TV: Once Upon a Time (episode 2)

Last Sunday night was the series premiere of ABC's Once Upon a Time, a new show that mixes fairy tales and modern times. The ratings were good - 12.8 million viewers. Still the network didn't want to take any chances and reran the pilot again this week before episode 2. Smart move. A good way to catch any one up who was intrigued by the water cooler talk Monday morning.

This week's episode was entitled "The Thing You Love the Most", and it is quite fitting. Let's get to the episode breakdown, shall we?

Vanilla Ice - To The Extreme

Happy Halloween! Time for some tricks and treats. Today also happens to be the birthday of rapper/extreme athlete/home-improvement TV personality Rob Van Winkle, known by the stage name of “Vanilla Ice”.

Ice’s debut album was first released in 1989 on Iciban Records, an independent record label, under the title Hooked. He was then signed to SBK Records who reissued the album under its current title of To the Extreme. Despite mixed reviews, the record did extremely well. It spent sixteen weeks at the number 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 200 album charts, ranked at number 20 on that same charts end of the decade (1990-1999) list of sellers.

The Big Chill (soundtrack)

Welcome to another edition of Soundtrack Sunday.

In the fall of 1983, a dramatic-comedy about baby boomer college friends coming together, after fifteen years apart, for the funeral of a friend hit the theatres. The all-star cast featured Tom Berenger, Glenn Close, Jeff Goldblum, William Hurt, Kevin Kline, Mary Kay Place, Meg Tilly and JoBeth Williams. This smart, funny and engaging film did very well at the box office, pulling in over $56 million dollars.

The Big Chill soundtrack album featured a who's who of Motown artists and more that perfectly spoke to the baby boomer generation. The album went gold within the first few months on the charts and then Platinum in early 1984. It reached number 17 on the US Billboard 200 album charts. It did so well that a second album The Big Chill: More Songs from the Original Soundtrack was released a year later. Today I will just focus on that first record.

Bruce Springsteen - Born to Run

Welcome to another edition of Seventies Saturday.

In 1975, Bruce Springsteen released his third studio album, the hugely successful Born to Run. The record helped him break through to a more national and international audience. It was his best selling record up to that point in his career, going Platinum in the UK, Canada, Australia and the US (a number of times over in the later three). It debuted its first week on the US Billboard 200 album charts at number 84, moved to number 8 the following week, spent the next two weeks at number 4 and finally reached number 3 by its fifth week of release. The 30th anniversary edition released in 2005 reached number 18 on the same charts. The album was also a critical success, earning high marks from numerous music publications. Rolling Stone magazine ranked it number 18 on its list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All-Time. VH-1 ranked it at number 27 on its Greatest Albums of All-Time list. Many fans consider it one of Springsteen's greatest works to date.

fDeluxe - Gaslight

A couple weeks back I was reviewing the Family’s 1985 self-titled debut album (click here for that review) and I mentioned that I really wished they had put together more than one record. This year, my prayers were answered when last month (September 2011), four of the five original members put out a new release called Gaslight under the new band name fDeluxe. It has been twenty-six years but this was well worth the wait.

Book Review: Unto These Hills

Southern writer Emily Sue Harvey sets her latest novel Unto These Hills in a South Carolina town called Tucapau Mill Hill, where the once prominent mill businesses have slowly gone away over the decades. The fictional story centers on Sunny Acklin and follows her life from her teenaged years into late adulthood. Through her narrative, Sunny tells about the joys and celebrations as well as the trials and tribulations that she, her family and her friends experience.

The town in the book is based on the actual town named Startex located in Spartanburg County in South Carolina where the real-life Tucapau Mill ran from the mid-1800's through 1930. I would venture to guess some of the incidents and characters in the book were inspired by real-life events.

Duran Duran - All You Need Is Now

Happy birthday to Simon Le Bon, born today (October 27th) back in 1958.

In late December of 2010, Duran Duran released a truncated version of this album on their own label Tapemodern and Allido Records (the label managed by Mark Ronson who also produced the album). In the US, the full length version was released in March of 2011 on the S-Curve Records label, distributed by Universal, and coincided with the 30th anniversary of the band’s first studio release. Currently, the band is out on tour to promote All You Need Is Now.

The B-52's - With the Wild Crowd!

