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

Valley Girl (soundtrack)

Welcome to another edition of Soundtrack Sunday. It is also the kick off of a Ladies Week on the blog when it comes to music.

In 1982, the California valley craze was sweeping the nation. Thanks to Frank Zappa’s song “Valley Girl”, which featured his fourteen year old daughter Moon Unit on vocals, everyone was sprinkling the vall-speak into their conversations. Phrases like “ohmyGod”, “barf out”, “gag me with a spoon” and way too many uses of the word “like” could be heard all across the country.

Van Halen - Van Halen

Welcome to another edition of Seventies Saturday.

On February 10th of 1978, the California based rock quartet Van Halen released the self-titled studio debut album Van Halen. The record was a huge seller (over 10 million copies) and it went to number 19 on the US Billboard Album charts, number 18 in Canada, number 24 in the UK and number 5 in Germany. Rolling Stone magazine ranked the album at number 415 on its list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All-Time.

TV: Charlie's Angels (2011, ep. 2)

Week two of the new Charlie’s Angels series with an episode entitled “Runway Angels”. Yes, it didn’t take the show long to set up an episode involving murder at a fashion show. I mean, seriously, three attractive leads and elegant clothes - it’s a complete no-brainer.

Okay, maybe that sounded a little too harsh.