TV's Top Music Moments of 2007

After a popular series finale fades -- or cuts -- to black, nowadays there's a mad dash to find the song that ushered out the show. Download stats the next day go through the roof, and sometimes that recording will make a mark on Billboard charts. This year, that scenario happened time and time again, even bringing a group long since out of favor back into the limelight. Not all the moments I have below followed this path, but they all stuck with me, long after the credits rolled.

10. Total Eclipse of Meth Lab Matt [video]
Nip/Tuck - Ep 5.07, Song: "Total Eclipse of the Heart" - Bonnie Tyler
Miserable Matt pulls a Richard Pryor, setting himself on fire trying to cook up some drugs (meth in this case) in his apartment. After catching on fire, he manages to do a swan dive from the second floor into his complex's pool. The usual histrionics of Matt's scenes are amusingly sent over the top by using this Bonnie Tyler classic. Songwriter Jim Steinman -- the writer behind Meatloaf -- has a gift for over the top.

9. Mad Men Don't Think Twice
Mad Men Ep1.13, Song: "Don't Think Twice, It's Alright" - Bob Dylan
A fitting end to a nearly perfect first season of television. Dylan wrote the song as "a statement that maybe you can say to make yourself feel better," a consolation for your lover leaving you. As Don sits on the steps, we can imagine him having this argument in his head thinking about Betty and kids having left him -- this after finally realizing just how much he needs them.

8. Say Goodbye to the O.C., Bitch [video]
The O.C. Ep4.16, Song: "Life Is A Song" - Patrick Park
Credit Josh Schwartz for not playing the end of the series for tears, instead using the music for for a more simple montage of events that lead up to the series coming full circle. A grown and successful Ryan pays it forward by taking in a trouble youth. Cue whistling.

7. Life is Good [video] / [video] / [video]
Life Ep1.11, Songs: "Who By Fire" - Leonard Cohen, "Down Boy" - Yeah Yeah Yeahs, "Finally" - The Frames
The freshman NBC series was on a serious roll to end the year. Not only did it get picked up, but the final few episodes were it's strongest, especially musically. It seemed like someone beefed up the budget when it became apparent that the show had legs, and the work that was done with music in the final episode was some of the most inspired placement I've seen all year.

6. The End to a 'Series of Dreams' [video]
John From Cincinnati Ep1.10, Song: "Series of Dreams" - Bob Dylan
JFC proved to be a frustrating series -- moments of brilliance were followed by unexplained madness. David Milch's brilliant use of language couldn't save the series from being known as 'the show that killed Deadwood.' I still get a bit emotional watching the beauty of the opening credits, and the opening to the final episode, where John and Shaunie surf in from God knows where to this Bob Dylan song. With the series already dead, it felt like a wasted moment of brilliance... a beautiful bridge to nowhere.

5. Prince in Purple (and freezing) Rain [video]
Super Bowl XLI Half-Time Show - Playlist: Prince's Super Bowl Set List
After several disappointing half-time shows in a row, Prince steps in and tears the place apart. His royal badness owned the stage wearing heels in freezing rain, and in need of hip-replacement surgery! His cover of Foo Fighter's "The Best of You" was amazing -- I still don't understand why it's a single.

4. Morning Breaks for The Darling Mermaids [video]
Pushing Daisies - Ep 1.07, Song: "Morning Has Broken" - Cat Stevens (sung by Ellen Greene)
Ok, if you haven't seen this one, then it probably won't seem that special. But when Aunt Vivian breaks into the Cat Stevens classic, all the perfectly orchestrated silliness that preceded in the episode helped set this up to feel more then just a tug at the heart strings. The Aunts finally break from their depression and The Darling Mermaids are back in the pool, synchronized beautifully to the music. For me, this is the point where the series went from good to positively great.

3. David Bowie is Having a Laugh[video]
Extras Ep2.02, Song: "Little Fat Man" - David Bowie
Ricky Gervais supplied the lyrics for David Bowie, reportedly suggesting that he try and do something musically in the vein of "Life on Mars" and the result is pure magic. Everyone sing along, 'see his pot-nosed face...'

