VH1 Top 20 Countdown – 3/26/11

Who is that creepy fellow in the “Uncharted” video?

Original Version
1. P!nk – “F****** Perfect”
2. Adele – “Rolling in the Deep”
3. Mumford & Sons – “The Cave”
4. Lady GaGa – “Born This Way”
5. Cee-Lo Green – “F*** You”
6. Avril Lavigne – “What the Hell”
7. Two Door Cinema Club – “What You Know”
8. The Script – “For the First Time”
9. Foo Fighters – “Rope”
10. Ke$ha – “Blow”
11. Britney Spears – “Hold It Against Me”
12. 30 Seconds to Mars – “Closer to the Edge”
13. Christina Perri – “Jar of Hearts”
14. Sara Bareilles – “Uncharted”
15. Train – “Marry Me”
16. Jennifer Hudson – “Where You At”
17. Bruno Mars – “Grenade”
18. My Chemical Romance – “SING”
19. Maroon 5 – “Never Gonna Leave This Bed”
20. Grace Potter & the Nocturnals – “Paris (Ooh La La)”

Jmunney’s Revision
1. Paris (Ooh La La)
2. Rolling in the Deep
3. Rope
4. Blow
5. The Cave
6. F*** You
7. SING
8. Born This Way
9. What You Know
10. What the Hell
11. Jar of Hearts
12. Grenade
13. Uncharted
14. Hold It Against Me
15. Closer to the Edge
16. Never Gonna Leave This Bed
17. Where You At
18. F****** Perfect
19. For the First Time
20. Marry Me

Springtime – It’s Not Just for Hitler and Germany, but Also Eighties Nostalgia

Springtime at the movie theatre has lately been established as the time and the place for eighties nostalgia, what with the three most recent springs seeing the releases of the 1987-set Adventureland (released April 3, 2009), the 1986-set Hot Tube Time Machine (released March 26, 2010), and the 1988-set Take Me Home Tonight (released March 4, 2011 – technically that’s still winter, but let’s not split hairs).  All were disappointments at the box office, undeservingly so.  HTTM managed to be a minor hit, Adventureland was criminally mismarketed and overlooked, and TMHT was all but completely ignored.  But those of us who did see these gems were treated to a very eighties aural feast.  Based on my viewing of these blasts from the past, they each featured one song that stood out singularly – a signature song, if you will – among the rest of a soundtrack filled with synthesizers, hair bands, and other elements from the strangest era ever for pop music.  We are left to wonder, what nostalgic romp coming our way March or April 2012 will make great use of a “Jump” by van Halen, or a “How Soon is Now” by The Smiths, or even a “99 Luftballoons”?  For now, here are the signature songs from the above mentioned films:

Adventureland’s signature song – “Rock Me Amadeus” by Falco
“Jesus Fucking Christ!  They play this song like 20 times a day!”  ”Fucking sadists.  Fucking sadists!”
With all due respect to Martin Starr as Joel, Austrian hitmaker Falco’s only American hit is a great song … but it is best listened to with the distance of time and a healthy dose of irony, neither of which is afforded by working at a crappy amusement park in the summer of 1987.  Adventureland perfectly demonstrates the principle of using setting to establish the mood, and the constant presence of “Rock Me Amadeus” is a major part of that.  It’s bad enough for James Brennan that he is missing out on a summer in Europe for one of the worst jobs ever; the added burden of “Amadeus” on constant repeat would be enough to make anyone wonder, “Who is trying to make me kill myself?”

Hot Tub Time Machine’s signature song – “Let’s Get It Started” as performed by Craig Robinson
Hot Tub Time Machine follows the nostalgic lead of Back to the Future in a lot of ways – time travel, sports betting as a sure thing, Crispin Glover, and a “song from the future.”  Back to the Future did feature some songs that would have been around by 1955 (“Mr. Sandman,” for one), but its most memorable music originated from later in the decade, with Marty McFly putting his spin on Chuck Berry’s 1958 class “Johnny B. Goode” (sure, Huey Lewis’ theme song and Alan Silvestri’s score are memorable, too, but they are not tied so closely to one scene the way that “Johnny” is).  Similarly, Hot Tub Time Machine features songs from the eighties, but its most memorable musical moment is not part of that decade at all.  HTTM is not particularly realistic or sweet or cheesy in its nostalgia, so it makes sense that it would ignore the era’s music when suitable.  And it is suitable when you have a secret weapon like the vocal talents of funnyman Craig Robinson.

