A Typical Saturday Night: Karaoke, Beer and Contractions

Spent Saturday night at a party to commemorate some work-friends who are having a baby next month. The theme was something like "It's All Gonna Change Now, Oh My God!". Which is why men don't throw baby showers. A good time was had, can't complain since I got home after the sun came up. Some thoughts:

• There is a song that will loosen up a karoke crowd, that will turn "no, not me" into "give me the microphone and let me show you how it's done". That song is Banana Boat (Day-O) by Harry Belafonte. I mean, who hasn't seen Beetlejuice? Take this knowledge and go forth.


• While we are on the subject, how can a karaoke book have "Get Busy" by Sean Paul but misses out on "Poison" by Bell Biv Devoe?


• Does every redheaded woman know every song lyric from "The Little Mermaid"?


• Bachelor bartender: A Purple Haze is one part Vodka, one part Blue Curacao, and enough cranberry to turn blue to purple. I don't know how I forgot this, but it's a pretty looking drink to make for a lady.


• At what point are you too old to drink beer from a funnel? I vote 30.


• I refer to the movie Animal House for this quote "Fat, drunk, and stupid is no way to go through life, son. " It also is not the way to play poker. (It was a "just for fun" game... I think.)


• Don't tell me the universe doesn't have a sense of humour: at a party to celebrate the impending birth of a baby, it was around 3 in the morning when the mother-to-be casually brought up she had been having some contractions. That'll sober you up quickly. I was going to say "mild" contractions, but I'm pretty sure even a mild one would kill me. We ended the night with no trips to the hospital by the way; she felt fine later.

Michael Scott from The Office gives his iTunes Valentine's Day playlist

This season of The Office has become a highlight of my TV schedule. I planned to avoid this show initially, assuming it was a pale imitation of the original British show, but recent episodes have been terrifically funny, still in the feel of the original while feeling new. Original creator Ricky Gervais is coming on to write an episode this season.

What really kills me are funny characters, most notably the excellent Steve Carrell as manager Michael Scott who believes its more important to be a friend than a boss but can't seem to do either well. Every interaction he has with people is a car wreck you can't look away from. There's the unspoken love between Jim and Pam, which I can't believe they manage to sustain for so long. Jenna Fischer and John Krasinski act so well with just a few glances at each other. And B.J. Novak as Ryan the temp was terrific on the Valentine's episode, realizing he hooked up with a co-worker on February 13th. Not to mention Dwight recieving the best gift ever.

I came across the romantic iTunes playlist of Michael Scott, manager for Dunder Miflin. His musical tastes and comments give you an idea where the character is coming from. (click to expand):

Just like the show, I laughed at each pick, and just cringed to think of the headspace this character occupies. The current season will run until the end of March, and has been picked up for September. Apparently, having the show available for downloading on the (U.S.) iTunes site has resulted in increased ratings and awareness.

Now we can hope for a Jim, Pam, or Dwight playlist. The Office airs Thursday nights at 9:30 on NBC. No Canadian outlet was smart enough to pick this up yet.

PS Holy crap that is a talented cast! The woman who plays Kelly, Mindy Kaling, was one of the writers of the satirical play Matt & Ben. She wrote the episode a few weeks back where Michael burned his foot with his George Foreman grill. B.J. Novak has also writen a few, including last week's "Boys and Girls".

Jenna Fischer is keeping a blog for TV Guide.com at Insider - tvguide.com

the2scoops found this at Music For Kids Who Can't Read Good

Broken Social Scene perform on Conan O'Brien

Updated: Video expired & removed

A few friends asked for this, so here's Canadian indie supergroup Broken Social Scene performing on the Conan O'Brien last week, January 31st. The song is '7/4(Shoreline)' from their new self-titled album, featuring Emily Haines from Metric and Leslie Feist. I love Conan's call for "more guitars". When you see them live, you tend to get this many people. Here we have 6 guitarists, 2 singers, 1 drummer, and a 5 piece brass section.

Quick bio: Broken Social Scene grew out of the Toronto music scene, with a number of peroformers who play with other bands. Many of them, such as Jason Collett, Feist and Andrew Whiteman (Apostle of Hustle) have found success on their own albums, and many of the members collaborate on each others projects. The reason I keep telling people to see them live is I can't imagine how long something this creative and lumbering can keep going. Just in case, catch them any chance you have. I have literally played their 2003 CD You Forgot It In People into the ground, and had to buy a replacement. Twice.

