rock-related stories
Posted Mar 13th 2009 5:05PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: OpEd, Video, Commercials, Reality-Free
"Give me back that Filet-O-Fish, give me that fish (oooooo)...Give me back that Filet-O-Fish, give me..."Annoyed yet? This has got to be the most irritating ad on TV right now. I'm sure there are people out there who are say "oh, it's so cute!" but I'm sure there are even more people who lunge for the remote control every time they see the commercial starting. It's like someone is jabbing pencils in your ears for 30 seconds. But it has somehow become a phenomenon, much like those "Head-On, apply directly to the forehead...Head-On, apply directly to the forehead" spots.
Let's take a close look at the singing fish...
Continue reading Brought To You By ... - VIDEOS
Posted Jan 27th 2009 3:03PM by Eliot Glazer
Filed under: Video, Music and Variety, Children
We may not live in Chicago, but we know the value of a legendary public access show when we see it. That being said, Chi-town's already-legendary homegrown variety show
Chic-a-go-go -- on the air since 1996 -- seems to fit the bill, at least according to the footage we've seen online.
According to the astounding amount of nostalgic praise littered throughout the web, the fan favorite is a dizzying version of
Soul Train for kids, if
Soul Train employed children, hipsters, and whomever wanders into the studio to dance to oldies, indie rock, and everything in between.
Hosted by a puppet rat MC named ... wait for it ... Ratso, and his human co-host,
Miss Mia, the show has rather unsurprisingly yielded a comparison
to "an early David Lynch movie" and been described by another blogger as "
frenetic, [yet] friendly and familiar."
Continue reading Chic-a-go-go, that toddlin' cable access show - VIDEO
Posted Nov 16th 2007 11:33PM by Jackie Schnoop
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, OpEd, Episode Reviews, The Next Great American Band
(S01E05) Well, that was a bit of a shocker tonight, eh? Who would have thought that Dicko would propose marriage to the lead singer of Dot Dot Dot? I surely didn't see that coming, did you?
Okay, I'm lying. I just don't want to mention the band voted out before the jump in case folks reading the main TV Squad page recorded
The Next Great American Band for viewing at a later time. Then people would be yelling at me and I'm sensitive, y'know. But I can't have blank white space here, so I should say something.
Read on for the lowdown on the tonight's episode ...
Continue reading The Next Great American Band: Episode 5
Posted Nov 3rd 2007 12:52AM by Jackie Schnoop
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, OpEd, Episode Reviews, The Next Great American Band
(S01E03) The field of bands narrowed by two tonight on
The Next Great American Band. So, we're down to ten bands who specialize in various genres. I'm not sure how much I enjoyed the way they did the reveal of the two bands going home. It seemed a bit needlessly cruel, kind of like cruel and unusual punishment.
Each band sang prepared and rehearsed one of their original songs and then a song from the vast array of Elton John and Bernie Taupin numbers. The bands were called out one by one to perform. If they performed, they had made the cut for the week. The two bands who didn't make it had to go through all the rehearsals and sit foolishly and uncomfortably waiting, the camera panning them throughout the show, until the very end. When it was down to three bands, poof.
Continue reading The Next Great American Band: Episode 3
Posted Jun 6th 2007 3:22PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Other Reality Shows
WARNING: POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD! DON'T READ IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW!
After only one episode, it looks like some people might already know the winner of FOX's Hell's Kitchen.
Bodog.com has suspended betting on the reality show after the odds on one of the contestants went from 7-1 to 2-1 very quickly. After the jump, the name of this contestant. (AGAIN, SPOILER AHEAD!)
Continue reading Has the winner of Hell's Kitchen been leaked?
Posted Mar 22nd 2007 1:02PM by Brad Linder
Filed under: HDTV, PVR Wire
Laptop makers Rock are working on a new product that basically crams a media center PC into a LCD TV. Think iMac but without the Mac.
With a 22-inch screen, Rock's
Meivo (multimedia entertainment integrating video on-demand) isn't going to be the pride of your living room home theater system. But it could make a nice addition to your bedroom, kitchen, or other small space.
The Meivo comes equipped with a Core 2 Duo processor, two desktop hard drive bays, 7.1 channel audio output, WiFi and Bluetooth support, a USB port, RF keyboard and mouse, and a TV tuner. It supports 720p video, and has a native resolution of 1680 x 1050 pixels.
