Pop Culture Buzz

Mr. Bean is a U.K. phenomenon but he has had mild success with his first movie and t.v. series on the BBC here in the states. His movies and humor are innocent enough and I kind of enjoy the slapstick element of his comedy. Watching Mr. Bean is like watching an old Looney Tunes cartoon, but in live action, it is just plain silly. This trailer made me giggle a few times, so I may rent this on DVD. But then again if it blows up big here (which I doubt) I may be forced to go watch “Mr. Bean’s Holiday” on the big screen. I do enjoy that dry British humor!

I dig this new song by Tori Amos, and this video kicks ass too. Tori isn’t known for her up-beat music but the up tempo country piano sound on this song works well with her soft but powerful voice. I think the video is pretty innovative and fun to watch. Tori can come off as a bizarre Lilith Fair reject to some people but I think she is still paving the way for female songwriters. This video has peaked my interest enough to purchase her new c.d. when it comes out.

This last weeks installment of “Saturday Night Live” marked the return of skit queen Scarlett Johanssen. If you remember Scarlett appeared on SNL a year ago and filmed one of the best episodes in years. Each skit crackled with wit and left me in stitches. In this episode Johanssen delivered a perfect set of skits that took off where she left them. An added bonus to this episode was the debut performance of Bjork’s new material from her latest c.d. “Volta”. The energy and fun sound of this song is a great change from the ethereal sounds of her last two records.

This song confirms what I already knew, Gwen Stefani’s latest album is terrible. This song is so bland and generic I really can’t say I hate it, it just is. Gwen has so far been able to copy Madonna’s looks and video’s, but her authenticity just doesn’t show through. Sorry to offend any Gwen fans out there, but this is some really lame “filler” music. I cannot believe that this is the best she could come up with after a stellar debut c.d.

Finally Timbaland puts out his own record, but with the familiar vocals we are a bit tired of. I love Nelly Furtado and J.T. but these collaborations are getting a bit tired. This song is a re-hash of other Timbaland songs but works as a possible summer song, we’ll have to wait and see. I like the video for this song a little more than the song itself. Check it out for yourself below.

FEIST - “MY MOON MY MAN”

SNOW PATROL - “CHASING CARS”

MIKA - “BIG GIRL YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL”

TRAVIS - “SELFISH JEAN”

RUFUS WAINWRIGHT - “TULSA”

MAROON 5 - “MAKES ME WONDER”

KT TUNSTALL - “SUDDENLY I SEE”

JOSS STONE - “TELL ME ‘BOUT IT”

SWITCHES - “LAY DOWN THE LAW”

PINK - “LEAVE ME ALONE I’M LONELY”

JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE - “SUMMER LOVE”

GYM CLASS HEROES - “CUPID’S CHOKEHOLD”

TIMBALAND W/ JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE & NELLY FURTADO - “GIVE IT TO ME”

MARK RONSON - “JUST” (RADIOHEAD COVER)

I love the vivid campy 50’s era sex pot theme of this video. The look and vibe gel well with The Fratellis sound. I love this song, and am slowly digging this full length c.d. Don’t be fooled, this group is not just another band that sounds like Jet, The Hives or The Caesars with nothing to offer. These guys can actually kick garage band ass. Check out one of my pics for best video of the year below.

I am not sure what stoner or silly studio head greenlit this movie, but they need to be shaken violently. Did the cult 70’s kids cartoon really need a real life big screen adaptation? This trailer left me scratching my head. It may turn out to be that one of a kind, fun and quirky family film that surprises audiences (”George of the Jungle”, “Babe”). The whole concept of a super hero dog movie doesn’t seem to translate well past animation, we’ll see.

Stephen King movies can go either way, some are very good (”Misery”, “The Shawshank Redemption”, “Dolores Claiborne”, “Stand By Me”) and some just plain rotten (”Apt Pupil”, “Christine”, “Hearts In Atlantis”, “Thinner”). But this little film looks like it could be a surprise hit. John Cusack is a great actor, and in a horror film written by Stephen King, may shine even brighter. I love the feel and set up of this plot, and this trailer has made me very curious to how well this will turnout. I will give “1408″ a shot and watch it in the theaters when it is released later this summer, why not?

I love Feist’s first c.d. “Let It Die”. It is one of my all time favorite modern chill out c.d.’s. It is also a great c.d. to listen to on road trips . It is also has a great winter vibe to it and is perfect to listen to around the holidays. It has been 2 years since Feist put out a new album. So as you can imagine, I have been highly anticipating her new c.d. “The Reminder” for some time now. This music video is so cool, I am not sure where to begin. The uber nifty choreography and cinematography are cool as hell. If this song is any indication, this c.d. will be a proud follow up to her debut masterpiece.

BELOW ARE MORE MUSIC VIDEOS BY FEIST FROM HER DEBUT C.D.:

“MUSHABOOM”

“ONE EVENING”

BELOW IS FREE STREAMING MUSIC FROM FEIST’S DEBUT C.D. “LET IT DIE”:

“SECRET HEART”

“GATEKEEPER”

“INSIDE & OUT”

GRADE: B

Fujiya & Miyagi are that rare electronic music group that has funk and soul. Much like other ambient bands “Air” and “Zero 7″ Fujiya & Miyagi create lounge music that is a pop genre in itself. Fujiya & Miyagi weave thumping low beats and electronic bleeps with a stoner mentality: easy, mellow and smooth. At the same time I was able to listen to this album at the gym, making this c.d. quite the eclectic and useful find.