You can find more about Broken Social Scene and the assorted bands that each artist contributes to here at the Arts and Crafts label site. The site has plenty of music and videos to go around.
Links:
Arts&Crafts: Broken Social Scene
Broken Social Scene: You Forgot It in People: Pitchfork Review
Broken Social Scene - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Canadian Music Week Schedule now available

Canadian Music Week has posted the CMW 2006 schedule
for the festival running March 1st through 4th. Wristbands for the 2006 CMW Festival Showcases are available now for $35 and are available for purchase at all Ticketmaster outlets or 416.870.8000 to charge by phone, and on the Canadian Music Week web site. The wristband gets you in any of the shows on a first-come, first-served basis and is the best value for your money; otherwise shows are $10 - $15 each.

Over 150 new artists are featured this year, all looking to make a name for themselves. Bars and clubs host showcases each night, with each showcase made of 4 or 5 bands performing over the night. This festival is heavily populated by A&R representatives (an acronym for Artists and Repertoire) who are record company personnel whose job it is to discover new talent and sign bands to their label. And of course, keep an eye out for Queen Street Man and his kind.

Having done the festival, I can advise you:

1. Wear comfortable footwear. You'll be standing in line or running for a cab/streetcar.


2. Avoid the heavy coat, you won't want to gamble on a coatcheck. Layer up and bring a bag to stash your layers in.


3. Map out which shows you want to hit, leave yourself enough time to get to and from each show and have a back up plan in case it's full up (The Horseshoe showcases always have a line-up at showtime).


4. Hang in there if there is a lineup. People are coming and going from the showcases all the time because, like you, they are on the move to check out a band or two from each showcase.

CMW 2006 schedule

Queen Street Man is coming for you

A skilled skewering of the Toronto hipster stereotype, Queen Street Man video is making the rounds: biking around Queen Street, checking out the latest trends and texting as he goes so that everyone knows he is on the cutting edge.

Be sure to check it out for a laugh and put yourself through a makeover if you recognize yourself in this video. I agree with a soundtrack for everyone: make it a series, with Kensington Cutie, Yorkville Yuppie, Dundas Dude and Little Italy Lady. And for the record, I've never had that many concert buttons on my bag or jacket...


Share Video at DropShots.com

Queen Street Man credits: writer Paul Cotton, filmed by Nick M. Lokos and editer D. Mullins, with music by The Tangiers.



the2scoops first saw this at:
BlogTO | Queen Street Man!, Torontoist: A Day in the Life of Queen Street Man, and a soundtrack for everyone: Queen Street Man! Queen Street Man!

Update: Chappelle to Oprah: I was stressed out

Updated: YouTube.com has the full 40 minute episode for viewing. I have the show here or you can watch it at YouTube - Dave Chappelle On Oprah Winfrey Show 2.3.06. Dave Chappelle gets stressed, he walks off a show and goes to Africa. When I get stressed, I eat Thai food and go to The Local for a Guinness. Dave and I should take up yoga.

Fresh from tearing James Frey into a million little pieces, Oprah scored a second get with an interview with Dave Chappelle. In the episode last week Dave reveals the big reason he walked away from the show - dude was stressed. Too much, too soon, too many interests to appease.

May take a minute to load the stream. Smaller more managable chunks of the episode can be found at: YouTube - Broadcast Yourself.




Link to video: YouTube - Dave Chappelle On Oprah Winfrey Show 2.3.06

CNN.com - Chappelle to Oprah: I was stressed out - Feb 3, 2006

the2scoops Podcast list

Want to avoid making eye contact with the other zombies on the subway? Try a few podcasts to break up your playlists. Listen to enough of them and you'll be able to contribute to conversations and eventually form meaningful relationships.

Here are some great podcasts I'm listening to lately. Podcasts are essentially downloadable programs and essays that you to listen to on your computer or on your MP3 player. Once you subscribe (free) you receive daily or weekly updates automatically. I make a point of taking a few on the iPod to break up my constant stream of music.