It should be available in April for about £1,000 or close to $2000.
Posted Feb 15th 2007 11:23AM by Julia Ward
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, FOX, The O.C.
Which indie darling will be chosen to accompany the inevitable series finale montage of
The O.C. on February 22nd?
Stereogum knows. The show responsible for bringing Death Cab for Cutie into mainstream consciousness has dubbed neo-folkie Patrick Park the lucky recipient of this most coveted of pop culture moments. You can hear singer/songwriter Park's "Life is a Song" on
MySpace. It will be available for purchase in July on Park's forthcoming album, and quite possibly on iTunes before that if
The O.C. has anything to do with it.
Apparently, the folks at
The O.C. weighed Jeff Buckley's "Hallelujah" and Imogen Heap's "Hide and Seek" before going with the LA-based Park's ditty. It's good to see them spread the love to a lesser known commodity. Congratulations, Patrick. You're destined for graduation mix CDs everywhere. Personally, I can't wait. There's nothing better than a tear-jerking montage accompanied by a certifiable indie hit. I give you as evidence E.R.'s Green Day "Time of Your Life" montage. TV this sappy - it has to be good.
Posted Dec 28th 2006 6:02PM by Adam Finley
Filed under: TV on DVD, Animation, Adult Swim
The first season of Metalocalypse, which finished off last week, will be available on DVD in the summer of 2007, according to DethKlok's lead singer Nathan Explosion (each of the band members have their own MySpace). The message was sent as a bulletin to members of the site, but you can check it out in the Toon Zone forums, also.
The message also teases that there may be a second season of the series, telling fans to pay close attention to the last line of the season's last episode. Since that line was something like, "The Metalocalypse has begun" I'm going to say that's a pretty good sign we'll be seeing more of the brutal but not-especially-bright boys of DethKlok in the future.
Also, a full-length DethKlok album will be available this summer. The CD will include complete songs featured in the show, as well as some new stuff. I'll keep my eyes and ears open for new information on both of these releases as more pops up. ROCK.
Posted Nov 19th 2006 1:02PM by Adam Finley
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Cable, Celebrities
Tonight at 10 pm, comedian Jay Mohr will host an hour-long special on TBS to honor the military men and women overseas, and the USO. The special,
The Comedy Festival Presents: A Salute to the Troops and USO, will feature comedic and musical talent including Louis C.K., D.L.Hughley, Kid Rock and Frank Caliendo, among others. Carmen Electra will also make an appearance, though I consider her like sort of like a sprig of parsley on the overall banquet that is this special: a nice aesthetic choice, but ultimately unnecessary. The special, which will take place at
Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, will also pay tribute to the late Bob Hope, whose legendary USO performances spanned over sixty years. The Armed Forces Network will also receive a copy of the show. No word if Anne Margaret will show up or not.Posted Nov 8th 2006 3:01PM by Adam Finley
Filed under: Music and Variety, Web, MTV
Wouldn't it have been hysterical if on its first day MTV couldn't afford the rights to any songs, so the entire day was nothing but videos for public domain songs like "Happy Birthday" "Baa Baa Black Sheep" and "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star?" I'm sure a few strobes and a fog machine would have added a whole new dimension to "Three Blind Mice," as performed by Alice Cooper: "She cut off their tails with a CARVING KNIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIFE!!!"
But no, MTV launched in 1981 with a bunch of videos of regular pop and rock musicians, starting off with The Buggles catchy "Video Killed the Radio Star," a hit song that was later followed by other great hits from the band such as "Country Music Molested A TV Personality" and "Ragtime Was Convicted of Aggravated Assault."
Thanks to whoever runs the blog IZ Reloaded, you can now watch YouTube clips of every video that aired when MTV first jumped out of your cable box. There's also some REO Speedwagon songs for people like me who mock the band when around friends but secretly sings "Keep On Loving You" in the shower. I've placed The Buggles' video after the jump, cause I love that song.