2. Bob Dylan is a Cylon [video]
Battlestar Galactica Ep3.20, Song: "All Along the Watchtower" - Bear McCreary w/ Bt4
A Bob Dylan song acts as a catalyst that triggers beloved characters on the Galactica ship to realize that they are in fact cylons. BSG composer Bear McCreary says about the use of the song in BSG's universe: "Perhaps this unknown performer and Dylan pulled inspiration from a common, ethereal source." I guess that's related to the infinite monkey theorem, but Dylan still might think about retaining the services of Romo Lampkin to sue said unknown performer over trans-universe copyright infringement.

1. The Sopranos Resurrects Journey's Career [video]
The Sopranos Ep6.21, Song: "Don't Stop Believin'" - Journey
Possibly the cultural event of the year, it also sent Journey back up the charts for the first time in twenty years. The moment when creator David Chase cuts off the song with singer Steve Perry singing "Don't Stop..." and the screen went black still has folks talking about it. The choice of the song was partly for the opportunity to sync up 'Don't Stop' with the cut, but it's also simply a song from Tony and Carmela's past, telling nothing about his future. He's alive, though, ok? So is Journey, for that matter, with a new album coming out in 2008 (sans Steve Perry).

The end to a 'Series of Dreams'

The brilliant yet frustrating John From Cincinnati closed out it's first season season last night. I say first, but it's likely the only season, as a source close to the series has told me it will not be renewed (now confirmed.) Much like Battlestar Galactica earlier this year, the ending is brilliantly tied to a Bob Dylan song, in this case "Series of Dreams."

The song breathtakingly backs the opening scene as John and Shaunie ride a wave in from nowhere (Cincinnati) wearing their new camouflage wetsuits. It's moments like this that make the series one of the most breathtaking to witness. The song itself was originally considered for the opening credits, before they finally settled on Joe Strummer's "Johnny Appleseed." Looking at the lyrics, it's easy to see why it was almost the theme, as it has a lot of parallels to the series.

Thinking of a series of dreams
Where the time and the tempo fly
And there's no exit in any direction
'Cept the one that you can't see with your eyes

Time and tempo, that what you can't see with your eyes... you can see JFC's themes of interconnectedness and faith in the unknown. The finale itself, written by Zach Whedon (Joss Whedon's little brother!) was a perfect encapsulation of the brilliance and frustration of the series. The opening scene and both of the scenes centered on Bill we're absolutely perfect. Meanwhile, story lines tangent to the plot like The Chinaman (Deadwood sighting) seemed right out of left field. Falling right in the middle of that is the scene with the used car salesman (another Deadwood sighting) which is meant to serve as a sort of decoder ring for previous riddles. It accomplishes this (for the most part,) but does so quite clumsily. Is the salesman John's father? Or just another conduit of his word? He tells John (referring to him as 'Country') that he's putting him 'offline' (which harkens back to Cass' interpretation that John is more like a machine relaying messages.) The reason some of the scenes don't work for me is more that I can almost see the greatest television series I've ever witnessed... JFC was an ambitious tightrope walk, and the fact that it wasn't always walking gracefully shouldn't distract you from the amazing feat of it walking a mile in the air - but somehow it still does.

In all that ambition, there's still some grounded concepts to iron out. To me, the whole thing seems like the forming of a new religion with commerce as the new church. Sponsorship, promotion, advertising... all these things are the formulas to communicate with the modern flock and Stinkweed has already cornered the market on selling it's bible. John and the whole Yost clan are signed to Stinkweed, and Linc provides cover for John's father's words (and for John) by claiming all the miracles to be part of their grand promotion. JFC revisits the 9/11/14 date mentioned in the John's Snug Harbor Sermon, both on the shuffleboard (was the '10 off' a knowing wink that they'd be cancelled after 10 episodes?) and as a warning to link. As a planet, we have just seven years (of unwritten and unaired seasons) to get it figured out before we're 'toast.'