Happy birthday to Keith Strickland of the B-52's, born on this day (October 26th) back in 1953. To celebrate, I'll review the first ever live compilation from the B-52’s, released earlier this month.

In February of 2011, to celebrate the 34th anniversary of their first ever live show, the quartet (Kate Pierson, Fred Schneider, Keith Strickland and Cindy Wilson) returned to their hometown to make this recording - With the Wild Crowd! (Live in Athens, GA)

Styx - Regeneration vol. 1 and 2

The dictionary defines “regeneration” in a couple ways: the act or state of being renewed or restored; a spiritual rebirth or religious revival; the re-growth of lost parts or organs; a feedback process in which energy from the output of an amplifier is fed back to the grid circuit to reinforce the input.

Some would argue that the best days of Styx ran from the early 1970’s through their mega-hit 1983 album Kilroy Was Here. After that the band put out a few albums of new materially sporadically (in 1990, 1999, 2003 and 2005) along with a whole slew of live concert and compilations of classic tracks.

TV: Pan Am (episode 5)

Last night was the airing of the fifth episode of ABC's Pan Am. Taking a quick look at the ratings, we see a leveling off over the last couple weeks. Episode 3 pulled in 6.38 million viewers, episode 4 pulled in 5.84 million viewers and last night's pulled in 5.77 million. Yes, the number are half down from the debut but they seem to have a core audience that is sticking with the show, for now.

Episode five is entitled "One Coin in a Fountain", a play on the title of a 1954 film Three Coins in the Fountain about a trio of American girls in Rome who work at the American Embassy. It was a film about romance and intrigue. Not sure if there is any connection or not. We'll see.

ZZ Top - A Tribute From Friends

Welcome to a week which will focus on a number of new music releases here on the blog.

The hard-rocking trio from Texas has been together since 1969, mixing blues and boogie rock into the tapestry of the American rock archives. They have sold more than 50 million albums world-wide, half of which in the US alone. They’ve scored eight Top 40 hits and six number 1 hits on the Mainstream Rock charts. In 2004 they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It is only fitting, then, that eleven musical acts come together for a CD to celebrate the career of ZZ Top on ZZ Top - A Tribute From Friends which came out this month.

TV: Once Upon a Time (episode 1)

So, all summer long while watching shows on my ABC iPad app, I kept seeing these commercials for Once Upon a Time, a new show that mixes fairy tales and modern times. I have to say, I was at the very least intrigued to see what it was all about. Kudos to the ABC marketing folks.

Last night was the debut episode of the show. Let’s take a look (warning…plot spoilers are needed to set the show up…proceed with caution).

Cocktail (soundtrack)

Welcome to another edition of Soundtrack Sunday.

In 1988, the silver-screen was buzzing with a new Tom Cruise film that centered on bartending. Bryan Brown, Elisabeth Shue and Gina Gershon also starred in it. The film itself grossed $78 million dollars in the US box office alone. The soundtrack album was equally a success, selling over 12 million copies world-wide and reaching number 1 on the Billboard Hot 200 album charts.

TV: Charlie's Angels (2011, ep. 5)

As I noted last week, the axe fell on Charlie’s Angels with the network pulling the plug on production. No surprise really. From the debut episode with 8.76 million viewers, the show was down to 5.57 million viewers this week. It had lost another .34 million over the previous week.

Let's take a look at this week's episode entitled "Angels in Paradise" It was written by the same team that penned the first two episodes (Alfred Gough and Miles Millar) and directed by the same man as the first and fourth episodes (Marcos Siega).

Blondie - Blondie

Welcome to another edition of Seventies Saturday.

Guitarist Chris Stein had been playing in bands in New York City since 1973, which is when he met singer Debbie Harry, a former waitress and Playboy bunny. They went from the Stilettos to Angels and the Snakes. That later band eventually changed their name to Blondie in late 1975. Their self-titled debut album was released on an independent label in December of 1976 and enjoyed some moderate success in Australia (number 14 on the charts) and the UK (number 75). A year later, they signed with Chrysalis Records and Blondie was re-released.

