VH1 Top 20 Countdown – 10/29/11

In this episode, Jim was talking to a 12-year-old girl from the School of Rock whose favorite band is Neutral Milk Hotel.  The other 12-year-old girl’s favorite band is Paramore – not quite as wild, but still a solid choice.

Original Version
1. Adele – “Someone Like You”
2. Cobra Starship ft. Sabi – “You Make Me Feel…”
3. Red Hot Chili Peppers – “The Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie”
4. Kelly Clarkson – “Mr. Know It All”
5. The Script – “Nothing”
6. Jason Derülo – “It Girl”
7. Gym Class Heroes ft. Adam Levine – “Stereo Hearts”
8. Demi Lovato – “Skyscraper”
9. Dawes – “Time Spent in Los Angeles”
10. Colbie Caillat – “Brighter Than the Sun”
11. Lady Antebellum – “Just a Kiss”
12. The Civil Wars – “Poison & Wine”
13. O.A.R. – “Heaven”
14. Foster the People – “Pumped Up Kicks”
15. David Guetta ft. Usher – “Without You”
16. Bush – “The Sound of Winter”
17. Sara Bareilles – “Gonna Get Over You”
18. Hot Chelle Rae – “Tonight Tonight”
19. Beyoncé – “Countdown”
20. Maroon 5 ft. Christina Aguilera – “Moves Like Jagger”

Jmunney’s Revision
1. Pumped Up Kicks
2. Someone Like You
3. You Make Me Feel…
4. The Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie
5. The Sound of Winter
6. Moves Like Jagger
7. Without You
8. Mr. Know It All
9. Countdown
10. Brighter Than the Sun
11. Time Spent in Los Angeles
12. Gonna Get Over You
13. Poison & Wine
14. Stereo Hearts
15. Skyscraper
16. Tonight Tonight
17. Just a Kiss
18. Heaven
19. Nothing
20. It Girl

VH1 Top 20 Countdown – 10/22/11

How many times on average does everyone (involuntarily) hear “Someone Like You”?

Original Version
1. Adele – “Someone Like You”
2. Red Hot Chili Peppers – “The Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie”
3. The Script – “Nothing”
4. Gym Class Heroes ft. Adam Levine – “Stereo Hearts”
5. Cobra Starship ft. Sabi – “You Make Me Feel…”
6. Kelly Clarkson – “Mr. Know It All”
7. Jason Derülo – “It Girl”
8. Colbie Caillat – “Brighter Than the Sun”
9. Demi Lovato – “Skyscraper”
10. Foster the People – “Pumped Up Kicks”
11. Hot Chelle Rae – “Tonight Tonight”
12. Dawes – “Time Spent in Los Angeles”
13. Gavin DeGraw – “Not Over You”
14. The Civil Wars – “Poison & Wine”
15. Lady Antebellum – “Just a Kiss”
16. O.A.R. – “Heaven”
17. Lady GaGa – “Yoü and I”
18. Maroon 5 ft. Christina Aguilera – “Moves Like Jagger”
19. Bush – “The Sound of Winter”
20. Sara Bareilles – “Gonna Get Over You

Jmunney’s Revision
1. Pumped Up Kicks
2. Someone Like You
3. You Make Me Feel…
4. The Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie
5. Moves Like Jagger
6. The Sound of Winter
7. Mr. Know It All
8. Brighter Than the Sun
9. Time Spent in Los Angeles
10. Gonna Get Over You
11. Poison & Wine
12. Stereo Hearts
13. Skyscraper
14. Tonight Tonight
15. Yoü and I
16. Heaven
17. Nothing
18. Just a Kiss
19. Not Over You
20. It Girl

VH1 100 Greatest Songs of the 00s – Jmunney’s Reaction

A few weeks ago, VH1 revealed their list of the 100 Greatest Songs of the 00′s.  Naturally, here is my reaction:

Also, Pete Wentz was the worst host ever.  Bring back Shatner!

