Archive for December, 2009

So, I like Robin Thicke. To a certain extent, I don’t even mind his father Alan. Not like I actively hated “Growing Pains,” and dad wrote a ton of theme songs to TV shows in the 1970s-80s (“Three’s Company,” anyone?). I adored “I Get You Alone” off of his debut disc A Beautiful World, a vocal reworking of Walter Murphy’s “A Fifth of Beethoven” off of the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. The rest of the album was pretty good, and I figured that consequent releases would show him growing and becoming more of a complete singer/songwriter. This begins with The Evolution of Robin Thicke, and there’s a slight progression on his third album, Something Else.

It’s not that I don’t like Sex Therapy, it’s just that I’m no longer feeling a music progression from him. In a way, a lot of what’s on the album is the kind of sound found on pretty much any urban radio station in the country. And while Robin has a beautiful head-voice, at times in his career I wish I’d hear more of his powerful mid-register. There’s still a lot of head-voice, but it does have some better lower to mid-register vocal material on it.

The thing is, I actually like the record. I guess he’s becoming a guy who puts out a record that you’re expecting him to release, and that’s not necessarily always the worst thing in the world. He still has a very good voice, he still writes a very good lyric, and still writes accessible songs, while getting some good guest stars to stop by (Kid Cudi, Jay-Z, and Estelle, to name 3 from this album). So, I think this is actually worth checking out.

And as the host of your favorite down-tempo night time show on WAGM, “Dial It Down,” I can tell you that there’s more of a collection slower to mid-tempo tracks than faster tunes. I’d expect to be hearing some of this record on the show in the coming weeks.
3 out of 5 stars.

Mark Massi

FRINGE

SEASON 2

EPISODE 10

“GREY MATTERS”

Episode 10 proved to be a nice cliff-hanger into the second part of this season, which picks up January 14.

Every episode in this, the sophomore season of Fringe has me excited for what’s to come.

I felt for Walter and the others with the “scars”. I can’t imagine what it’s like to have brain tissue removed or implanted into your head. We learned that Walter had brain tissue that held the information on how to get to the “other universe” removed by William Bell. But someone else already knows this since Olivia was transported there.

The scenes with Walter and Peter just keep getting better. It’s about time these two interacted more like father and son, even though it’s almost certain that Peter is not the Peter of this universe, yet nothing concrete has been established. Peter feeling guilty that he didn’t visit Walter more in the mental institution, Walter brushing it off, probably since he is so guilt ridden over what we, the viewer believes he has done to his son. Peter does seem a more devoted son, and the scene where he thought Walter might die was gut wrenching.

It was heartbreaking to watch the pictures shown to Walter after he was hooked up to the head gear (and his other brain tissue); Peter as a boy, Peter in a casket.  I think most of us are expecting the current Peter to be the one from the other universe. But, then again, nothing is ever as it seems on this show.

Things don’t sound too good in the other universe.  And everyone in this universe has something they probably wished they could get back, including Broyles (maybe he wants his wife and old life back), who told Olivia that she’d made the right decision in letting Newton go in order to save Walter, that it was a rational choice and not an emotional one. “There’s only one Walter Bishop, and we’ll be needing him before this is all over. And don’t be so hard on yourself. We’re going to be needing you, too.”

I know this episode had me on the edge of my seat, and January 14 seems light years away, but best believe I’ll be poised in front of the tube.

Your thoughts on the episode?

comments are always welcome and encouraged!

Thanks, as always, for reading and have a Safe and Happy Holiday Season!!

See you in 2010!!

As Always,

Until Next Time

Michael Queenstown

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Get Your Copy of "Fringe: The Complete First Season" On Blu-Ray Today!!

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FRINGE

SEASON 2; EPISODE 9

“SNAKEHEAD”

Another great episode of Fringe! With seriously freaky creatures. How Bout that opening scene, huh? But, in reality, this episode was more about Walter and Peter than anything else. But the creatures added a nice touch.

Well, another tour-de-force from John Noble (Walter) who really makes the show for me. The whole ensemble is great, but Walter steals the show every week, let’s be honest.  This man can go through every emotion in the book within a few minutes time. The scene in Chinatown, in particular, where Walter can’t remember Peter’s phone number, or the fact that he had the number in his pocket the whole time really broke me up.  It’s plain to see that, despite Walter’s longing to be an independent adult, he is still very much a child inside.  I also love the chemistry between Walter and Astrid and this episode just made me love it even more.

And what’s with Peter knowing all these languages?  And he’s becoming more and more crucial to the cases every week. Good to see he’s not just wasted eye candy. Joshua Jackson is quite the actor.

