Don't worry, this isn't gonna be a big rant about injustices or idiocies scattered throughout the issue. No, I just want to point out two things that amuse me in this one (the one with Seth Rogen on the cover and a decent interview with him and a really good one with Chris Rock inside).
1) You have to love that their top two albums of the year are by U2 and Bruce Springsteen. Don't give up the dream, "Rolling Stone!" Hey, I'm serious about this. As a guy whose musical taste is based largely on what he grew up listening to, I like that 'RS" still waves the banner for classic rock.
Actually, what amuses me more is not #1 and #2, but the album slotted at 19: Jackson Browne's "Standing in the Breach." Jackson Browne? They also throw him a bone and give him #33 on the list of the year's top singles.
2) A letter from a reader, reproduced here in its entirety:
Great interview with one of my favorite people ["Checking In With Jon Stewart", RS 1222]. Stewart's tiresome Springsteen worship aside, we are truly lucky to have him holding up a mirror to ourselves--even when it looks ugly.
So someone loves Jon Stewart, loves the interview with him, yet feels the need to devote about a sixth of this letter to a slam on his "Springsteen worship."
Sunday, January 18, 2015
Wednesday, January 14, 2015
The difference between Netflix and Hulu
Well, apart from the annoying commercials that pollute Hulu programming...
Netflix added "Gilmore Girls" to its service October 1. By that I mean 7 seasons, 153 episodes of "Gilmore Girls" are available on Netflix for Instant Watching.
Hulu added "Gilmore Girls" to its service a few weeks ago. However, on Hulu, you only get 5 "Gilmore Girls."
No, I don't mean 5 seasons. I mean 5 episodes. Hulu added 5 episodes of this show. Why bother?
Netflix doesn't mess around with "Let's save some money and license the first 3 seasons," or, "Do we really need so many episodes of that show?" No, it almost always adds ALL episodes when it adds a series. In fact, the recent debut of 'The Roseanne Collection" stands out because it IS an incomplete series add, but even that is 50 or so episodes. 50 is a lot more than 5.
UPDATE: Hulu apparently removed even the 5 episodes it posted before. Maybe the show went up too early and lingered too long. Perhaps someone there realized how lame it was to have 5 scattered episodes of a program that ran 7 seasons. Now if someone can get them to work on the CBS/Paramount library shows...
Netflix added "Gilmore Girls" to its service October 1. By that I mean 7 seasons, 153 episodes of "Gilmore Girls" are available on Netflix for Instant Watching.
Hulu added "Gilmore Girls" to its service a few weeks ago. However, on Hulu, you only get 5 "Gilmore Girls."
No, I don't mean 5 seasons. I mean 5 episodes. Hulu added 5 episodes of this show. Why bother?
Netflix doesn't mess around with "Let's save some money and license the first 3 seasons," or, "Do we really need so many episodes of that show?" No, it almost always adds ALL episodes when it adds a series. In fact, the recent debut of 'The Roseanne Collection" stands out because it IS an incomplete series add, but even that is 50 or so episodes. 50 is a lot more than 5.
UPDATE: Hulu apparently removed even the 5 episodes it posted before. Maybe the show went up too early and lingered too long. Perhaps someone there realized how lame it was to have 5 scattered episodes of a program that ran 7 seasons. Now if someone can get them to work on the CBS/Paramount library shows...
Monday, January 12, 2015
More BS in the Entertainment Weekly Best and Worst 2014 issue
I can't help myself. Consider this the last post on the topic, and just indulge me while I get some of this out of my system. Here's a sampling of the BS in this issue:
*It puts "The Comeback" in its Must List at the beginning, saying, "it took us a while to get back in sync with it," which is its half-assed way of acknowledging the revival tanked critically and commercially. It's a mystery why the mag continues its fawning coverage of this "franchise."
*It mentions Willow Smith.
*It makes 3 significant references to Viola Davis removing her wig on an episode of "How to Get Away with Murder" as if it were Who Shot J.R. In fairness, Tracee Ellis Ross ("Blackish") writes an intelligent take on it that does make a good case for its impact. Yet this magazine can't leave it at that.