Continue reading See every video from MTV's first day - VIDEO
Posted Aug 18th 2006 1:05PM by Adam Finley
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, Celebrities
Some of you may recognize comedian Brian Posehn from his role on Just Shoot Me, while others of us remember him from HBO's Mr. Show. Either way, he's a funny guy, and if you've seen even a little bit of his act you know the man loves himself some metal. The clip I placed after the jump is a music video based on his song "Metal by Numbers" from his new comedy album, Live In: Nerd Rage. His band is called Posehn and features Scott Ian of Anthrax, Joey Vera of Armored Saint, and John Tempesta of The Cult. The song itself is only so-so, and Posehn doesn't exactly stay on top of the beat, but damn it Jim, he's a comedian, not a singer. Besides, there are some funny moments sprinkled throughout the video, including a cameo by his old Mr. Show pal, Bob Odenkirk. Check it out:
Continue reading Posehn by numbers - VIDEO
Posted Aug 5th 2006 8:02AM by Adam Finley
Filed under: OpEd, Animation, Adult Swim
(S01E01) "By the power of all that is evil I command you to awaken and make me a sandwich!"
This is an early review courtesy of Adult Swim Fix.
Are you metal? I don't mean are you made of a durable alloy of some sort, I mean do you RAWK* in every conceivable way that one can RAWK? I think I used to be slightly metal, but my frail body couldn't take it so I had to give it up for folk music. Sad, really.
Anyway, Dethklok is a death metal band of mythical proportions, a group of five musicians who so embody everything that is metal they're unable to really function in any other capacity. They're the idiot savants of metal, which is just fine because their worldwide fan base has made them worth billions of dollars. In the premiere episode, over 300,000 fans gather at the Arctic Circle to hear one song from the band, a jingle they've written for a coffee commercial. Lead singer Nathan Explosion insists the band has not sold out, and that they will not only make coffee metal, they'll make EVERYTHING metal. Encased inside a gigantic cube, the band parachutes from their restaurant/helicopter, missing their target and smashing several people in the process. Then the cube opens its spiked doors to reveal the stage, also killing more people. During the song large pots of coffee are poured onto audience members, burning the skin off their bones. This is why all fans are forced to sign "pain waivers" before entering a Dethklok concert.
Continue reading Metalocalypse: The Curse of Dethklok (series premiere)
Posted Jun 15th 2006 2:03PM by Adam Finley
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, Cable
Okay, this might only be interesting to a handful of readers, but since The Flaming Lips are one of my favorite bands of all time I had to let everyone know that Bradley Beesley's recent documentary about the band,
The Fearless Freaks, will be airing on the Sundance Channel on Monday, June 19 at 10:50 a.m. and again that same evening at 7:15 p.m. The documentary, which was released last year, had a very brief theatrical run in some cities and is currently available on
DVD. Filmmaker Bradley Beesley, a longtime friend of The Lips, was given full access to the band, and the result is a film that is far more intimate, and often more disconcerting, than something that might have been cobbled together by a film crew with no real connection to a band that's been making its own kind of sublime (and ever-changing) noise on the fringes of the music scene for over two decades. Fans who haven't already seen it should check it out, but if you've never heard of the band, or have only a casual interest, it's still a well-made piece of documentary filmmaking, and worth checking out at least once.
Posted Apr 25th 2006 12:02PM by Adam Finley
Filed under: Animation, Adult Swim
If you never saw
Home Movies, you missed one of the best shows to hit
the airwaves in the last several years, animated or otherwise. The show fared okay on Adult Swim for a short time,
after being rescued from UPN, but viewers gravitated toward weirder shows like
Space Ghost and
Aqua
Teen, leaving
Home Movies to eventually whither and fall off the vine. Well, as I
mentioned before, creator
Brendon Small is bringing a new show to Adult Swim in August called
Death Clock Metalocalypse. The new
show is about a world-famous death metal band and may seem a far cry from Small's other show about a shy but
quick-witted kid who makes movies with his friends, but Small's love of
RAWK was evident even on that
show, especially in the form of older kid Dwayne and his garage band.
Death Clock Metalocalypse sounds like
the perfect mix of over-the-top, ear-busting chord thrashing mixed with the same dry and subtle humor as his earlier
work. YouTube has an extended teaser for the new series, which you can watch after the jump. I've seen segments of this
teaser on Adult Swim, but I'm not sure if they've ever played the whole thing or not. Enjoy, regardless.
Continue reading Death Clock Metalocalypse teaser
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