To that end, the prologue at the end provides puzzling tidbits for the future. "Earth puts Dickstein on retainer" (did lawyer Dickstein see his future as a crusader for Earth while he was getting blown?) "Dr. Smith comes back 20 years younger from Cincinnati" (What in the world was that about? Could they really make this miracle work in another season, or was Garret Dillahunt not available to shoot that day and Milch thought 'why not blow some minds?') And finally "Mother of God, Cass/Kai." There are a few theories out there on this, but the one I clutch to is that both Cass and Kai are pregnant with Yost babies. The whole end sequence was about hinting to events in the future, and both Cass (Mitch) and Kai (Butchie) slept with a generation of Yost, so it stands to reason that they might be carrying the next in line. Add in Cass' ones and zeros (digital camera) to Kai's lines and circles (surfing,) and you've got even more fun interpretation to be had.

(UPDATE: This interview with David Milch answers a lot of questions.)

Like David Chase with The Sopranos, Milch doesn't have a need for tidy endings, so there's plenty of mysteries left from the series to theorize and argue over. But, just like Dylan in his song, I wasn't expecting all my questions to be answered:

Wasn't looking for any special assistance
Not going to any great extremes
I'd already gone the distance
Just thinking of a series of dreams

Too bad that series appears to now be dead, as I'll sure miss it. If it brings back Deadwood, though, then you can put me down for a hallelujah.

Playlist: John From Cincinnati - Full Series Soundtrack
1. "Johnny Appleseed" - Joe Strummer - Main title/theme song
2. "The Perfect Ending" - Harriet Street - Promos/Previously on
3. "Goin' Up The Country" - Canned Heat - Episode 101: Vietnam Joe in van
4. "Sun/Rise/Light/Flies" - Kasabian - Episode 101: Closing credits
5. "Tic" - Kava Kava - Episode 102: Shaun prepares for competition
6. "Staring at the Sun" - TV On The Radio - Episode 102: Closing credits
7. "Time To Say Goodbye" - Sarah Brightman - Episode 103: Freddie in his car outside the hospital
8. "You Light Up My Life" - Debby Boone - Episode 103: Barry recalls what happened in Room 24
9. "Boogie Chillen" - Buddy Guy - Episode 103: John says "see God Kai" and trippy montage ensues
10. "Feeling Good" - Muse - Episode 103: Closing credits
11. "Unisono" - Control Machete - Episode 104: John gets in the van with the homeys
12. "Un Di Felice, Eterea" - David Byrne - Episode 104: Vietnam Joe finds John, John signals Cass
13. "In Your Eyes" - Peter Gabriel - Episode 104: Kai reminds Butchie of their Jr Prom
14. "Over, Under, Sideways, Down" - The Yardbirds - Episode 104: Closing credits
15. "Tonights The Night" - The Shirelles - Episode 105: Butchie and Tina in diner
16. "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" - Elvis Costello - Episode 105: Closing credits
17. "And When I Die" - Laura Nyro - Episode 106: Freddie & Bill
18. "My Favorite Things" - John Coltrane - Episode 106: Closing credits
19. "Watching The Wheels" - Matisyahu - Episode 107: Closing credits
20. "Tennessee Waltz" - Patti Page - Episode 108: Barry has vision in bar
21. "When Love Comes To Town" - U2 - Episode 108: Closing credits
22. "Hold On, I'm Coming" - Sam & Dave - Episode 109: Closing credits
23. "Series of Dreams" - Bob Dylan - Episode 110: Opening scene, John & Shaun surf in
24. "Long Tall Sally" - Little Richard - Episode 110: Closing montage and credits

Previously: The Happiest Messenger of God on the block (Episode 108), Making with the Big and Huge (Episode 109)

tags: john from cincinnati, television, hbo, soundtrack, jfc, bob dylan, religion, rhapsody

JFC thus far

Due to popular demand (only takes a couple emails) here's the soundtrack for John From Cincinnati (UPDATED FOR WHOLE SEASON/SERIES RUN:)