Take Me Home Tonight’s signature song – “What You Need” by INXS
One might think that the Eddie Money power ballad namesake of Take Me Home Tonight would be this film’s signature song, but it actually never appears.  This may be partly due to the fact that this was not the original title, but that may not be the best theory when you consider that the namesake songs of the previous titles – “Young Americans” and “Kids in America” – also never appear in the film.  Of these three recent eighties nostalgia blasts, TMHT has the least polished soundtrack.  Thus, its signature song is the rare one that is incorporated smoothly into a memorable scene: the dance off between Barry and the Ralph Macchio wannabe.  I did not know that dance offs existed in the eighties, but I did know that INXS can lead to some great dancing, and thankfully someone else did, too.

VH1 Top 20 Countdown – 3/19/11

F this.  F that.  Whatever.

Original Version
1. Mumford & Sons – “The Cave”
2. P!nk – “F****** Perfect”
3. Cee-Lo Green – “F*** You”
4. Adele – “Rolling in the Deep”
5. Lady GaGa – “Born This Way”
6. The Script – “For the First Time”
7. Avril Lavigne – “What the Hell”
8. Two Door Cinema Club – “What You Know”
9. Ke$ha – “Blow”
10. Britney Spears – “Hold It Against Me”
11. Foo Fighters – “Rope”
12. Christina Perri – “Jar of Hearts”
13. Train – “Marry Me”
14. Bruno Mars – “Grenade”
15. 30 Seconds to Mars – “Closer to the Edge”
16. Maroon 5 – “Never Gonna Leave This Bed”
17. Kings of Leon – “Pyro”
18. Colbie Caillat – “I Do”
19. Grace Potter & the Nocturnals – “Paris (Ooh La La)”
20. Enrique Iglesias ft. Ludacris and DJ Frank E – “Tonight (I’m Lovin’ You)”

Jmunney’s Revision
1. Paris (Ooh La La)
2. Rolling in the Deep
3. Pyro
4. Rope
5. Blow
6. The Cave
7. F*** You
8. Born This Way
9. What You Know
10. What the Hell
11. Jar of Hearts
12. Grenade
13. Hold It Against Me
14. Closer to the Edge
15. Tonight (I’m Lovin’ You)
16. Never Gonna Leave This Bed
17. F****** Perfect
18. For the First Time
19. I Do
20. Marry Me

SNL Recap March 12, 2011: Zach Galifianakis/Jessie J

Wh’ are those, cargo shorts?

Cold Opening – March (Actual) Madness Selection Show
Kenan didn’t even bother to do an impression of Greg Gumbel (no surprise).  Sudeikis already kind of sounds like Jim Nantz.   Andy’s Dick Vitale was serviceable and about what one would expect.  There were some scattershot good lines here and there.  Melissa Leo: huh?   The solidness of the idea elevated the whole. B

Zach Galifianakis’s Monologue
I’ve seen Zach’s stand-up before.   He included parts of his act in his monologue the first time he hosted, and he included some other bits this time around.   The Axe/Ask Body Spray joke is tops.  Gotta love Hoobastank. A-

The Talk
Finally, with Sharon Osbourne, Nasim has found an impression that fits her voice perfectly, but it sounds exactly like Amy Poehler’s version.   It could be worse.  Does the real Leah Remini actual say things like “the British Shakespeare” and “the human Albert Einstein”?   I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to laugh or say, “That makes no sense.”  Vanessa’s Sarah Gilbert was quite the character.   I’m having a little trouble believing that Sarah Gilbert is actually a lesbian, because she is rather sexy, with men, in her guest stints on The Big Bang Theory.   I guess I can believe that she is at least bi-curious, maybe even bisexual.  Or maybe she actually is a lesbian, and thus a great actress.   Like I suppose the real Talk is, this sketch was alternately enjoyably ridiculous and aggravating.  So it was useful to have Zach’s audience member character vent that frustration. B+

The Original Kings of Catchphrase Comedy
Seth Meyers was in a sketch.  Sound the alert.   These are comedians who rely on catchphrases that make no sense, either because they are just so esoteric or because they just make no sense.   They also deliver punchlines without actually telling a joke.   The pinnacle of this was achieved with Pete “Airhorn” Schultz: that airhorn was the epitome of a loud, obnoxious, meaningless catchphrase.  And it was also hilarious. A-

Scared Straight
While Scared Straight sketches will never run out of movie plots, there seems to be only a finite number of ways Kenan can throw a shoe.   But the way he paces back and forth in frustration is poetry in motion. B

