TV's Top Music Moments of 2008

In year's past, a show's finale meant a spike in music downloads the next day, but this year was quite different thanks to several mitigating factors. The first was the writer's strike, which cut down the number of proper season finales in scripted television this year by nearly half. The second and third factors deal with money, with music licensing rates on the rise and the economy on a downturn, it's no wonder that series have tried to do "more with less," to quote The Wire.

Just look at the top five I have listed here and you'll notice there's not one single use of a popular song in its original form, typically the more expensive option in music placement. They're all either original songs written for the occasion, or they've taken a song and have it performed by the cast. I guess, as the old saying goes, folks got to eat. Mmmmm.... as do I, so without further ado, here's the list.

10. 30 Rock me Amadeus
30 Rock - Episode 2.13 / "Requiem: Lacrimosa" - Mozart
The episode ("Succession") pits Tracy's Amadeus against Frank's Salieri as Tracy bridges The Uncanny Valley to make a realistic porn video game. Just add Kenneth in the role of Constanze, Mozart's wife and protector; then cue Dr. Spaceman running through the studio in a cape... pause for laughter... and scene!

9. (tie) Killer Colleen
Nip/Tuck - Episode 5.11 / "Me And My Teddy Bear" - The Tinseltown Players
Nip/Tuck - Episode 5.14 / "Fame" - David Bowie (w/ John Lennon)
Nip/Tuck loves both its guest stars and being outrageous. Sharon Gless combines the two with her role as the stalker Colleen, cementing the season's theme of 'fame' in the final few episodes. First comes when she killis Bob the agent from CAA with a teddy bear stuffing machine to the child-like tune of "Me and my Teddy Bear." Second comes in the mid-season finale, when she goes Mark David Chapman on her obsesson, stabbing Sean to the David Bowie's "Fame." And who else helped write and sing on that great song? John Lennon, of course.

8. Let's Twist Again (Like We Did Last Summer)
Mad Men - Episode 2.01 / "Let's Twist Again" - Chubby Checker
Mad Men has plenty of interesting music moments, but their almost always very subtle in their placement. Hearing Chubby Checker's sequel to "The Twist" (used in the first season) to open the second season montage was immediate and the perfect way to welcome the return of the near perfect series back into our homes.

7. The Half of You We Wanted to See
True Blood - Episode 1.06 / "Half of You" - Cat Power
Anna Paquin shows her goodies for the first time, going topless as Sookie while getting some from vampire boyfriend Bill, all to the sounds of Cat Power's "Half of You." The consummation of their relationship (which also involves some double-penetration via fangs) reminds us once again that this HBO vampire series is no Twilight.

6. Catfight!
Chuck - Episode 2.04 / "Smack my Bitch Up" - Prodigy
Yvonne Strahovski and Nicole Ritchie get wet and bloody beating each other up in the shower of a high school locker room, all to "Smack my Bitch Up."
I double-checked, this wasn't a dream.

5. (tie) Secondary College Musical!
Skins - Episode 2.02 / "Then Came the Day" - Cast (download) from "Osama! The Musical" (video)
Summer Heights High - Episode 1.08 / "Naughty Girl" from Mr. G the Musical (video)
The effects of High School Musical were felt across television series this year, but it was more interesting to see the interpretations from high schoolsecondary college-based series overseas. First came UK's Skins with Osama! The Musical, a love story that takes place on 9/11, between a stock broker and another survivor of the twin towers collapsing. "Then came the day, Osama blew us away" goes the love song, and as laughable as it sounds, it's hard to get out of your head. Then, from Australia (via HBO) came Chris Lilly's Summer Heights High and the musical arena spectacular "Mr. G!," featuring Lilly's drama teacher character Mr. G. Initially based on the death of a student (until parents veto the script,) "Mr G" follows a troubled teen's journey through drugs, with guidance from her favorite teacher, Mr. G. The song "Naughty Girl" actually became a top ten, certified gold hit in Australia.