Someone even says "it changed the face of TV" in listing that episode as one of the best of the year, and earlier an anonymous blurb says it "shattered narrow beauty standards." I didn't see it, but I do remember outlets like "Entertainment Weekly" making a big deal out of it. Sounds like it was a meaningful scene. Fine. But what impact did it have? How the hell did it shatter narrow beauty standards? Did I miss the issue of "Vogue" that put a wigless Viola Davis on the cover? I guess you had to be there.
*It devotes nearly two pages to tweets of ordinary people.
*It runs an inane piece trying to make a "trend" out of songs about asses, as if the fact that Jennifer Lopez made a video about her butt was some kind of revelation.
*It shrinks yet again its "Critical Mass" chart of movies of the year, which used to be one of the most useful features of the year-end issue.
*It 's snappy choice for "Worst Olympic Event" (paired with Poking Fun at Bob Costas as the Best), maybe because of the formatting of the page as much as the way it's written, makes me spend 3 minutes trying to decipher it. Nothing in this magazine should require 3 minutes to decipher.
*When listing Jack Antonoff as one of music's "breakouts," it lists his accomplishments in 2014 and tacks on "and still found the time to support his Girls-friend Lena Dunham." Supporting Lena Dunham? What the what? Even if we don't see this as the Dunham-obsessed magazine's way of giving her another shout-out, it's a clumsy bit. Better just to say, "Oh, yeah, and he's Lena Dunham's boyfriend!"
*It puts "The Comeback" in its Must List at the beginning, saying, "it took us a while to get back in sync with it," which is its half-assed way of acknowledging the revival tanked critically and commercially. It's a mystery why the mag continues its fawning coverage of this "franchise."
*It mentions Willow Smith.
*It makes 3 significant references to Viola Davis removing her wig on an episode of "How to Get Away with Murder" as if it were Who Shot J.R. In fairness, Tracee Ellis Ross ("Blackish") writes an intelligent take on it that does make a good case for its impact. Yet this magazine can't leave it at that.
Someone even says "it changed the face of TV" in listing that episode as one of the best of the year, and earlier an anonymous blurb says it "shattered narrow beauty standards." I didn't see it, but I do remember outlets like "Entertainment Weekly" making a big deal out of it. Sounds like it was a meaningful scene. Fine. But what impact did it have? How the hell did it shatter narrow beauty standards? Did I miss the issue of "Vogue" that put a wigless Viola Davis on the cover? I guess you had to be there.
*It devotes nearly two pages to tweets of ordinary people.
*It runs an inane piece trying to make a "trend" out of songs about asses, as if the fact that Jennifer Lopez made a video about her butt was some kind of revelation.
*It shrinks yet again its "Critical Mass" chart of movies of the year, which used to be one of the most useful features of the year-end issue.
*It 's snappy choice for "Worst Olympic Event" (paired with Poking Fun at Bob Costas as the Best), maybe because of the formatting of the page as much as the way it's written, makes me spend 3 minutes trying to decipher it. Nothing in this magazine should require 3 minutes to decipher.
*When listing Jack Antonoff as one of music's "breakouts," it lists his accomplishments in 2014 and tacks on "and still found the time to support his Girls-friend Lena Dunham." Supporting Lena Dunham? What the what? Even if we don't see this as the Dunham-obsessed magazine's way of giving her another shout-out, it's a clumsy bit. Better just to say, "Oh, yeah, and he's Lena Dunham's boyfriend!"
Saturday, January 10, 2015
Sorting through the BS that is Entertainment Weekly's "Best and Worst 2014" issue
I know this is folly, but the whole point of this blog is to gripe about inconsequential things that bother me, and hope that maybe it makes me feel better.
Uh, and to enlighten my readers, too, of course!
As a lapsed subscriber from way back, let me tell you this magazine gets shallower every year. I have found getting it at la biblioteca is a good way to consume it. Even if I get worked up about something, it's out of my house again in a few days and out of mind.
