Tag: brothers-and-sisters

five song friday, music musings, music suggestion

5SF: january 6

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Howdy friends!! Welcome to the new year! No, I haven’t come to bring you the year end countdown of the best albums of 2011 yet, because frankly, I haven’t gotten the list finalized yet. I seemingly love working all of the time, but I do promise that it will come soon (perhaps next week?!). In the mean time, here is some new music that I have recently started listening to.

honeyhoney – Don’t Know How

I first “heard” of honeyhoney almost a year ago; the song LA River was playing in the background on a scene during an episode of Brothers and Sisters. I found out because I took to the internets for research, and obviously to find and download that amazing track, but alas, nothing came of it. Then, I put it on my “to be downloaded list”, and honestly, kind of forgot about it. Then today, I noticed that Amazon was offering a free playlist of songs from “people they liked”, and a honeyhoney song was on it! Turns out the album Billy Jack was released in October! Sweet! So why didn’t I feature that song, you may ask? Well, as much as I love LA River still, this song is incredible. The female singer’s vocal reminds me a lot of Brandi Carlile, and I cannot get enough of the country-rock vibe of this delightful song. The album is great as well! I guess good things do come to those who wait; those who wait, and then randomly, almost a year later, are reminded of something excellent by something completely unrelated.

Green River Ordinance – Dancing Shoes

This one falls into the category of songs that I have discovered by listening to SiriusXM radio. This is a beautiful ballad alt-folk track that reminds me a little of Counting Crows (mostly the lead singer’s voice), but with a freshness of current hot bands like Mumford and Sons. This is a gorgeous song, and one that I have been listening to on repeat since I Shazamed it a few days ago.

Plug In Stereo – Oh Darling feat. Cady Groves

Look a here! Another track discovered directly from good old SiriusXM. This is a little bit Hellogoodbye with a healthy touch of Bright Eyes. I love stuff like this. The song is so sweet, even if it does remind me a little of that massively overplayed Hey There Delilah by Plain White Ts. Either way, another excellent discovery thanks to SiriusXM; maybe I shouldn’t cancel my subscription, even though they took away my BBC Radio One months ago…

fun. – We Are Young feat. Janelle Monae

So apparently this was on Glee? I honestly don’t remember it. This is one of those songs that I found by accident months ago (see September), but for whatever reason, forgot about it. Then! I hear it playing on Chuck, and instantly, I am like, I KNOW THIS!!! Then I finally downloaded it properly. I absolutely love this track! It’s great! It reminds me a little bit of Jump, Little Children, a band most of you probably haven’t heard of, but the lead singer sounds like him nonetheless. Overall, a very fun (ha!), very radio-ready track. Thanks to Chuck for putting this one back on my radar screen!! This sounds like a song that should play over the credits of a high-school movie/coming of age dramady, doesn’t it?

Jessica Mauboy – Inescapable (Youngboyz Mix)

Ending on a dance note! This one is thanks to my buddy Stu posting it on my FB. I first heard of Jessica Mauboy when Stu alerted me to her sassy greatness back when she was in Young Divas, just after she was on Australian Idol, and then when she broke out on her own. She’s had a few songs that I liked, and it looks like she’s still up to it; this song is very danceable, and I can’t get enough. Thanks Stu for the heads up about this one!

So there’s a new 5SF, actually on a Friday for you!! I hope that you enjoyed the tracks that I picked; please let me know what you think. As always, please let me know what you are listening to as well. Remember, the best of 2011 albums countdown will be coming to this blog in the near future, so stay tuned! Til then!

mixed media, show the love

fall tv thoughts, as of right now

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So far, the shows have been coming back, one by one, and I have been setting the tivo to capture all of the action. There are some newbies that are going pretty strong, and some oldies that have my a little lost, so I thought I would punt out a few thoughts here, and see what everyone else is thinking about the fall lineup so far.

First up, we watch Prison Break, even though they are no longer in any kind of prison. Either way, it is a great show, and has come back strong. I am enjoying this season, and since this show has an amazing ability to go batshit crazy at the last second, I can’t wait to see where we will be going with Schofield and Boroughs this season. We also just recently caught up by watching the first season (we started watching in the second season), and it was really awesome; which pretty much got us really amped about this season coming back.