SNL Video Recap 10/15/11 Anna Faris/Drake

SNL Recap October 15, 2011: Anna Faris/Drake

Our asses will explode.

Cold Opening – A Message from the Mayor of New York City
As Nicholas Fehn would say, this is real smart stuff.  Bloomberg spinning the Occupy Wall Street protests as evidence of NYC as the greatest city in the world was delightfully twisted, and the references to the earthquake and last winter’s snow were welcome. B+

Anna Faris’s Monologue
This was the absolute epitome of half-assing a monologue … and still managing to wring several laughs out of it.  Anna’s throaty way of talking and big eyes allowed for perfect reactions to those pressing questions.  And although Abby does a great Anna Faris impression, the “Hannah Garis” bit was exceedingly pointless, but thanks to Anna playing along, it wasn’t all bad. B

The Manuel Ortiz Show
How does Fred manage to get sketches like these that are the exact same each time to become recurring sketches?  The hidden camera segment actually made it worthwhile this time around and served as a commentary on the sketch itself. B

What’s Wrong with Tanya?!
This sketch flirted with being overly reliant  on the ladies screaming, but thankfully Anna, Kristen, and Vanessa were all quite capable in that regard.  The guesses of Boy Tanya’s problem were the highlight. B+

Digital Short: Interviews with Drake
At first, I thought this was going to just be the very brief interview with Drake and be like that dumb brief “interview” with Justin Timberlake from last year.  Let’s take a moment to single out Don Pardo, who got quite a vocal workout with this sketch.  The word from the sponsor was an ingenious use of over-the-top Kristen Wiig. A-

Yet Another GOP Debate
Herman Cain is leading Republican polls?  Like Mitt Romney, I will believe it when … not exactly ever.  And just like the mainstream press, the comedy world continues to foolishly marginalize Ron Paul. B-

Drake performs “Headlines”
Now that Kanye has shown that messing around with the SNL musical stage can be allowed, the floodgates have been opened.  (Or not really, as it has taken a year for Drake to become the second performer to do so.)  Due to some ill-advised shot selection, the lyric scrolling must have worked better for the studio audience than it did at home.  Good thing that Drake’s idiosyncratic style and the fact that this is a good song were there to fall back on. A-

Weekend Update
-The Jokes: The video games joke got a laugh out of me, and the “gag gift for Grandma” was just the right amount of wrong. B
-The Segments: -Secondhand News: Finally!  Not the most memorable malapropisms, or source names, but like Bill Brasky quotes, Anthony Crispino’s Secondhand News will live on forever while being repeated amongst friends. B+
-Two Teenagers Dressed as Werewolves: So, Jay wanted to rap, and he had Drake there to help him out, and there were a few mildly funny rhymes.  Better was the lead-in explanation; Jay sounded like Bootsy Collins. C+

Tell Him
Societal analysis expressed through comedy and song = a recipe for success. B

J-Pop America Fun Time Now!
Along with the GOP debate, this was one of two sketches in this episode that was presented as appearing on a locally accessed TV station.  With those big eyes, Anna looks like she could be an anime heroine.  The excess exuberance, tempered by Jason’s frustrated professor, sold this bit. B

Cecil, Lord Wyndemere
Well, SNL, if you insist on being that unique, I am not going to stop you.  But are you sure this is what you want to be?  Cecil was more of a curiosity than a hoot, so some actual jokes would have helped.  Though this sketch wasn’t quite up my alley, I do not in any way want to imply that SNL should not air sketches like this one. B-

Drake ft. Nicki Minaj perfroms “Make Me Proud”
Nicki brought the heat.  However, because Drake tries to do so much, he can make duets a little awkward, and this performance never overcame that awkwardness. B

Ferrari Guys Calendar
The fact that the descriptions of the Ferrari guys sounded more and more like aliens placed this sketch comfortably in the realm of the weird.  Kristen and Anna’s commitment to the big hair, those skanky outfits, the desperation in their voices, and the expression “Our asses are going to explode” was certainly admirable.  And the end seemed to imply that this sketch was making fun of the eighties in some way? B

Overall
Hmm.  This was a rather strange episode, particularly after Update – J-Pop, Lord Wyndemere, Ferrari Guys.  But it was pretty good.  Utilizing Anna’s throaty vocal style for bizarre character roles was a better choice than sticking her with only dumb blonde characters, which was what more or less happened her first time as host.  Too bad she was too often used sparingly, if at all.  Drake, unsurprisingly, was a team player.