Playlist: John From Cincinnati - Full Series Soundtrack
1. "Johnny Appleseed" - Joe Strummer - Main title/theme song
2. "The Perfect Ending" - Harriet Street - Promos/Previously on
3. "Goin' Up The Country" - Canned Heat - Episode 101: Vietnam Joe in van
4. "Sun/Rise/Light/Flies" - Kasabian - Episode 101: Closing credits
5. "Tic" - Kava Kava - Episode 102: Shaun prepares for competition
6. "Staring at the Sun" - TV On The Radio - Episode 102: Closing credits
7. "Time To Say Goodbye" - Sarah Brightman - Episode 103: Freddie in his car outside the hospital
8. "You Light Up My Life" - Debby Boone - Episode 103: Barry recalls what happened in Room 24
9. "Boogie Chillen" - Buddy Guy - Episode 103: John says "see God Kai" and trippy montage ensues
10. "Feeling Good" - Muse - Episode 103: Closing credits
11. "Unisono" - Control Machete - Episode 104: John gets in the van with the homeys
12. "Un Di Felice, Eterea" - David Byrne - Episode 104: Vietnam Joe finds John, John signals Cass
13. "In Your Eyes" - Peter Gabriel - Episode 104: Kai reminds Butchie of their Jr Prom
14. "Over, Under, Sideways, Down" - The Yardbirds - Episode 104: Closing credits
15. "Tonights The Night" - The Shirelles - Episode 105: Butchie and Tina in diner
16. "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" - Elvis Costello - Episode 105: Closing credits
17. "And When I Die" - Laura Nyro - Episode 106: Freddie & Bill
18. "My Favorite Things" - John Coltrane - Episode 106: Closing credits
19. "Watching The Wheels" - Matisyahu - Episode 107: Closing credits
20. "Tennessee Waltz" - Patti Page - Episode 108: Barry has vision in bar
21. "When Love Comes To Town" - U2 - Episode 108: Closing credits
22. "Hold On, I'm Coming" - Sam & Dave - Episode 109: Closing credits
23. "Series of Dreams" - Bob Dylan - Episode 110: Opening scene, John & Shaun surf in

I'll keep try and update this after every post on the show.

tags: playlist, john from cincinnati, television, hbo, soundtrack, jfc, rhapsody

Making with the big and huge

On the second day, he died and was risen from the dead. And then on the eighth day, he disappeared, with the frat boy and the bird. Like some f*d up holy trinity (yes, my altar boy is showing.)

The lines and circle stick men are propagating, while the crazy characters that surround Shaun find themselves confronting their worst fears. Shaun being gone is already Cissy's worst fear. Mitch, Tina, Freddy, Barry, the Doctor and Bill all get in touch on their fears. Those closest to John (Kai and Butchie) see it in a positive light, and Butchie goes out to look for John and Shaun by surfing. As Butchie looks for a wave that might be coming with the duo, Sam & Dave's "Hold On, I'm Coming" plays (signaling John's return??) I doubt it's a coincidence that it's a Stax song playing, given that label's big 50th anniversary.

tags: john from cincinnati, television, hbo, soundtrack, jfc, sam and dave, stax, rhapsody

Speaking toddlerese

There's only two episodes left in this first season for John From Cincinnati, and one hopes many of the questions raised will at least be somewhat answered. One question on everyone's lips has to do with language, and how the characters communicate. The dialogue that David Milch utilizes to tell his narrative can be both breathtaking and frustrating in the same sentence.

Take the title character, John Monad (who we know isn't really from Cincinnati, and probably isn't named John.) His use of what Bill (Ed O'Neill) calls "parrot-talk" tells us he is more an empty vessel delivering his message, as he seems to only be able to repeat words he hears in order to communicate. This reminds me a lot of what's called 'toddlerese,' ie, the language of toddlers.