I would love to see this band live, the group manages to make your toe tap as well as slowly drift off into a daydream. At times it is hard not to imagine a Casio keyboard doing all the work as some beats are a bit repetitive. That aside, the melodies and riffs on this c.d. take time to catch on. But once they do, you will enjoy the sprawling electro landscapes and poppy tunes on this album. My favorite songs are “Reebok’s In Heaven”, “Transparent Things” and “Collarbone”. All 3 songs have a quiet resonance that will have you humming the chorus long after you turn it off.

I am going to keep my eye on this awkward little electro-pop group because this debut c.d. impressed me so much. I hope to catch these guys on tour to get a better idea of how they work. From the sounds of this c.d. Fujiya & Miyagi have got there finger on the pulse of something neat, that could grow to a much better classic sounding c.d. as their follow up. I am intrigued to see what happen next with these guys.

LISTEN TO FREE FUJIYA & MIYAGI STREAMING MUSIC BELOW:

“ANKLE INJURIES”

“CASETTE SINGLE”

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GRADE: B-

“Eragon” is an innocent and fun enough fantasy teeny-bopper movie, but it lacks the grit and believable fantasy elements that made the “Lord of the Rings” such a great franchise. I call this movie “LOTR-light” or “LOTR 90210″. I don’t want to dump too much on this movie, it has it’s moments. The movie is filmed great and looks pretty, and has some great aerial shots with the dragon. I also thought the cast was top notch and the acting was pretty good for a family film.

The movie loses steam for me when Saphira the dragon talks, or “mind reads”. Having Rachel Weizs voice the thoughts of Saphira just didn’t work for me. I never read the book but find the premise of dragon riders and mind reading dragons a little corny. I am a sucker for a great dragon movie though. “Dragonslayer” is the best of the genre, followed closely by “Dragonheart” and “The Neverending Story”. But like I said before, this is a family film aimed at teenagers, and it worked on that level. Although I am sure that teenage boys would have loved a little more action, I know I did.

This movie didn’t do as well as many thought it would have when it was released this past holiday season. And by the looks of the ending of this film, and by original production talks there is at least 2 sequels in the works. The children’s books end after 3 books, but after the disappointing audience response from “Eragon” will the studio risk putting out 2 more? I hope the next 2 stories have some more action and a more thought out storyline. This was a good enough DVD rental, but I was left feeling like it could have been better. Much better.

This week it was announced that rap pioneer and hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons wants the music industry to ban or label 3 words he considers “extreme curse words”. The 3 words in question are “bitch”, “ho” and “nigger” (I hate typing that word, eeewwwww!). I somewhat disagree with the idea that people should be censored, but agree that those epithets have no real value in music. I am on the fence with “ho” and “bitch”, but I am a guy, so who am I to say what it offensive to women? It seems that some people are trying to tell us what is offensive, when in reality we all have lines that we will not let people cross. How come these words illicit this reaction from the hip-hop community and media (granted the N word is the ugliest of slurs and I would never defend the use of it), what about the other words that are just as offensive?

These days you are allowed to call gay people a “faggot” (Anne Coulter, Isaiah Washington) without people asking for someone to be fired or without questioning by the media. You can call someone fat and make fat jokes, and people think it is funny (Donald Trump and Rosie O’donell). One of the most offensive words around, “retarded” is used so much without any regard for the handicapped it has now become o.k. to throw around in pop culture (The Black Eyed Peas song “Let’s Get Retarded”). I know many people who will not tolerate the use of that word because they have family that are handicapped. I for one detest people using the word “faggot” as a way to put someone down, but myself use it in jest. I think it is a slippery slope, if you say these 3 words are too offensive, then who is to say that other words are not just as offensive to them?

I understand what Russell Simmons is trying to say, but think that it is just bad timing coming right off of the heels of the Don Imus incident. I also think that the rap community is the sole reason why this “bitch” and “ho” culture has become so popular. Why hold other genres of music up to those standards? I think this movement to blacklist words in pop culture is futile. People will say what they will, they just need to think hard about how people interpret them. It doesn’t take a brain surgeon to know that it’s not what you say half the time, but it’s how you say it!

THIS WEEKEND / TOTAL SO FAR

1.) Disturbia $13,460,000 / $40,654,000

2.) Fracture $11,175,000 / $11,175,000

3.) Blades of Glory $7,808,000 / $101,082,000

4.) Vacancy $7,600,000 / $7,600,000

5.) Meet the Robinsons $7,088,000 / $82,211,000

6.) Hot Fuzz $5,837,000 / $5,837,000

7.) Are We Done Yet? $5,200,000 / $39,591,000

8.) In the Land of Women $4,915,000 / $4,915,000

9.) Perfect Stranger $4,100,000 / $18,068,000

10.) Wild Hogs $2,872,000 / $156,213,000