There is an inordinate amount of BS in the December 12, edition, though, and I'm not really talking about their top 10 choices. Reasonable minds can disagree on those. It's more just scattered inanities that make their way into everything. But let's start with the cover boy Jimmy Fallon, chosen as "Entertainer of the Year."
This in itself isn't terrible. After all, Fallon has had a very successful launch to his version of the franchise. In a year with no dominant movie or TV personality, someone as inconsequential as Fallon isn't that offensive a selection for this label. Clearly they didn't want to pick, say, Taylor Swift, or she was busy, or something.
The rationale for picking Fallon is pretty funny, though. He...makes celebrities feel at ease by playing games with them! Was Jane Lynch the runner-up? He...gets good ratings relative to his competitors in late night! And best of all...he makes videos that go viral!
This "viral video" garbage is out of control. Cats and 4-year-olds, and very likely some 4-year-old cats, make viral videos. Here's the thing, though: Nobody pays for them. Someone one clicks on a Fallon bit 10 times to kill time at work, and that's a big deal?
Besides being a much bigger star by any metric, one who had a prominent year herself, Taylor Swift makes music that people actually pay money to enjoy. The magazine's own coverage of Spotify makes it clear what a big star she is. By that I mean it cares about it all. I think you could argue that Swift pulling songs from Spotify was the best thing ever in the short term for the company because millions of people suddenly learned about Spotify.
It's not that I'm passionate about Taylor Swift being Entertainer of the Year, but I just think this Fallon thing is absurd. Even worse is they don't get anything interesting out of it. They ask Fallon to give his faves of the year throughout the issue, including his pick for best movie even though he says in the profile piece he doesn't really get to go see movies anymore.
Later we see his pick for show of the year is "Knife Fight" on Esquire Network. I call BS on that. Nobody knows what's on Esquire Network. People may watch the shows, but they don't know anything about that channel. In what may or may not be relevant, Esquire Network is half owned by Fallon's employer, NBC Universal.
I'll either grow up and forget about this issue, and get back to Amazon Prime this week, or I'll keep it a few more days and complain some more about it. Stay tuned!
Uh, and to enlighten my readers, too, of course!
As a lapsed subscriber from way back, let me tell you this magazine gets shallower every year. I have found getting it at la biblioteca is a good way to consume it. Even if I get worked up about something, it's out of my house again in a few days and out of mind.
There is an inordinate amount of BS in the December 12, edition, though, and I'm not really talking about their top 10 choices. Reasonable minds can disagree on those. It's more just scattered inanities that make their way into everything. But let's start with the cover boy Jimmy Fallon, chosen as "Entertainer of the Year."
This in itself isn't terrible. After all, Fallon has had a very successful launch to his version of the franchise. In a year with no dominant movie or TV personality, someone as inconsequential as Fallon isn't that offensive a selection for this label. Clearly they didn't want to pick, say, Taylor Swift, or she was busy, or something.
The rationale for picking Fallon is pretty funny, though. He...makes celebrities feel at ease by playing games with them! Was Jane Lynch the runner-up? He...gets good ratings relative to his competitors in late night! And best of all...he makes videos that go viral!
This "viral video" garbage is out of control. Cats and 4-year-olds, and very likely some 4-year-old cats, make viral videos. Here's the thing, though: Nobody pays for them. Someone one clicks on a Fallon bit 10 times to kill time at work, and that's a big deal?
Besides being a much bigger star by any metric, one who had a prominent year herself, Taylor Swift makes music that people actually pay money to enjoy. The magazine's own coverage of Spotify makes it clear what a big star she is. By that I mean it cares about it all. I think you could argue that Swift pulling songs from Spotify was the best thing ever in the short term for the company because millions of people suddenly learned about Spotify.
It's not that I'm passionate about Taylor Swift being Entertainer of the Year, but I just think this Fallon thing is absurd. Even worse is they don't get anything interesting out of it. They ask Fallon to give his faves of the year throughout the issue, including his pick for best movie even though he says in the profile piece he doesn't really get to go see movies anymore.