Queen Latifah - All Hail the Queen

Although she started her career beatboxing for a rap group called Ladies Fresh, Queen Latifah (born Dana Elaine Owens) soon stepped out on her own making solo records on the Tommy Boy label. While hardly the first of the female rappers, she is certainly one who has had a very prominent career. She parlayed her music career into other outlets like television shows (like Living Single and her own talk show) and on the silver screen (in Chicago, Bringing Down the House, Beauty Shop, Hairspray and many more).

TV: Survivor South Pacific (ep. 6)

Week six of the new season of Survivor was titled "Free Agent", as in "I'm a free agent...", Ozzy's declarative statement to the Savaii tribe upon being betrayed by his alliance last week at tribal council. And that's just the tip of the iceburg this week.

Let's take a look at the details of the episode.

Tom Petty - Full Moon Fever

Happy 61st birthday today (October 20th) to American singer/songwriter/guitarist Tom Petty.

In 1989, the Florida born musician recorded his first solo album Full Moon Fever. He did, however, get a little help from some of his band the Heartbreakers (Mike Campbell and Benmont Tench) as well as his fellow Traveling Wilburys (Jeff Lynne who co-wrote and co-produced most of the songs with Petty, George Harrison and Roy Orbison). The record went to number 3 on the Billboard 200 album charts and has been certified Platinum many times over in its first decade of release. The album was ranked number 92 in Rolling Stone's Top 100 Albums of the 80's list.

Roxette - Look Sharp!

Today’s album review was a request by one of my Twitter followers. Mel from Australia wanted to know if I was going to do a Roxette album, so this one is dedicated to her.

In 1988, the Swedish pop and rock duo Roxette (Marie Fredriksson and Per Gessle) released their second studio album. Look Sharp! was the record that propelled them into the International charts and is considered their breakthrough record. The album went to number 1 in Sweden and Norway, number 2 in Australia, number 4 in Switzerland and the UK, number 7 in Germany, number 8 in Canada and number 23 on the US Billboard 200 chart. It has sold over nine million copies worldwide.

REO Speedwagon - Wheels Are Turnin'

Happy birthday to guitarist/singer/songwriter Gary Richrath (born October 18th, 1949). In November of 1984, Richrath and his band REO Speedwagon released their eleventh studio album Wheels Are Turnin’. The record was certified Platinum in both the US and Canada; it made it as high as number 7 on the US Billboard Album chart and number 15 in Canada.

Side one opens with “I Do’ Wanna Know”, the first single from the album. It went to number 29 on the US Billboard Top 40 and number 5 on the US Rock charts. This song has a rollicking, up-tempo energy that makes it fun. It is the type of song that makes want to roll down the windows and crank the stereo up to share with everyone around.

TV: Pan Am (episode 4)

Last night ended the fourth week of new programming and that means it was time for a new Pan Am. I don't have the ratings handy from last night so I can't tell yet if the show has started to climb, stabilized, or continued its descent.

Episode four is entitled “Eastern Exposure”. The crew gets a last-minute schedule change, going first to Rangoon before heading to Jakarta, Indonesia.

The E Family - Now & Forever

The saying goes “the family that plays together stays together”. If that’s the case, and I certainly believe it is true, the Escovedo family has nothing to worry about.

This first family of Latin-American music is led by their patriarch Pete Escovedo. Born in 1935, he and his two brothers formed the Escovedo Brothers Latin Jazz Sextet. He then worked with Santana and even led the Latin Big band Azteca. His talented children are daughter Sheila E. and sons Peter Michael Escovedo III and Juan Escovedo, all equally famous percussionists and band leaders in their own rights.

Book Review: Liquid Smoke

Private investigator Noah Braddock has finally found a balance in his once tumultuous life. Things are going well with his girlfriend Detective Liz Santagelo and with his alcoholic mother Carolina. But the weather for the San Diego resident turns foul when lawyer Darcy Gill shows up on his door and insists he look into a hopeless death row case. The kicker: the man scheduled to die for killing two men in cold blood is the father Noah never knew.

Rocky Horror Picture Show (soundtrack)

Welcome to another editon of Soundtrack Sunday.

Well, it is October and Halloween is a few weeks away. So, that means it is time for one of my favorite cult classics - the Rocky Horror Picture Show. Now, I am not one big on a scary Halloween so this film is perfect for me - lots of music, lots of sexual...tension, and lots of campy fun. The only thing scary about Rocky Horror was that episode of Glee last year when the kids tried to stage the show (I love Glee but they just didn't do the songs justice).

