Luther "Episode 1": Just Ask Alice

While a TV series about a detective as messed up as the criminals he's chasing isn't a new thing, having Idris Elba (The Wire's Stringer Bell) certainly makes things novel. Pitting him up against a female Hannibal Lecter doesn't hurt either, especially when Ruth Wilson* plays the sociopath Alice with the degree of intelligence and sexuality that she does. Novelist Neil Cross has the pedigree (Booker Prize nominee, writer for MI-5) to pull it off, but I've heard mixed things about how the series sticks the landing (I've only seen the first three episodes, which present crazy kind of potential).

*Those that watched AMC's The Prisoner likely found themselves Googling her. But that's like 12 people, so...

Luther - Episode 1.01
"Paradise Circus" - Massive Attack [download] opening sequence
"Gun" - Emiliana Torrini [download] closing credits

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

Life on Mars: White, Black, Puerto Rican, everybody just a-freakin'

While overshadowed by the stunt casting of Whoopi Goldberg, and several actors from The Wire, the real story in this episode was the music. As we've opined before, the year 1973 is a gold mine for cultural references, and Life on Mars has done a good job of digging through that treasure trove. I just wish these episodes lived up to the riches it unveils. Take for example the use of the Garland Jeffreys song "Wild in the Streets."

A Puerto Rican superintendent appears to have thrown a nine-year old black girl off a roof, causing a race riot led by the Black Liberation Army. As Captain Hunt opines "it's like my sister eating a cheesecake -- it's gonna get real ugly, real fast." This all sets up "Wild in the Streets" to be the perfect song. As Garland Jeffreys writes in his blog, he was "inspired to write the song that summer after reading about a murder in the Bronx--two boys, twelve and thirteen, threw a girl off a roof." That this lines up perfectly with this week's murder investigation is one thing, but when you also throw in the fact that Jeffreys himself is half Puerto Rican, half African-American, you have the perfect song choice -- possibly ever.

Of course, there's still plenty of other music in this episode, and so much of it is beautifully obscure, like the pure funk of Marion Black's "Come on and Gettit" or the bottom-heavy grooves of Boscoe's "He Keeps You", just the kind of raw sound you'd expect from an underground DJ (played by a gender-bending Whoopi Goldberg). Meanwhile, to signal that there is a truce in the race war, we get the interracial sounds of Sly & the Family Stone ("Everybody is a Star") and Three Dog Night ("Black and White"). Finally, only in 1973 would laying down the rhymes of Vanilla Ice's "Ice Ice Baby" be considered cool.

I don't know about you, but I was so happy to see all The Wire cameos, first Frank Sobotka (Chris Bauer) as a priest, then Cutty (Chad Coleman) as the leader of the BLA, and finally, Lester (Clarke Peters) as Clams, who we haven't really seen since the first episode (and sadly, in all likelihood, we won't see again).

Life on Mars - Episode 1.05
1. "Wild in the Streets" - Garland Jeffreys
2. "Ice Ice Baby" - Vanilla Ice
3. "I'm Gonna Keep on Loving You" - Cool Blues
4. "Come on and Gettit" - Marion Black
5. "He Keeps You" - Boscoe
6. "Anywhere in Glory" - The Mighty Indiana Travelers
7. "Everybody is a Star" - Sly & the Family Stone
8. "Black and White" - Three Dog Night

Previously: Mother and Child Reunion (Episode 1.04)

Waiting for Zeus' Thunderbolt

Like Lucy with that damn football, The Wire has consistently allowed the audience moments to run with the belief, even for a second, that things are going to turn out good. But even Charlie Brown knows by now that this isn't Hollywood. As David Simon has pointed out, instead this is more like a Greek tragedy, and it may as well be Aeschylus (or, A-see-lee-us, as Senator Davis calls him,) holding the football. The Gods, or, in this case, the institutions, send their thunderbolts upon both the righteous and the wicked alike, without giving thought to what's 'just.'

To that point, I find it interesting that the two characters with cartoon names, Snoop and Bunny, deliver the lines that best describe how the series, and our decaying cities, fall into this mold of Greek tragedy:

Deserve got nuthin to do with it - Snoop
I guess there's nothing to be done - Bunny

Snoop's line is pulled from the great modern western The Unforgiven, a line that Clint Eastwood's Will Munny character delivers to a groveling Little Bill (Gene Hackman). Writer George Pelecanos, who's been brought in every season to write the crucial penultimate episode, is fond of Westerns and their thematic twist on good vs bad (see season 3's great Brother Mouzone high noon showdown versus Omar,) so when I saw The Unforgiven line was the episode's epitaph, I had the unpleasant vision of Snoop as Munny and Michael as Little Bill. The fact that the roles were reversed was a nice touch, turning expectation on it's ear. After the ceremonious-less drop of Omar last week, it was somehow comforting to see Snoop taken down gently by Michael, with her taking refuge for the first time in her femininity, asking "how do my hair look?" Backed by T-Pain's (nearly) romantic "Bartender," it was a touching scene that was reminiscent of the almost touching moment when Marlo took out Prop Joe. "You look good, girl." Pop. Whoops, now you don't. [Read this morning's TV Guide's interview with actor Tristan Wilds (Michael)]

