eMpTy V get off the air...

I prefer to use this blog to promote, in my small way, the pop culture I'd like to comprise the culture. I'm not by nature a negative person. Angry? possibly. Outraged? at times. Cynical? Of a lot of things, but not everything. I've managed to make it into my forties, still a socialist, so I can't be really all that negative, can I? A socialist has to believe that there is a wisdom and a strength in people.
So I watched the MTV Movie awards, and this one good thing in the whole she-bang, consistently, was Russell Brand. He took the piss on the whole thing repeatedly. Charlie Sheen even was uselessly  sucking up to the Viacom Teat. References to the illusion of democracy in western culture? Laying bare the oppression inherent in Twilight, Hunger Games, and Teen Mom, in three sentences in the opening monologue? That's not a terrible use of the broadcast medium, now is it? I'm looking forward to Brand X.
Apart from Russell,  it was lousy, beginning to end. We start with fun.  Not really, just the band. God, has there ever been such a lousy excuse for Indie rock? Of course there has- the world is suffused with them, but since when has that been an excuse? " Oh, we're only as terrible as the rest of the worst"
We also had Wiz Khalifa- a copy of a bad xeroxed copy of a mimeograph of a discarded version of Outkast and Kanye. Lyrics cribbed from a workplace motivational poster, and vocoder melodies do nothing for me. I liked his T shirt, at least, so, that would be the one thing that put him above fun.
The Dimmer Twins out to bury Johnny Depp? I suppose that like the rest of their Career, Keef can't be everywhere, can he?
Ok, I can't rip on Johnny Depp and the Black Keys.  It was a superior version of Gold on the Ceiling. Some decent Rocknroll in a sea of crap,  but then Johnny had to speak, and kissed every arse he could find, I would've preferred to just really hear the version of Lonely Boy that they talked all over. Way to ruin an oasis of decency in a sea of opiated zombie hell.
As for the Movie stars, most don't deserve a mention, at all. I'll just mention that Josh Hutcherson has the same hat as me, Kristen Stewart IS Avril Lavigne, I don't have high hopes for Andy Sanburg without SNL, Fasbender's Beard is Wierd, as is his facial hair, Posh Spice, in her guise as Kate Beckinsale was a prejudice given human form, McConnaughey still thinks he's in Dazed and Confused, and as for Gary Oldman, Christian Bale and Jason Gordon Levitt- I have a question: if talent is amassed just to sell  Crap to the most lumpen of proles, do you still call it talent, or is propaganda a better word? ( Also, Nolan inadvertently gave me a great joke in his swallowing of the words "Dark knight"- The Doughnut rises. It needs to happen, now.)
I could give less than a deuce about the awards. Seriously, I don't care, and don't think anyone with even Arctic room temperature IQ cares, either. Least of all the audience.
It was just insulting, but I know why it existed in the first place. So, really- how long must we tolerate mass culture?

Dick Clark

Rest in peace old man. For the man, himself, I hope he had a good life, and that his passing was easy for him and his family.

As a cultural force, however, he wasn't much to me. I got into radio more for Shadoe Stevens, Casey Kasem, and Rodney Bingenheimer. I think Don Cornelius, Dick Cavett, Steve Allen and Johnny Carson were better television hosts.

Dick Clark's persona, as the World's Oldest Teenager, diminished rock and roll, and our culture, as a result. I think he served as the face of the homogenization of American culture. So, no, I don't mourn Dick Clark. Again, I hope that life was good for the man, himself. I don't hate him. But I hope that something better replaces him in our culture.

She got a TV Eye on Me!

Yes, I'm watching a few things- the continually ongoing brilliance that is Portlandia. (Seriously, if you're not even going and watching clips from Youtube, or something, do I know you? Who are you? Why are you reading this? You clearly must be making fun of me. Is there a drinking game involved? Can I play? Because I can pickle that.)

And, now, the return of The Walking Dead, or, as the last episode showed- The walking Dad.