Next, and perhaps the most notable, is the debut of Fringe. Holy shit, this show is fantastic. I have seriously LOVED all three episodes, and really like the way they are building the interweaving plot about “the Pattern”; which is something that J.J. Abrams is very, very good at doing. I really like all of the mysterious elements, and I can tell that this show is definitely going to keep getting better with each new episode. It’s rare when new shows are this good, and I am glad that this one has lived up to the hype. I also must say, that Joshua Jackson has really grown up well; he is fucking HOT. (Just look at this picture… see what I mean? WOW. I think that I am in love.)

Other shows that have come back, like the Sarah Connor Chronicles, and especially Smallville (great season premiere!!) have also been very well done, and have really shown even more potential for another great season. I am looking forward to Brothers and Sisters, Desperate Housewives, Pushing Daisies, Reaper (PLEASE COME BACK!), Chuck, and Ugly Betty coming back as well. All of these shows kept my interest up until the writers strike, and some of them didn’t get a full season to really deliver the goods; I am REALLY hoping that they all can come back, and really deliver (especially shows like Pushing Daisies and Reaper).

I have to say, that after watching the season premiere of Heroes this week, which I did really enjoy, I was, well, rather lost. I think it is because so much time had passed between the mini season and this premiere, and as a result, I forgot most of what happened last season. Well, worry no more… I picked up season 2 today on DVD, and I am going to give James and myself a crash course before next week. Heroes is one of those shows that just keeps going in different directions, and taking chances… and it leads to great TV.

Other than that, there are only a few shows that I want to watch but for whatever reason never do, like 30 Rock, but I guess I can torrent it or something. We also watch a few reality shows, but most of those are just for info (like how it’s made), or gossip (like the soup); although, I will own up to it, and admit that I am enjoying the most recent cycle of Top Model. Fun stuff, that Tyra, isn’t she?

So, now it’s your turn to spill… What are you all watching? What are you most excited about?

all about me, near and dear, that is so gay

brothers and sisters and mother’s day

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The season finale of Brothers and Sisters was magnificent. The wedding between Kevin and Scotty was gorgeous and touching. It was moving to see two men get married on TV, and it be treated as a joyous event. I couldn’t help but find it a bit fitting, though, that it aired on Mother’s day, and that Scotty’s parents refused to come to the wedding because of their beliefs.

My parents have never said it to my face, but I know they don’t “approve” of my life. It doesn’t really make sense, however, because my life is nothing they have the option to approve of or not; I am who I am, take it or leave it. I made the choice to be myself, and if you don’t like it, that is not my problem. I almost cried when they showed Scotty’s parents reacting the way they did; not because I felt bad for Scotty, even though I do. Mostly, I felt bad for his parents, and in the same way, I felt bad for mine. They are missing out on my life because of choices that they are making.

I called my mother today, and was only able to leave her a message. Same for my sister. Neither returned my call. My grandma talked to me for over and hour, and was elated that I called. I guess that you have to make choices in your life; we all do. They did, and so do I. And I have. Regardless of how they can burn sometimes when you think about them, getting to those decisions was hard enough, that you have to really stick by them. After all… you weren’t the only one that made a choice; you are just the one that made the choice to make yourself happy.

Happy Mother’s Day Mom… I hope it was great. It’s sad we can’t be more of a family, but I understand. I can’t change it, and I am okay with that. I have learned to live with it, and as such, I’ll move on like I always do. I hope you know that I love you, and that you know that I can’t change, and that I can only live my life for me at this point; so that’s what I am doing.

all about me, mixed media, the catch-all-egory, well?

fall TV: what are you going to watch?

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Well, it’s that time of year again… time to get excited about (well, hopefully) fall television. It’s also the time to sort through the new stuff, and add that to the old Tivo schedule. Of course, that is tricky, because you also have to work it around the stuff that is returning from last year that you have already fell in love with. Now, let’s examine my TV viewing plans, shall we?