Of course, in order to set up the tragedies, there has to be some elation, and the unraveling of Marlo's enterprise and even the 'dope on the table' moment, does just the trick. Lester's on cloud nine, showing Marlo what he knows by taking his phone and the clock with a knowing look. Musically, it's worth pointing out that fellow Wu-Tang alumn Ghostface Killah has his song "Be Easy" blasting from the car that Cheese and Monk drive in on, a subtle acknowledgement of fellow Wu-Tang'er Method Man in his portrayal of Cheese. Apparently, music supervisor Blake Leyh wanted to use Wu-Tang Clan's "Take it Back" but ran into licensing issues and at the 11th hour, went this route to say the same thing.

This of course leads to actor Jamie Hector's finest moment in the series, taking the cold and emotionless Marlo up several notches of rage as he finds out Omar's been calling him out. His rage lets us know that Omar's seemingly desperate call out to Marlo would've worked, if not for the wise restraint of Chris and Snoop. Marlo's vanity overflows, yelling "my name is my name," reminding us of a line from his supplier, Vondas, from the second season: "My name is not my name." It illustrates a key difference between the two camps, that ultimately keeps the Greek(s) out of trouble. I think there's something here that metaphorically speaks to the importance of brand name to retail, but that's a tangent I can ill afford to follow.

Speaking of names, Bubbles finally let's his (Reginald) out, and it serves as a new beginning for our favorite junkie informant. "Ain't no shame in holding onto grief, as long as you make room for other things, too," he says, which says a lot about the series as well. In the midst of all this heavy and trying drama, moments like Bubbles' coming to terms with his own grief are like daisies growing through cracks in the pavement. Bubbles Reginald gets to this moment by remembering an innocent summer day as a young man, when he could watch girls and smoke some herb without a care. Similarly, Dukie remembers a summer past, a scene where the boys of season four were introduced, bonding together to throw piss balloons and eating ice cream off the truck. For me, the most tragic thing in the series is that Michael can't (or won't) remember it. Not even memories of his youth remain, only the cold dark reality of his current frightening setting.

So much happened in this episode, and while a lot of it was setting up for the finale, it also introduced a theme of betrayal (and perceived betrayal). Marlo, after conferring with Chris and Levy, reluctantly believes Michael snitched, leading to Michael having to betray his mentor Snoop to stay alive, which, in turn, leads to him have to betray his family, Bug and Dukie. Marlo, also feels betrayed by Chris and Snoop for not telling him about being called out. Meanwhile, Kima, in the biggest betrayal, rats out McNulty to Daniels and Pearlman. There's a lot of 'how could Kima do that' out there, but it fits a character who plays by the rules, even saying of the hunt for the person who shot her, "sometimes things just got to play hard." Also, in the 'potentially leading to Marlo's release' is Herc's betrayal of his old cop buddies, giving Levy just enough legal wiggle room to get Marlo off the hook. Fittingly, when Herc tries to get Carver to talk, Tom Petty's "Refugee" plays in the background, speaking to Herc's cop status.

So how's it all going to end? Knowing that it's a Greek tragedy, it's easy to assume that Marlo gets off and McNulty gets blamed, but then Templeton would have to go down too, right? I've gotten the feeling all season that Simon's going to have Templeton survive and end up as a Pulitzer nominee, with Gus getting Zeus' lightening bolt. Well, we know one thing, as Journey sang in The Sopranos' infamous ending, "some will win, some will lose... some were born to sing the blues." But we won't be cutting to black.

Playlist: The Wire - Episode 5.09
1. "Idris Song" - Donald Harrison - Haynes & Ruby talk in coffee shop
2. "Be Easy" - Ghostface Killah - Detectives watch Monk & Cheese
3. "Refugee" - Tom Petty - Herc drinks with Carver
4. "The 'In' Crowd" - Ramsey Lewis - Freamon & Clay Davis talk in club
5. "Jailbreak" - Thin Lizzy - Haynes meets Wiley at veterans hospital
6. "So Fresh" - Bossman - Michael stakes out Snoop
7. "Bartender" featuring Akon - T-Pain - Michael & Snoop in SUV
HBO track and scene info

More: Are you enjoying the continuing parade of ghosts from Wire seasons past as much as I am? Even if it's sometimes distracting, I'm all for it, and the only one's that I see missing from this season so far are appearances from Brother Mouzone, Wee-Bay and Prez -- who, if you saw the previews for next week, is name we'll be able to cross off.

Previously: Eulogizing Omar (Episode 5.08)

The Assassination of Omar Little by the Coward Kenard

On the face of it, it seems like an unfitting end to the one character on The Wire who was bigger than real life. Shot from behind, unsuspecting, killed by the 11-year old miscreant Kenard. No build up, just buying cigs at a corner store... than pop and drop. But when you think about it, it's kind of fitting for Omar to go out, considering his character has always felt a bit like the romanticized outsider of the great West, ala Jesse James or Wild Bill Hickock. All were larger than life figures, who's reputation often shadowed their actuality. All, in turn, were similarly shot in the back of the head by lesser men -- men who were fascinated in and than disappointed by their subject.