The Jackson 5 - ABC

Welcome to another edition of Seventies Saturday. Today also happens to be the 53rd birthday of Tito Jackson (born in 1958), one of the musical brothers who made up the Jackson 5.

It is only fitting then to take a look at their second studio album ABC, released in 1970. The album went to number 4 on the US Billboard 200 album charts; more impressive it reached number one on the Billboard R&B album charts and stayed at that spot for an impressive twelve-week run. The record sold over 5.7 million copies worldwide.

TV: Charlie's Angels (2011, ep. 4)

Week three of the new Charlie’s Angels debuted this week with an episode called "Angels in Chains". As I noted previously on my blog, this was an episode I was looking forward to seeing as the original 1970's show features a memorable episode by the same title during season 1 of that show (it was episode 5). How did the new one compare?

The Family - The Family

In 1984 when the Time was breaking up after Morris Day departed for a solo career, Prince suggested that the band restructure with Paul Peterson as the lead. When that fell through, he invited Peterson (lead singer and bassist), Jerome Benton (vocals and percussion) and Jellybean Johnson (drums) to take part in a new project. He also brought in Eric Leeds on saxophone and flute and Susannah Melvin (vocals and keyboards) who wasPrince’s then-time fiancée and the twin sister of Wendy Melvoin.

In August of 1985, the group released their first album, the self-titled The Family. The album did fairly well on the Billboard R&B charts, spending a total of twenty nine weeks on the chart and peaking at number 14. It also spent twenty-two weeks on the US Billboard Album chart, peaking at number 62. All tracks were written by Prince except where noted.

TV: Survivor South Pacific (ep. 5)

Week five of the new season of Survivor was titled "Taste the Victory" after the reward/immunity challenge and it was DIS.GUST.ING. More on that in a bit as well as the bold move that the Savaii (red) tribe takes.

Let's take a look at the details of the episode.

Hall & Oates - Private Eyes

The week, Daryl Hall celebrated his 65th birthday (10/11).

After starting out the decade with Voices (click here for that review), Daryl Hall and John Oates kept the momentum going with their tenth studio album from September 1st, 1981, Private Eyes. Like the previous album, it also reached Platinum status; it went to number 5 on the US Billboard Album chart and number 8 in the UK. It also generated four Top 40 hit singles. The record effortlessly combined pop, rock, R&B and soul genres into one of the decade’s notable releases.

Chicago - Chicago 17

On May 14th of 1984, the American rock band Chicago released their seventeenth studio album aptly named Chicago 17, a follow up to their comeback album a few years earlier. Composer and keyboardist David Foster was the producer of this multi-Platinum record, which reached number 4 on the US Billboard 200 during its seventy-two weeks on the chart. In the UK, the release reached number 24. It was also the last album for the group that vocalist and bass player Peter Cetera performed on; a year later Cetera quit the group to embark on a solo career.

Remembering Wendy

I so often use my blog to talk about famous people and their accomplishments, but this is not one of those posts. This one falls very much into the personal category, and I thank my readers in advance for allowing me a few moments to share my thoughts on a friend.

I just learned this morning via Facebook of the passing of a friend of mine from high school. Wendy Sue(Rzeptkowski) Vosper passed away on Sunday, October 9th, after a long battle with breast cancer.

Aerosmith - Pump

In the late 1980’s, Aerosmith was going through a second career boom. After working with Run-D.M.C. on their hit cover of “Walk This Way”, the Boston rock band was now getting exposed to a whole new generation of fans. In 1989, they released Pump, their tenth studio album, to acclaim from fans and critics. The album was certified multi-Platinum and peaked at number 5 on the US Billboard 200 album charts.

TV: Pan Am (episode 3)

Closing out the third week of new TV for the Fall season and Pan Am has been sliding a bit in the ratings from its debut with 11.06 million viewers to 7.76 million viewers for week two. I'm not sure how vested ABC is in the show (given all the advertising and such I would venture a lot), but if you haven't caught it yet and plan to - you better hurry. Episodes are available on ABC.com and on their iPad app. This one might be in for a bit more ratings turbulence.

Episode three is entitled “Ich Bin Ein Berliner” and centers around a famous conference in Germany where John F. Kennedy is to speak.