Let’s not forget the creatures of the week. That was sure an ingenius way of to smuggle drugs. Some other highlights for me in this episode were Walter’s reaction to the drugs in his system after being bitten by one of the creatures, Peter almost having a worm put in him, and Walter puting the tracking device in his neck so Peter can find him.

Your Thoughts??

Until Next Time,

Michael Queenstown

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DAVID GUETTA – One Love, Too Many Lovers…

So, I’ll admit off the bat, I’m not always terribly fond of someone putting out an album, and then having about 100 guest artists on it.  First of all, I have a hard time believing it’s THAT person’s album.  Secondly, it always feels like a bit of a jumbled mess to me with no continuity.  In the case of this blog, there’s a little bit of that going on here.

David Guetta’s “One Love” features many of today’s hottest artists in both dance and hip-hop music.  Such artists include Kelly Rowland, Akon, Will.i.am and Black Eyed Peas, Estelle, and several others.  And while some of these tracks work very well on their own, this doesn’t necessarily translate into a strong “album,” as it were.

I mentioned that problem with continuity before, and there is one here, but not for the usual reason.  Most of the time, the music seems all over the map, and there’s not one driving force.  In the case of “One Love,” it’s all too similar.  I’m not sure there’s a difference in beats-per-minute between one track and the next.  In a case like this, if everything’s going to have the same beat and feel, I’d rather it be mixed together.  At least THEN something is driving the album, y’know?  Of course, apparently there IS a version out there like this, but you have to buy the Deluxe Edition on ITunes to get it, which I did not.  The thing is, I kept waiting for a different type of beat to enter the picture, but that never really happened.

Not to say there aren’t some good cuts on this record.  There’s a couple of stand-outs, such as “When Love Takes Over” featuring Kelly Rowland, “On The Dancefloor” featuring Will.i.am and Apl De Ap are a couple that come to mind.  But overall, I kept doing with this album what I’ve done with several Adam Sandler movies… I kept waiting for it to begin.

2 out of 5 stars (1 star for each song I actually may go back to again).

Mark Massi

Desperate Housewives

Season 6 Episode 9

“Would I Think Of Suicide?”

This week’s episode of Desperate Housewives marked the beginning of the war between Carlos and Lynette over the fact that she is pregnant and hid her pregnancy as long as she could so she wouldn’t be fired.

Who will win the war? And will the Scavos and Solises ever be the friends they once were. We’ll Have to watch and see.

Katherine’s craziness has finally reached a boiling point for me. It was fun for a while but her antics to get back at Mike were getting a bit old. Did Katherine stab herself to get Mike’s back? Or did she do it because his final words to her  were more than she could bear?

Now that Bree and Karl have Susan’s blessing do you think it will change their relationship, now that someone knows? And what will ultimately happen to Orson in all of this? I didn’t think I liked the idea of a Karl and Bree relationship but I have to admit they’re growing on me as a couple. And, more importantly, is Karl capable of changing for ANY woman, let alone Bree?

We learned some more things about the mysterious Bolen Family this week.  Nick admitted to Angie that he was the last customer at the coffee shop and was there around closing time. Later, he also told Angie that he called the Feds. We know Angie killed a man and that is why she is on the run. Nick and Danny went along so she wouldn’t be alone.  Danny told Julie he still wants to be with her even though she slept with his dad. She rejects him, he tries killing himself with pills and while in the hospital, he tells a nurse his real name: Tyler.  Will the nurse live long enough to tell anyone?  If she does, this could be the end of the road for the Bolen’s.her and wants to be with her even if she slept with his father. She rejected him, which lead to Danny trying to commit suicide.

Then there’s the little matter of the Wisteria Lane Strangler. Mary Alice said that the killer is a “he” and “he” isn’t finished yet.  But are we sure the killer is, in fact, a “he”? Would Mary Alice mislead us? However, I do believe Mary Alice when she says that the killer isn’t done yet. Who’s next? The nurse who now knows Danny’s real first name? Or will the killer try to kill Julie again? Is the person who strangled Julie and the person who killed Emily the same person? Is there more than one killer?

If you’ve Seen the previews for next week’s episode, then you already know something big is about to hit Wisteria Lane. And I mean that literally. A plane crashes right on Wisteria Lane, and from what I could see, everyone is on the street!  The Ad also alludes to someone not surviving the crash, and someone else emerging a hero.  If you’d like to submit your predictions here, please do so, and we’ll see if anyone gets it right!

Until Next Time,

Happy Viewing!

I am

Michael Queenstown

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