Seriously, one of the things that moves this show forward is the subtext of an exploration of masculinity. If you watch the show, you're probably starting to nod your head. This is a show about what it means to be human, first, Zombie panic armageddon second, but then, in a very strong third- what it means to be a man. Not just because there are so many Male characters, but because so much of the plot revolves around questions like how to be brave, how to be a father, how to balance courage with caution, how to accept both the comfort and the carelessness of women, and mostly, how to make the hard decisions. I know that I come from a pretty backwards place, sexism-wise. I was raised in a super-traditional family for gender roles. I gravitated towards hyper-masculine things by nature, as well- Boxing, motorcycles, fixing things, physics, misunderstanding girls, yup, I'm pretty much a guy. Many of my friends are guys, too-Mechanics, Engineers, Firemen and so on. I was raised in an enlightened age, though, so, I am aware that there are other ways of being, and I can even see the short-comings in my own way. But, my default position is pretty caveman. So, a show like this really does speak to me. Sure, there are no zombies, but there is crime, and piss-poor choices, and environmental woes, and a lot of jerk offs out there totally lacking in character. So, I can relate to the struggle of how do you raise your son so that he can protect himself, but also have hope and joy. I can understand how you have to have the courage of your convictions, but be prepared to have those convictions challenged, and then, sometimes collapsed. So, you tell me, what kind of a zombie show has a guy like me considering stuff like this? Yes, that's right, a damn good one.

On the other hand, I don't always watch the good stuff. I was excited for HBO's Luck, and the people involved ( Hoffman, Nolte, Farina, Michael Mann, Jill Hennesy, etc) really are great, but it just fails to move me. I know it's good stuff, but I'm just not that into it.

So, with my taste fully in question, of course, you shouldn't just take my word for it, but decide for yourself- Is The Walking Dead a feast, while Luck is a salad wrap? I don't know, but I can tell you what I like...

DVD TV

So, I was talking about stuff bought from Borders going under. I don't buy a whole lot of movies because I've got 20 movie channels, on demand movies and 5 theaters within 30 miles. So, I just buy classic movies that I can watch multiple times, and TV shows that I enjoy. So, I got two movies- Rocknroll High School- because who doesn't love it? and Brick because I love film Noir and hardboiled detective fiction.
So much for that. I got the following TV shows: Burn Notice, Lost, NewsRadio and Rescue Me.
Burn Notice I've talked about enough. You get it, I like the pretty photography.
Lost, everyone has talked about that show more than enough. I got Season three, which I consider to be the end of the show. The last three seasons were sporadically interesting, but it was a different show from Lost. I'm not interested in anything after Season 4, but the first three seasons were essential.
NewsRadio, was amazing until Phil Hartman got murdered. Think about the talent on the show- Dave Foley (Kids in the Hall) Andy Dick (Ben Stiller show, Mr Show) Phil Hartman (SNL) Stephen Root ( From Office Space to True Blood, he's everywhere, and never bad) Joe Rogan (Fear Factor,UFC,manliness) Maura Tierney (ER, Rescue Me) Khandi Alexander ( CSI:Miami, CB4, ER) and Vicki Lewis (Tons of Voice work on everything from Finding Nemo to Justice League ). The writing was Paul Simms ( David Letterman, Larry Sanders, Flight of the Conchords, The Simpsons) and the guest stars are a who's who of American comedy. It was like SNL, shoved into a sit-com.
Finally, what do I need to say about Rescue me to get you to watch the second best TV show around (Best is Boardwalk Empire)? You've got an amazingly talented cast, scripts that sound like real life, incredible stories filled with drama and comedy, and some of the best-looking shots I've seen on TV. Seriously, I've worked as a cameraman, and Rescue Me is better filmed than most movies. The only reason why Boardwalk Empire is better is that the writing is better- not by a ton, but enough that I'd say it's a better show.
So, yeah, I'd say I scored on the DVD's...

