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 TwiceMad Men Ep1.13, Song:
"Don't Think Twice, It's Alright" - Bob DylanA 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'" - JourneyPossibly 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).
Fittingly enough, it took me 17 days after the fact to catch up to Prince playing Jimmy Fallon earlier this month. The new single, the power-poppy "Screwdriver," is the 'plug' he played on the network, but it's the Purple One's bonus rendition of "Bambi" (from 1979's Prince, video below), that has folks talking -- and me waking up this blog.
In what is undoubtably the busiest week any one performer could undertake, Prince, the one man media empire, unleashes his assault across the internet, the airwaves, the city of Los Angeles, and finally, Target shoppers. Three, it seems, is the magic number, starting with the Purple One himself, who all by himself is the holy trinity of the music business - performer, manager and record label unto himself. On Tuesday, March 24, his website LOtUSFLOW3r.com will officially launch, allowing members instant access to digital downloads of three new albums, lyric sheets, exclusive photos from both past and present, live concert footage and early warning on upcoming events. But like the count off from a drummer, that's just the start.
Then, as if to answer the inevitable "aren't you just copying U2?" question, Prince will be playing three shows in three different venues across Los Angeles on Saturday night. Just trying to navigate traffic in catching parts of these shows as an attendee sounds impressive, let alone actually playing them. All this leads up to the release of three albums on Sunday, March 29, via an exclusive arrangement with fellow Minneapolis entity Target (I guarantee you someone somewhere is putting the albums on their wedding registry). LOtUSFLOW3R is Prince's rock album, an album begging for it's own Guitar Hero version that's nearly impossible to master. MPLSoUND is the dance-funk album, probably the most consistent album, and more in line with Prince's recent revival since 2004's Musicology. The third album features his new protege Bria Valente on vocals, with his Royal Badness writing, producing and playing the instruments. It's predictably the clunker of the three, but since it's only $11.98 for all three, it's hard to complain too much. I just look at it like someone took care to organize all the songs I don't care for together on a disc I can conveniently lose. While that particular 'feature' is unintentional, you can still add it to the list of things Prince is schooling the record industry on.
Humorously recalling the days of Perry Como and Bing Crosby holiday specials, A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All takes the cardigan-wearing, pipe-smoking, crooning-by-the-fire holiday musical genre to new heights. Airing this Sunday night, the story has Stephen Colbert travelling to a performance with Elvis Costello, and they get snowed in at his upstate New York cabin (hint: it's bear country).
Besides Costello, musical guests include Willie Nelson (singing "Little Dealer Boy,") Feist, John Legend and Toby Keith, who declares a war on the war on Christmas with "Have I Got A Present For You." Jon Stewart even lends his pipes for a song about Hannukah. (All songs are co-written by Fountain of Wayne's Adam Schlesinger.) And if it gets you in the spirit for holiday giving (or you just plain missed it,) it's out on DVD two days later, with much of the proceeds going to Feeding America.
Meanwhile, one my biggest guilty pleasures in life is tribute bands, which I often find better than the real thing. Letterman is sharing that love this week, declaring it Tribute Band Week, booking acts invoking the spirit of music icons. Monday features Purple Reign (Prince), Tuesday is Cold Hard Cash (Johnny Cash,) Wednesday is Mr. Brownstone (Guns n' Roses,) Thursday is Super Diamond (Neil Diamond,) and Friday is The Allstarz (James Brown). It's worth noting that Purple Reign's act is a legendary in Vegas, and the Boston/New York hybrid Mr. Brownstone features members of Clap Your Hands and Say Yeah, Takka Takka, Boss Tweed and The Common End. You don't want to miss either of these (and if you can't make it, have someone who looks and sounds like you tune in).
For the second time in six months, NBC/Universal is delivering a 'Green Week,' aligning itself with Earth Day. Based alone on the fact that we won't be subjected to a candle-lit Sunday Night Football, it's bound to work much better this time around. To that end, Radiohead is making a special non-appearance on Conan Wednesday night, in honor of the eco-friendly theme -- and by non-appearance I mean they're going to stay home and contribute a live recording of them playing "House of Cards." Prior to playing, frontman Thom Yorke will deliver a message explaining that by staying home, "they avoided leaving a carbon footprint equivalent to driving one's car for a solid year." I guess that's the telecommuting angle of going green. Rest assured, though, that Radiohead will be embarking on a tour that involves them being at venues live and in the flesh, but they're taking great pains to make sure that their carbon footprint will be minimized.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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...' 
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.
While the album leads off with a bang (Sufjan Stevens doing "Free Man In Paris",) it's not until you lick your way to the chocolate center to get to finally hear a studio recording of Prince doing "Case of You." He's been covering that Joni song now for over 20 years (a version of it appears on the rare One Night Alone.) Here he's traded the guitar strums for plaintive piano and give it his own feel. And if that isn't enough (and by my calculations, it is,) there's also the thrill of Caetano Veloso doing "Dreamland," which demonstrates more succintly then any other of his recordings the influence he (and Tropicalia) have had upon the music of David Byrne. Just trust me and skip the unecessary tracks from Sarah McLachlan and Annie Lennox. As much as I believe the sentiment that they share inspiration from the great Mitchell, their contributions (I think you'll find) do not fit in with the rest of the contributions.
Five years in the making, Dntel's Dumb Luck is a reaffirmation of the talent that Jimmy Tamborello sprung on the world with his work in Postal Service. Here he's working with Jenny Lewis, Bright Eyes, Grizzly Bear, Mia Doi Todd and others, taking his unique electronica sound and bending it to the idiom of his collaborator. On paper, it's an interesting experiment, and there are quite a few highlights ("To a Fault," featuring Grizzly Bear's Edward Droste and "Rock My Boat" with Todd, to name two) but on the whole, it's too uneven to appreciate as an album. More like a mixtape project, and relative to that, it's a pretty good mix that shows just how well Tamborello can morph his sound to fit his singer.
I wasn't nearly as enamored as most with the Monkeys' debut release, so it comes as a surprise to me that I'm enjoying thier second release as much as I do. Whereas the debut was an exercise in the exuberence of tireless youth, this one pulls back the drapes a bit to see there's more going on there then relentless attack. "Brianstorm," as a first single, delivers the expectations of the debut, but it's "Flourescent Adolescent" that may be the best song on the album. I'm still not bought into all the hype, but with Worst Nightmare, the price tag is certainly looking a little less ridiculous.