Berlin - Pleasure Victim

In January of 1983, the new-wave band Berlin released its second studio album Pleasure Victim. The album went to number 30 on the US Billboard 200 album chart, spending a total of thirty four weeks on the charts. It is easily the best selling album by the group.

Later CD releases included extended versions of some of the hit singles. But the original vinyl was just seven tracks strong and clocked in at just around thirty minutes in length.

Pokémon: The First Movie (soundtrack)

Welcome to another edition of Soundtrack Sunday.

Just around Thanksgiving time in 1999, my four year old son had me take him to the movies to see Pokémon: The First Movie. He had recently become a fan of the syndicated television show and was getting into playing the video game on his Gameboy Color. Of course, the studio added the incentive of free exclusive Pokémon trading cards with each ticket purchase to encourage kids to see the film. Having watched the program and played the game myself, I was open to an afternoon of animated distraction (and it got him a second card as well).

Shortly after that he learned that the soundtrack CD was released and included a mail-in offer for an exclusive trading card. So, that Christmas he received the CD as a present. He was much more interested in the card than the music. Still, we would take the CD in the car with us for trips since we deemed it kid friendly pop music. Who knew I would be the one to enjoy the disk more than he?

TV: Charlie's Angels (2011, ep. 3)

Week three of the new Charlie’s Angels debuted this week with an episode called "Bon Voyage, Angels". The case is going to take the crew out on the high seas.

TV: Thursday CBS Comedies (10/6/11)

Thursday night was plopped in front of the TV to enjoy some cupcakes for my wife's birthday and watch some comedies.

Here's what I thought of this week's the Big Bang Theory and How To Be a Gentleman.

Vicki Lawrence - The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia

Welcome to another edition of Seventies Saturday.

Vicki Lawrence was one of those celebrities I knew from a fairly young age. I remember fondly being over at my grandparents' house and watching the Carol Burnett Show with them when I was a kid. I am sure a lot of the humor was way over my head, but I loved the slapstick and the guests. From there, I knew that Vicki was a very attractive red head, funny and multi-talented (she won an Emmy during the show‘s 9th season in 1976). When I saw her on talk shows, she seemed to be very friendly, the type of person you'd want to know in real life. Of course, kids who grew up in the 1980's mostly would have known her from Mama's Family, which actually spun off from a reoccurring skit on Burnett's weekly variety show. And kids who grew up in the last ten or so years mostly know her for role as Miley's "mamaw" on Disney's Hannah Montana.

But back in 1973, Vicki added another notch to her entertainment belt. Though she had released two singles prior (one in 1969 and one in 1970), the Night the Lights Went Out In Georgia was the first full length album she released. And that is the focus of today's record review.

Sheila E - Romance 1600

After a solid debut the previous year (click here for my review of The Glamorous Life), singer-drummer-percussionist Sheila E. followed it up with her 1985 second studio album Romance 1600. Like her first record, Prince had a strong hand on many of the songs, enhancing her musical style and persona. This record went to number 50 on the US Billboard Album chart and number 12 on the US Billboard R&B Album chars.

TV: Survivor South Pacific (ep. 4)

Week four of the new season of Survivor almost didn't have live Tweeting from Jeff Probst (he got to his hotel in New York City only to find the cable was out). Ever the trooper, he rushed over to the CBS offices, sending Tout videos on the way at various times, and made it in time for the week's interactive living room. He also dedicated the show to Steve Jobs who had passed away earlier in the evening.

Let's take a look at the details of the episode.

Indigo Girls - Indigo Girls

Today is my wife’s birthday. In honor of the occasion, I thought I would review an album by one of her very favorite groups, the Indigo Girls.

In 1989, the Atlanta based folk-rock singers released their second studio album, the self-titled Indigo Girls. The album did very well, reaching number 22 on the US Billboard 200 album charts. It also went gold within six months of its release and eventually achieved platinum sales status. Thanks to this album they were nominated for the Best New Artist Grammy and Best Contemporary Folk Recording; they won the later but lost the former to Milli Vanilli.

Rest In Peace, Steve Jobs

I just got the news that Steve Jobs, visionary and founder of Apple, has passed away after losing a battle with cancer. Not surprising that I learned the news while checking my Twitter feed on my iPhone.