TV Eye

So, finally, my Television season is starting. Yes, I actually prefer mostly "summer shows". Now, for those unaware of the evolution, it goes something like this: all TV revolves around the school year working week. So, in other words, if you're a Network TV programmer, traditionally, you'd put your strongest shows mid week (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday) and coinciding with the start of the American school year ( September). You'd shoot 22-25 episodes of your strongest stuff (Read= Stuff that moves units in advertising) and 10-15 episodes of stuff you're taking a small chance on, with only a pilot of stuff you're shotgunning ( that is, TV concepts you're entirely unsure will sell anything, but you're willing to throw out there to try for as broad a range of consumers as possible). That formula worked for many years- y'see, kids do their homework on Mondays, and are out on Friday nights. People are not watching as much TV on weekends and summers because that's when they're on holiday. However, technology, as always, wouldn't let that sit. With VCRS and TiVO and DVR's, and DVD boxed sets of TV Shows, and changes in the American work week (the traditional 9-5, Monday through Friday is all but a myth, at this point) alongside the creation of massive amounts of broadcast space ( I've got 400 channels, how about you?) really made programmers' lives much more difficult. In the new Millenium, premium channels ( that is, pay TV networks, that aren't included in a flat cable TV rate) getting into producing TV shows really has changed the game. In particular, HBO's The Sopranos completely changed the programming rules. So, now, TV seasons are stretched out, and episodes get divided, and so on and so forth. Basically, TV programming is almost "asynchronous" with Programmers filling in 52 week slots with two seasons of Reality TV shows, and shorter seasons of scripted dramas (17-22 episodes, often with a break- the break being an "innovation" brought about by the massive writer's strike of the mid decade). The only TV still clinging to the old schedules would be Half Hour Sit Coms on Network (regular broadcast) TV.
So, my individual season, since we can have those now, would start this year near the end of June, with Burn Notice coming back on the USA network, True Blood coming back on HBO, Rescue Me coming back on FX in the beginning of July, the re-broadcast of Boardwalk Empire on HBO in July, followed up by the second season in september. Add that to my regular watching of sports (both Fake- wrestling- and real- racing, boxing, and some Football) and movies, and News, and I've got a pretty complete schedule of TV coming up for me. Mathwise, this comes out to about 12-14 hours a week, which makes for about 1.5 to 2 hours a night, which is about how much TV I watched in the fall as a kid.
The only one I've seen so far has been the season opener of Burn Notice. Now, I'm not here to say that Burn Notice is particularly deep TV. I watch it for the pretty colors and witty one liners. However, I do like that they're trying to add a little depth to the characters. Michael, it seems, is not so much motivated by a desire to serve his country, as he is by petty revenge, and preening vanity. That's interesting. Likewise, Fiona isn't so blindly attached to Michael, as she is addicted to the action he can provide. Again, interesting. They even managed to tie Michael's personality to his Mother; a nice little twist near the end. I don't know that I'd want that every week, but it's nice to add just a little depth to our cartoon spies.
True Blood, which is on tonight is more my wife's thing than mine, but I am looking forward to seeing Sam go real dark. He's one of my favorite characters on the show, and I hope they let him be a real bad guy for awhile. He's got every reason to be bad, and no real reason to be good. I'm also looking forward to seeing more Eric Northman, and less Bill, err Lux Interior (What? I can't be the only one to notice the similarity?) . So, yes, my TV season has started....

oh, as long as I'm talking about TV

TNA wrestling is still the best of the major TV-deal wrestling. I think a firm argument can be made for Ring of Honor, and other Indy federations being better, but, between The McMahon's horrific WWE, and the merely cringe-worthy TNA, TNA wins.
I still watch TNA every once in awhile, and I even see a decent match or two. My belief in TNA pretty much evaporated when the Hogan/Bischoff thing occured, but they still deserve some respect for a few things:
1. They're doing an Anti-bullying campaign. Granted, I think bullying is an over-hyped distraction from real issues, but still far more enlightened than Wrestling ever needs to be.
2. They're doing a storyline about the very real dangers of concussions in contact sports. That's pretty brave, considering their past treatment of workers- they're actually making themselves the "bad guys", here. In the storyline, evil management (TNA) doesn't care about the health of the wrestlers, while one brave wrestler stands up for another wrestler who's injured. It's classic wrestling storytelling, but done very edgy, because the health of the workers has been a thorny issue for pro wrestling for a very long time.
3. Some of the on-air talent are the best in the business. My favorites are Alex Shelley, Chris Sabin, Daffney, Eric Young, Hamada, Kurt Angle, Mick Foley, Ken Anderson, Raven, Samoa Joe,Sarita, Tara, and team 3-D.
4. It's the last taste of real pro-wrestling we're likely to ever see. The WWE has decided (probably more profitably so) to go for more of a Saturday-morning live action cartoon for kids, and the rest of the world is opting for more realism, via mixed martial arts. The whole world of quasi-athletics from America's Vaudvillian sideshow past is going away, and TNA is showing the last vestiges. That's worth something to me.
5. They're really trying to keep the product priced income-appropriate. I appreciate that, and so should you!