Remember, it was Kenard last week who said, "that Omar? He's just a cripple, man." And Alan Sepinwall points out that early in season four, it's Kenard who play acts as Omar in a game of 'hoppers and thieves' with other 8-year olds. Omar is then, in a sense, killed by a product of his reputation. Omar was just a shadow of his former self, though, getting sloppy and heading down Season 5's slippery slope theme since breaking his code. He was limping and desperate -- not how we want to see our hero. One could argue that Kenard's cowardly shot was a mercy killing. Mad props for the visual foreshadow of showing Kenard getting ready to set fire to an alley cat when he sees Omar the first time. Not just the metaphor of Omar as alley cat, but revealing Kenard to be a sociopath in the making.

So what does Omar's death mean for our other slippery slopers, McNulty, Freamon, Templeton, Carcetti and Marlo? Since they're all embroiled in lies and deceit, and this is David Simon's world -- where you got to play the game to get ahead -- I had thought they'd all come out smelling like roses, but there's got to be more consequences for actions taken. And since Simon's taking aim at our favorites, someone better tell McNulty to watch his back.

So much else happened, but most of it seems to set up the last two episodes, so we'll table it for next week. Until then, I'm drinking to Omar - rest in peace, brother.

Playlist: The Wire - Episode 5.08
1. "Stay" - Lady D - Poot and Dukie in shoe store
2. "Every Booty (Get On Down)" - George Clinton - Dozerman and Truck check out rental car
3. "Let This As Nothing Happened" - Choi Suk Jun - Kenard takes out Omar in corner store
4. "You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine" - Lou Rawls - Bunk's ringtone in crime lab
5. "A Bay Bay" - Hurricane Chris - Chris and Snoop in SUV
6. "I'm Looking Over A Four Leaf Clover" - Coleman Hawkins - Freamon and Davis in bar
HBO's tracklisting and scene info

Previously: Goodnight Scammers (Episode 5.08)

Goodnight, Scammers

After working something big with no resources, the parties concerned on The Wire now are working nothing at all with all the resources possible. The theme here is about changing the story for an advantage, as nearly every main character gets away with some stretching of their respective truths and comes away with what they wanted. The episode is also the directorial debut for actor Dominic West (Jimmy McNulty,) and he takes full advantage of a fine Richard Price (Clockers, Color of Money) penned script.

For every story being told this week, each embellished the agreed upon story for that person's benefit, some in more obvious ways than others. McNutty's spoofed call into the monitored wire was the first, and featured West having a bit of fun with his attempt and quick abandon of a Bawlmer accent in season one. By giving the killer a voice, he puts the machines in motion and finds himself doling out authorized OT like a sugar daddy -- just don't call him 'Boss'! Even as his old partner Bunk is left behind doing real police work, McNulty can't help but feel somewhat justified.

Meanwhile the 'red ball' has similarly been unleashed at The Sun, and Scott's getting himself on the front page. His first person narrative bends the truth on an already large lie, and Gus can only shake his head as it gets published despite his protests. David Simon's vengeance against his old Sun enemies has never seemed so transparent.

Like Simon himself, Omar has gotten a little sloppy, judgement drunk on vengeance. Omar, formerly a sort of Robin Hood, now seems to be changing his own story here, by killing Savino and coming up on Michael's corner in the middle of the day. On the flip side, Clay Davis changes his story to become Robin Hood, himself. The silver-tongued senator uses race and geography to turn the charges against him into a rallying cry against poverty and racism. As Pearlman says to 'O-Bond-a': "they don't teach that in law school".

Finally, in one of the most touching scenes ever shown on The Wire, Kima changes the classic children's bedtime story into one that better fits what she sees outside her window:

Good night, moon. Good night, popos. Good night, fiends. Good night, hoppers. Good night, hustlers. Good night, scammers. Good night to everybody. Good night to one and all.

It's a scene that's lifted from Price's Clockers, making it the latest 'borrowed' scene from the much admired novel and movie script. Price isn't really cannibalizing himself as much as appeasing Simon's full admiration of his work on Clockers. Speaking of 'borrowing,' Richard Belzer's Detective Munch makes a small cameo here, making it the ninth series that the character has appeared on since first appearing on the Simon-penned series Homicide: Life on the Streets. The person Munch was based on, the real Jay Landsman, also appears in this same scene playing Lieutenant Dennis Mello, blowing my meta-fucking mind.