One of the leading theories dealing with communicating with toddlers (Happiest Toddler on the Block,) is the thought that these young people are really like neanderthals, who cannot understand our logic and reasoning. In order relate with them, as parents we must speak their language, which involves going down to their level and repeating back what they say using exaggerated facial expressions. Since we're all supposedly God's children, it's stands to reason that He might communicate with us in the same manner, and John's parrot-talk and delivery is remarkably similar to this. If we assume that John is a messenger from God, then perhaps we're all walking wobbly in poopy diapers when it comes to understanding His purpose? If we go back to John's sermon, it's essentially a neanderthal who first communicates with God using a circle and a line drawn on the wall. Perhaps God hasn't checked in on mankind in awhile and doesn't realize that he occasionally reads Proust?

Contrast this toddlerese with the rich (to the point of cryptic) language that Milch employs for the rest of the characters, and it can be even more frustrating. For example Bill's interrogation of John (or "I got my eye on you" as Bill calls him) is set up to fail when Bill demands there be 'no parrot talk.' John looks lost and finally can only stab himself in the stomach to make his message heard. This exchange is really the centerpiece of the episode, and it takes place in Room 24, the room mentioned in the sermon ("Room 24 will give up its dead, and the dead will be forgiven.") That the lawyers meet in there as well is not an insignificant point.

John isn't the only one communicating with a higher power, though, as Freddy has a vision in a dream of Shaun going missing, and Barry has his own epileptic vision featuring Shaun and a couple orders of Roy Rogers (short and tall.) Here David Milch uses his own voice to deliver the verbal insults over the jukebox while it played "The Tennessee Waltz," in a very Twin Peaks-like encounter. Barry envisions a theater here, and I could't help but think of the final season of Deadwood and imagine Brian Cox's Jack Langrishe appearing with his players to finish what they started on Milch's other series.

Like The Sopranos' David Chase, Milch also likes to employ music to add to the communication. Take the end of last week's episode, which ended with Matisyahu's take on John Lennon's "Watching the Wheels," which contains the verse "people asking questions lost in confusion / well I tell them there's no problem / only solutions," which sounds like Milch answering early criticism of the show. This week, there was even some more subtle references, like when Cissy shows up at Snug Harbor ruining a plan to keep the 'Shaun is going to be gone' message from her for now. Dwayne says, "Mick is right again," referring to the Rolling Stone's "You Can't Always Get What You Want."

For the end credits this time around, JFC finds more religion, albeit Bono's version of it, with U2's "When Love Comes to Town." As the prophet Bono wrote:

I was there when they crucified my Lord
I held the scabbard when the soldier drew his sword
I threw the dice when they pierced his side

If John could hear his father's word through Bono he might stab himself in the stomach again. Toddlers sure have a tough time being understood.

Playlist: John From Cincinnati - Ep107-108
1. "Watching The Wheels" - Matisyahu - closing credits (Episode 107)
2. "Tennessee Waltz" - Patti Page - Barry's vision in the bar (Episode 108)
3. "When Love Comes To Town" - U2 - closing credits (Episode 108)

Previously: Logic is a limping stepchild (Episode 106), In the soup with John (Episodes 101-103)

tags: playlist, john from cincinnati, television, hbo, soundtrack, jfc, u2, theology, religion, rhapsody

Logic is a limping stepchild

With this latest episode of John From Cincinnati one has to imagine that JFC could very well be short for Jesus F*cking Christ - both the prophet and the exclamation. Towards the end of the episode, creator David Milch calls David Lynch on the surreal, and raises him a sermon on the mount, with John (as astral projection) delivering what very well could be the Rosetta Stone of the whole series.

Without spoiling it too much, it sheds more light on the interconnectedness of the ensemble, and features 'my father's words,' lots of ones and zeros, the dawn of man, details of the Yost family's past, present, and a hint of future - "we are coming 9/11/14." Which begs a few questions: Did Milch just announce the date of the second coming? Does that mean the series requires seven seasons to get us there? Is it a coincidence that it's marked by the 13-year anniversary of the attack on the twin towers? Or is this simply a reference to the Bible passage Hebrews 9:11-14, which details redemption through Christ? And finally, can GILF Cissy Yost (Rebecca DeMornay) "show me how it's done?"