Later we see his pick for show of the year is "Knife Fight" on Esquire Network. I call BS on that. Nobody knows what's on Esquire Network. People may watch the shows, but they don't know anything about that channel. In what may or may not be relevant, Esquire Network is half owned by Fallon's employer, NBC Universal.
I'll either grow up and forget about this issue, and get back to Amazon Prime this week, or I'll keep it a few more days and complain some more about it. Stay tuned!
Sunday, January 4, 2015
The 10 Biggest Stories of 2014
Let's get right into it: These are the 10 biggest pop culture events of 2014. Each one had a huge influence and impact, but they are presented in no particular order:
1) I look online and discover how much movies are in the theater these days: I had a notion to go see something, saw how much it would be, and figured, eh, I didn't want to see it that badly. It was another year confined to the Projection Room at Cultureshark Tower.
2) Netflix waits until a quarter of the way of season 2 to carry season 1 of "Agents of SHIELD": The ramifications of this were major. I didn't wind up watching "Agents of SHIELD" even though I kind of wanted to.
3) Cultureshark returns on November 22: And it's back to stay! I think.
4) Someone at the library keeps an issue of "Entertainment Weekly" for, like, 4 weeks: Waiting for that issue to show up on the shelves drove me crazy.
5) Taylor Swift releases new album, "1989": Thus dictating what my kids will make me listen to for the next 3 years or so.
6) ClassicFlix changes its mailers: I'm not just highlighting this because I write for them, either! Since they switched to a sturdy new mailer, zero damaged discs.
7) AcornTV adds the complete run of "Cold Feet": Finally someone picks up those last seasons. When BBC America just stopped the reruns years ago in the middle of a season, I kind of gave up on taking it seriously. There have been a few shows I actually checked out there, but now there aren't really BBC shows to me, but there are BBC Netflix shows,BBC Hulu shows, BBC Amazon Prime shows...
8) I fall way behind on reading my buddy's comic books: I got some catchin' up to do. This is not only a big story of 2014; it's going to have a substantial impact on my reading habits into 2015.
9) Hulu continues to not add new episodes to many of its more prominent series: If you're counting, there are still a whopping 25 episodes of "Happy Days." And I'm beginning to give up hope of anything past the third season for "The Bob Newhart Show," "Lou Grant," and "Kojak." Seriously, they should run an ad campaign with "3 Is a Magic Number" playing in the background.
10) Redbox raises its prices: Fortunately, I can still go to the local video store for a cheap rental. Oh, wait, no, there isn't one.
Wow! Now that I look back, the entire cultural landscape experienced seismic changes this year. This isn't including some of the lesser events like the Sony hack, people paying attention to the Cosby stories, Jay Leno leaving, "Guardians of the Galaxy," "Game of Thrones," Amazon's wars with Disney and with Hachette, the Winter Olympics, the death of Robin Williams, "Big Bang Theory," 'Thursday Night Football and Ray Rice...you know, stuff like that.
1) I look online and discover how much movies are in the theater these days: I had a notion to go see something, saw how much it would be, and figured, eh, I didn't want to see it that badly. It was another year confined to the Projection Room at Cultureshark Tower.
2) Netflix waits until a quarter of the way of season 2 to carry season 1 of "Agents of SHIELD": The ramifications of this were major. I didn't wind up watching "Agents of SHIELD" even though I kind of wanted to.
3) Cultureshark returns on November 22: And it's back to stay! I think.
4) Someone at the library keeps an issue of "Entertainment Weekly" for, like, 4 weeks: Waiting for that issue to show up on the shelves drove me crazy.
5) Taylor Swift releases new album, "1989": Thus dictating what my kids will make me listen to for the next 3 years or so.
6) ClassicFlix changes its mailers: I'm not just highlighting this because I write for them, either! Since they switched to a sturdy new mailer, zero damaged discs.