Playlist: The Wire - Episode 5.07
1. "Shake" - Sam Cooke - McNulty, Pearlman & Phelan in diner
2. ""The Ooh" Ahh Song - G.E.M. - Carver picks up Michael on his corner
3. "Dance Floor" - Zapp - Meets Bubbles at soup kitchen
4. "Down, Down" - Maya Azucena - Greggs assembles Ikea
5. "My Babe" - Little Walter - Haynes in cop bar
6. "I Told You So" - The Nighthawks - Haynes and Mello talk in bar
7. "On & On" - Erykah Badu - Greggs assembles Ikea again
8. "Ayo" - Bossman - Michael's corner gets an unexpected visitor
HBO's track and scene info

Previously: Rebel With an "Et Al" (Episode 5.06)

Rebel with an 'et al'

The Wire has always been about the institutions we live and work in, and how no matter how much we rail against it, the institution always wins out in the end. You could even call institutions the villain of the series, the baddie who the audience loves to root against. But like every series that stays on the air long enough, you have to humanize the villain, at some point, sometimes even make him sympathetic enough to root for -- or even, as is often the case for professional wrestling, he becomes the hero. So here we are now, 56 episodes later, and I finally find myself rooting for the institution, something I never thought I'd do.

Detectives McNulty and Freamon have often danced around the laws and red tape rigidly set forth for them, but in the past, they had a noble purpose. This season though, between the cutbacks and the ruthlessness of their target, Marlo, the two have seemingly gone off the deep end, sliding quickly down that slippery slope McNutty started earlier. In their blind pursuit of Marlo, their big lie is now infecting other investigations and taking on permeations of it's own. The mayor now has another false crime to launch a campaign (see season four's witness murder,) this time for governor ("who would've thought... homelessness"). Meanwhile, Scott at The Sun is an unwitting accomplice, and finds himself on national television, being interviewed by Nancy Grace -- that had to be one of the oddest guest appearances I've ever witnessed. Does she realize that she's a target of satire? Is exposure, regardless of the context, that important for her? When she says "very rarely does a reporter end up being in the middle of a story - an ongoing story..." does she realize it's her they're talking about?

McNutty's (and now Scott's) big lie also means that other investigations take a back seat to finding this non-existent serial killer -- making the elaborate plan a nearly complete backfire. Bunk's always stayed in the lines, seeming occasionally like a stick in the mud to McNulty's charming rebel. But now Bunk's old school police work is slowly piecing it all together. Parallel that against McNutty making homeless Larry disappear and David Simon presents to us a paradox in viewer's expectations. We've learned to root for the rebel, but since the rebel's ends no longer justify the means, we the audience are in the awkward position of rooting for the institution.

Meanwhile, the main theme of the episode seems to be about the forgotten. Carcetti's speech illustrated how we toss the homeless under the rug, but it's more than just the homeless here. Nearly forgotten stevedore from season two, Nick Sobatka, makes an appearance, yelling obscenities at the Mayor's tape-cutting of the new Westport, in what used to be the pier that the longshoremen used to work. Finally there's Randy, one of the kids from season four, who returns long enough for us to fully realize the full scope of the tragedy that befell him last season. He had to harden himself up to overcome the 'snitch' tag, enough that the Randy we loved from last season is no longer recognizable. Besides being depressing as hell, it made have to ask, where's Namond?

And our superhero Omar? "That's some Spider-Man shit, there."

Playlist: The Wire - Episode 5.06
1. "Amerikkka's Pie" - Donferquan (AKA Qua) - Bunk talks to Randy
2. "Walkin' After Midnight" - Patsy Cline - Landsman in his office
3. "I'm Good There" - Mully Man - Omar steals the stash
4. "Turkish Song Of The Damned" - The Pogues - McNulty drives Larry to Richmand, VA
HBO track and scene info

More: The 'we'll have to do more with less' theme continues, this time we're even reminded again that our war in Iraq faces similar resource-strapped issues. But it's the crime lab that best illustrates how fucked the investigations are in the face of cutbacks. The simple misunderstanding of a small detail like 'et al' makes all the crime scene evidence nearly worthless. Makes CSI look like a fantasy world.

Previously: Get Out Your Hip Boots (Episode 5.05)

Get out your hip boots

By the second episode, when both reporter Scott and Detective McNulty were both weaving their respective yarns, it seemed like only a matter of time until these two fabulists would team up for some monumental bullshit. Three episodes later, and these lies have finally intersected, with Templeton using his 'talent' to steal some of the limelight from Alma's reporting on McNulty's biting serial killer. By faking a phone call from a payphone to his cell, Scott plays right into McNulty and Lester's wiretap scheme, and the look on his face when McNulty says they got a call from the killer as well was priceless.

The wiretap is setup on Marlo's cell phone number, obtained via Herc's employment to Levy, Marlo's lawyer. While it's nice to think that Herc delivers it because he can't help but be police, it's more likely that he just wants to get back at Marlo for stealing his camera. Marlo gets the phone from by Season 2's Spiros, who 'overcame his grief' over Joe and moved on. Poor Joe only gets a brief eulogy from Spiros, and then minor mention in a city desk rundown of the day's homicides (as Joseph Stewart, along with Nathanial Manns, who appears to be Hungry Man). Someone mentioned recently that Marlo is a bit like WalMart, squeezing out the small shops and then bypassing regional distributers entirely, making for an interesting business metaphor. Only instead of undercutting them, Marlo just cuts them. The game's the game, though, right?