As to why JFC refuses to progress in logic fashion, Milch recently said: "The tactics of fictive persuasion have nothing to do with reasoned discourse." Furthermore:

The important point that I'm trying to make is that storytelling has nothing, whatsoever, to do with logic. Logic is a limping stepchild of the true processes of the spirit. It's an illusion. It's a defective little parlor trick. Associations are the way that we perceive. Electrical connections caused by the juxtapositions of experience. That's the way we are really built, and storytelling takes into account that truth.

Meanwhile, the show is anchored by John Coltrane's heated version of "My Favorite Things", which ends the episode. The song is the perfect metaphor for JFC: Something that is simple at it's base, yet it's given incredible complexity for the audience to chew on (even if most wind up spitting it out initially.) Freddy also plays the song on his tenor sax, exclaiming "this is how I relax!" Actor Dayton Callie actually used to play sax for a living, so his rendition, while a tad rusty, was his own stunt. Similarly, during John's surreal sermon, Ed O'Neill (as Bill) is actually throwing down some licks on the harmonica, jamming with Callie on the sax. So there's more music on the set then just Milch's dialogue.

For those that passed on this series after a couple episodes, they're showing the past three back-to-back-to-back this Thursday. If you're a fan of Lost, Twin Peaks and Deadwood and haven't stuck with the show, consider yourself warned. The disparate characters and their oddball speech are like the million of actions that come together to form a perfect wave that crashes on the beach, and it's quite beautiful now that we're able to pull back and see it coming. Even it takes seven years.

tags: playlist, john from cincinnati, television, hbo, soundtrack, jfc, john coltrane, theology, bible, rhapsody

In the soup with John

Like a lot of people, I wasn't too impressed with the first hour of HBO's surf noir John From Cincinnati. It was hard to find things to like about any of the characters, and it was cryptic in a way that was more 'wtf??' than 'wow, you just blew my mind!' But now that I've seen three hours of the David Milch drama, I'm hooked to it like The Sopranos, Lost and, yes, Milch's last HBO series, Deadwood. Since it's probably not a show you can just drop in anywhere on, HBO is re-airing the first three episodes tonight – like lined up peaks for you to totally shred (Dude.)

There's so much going on in these three episodes, it's hard to put in one post, but here's some of the highlights. First and foremost is the opening credits, which are a mesmerizing montage of old surf film clips cut beautifully together with Joe Strummer's "Johnny Appleseed." In this regard, JFC dutifully fills The Sopranos shoes as opening credits that you relish watching again. I'm not sure if it's intentional or not, but Strummer's lyric about "don't go killing all the bees" feels especially ominous with recent news and all John's talk about "the end is near."

The music grows as a storytelling method throughout the series. When the second episode ends with a 'resurrection,' TV On The Radio's "Staring at the Sun" plays with the opening lyrics "cross the street from your storefront cemetary..." and goosebumps appear.

By the third episode, we're inundated with musical references. As Freddy "the ice cream man" (Deadwood's Dayton Callie) talks to himself in his car parked outside the hospital, he's listening to the Sarah Brightman duet with Andrea Bocelli of "Time to Say Goodbye (Con te partirò)" Freddy must assume the worst about Shaun to be listening to a song like this (especially considering his brutish nature.) "Aww. That's where the blind dago was supposed to come in. What's this, a different version?" No, Freddy, Bocelli actually comes in later. Some may remember once upon a time this song served as a sort of theme for Carmela on The Sopranos.

Then, in a very Twin Peaks-like scene back at the 'haunted' hotel room, Barry says, knee-deep in Milchspeak: "I alone, then, am favored by that jovially croaking postcoital falsetto winsomely caricaturing Debby Boone?" To which he starts to sing "You Light Up My Life," (did anyone else flashback to Todd Solondz' Happiness here?) When Barry later mutters the seemingly non-sequiter "black bobby socks," I find myself eerily looking forward to a Lynchian flashback that involves said song and socks.

