A witty little show you may not be watching is The Big Bang Theory. The show is about a geeky group of physicists and how their world turns around when a hot neighbor moves next door. While the series is primarily about the hot neighbor, Penny, and the guys across the hall, Sheldon and Leonard, we wanted to feature someone else on the show: Rajesh Koothrappali. He is the shy ine who doesn’t have many lines but often he steals the scence much like the Marx brothers’ Harpo…but instead of chasing girls, he is often found running away from them.
He is physically unable to speak in front of women, a condition Leonard’s psychiatric mother called selective mutism. This social anxiety is suppressed with alcohol, but Koothrappali is an obnoxious drunk.
As you can guess by his name, Koothrappali is from India. While he despises Indian food, we think he would listen to Bollywood classics. He is obviously a fan of the genre, because when discovered a planetary object beyond the Kuiper Belt, he named it “PlanetBollywood.” Stayed tune for songs from Koothrappali’s iPod.
Comfortably cuddled in my favorite chair, and watching Project Runway on Lifetime, I happened to glance up during a commercial break to see the channel’s brand new movie, The Pregnancy Pact. It’s based on true events (which occurred in Gloucester, MA, close to my hometown), about a bunch of teenagers who all get pregnant because they promised their bfff they would b/c she totes did too. OMG. And as if the premise wasn’t as…cringe-worthy as it could be, the ad for the movie premiere sends it over the deep end and plunging into the earth’s crust. They kind of pitch it as some sort of creepy scary story. I swear, it’s the same voice as the guy from all of those thriller movie previews. Really, Lifetime? Have you really already decided to pitch it from an obviously one-sided view? That’s not to say I support teen pregnancy, but it bothers me that the ads are already steering viewers in one direction.What do you think?
So, I like to run, you know, for exercise. At the beginning of every run, I like to kick off with a fun song to keep me going. Right now, that song is “Dog Days Are Over” by Florence and the Machine. Upbeat, happy, and kind of off-beat, this tune and music collaboration led by Florence Welch, released their first album, titled Lungs, in summer of 2009 out of the U.K. It jumped quickly up the top 40 chart, and now a second album, You’ve Got the Love, came out this month.
I absolutely LOVE Florence’s soul-y voice, and how she combines it with indie-rock. Here’s a video of “Dog Days Are Over”, so you can see what I am talking about.
So yeah, it is kind of exactly what one would expect from an indie video; I know I wasn’t too impressed by the concept of it, although it is well costumed. This may sound weird, but I love the way Florence’s mouth is gigantic and how she sings into the camera. It’s my favorite part of the vid, other than the glitter.
P.S. I could totally see this song being used in a commercial of some sort. I am thinking running shoes, obviously. Do you dig Florence and the Machine as much as me? I want to know!
There’s so much new stuff on my iPod I’m not sure what I want to share with you first!! But these guys have pretty much become a staple in my music library:
These boys are the Local Natives….they currently are locals of the LA neighborhood Silver Lake. Their harmonizing melodies gained them a lot of comparisons to Fleet Foxes at their SXSW debut. I don’t like to do the “sound like” game a lot though….all I know is I have a major band crush. Not only do I lust after them because their incredible sound, but they also have a kick-ass blog, which is written mostly by the bassist, Andy. Someone in the band is also an amazing photographer. The pictures accompanying the blog are awesome. Boys that can sing, write, and take pictures? My heart just skipped a beat.
Their first album, Gorilla Manor is due to be released next month. Listen to “Airplanes” below:
I have to admit, I’m partial to a good cabernet….but I kind of base my wine choice on the label art (you know you do too). Which is why I lust after the Wines That Rock label. With artwork from Pink Floyd, the Rolling Stones, and Woodstock, these wines are great pairings with these musical classics. The wine comes from the award-winning Mendocino Wine Company, so I’m betting it’s pretty tasty too.
“Traditionally you create the wine and then name it based on its personality. With these wines, we blasted the music in the cellar of the winery and developed a bottle of wine that captured the attitude of the music,” said Ron Roy, co-founder of Wines That Rock.
Very cool. The three-pack of wine: “Forty Licks Merlot,” “Woodstock Chardonnay” and “The Dark Side of the Moon Cabernet Sauvignon” goes for about $50, and individual bottles sell for $16.99. All can be purchased at the Wines That Rock website.