Cue Omar and Donnie staking out the setup that Chris has set up for our favorite stick-up artist. Our heroes are clueless as to what's in store for them -- perhaps if they'd listened a little closer to the songs playing on the radio. Each song referenced something desirable that wasn't really there, whether it's "Just My Imagination" or a mirage like "Gypsy Woman," they both try to tell Omar he's walking into a trap -- a trap that required a houdini-like escape, flying out the window from the fifth floor of a building. Dude's like Batman or something.

Meanwhile, McNutty's downward spiral brings hits home, and the excellent Callie Thorne, as his ex-wife Elena makes her first appearance. Their boys Sean and Michael apparently like themselves a little Dead Meadow, the B'more psychedelic rockers. They're listening to "Beyond The Fields We Know" from 2006's self-titled release, but the band's latest and greatest, Old Growth, is out this week on Matador. Since the time line here is a few months in the future, if the McNulty boys were true fans, wouldn't they be zoning out their dad's "what's wrong with The Ramones?" question to this latest album?

Playlist: The Wire - Ep 505
1. "In Time" - Sly & the Family Stone - Cutty and Dukie talk at the gym
2. "Everybody Wants To Rule The World" - Tears for Fears - Mcnulty meets Alma and Scott in bar
3. "Just Out Of Reach" - Joe Tex - Omar and Donnie wait in car
4. "Party Like A Rock Star" - Shop Boyz - Marlo's crew talk at the rim shop
5. "Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me)" - The Temptations - Omar and Donnie still waiting
6. "Beyond The Fields We Know" - Dead Meadow - The McNulty boys at home
7. "My Girl Has Gone" - Smokey Robinson - Omar and Donnie still waiting
8. "Gypsy Woman" - The Impressions - Omar and Donnie still waiting
HBO track and scene info

Previously: Succession (Episode 5.04)

Succession

Every season on The Wire, we brace ourselves for the loss of a favorite character. Wallace, D'Angelo, Stringer Bell and Bodie have all been eulogized fondly, and now we can add Prop Joe to that long list of great characters we'll miss. Marlo is now successor as king of the Baltimore drug trade, but you'd have a hard time knowing it looking at his face upon taking the crown. He seemed more intrigued with Prop Joe's execution, with a look only needed a raised eyebrow to achieve pure Spock-like detachment, as he, like in many a karate film, kills his master -- or in this case, has Chris-son do it. Fitting then, that the chillingly emotionless Marlo comes as close to empathy as we've seen just a few seconds prior, easing poor Joe into taking Marlo's idea of severance calmly:

Close your eyes, it won't hurt none. Yeah... there now, Joe, relax... breathe easy.

Meanwhile, Commissioner Burrell is getting a much nicer severance -- a new 4-figure salary and a nice pension to boot -- all so he'll also quietly go into that good night, and not scorch the earth -- and his successor Daniels -- behind him. "Close your eyes, Ervin, this should take the sting off." If the connection of successors wasn't obvious enough, we learn Prop Joe was a year behind Ervin at Dunbar. Says Joe, "he was in the Glee club" -- I just love the way Robert Chew delivers this line, emphasizing the word 'glee' as if it's all you need to know about Burrell. Unlike Marlo, though, Daniels lets loose a smile upon taking a seat behind his new office. But, like Marlo, we know he needs to watch his back, because the skeleton in his closet isn't as buried as he would like to think. All of ex-Mayor Royce's old collective -- including the inimitable Senator Clay Davis -- seem to still have some life in them yet, thanks to the dossier on Daniels' dirty Eastern District days.

The third 'transition' continues at The Sun as outgoing cop reporter Twigg hands the reigns to rookie Alma. Twigg gets in his last scoop and byline, but it serves more of a reminder of what they'll be missing. This subplot still feels pretty small compared to all the great goings on elsewhere, but I still trust that David Simon has a 'grand story' to tell here and it's just merely slumming in the margins right now.

But hold on a minute... Omar's back in town. It's a testament to the power of this episode that our favorite gay stick-up artist doesn't get mentioned until now. His entrance is backed by some fine DC Go-Go music from Trouble Funk, which naturally means that we are in the presence of Slim Charles, played by Go-Go singer/rapper Anwan Glover (Backyard Band,) who continues to play the hell out of his muscle character. Omar has his sights set now on an unsuspecting Michael, which has me worried for poor poor Dukie. Michael has taken him out of the game, and we know that move doesn't have a good track record in this series.

Elsewhere, it's always nice to hear The Clash, and in it's context here, it serves as a little commentary the once promising, now tragic relationship between McNulty and Beadie*:

You said you love me and thats a fact
Then you left me, said you felt trapped
Well some things you can explain away
But my heartaches in me till this day

Playlist: The Wire - Episode 5.04
1. "What You Know About Baltimore" - Ogun - BPD altercation on Michael's corner
2. "Baby, I'm Yours" - Barbara Lewis - Prop Joe gets flowers for Butchie's funeral
3. "Drop The Bomb" - Trouble Funk - Omar checks in on Slim Charles
4. "Train In Vain" - The Clash - McNulty at the bar
5. "Street Legendz" - Shortie - Omar meets up with Donnie
HBO's track and scene info

*Congratulations to Amy Ryan for her Oscar nomination (Best Supporting Actress - Gone Baby Gone). Seeing her again now in such a small, and stiffly written scene felt strange given her recent jump in exposure.