Digital Short – Zach Looks for a New Assistant
The humor of Zach Galifianakis can be a little disturbing because he devotes himself so completely to scenes that are absurd or scenes that I think must be absurd, but perhaps they aren’t, as Zach is so convincing that I wonder if there are scenes like these in his real life.  Kudos to those who found kids willing to indulge him.  Well, they probably didn’t realize what they were indulging. B+

Jessie J featuring B.o.B performs “Price Tag”
Could somebody please helicopter in a songwriter who doesn’t tread in only clichés and nonsense? C+

Weekend Update
-The Jokes: Ehh, you know, there were a few good jokes, but otherwise Seth did his normal coasting along. C
-The Segments: -Julie Taymor: I do believe that the real Julie Taymor is this out of touch with the source material. B
-Liam, the Teenager who Just Woke Up: The lead-in that Seth gives to this segment leads one to believe that it will be more politically heavy.   And then it is forcefully clear that it is a throwaway gag.  Albeit one with a few good wild lines. B-

Noodles the Autoerotic Asphyxiating Dog
This started off delightfully wonky.   All the characters had their own quirks, and the jokes came from various sources (avocado trees, God thought Aunt Rita looked like a dog).   And then the truth about Noodles came out, and the sketch turned glitchy and it wasn’t exactly sure what to do with itself. B+

Celebrity Scoop
Why did Zach’s logger sound like he was revving up an engine every time he spoke?   This sketch was nice enough, eh, but the jokes were all telegraphed right from the get-go, you know? B-

Jessie J perfoms “Mamma Knows Best”
This wasn’t exactly a song, but it was a performance.  I’m sure it’s been a while since there was any scatting on the SNL stage. B+

A Message from the Corn Syrup Producers of America
Nasim’s character was too high-concept to be an anti-intellectual.   I don’t remember laughing, but I also don’t remember hating. B-

Titanic Life Raft
Pe-a-nis?   Like the George Washington sketch from the Russell Brand episode, this was a ten-to-one sketch that shouldn’t have been.   It demanded to be longer.   More revelations from the captain’s log would have been appreciated. B

Overall
After the Miley Cyrus episode that was filled to bursting with material, this was a more decidedly low-key effort.   It felt like there was room to add or expand.  After all, they didn’t get to the Mr. T sketch.  And Zach was told to keep going during the goodnights.
When Zach Galifianakis hosts, it feels as though he is the one who comes up with every single crazy idea for all of the sketches, which leads to perfectly good monologues and digital shorts (both shorts from Zach’s hosting appearances were centered around him).   But in all the other sketches, several of the cast members looked as if they do not know how to keep up, which can make things a little uneven.

VH1 Top 20 Countdown – 3/12/11

Must be the season of the unicorn.

Original Version
1. Adele – “Rolling in the Deep”
2. P!nk – “F****** Perfect”
3. Avril Lavigne – “What the Hell”
4. Cee-Lo Green – “F*** You”
5. Mumford & Sons – “The Cave”
6. Britney Spears – “Hold It Against Me”
7. Train – “Marry Me”
8. The Script – “For the First Time”
9. Christina Perri – “Jar of Hearts”
10. Lady GaGa – “Born This Way”
11. Two Door Cinema Club – “What You Know”
12. Ke$ha – “Blow”
13. Bruno Mars – “Grenade”
14. 30 Seconds to Mars – “Closer to the Edge”
15. Maroon 5 – “Never Gonna Leave This Bed”
16. Linkin Park – “Waiting for the End”
17. Grace Potter & the Nocturnals – “Paris (Ooh La La)”
18. My Chemical Romance – “SING”
19. Kings of Leon – “Pyro”
20. Keri Hilson – “Pretty Girl Rock”

Jmunney’s Revision
1. Paris (Ooh La La)
2. Rolling in the Deep
3. Pyro
4. Blow
5. The Cave
6. F*** You
7. Born This Way
8. SING
9. What You Know
10. What the Hell
11. Jar of Hearts
12. Waiting for the End
13. Grenade
14. Hold It Against Me
15. Closer to the Edge
16. Pretty Girl Rock
17. Never Gonna Leave This Bed
18. F****** Perfect
19. For the First Time
20. Marry Me