Dear Friends (or people who accidentally stumbled on our wee blog),
Hey you guys! Movies in the Newspaper is coming back in (nearly) full force! We are coming back from our brief hiatus refreshed, renewed, and reloaded with the urge to blog our little fingers off. Look forward to a bounty of new posts, mixes, and musings from your most favorite online former-college-radio-DJ’s! We are excited and we hope you are, too. So keep on checking back for more exciting stuff.
Love,
Movies in the Newspaper
The New Pornographers, a definite big name in indie music scenes, was founded in 1997 out of Vancouver. If their name doesn’t catch you, than their superpop harmonies will. The group is comprised of lead song writer and singer A.C. (Carl) Newman, John Collins, Blaine Thurier, Dan Bejar, Kathryn Calder, Kurt Dahle, Neko Case (personal fave!), and Todd Fancey. Their most recent album is Challengers, released in 2007, and was preceded by three other works. They’re still together, as a band; they did a summer tour, but members still have the time to pursue individual projects. More specifically, A.C. Newman has released his second solo album, Get Guilty, this past January (his solo debut was in 2004 with The Slow Wonder).
This is him.
There is some definite New Pornographesqueness about his music, most noticeable is the harmonies (see a theme?). However, it is a little bit slower in pace, but still extremely enjoyable, especially if you are a NP (yeah, I abbrev.) fan. I particularly enjoy “There Are Maybe Ten or Twelve”. Check out his website at http://www.acnewman.net/ for more info and music.
The New Pornographers have already made their mark in television, with songs on the Office, Weeds, Heroes and more, as well as a Rock Band song. A.C. Newman has quickly jumped on the television wagon, first with a tune on an O.C. soundtrack, and then when “Prophets” was featured in the season four finale of How I Met Your Mother. So both efforts are successful…what does this mean for the future of Newman’s solo career or The New Pornographers? I know I’d like to see them both stick around for a long while.
I was watching Castle the other night, and I was amazed by all the great songs featured in the show. It shouldn’t be too surprising though, as the show was nominated for the Emmy’s Outstanding Music Composition for a Series.
In the last few minutes of the episode, the melodic “My Fault, Your Mistake” came on (Season 2, Episode 1: “Deep in Death”). I hadn’t heard this Norah Jones/Adele/Jewel amalgam before.
Some quick internet searches, I discovered the songbird was Lex Land. A Texan by way of California. This isn’t the first time her lyrical melodies have graced the small screen. Her songs have also been in Brothers and Sisters, One Tree Hill, and Private Practice.
I bet we’re going to be hearing her much more. Her songs are ideal for the intimately intense moments of drama tv.
Since I liked the first season of Heroes, perhaps the association principle would say that I would like the fourth season. However, Heroes defies the theory of math. This is an awful season; boring, over-dramatic, weak plot…and if you haven’t seen any previous seasons there is NO WAY you are going to have a clue about what’s going on. Even the music…there was one song in last nights show (“Acceptance”, episode 4) that put me over the edge. Not only is it a pretty crappy song IMHO, but it is waayyyy to literal for the moment when it is played. Ali Larter’s character, Tracy is in the bathroom and transforms from water into person. Apparently Tracy is a triplet of Jessica and Niki (from previous seasons), and Jessica used to be the bad evil version of Niki…hence the song “Bad Body Double” (omg I know) by Imogen Heap. Just listen for a little. I would have to say that Heroes is long past it’s expiry date, and it’s time for it to be thrown in the trash.
I’ll be the first to admit it, I’m not generally a fan of most sitcoms. They just aren’t funny. I was dubious when I first started watching Community. It’s about a community college in Colorado and all the misfits who wind up there ranging from a suspended lawyer (Joel McHale) to an elderly moist-towelette tycoon (Chevy Chase).
I must admit I started watching solely for John Oliver, the Daily Show correspondent. It’s actually somewhat enjoyable. The first show was a nod to the Breakfast Club in memory of John Hughes, which I thought was very sweet. The cast has great comedic chemistry as well. Just watch this video from the credits of one episode:
I’ll be the first to admit it, I’m not generally a fan of most sitcoms. They just aren’t funny. I was dubious when I first started watching Community. It’s about a community college in Colorado and all the misfits who wind up there ranging from a suspended lawyer (Joel McHale) to an elderly moist-towelette tycoon (Chevy Chase).