TV Night!

I write about a lot of music, here, and neglect other stuff. I think that might be because I listen to at least 2 CD's per day, and read about a chapter of a book per day, and play an hour on a video game a day. I might watch an hour of TV, I might not. So, that means, in a given week, as far as pop culture goes, I'll have maybe 1 book, maybe 1 video game, maybe 3-4 TV shows, and 7-14 Cds to talk about. It's just the way I am. On top of that, not everything is worth talking about. However, Sunday night TV is worth talking about, now.
I might have mentioned before that I love Boardwalk Empire. If not, I'll just say it's by far the best TV show on, right now, and it's a better TV show than anything since first season Lost, and 2nd Season Rescue Me. That makes it the best thing on TV in the past 5 years. Some episodes are as good as any movie I've ever seen, so if things keep up, it might end up as the best TV show, ever (Currently, I think Patrick McGoohan's The Prisoner takes that honor). However, since last week, I'm a fan of the Walking Dead. The comic books were good, the first episode of the TV show was better. Yes, crucify me, now, geeks! I'm going to spell it out for you- watching real people act out imaginary scenes of people trying to retain their humanity in inhuman extraordinary situations trumps ink depictions of the same, any day of the week, and twice, this sunday. Make no mistake, that's what the show is about- how to hang on to things that make you a human being, no matter what. In these times, that's far, far more important than cool points, no matter who you are. So, yes, sundays are now TV night for me!

TV stuff

There aren't many TV shows I like, and most of what I do like is pretty much winding down. As an example- the last sit com I liked is How I Met Your Mother, and it's suffering from the same thing as what killed both The Simpsons and Married...with Children: part of the appeal of some of the characters was that they were mildly outlandish, but, in order to exploit that outlandishness, as time goes by, they get painted into a corner. Homer can only be so stupid until he's not relatable, Bart can only be so much of a juvenile Deliquent until he's not lovable, Al Bundy can only be so miserable, Kelly Bundy can only be so much of a bimbo, and so on. Well, Ted can only be so much of a hopeless romantic, Barney can only be so glib, and so on. In the latest season, Ted was only relatable at times, Barney was just a cipher for punchlines, Marshall existed to be a punchline, and I cannot care about them, anymore.
Other shows, like Rescue Me or Lost either have finished, or have announced their end. Likewise, most of my favorite shows are so far in the past that I've seen them allthe way through more than once.
That leaves really light fare- like Burn Notice or True Blood. Shows that I enjoy but only for superficial reasons.
So, I'm left enjoying only singular episodes of shows I'm otherwise uninterested in. One really good example was Anthony Bourdain's "Beirut" episode of No Reservations. Truly it was riviting watching a country fall apart as self-absorbed media types- the people doing the show- have to come to terms with the fact that their show means nothing when faced with real life. You've got them hanging around, bored in a posh hotel while bombs are dropping, and you can see them almost make the connection that what they usually do- going to the third world and copping a meal- is actually the same kind of colonial exploitation that Victorians engaged in. A kind of "aren't these savages romantic as they show the proper fealty to us, their superiors" exoticism. But, in this episode they have to confront that the "savages" have agendas that leave the show entirely aside. It's not even an afterthought. That was decent TV. (I was also fascinated due to my time in the Middle East- but let's leave this at Pop Culture)
I think I'll be OK when TV finally snuffs it for good, because other avenues are much better anyway....

World Cup

In honor of the World Cup, here are some good Dutch and Spanish bands:

Netherlands:

Silence is Sexy (my favorites)

The Very Sexuals (indie pop)

Little things that Kill (Christian indie pop)

Polydrone (Math-y Metal)

Obsidian (METAL)

Beans (Ska-Punk)

The Gasoline Brothers (Americana)



Spain:

The Capaces ( and again. My favorite thrash as of late)

After Many Days (Multiculti Hip Hop Jazz Metal)

Icarus Crash (Alt-Rock)

Los Cuatrocientos Golpes (strange pop metal)

EchoVolt (Industrial pop)

Los Tiki Phantoms (Surf Rock)

Wormparade (Glammy electro pop)

As for the match- I couldn't be happier with the finalists....