Previously: Desperation and Transformation (Episode 5.03)

Desperation and transformation

With both The Wire and Breaking Bad, Sunday night television is the beacon in this strike-laden season. These two dramas are currently asking much of their audience, in the way of character's desperation and transformation - both breaking bad for what they believe are good reasons.

The Wire's McNutty (and now even Lester) have gone down a treacherous road of inventing a serial killer in hopes to push the city for more funds. It's a turn that began last week, but has a lot of folks screaming 'shark jump' with the inclusion of Lester into the mix. Bunk again provides the comedic relief, but his point of view this season is quite in line with viewers: 'I don't believe what I'm seeing!' Like Bunny's Hamsterdam, though, there's a lot of reasons that our beloved characters are breaking bad. Besides the economic frustations -- no OT payouts for months now, broken down vehicles, etc. -- there's also this season's Moby Dick obsession in Marlo Stanfield, an investigation gutted by the Major Crimes Unit shutdown. When Lester staked out Marlo last week on his own time, creator David Simon was hinting that he was breaking as well, so the shock that he's down with McNutty's crazy scheme should be lessened at least a bit.

Meanwhile, Breaking Bad's main character Walt has turned to cooking crystal meth after learning he's got inoperable lung cancer. It's a bit of a stretch, but it's a quick turn after we barely get to know him, so it's easier to swallow initially than McNutty and Lester's turn. The pilot provided all sorts of turns that have potential over the season, but I'm reserving judgement until I see how things pans out. I'm not convinced as yet of some of the supporting characters -- Bryan Cranston as Walt is mesmerizing -- and also worried at how the plot of someone dying of terminal lung cancer will be able to go on more than it's existing seven episode season.

Musically for The Wire, this week sees a lot of fun music placement, especially with ? and the Mysterians' "96 Tears" backing McNutty on the prowl in the bar. When Chris and Snoop take down poor Butchie, Junior Wells' "Messin' with the Kid" plays. The kid in this case is Omar, and we all know you don't mess with Omar. For Breaking Bad, hearing "Tamacun" from the Dublin-based Mexican duo Rodrigo Y Gabriela was a secret thrill, along with fellow Mexicans Molotov and their insane "Apocalypshit," which perfectly captured the madness of the Walt's wild ride. But the best song choice by far was the use of Mick Harvey's cover of "Out of Time Man." Originally written by Manu Chao and performed by his Mano Negra, the song is nice commentary on Walt's limited time left:

I'm walking out for love
I'm walking bad, really down

Playlist: The Wire - Ep 5.03
1. "Up, Up And Away" - The 5th Dimension - McNutty buys red ribbon / Alma looks for morning paper
2. "To Tragoudi Xenitias" - Lyra - Marlo stops by Greek diner
3. "96 Tears" - ? & the Mysterians - McNutty with cheap blonde in bar
4. "Away From Home" - Eddie Houston - Norman and Gus meet in bar
5. "Mi Me Pismatonis" - Markos Vamvakaris - Greek diner
6. "Booty Body Ready For the Plush Funk" - Sterling Silver Starship (w/ George Clinton) - Marlo meets with Prop Joe
7. "Don't Be Afraid" - Salim Nourallah - McNutty and Alma meet in coffee shop
8. "Red Gold & Green" - Hugh Mundell - Michael and boys back from Six Flags
9. "When I Die (You Better Second Line)" - Kermit Ruffins - Roger and Gus in bar
10. "Mystery Train" - Little Junior Parker - Butchie's bar
11. "Messin' With The Kid" - Junior Wells - Butchie's back room
HBO's track and scene info

Playlist: Breaking Bad - Ep101
1. "Tamacun" - Rodrigo Y Gabriela
2. "Mango Walk" - The In-crowd
3. "Dead Fingers Talking" - Working For A Nuclear Free City
4. "Apocalypshit" - Molotov
5. "Out Of Time Man" - Mick Harvey
AMC's Music Listing for Breaking Bad

Previously:
The Slippery Slope (The Wire - Episode 5.02)
The Cultural Meth-ology of Breaking Bad

Slippery slope

Since the fifth and final season of The Wire is only ten episodes -- down from the usual 12 or 13 -- David Simon and company have to move quicker to the meat of the season. Thus, all the major story arcs are now taking shape much sooner than in the past four seasons.

The opening scene at the NA meeting did a great job of metaphorically tying all three arcs together, as an NA member* explains how in the pursuit of drugs, you find yourself doing things you promised yourself you would never do, like turning tricks. It's a slippery slope you find yourself sliding down when you ignore standards, rules, ethics... etc. Scott, the desperate reporter who quickly recognizes his executive publisher's weakness for impact stories, appears to 'make up' the Baltimore Orioles opening day story, when no one seems to care about baseball at Camden Yards -- not surprising given the Orioles overwhelming involvement in last month's Mitchell Report. This story line appears mirror Simon (and others') accusations of former Sun reporter Jim Haner, who during his stint there had three stories retracted, yet was protected by his editors.