To receive a podcast, you need version 4.9 of iTunes installed: http://www.apple.com/itunes. It is free to use and is my music software of choice, easiest to manipulate, more intuitive than other programs.

Podcasts

• CBC Radio 3: Breaking New Sound - Sooo much good music to find here. It contains 100% Canadian music from new and emerging artists from a variety of genres. I've found some great new artists here and even though it may not be all to your taste, you'll find something new to love. One of the top podcasts worldwide. Bonus: most of these bands tour relentlessly. You can see 6 or 8 shows from these guys for the price of a Nickleback ticket.
  ITunes Podcast Link: CBC Radio 3
  
  
• The British are funny. It's been proven. For some good laughs, Ricky Gervais (creator of TV's The Office) has been offering The Ricky Gervais Show for downloading:

Karl Pilkington, unencumbered by any meaningful degree of intellect, continues to elicit exasperation and exultation in equal measure from Ricky Gervais and Steve Merchant.

He is making a set of 12 (up to episode 9 right now) and is just a silly show. Episode 8 features readings from Karl's diary which were so ridiculous and spins on so many tangents I almost choked trying not to laugh right out loud on the bus.
ITunes Podcast Link: The Ricky Gervais Show
Website: Ricky Gervais
Podcast Website: Guardian Unlimited - Ricky Gervais podcast


• Slate's Daily Podcast offers a selection of stories, interviews, and weekly American political roundup from Slate online magazine.
  ITunes Podcast Link: Slate Daily Podcast
  
  
• KCRW.com station in San Diego offers of some of the live sessions performed by unsigned and independent artists.
  ITunes Podcast Link: Mornings Become Eclectic
  
  
• There are about 20 other programs avalable, spanning news, politics, arts and business. Check out the list: KCRW Podcasting

The McLaren vs. Onstad Championship Chicklit Canlit Catfight

Accordion Guy has guest contributor Eldon Brown give the full smackdown report for the reading at the Gladstone featuring film critic turned novelist Katrina "How Happy to Be" Onstad and voice for self-involved privileged women everywhere and Globe and Mail columnist turned novelist, Leah "The Continuity Girl" McLaren. I was a little sad to hear their was no hair pulling or cosmopolitan hurling going-on.

The Adventures of Accordion Guy in the 21st Century :: Joey deVilla's Weblog :: The McLaren vs. Onstad Championship Chicklit Canlit Catfight

Teeth on the Dial - Channel Flipping (aka bunch of links)

• One of my favourite shows My Name Is Earl was rejected before it made it to air by every major network including NBC. Perseverance paid off and once new management moved in at NBC, they were accepted and became a hit comedy. Fox probably would have under-promoted it and cancelled it by now.

Link:For This Comedy Writer, No Is Never an Answer - New York Times

• As a practicing insomniac, I have been watching the CBS Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. He is a terrific host: funny, self-depreciating, genial and genuine. It was a truly emotional night when Craig made his Monday show a tribute to his dad, who had passed away the previous night. Craig used his show to effectively hold a wake for his dad and, with his voice cracking, shared memories of his dad. He paints a "poignant and funny" picture of his father that makes you want to know him. You can watch the 15 minute monologue that is such a sweet dedication to a father here: CBS - Late Late Show Comedy and click on January 30, 2006.
  

Link: Craig Ferguson's Must-Weep TV (Entertainment Weekly)

• Saturday Night Live this week features Steve Martin, hosting for the 14th time and musical guest Prince. I'll do the usual - tape it and fast forward to the highlights. I've always been a fan of Steve Martin, despite the dumbness of movies like "Cheaper by the Dozen" and the upcoming "Pink Panther". For some good and funny Steve Martin, rent The Jerk, a wild and funny movie.

Link: Steve Martin and Prince on SNL - TV Squad

• It's no surprise that child actors can turn into screwed-up adults. Time and again, they end up as tragic fodder for E! True Hollywood Stories. When a show ends, its the equivalent of putting the child through a divorce, unemployment and expulsion all at the same time. The latest stories involve Jodie Sweetin, the precocious middle sister on Full House, who had a fricking methamphetamine habit. The intervention that saved her life was held by Bob Saget, The Olsen Twins and John Stamos, which would have been surreal even without the drugs.

