"Adapt or die, Sam," says the Devil (Ray Wise) at one point during the very funny "Dirty Sexy Mongol" last night, and the same could be said for the Reaper series, as it still struggles to find an audience in its second season. While the series maintained its numbers from last week's premiere, it's still the CW's sacrificial lamb left to Idol's slaughter.
'Adapt' was the theme for the episode, with the escaped demon being the infamous mogul Genghis Kahn, who quickly adapts to his surroundings, becoming a corporate raider, Bluetooth tech and all. But the symbolism of Ben's white rabbit should not be overlooked. Usually, a white rabbit means innocence (hello, Ben!) and rebirth, while the act of following the rabbit is a metaphor for waking up to the reality of your situation (see Alice in Wonderland, The Matrix and Lost). The somewhat innocent Reaper has now hopefully followed that rabbit and woken up to the reality of the series' surroundings and is now ready to kick some butt. This episode reminded me a lot of how Buffy was when it was firing on all cylinders, and I'm hopeful that it means a return to the demon rebellion story while Sam searches for Alan and the hope of getting out from under the thumb of his devilish father.
Nobody does grand histrionics like Sigur Ros, who's album Ágætis Byrjun (1999) set the bar for pandering to our emotions in a way that you don't feel 'played.' A song like "Svefn-G-Englar," used to great effect in the films The Life Aquatic and Vanilla Sky, still makes me stop in my tracks when I hear it. Unfortunately, the band has gone back to the well many times since in the past (near) decade, creating a sort of emotional fatigue. Credit the band for picking up on this, as með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust (which translates to "With a buzz in our ears we play endlessly") attempts to stray from their established formula. To that end, the first two songs on the album (the amazing "Gobbledigook" and "Inní mér syngur vitleysingur") put some distance to their past recordings by removing reverb and going for a more 'primitive' sound. The third song, "Gódan daginn", is stripped down featuring singer Jonsi Birgisson's voice nearly naked, continuing the move away from their grand sound. At some point after that, though, the Sigur Ros reverts back to the epic, and as a result I have a hard time distinguishing the whole middle section of the album and the past couple albums, let alone pick out songs in my mind. I still seem to keep coming back to the album, though, even if much of it just disappears into the background.
Seattle's premiere party band, The Saturday Knights finally release a full length album, and the good news is that it realizes the promise of their great live performances. Not to be confused with the unfortunate Rap Rock genre, TSK fuse rap and classic rock in a way that keeps the party going, without resorting to stupidity. Just look at the guest list of artists lending a hand: Soundgarden's Kim Thayil, The Dap-Kings, The Presidents Of The United States Of America's Chris Ballew, The Muscle Shoals Horns and legendary producer Jack Endino (playing drums on the already classic "45"). Like S.F. cousin-in-vibe Lyrics Born, The Knights aren't going to change the world with their party jams, but they might just get you to finally loosen up.
Finally getting it's proper US release, Hercules and Love Affair is this year's crossover dance album (dance music for people who hate dance music - think JUSTICE, LCD Soundsystem, The Knife, etc.). DJ Andrew Butler may be the man behind the beats, but the star here is really Antony Hegarty (Antony and the Johnstons,) who's expressive voice sounds even more at home in this updated disco setting than the band he fronts. The albums' centerpiece is the single "Blind," which demonstrates perfectly the oddly beautiful juxtaposition of Hegarty's sad vocals and the joyous disco-funk that backs him. It's the joy behind the sadness, the tears of a clown, the need to shake your thing to forget about how life can be so damn depressing.
"Adapt or die, Sam," says the Devil (Ray Wise) at one point during the very funny "Dirty Sexy Mongol" last night, and the same could be said for the Reaper series, as it still struggles to find an audience in its second season. While the series maintained its numbers from last week's premiere, it's still the CW's sacrificial lamb left to Idol's slaughter. 
Musically, the series continues to impress, having fun with the "Sock wants to sleep with his stepsister" storyline. First there was the "I'm wrestling with my brother!" bit to Santogold's "Lights Out," which made me thirsty for a Bud Light. Then, as Line Out warned us, The Saturday Knights' "Foreign Affair" made an appearance. It was a short, but oh so sweet cameo for the song, which fit in with Sock's desire for his Asian relative. After that, Sock's dance-off, pants-off was hilariously choreographed to Chromeo's "Fancy Footwork," forever linking the image of Tyler Labine's dancing to the song in my head.