Meanwhile, McNutty has reached his own point of desperation, sliding back into his drinking and womanizing ways in the wake of city cutbacks. Having to ride the bus to a crime scene might be the straw that broke the camel's back. "Now I've seen everything," sighs the similarly frustrated Officer Brown, witnessing his arrival. It's easy to sense a kindred soul in Brown, which I'm guessing comes into play at a later date. McNutty's 'big lie' -- as Bunk metaphorically alludes to in the first episode -- is hard to stomach at first. We've seen him take liberties with rules and red tape before, in the name of a bigger case, but this is a turn he can't come back from. Creating a serial killer from otherwise benign crime scenes is his Hamsterdam, only McNulty's not six months from retirement like Bunny, so his slippery slope has a much steeper decline.

Finally, while Marlo's reaching around Prop Joe to angle in on The Greek's product via Vondas breaks the rules of the co-op, it's still a bit of a stretch in the slippery slope angle. Instead, it's his first act he takes after realizing he and Chris are no longer under 24-hour surveillance. Junebug called Marlo a bad name, so 'he's a dead man, he's just walking around not knowing it.' To kill for such a trifle thing is Marlo's slippery slope... but why do I get the feeling that he, like the reporter Scott, will walk away untouched in the end?

Musically, Lester was listening to some great female-voiced blues, jazz and soul music while staking out Marlo on his own time. To that end, Sarah Vaughn's "Black Coffee" song about waiting for her lover was a perfect choice: "I'm hangin' out on Monday my Sunday dreams to dry." And having a mother abandon her child behind a screen door in the background while Lester listens to Erma Franklin's "Another Piece of My Heart," took a piece of my own heart.

Playlist: The Wire - Ep502
1. "More Than a Feeling" - Boston - McNulty's car has a flat
2. "Black Coffee" - Sarah Vaughan - Freaman staking out Marlo
3. "Piece Of My Heart" - Erma Franklin - Freamon sings to car radio
4. "Don't Cry Baby" - Etta James - Freamon sees meet up
5. "All My Love" - Donald Harrison - Freamon and McNulty drink in bar
6. "Cry To Me" - Solomon Burke - Bubbles And Walon talk
HBO's scene and track info

*In an amazing act of subtle continuity, the NA member is played by the daughter of writer Richard Price (Clockers, The Wire,) having appeared in season three looking affluent buying drugs in Hamsterdam, and then again in season four as a prostitute in Old Face Andre's corner store.

Previously: Puts the "B" in Subtle (episode 5.01)

Now Downloading: New Releases 01.08.08

Should I just change my blog's name to 'Wire World'? This first new release day with enough to squawk about has two soundtrack albums from HBO's fantastic drama The Wire, of which I touched upon last week while praising/recapping season four. By my count, that's six of the last ten posts obsessing about The Wire. Don't worry, though, the ratio should go down slightly going forward. Other releases of note include the latest from Marah, Kate Nash, and Sia. This week also sees the physical release of one of my top soundtracks of the year Juno - Music From The Motion Picture, but we wrote about that upon it's digital release a month ago.

Playlist: New Releases 01.08.07

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Album: ...all the pieces matter: 5 Years of Music from The Wire
Album: Beyond Hamsterdam: Baltimore Tracks from The Wire

Ok, so five years of The Wire is a bit misleading. We only get the four previous theme songs (current one featuring Steve Earle you can find on his album Washington Square Serenade,) with the only season 5 tracks being a couple dialogue pieces. But that's a minor quibble. Here's one album I beseech you to not bother downloading and instead by the physical copy. For one, there's the great liner notes from Jeff Chang (Can't Stop Won't Stop,) and then there's the David Simon interview with Nick Hornby (for Believer Magazine). But there's also the sequencing and flow into each track -- including 12 great dialogue snippets -- done with great care. Of course downloaded versions sometimes mess that shit up. Of the 23 songs, the finds for me are a couple songs that were featured in the rare montages for season one (Jesse Winchester's bluesy "Step by Step") and two (Stelios Kazantzidis' touching Greek tragedy of "Efuge Efuge").

Beyond Hamsterdam, unfortunately, serves very little other than to collect all the Baltimore tracks from ...and all the pieces matter together, with only one other track added to the mix (The Get' Em Mamis' "When You See Us").

I suppose if you're only interested in the Body-More Murderland music, it's the way to go, but haven't you already picked up Dark Productions Hamsterdam Mixtape?

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Album: Marah - Angels of Destruction!