Other school musicals in 2008: 90210's "Spring Awakening", South Park's "Elementary School Musical", Sesame Street's "PreSchool Musical"

4. (tie) The Greatest Gift of All
A Colbert Christmas / "Nutmeg" - John Legend, "Little Dealer Boy" - Willie Nelson, "Another Christmas Song" - Stephen Colbert, more
Everyone's favorite late night political satire host Stephen Colbert dons a cardigan and lampoons the old Perry Como, Bing Crosby, Andy Williams Christmas special tradition. It may be comedy, but the music wins the day with original songs co-written by Adam Schlesinger (Fountains of Wayne,) and featuring musical guests like Elvis Costello, John Legend, Willie Nelson, Toby Keith and Feist spreading their Christmas cheer, tongue-in-cheek. Aside from the Feist one, which really requires the context of the special to work, I think we can expect to hear the songs in future holidays.

3. It's a Wild Skins World
Skins - Episode 1.09 / "It's a Wild World" - cast (video)
While Skins often took some odd and unexpected turns, they usually countered it with a bit of the surreal to remind you that it's fiction. In the first season finale, Tony is hit by a truck, we get the expected scream and tears, but then the cast breaks into Cat Stevens "It's a Wild World," led by Sid and a chorus of random men at a urinal in a public bathroom. When the comatose Tony joins in for a verse, it's both jarring and funny at the same time, which is hard to pull off. The ending merely hinted at much of the craziness that was to come in season 2. That the series has cut most of the music out of the American airings makes it all the more special. I could honestly do a great top 10 list of just Skins moments that American audiences didn't experience. Don't tempt me!

2. Farewell to Baltimore
The Wire - Episode 5.10 / "Way Down in the Hole" - The Blind Boys of Alabama (video)
The series ends as it began, with Detective McNulty and the original theme song. As McNutty looks back on the city of Baltimore, we get a montage of all the old players, going on with their lives. The villains and do-nothings get rewarded with awards, promotions and new partners, and all the old beats from previous seasons look pretty much the same. In the end, though, this montage ultimately reminds us that the main character for the whole five-year run of the series was the city of Baltimore itself.

1. Sorry Jimmy, She's F*cking Matt Damon
The Jimmy Kimmel Show - 1000th Episode / "I'm F*cking Matt Damon" - Sarah Silverman /w Matt Damon
How can you argue with a song that won an Emmy and spawned a thousand tributes? Originally written for his birthday, Silverman debuted the song on Jimmy Kimmel Show's 1000the episode, and played on Kimmel's long running gag that ends many his shows ("apologies to Matt Damon, we ran out of time"). Kimmel replied with bigger budgeted "I'm F*cking Ben Affleck", and a flood of knockoffs quickly followed, including "I'm F*cking Seth Rogen" (Elizabeth Banks from the set of Kevin Smith's Zack And Miri Make A Porno) and Hillary Clinton in "I'm F*cking Obama".



Previously: TV's Top Music Moments of 2007

Ozay, that is so dotnose!

Sarah Silverman has some fun with words, and in this Devo-esque song, she also seems to be having some fun with Auto-tune.

The Sarah Silverman ProgramThursdays 10:30p/9:30c

That's Been Done

Black God
Alternative Comedy

Abortion Song
Stoner Humor

Turns out, 'ozay' and 'dot-nose' were real fake words made up my cast and crew in the past. 'Ozay' was a word that Sarah's sister Laura created with friends back in high school in West Hampton, and 'dot-nose' was created in the writer's room when showrunner Dan Sterling showed up with a dot on his nose. (See behind the scenes video.)

Weekly Roundup: Mother and Child Reunion

Life on Mars is quite frustrating. The template it works off of is so rich, and much of the cultural references are right on (without being too 'right on,' if you know what I mean,) but they just can't seem to nail the tone that they're shooting for. Last week delved a bit into camp, which is where there's more potential, but last night's episode criminally wasted the comedic talents of Robert Klein and Lenny Venito (who killed on The Knights of Prosperity).