7) AcornTV adds the complete run of "Cold Feet": Finally someone picks up those last seasons. When BBC America just stopped the reruns years ago in the middle of a season, I kind of gave up on taking it seriously. There have been a few shows I actually checked out there, but now there aren't really BBC shows to me, but there are BBC Netflix shows,BBC Hulu shows, BBC Amazon Prime shows...
8) I fall way behind on reading my buddy's comic books: I got some catchin' up to do. This is not only a big story of 2014; it's going to have a substantial impact on my reading habits into 2015.
9) Hulu continues to not add new episodes to many of its more prominent series: If you're counting, there are still a whopping 25 episodes of "Happy Days." And I'm beginning to give up hope of anything past the third season for "The Bob Newhart Show," "Lou Grant," and "Kojak." Seriously, they should run an ad campaign with "3 Is a Magic Number" playing in the background.
10) Redbox raises its prices: Fortunately, I can still go to the local video store for a cheap rental. Oh, wait, no, there isn't one.
Wow! Now that I look back, the entire cultural landscape experienced seismic changes this year. This isn't including some of the lesser events like the Sony hack, people paying attention to the Cosby stories, Jay Leno leaving, "Guardians of the Galaxy," "Game of Thrones," Amazon's wars with Disney and with Hachette, the Winter Olympics, the death of Robin Williams, "Big Bang Theory," 'Thursday Night Football and Ray Rice...you know, stuff like that.
Sunday, December 28, 2014
Journey Into Amazon Prime: Christmas Specials
So a while back I mentioned that I signed up for a free month of Amazon Prime, which includes its Instant Video streaming service. With my trial, I am not going for the high-profile originals like "Transparent" or...or...OK, Amazon doesn't have a lot of high-profile originals yet. I haven't really been checking them out, though, nor some of the exclusive reruns like "Justified" and "Orphan Black."
I'm checking out some of the oddball stuff. Finding anything that's not 'Transparent' is a major pain, but after digging, I found some cool things that aren't on Netflix, Hulu, or your cable provider's On Demand section. They may be on YouTube, but here you get them without commercials and you can resume watching where you left off. The quality should be better, too, though that's not always the case. Some of the offerings have company watermarks indicating they're lifted straight from the DVD.
Personally I like the idea of a streaming service going through an old box of someone's VHS dubs and putting them online. Today let's look at some of the more interesting holiday-related shows on Amazon Prime Instant Video:
Christmas with the King Family: I would argue that the King Family is way off the collective radar at this point, but this wholesome bunch was all over the airwaves in the 1960s and 1970s, starring in a variety show on ABC and a slew of syndicated specials, many tied into the holidays.
This hourlong special is from 1967 and was released on DVD as an extra feature accompanying a King Family documentary. You see the Kings--and there appear to be about 50 of them, though I think many of these performers are just invited guests, but one of them is actual relative "My Three Sons" star Tina Cole--singing, doing a little dancing, doing a little (very little) comedy, and singing some more.
If you're looking for the 1967 of Vietnam, Buffalo Springfield, and social unrest, look elsewhere! This thing makes an Andy Williams special look like "Bad Santa." You will get an apparent surprise reunion involving the military, though, and if it's genuine, it's one heck of a moment. The singing is old-fashioned, and even the colors and the film look suggest looking at your parents' or grandparents' old home movies. This isn't a bad thing, though, and it's nice to see this kind of cultural artifact.
Christmas with Danny Kaye: A couple years ago, Inception Media Group released a DVD consisting of two holiday episodes of "The Danny Kaye Show," and Prime streams each one separately. The first is a black-and-white edition with Mary Tyler Moore; Peggy Lee guests in the later color episode.
The DVD is a worthwhile purchase if you're into old-time variety and/or Christmas specials, so it's really a treat to get these for "free" on Amazon. There are some entertaining comedy sketches to go with all the music, and Kaye often breaks character in amusing fashion. Harvey Korman and Jamie Farr are on hand in the color episode. Moore is charming as ever--she's maybe even more adorable than Tina Cole--and Nat King Cole, 100% class, is also in that show. One thing that amuses me: Each episode features Kaye dueting on "Jingle Bells" with the main musical guest, each time using the same "hip" arrangement with lyrics like, "in the customary one-horse open sleigh."