This Philly band has kept the Springsteen/E Street Band torch lit for the past decade while remaining unknown to most music fans -- yet a fave to Nick Hornby and Stephen King. Now with the minor blowup of The Hold Steady, Marah's rootsy beer-soaked bar band sound has a better chance of getting noticed. Angels of Destruction is just the self-assured follow up to 2005's If You Didn't Laugh You'd Cry that the band needs to get over the hump, but releasing it in early January might not be doing them any favors. There's nothing here that's hip or cool, so I'm sure critic appeal will be mixed, but
indie kids will still find themselves unconsciously toe-tapping to "Santos De Madera" and "Can't Take it With You" is the kind of drunken ragtime that the Replacements and Scott McCaughey's The Minus Five have both excelled at.

"Angels of Destruction" [mp3] (Red Eye USA)
Full Album Stream (YepRock)

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Album: Kate Nash - Made of Bricks

Based on the prior single and EP release, I had high hopes for Kate Nash. Her "Merry Happy" is already an Eli-approved favorite in our household, ala Lily Allen a couple years ago -- but Lily she ain't. I blame it on the production, which is smoothed over nearly every worthwhile rough edge that Nash seemed to have. Of course, she still swears and it's cute to hear her sing-songy voice and thick accent make with filth and all, but aside from the couple great songs we've already heard ("Merry Happy" and "Foundations,") this collection starts to sound the same, in it's ubiquitous production.

Nash makes her US television debut on Conan Wednesday night, January 9.

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More going (or already in) the Sansa
Music From the Motion Picture Juno
SiA - Some People Have REAL Problems / Free album stream from AOL
Reverend Organdrum (Horton Heat) - Hi-Fi Stereo
Medeski Martin & Wood - Let's Go Everywhere
Amanda Shaw - Pretty Runs Out
Wisely - Wisely
Frank Turner - Campfire Punk Rock

tags: music, album review, the wire, tom waits, kate nash, marah, indie rock, new releases, rhapsody

Puts the 'b' in subtle

The Wire begins it's fifth and final season picking up about 15 months from where we left it, and like past seasons, the opening is always on the soft side. This year's theme is one of the media and it's contribution to and suffering from the crumbling of the urban city of Baltimore, and creator David Simon likes to use the opening scene of any episode to set up the theme metaphorically. To open, Bunk, Crutchfield, and Landsman use a meal from McDonald's and a copy machine -- itself a revisited gag from the first season of Homicide: Life on the Streets -- to get a suspect to confess to a shooting. These funny, but unethical methods echo nicely how David Simon's Baltimore Sun may be going after their stories.

And 'go after' is probably a good term to use in reference to Simon and the Sun, given his past history and admission that he holds serious grudges with his former bosses John Carroll and William Marimow. Simon even went so far last season to name the despicable lieutenant who briefly took the reigns of Major Crimes the name of Marimow -- of him, Landsmen says hilariously, “he doesn’t cast off talent lightly, he heaves it away with great force.”) This season, they've built a set of the Sun that replicates how Simon remembers it from 1994, and it will be interesting to see if he uses it to tell the intricate story we've come to expect from The Wire, or if revenge will sour the tale. Let's just say for now that last night The Simpsons hit harder earlier in the evening.

Of the newspaper cast entering this season, most welcome is the return to the small screen of Clark Johnson (Homicide: Life on the Streets) who's turn as City Editor Gus Haynes already reads like Season 3's entry of truth teller Lt. Bunny Colvin -- as high a compliment as a character can receive. Johnson has spent most his time lately directing -- he directed the pilot and season one finale of The Wire, along with many episodes of The Shield and Sleeper Cell -- so it's nice to see him back in action again after all this time. Almost like he never left at all.

The theme song this year is an interpretation that Steve Earle recorded over a year ago, in anticipation of this season. Earle, you may recall, plays Walon, Bubbles' gruff-but-wise NA sponsor, and this character gets a bit more airtime this season, as Bubbles tries to stay off the wagon.

Elsewhere, David Simon continues to hint at his next series with several music selections from Louisiana artists, including Ernie K-Doe, Slim Harpo and a track from New Orleans DJ/pianist Davis Rogan. Could Blondie's "The Tide is High" be a veiled New Orleans reference as well?

Playlist: The Wire - Ep501
1. "Way Down in the Hole" - Steve Earle - Theme song for season 5
2. "Eric B Is President - Eric B & Rakim - Marlo's lair, McNulty watches
3. "Not A Criminal" - Chamillionaire - Chris & Michael talk on street
4. "Blind Love" - The Nighthawks - Guy in blue car buys drugs on corner
5. "Because Of You" - Ne-Yo - Michael, Dukie and Bug at home
6. "I'm You're Breadmaker, Baby" - Slim Harpo - McNulty, Kima, Lester in bar
7. "The Tide is High" - Blondie - Herc with Carver and officers in bar
8. "Mother-In-Law" - Ernie K-Doe - McNulty drunk dialing from bar
9. "Do Me That Way" - Davis Rogan - Newspaper staff in bar
HBO scene and track info

More: NY Mag's Vulture got the first punch in corrections for depiction on the series. The funny 'evacuation' correction is actually correct in it's initial use. Expect more corrections to come with journalists' being sensitive to how their institution is covered.