The cultural references were many, including a little BBC nod of naming Sam's mother Rose Tyler, the name of the Billie Piper played character from Doctor Who. Musically, Paul Simon's "Mother and Child Reunion" was an easy call, and The Beach Boys' "Long Promised Road" was an inspiring choice, but the winner of the evening goes to the combo of T Rex and Jim Croce. In the BBC version, Sam runs into T Rex's Marc Bolan and warns him to stay away from Mini Coopers (Bolan died behind the wheel of one). Here Sam runs into Jim Croce an warns him about tiny airplanes (he would die later that year in a small commercial plane crash,) but more importantly, T Rex's "Bang a Gong" is playing in the background, as a callback to the original. Very nice. Other musical references include Deep Purple on The Dating Game (yes, it happened in 1968,) Sam flashing on a Nirvana Nevermind t-shirt, Gene being called "The Jean Genie," and while it was great hearing the final strains of a Lou Reed-led Velvet Underground ("Rock n' Roll," Reed left in 1970,) here they play the full version which didn't get released until much later. Maybe the nightclub owner has a connection to Reed, who knows?

One final reference of note is No Nuts going to see Woody Allen's Sleeper, which is appropos in that it finds our hero woken up from a 200-year coma to a future that he's clearly out of place in. It would be nice if even a smidge of the anachronistic slapstick of that film rubbed off on LoM.

Life on Mars - Episode 1.04 (playlist)
1. "Mother and Child Reunion" - Paul Simon
2. "Rock n' Roll" - The Velvet Underground
3. "Bang a Gong (Get it On)" - T Rex
4. "Lucky Lady" - Jones Brothers
5. "20th Century Man" - The Kinks
6. "Long Cool Woman" - The Hollies
7. "Long Promised Road" - The Beach Boys

Chuck - Episode 2.05 (playlist)
Chuck turns the nerd appeal up to 11 here with Missile Command, Rush, Transformers (the original, nerdier, animated version of course,) the recent video game documentary King of Kong, and Arrested Development's Tony Hale. Nerdgasm!
More thoughts and tracklisting

Skins - Episode 2.03 (playlist)
Might be my favorite moment of anguish captured in television all year, Sid breaking down to the caucophony of Crystal Castles "Alice Practice". They cut out two Sigur Ros tracks and Ryan Adam's "Come Pick Me Up" in the American version, though. Tsk, tsk.
More thoughts and tracklisting

90210 - Episode 1.08
This reboot is getting picked up overseas by E4, home of Skins -- boy are they in for a let down. Hard to believe Nic Harcourt is still slumming as music supervisor here.
Tracklisting

Gossip Girl - Episode 2.07
Jenny quits her stupid internship and ends up with Nate, while three little words trip up Chuck and Blair. Ok, so I skimmed through it. The real news this week is the release of the soundtrack, which wins for cleverest title of the year (OMFGG).
Tracklisting

More: Mad Men's season finale drops hints at the coming British invasion, Michael and Holly hear way too much of Tom Cochrane's "Life is a Highway", and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia go crazy with references: Steve Winwood's "Higher Love", "Oh Yeah" by Yello, in turn referencing The Secret of My Success and finally, Danny Devito revisiting his turn in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.

Previously: Osama (Been a lot of) [Last Week's Roundup]

Weekly Roundup: Osama (Been a lot of)

Two shows this week try to have some fun with the events of 9/11, almost begging us to ask the question of 'is it too soon?' To be fair, the comedy sketch series Human Giant already broached the subject with their Shutterbugs feature "Lil' 9/11" (see video,) but this week both The Sarah Silverman Program and British import Skins featured intentionally amateurish plays depicting the Twin Towers coming down. Each took it to the edge and each were, I have to say, funny. So I pose the same question: Is it too soon to laugh?