SNL Recap March 5, 2011: Miley Cyrus/The Strokes

Cold Opening – Duh! Winning! with Charlie Sheen
But of course this week SNL did not open with a political sketch.   Obviously Sheen was going to be all over this episode.  This was a clever premise to take him on, and considering the way he has dominated his interviews, it wasn’t too crazy an idea to make Sheen the interviewer.  Unfortunately, the guest choices did not really fit.  John Galliano and Gaddafi may have also had some issues this past week, but neither exemplifies “bi-winning” the way Charlie does.  And Xtina was totally out of place.  Gaddafi did get in a good line about dressing like Humpty Hump, though.  Thankfully, there was an appropriate guest when Lindsay showed up, as her troubles are actually of the sort that can be rationalized and dressed up the way Sheen has his. B

Miley Cyrus’s Monologue
I feel that Miley must have watched the SNL Backstage special, specifically, the portion about monologues.  According to that retrospective, hosts have been told that the monologue is their opportunity to introduce themselves to the audience, to say, “This is who I am.”  Miley took that advice, and came out swinging.   By addressing her “controversies,” she demonstrated the best way to call bullshit: instead of getting angry, she made a joke out of it.   I don’t think I’ve ever seen a host work an audience for a specific reaction in a non-joking way the way Miley did.   (That was quite a reaction when she mentioned Hannah Montana, and those shouts didn’t sound like they came from 12-year-olds.) B+

Babyspanx
I laughed a few times. Original Grade: C+ Adjusted Grade: B-

Our Time! with Taboo and apl.de.ap!
The premise of this sketch was so patently funny that the execution could have been disappointing and I still would have been smiling just based on the premise.  Taboo and apl.de.ap are so intrinsically funny; Andy and Kenan were plainly not struggling at all for material.   Every note was perfectly hit: dancing (poorly) when they should have been doing more singing, constant reminders that they are in fact in the Black Eyed Peas, references to the baffling question of what race Taboo is, satisfyingly goofy explanations of their stupid names, awkward smiles, and wild body language.   Miley was right on as Fergie.  Strangely enough, Jay was the weak point as will.i.am.  It was like Darrell Hammond doing his Dubya.  The greatest impressionists are not immortal, unfortunately. A

The Essentials: The Sound of Music
Like Lon Donsen in The Wizard of Oz, it made no sense that Richie Inez, Jr. would have ever appeared in any cut of The Sound of Music.  Lon Donsen was a funny enough character to overcome that lack of sense.  Richie Inez, Jr. – not as much.  But there were enough funny moments to make it close. B

The Disney Channel Acting School
With Miley hosting, something like this had to be done.  It looked like she was eager to poke fun at her Disney overlords.  Highlights included the mere presence of Kenan as Raven Symoné and spying in a doorway. B+

The Miley Cyrus Show
I hadn’t thought about who (the real) Miley would be playing once they got to this sketch, but I probably would never have thought of Bieber.  Good thing I wasn’t the one writing it, as she nailed the Bieb’s trying way too hard nature.   It was a wise decision to forego having Miley directly address the validity of Vanessa’s Miley, and instead have her, through Bieber, call her out on her annoying habits (need for approval, insistence on the phrase “pretty cool”). B+

The Strokes perform “Under Cover of Darkness”
The Strokes were ripping the strings right off their guitars, and Julian Casablancas was just about eating the microphone.  This song sounds like it was tailor-made for Rock Band.  Bassist Nikolai Fraiture looked cool in his John Lennon-style getup. A-

Weekend Update
-The Jokes: There was a lot of great material, and I laughed several times, but I found myself wondering, “Would any of these jokes be funnier if they were delivered by someone other than Seth?” B
-The Segments: -Winners/Losers Charlie Sheen: See above. B
-The Devil: Jason, you have some good points, but come on, you’re not the Devil.   You’re the guy who pulls harmless pranks and pretends to be bad. B-
-Secondhand News: Anyone can make puns.  Anyone can make them as nonsensical as they want them to be.  But not many can do so while having physical tics and looking behind and to the side of himself the way Bobby does as Anthony Crispino. A-

Les Jeunes de Paris
When this started, I thought, “Really?  This again?”   I liked it the first time, but I didn’t feel confident that they could really do any more with it.  But there is plenty that Les Jeunes de Paris is capable of.  It is like a more fantastical version of What Up With That?, in which it really feels like anything could happen.   The best part was Andy the mime throwing the water on Taran. B+

Beastly Trailer
I can’t say no to that face. B

Rock-a-Billy Lady Party Moisturizing Facial Cream
This reminded me of the bit that Will Forte and Kristen did as Clancy T. Blancheratt and Jackie Snad, in that it was so weird, and I laughed at the weirdness, but I ultimately couldn’t get a handle on it because it was just so out there.   The Clancy T. Blancheratt bit was better, though, as it featured Will Forte singing like a maniac. B-