As Lost Turns

So, they're hyping the heck out of the Lost Finale. I'm interested, but I think it went from being a really good TV show, to a mildly entertaining show, to a chore in relatively short order. I think a three season show minus a whole bunch of the claptrap would've been better, but hey, they're rich, so they must be right- right?
I bring it up because of this interview . Specifically, there's bit where Carlton Cuse says
We want people to have a chance to digest, discuss, debate and interpret the events of the finale. And we think there’s going to be plenty of things for people to discuss and debate, just like every year. We don’t want to be out there saying, no no no, you must think this or you must think that. We don’t want to sort of spoil the process, which is to let people process the finale and arrive at their own conclusions about it.
Then, Damon Lindelof says
The interpretive element of "Lost," the fact that you immediately need as soon as the episode is over to seek out a community of people to express your own thoughts about it, understand what they thought about it and form an opinion, that’s the bread and butter of the show. The more we talk about what our intention was, the more we take it away from the audience. And we have no interest in doing that ever.
Now, in theory, I can get behind that- the notion of Art being a process of communication between the Artist and the audience is a dear one to me. But, it seems to me they're using a kind of misinterpretation of that process of communication to justify and rationalize their artlessness. The interpretive element works if you're talking about non-narrative art. If it was some kind of visual tone poem, they might have something there. But, they're engaged in a pulpy form of genre-writing that's dependant upon narrative form. They're combining Science Fiction and mystery writing. That's it. It's the same combination that both "Twin Peaks" and "The X Files" employed. So, what kind of postmodern nonsense is it to say "Oh, we're leaving interpretation up to the audience"? Quite frankly, that's simply not so- they're just lacking the courage to answer the mysteries they tried to invoke, and now, they're dodging continuity and logic, and structural bullets by caveat, hoping that the audience will rationalize it for them. They didn't write Haiku's, here- they produced a genre show! Narrative Art depends upon the narrative-which is to say, upon the Artist knowing (Gno- look it up) what they're saying. In other words, they can say "oh, we've explained the numbers" by citing a scene or two where they are discussed, but that doesn't mean they've explained the narrative function of them-and therefore by not completing the function, they're copping out. This is why the (original) Prisoner is still a work of Art, and Lost is still just a TV show. Watch any of the first 16 episodes of the Prisoner, and it both serves as a poetic metaphor for a societal force, and a fully formed narrative story. The last, 17th episode is precisely a visual Tone Poem that abandons narrative function in order to achieve a truly meta- narrative about the show itself, and the process in creating it. That's high Art, and it left no questions hanging- Number 6 was a prisoner both of himself, and of his culture. The Village was a system of control, just as all cultures are system of control. Along the way, it was determined that neither absolute control, nor absolute autonomy was truly desirable, but that a bargain must be struck between the individual and society. Yes, all of this was demonstrated clearly. Faith and Reason both played into this equation, as did love and war. Meanwhile, Lost cannot even resolve whether Faith or Reason is even valid, it cannot decide whether the individual or society is important- it cannot answer any of the narrative questions it has posed, it simply exists as commercial entity. Which means, again, it's just a genre show, like a soap opera, or a situation Comedy. That means talk of the function of Lost being some kind of facilitator of interpretive creative communication between the audience, the Art and itself is just a pretentious cop out.
Now, I've got friends and family who think that Lost is the best TV show, ever. I'm not here to say they're wrong, exactly. I'm just here to say that it's not high art, and it's pretty deeply flawed on its own terms. Now, the argument can be made that all Art is flawed, and that the distinction between high and low art is a false one, and that since all art is therefore destined for failure, it's not a question of if the show succeeds, only if it entertains- and that's a valid point of view. I just don't buy it, myself. I think that the show jumped the proverbial shark somewhere in the 4th season, and went from a good show to a poor one. By now, I think the fans really could write a better show ( which is another possible subtext of what the shows own producers are saying, and, if so, what better evidence that they have failed at the narrative imperative is there?) and I hope somebody does. By far, the best elements of the show have not been of the show in a long time- between the Blogs, the ARG's and the fan-generated speculation some truly innovative storytelling has been constructed- but doesn't that derive more from people's dissatisfaction with the paltriness of the show's construction than from its design?