I can remember very clearly the first time I used an Apple computer. It was in one of the labs at college in 1985, the business building. While I had been using computers since 1982 in high school (Commodore products), this was the first computer that I had worked on that had the concept of a desktop and a trash can. Very visual. Very intuitive. It was a game changer.

Cyndi Lauper - True Colors

It took almost three years for Cyndi Lauper to release her second studio album. How could she ever hope to top the runaway smash success of her debut She’s So Unusual (click here for my review of that album)?

Turns out, she had nothing to worry about. 1986’s True Colors continued her successful career quite nicely. The album went multi-platinum in the US and Canada. Chart-wise, it reached number 4 in the US, number 7 in Canada, number 2 in Japan, number 25 in the UK and number 1 in Australia. It was nominated for two Grammy Awards and two MTV Video Music Awards.

TV: Tuesday FOX Comedies (10/4/11)

Last night was week three of the Tuesday FOX comedy line up. We had new episodes of Glee, New Girl and Raising Hope to provide the fun.

Let's look at the shows. (warning: plot *spoilers* might be leaked out here)

TV: Monday CBS Comedies (10/3/11)

The third week of TV is upon us. Once more my Monday night tuning is set to CBS for four half hour sitcoms. Starting the week off with some laughs is always good. Here are my impressions of this week's shows (warning: there will be plot *spoilers* - proceed with caution).

The Bangles - All Over the Place

The all-girl band that would eventually become known as the Bangles started out in Los Angeles in late 1980 when Susanna Hoffs (rhythm guitar) joined sisters Vicki (lead guitar) and Debbi Peterson (drums). In 1982, bassist Annette Zilinskas joined them and they recorded an EP.

When she left, former bassist for the Runaways, Michael Steele, joined up and the quartet of women released their first full length studio album All Over the Place in June of 1984. This first album went to number 80 on the US Billboard 200 album charts and number 86 on the UK album charts.

TV: Pan Am (episode 2)

Any time you have a show like Pan Am where the pilot episode was clearly a place they invested a lot of money (you have to spend money to make money - or attract viewers, right?), you have to be a little cautious of how they'll follow it up. As I mentioned last week, I was going to need to see how the episodes unfolded to determine if I would be investing more time on the show or not.

So, yesterday afternoon I fired up the ABC app on my iPad, started walking on the treadmill and watched episode 2 entitled “We’ll Always Have Paris”. The title was fitting since most of the episode centers around the crew’s flight to Paris and time there after they arrive.

Toni Basil - Word of Mouth

Toni Basil came from a family of entertainers. Her mother was a vaudevillian acrobatic comedian and her father was an orchestra conductor. She started out dancing at a very young age but later got into doing choreography for TV variety shows and concerts for the likes of David Bowie, Bette Midler and the Talking Heads. She was also an actress and appeared in a number of films including Five Easy Pieces, American Graffiti and Easy Rider. Her recording career actually began back in 1966 when she recorded a single for the short film Breakaway.

But most people will know her for the hit single "Mickey" from her April 1982 debut album Word of Mouth. The album sold very well on the strength of that one song, peaking at number 22 on the US Billboard 200 chart and achieving a Gold certification in sales.

Book Review: The Funny Man

John Warner’s debut fiction novel was released on September 6th this year from Soho Press. The Funny Man is the tale of a comedian who rises to fame thanks to a gimmick act and experiences a number of ups and downs that ultimately culminates with him being on trial for murder. Through this framework, Warner examines the whole nature of celebrity in a rather dark, satirical way.

I have to admit that I might have not been the right audience for this story. It certainly was not what I was expecting when I read a description of the book.

Happy 60th Birthday, Sting

Today, October 2nd, marks the 60th birthday of Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner, who the music world knows as Sting. The English born musician, singer-songwriter, actor and activist started out as the lead singer for the Police.

After the band broke up in late 1983, he went on to pursue a very successful solo recording career with albums like The Dream of the Blue Turtles (1985), ...Nothing Like the Sun (1987) and Ten Summoner's Tales (1993). He continues to record and tour.

I've reviewed a few of the Police albums previously. For your convenience, the links are below. Enjoy.

For the Police - Oultandos d'Amour click here

For the Police - Synchronicity click here