SNL Video Recap 10/8/11 Ben Stiller/Foster the People

VH1 Top 20 Countdown – 10/15/11

Who else has noticed how good a band Cobra Starship is?

Original Version
1. Gym Class Heroes ft. Adam Levine – “Stereo Hearts”
2. The Script – “Nothing”
3. Adele – “Someone Like You”
4. Red Hot Chili Peppers – “The Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie”
5. Colbie Caillat – “Brighter Than the Sun”
6. Jason Derülo – “It Girl”
7. Foster the People – “Pumped Up Kicks”
8. Cobra Starship ft. Sabi – “You Make Me Feel…”
9. Hot Chelle Rae – “Tonight Tonight”
10. Kelly Clarkson – “Mr. Know It All”
11. Gavin DeGraw – “Not Over You”
12. Demi Lovato – “Skyscraper”
13. Lady Antebellum – “Just a Kiss”
14. Dawes – “Time Spent in Los Angeles”
15. Maroon 5 ft. Christina Aguilera – “Moves Like Jagger”
16. The Civil Wars – “Poison & Wine”
17. O.A.R. – “Heaven”
18. Mumford & Sons – “Roll Away Your Stone”
19. Lady GaGa – “Yoü and I”
20. Bush – “The Sound of Winter”

Jmunney’s Revision
1. Pumped Up Kicks
2. Someone Like You
3. You Make Me Feel…
4. The Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie
5. Moves Like Jagger
6. Mr. Know It All
7. The Sound of Winter
8. Roll Away Your Stone
9. Brighter Than the Sun
10. Time Spent in Los Angeles
11. Poison & Wine
12. Stereo Hearts
13. Skyscraper
13. Tonight Tonight
13. Yoü and I
16. Heaven
17. Nothing
18. Just a Kiss
19. Not Over You
20. It Girl

SNL Recap October 8, 2011: Ben Stiller/Foster the People

Cold Opening – Mitt Romney Press Conference
The last couple of seasons, SNL has insisted on almost always opening with politicial material, whether or not they writers had anything worthwhile to say.  But with this sketch, they showed that they knew exactly what was going on, and it has been a while since that has been the case.  The fact that the impressions weren’t all that great is forgivable, considering that neither Romney nor Christie have particularly distinct voices.  God help the comedy world if Romney is elected.  There will have to be a lot of sketches like this one if he is, I guess. B+

Ben Stiller’s Monologue
A few good cracks (“the Jewish Willy Wonka” “so, Gene Wilder?”) stuck within an overly broad and unsatisfyingly random premise. C+

Lincoln Financial Group I
They’re on to something.  This reminded me of a video starring my brother. B

Fox & Friends
The best part was the corrections list, which was on screen for about ten seconds.  Thank you, God, for inventing the pause button. B

Lincoln Financial Group II
Even more disturbing, and even more revelatory than the first Lincoln Finacial bit. B+

The Best of Both Worlds
None of the guests this time around really fit the premise, except maybe Mandy Patinkin, but that was a bit too obscure. C-

Digital Short: V-Necks
“God help us.”
V-necks, V-necks, gotta love those V-necks.  This sort of vamping is among what Ben Stiller does best.  Was that a blink-and-you-miss-it cameo from Alan Arkin? A-

Hank Williams, Jr.
That certainly filled some time. B-

Foster the People perform “Pumped Up Kicks”
Mark Foster sounded so different than he does on the recorded version that I had to find a picture to verify that that was actually him.  Another big difference was the huge distortion on the keyboard.  Foster the People definitely appear to be interested in playing their songs differently every time they play them.  Gotta admire that. A-