The Strokes perform “Life is Simple in the Moonlight”
Julian Casablancas was too incomprehensible for this to be a truly great performance. B

Cruise Ship Singer
The premise of a resentful cruise ship singer was promising, and Miley had a good handle on the character, but it didn’t go very far.  She just called everyone gross.   It was funny, but I wanted something deeper.  It was particularly funny when Vanessa requested “My Heart Will Go On” by Titanic. B-

Gurney Month on CBS
I was expecting at least one made up show title (Two and a Half Dead Bodies doesn’t count), but CBS apparently has so many real shows that fit the bill that there wasn’t enough time to get to a fake name.   The friendly voice saying things in bad taste is always good for a few chuckles. B-

Overall
Many fretted over the announcement of Miley as host, concerned about the obvious baiting of the teenybopper crowd with a young star of questionable talent. But I was confident that this would be a strong show, and here’s why: Charlie Sheen, the material afforded by the controversies Miley has been a part of, Gaddafi, the material afforded by a Disney Channel past, Charlie Sheen, the inevitable Miley Cyrus Show sketch, John Galliano, Charlie Sheen, the Strokes, Charlie Sheen, and the fact that Miley is actually talented. And amidst all that, who would have thought that the best sketch of the night would be about the Black Eyed Peas? Simply put, this was one of those magical weeks where the cast and writers had more material than they knew what to do with. As far as Sheen is concerned, he was at least referenced in four sketches, and he informed about half of Weekend Update. Miley actually came off a little smug, but she was funny about it, so it was okay. She was game for doing whatever and she even seemed to have been equipped with her own ideas (the Bieber impression looked like something she’d been working on).
Interestingly enough, this episode shared some striking similarities with the Emma Stone episode, as both featured Les Jeunes de Paris, the Babyspanx commerical, and the host portraying Lindsay Lohan.

VH1 Top 20 Countdown – 3/5/11

“SING” was the perfect replacement for “I’m in Here.”

Original Version
1. Britney Spears – “Hold It Against Me”
2. Adele – “Rolling in the Deep”
3. P!nk – “F****** Perfect”
4. Train – “Marry Me”
5. Avril Lavigne – “What the Hell”
6. Mumford & Sons – “The Cave”
7. Christina Perri – “Jar of Hearts”
8. Cee-Lo Green “F*** You”
9. The Script – “For the First Time”
10. Taylor Swift – “Back to December”
11. Maroon 5 – “Never Gonna Leave This Bed”
12. Bruno Mars – “Grenade”
13. Linkin Park – “Waiting for the End”
14. Two Door Cinema Club – “What You Know”
15. 30 Seconds to Mars – “Closer to the Edge”
16. Grace Potter & the Nocturnals – “Paris (Ooh La La)”
17. Kings of Leon – “Pyro”
18. Keri Hilson – “Pretty Girl Rock”
19. Sick Puppies – “Maybe”
20. My Chemical Romance – “SING”

Jmunney’s Revision
1. Paris (Ooh La La)
2. Rolling in the Deep
3. Pyro
4. The Cave
5. F*** You
6. SING
7. What You Know
8. Jar of Hearts
9. Waiting for the End
10. What the Hell
11. Grenade
12. Back to December
13. Hold It Against Me
14. Closer to the Edge
15. Maybe
16. Pretty Girl Rock
17. Never Gonna Leave This Bed
18. F****** Perfect
19. For the First Time
20. Marry Me

Jmunney’s 2010 Oscar Prediction Contest Results

Thank you to everyone who entered my blog’s inaugural Oscar contest. To my blog readers whom I do not know personally, you certainly made it interesting. This year’s winner was Joel Steven, one of those entrants whom I do not know personally. Joel correctly predicted 19 out of 24 categories. Congratulations Joel!
The toughest category proved to be Animated Short, which nobody got right, with everybody making the same wrong selection (Day & Night). Lead Actor, Adapted Screenplay, Animated Feature, and Sound Editing proved easier, with everyone correctly picking Colin Firth, Aaron Sorkin, Toy Story 3, and Inception, respectively.
Detailed results are below:

1. Joel Steven – 19

2. Greg Hernandez – 17

3. Walter Wojcik – 16

T4. Brenton Andreasik – 15

T4. Joe Ball – 15

T4. Dave Coyle – 15

7. Rob Malone – 14

8. Jason Tkach – 11