And the holiday season of box sets is officially upon us...
On November 21, Canada's favorite prog rock power trio is releasing their entire 15 albums from the Mercury years (1974-1988) in three box sets entitled Sectors (because calling it "Subdivisions" would be too on the nose?). Each CD comes with a special booklet with lyrics and photos from the period, and one album in each box gets an additional 5.1 stereo sound DVD.
Sector 1: Rush (1974), Fly By Night (1975), Caress of Steel (1975), 2112 (1976), All the World's a Stage (1976), Fly by Night (DVD)
Sector 2: A Farewell to Kings (1977), Hemispheres (1978), Permanent Waves (1980), Moving Pictures (1981), Exit...Stage Left (1981), A Farewell to Kings (DVD)
Sector 3: Signals (1982), Grace Under Pressure (1984), Power Windows (1985), Hold Your Fire (1987), A Show of Hands (1988), Signals (DVD)
This is the collection every basement / garage / lonely apartment needs. But if you haven't yet found that special lady in your life, best stay away far away from these.
The creator of Missile Command also commands missiles?
First thing, how weird is it that both Mad Men and Chuck dealt with a missile crisis this week -- especially given that Ryan McPartlin (Captain Awesome) got hot and heavy as Betty's revenge f*ck? The shows have more in common than you would think, actually. Both sprinkle their plot with a lot of pop culture references, with MM being more literary and Chuck emphasizing a certain nerditude. This episode is the perfect example of said nerditude.
On the music front, it turns out all that Huey Lewis of the first couple episodes was a signal that nostalgia would be the musical theme for this second season. This season has been one long walk down geek nostalgia lane, and "Tom Sawyer" is the perfect example of that. The song's meaning, a portrait of a modern day rebel, has no purpose here, instead it's purpose is pure nostalgia. Same goes for Stan Bush's "The Touch" from the 1986 animated film Transformers, which is the ultimate training montage cheese (see video) -- one that's been emulated on South Park, and covered by Dirk Diggler (Mark Wahlberg) in the film Boogie Nights:
If the film Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film For Theatersisn't for everyone, then that could easily be said about the soundtrack. Some understanding of the hilariously cruel and bizarre world of the Adult Swim series is probably necessary to appreciate a milkshake singing a rock ballad called "Nude Love." But then again, how can you ever really truly understand a plot where the aforementioned milkshake (Master Shake,) a ball of hamburger (Meatwad) and a pack of fries (Frylock) attempt to save the world from a giant exercise machine (Insane-o-flex) built 70,000 years ago by aliens. You're either in or out.... and you can count me as in. Same goes for the soundtrack (Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters Colon the Soundtrack) which was released this week in advance of the film hitting theaters today, it features an eclectic mix of hip-hop, new metal and indie rock that are (once again) not for everyone.
The artists here have a common a similar cult following: (Drake fave) The Hold Steady, Schooly D, Mastodon, Killer Mike, Early Man and Andrew W.K.. Schooly D wrote the theme song to the series, and his theme is remixed here for the movie, upping the metal quotient. Meanwhile, both MC Chris (as MC Pee Pants) and Andrew W.K. have appeared on the series, and songs that appeared in the series ("I Want Candy" and "Party Party Party," respectively) make contributions to the soundtrack here as well. Meanwhile, co-creator/writer Matt Maiellaro is an accomplished guitar shredder himself, and his guitar work is often featured on the program. Other musicians who've appeared on the show include Ted Nugent, Glen Danzig, Zakk Wylde and Geddy Lee of Rush. Speaking of Rush, drummer Neal Peart appears voicing a tiny version of himself in the movie, playing solos to puncuate the pronouncements of a talking tiny piece of watermelon. Of course he is.
So if you're ABC, and you have a smart new comedy that walks the line between Arrested Development's cleverness and My Name is Earl's populist approach, what do you do with it to make sure it grows an audience? If you said put it up against American Idol and let it sink or swim, I'm sure the network has bathroom key with your name on it.
While everyone else was watching wannabes butcher song after song in American Idol auditions, a select few of us watched the cast from The Knights of Prosperity butcher Rush's "Tom Sawyer" in hilarious fashion. The Knights were debating what should be their theme music when Eugene (Donal Logue) broke into that Rush classic. In reality, they have a theme song, composed by long time Letterman sidekick Paul Shaffer (Letterman's a producer.) It features actor Kevin Michael Richardson (pictured) on vocals and is a fine Isaac Hayes spoof:
As expected, though, the show was summarily trounced in the ratings by that 500 lb gorilla AI. So I guess that means we're on a Knights death watch from here on out, unless ABC decides to save it by giving it a chance in another time slot. In the meantime, you owe it yourselves to watch the first three episodes, streaming for free (ABC.)