Returning shows that I am excited about/am already getting back into:

  • Heroes: First and foremost, last night’s premiere was great. I am glad that they went forward 4 months from the season finale, and they showed us how the characters had progressed since then. I was also excited to see that they still have some great secrets up their sleeve, so that this season will have us hanging on like last season. For me, this is THE show to watch this year. I love my Heroes! Also, I almost spit out my drink when none other than Mr. Julian Sark, one of my favorite Alias villians, showed up! Hell yes! I hope that they have him on there more in the future (although, it doesn’t look like they will, based on his character, but I digress).
  • Prison Break: After getting into this last season, I was glad to see this show come back. I also thought, “how are they going to keep calling it “Prison Break”, when they aren’t in prison anymore”; and well, if you watch the show, you know they wrapped that up nicely. Also, I have to say, that these two brothers seem to find themselves in a world of mess. The good thing is that they know how to deal with it, and provide us with some great drama and tension in the process. Oh yeah, and they are both smoking hot. I am definitely glad to see Prison Break back this year. (I also recently bought season one, because we never saw it, and I can’t wait to watch it and catch up… but I am saving that for later.).
  • Family Guy: Definitely one of my favorites, and always a good watch. I still need to pick up the newest DVD set, because I missed some of last season’s episodes. I watched the (I guess it was) season premiere last night, and I have to say, I have never really cared for Star Wars, but that was brilliant. Any Star Wars fan should have enjoyed the hell out of that episode; I know I did. I am glad to see this great show back for more.

Other shows I am glad to see coming back, that I have added to my recording schedule:

  • America’s Next Top Model — even MORE campy and BITCHY this year! What’s not to love about that?
  • Smallville — OMG, Supergirl! I seriously can’t wait to see what they are going to do this season. This show just gets better!
  • Ugly Betty — I love this show!
  • Brothers and Sisters — This show is seriously one of the best shows on TV, IMHO.
  • Desperate Housewives — I heard a gay family is moving in! I didn’t think this show could get any gayer, then it does!
  • House — to be honest, I am not sure about this one yet… I got annoyed with him last year, and may opt to watch the Unit instead.
  • The Unit — a good Alias-like show that we watched all of the previous season; I have to pick between this and House, and I haven’t decided yet which one I will choose.
  • CSI — for James… I like it, but am not as into it as he is.

Whew! That’s a lot of returning shows! I didn’t realize there were that many! Either way… Here are the NEW shows that I am looking forward to checking out:

  • Chuck — Monday at 8. Nerds and espionage? I’m in! I haven’t viewed the premiere, which came on last night, but I am looking forward to checking it out later this week.
  • Pushing Daisies — Wednesday at 8. I have been looking forward to this one ever since I heard about the concept. Sadly, it looks like one of those shows that may be great, but might not pick up the audience it needs…. I hope that if it is as good as I hope, that people tune in; as stated in the past, I hate to see good shows canceled too soon.
  • Bionic Woman — Wednesday at 9. They really payed attention at the success of Heroes, obviously, because here is another “comic-type” show; one which I am definitely interested in checking out. The previews look like it may kick ass.
  • Reaper — Tuesday at 9. I really loved (and miss) Dead Like Me, and this could potentially be a good take on it. Also, I love Missy Peregrym, which only adds to me wanting to check this out. I hope it lives up to the hype.
  • Big Shots — Thursday at 10. I will be checking this out just because it has Michael Vartan in it. Seriously. That’s my draw.
  • The Big Bang Theory — It would be nice to check out this show, but it conflicts with others (Monday at 8:30), so unless Chuck sucks, it’s going to have to wait. (seriously, why don’t the spread them out over the week?)

Whew! That’s a list of shows! Damn! I can’t believe that there are so many… and this isn’t even counting the mid-season shows! Well, I am going to get to setting my tivo for some maximum TV viewing, and get to checking out my old favorites, and the new offerings.

What will you be watching? Are there any of these that seem interesting to you??? Tell me what you are looking forward to in your Fall TV schedule!