Weekend Update
-The Jokes: The Jose Reyes joke held up the whole affair. B-
-The Segments: -Nan Washingtom: Like other great Kristen Wiig characters (particularly Judy Grimes), you worry about Nan Washingtom and hope that she can make it through her spiel.  And in the midst of that, there is something unmistakably admirable. B+
-Stefon (and Derek Zoolander): The appearance of Zoolander was gratifying, but – surprisingly – just a tad out of place.  I am starting to notice the exact moment Bill notices something that he doesn’t recognize on the cue cards. A-

Shana at a Halloween Party
Wow, do I hate Shana sketches.  Except not, because as much as this sketch is played out (and it was played out the first time they ever did it), the reactions to Shana’s shenanigans are consistently priceless. B-

Lincoln Financial Group III
A quickie, but a goodie. B

Underundergound Records: Columbus Day Assblast
Mrs. Potato Dick is finally rocking it on Columbus Day!  These promos are so worldly and erudite (“Give Queen Isabella polyps!” “Nina! Pinta! And Scuzzy Beth!” Eckhart Tolle). B+

Bruce Springsteen: Just the Stories
Funny in the way that each segment ended by getting cutting off, so it was a bit tricky as well.  Little Stevie’s moment stood out, thanks to Fred’s gift for playing around with verbiage. B

Foster the People (with Kenny G) perform “Houdini”
Nicely jaunty and energetic.  And hey, Kenny G!  That would have to be the biggest surprise guest appearance on SNL in a long time. B+

Tinyballs
This parody served as the contemporaneous inverse of Moneyball.  Ben Stiller fulfilled his role nicely as the sleazy steroid provider, which called to mind his “Do it” character from The Ben Stiller Show.  And there’s Taran Killam with his Brad Pitt impression, which this time around was not completely nonsensical but actually somewhat accurate. B+

Overall
The longer sketches had some issues, but, thankfully, the shorter sketches were particularly and consistently strong.  And there were a bunch of them (the three Lincoln Financial commercials, V-Necks, the Update segments, Assblast, Springsteen, and Tinyballs). Stiller was happy to lurk in the shadows (quite effectively).

VH1 Top 20 Countdown – 10/8/11

Adele is again wasting no time.

Original Version
1. The Script – “Nothing”
2. Red Hot Chili Peppers – “Rain Dance Maggie”
3. Foster the People – “Pumped Up Kicks”
4. Gym Class Heroes ft. Adam Levine – “Stereo Hearts”
5. Adele – “Someone Like You”
6. Demi Lovato – “Skyscraper”
7. Hot Chelle Rae – “Tonight Tonight”
8. Colbie Caillat – “Brighter Than the Sun”
9. Jason Derülo – “It Girl”
10. Lady Antebellum – “Just a Kiss”
11. Cobra Starship ft. Sabi – “You Make Me Feel…”
12. Gavin DeGraw – “Not Over You”
13. Maroon 5 ft. Christina Aguilera – “Moves Like Jagger”
14. Kelly Clarkson – “Mr. Know It All”
15. Nicki Minaj – “Super Bass”
16. Dawes – “Time Spent in Los Angeles”
17. Mumford & Sons – “Roll Away Your Stone”
18. Lady Gaga – “Yoü and I”
19. O.A.R. – “Heaven”
20. The Civil Wars – “Poison & Wine”

Jmunney’s Revision
1. Pumped Up Kicks
2. Someone Like You
3. Super Bass
4. The Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie
5. Moves Like Jagger
6. You Make Me Feel…
7. Mr. Know It All
8. Roll Away Your Stone
9. Brighter Than the Sun
10. Time Spent in Los Angeles
11. Poison & Wine
12. Stereo Hearts
13. Yoü and I
14. Tonight Tonight
15. Skyscraper
16. Heaven
17. Nothing
18. Just a Kiss
19. Not Over You
20. It Girl

SNL Video Recap 10/1/11 Melissa McCarthy/Lady Antebellum