Also look for an impossibly young Wayne Newton on the Peggy Lee episode. I remember seeing Newton on an old Jack Benny show and being stunned. Here, he somehow looks even younger even though this is several years after that guest shot.
The All-Star Christmas Show (1958): I saw this on Hulu last year when it was labeled with a different name and different year. In short, I loved it. It's worth it if only for the bit at the beginning with all the stars introducing themselves.
The Bob Hope Chevy Show (1950): A holiday-themed installment of Hope's program includes Bob Cummings and Eleanor Roosevelt! Hope seems off, which makes his monologue even less effective than it would be 75 years later, but it's still a fun special. I have no idea why this is streaming, but I am not complaining.
I'm checking out some of the oddball stuff. Finding anything that's not 'Transparent' is a major pain, but after digging, I found some cool things that aren't on Netflix, Hulu, or your cable provider's On Demand section. They may be on YouTube, but here you get them without commercials and you can resume watching where you left off. The quality should be better, too, though that's not always the case. Some of the offerings have company watermarks indicating they're lifted straight from the DVD.
Personally I like the idea of a streaming service going through an old box of someone's VHS dubs and putting them online. Today let's look at some of the more interesting holiday-related shows on Amazon Prime Instant Video:
Christmas with the King Family: I would argue that the King Family is way off the collective radar at this point, but this wholesome bunch was all over the airwaves in the 1960s and 1970s, starring in a variety show on ABC and a slew of syndicated specials, many tied into the holidays.
This hourlong special is from 1967 and was released on DVD as an extra feature accompanying a King Family documentary. You see the Kings--and there appear to be about 50 of them, though I think many of these performers are just invited guests, but one of them is actual relative "My Three Sons" star Tina Cole--singing, doing a little dancing, doing a little (very little) comedy, and singing some more.
If you're looking for the 1967 of Vietnam, Buffalo Springfield, and social unrest, look elsewhere! This thing makes an Andy Williams special look like "Bad Santa." You will get an apparent surprise reunion involving the military, though, and if it's genuine, it's one heck of a moment. The singing is old-fashioned, and even the colors and the film look suggest looking at your parents' or grandparents' old home movies. This isn't a bad thing, though, and it's nice to see this kind of cultural artifact.
Christmas with Danny Kaye: A couple years ago, Inception Media Group released a DVD consisting of two holiday episodes of "The Danny Kaye Show," and Prime streams each one separately. The first is a black-and-white edition with Mary Tyler Moore; Peggy Lee guests in the later color episode.
The DVD is a worthwhile purchase if you're into old-time variety and/or Christmas specials, so it's really a treat to get these for "free" on Amazon. There are some entertaining comedy sketches to go with all the music, and Kaye often breaks character in amusing fashion. Harvey Korman and Jamie Farr are on hand in the color episode. Moore is charming as ever--she's maybe even more adorable than Tina Cole--and Nat King Cole, 100% class, is also in that show. One thing that amuses me: Each episode features Kaye dueting on "Jingle Bells" with the main musical guest, each time using the same "hip" arrangement with lyrics like, "in the customary one-horse open sleigh."
Also look for an impossibly young Wayne Newton on the Peggy Lee episode. I remember seeing Newton on an old Jack Benny show and being stunned. Here, he somehow looks even younger even though this is several years after that guest shot.
The All-Star Christmas Show (1958): I saw this on Hulu last year when it was labeled with a different name and different year. In short, I loved it. It's worth it if only for the bit at the beginning with all the stars introducing themselves.
The Bob Hope Chevy Show (1950): A holiday-themed installment of Hope's program includes Bob Cummings and Eleanor Roosevelt! Hope seems off, which makes his monologue even less effective than it would be 75 years later, but it's still a fun special. I have no idea why this is streaming, but I am not complaining.
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