Link: ABC News: 'Full House' Sweetheart Talks About Meth Addiction

• And then there's the little sister from sitcom Family Matters. Yeah, she did porn and told Oprah about it.

Link: Biggest Mistakes: Hollywood Dream Dashed

Teeth on the Dial: Finally, an NBC show that will actually be Must See TV this fall

Even though the Fall TV launch is 8 months off, I am already looking forward to the new show from Aaron Sorkin called Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. It's an hourlong comedy-drama set behind the scenes of a fictional Saturday Night Live type show. The show has a 13-episode inital commitment (standard for a new show) and will likely be a centrepiece show for the fall launch. This is just what NBC needs because, aside from My Name Is Earl, Scrubs and The Office, the network's offerings have been underwhelming, awash in shows that have gotten a touch stale and stuck around past their prime (Will & Grace, Crossing Jordan, ER).

Aaron Sorkin is best known for being the driving creative force behing the first 4 (the watchable ones) seasons of The West Wing, the show Sports Night and the screenwriter of The American President and A Few Good Men. He writes terrific dialogue, creates well-devloped characters who tend to do a lot of walking and talking, and does some smart work with building relationships amongst the characters. Studio 60 sounds more like the much missed Sports Night, a comedy that was set at a Sports Center type show that was terrificly smart, unconventional, and entertaining - hence its cancellation by ABC after 2 seasons. It did feature some great actors who went on to bigger and better things, notably Peter Krause (Nate on Six Feet Under and Oscar nominee Felicity Huffman (Desperate Housewives and the film Transamerica).

The cast for this new show is exceptional, full of performers I like and think are generally underrated. The main character is played by Matthew Perry (Friends), whose Emmy nominated guest appearance on The West Wing made me want to see him added to the show and made me realize he can play character's other than "Chandler Bing". (He was also great in a Scrubs episode last year, which he directed). He plays a genius writer who was fired and is brought back to run the show. This is a much more suitable vehicle for his hsot at post-Friends success, as opposed to recycling the same character in another generic sitcom (hello cast of Seinfeld).

Other notable actors include Amanda Peet (The Whole Nine Yards) as the network president who brings the writer in; D.L. Hughley (The Hughleys) as one of the star performers on the sketch show, Steven Weber (Wings), Evan Handler (Charlotte's husband on Sex and the City), and Nathan Corddry (The Daily Show - that show just breeds funny).

Of course, me loving this show combined with the "sure thing" nature of it is a sure sign that I have doomed the whole thing. Maybe I should just clear the space on the "DVD sets of TV shows I loved and got cancelled", between Firefly and Arrested Development.


Variety.com - Sorkin finds a friend

Amanda Peet joining Matthew Perry in 'Studio 60' - Yahoo! News

If Chuck Norris kicks the internet, it's not getting up again

Chuck Norris seems to be catching on as a pop culture icon. For those who don't recall, he was a karate champion turned action star of the late 1970s and early 80s, before returning in to 1990s as TV's "Walker: Texas Ranger". Two of the funniest things I've seen all week center around the man whose beard alone could kill you.

Below is another great video from Saturday Night Live - "Young Chuck Norris".

But first, a website called Chuck Norris Facts has over 8000 Chuck Facts, all dedicated to just how deadly and manly tough is the man with the roundhose kick.

My favourites:

• Chuck Norris' tears cure cancer. Too bad he has never cried. Ever.
• The chief export of Chuck Norris is pain.
• The quickest way to a man's heart is with Chuck Norris' fist.


• If you spell Chuck Norris in Scrabble, you win. Forever.
• Wilt Chamberlain claims to have slept with more than 20,000 women in his lifetime. Chuck Norris calls this "a slow Tuesday."
• The First Law of Thermodynamics states that energy can neither be created nor destroyed... unless it meets Chuck Norris.
• Time waits for no man. Unless that man is Chuck Norris.
• Police label anyone attacking Chuck Norris as a Code 45-11.... a suicide.
• Chuck Norris ordered a Big Mac at Burger King, and got one.

Young Chuck Norris:



Chuck Norris - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Thanks to Jon Filson who pointed me towards Chuck Norris facts in his Toronto Star column ego & id.