Later in the episode, John makes Kai "see God," set to Buddy Guy's rendition of John Lee Hooker's "Boogie Chillen." Why Buddy Guy's version? Most likely because in the middle he starts improvising with the lines "gotta get away from John for a bit." The 'seeing god' montage is once again very David Lynch, showing four of the characters all being burned by metal: Kai's piercings, Ramon's necklace, Vietnam Joe's shrapnel in his leg, and the transdermal horn implants in Butchie's head. That last one was an odd revelation, one that you'd assume will have more meaning later, but Butchie as "the beast" here makes perfect sense. As Shaunie skates the half-pipe outside the Yost home, it's set to the song "Feeling Good," popularized by the great Nina Simone, but covered here to great histrionic effect by Muse. The onlookers gasp (Link revealingly says "Jesus Christ!") as they watch the resurrected son riding the homemade wave... cue credits.

Speaking of resurrection, you can imagine there's a lot of religious themes going on here - even the main character, named John Monad, a last name which philosophers associate with the obscure metaphysics of Leibniz. This use of a last name in sync with philosophy is pure Lost. Monism is the theological/metaphysical belief that 'all is one,' and there are no fundamental divisions. The setting of Imperial Beach is full of these 'divisions' or borders – Mexico and the US, Tijuana and San Diego, land and ocean, life and death. The main characters are faced with miracle after miracle, but refuse to recognize it as such, until Dr. Smith (played by chameleon Garret Dillahunt, who played two different roles in Milch's Deadwood) is shaken to his science-based core by Shaun's recovery. Then folks start to acknowledge what they've known all along: weird things are afoot since John arrived.

And last, but certainly not least, is Milch's dialogue he perfected with Deadwood. The characters speak a lot that seems nonsense, but with their actions, these words have a lot more meaning. When Linc (Luke Perry) says to Dr. Smith "Thank you. Thank you for the work you do," he sounds polite, but the look they give each other suggests enemies have been born. Meanwhile the following exchange appears to lead to punches, but instead to comaradie.

Bill: "What is your name please?"
Freddy: "What's your name?"
Bill: "Bill Jacks. I'm a retired police officer. And you don't want to make me ask your name again."
Freddy: "Retired cops don't get my name, what time it is, or pissed on if they go up in flames."
a few minutes later...
Freddy: "I'm a friend of the family, all right?"
Bill: "I'm a friend of the family."
Freddy: "Then they got two friends looking out for them."
Bill: "And you look out for them how, by seeing when their backs are turned so you can steal their drapes?"

The characters stand side-by-side with arms crossed staring at the house, the cop and criminal on the same side. It's exchanges like these that lessen the blow of not having another season of Deadwood to look forward to.

Playlist: John From Cincinnati - Ep101-103
1. "Johnny Appleseed" - Joe Strummer - opening credits/theme song
2. "Sun/Rise/Light/Flies" - Kasabian - closing credits episode 101
3. "Tic" - Kava Kava - surfers get ready for competition, episode 102
4. "Staring at the Sun" - TV On The Radio - Shaun opens his eyes, closing credits, episode 102
5. "Time To Say Goodbye" - Sarah Brightman - Freddy listens and talks to himself in the car outside the hospital, episode 103
6. "You Light Up My Life" - Debby Boone - , episode 103
7. "Boogie Chillen" - Buddy Guy and Junior Wells - John bones Kai / Kai sees God, episode 103
8. "Feeling Good" - Muse - Shaun rides his skateboard as people look on in disbelief, episode 103

More: HBO, in their infinite wisdom, has included a "inside the episode" section, giving the viewer more insight into each episode. It's very illuminating and you'll find yourself wanting to rewatch an episode as a result. Bonus: Here's Milch discussing discussing the show in a recent interview.

tags: playlist, john from cincinnati, television, hbo, soundtrack, tvotr, joe strummer, muse, buddy guy, twin peaks, debby boone, sarah brightman, andrea bocelli, deadwood, sopranos, rhapsody