Silverman's take was a lot more surreal, first by running down anyone with a beard (including SNL's Fred Armisen,) assuming they're Osama bin Laden, then somehow even thematically tying Osama bin Laden's hairy beard to her sister's out-of-control pubic hair. Sister Laura, who deserves some sort of award for how good a sport she's had to be this season, resists 'trimming the bush' because it reminds her of her mother, mirroring Sarah's need for everyone to remember 9/11 (yes, the connection is tennuous). In the end, she gives in and tackles the jungle to gentle sounds of She & Him's "Sentimental Heart". Reaction from the boyfriend is the line of the night: "Oh Larry! You Moe'd Your Curly!"

Skins - Episode 2.02 (playlist)
Meanwhile, the students on Skins put on a play called Osama: The Musical, featuring some laugh-out-loud lyrics and some odd attempts at an American accent. There's a lot of other good music here as well from the likes of Cat Power, LCD Soundsystem and the like, but it's the chorus from a song in the musical that you'll find yourself singing: "Then came the day Osama blew us away." (Download).
More thoughts, tracklisting and video

Life on Mars - Episode 1.03 (playlist)
More remarkable than the songs this time is a dialogue-driven call back to a song from last week, and the new use of Mike Post-inspired score, reinforcing the 70's cop show feel.
More thoughts and tracklisting

Chuck - Episode 2.04 (playlist)
We get a glimpse at Sarah's past with a trip to her 10-year high school reunion. A soundtrack from 1998 is the perfect excuse to use The Prodigy's "Smack My Bitch Up" for a very wet cat fight -- but it also means we get Hanson's "Mmmbop."
More thoughts and tracklisting

True Blood - Episode 1.07 (playlist)
The music theme this week was Americana bands doing covers of great established classics. Featuring The Watson Twins doing "Just Like Heaven" (The Cure,) Cowboy Junkies' great take on "Sweet Jane" (The Velvet Underground,) and The Knitters tackle this week's episode title track, "Burning House of Love" (X). Speaking of a burning house, there's no way our hero Bill is part of that southern fried vampire rubble. Right?
Tracklisting

Life - Episode 2.05 (playlist)
A need to be back in the spotlight leads to a murder, and to the use of Clem Snide's great "Moment in the Sun". Throw in Elliott Smith, Spoon and Guster and the music outshines the paltry mystery here. The series isn't doing a lot right now to move it off the bubble.
Tracklisting

Gossip Girl - Episode 2.07 (playlist)
Serena is a precious snowflake (White Apple Tree's "Snowflakes") that shouldn't have to be subjected to family rules, whatsoever. Sigh.
Tracklisting

More: Mad Men reference the Ibsen Play Peer Gynt both in title and song ("In the Hall of the Mountain King") and end with some great George Jones. Meanwhile, on The Office episode "Crime Aid," Michael revealed his favorite Bruce Springsteen songs, which included "The Heart of Rock and Roll" (Huey Lewis,) "Fast Car" (Tracy Chapman) and "Short People" (Randy Newman)... wha?

Previously: Weekly Roundup (last week)

Sorry Jimmy, She's Fracking Matt Damon

Matt Damon has been a good sport about being the butt of a long running joke on The Jimmy Kimmel Show, as Kimmel would often end his shows with "apologies to Matt Damon, we ran out of time," even recently going so far as to have his parking security guard Guillermo snub him on the red carpet for the premiere of Ocean's Thirteen -- "can you come back for Ocean's 14?"

For the fifth anniversary of The Jimmy Kimmel Show, comedian and long time girlfriend Sarah Silverman put together this hilarious music video with Matt Damon, revealing their secret tryst. After a folk-like introduction by Silverman, the song moves into a rock feel, with Damon joining in, parroting Silverman and referring to himself in the third person with "she's f*cking Matt Damon."

From there it moves into different styles, including a hilarious turn at bad boy band rap, before fading back into Silverman's folk speak ending. Damon, of course, ends it with a "Jimmy... we're out of time, sorry" and finally on last use of the third person:

"Let's put that guitar down and go f*ck Matt Damon."


It's probably just me, but it brings to mind Damon's cameo in the awful-yet-often-seen comedy Euro Trip, revealing that he's f*cking the main character's girlfriend (played by Kristin Kreuk) in a song called "Scotty Doesn't Know" (by the band Lustra).