanie Skipper (Steal)
Rayshun Lamarr vs Tish Hayes Keys


Team Alicia
Johnny Bliss vs Megan Lee
Kelsea Johnson vs. Jordyn Simone
Christiana Danielle vs Shana Halligan
Terrence Cunningham vs Livia Faith
Britton Buchanan vs. Jaclyn Lovey (Steal)
Jamai vs Sharane Calister (Steal)

Team Blake
Kyla Jade vs JessLee
Bransen Ireland vs. Jaron Strom
Austin Giorgio vs. Brett Hunter
Pryor Baird vs Kaleb Lee (Steal)
Jordan Kirkdorffer vs. Wilkes
Dallas Caroline vs. Spensha Baker (Steal)

Team Kelly
Hannah Goebel vs. Alexa Cappelli
Brynn Cartelli vs. Dylan Hartigan (Steal)
Molly Stevens vs. Justin Kilgore
D.R. King vs. Jackie Foster
Teana Boston vs Jamella (Steal)

Jorge Eduardo vs. Amber Sauer