Joining the Crowd on Lost

Commenting on Lost is a subgenre of blog, so don't expect a link, nor a complete and long post. I just have a few quick things to write about that show.
First, it had a great idea in limiting itself. I just think 100 episodes is closer to how long I want the story to go on. At this point, the show has "jumped the shark" and overstayed. I think 50 episodes would've made for taut, quality TV storytelling, but 100 and above? Name the show that was as compelling after the 100 mark as it was before. I prefer the model where you tell the story, and then stop.
Second, While Terry O'Quin and Michael Emerson (especially Emerson) are clearly the best actors on the show, I have a different take on "favorites" than most. I like Jack Shephard. I like Sayid Jarrah, Hugo "Hurley" Reyes and Jin-Soo Kwon. Other than them, I don't really like the characters. Why those? Ever been an older brother? Ever been a father? Ever been a Manager? There is a role men have to take- a combination of selfless gaurdian, and hate-magnet Sheriff. These characters understand that role, and abide to it. I can relate to that, and sympathize with that more than I can people living as if they are islands, themselves. People who don't make the hard choices against themselves like Ben Linus, and like John Locke are the kind of jerks I curse every day. Why would I cheer them, or even be interested in them on my TV?
Really though, if you haven't seen Lost, I wouldn't bother, at this point. The first 3 Seasons were good, and it's crawled up into itself since then. Considering we're talking a six season show, that means it's only half good.

The Boob Tube

Ye gads, but it's been bad for cult TV shows and me, this fall.
First, Joss Whedon, who was behind the greatness that was Buffy, the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and Dr. Horrible's Sing-along Blog nailed the final nail in his coffin with Dollhouse. Quite possibly one of the worst shows on TV, ever, in my estimation.
Now, they've managed to savage The Prisoner. This was, folks, the pinnacle of television, for me. If you watch all 16+ episodes of the original series, you'll end up with some of the same outlooks on life that I have. Seriously, it was more than "change your life" Art, it was foundational philosophy.
On paper, this remake had several of the trappings of a good remake- some great actors, beautiful sets, a great soundtrack. But, the writing, the directing, and yes, the acting destroyed any greatness that could have been. As it stands, this thing was unwatchable. Yes, pure drek. Avoid it, if you value your time.

It's the TV guy

I've heard that Online TV is over-taking broadcast TV. I'll admit that I'm not certain that's true, though. I'd like for Online TV to take over, because in my vision for the future, there is a TV station in every town, and a radio station on every block: I want a total glut, and then, our media can become truly localized, yet still global: a massive inter-connected network, instead of a fiefdom radiating out from the twin coasts of America. I think that if we were blessed with a widely distributed, yet fully local web of media, it would have the beneficial effect of making us feel part of the media, and part of society, again, instead of the isolated little atoms so many of us feel like, now. I think that Online is the easiest, most cost-effective way for this to happen.
But, unfortunately, it's not there yet. Half a million hits of some 5 minute clip of a kid riding home from the dentist is nowhere near competition for 20 million households tuning in to Two and a half men. Even 5 million hits on a 2 minute clip of a cat playing the piano is no real match for the media behemoths.
That's not to say that there is no online content worth your time. Of course there's Youtube. But, how about something a bit more in-depth content wise? Well, apart from VBS, which I still count as the gold standard, there's Crackle (I kinda like Woke Up Dead) and Blip but both have some serious flaws (Crackle is still heavily based on syndicated rebroadcast, has really short original content, and more commercials than broadcast TV. Blip is unwieldy and quality control is limited). Then, there are also-rans like Punkcast and Listen Up! and Democracy Now! and Deep Dish and Coffee House that are all very good, noble, "A+" efforts, but don't really satisfy. But, maybe if we started really supporting them, they would improve. I think they would if we were vocal about what we wanted. But, bear in mind, we're in the very early stages, here. Of course sites like Hulu and Youtube are dominating. Hulu is basically treating the Internet like syndication, and Youtube is treating it like a VFW hall, showing home movies of Ed and Martha's trip to Yellowstone. But, if we continue to support them, and all these other options, it's only a matter of time until the content will catch up to our desires. Heck, somebody chancing upon this little blog may be the next Uncle Miltie!